It seems that the color of your skin, whether black, white, brown, red, or yellow, no longer matters in America. One might assume that this claim is plausible, given that we have an “African American” male president and that America is now considered a “post-racial nation” (Rush Limbaugh, 2010), where skin color is no longer a inhibitory factor. The truth is that race certainly played a significant factor in America's history from the early 16th century through the 21st century. “Race” is a good predictor of who has power, owns land, receives privileges and opportunities, and who reaps the benefits of the items listed (just to name a few things from an exhaustive list). It appears that African Americans, along with other racial minority groups, continue to be prime targets of extreme discrimination, prejudice, racism, and profiling when it comes to their observable characteristics. The past is a good indicator of the future, and a careful examination of America's rich historical past will reveal that, for a Black male in particular, the likelihood of being racially profiled occurs more frequently than his Caucasian counterparts. According to the Declaration of Independence which stated “all men are created equal” (Thomas Jefferson, 1776), it is evidently clear that this phrase was and still is not applicable towards African Americans. We can look to our nation's early colonial era, when the powerful and wealthy elites of the period rationalized the enslavement of Africans and indigenous peoples as a moral good and a service to the "lesser races." It is universally known in America that the racial caste system of slavery, which included racial profiling, lasted… mid-paper… Academy. (May 11, 2012) Ginwright, Shawn A. 2002. “Classed Out: The Challenges of Social Class in Changing the Black Community.” University of California Press on behalf of the Society for the Study of Social Problems 49:544-566Haug, Nicole C. 2012. “Race and the Criminal Justice System: A Study of Racial Bias and Racial Injustice.”Martin, Ardis C. 2008" Television media as a potential negative factor in the racial identity development of African American youth." Academic Psychiatry 32, no. 4:338-342.Mauer, Marc and Ryan S. King. 2007 “A 25-Year Quagmire: The War on Drugs and Its Impact on American Society.” Sentencing project. Smedley, A. (1998). "Race" and the construction of human identity. American Anthropologist, 100, n.3:690-702.Uexurini, Arhi. "The rebellious press." The rebellious press. Np, 7 January 2012. Web. 5 December 2013. http://therebelpress.com/articles/show?id=2