Prejudice can be defined as any preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience, 2. Harm or injury that results or may arise from some action or judgment, and due in part to the First Amendment, which gave all Americans the rights of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition, many Americans believe they have the right to verbally judge anyone and whatever they appear to be suitable, to any extent. However, these same Americans underestimate the impact that prejudice can have on a person's body and mind because as we all know, prejudice grows. Prejudice can also affect all phases of life: the past, the present and the future. Maya Angelou said: “Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future, and makes the present inaccessible. Hundreds of years ago, when slave owners saw African Americans, they saw fear. Fear of what would happen to the white population in the United States if African Americans were finally given power. That's why African American slave owners were seen as heathen, uncivilized, incapable of achievement, incapable of succeeding. This is why African Americans were denied the right to vote, the right to representation, and the right to marry. But it was these pagans who created monumental inventions: Fredrick Jones' air conditioning (1949), Richard Spikes' automatic transmission (1942), Charles Drew's blood plasma bag (1945), Henry T.'s cell phone. . Sampson (1971), the toilet by T. Elkins (1897), the dryer by GT Sampson (1862), the elevator by Alexander Miles (1867), the fire extinguisher by T. Marshall (1872), the gas mask by Garrett Morgan (1914), the Burridge and Marshman typewriter (1885), and the list goes on. Prejudice c......middle of paper......things they can't understand. Maya Angelou said, “Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future, and makes the present inaccessible.” Yet the First Amendment gives all Americans the right to verbally prejudice anyone or anything they see fit. For America to create a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, we must as a nation eliminate prejudice. This does not mean removing the First Amendment, it means that the American people should look to other people who are different, to other people of a different race, to others with different thoughts, interests, desires, needs, motivations, strengths and weaknesses, as Americans and not as aliens, enemies of the existence of the United States.