tsg2011:

Native American people are holding cupcakes in a room.

White people enter the room, and each get to take a cupcake from a Native person.  Then, they kill the Native Americans, and corral the remaining empty-handed Native Americans into a corner.

Then, they go into another room and force black people into the white (formerly Native) room.  They make the black people bake more cupcakes, but they can’t eat any of them.  They are also not paid wages for baking the cupcakes.  Further, they are not allowed to buy any cupcakes for themselves.

After some time, the black people are allowed to receive payment for the cupcakes they bake, but only a little, and first they have to request a loan to acquire the necessary ingredients and to use the ovens owned by the white people.  Thus, in reality, black people are now paying to bake the cupcakes, which they still cannot eat.

Meanwhile, some Asian people ask to enter the room, but the white people don’t want to let them in, so they only allow a small number.  If any of them succeed in purchasing cupcakes, the white people resent them.

As time passes, the black people gradually acquire increased freedom in their cupcake-making decisions.  Some of them make enough money to buy a cupcake, but many do not.  Within a very short time, the white people start asking the black people why they don’t have more cupcakes of their own.  They don’t understand why black people don’t have as many cupcakes as them.  After all, everyone now has the equal opportunity to purchase cupcakes.

Then, some Latino/as come into the room, and the white people agree to let them sweep up the cupcake crumbs for low wages.

Some white people think maybe the price of cupcakes should be lowered for the black, asian, latino, and native american groups, but the other whites complain that this isn’t fair, and that cupcakes should cost everyone $1.  They worry that someone will steal their cupcakes.  And if any non-white people manage to purchase cupcakes, they feel deeply that this must represent an injustice.