Modern Racism in the Justice System and IRS

According to Tarman & Sears (2005), modern racism can be defined as the contemporary belief, or schema, of prejudice toward African Americans. These beliefs may include that African Americans are morally inferior to Caucasians and that they do not exhibit traditional Caucasian American values such as hard work and independence. These held schemas may mask prejudice and discrimination toward African Americans. Through masking, Caucasians are seen to be able to maintain their “status quo” - e.g. the Justice System and the IRS. It is my belief that the mentioned institutions were built in such a way to benefit Caucasians more and African Americans less through the use of its functions. I believe modern racism is no longer based on blatant acts but instead through social and political issues. According to Sears and Henry (2008), modern racism can be characterized as an expression or endorsement of four specific schemas and they are as follows: 1. African Americans no longer face any prejudice or discrimination, 2. the failure of African Americans to progress can be explained by their unwillingness to work hard enough, 3. African Americans are demanding too much too fast and 4. African Americans have gotten more than they deserve.

As compared to the Jim Crow Laws, modern racism is more subtle and indirect. It is safe to say that modern racism develops through socialization and people may sometimes not be aware of this. Thus, a person with modern racist schemas may be genuinely against racism and believe in his heart that he is not a racist, when in theory this could be misleading. The impact of modern racism in our society has been shown to be catastrophic not only to African Americans but to other minorities as well. Modern ...

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...but instead the new form or adaptation it has taken for it to be socially acceptable.

Based on my theory and IAT results, I have two recommendations that I believe will reduce racism in this country. First, we need to confront our cultural norms that house the schema of racism. In order for us to accomplish this, we need to thread racist issues into the fabric of our society – i.e. make it a priority in our political agenda. Second, we need to continue making steps toward diversity, such as we have already done. Many universities offers scholarships to those who are of a distinct race to diversify its institution. I believe we should generalize this concept to fit the government sector. I believe as long as Caucasians hold power in office, in numbers, our country will not truly reflect how diverse we really are since they are more minorities than the majority.