Racism And Discrimination In The Media And Social Media

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Many believe that over the last 15 years, the human race has been able to move past racial differences and come together as one species. It is believed that in the 21st century, all races are seen as equal and not discriminated against, and that concepts like White privilege do not exist. Anthropologist Ken McGrew conducted fieldwork in Coldville, Wisconsin, and wrote that expressing racist views is not acceptable in this city. He also noted that White people in Coldville refuse to believe in racism (2008:121). Anthropologists Rosemarie Roberts, Lee Bell, and Brett Murphy report on the experiences of youth in the New York City education system.

With social media being one of the most efficient ways to disseminate news, stories of unfairness towards people of color have been brought to light and commented on by many. The recent social media theme titled “#BlackLivesMatter” has been both positively and negatively received. This hashtag was created in response to the violence shown towards hundreds of Black people in the Southern states of America. Despite the fact that Black people were being targeted, many people, particularly White people, attempted to change the hashtag to “#AllLivesMatter”. While it is understandable that people would want to include all races, it is important to recognize that this change took away from the Black people that the hashtag was originally intended for. This highlights the degree of White privilege that Anglos have, as even when Black people of all ages were, and still are, being shot to death, White people shifted the focus away from the issue and onto themselves. It is not that White people did such a thing that shows White privilege, but rather that they were able to do so.