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a post racial society essay
a post racial society essay
a post racial society essay
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America, home of the brave and land of the free. Considered one of the richest countries in the world, and a place where equality, the pursuit of happiness, greatness is evident in each person living in the US. All great characteristics that may seem true to persons outside of the United States, however it is far from what is really the case in America. This thriving and accepting post-racial America is the same America that abolished slavery yet till the day, still conducts in bias and discriminative activities that goes against how America is perceived. Since the 2008 Election, there has been discussion of a new era in America: a post-racial society. According to proponents of this idea, race no longer matters. Slavery was abolished in 1865 but was 2008 really the end of racism for our so-called “Post Racial” America? It is safe to say that not only does race still takes a huge toll of the progression of our nation but our America is far from post racial.
Everything in this country has to include race so that there could be bias opinions. If race really does not matter anymore then how come it is always a factor when it comes to education, scholarships, politics, etc.? The federal government, that supposed to fund all schools, funds schools “with an abundance of minorities and poor students over $2000 less than other schools” (Bob Feldman, 358). The excuse for this difference in funding is that the government gives more money to the schools that “perform better academically”, however this is just one of the many ways that America is indirectly keeping racism alive. A plethora of people could argue that this country is post racial because we have our first black president in office for on his second term, which is true. We do hav...
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...ous. Nobody realizing the indirect forms of racism and how race is clearly still a problem is one of the reason why this movement into a post racial is hard to accomplish now. The more and more this country becomes more aware of the controversies and how race is still affecting us, the easier it would be to make this change.
Because of all the different instances where America indirectly proves racism to be evident, we definitely do not live in a post-racial America. Race is constantly brought up and referred to in a bunch of aspects of American society. The progression of America cannot happen unless we not only acknowledge that race is still a problems but also not bring it up as much. No action is being taken unless something occurs and is why we are unable to move to a more complacent and post racial America. To reiterate, we do not live in a post racial America.
As a nation, we have made great strides at improving race relations, but this does not mean that racism is extinct. As was pointed out in the class lecture on the Civil Rights Movement, many things have improved, but the fight for civil rights should be continuing as there is still oppression in operation in our own State as was made clear on the issue of suppressing voter rights. Racism is not born into mankind, racism is taught. This shows that if hate can be taught, then love and respect for others can be taught also.
...So the question still remains, has American society really come that far in race relations and where do we go from here? Martin Espada answers the question by illustrating the intense level of racism experienced by a minority living in modern society. The civil rights movement did make positive changes for the African-American community on various different political and social levels. However, racism needs to be broken down to its smallest components, which are the individuals who support and teach racist attitudes. The family itself is the basic unity of society. Therefore, the only way racism will be completely eliminated on a social level is if it is stopped on the individual level. Treating racism as a social phenomenon will provide short-term solutions, but will not treat the virus of hatred perpetuating its continued existence in our society today.
Although the United States have come a long way from slavery, we still have a long way to go where people can begin to feel no prejudices, which will probably never happen. Unfortunately, racism still exist and is still a major issue in culture and politics, it has taken a back seat to intellect and
Since the election of President Barrack Obama in 2008, many people have started to believe that America is beyond racial inequalities - this is not the reality. Rather, we, as a society, chose to see only what we want to see. Discrimination is still rampant in our nation. Michelle Alexander explains that since the Jim Crow laws were abolished, new forms of racial caste systems have taken their place. Our society and criminal justice system claim to be colorblind, but this is not the actuality. Michelle Alexander explains:
When speaking about the topic of race even today, it is a sore subject among all Americans. The history of race in America has been a long and trying road, one that most Americans tend to ignore and attempt to gloss over. The book, How Race Survived U.S. History by David Roediger, goes into great detail about how discrimination towards others that we deem different than us has always been in American history, and shows no sign of going away anytime soon. In fact, Roediger states that, “race-thinking will survive and in new destructive permutations” (230). The main points of the book include that: race was gradual, discrimination was not only against those of African descent, and that progress has only
Despite the fact the 1800s was two centuries ago, racism is still persistent in the 21st century. Even with the election of the first black president, Obama is biracial, yet he is still recognized as black. Many black Americans thought racism would cease to exist with Obama in office. The color of skin and race still lives on, after all the United States is multicultural. As in the 1800s, racism had astronomically effects on society; nonetheless American citizens have more laws and agencies to safeguard against racism. Remember, slavery is a part of America’s history and it can’t be erased like an error. Harriet Jacobs wrote, “There are wrongs which even the grave does not bury.” Despite the abolishment of slavery, racism has simply adapted to the changes within society.
The article “Reality or Rhetoric? Barack Obama and Post- racial America” (Love and Tosolt 4) focuses on the impact that Obama’s election had on racial segregation in the country of the United States of America. The article seeks to identify whether or not President Obama’s ascent to the presidency is the beginning of a new post- racial era. The argument raised is divided into two portions. The first argument for discussion raised is that the acceptance of Obama as the president shows tremendous progress in the fight against racism. The other discussion point raised argues that it simply provides a different outlook to the public on the matter of racism and that no action of change has truly occurred. The article analyses the basic reaction of people of various backgrounds, races, age, gender, and professional interests. The article highlights the dynamics and main elements of each respondent. This approach provides an understanding of the aspect of racism and its interpretation from a vast variety of various individuals with
From its first utterance in 2008 to herald the rise of Barrack Obama, the concept was misguided and delusional.” I somewhat agree with what the author is saying about race, but not completely because the actual definition of “Post-Racial” literally means “after race” or that race does not exist. Like Mr. Capehart I believe a post-racial society is not realistic; that there will always be differences between cultures, no matter what steps, precautions, or measurements you take to eliminate the racial tensions. However, I am not saying that we cannot greatly diminish the tensions and prejudices, and therefore I disagree with Mr. Capehart. The way race is viewed needs to be changed. If you are able to change the way people view and look at race, you can reduce racial tensions and racial inequalities. Changing the way people view race is no easy task and doesn’t happen overnight. I believe it’s a long process that will be difficult and will be met with opposition. Racism is the root of the problem. I found this point brought up in the article, “The Fallacy of a ‘post racial’ society” to be very interesting, “The racist and anti-Semitic hate group…” called the Ku Klux Klan, that is known for, “…white sheets, cross burnings, and has a history of other
Since 1619, when the first slaves were brought to North America, race has played an important role in everyone’s life; especially those who are different from what people would consider “American”. According to the textbook, “race is defined as any group of people united or classified together on the basis of common history, nationality, or geographical distribution” (pg. 59). People are placed into different categories instead of all being considered human beings. Although we do not have slavery, that we know of, in the United States today, this does not mean that race is still not an issue. However, race in this country has taken a turn over time and has now, “taken on a meaning that refers to differences between people based on color” (pg.
The United States of America was formed on the basis of freedom for all, but the definition of “all” is very arbitrary. Racial adversity has been an ongoing factor throughout the United States’ history. However, from 1877 to the present, there have been many strides when trying to tackle this problem, although these strides were not always in the right direction. All the books read throughout this course present the progression of race and race relations over the course of America’s history.
Throughout the history of the country, America has been considered a fairly racist union. From the workplaces to the society, as an Asian, I felt there's a strong barrier between white and black people, although I felt a little bit of racial among us. In this essay, I will talk about the major racial issue of this country through out my experiences.
Looking back at the history of United States in the 1800s, clearly racism was everywhere, and slavery was a major part of society. In the 1900s, racial discrimination still played a major part in society as White Americans were given the rights which includes right to vote, schooling, employment, or the right to go to certain public places. Colored people, did not have the equal rights and freedom as White Americans, especially African-American who back then were turned into slaves. Despite the fact that formal racial discrimination was largely banned in the mid-20th century, this issue of racism still exist even in today's society. The problem with society is that stereotypical views of various races still play a role, like when people always
A post racial society is a society where racism and prejudice no longer exists. Barack Obama is the first African American to be the president of the United States. Some believe that since he was elected, there is no more racism and that we are now living in a post racial society. Although we have a black leader, racism still exists in many ways. While we have a black president, we are not living in post-racial America considering the existence of white privilege, the wage gap, and inequality in education.
In the history of the United States, there has always existed the issue of race and how to balance out racial differences in America. The issue of race has made an impact on every part of this country including the field of education. The issue of desegregation and how to balance out schools to even the field for all students to comply with the Fourteenth Amendment and rulings such as Brown v. Board of Education has indeed been a challenge for American society.
Laws describe that there is should be no difference between any citizens of America in regards to their race or color. As a country, the United States has seen many presidents in the office and their policies have set a definition of their success in the history; Barack Obama, the current president of the United States and the first African-American to lead the free nation, has been respected and criticized as “Magical Negro”. Obama 's presidency is a sign of post-racial America, but it is not accurate to say that racism has not played a role to elect him as a President? Seitz claims, “ a widespread sense that replacing George W. Bush with [Obama] would send a definitive signal that it was time to rebuild, toward a post-racial [society]. It was an absurd hope… deep down [Obama] wants ‘us [whites]’ to succeed, is happy to help ‘us’ succeed” (Seitz 359). An African-American has the power to lead the most powerful country in the world, but his leadership and success depend on other white people 's success. Obama has the power, but he is portrayed as a servant of whites who needs a mentor. At the end, he will be considered just a slave of whites. Obama 's presidency is constructing a racist and stereotypical popular culture. Although there have been many changes and reforms in the laws, African-Americans have faced many obstacles in America. Omi states, “the United States was a society shaped by