Historically, racism divided the American society into two separate groups with the notion of white superior and black inferior. Therefore, White Americans were granted all the privileges and rights and denied all other races. Supremacy of White Americans is the main reason for the rampant racism towards African Americans and against all Asian Americans including my own ethnicity of South Asian Muslims in American society.
African Americans have been treated badly throughout the American history and till today, there is racism against African Americans in our society. There is a discrimination against them in all aspects of life. They have a long history of slavery before King Martin Luther and Civil Rights movement. After the civil rights
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But the main reason behind the failure of African Americans is the structural barriers not Asian Americans. Housing and criminal justice showed how structural racism and racial stereotypes kept Africans Americans away from reaching the education and income goals comparable to whites (Simms, 2018, para-3- Structural racism disadvantages). African Americans had limited access to decent and affordable housing. Because of that, they were not able to build wealth and gain access into high-quality neighborhood services such as education. Therefore, less than half black households owned houses compared to about three quarters of white households (Simms, 2018, para-1- Housing disparities). The different treatment towards black people compared to whites in schools, police, hospitals, and other institutions created many problems for them. For example, more than one third of people in federal and state prisons are black, which is about three times of their total population (Simms, 2018, para-1-The Criminal Justice System). In order to remove the racism from our society, we must need to stand against it. I envision my responsibility as an American Citizen towards other ethnic groups who faces racial discrimination in America is to spread the education of equal rights and freedom. We should treat everyone equally regardless of race, color, or gender. Also, we can raise our voices against inequality, racism, and discrimination because remaining silent will not help us to solve the racism issue from our society. To make this country strong, we must eliminate the economic inequality from our society. This can be achieved by offering equal employment opportunities regardless of age, color, race, or gender. I strongly believe we can reduce the discrimination and racism against African Americans and all other ethnic groups from our society by educating our
Even though we have witnessed a portion of Black people rising up such as Barack Obama, Lebron James, there are still a lot of Blacks suffering from enfranchisement, torture, and double standard of law. Being a developed and powerful country, the issue of racism is worth noticing. The critical part of the issue is that law seems ineffective to protect poor Black people. That’s why so many Blacks are powerless when bullied by people like police or associations like Ku Klux Klan. So it is crucial to consolidate the law to keep Blacks’ personal rights from being violated. Besides, we need to stress the education of Blacks, especially those in poverty. One of the reasons why Blacks have been treated unequally to Whiles is because they did not contrite as much to the nation as Whites, and education inequality could partially account for this result. Being more powerful is more likely to be respected by others. Thus. Shrinking the gap of education quality between the Black community and White community could alleviating
Racism is defined as the idea that one's own race is superior and has the right to dominate others or that a particular racial group is inferior to the others. Why feel superior if God created everyone equal and there is not one inferior. Over the history there has been many cases of racism. An example in history is Henrietta Lacks, her eyes still young and playful not knowing she had a cancerous tumor with a multimillion- dollar of immortal cells inside of her. She was one of many persons who experienced racism. The novel of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot addresses her life has an African American. The racism theme is prevalent in the novel and it shows the fact how African Americas were treated by white people.
Morton explains that political, institutional, and structural factors lead to the segregation of poverty in minority communities because of their lack of access to educational and health service, reliable public transportation, and job (Morton 275). Morton recognizes that the achievement gap goes much deeper than the education realm and she believes
Let’s begin with racism, which dates back to as far as humans can remember. “It may be defined as the hatred of one person by another -- or the belief that another person is less than human -- because of skin color, language, customs, place of birth or any factor that supposedly reveals the basic nature of that person. It has influenced wars, slavery, the formation of nations, and legal codes” One of the most known acts of racism was the enslavement of Africans in the new world. This racism was a result of the racist belief that black Africans were less human than white Europeans.
For Example According to Dinesh D’Souza whites refuse to hire African Americans and work with them. Today we see a lot that occur and continues that way. As Dr. Ellis mentioned in class the Europeans wanted to colonize the rest of the world which includes America. Which can explain why whites have a fear of African Americans advancing. In the American society almost everything/anything is based on racism. Race influences a lot decisions made in the U.S. “Minorities are underrepresented in our elite universities, and therefore opportunities to serve in top policymaking or policy-analytic positions (and opportunities to serve in positions that enable one to acquire the knowledge, experience, and contacts to qualify for top positions) rarely go to minorities.(Ron Mincy, Is racism
America has been the site of discrimination in race for years. The Black Codes were laws each state came up with on their own that limit certain rights, prevent them from voting, and keep the black slaves under white control. Even after the Black Codes ended, a new way to keep African-Americans unequal came up. The Jim Crow laws were a series of laws passed in order to keep African-Americans unequal from white Americans. Every state had their own form of the Jim Crow laws. African-Americans used to be treated very poorly by the rest of the United States. They were still treated as though they were slaves until the end of the Jim Crow laws. Even after that, southern states still attempted to keep African-Americans from being equal to the rest of Americans. Taxes were put up in order to vote, which kept African-Americans from doing so because most were very poor. They still did not have equal opportunity in the work force either. African-Americans were not the only ones being treated like this either. Native Americans and Hispanics were treated the same way that African-Americans were. The United States used to treat immigrants inadequately.
The history of African-Americans has been a paradox of incredible triumph in the face of tremendous human tragedy. African-American persons were shown much discrimination and were treated as second class citizens in the colonies during the development of the nation. The first set men, women, and children to work in the colonies were indentured servants, meaning they were only required to work for a set amount of years before they received their freedom. Then, in 1619 the first black Africans came to Virginia. With no slave laws in place, they were initially treated as indentured servants, a source of free labor, and given the same opportunities for freedom dues as whites. However, slave laws were soon passed – in Massachusetts in 1641 and Virginia in 1661 –and any small freedoms that might have existed for blacks were taken away (“African American Slavery in the Colonial Era, 1619-1775”). Legislation later allowed laws permitting the act of slavery in the colonies and the areas under the Royal Crown. For example, in 1661 the Barbados Slave Code was passed by the colonial English legislature to provide a legal base for slavery in the Caribbean island of Barbados. This law allowed slave owners the right to do anything they wished to their slaves, including mutilating them and burning them alive, without any interference from the government (“Sugar and Slaves”). From the first ship of African slaves delivered in 1619 to the Revolutionary War to the Civil War and recent history, the legacy of the men, women, and children slaves lives on in the hearts of many in the United States of America through the impact of the colonies economically, socially, and politically.
The most prominent demonstration of racism in America had to be the slave codes that were in place in all states where slavery was practiced. In “From Slavery to Freedom: A History of African Americans,” John Hope Franklin went into detail on slave codes on pages 137-138, “…these laws varied from state to state, but most of them expressed the same viewpoint: that slaves are not people but property and that laws should…protect whites.” One law stated that those enslaved could not bear arms or strike a white person, even in self-defense, but when a white person killed a slave it wasn’t even considered murder. Africans had no standing in court, they couldn’t testify or be a party to a lawsuit and their marriages were not legally binding. Raping an African American woman by her master wasn’t considered a crime either. The slave codes were designed to oppress, persecute, and humiliate blacks by the hands of the whites. With the slave codes and the eventual Jim Crow laws and any oppressive laws and segregation practiced in America, the idea of blacks being inferior was stamped into the minds of any person living in the country. African Americans were treated as subpar, they weren’t considered human beings and to this day the same belief is held unto, although not nearly as outright or not as blatant as in the past centuries. Slavery in itself is a large example of how racism is and may always be embedded into American society; blacks had to fight to even be considered citizens, be able to vote, and be given basic human rights. Though many would deny the existence of racism, the sad truth is that racism may be an ever-present concept in American society.
Racism comes in many forms ad can be expressed in many different societies in various ways. 1 The dictionary defines racism as the belief that all members of each race possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races. This definition of racism makes it clear that it is a perceived point of view that implies prejudice towards people or a person based solely on their race. Racism has been an issue in many societies for many years and still is an issue in modern society. 2 Recently in the U.S. many cases of racism towards African Americans have been shown in the media. However racism is not just a U.S. culture based issue but also a cross-cultural issue
It is hard to believe that after electing a minority president, the United States of America can still be seen as a vastly discriminatory society. A question was posed recently after a viewing of Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream…” speech of whether his dream has become a reality. After consideration, a majority of the viewers said no. Although many steps have been taken to improve racial equality in America, there is still no way to legislate tolerance. Dr. King’s message of equality for all has been lost in a black and white struggle over the taken meaning of his context. Until our society can allow all people to live in peace we will never truly achieve King’s dream. Case in point, referring to President Obama as our "our First Black President" should not be considered a statement of pride over how far we have come. Placing this racial qualifier, even in a positive light, only serves to point out his minority status, not the fact that he is the President of the United States. According to Dr. King's dream, a man or woman, black or white, would be viewed as President without qualifying their differences from mainstream America.
Throughout history, African Americans have encountered an overwhelming amount of obstacles for justice and equality. You can see instances of these obstacles especially during the 1800’s where there were various forms of segregation and racism such as the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan terrorism, Jim- Crow laws, voting restrictions. These negative forces asserted by societal racism were present both pre and post slavery. Although blacks were often seen as being a core foundation for the creation of society and what it is today, they never were given credit for their work although forced. This was due to the various laws and social morals that were sustained for over 100 years throughout the United States. However, what the world didn’t know was that African Americans were a strong ethnic group and these oppressions and suffrage enabled African Americans for greatness. It forced African Americans to constantly have to explore alternative routes of intellectuality, autonomy and other opportunities to achieve the “American Dream” especially after the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments were passed after the Civil War.
Racism against African American began in the American society during the seventeenth century, when the practice of slavery started to flourish in the South. Racism is “a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that one’s own race is superior and has the right to rule others.” (Dictionary.com) Over the centuries, efforts have been made to equalize the lives of African Americans to their White counterparts. Though acclaimed that the days of racism against African Americans are over, it is infused in all parts of American life and therefore still affecting the victimized. The stratification of racial classes of olden days has left a mark in today’s society. African American racism though said not to be present today has influenced discrepancies in economic classes, self-esteem, and perception of one another, and stereotypes that affected the victimized.
We have a long history of racism in America that has been structured to favor White people. Structural racism can be defined as, “a system in which public policies, institutional practices, cultural representations, and other norms work in various, often reinforcing ways to perpetuate racial group inequity. It identifies the dimensions of our history and culture that have allowed privileges associated with “whiteness” and disadvantages associated with “color” to endure and adapt over time”(Structural Racism, 2004,p. 11). Overt racism became illegal during The Civil Rights Movement that took place between 1954-1968 (Tuck, 2015). Although society seemed to be heading toward a more socially acceptable society, the movement enabled white people to blame the struggles black face as a character flaw. White people will believe that black people have a lot of problems because their culture is bad or they have bad values. The message they are reinforcing is that being black is inferior, and this is an example of structural racism operates. Structural racism is a system of forces that keeps people of color in a permanent second-class status, and it is the foundation of racism in our society. Society is structured in a way where the hierarchy of white people oppresses Blacks, Latinos, Native Americans, etc and has
The economy is the main reason for racism. Just by getting on social media or looking at the news, you see those degrading African Americans. Obama was a pretty good president but everything he did or his family did, the economy made it seem like he was the worst president ever or that he was not doing his job. In the economy it is harder for African Americans to find jobs than it is for whites. Blacks look for jobs longer and a sometimes more aggressively than whites do and they are 44% less likely to get hired for the job even when they are just as qualified. Today they have a law that jobs cannot discriminate on who to hire just because of their race or ethnicity, and even though that’s a law some jobs still discriminate, they just use a different reason to why they could not hire you. Other races have heard so many stereotypes and stories about African Americans and they also grew up being taught certain beliefs which become part of the
Racial discrimination towards colored people “Racism” which is a curse for some people and for some people, it is a way of treating people badly. In our modern society, some people do racial discrimination towards people by justifying their race or cultural background which includes someone’s physical presence, hair type, the color of eyes and skin, height, etc. There are some people who want to stay or live with similar groups who look alike, who have the same belief, almost same economical situation, same interest or language which sometimes creates racism. Back in around 1800 or before, racism was worst. For instance, during that time black people or colored people had to suffer tremendously just because of their skin color or identity.