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Brief history of racism in america
Essay on racial inequality in america
Essay on racial inequality in america
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America is supposed to be a safe haven for numerous races, cultures, and classes; but rather than celebrate these differences, there is a large number of people that discriminate and judge. On the other hand, there is an even larger number of people that appreciate others for who they are. But just because there will always be hateful people, America will never achieve true racial and social equality. There are many people that say we already have equality, and, yet, there are still considerable differences between the rights of Caucasians and all the other races within the United States. Pew Research Center states, "Roughly six-in-ten (61%) say that our country needs to continue making changes for blacks to have equal rights with whites,
rights and not just wait for the white men to see them as equals because they never will as long
America has always been a country with different cultures, races, and people. Only, not everyone has been accepting of different kinds of people. A persons thoughts on another person can differ depending on a person's race, gender, or age. In Harper Lee’s, To Kill a Mockingbird, racial equality is nonexistent. The African Americans were treated like they weren’t people, and were totally isolated from the Maycomb, Alabama society. America will never achieve true racial and social equality because people are ignorant, have a history of being prejudiced, and are unjust.
In today’s world, the American still has barriers to overcome in the matter of racial equality. Whether it is being passed over for a promotion at the job or being underpaid, some people have to deal with unfair practice that would prevent someone of color or the opposite sex from having equal opportunity at the job. In 2004, Dukes vs. Wal-Mart Stores Incorporation was a civil rights class-action suite that ruled in favor of the women who worked and did not received promotions, pay and certain job assignments. This proves that some corporations ignore the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which protects workers from discrimination based on sex, race, religion or national origin.
Furthermore, race has always been a serious matter in the Supreme Court and other government administrations, but they fail to recognize the issue. The injustices that minorities had to deal with in the past are the same inequalities that minorities, especially African Americans, still have to face in today’s society.
As Americans we believe that we all are treated the same, but is that really the truth? As a heterosexual white female I personally have never faced the brunt of being judged for whom I am, but as a friend with people of different races and homosexuals I have seen and heard of how “equal” we really are. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin. Since this law has been passed many things have changed but I firmly believe we have not one the fight against civil rights. When hearing the words civil rights many people automatically think of racism but if you read the Civil Rights Act of 1964 it does not just state race but it also clearly states religion, sex, of national origin. So where are we in the fight of civil rights?
Democracy stresses the equality of all individuals and insists that all men are created equal. Democracy does not persist on an equality of condition for all people or argue that all persons have a right to an equal share of worldly goods. Rather, its concept of equality insists that all are entitled to equality of opportunity and equality before the law. The democratic concept of equality holds that no person should be held back for any such arbitrary reasons as those based on race, color, religion, or gender. This concept of equality holds that each person must be free to develop himself or herself as fully as he or she can or cares to and that each person should be treated as the equal of all other persons by the law. We have come a great distance toward reaching the goal of equality for all in this country, but however close we are we are still at a considerable distance from a genuine universally recognized and respected equality for all. I will go into more details giving more information and making it clear to understand equality and civil rights for all and it affects everyone.
Equality has been one of the more problematic throughout the years. For example, when people owned slaves and before men and women were made equal there was no sense of equality through all people. Recently there has been a battle for more equality towards African-Americans. They believe that they are not being treated the same as white people, so they have been standing up for what they think is right. African-Americans feel as though white people are treated better than they are and want things to be equal between the both of them. This has been a very long issue, going back all the way to when people still owned slaves, so there has never been that sense
It was an ongoing issue even after the slaves were emancipated and the amendments 13, 14 and 15 were added to the constitution. “...struggles to secure federal protection of these rights continued during the next century.”(“American civil rights movement.”Clayborne Carson). Due to the fact that abolishing racial inequality was a difficult task, there were Civil Rights leaders that led the Civil Right Movement in the 1960’s. The term “De Facto Segregation” means racial segregation in public schools, which was a major issue that arrived during this time period. Slaves were freed, meaning that they were given to (or at least were supposed to) the same rights as the whites. Due to Jim Crow laws, people with colored skin were equal but separated from the whites. There was different seating in public transportation, different restaurants, different bathrooms, etc. Colored people were given the same rights but white people refused to share anything in public with them, including school. This became a major issue and at one point was brought to the Supreme Court. In the Brown v. Board of Education case, judge Marshall stated that “...separate school systems for blacks and whites were inherently unequal, and thus violate the "equal protection clause" of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.”(“History-Brown v. Board of Education Re-enactment” United States Courts). The court declared that having segregated schools was unjust. In 1964, the Civil Rights Act was passed, a law that prohibited discrimination on the basis of sex or race when hiring, promoting or firing people. In 1965, President Johnson signed the Voting Rights law, prohibiting any racial discrimination in voting. America seemed to be on the right path during this time and equality was on its way, luckily with help from certain leaders the process was
Ani Turner, a Co-director at the Altarum Center for Sustainable Health Spending, wrote an essay called “The Business Case for Racial Equity” that provides an economic impact analysis that offers an alternative to the neoliberal creeds of free market supremacy to “direct lives.” The study includes in its examination historical causes of poverty and inequities, such as racism, rather than the ahistorical approaches to poverty and public policy in America argued by modern economic and penal advocates. The study begins by recognizing the historical impact racial inequity has had on contemporary America, and works to “quantify [the] economic benefits” of targeting it:
Many laws have been established regarding equality, and progress has been made. I am not stating that we need to drop everything we are doing and do more towards it, but I am stating that America is lying to the people when it claims it is “equal”. In President Obama’s second Inaugural Address he stated “We are true to our creed when a little girl born into the bleakest poverty knows that she has the same chance to succeed as anybody else, because she is an American; she is free, and she is equal, not just in the eyes of God but also in our own.” As poetic as this may seem, it is unfortunately not true.
America’s racial gap is older than the republic itself, a central burden line that has shaped the country’s history. Americans today tend to believe that racial inequality is extinct, but in reality, racial inequality still exists. It exists not only against the African American race, but also against the Latino, Middle Eastern and the Asian race, just to name a few. Although individuals may have the constitutional right to be treated as equally as any individual, the underlying reality is that in most cases, they are not. This research provides critical information about what has expanded the racial wealth gap and argues approaches that will allow us to progress toward a more equitable and prosperous direction. Taking note in the areas of education, income, and unemployment is the key when analyzing some of the
Racial equality in Chicago has improved; there has been a rise in racial diversity in neighborhood migration. People of today’s generation move to where they choose. There is a desire to live in a place they seem to have the best sense of hope, and success for each individual. Racial residential segregation has declined over the years. Mainly in the last three decades (Krysan, Couper, Farley, & Forman, 2009) There was a time in the United States history where segregation was socially accepted and people only lived in areas based on the color of people's’ skin. A Raisin in the Sun takes place in the 1950’s when Chicago was discriminated about racial differences; racial tension mainly between the races of White and Black. Then versus now, the difference of race in residential migration is taken with very little consideration in the larger aspect of residentially moving locations. When the play the written racial difference was a main conflict in the story’s plot line; leading the main character of the play with racial discrimination when the plot takes them on a opportunity to a new house.
In America, we are known for our freedoms, our rights, our democracy, but what about our equality? Stated by the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the definition of equality is “The quality or state of being equal; the quality or state of having the same rights, social status, etc.” We take pride in our country as a whole, but we should not take pride in how different races, genders, and nationalities, and social statuses are treated. Individual opportunity does not exist because of color/race discrimination, racial profiling, gender inequality, and economically based
A social inequality that I would say I’m concerned with would be, racial and ethnic inequality. Racial or ethnic inequality is often established based on characteristics such as skin color and other physical characteristics, or a person’s place of origin or culture. Another meaning of racial inequality would be the advantages and disadvantages that affect different races within the Unites States. Race has become a socially constructed category capable of restricting or enabling social status. Racial inequality can lead to diminished opportunities, which can also lead to cycles of poverty and political problems. With this minority members in a society can result in discriminating actions such as; exclusion, oppression, expulsion, and extermination.
Recently there has been some complication when it comes to racial grouping. Racial issues continue to be a problem in America whether someone is too in touch with their racial background or not in touch at all. However there needs to be an in-between scenario. To categorize oneself is controversial, although it is sometimes necessary. Their minds only caring about how they fit in, people of a different race can be complicated when it comes to identifying with their racial group. Friends in groups who are made up of mostly minorities feel more comfortable being around other minorities. Usually there wouldn’t be anything wrong with that but Greg Lewis, American professor, disagrees.