Oh, Is There Still Racism?: Systematic Racism in American Society
The lack of awareness among society surrounding racism is a problem of great proportion. Everyday people go on with their daily routines, unaware of the discrimination and inequalities around them. A lot of the time those who are unable to recognize these injustices are people in positions of power who are not affected by them. While these issues may not directly affect them, that does not negate the fact that they still exist. After centuries of progression within the United States many people have been led to believe that racism is a thing of the past, failing to acknowledge its undermining presence in people of color’s everyday lives. Racism still runs rampant among American
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People in positions of power often look at the different perks they get as something normal that everyone gets which allows them to not think about race. Society is no longer in a state of active racism, a state in which racist acts are more blatant and intentional, it is in a state of passive racism, a state in which racism is more ingrained into people’s daily lives. A lot of the benefits white people enjoy are considered normal, something they do not have to think about. This kind of privilege furthers racism because it gives certain groups of people unfair advantages or disadvantages based on their race. It is interesting to point out that some of the most prominent institutions for systematic racism, like the housing industry, do not disadvantage white people. While people of color are regularly getting denied housing loans that coincidentally force them to stay in the same bad neighborhoods, white people are moving into nicer homes throughout the country and gentrifying urban neighborhoods. This society definitely helps a certain group of people; it is just not as easy to identify. The simple things white people are not asked to think about are the things that get them ahead in …show more content…
In the eyes of the beneficiary that is not a problem, so there is no incentive to change it. Among one of the main points she puts out is the belief that one has to be white in order to be considered American. To exemplify this believe she
The famous anti-racism activist Tim Wise once said “The irony of American history is the tendency of good white Americans to presume racial innocence. Ignorance of how we are shaped racially is the first sign of privilege. In other words. It is a privilege to ignore the consequences of race in America.” White Privilege is commonly defined as “a set of advantages and/or immunities that white people benefit from on a daily basis beyond those common to all others.” (What) As White americans living in the United States, you never really pay any attention to the fact that there is a racial “smog” (Marks) living among us in everyday life and you really never realize how it affects the people on the other end who don’t receive this ‘privilege’. White privilege shapes the world we live in by how we go about and interact
I completely agree with her people have different “advantages” based on their skin color. However, if white people had less advantage than I would assume that oppression would also decline, leading to possible equality. McIntosh provides a list that illustrates how white privilege has impacted her life. “I did not have to educate our children to be aware of systemic racism for their own daily protection (Shaw, Lee, 88).” As an Arab American, my parents would constantly tell my siblings and I that we had to be careful saying “wrong” things about the government. In Dearborn, we do not really face many obstacles considering there are a lot of Arab Americans, however, as soon as we are out of Dearborn, we face constant glares, and derogatory comments, and sometimes even physical violence. In educational system it is usually given in account of white people. For instance, “as a white person, I realized I had been taught about racism as something that puts others at a disadvantage, but had been taught not to see one of its corollary aspects, white privilege, which puts me at an advantage (Shaw, Lee,
Many of the privileges that white people have are unnoticed as they have become such a daily part of life that not even people of color notice these privileges sometimes. Because of the portrayal of the typical person of color in media, institutional racism continues to exist, and it continues to bring out the hate and the fear of other races in people. In order to fight this injustice, people need to be made aware of these things, and as the studies have shown, awareness to white privilege
White privilege is a concept that many people are unfamiliar with, but not because they do not benefit from it. In the paper “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” by Peggy McIntosh argues that white people have an advantage over those of other races, though most are completely unaware of it or simply take it for granted. Her recognition of white privilege came from the concept of male privilege. She says that she looked at that concept and realized there was certainly something similar to it in regards to race (McIntosh, 1988, 11). This paper has great importance to the function of society. Because many white people do not recognize their unfair and disproportionate advantage in society, racial tensions can rise even more because there is a major wall blocking people from fixing the current issues.
The history of the United States is one of duality. In the words of the
White privilege has the potential to be referred to as a social privilege, or simply just a human right, if individuals, as well as communities, would educate themselves instead of settling for oblivion. Individuals need to learn how to steer away from ignorance and stereotypes towards races that are not their own, and become familiar with different ethnicities that are also entitled to those privileges. Moreover, a statement that widely affected me while reading this article is how the word ‘privilege’ can be misleading. She described some of the conditions of white privilege as factors that work toward disempowering or overpowering certain groups. “Such privilege simply confers dominance because of one’s race or sex,” (Mcintosh, 38). This statement struck me because it proves that the term “white privilege” is used to make the white race the most dominant in comparison to other races. I find white privilege misleading because we usually think of privilege as a favoured state, but in reality, the term here is used to claim supremacy over all
It is unknown how long North America has been occupied. There were certainly people on the land far before Christopher Columbus alighted in 1492. However, the United States’ history shows a lucid feeling of dominance emanating from Europeans as they moved in to the New World. As time passed and the people who resided in North America change, it becomes evident that white Americans were exceedingly racist and not very accepting towards those who were not like them. Three groups in particular, Native Americans, African Americans, and the Chinese, faced hardships as the United States issued policies against these groups and changed their lives.
While browsing through articles on the internet, I came across many related to the topic of racism. I am beginning to feel as if I am surrounded by stories of racism. From the KKK’s aggressive campaign against immigrants, to the police violence against black people in cites throughout our nation, racism and discrimination continue to be problems. One story stood out to me and continues to make me uncomfortable. Malachi Wilson, a five year-old boy, could not attend his first day of kindergarten in Seminole, Texas. What could he have done to warrant the principal’s rejection? His hair was simply too long.
“…Everybody jumped on him, and beat him senseless… Everybody was hitting him or kicking him. One guy was kicking at his spine. Another guy was hitting him on the side of his face… he was unconscious. He was bleeding. Everybody had blood on their forearms. We ran back up the hill laughing… He should have died… He lost so much blood he turned white. He got what he deserved…” (Ridgeway 167). The skinheads who were beating this man up had no reason to do so except for the fact that he was Mexican. Racism in this day and age is still as big of a problem as it was in the past, and as long as hate groups are still around to promote violence, society is never going to grow to love one another.
Racism (n): the prejudice that members of one race are intrinsically superior to members of other race (Wordnet search, 1), a controversial topic in today’s society, a subject that many people try to sweep under the rug, but yet a detrimental problem that has been present in America since the colonial era. Will this dilemma come to a halt? Can all Americans see each other as equals despite their skin color and nationality; and what role has it played in past generations versus today’s generations and how will it affect our future? Has this on going way of thinking gotten better or worse? These are questions raised when many think about the subject; especially members of American ethnic groups and backgrounds, because most have dealt with racial discrimination in their life time.
While racism is usually more easily recognizable by way of comments, social isolation and stereotyping, there is another divide that many don’t recognize and that is white privilege. White privilege, also referred to as white skin privilege, is when white people are granted certain rights, privileges, positions, courtesies, etc.…over those of a different race. This is often seen in political, educational and social environments. This impacts social inequality by adding to the existing differences in social experiences and/or statuses that results in people having unequal access to valued resources, services, and positions in society (Kerbo, 2012). Throughout history white privilege has suppressed the advancement of African Americans.
Racism is the mistreatment of a group of people on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, place of origin, or ancestry. The term racism may also denote a blind and unreasoning hatred, envy, or prejudice (Dimensions of Racism). Racism has had a strong effect on society. Despite the many efforts made to alleviate racism, what is the future of African Americans' Racism's long history, important leaders, current status, and future outlook will be the main factors in determining how to combat racism. Racism is still present in many societies, although many people are doing their best to put an end to racism and its somewhat tragic ordeals.
When looking back at our country during the civil rights movement, many people are appalled at how people of color were being mistreated and hated for so long. In our society, today, people like to pride themselves in not being racist and being accepting of all different races and cultures. Although people like to think that they are not racist and that our society is entering a “post-racial” phase, the truth is that we are all somewhat subconsciously racist and to think that we will ever become a post-racial society is unrealistic. People may not believe that white privilege is a real issue but the truth is that it is real and it is happening in our country more than ever. Sadly, race still plays a huge and important role on how you are treated and looked at in this country, there are still people in our society who treat others differently simply because of how they look and because of the color of their skin.
Dating back to the beginning of times people have always been looked at different depending on the color of their skin or what your religion, race, or beliefs may be. It is in our human nature to not like people for certain things that they are. Many will argue that in this day in age we are no longer at a race war but how can you be so sure when you actually open your eyes and see reality. Rapper Kanye West once said “racism is still alive, they just be concealing it” and these words are everything but false. You must ask yourself the real question about racism and it is how could you ever cure such a thing in people’s minds? People are free to think and believe what ever they would like and old habits such as racism will never change in people.
Black youths arrested for drug possession are 48 times more likely to wind up in prison than white youths arrested for the same crime under the same circumstances. Many people are unaware how constant racism has been throughout the years. It is important to understand the problems of racism because it is relevant to society. Racism in America is very real and Americans need to know it.