Racism in America Today

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“Racism can be defined as beliefs, attitudes, actions or behaviors that are based on phenotypic characteristics or ethnic affiliation”(Patcher, 2010). Racism is a struggle that, to this day, has continued to be a major issue. The color of someone’s skin alters how a person is perceived by society as a whole. Race is a social construct created by humans to categorize the world. (Ponds, 2013) The outlook on racism varies from community to community, family to family, and even person to person. Skin color can alter all aspects of an individual’s life, because unlike internal differences and beliefs, skin color is a physical appearance. Social status, perceptions, roles, occupation are just a few of the aspects of life which can be affected simply by a person’s physical differences. It was not that long ago that one’s appearance could dictate even basic rights and freedoms. Many believe that the United States is a colorblind nation or is tolerant of people's race. Racism may go unnoticed by those who believe that it is a thing of the past, but to the people who are directly impacted by racism, it continues to be a major problem today.

This is nowhere more evident than the treatment of African Americans. It may have started with the extremes of slavery, but unfortunately it did not end with Emancipation. American Press poll says whites believe that the Civil Rights movement accomplished most of the goals it was set out to do. (Gallagher, 2008) Whether measured by income, opportunity or even the likelihood of incarceration -- Africans Americans face many challenges based primarily on the color of their skin. (Nagel, 2011) Blacks, as well as other minority racial groups, are discriminated against in society th...

... middle of paper ...

...hat would have done me a lot more justice now that I am a college student.

Works Cited

George Jr.,H. (2013). Racism Without Rasicts: Color-Blaind Racism, and Racial Inequality in Contemporary America. Western Journal Of Black Studies, 37(1), 63-67

Gallagher, C. (2008). America's New Racial Doxa: Incidental Racism. Conference Papers--American Sociological Association, 1.

Nagel, M. (2011). Anti-Black Racism, Gender, and Abolitionist Politics. Peace Review, 23(3), 304-312

Ponds, K.T. (2013). The Trauma of Racism: America's Original Sin. Reclaming Children & Youth, 22(2), 22-24

Patcher, Lee. "Preceived Racism and Discrimmination in Children and Youths: An Exploratory Study." National Association of Social Work. (2010): 60-70.

Zimmerman, B.J. (2002). Becoming a self-regulated learner: An overview. Theory into Practice, 41(2), 64-70

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