Race relations are always a scary or uncomfortable topic for people to discuss amongst groups of different ethnicities and racial identities. It is a long standing tradition in the United States to walk a fine line and use politically correct terms in the above mentioned setting but to feel perfectly comfortable to speak freely when in a setting surrounded by likeminded people who share similar political affiliations and race. This is the main reason discussions surrounding the idea of race are too often avoided in today’s school systems and in society in general. If we are to encourage our students and children to be free thinking future citizens of our global society, we must first become one ourselves. The only way to accomplish this …show more content…
Although it would be an injustice to say that one could sum up the entire history of race interrelations in the United States in one essay, a brief overview is always beneficial. Because we are only human, our history is a crazy bumbling mess “filled with ironies and unintended consequences, paths not taken and opportunities missed” (Cottrol, 2013). Historically white people have oppressed people of color from the moment we first ran into them during European exploration. It was not until a few hundred years later that African Americans were able to have a common enemy in The Jim Crow Legislation of the American South. This is the first time we see large masses of people of color coming together to fight for their rights (Cottrol, 2013). A direct effect of this fight was Affirmative Action, legislation that allowed some equality in education and the work place. This scared white people because it made the job market more competitive. This in turn caused white Americans to claim that “their” jobs were being “stolen” simply because they were white (Fine, Weis, Powell Pruitt, Burns, 2012). There is a long history of anger and mistrust between white Americans and Americans of color, some justified and some
Racism in politics seems to be a primary topic that has grabbed the attention of the public due to the fact of people waking up and noticing the problem. Originally after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, in 1870 the first black U.S. senators were elected to office. Then after those few senators, there was a long time where none were elected. Racism still has not disappeared, even after multiple attempts to stop it. In politics today, lawmakers consider many movements such as “Black Lives Matter” and even consider these movements in the presidential candidate debates. Needless to say, this conversation would be nonexistent if racism was not in politics.
On May 24th 2016 DePaul University, a prominent and private university in Chicago, Illinois, garnered some negative media attention for what can only be described as a fiasco. A student organized event, by the university’s College Republicans group, was violently interrupted and brought to a halt when Black Lives Matter protesters barged into the room the event was being held in. The point of contention, speaker Milo Yiannopoulos had made DePaul a stop on his Dangerous Faggot Tour.
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.
Racism, and discrimination, remains very predominate in America today. There are many authors who addressed this subject matter but the three chosen to discuss are W.E.B. Du Bois, Richard Wright, and Gunnar Myrdal. Their interpretations of the subject matter in America are similar in some ways and vary in other ways. The first author, Du Bois, indicated how the facts of American history in the last half century have been falsified because the nation was ashamed of its actions. The second, Richard Wright, depicted the interactions between white and black people, and the third, Gunnar Myrdal, discussed the essential points of race relations in America. All of these writers discuss their perspectives on the history of American race. The study of the American race has been ongoing many years. Even though some factors have changed, there is still an underlying division in America.
Minorities, such as African Americans, have been oppressed for hundreds of years, dating back to the time our country was formed. Affirmative action doesn’t only mend the wrongdoings of the past, but helps fix wrongdoings in the present and future. Job applicants with white-sounding names get called back twice as much than applicants with ethnic-sounding names, even when they have the same exact resumes. This is due to systemic racism. Systemic racism is based on the fact that the “United States was founded as a racist society, and thus embedded in all social institutions, structures, and relations within our society.”. This means, that throughout history, white people have been favored by government and other institutions while minorities have been oppressed. Black Americans make up thirteen percent of the world’s population, but only hold 2.6 percent of the world’s wealth, while white people make up seventy seven percent of the population and hold ninety percent of the world’s wealth. A black female’s median wealth is $120 compared to a white female with $41,000. This wage gap is absolutely shocking and only possible because of systemic racism. Redlining is an example of a discriminatory policy. Redlining is the practice of banks and real estate agents turning away minority families from predominantly white neighborhoods. This is an example of institutionalized racism. The practice of redlining led to the kind of job you
Everyone in their lifetime have been ignorant to other race at least once in their lifetime. This comes from the stereotypes of each race. Such as “ all black people eat watermelon and love fried chicken” or “ all Latinos are immigrants and work for little pay”. Without having experience with other race, individuals tend to stick to with what they know and confront people with knowledge based off of stereotypes. Stereotypes were meant to categorize others and [put down] various racial identities. I believe they we 're made to make it [easier] for individuals to have categorizes. Your brain tend to group things so you no longer need to consider information about each individual member of the group.The term “acting white” has been around for
On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King gave his famous “I Have a Dream” Speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. He proclaimed his vision of a United States where black and whites were treated as equals. The citizens of the United States have elected a black president, but the nation still has a long way to go. Racial profiling is a problem that affects many minority groups. I will never forget when a security officer accused me of trying to steal a purse. Just because I am an African American female does not mean I can’t afford to buy a coach purse. I felt inclined to explore this issue after my experienced because I never want my child to go through the humiliation of being followed when shopping and accused of shoplifting. Racial profiling
“E pluribus unum”- Out of many,one. This motto is stamped on the Great Seal, and it symbolizes a united country with united people. However, it seems as though there are still divisions between citizens. Being the melting pot of the world, throughout time, there has been tensions between people of all color in America. Although progression has been made to appeal to all parties, is racism actually over yet? Some argue yes, racial segregation is basically non-existent; however, others believe that there still remains a fine line between the equalities of minorities and the dominating group. People need to realize that there is still blatant racism in this country, and because the trend of incidental racism exists today, many people object the
According to Opposing Viewpoints Online, Racism is “a prejudice or an animosity against a person or group of people who belong to a different race”. Many Americans wrongly assume that the problem of racism is no more simply because our president is a Black man. These are the same Americans supporting the confederate flag, screaming All Lives Matter, and battling blackness through LCD screens.
Do you know how/what it feels like to be a target? A target by society and a target of the ones who is supposed to protect you. They are targeting you based on your race or your skin color. Hence, you have a lot of questions why they are always targeting you. “Why? Why am I a target? Why are they targeting me?” is the abiding question of young men of color today. We all know how huge an issue Racial Discrimination is in America, mainly back in the mid-20th century. The most prominent issue was the racism of African-Americans. Many people have said that society has changed, Racial Discrimination has been long gone and that issue was addressed. Although apparently it is still evident in the eyes of people who are still experiencing it. Racial
Since the colonization of what was to become the United States of America, the injustice of racial prejudice has been a prominent characteristic of this country. As a result, Blacks and other Americans of color are often, if not always, victims of racial profiling and despite many efforts to achieve racial equality, prejudiced mindsets have remained with some people well into the 21st century. Consequently, this has prompted many Blacks to go to questionably extreme measure to protect their children from potentially becoming another casualty of racial discrimination. Many have chosen to just ignore the problem, however the reluctance to speak out against racial injustices only shows weakness among Blacks and other Americans of color.
This article gives insight on the race of students. The article talks about how not talking about race is actually not good for them, that children will learn on their own to judge people on the color of their skin. It gives insight that talking to the children about race and about treating everyone equal would be the best move overall. Some studies have shown that students that have been talked about race have better attitudes about race than those who don't have their parents talk about it. Although if they don't talk in enough detail then it wont work a study proved that if the parents talk too broad by using everybody's equal does just as much damage as not saying anything at all. The article shows a study of how students no matter their
A large problem in America has always been racial issues and still continues to be prevalent in our society today. The United States likes to boast its reputation as a “melting-pot” as many cultures, ethnicities, and backgrounds are mixed together, yet the country still continues to isolate individuals based on race. In the constitution, it says that everyone is supposed to have equal rights and liberties, yet after over 200 years, many minorities still struggle to obtain the same respect and equality that their white counterparts have always have. Laws should be created to enforce equality and justice for racial groups.
Part of human nature is judging something by what surrounds it even if it is another human. Think of a community that has every color, every race, every religion, and every kind of person that community however, doesn’t value each other to some point which causes a problem, a problem that we call racism in today’s era, a problem that needs to be eliminated because it allows a gap that shouldn’t exist in our society. Our society must understand that it isn’t okay to discriminate someone for how they look or what they believe in or what color they happen to be, specifically speaking to those who aren’t smart enough to realize that discrimination isn’t making any change for the better nor is it allowing certain groups in the community to advocate
Have you ever been discriminated because of the race you are? Are you considered suspicious to the cops because of your race? Many people are oblivious to the fact that everyday a black person is being discriminated because of racist policemen. In general, today 's society treats blacks poorly and assumes that they are violent and always up to no good. It is not fair to them for not getting the same advantage in education as us because they don 't look like us. You can 't judge a person’s character by their race. Racial profiling is considered unconstitutional and has a huge impact on how white people interpret blacks actions. We should all be brought up equal and not stereotyped of the worst. If anything, whites should be supervised too because