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Race and ethnicity in America
Race and ethnicity in sociology
Trayvon martin analysis
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Recommended: Race and ethnicity in America
Introduction
The uproar, investigation, and subsequent prosecution of the person involved in the shooting of Trayvon Martin feature in the study. Racial identity and racism are the major themes that form the basis of the investigation and data collection and analysis. The problem of racism is rampant in the American society hence the need to study it to find a solution.
The aim of the researchers is to explore how African Americans reacted to the fatal shooting of the victim and examine differences in intragroup regarding of their reactions as envisaged in the Black racial identity cluster profiles. By knowing how people react to such incidents, it would be possible to know how to deal with families and friends of victims.
The problem is clearly
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The study by Sha’Kema and Thomas (2015) sought to examine Black racial identity in the wake of the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin. Among the elements used in analyzing the relationship were emotional reactions and distress of the black community following the shooting. The study found out that a majority of the respondents cited various reactions and responses when they first heard about the shooting.
The researchers also give the implications of the study. According to Sha’Kema and Thomas (2015), “It is critical for counselors to understand that vicarious experiences of racism can have a deleterious effect on the functioning of African Americans, though such reactions are normative.” Counselors can play a critical role in helping people to explore their perceptions of others concerning race and to understand their views on race relationships. The results of the study will influence the American society in a positive way. Since the shooting of Martin led to anger and the feeling of unsafe, it is an opportunity for citizens to ask themselves questions about their relation with one another. The U.S., being a democratic country, will follow the path of peace, love, and
It is commonly thought that one has to struggle in order to be black. Black people tend to have a stronger sense of group identification than any other racial group in the United States. The question is whether or not this is helpful or detrimental to the black population. In “Promoting Black (Social) Identity” Laura Papish criticizes Tommie Shelby’s We Who Are Dark. Shelby argues that the black population’s sense of group identity is vital to furthering their collective political agenda. Shelby believes that best way to make sure that their political ideologies are cohesive is for black individuals to have a “thick conception of black identity” (Papish 2).” Having a thick sense of black identity calls for “ African Americans think of themselves as and act as a ‘nation’ constituted not by physical borders, but by a shared ethnic, cultural, or biological trait that imbues the community with a ‘general will’ and this “ will” typically includes political motives (Papish 2). Papish argues that it not part of the duty of a black person to have any sense of loyalty or solidarity with other African-Americans and that not doing so does not make them any less black than those that choose to have a thick sense of black identity. Those who don’t grow up with a strong black group identity in their lives are just as black and go through some of the same struggles that other black people do. In the video “Black Like Who?” Debbie Reynolds did not have a strong sense of blackness because she was raised in a white neighbor. The other ladies in the short film talk about how they thought that she had a “ real problem with [her] ethnicity like [she] had a problem with the fact that [she] born African-American (Reynolds). This along with the documentary on Lacey Schwartz show that a person’s sense of blackness is very much a product of what others around them define blackness as. However, it is not clear
Ogbu, John. "Collective Identity and the Burden of "Acting White" in Black History, Community, and Education." The Urban Review (March 2004): 1-35.
Racism is not only a crime against humanity, but a daily burden that weighs down many shoulders. Racism has haunted America ever since the founding of the United States, and has eerily followed us to this very day. As an intimidating looking black man living in a country composed of mostly white people, Brent Staples is a classic victim of prejudice. The typical effect of racism on an African American man such as Staples, is a growing feeling of alienation and inferiority; the typical effect of racism on a white person is fear and a feeling of superiority. While Brent Staples could be seen as a victim of prejudice because of the discrimination he suffers, he claims that the victim and the perpetrator are both harmed in the vicious cycle that is racism. Staples employs his reader to recognize the value of his thesis through his stylistic use of anecdotes, repetition and the contrast of his characterization.
Today there are many controversial subjects discussed throughout the media. One of the most discussed is race and the Black Lives Matter movement. Recently, I came across an article titled “The Truth of ‘Black Lives Matter’”, written by The Editorial Board. The article was published on September 3, 2015, to the New York Times. In the article, The Editorial Board writes about what they believe African Americans are facing as challenges in society today, including the all-too-common police killings of unarmed African-Americans across the country. The Editorial Board is right that some African Americans have been treated unfairly, but all ethnicities have been. Life is a precious thing that comprises all ethnicities. This brings us to ask; why
Many people claim that racism no longer exists; however, the minorities’ struggle with injustice is ubiquitous. Since there is a mass incarceration of African Americans, it is believed that African Americans are the cause of the severe increase of crimes. This belief has been sent out implicitly by the ruling class through the media. The media send out coded messages that are framed in abstract neutral language that play on white resentment that targets minorities. Disproportionate arrest is the result of racial disparities in the criminal justice system rather than disproportion in offenders. The disparities in the sentencing procedure are ascribed to racial discrimination. Because police officers are also biased, people of color are more likely to be investigated than whites. Police officers practice racial profiling to arrest African Americans under situations when they would not arrest white suspects, and they are more likely to stop African Americans and see them as suspicious (Alexander 150-176). In the “Anything Can Happen With Police Around”: Urban Youth Evaluate Strategies of Surveillance in Public Places,” Michelle Fine and her comrades were inspired to conduct a survey over one of the major social issues - how authority figures use a person’s racial identity as a key factor in determining how to enforce laws and how the surveillance is problematic in public space. Fine believes it is critical to draw attention to the reality in why African Americans are being arrested at a much higher rate. This article reflects the ongoing racial issue by focusing on the injustice in treatment by police officers and the youth of color who are victims. This article is successful in being persuasive about the ongoing racial iss...
The topic of the book is how black America is on the wrong path and how it needs to be fixed. One of the problems that are stated in the book is the cultural of blackness treats victimhood not as a problem to be solved but an identity to be nurtured. Separatism is also a problem that encourages black Americans to see black people as superior, which the rules other Americans are expected to follow are suspended out of a belief that victimhood lets them be exempt from them. The author sought to accomplish getting black America back on track. He suggests that it will require some profound adjustments in black identity.
In the Trayvon Martin case, the media frames the situation in a certain way. The media framed the story to drive up ratings, not necessarily for the truth. According to the eText in Module 2, framing is defined as “the idea of agenda setting in the sense that it suggests not only that media can tell us what topics to think about, but also may influence how we think about a given issue or problem depicted in mass media” (Module 2, The Importance of Mass Media). Framing also refers to the techniques mass media uses to emphasize certain values and themes over others. One of the techniques used to frame this case is dueling scenarios, according to the Orlando Sentinel Series article, “Dueling Scenarios.” The dueling scenarios, or competing viewpoints
Racism is a common and ancient social problem in the U.S.. African Americans spend many years on solving the problem. From the Emancipation Proclamation to the Civil Rights Movements, they consistently fought against racism and gradually gained the justice and rights. During that time, many famous people were born, such as Martin Luther King. Because of their efforts, nowadays, even the president of the US, Barack Obama, has African American blood. However, racism becomes a headline in the news again recently. In the past few months, protests have happened in many big cities like New York and Washington. African Americans went on the street protesting against the discipline of the police department. They claimed that they
In Pack-Brown’s (1999) article, the relationship between racism, White racial identity, and White counselor training was investigated. Racism is an attitude, action, or system that discriminates against a person or groups of people based on the color of their skin or by their physical features. Racial identity is the sense a person has of belonging to a specific group of people and the sense that the group shares a racial heritage. For White counselors, racial identity development involves the fostering of a healthy White racial identity and sense of self as a White person. According to Pack-Brown, knowing one’s own racial identity is crucial to ethical counselor training (1999).
“ An additional fifteen percent said they knew of a family member who had been treated unfairly by the police because of race.” (Marcello). Marcello basically mentioned that racism, inequality, and police brutality is still happening all around the board. “One in two millennials believe America 's criminal justice system is unfair, and few believe that protests triggered by the killings of black men at the hands of police will make a significant difference.” (Marcello). Police brutality towards African Americans, especially men, has triggered anger and violent rages throughout cities such as Ferguson, Staten Island, etc… because of the unjustified killings. Black men are being targeted, by law enforcement, and it is not fair because the mean inequality in the justice system towards African Americans is taking place because of
Presently racism in the U.S. is presented through the media’s portrayal of the shooting of African Americans by police officers. This racism can be found in the racial bias that is obvious in media in the present day. In the video “Terence Crutcher’s Police Shooting & Racial Bias in America” by The Daily Show, Trevor Noah mentions that we are “ living in a society where racial divisions are so deeply baked into every part of society that we don’t even notice them anymore” (The Daily Show). By stating this Noah is showing that the racial bias that is shown in many news interviews and media forms is often overlooked and quite often already present. Another example of the racial bias that is set in most Americans can be found in the video “A White Audience is Left Speechless Racism in America” when a lady asks the audience to stand up if they would want to be treated the way African Americans are treated in society. The lady responds to her audiences lack of standing by stating the obvious fact they they are aware of the situation and they do not want that to happen to them, then she asks why they “are so willing to accept it or allow it to happen to others” (YouTube). This shows the fact that people are aware of the way that African Americans are being treated because of racial bias however because the way they are treated is so normalized people aren’t
To prevent these discriminations’ from transpiring again we need to stop people’s prejudices of African Americans. Prejudice can be defined as biologically similar people who hold strong beliefs that cause them to discriminate another object (Pearson). Prejudices start from the home in which the child and raised in and continually grows until that child reaches adulthood, and then the cycle continues and is passed on from generation to generation. To stop the cycle of prejudice and go on toward the goal of equality, we can eliminate the stereotypes that destroy others perceptions of African Americans, by making it known we are all one race- the human race. African Americans should not be defined by their complexion but rather the good they have brought to the world. Letting it be known that we are all equal and should be treated in that respect.
Racism can take on many forms that plague the brain with irrationality that affects an individual’s thoughts and actions. Racism can be a physical form, through an external action, or can branch off into unethical thoughts. This is more known to be a discriminative thought, judging a person based on impressions. This social problem can also be ignored by the oblivious persons of the crowd. Many individuals speak out about how racial tension is long gone and forever forgotten ever since the first African-American was elected to be president in 2008, but this can be evidently proven false. Racial tension is still here to target the minorities in the forms of affirmative action and Ferguson conflicts.
Whenever people discuss race relations today and the effect of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s, they remember the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He was and continues to be one of the most i...
The oppression that African American individuals endured for years, is still being practice with racial discrimination and prejudice. One strength of identifying as African American is the increase of belongingness that gave me the ability to share and live amongst individuals with the same physical appearance and in some cases, the same obstacles. However, this was not always the case. Growing into an adult gave me the advantage to travel and meet other African Americans that I believed shared some of the same historical and ethnic background. In this time period I was introduced to what is called within-group differences, which is the differences among the members of a group (Organista, 2010). Wanting to be around individuals that I believed to have a common core with was one of my flaws, but while traveling with individuals that I thought was like me I experienced that I had nothing in common with some of my travel friends. One of my friends stated that we had nothing in common with each other, because of our different social economic status, education and employment. At first I was offended, however, after taking psychology of ethnic groups in the United States there was a sense of understanding that not all individuals that look alike, are alike. This assumption that all groups function