Racial Inequalities and Tension

1338 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: impact on civil rights

After centuries of fighting, protesting, and labor, the fight for equality seemed to reach a conclusion. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 brought an end to segregation and promoted full equal opportunities for not only African Americans but other ethnicities as well. America elected Barack Obama as its president, allowed certain months to represent cultural awareness, and immigration numbers augmented. However, regardless of the fact that the country becomes increasingly diverse by the day and heavy, racial social boundaries no longer exist, racism, prejudice, and stereotypes still exist. “The problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color-line” (McQuade 391) says it the best; racial and ethnicity still remain underlying causes for conflicts and many other national issues as said in the text. Supporting its own claim, the text refers to the essay “This is how we lost to the white man” by Ta-Nehisi Coates to reemphasize the racial tensions and differences existing in today’s society. Combining researched articles and the text resources, strong evidence of racial inequality and tension still exists to this day.

Coates’ article “This is how we lost to the white man” provides Bill Cosby’s viewpoint on the subordinate order of blacks to whites. Coates attended one of Cosby’s speeches at a small Detroit church and listened as he preached to the audience. More specifically, Cosby targeted African American males in his speech, due to the fact that a substantial amount of them abandoned their responsibilities as fathers. Cosby starts the speech by ensuring African American equality; he attempts to convince they crowd that “We are not a pitiful race of people” (447) and he spent the entirety of the speech convincing change. Cosb...

... middle of paper ...

...cial motive in Tulsa killings - CNN.com." CNN.com - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 May 2012. .

H. Ted Denney, et al. "White Privilege Awareness And Efficacy To Reduce Racial Inequality Improve White Americans' Attitudes Toward African Americans." Journal Of Social Issues 68.1 (2012): 11-27. Academic Search Premier. Web. 4 May 2012.

McQuade, Donald, and Christine McQuade. Seeing & writing 4. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2010. Print.

Takeuchi, Craig. "Reported hate crimes decline in Canada while studies explore roots of homophobia, racism." Straight.com: Vancouver's Online Source . N.p., n.d. Web. 4 May 2012. .

Show More
Related

  • Civil Rights Dbq

    1239 Words  | 3 Pages

    “There must be the position of superior and inferior” was a statement by Lincoln which formed the basis of discrimination towards black Americans as it highlighted the attitudes of white Americans. Although civil rights for black people eventually improved through the years both socially and politically, it was difficult to change the white American view that black people are inferior to white people as the view was always enforce by the favour of having “the superior position assigned to the white race”.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of White Privilege Unpacking The Invisible Knapsack

    775 Words  | 2 Pages

    Growing up as an African-American you are always taught to be twice as good. Twice as good as the white people to receive the same treatment as them. I grew up hearing this same phrase constantly but never really understood exactly what it meant until I got old enough to actually see the kind of world we are living in. The author of the article, “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” Peggy Mclntosh, took as step into shoes of black America and found that white privilege not only exist, but many whites are blind to it. She gives a clear argument about how white privilege is harmful to our society and how we can work together to fix this.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Audre Lorde And Brent Staples

    661 Words  | 2 Pages

    America have a long history of black’s relationship with their fellow white citizens, there’s two authors that dedicated their whole life, fighting for equality for blacks in America. – Audre Lorde and Brent Staples. They both devoted their professional careers outlying their opinions, on how to reduce the hatred towards blacks and other colored. From their contributions they left a huge impression on many academic studies and Americans about the lack of awareness, on race issues that are towards African-American. There’s been countless, of critical evidence that these two prolific writers will always be synonymous to writing great academic papers, after reading and learning about their life experience, from their memoirs.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of White Privilege Unpacking The Invisible Knapsack

    852 Words  | 2 Pages

    Peggy McIntosh wrote this article to identify how her white privilege effects her life. Each statement is written as a privilege that Ms. McIntosh does not need to consider or fear as a white woman. From financial credibility to national heritage, this article makes a valid point regarding the way white people can be arrogant and naïve when the same treatment is not being given to their neighbors, coworkers, and peers. There can be two responses when reading this. The first would be a person of color. They will appreciate the attempt at realization of what white people take for granted. The second would be the reality that smacks the white people in the face when they realize how true all 50 statements are. Once this begins to sink in, many will start to broaden their competence realizing the unfair treatment of the people in this world. Moving down the timeline, we can see how the acknowledgement can mend broken relationships. Owning the reality and doing something to change it can give the people of different races the treatment they deserve (McIntosh,

    Read More

  • W. E. B. Dubois Thesis

    617 Words  | 2 Pages

    After slavery ended, many hoped for a changed America. However, this was not so easy, as slavery left an undeniable mark on the country. One problem ended, but new problems arose as blacks and whites put up “color lines” which led to interior identity struggles. These struggles perpetuated inequality further and led W. E. B. Du Bois to believe that the only way to lift “the Veil” would be through continuing to fight not only for freedom, but for liberty - for all. Others offered different proposals on societal race roles, but all recognized that “double consciousness” of both the individual and the nation was a problem that desperately needed to be solved.

    Read More

  • Mass Incarceration In The Age Of Colorblindness By Michelle Alexander

    2147 Words  | 5 Pages

    Since the election of President Barrack Obama in 2008, many people have started to believe that America is beyond racial inequalities - this is not the reality. Rather, we, as a society, chose to see only what we want to see. Discrimination is still rampant in our nation. Michelle Alexander explains that since the Jim Crow laws were abolished, new forms of racial caste systems have taken their place. Our society and criminal justice system claim to be colorblind, but this is not the actuality. Michelle Alexander explains:

    Read More

  • Essay On Microaggressions

    1062 Words  | 3 Pages

    Eduardo Bonilla-Silva and Sue both demonstrate from their research that Whites do not comprehend the impact of their unconscious biases. These biases towards students of colour in a white-based post-secondary school environment can result in stress and weak interracial relationships. This is an issue since the significance of these everyday actions is not fully recognized and acknowledged. I will elaborate on a variety of examples, specifically the influence of the peers, and faculty.

    Read More

  • The Myth Of White Privilege

    1845 Words  | 4 Pages

    With all of these facts, the author tries to prove that racial differences and privileges appear exaggerated and unrealistic. The privileged and less privileged exist at all levels of society. Duke wants white people to understand that they are in the same position as all other races. The awareness of “white privilege” is only a fallacy that causes feel of guilt without foundation.

    Read More

  • Perceptions and Unrest in Miss Columbia's School

    1436 Words  | 3 Pages

    The debate on race inequality in America cannot go on without analyzing the past history of America. The mindset of some Americans is still inclined to the old believes on the skin color segregation. There are still divisions in America on whether all races are equal or not. In the recent past, the riots in Boston have shown that still the cases of discrimination are still rampant in the United States despite the enormous efforts by many lobby groups to adjudicate for respect of race. The handling of the residents of the United States in the crime scenarios is also questionable despite the fact that America welcomes immigrants of all origins. This is an indication that the full intentions of the desires of the Eisenhower, President Reagan, and Senator Obama have not fully yielded fruits. The recent events on the debate on biases on Muslim immigrants, policies, laws, Arab Americans assimilation and domestic terrorism worsens the racial discrimination. It can be concluded that America still has to play more in fighting the racial discrimination. The history of America in confronting and resolving the issues of racial discrepancy empowers America to dictate morality in the modern world. This can be evidenced by the tremendous efforts of some of the American renowned leaders in confronting the inequality vices. Every nation focuses more on the future than the past so as to deal with the current situation than dwelling more on the past outcries. America has the necessary power required to harness the racial inequality. This enables it to champion the efforts of eradicating this

    Read More

  • History of American Race and Racism

    804 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Racial Formation Essay

    986 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the United States, racial relations have changed drastically over a relatively short time period. In Racial Formation in the United States From the 1960s to the 1990s, authors Michael Omi and Howard Winant present several viewpoints on evolving and differing racial theories while presenting their own findings and theories that have resulted from years of study and observation. They believe the present and past theories on race and racial definitions throughout history, individually, are severely inaccurate when applied to modern day and “[fail] to capture the centrality of race in American politics and American life” (p. 2). They argue that race is much more complex than how it has been presented and offer up their own theories in order to rectify previously believed notions of race.

    Read More

  • Summary Of White Like Me By Tim Wise

    1272 Words  | 3 Pages

    Tim Wise’s book White Like Me provides a picture of what it is like to be white in America. A main topic covered in White Like Me is white privilege. On pages 24 and 25 Wise illustrates what white privilege is and shares his opinion regarding how to address white privilege in society today. Wise’s plan for addressing white privilege is one not of guilt, but of responsibility, a difference Wise highlights. The concept of feeling guilty for white privilege lacks reason because white privilege is something built up through generations and its existence is not of any one person’s fault.

    Read More

  • Essay On Racial Identity

    1185 Words  | 3 Pages

    In a time rife with class, gender, and racial tensions, it can be easy to lose sight of just how much progress has been made in these relations in recent years. Only ninety-four years ago, women were granted the right to vote with the passage of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution. It was only fifty-two years ago that the 1964 Civil Rights Act guaranteed equal rights, such as the right to vote, to black Americans. In particular, perceptions of racial identity have evolved drastically. Throughout time, people’s perception of racial identity has changed as racism developed due to the economic potential of a morally corrupt system, then evolved as the moral implications of slavery were viewed to outweigh the economic benefits, and finally has shifted to a new type of racial identity and racism based on national identity.

    Read More

  • The Murder of JonBenet Ramsey

    1811 Words  | 4 Pages

    Web. The Web. The Web. 28 Feb. 2014. Hoggart, Simon.

    Read More

  • The Struggle for Freedom Among African American Citizens

    1390 Words  | 3 Pages

    Diversity, we define this term today as one of our nation’s most dynamic characteristics in American history. The United States thrives through the means of diversity. However, diversity has not always been a positive component in America; in fact, it took many years for our nation to become accustomed to this broad variety of mixed cultures and social groups. One of the leading groups that were most commonly affected by this, were African American citizens, who were victimized because of their color and race. It wasn’t easy being an African American, back then they had to fight in order to achieve where they are today, from slavery and discrimination, there was a very slim chance of hope for freedom or even citizenship. This longing for hope began to shift around the 1950’s during the Civil Rights Movement, where discrimination still took place yet, it is the time when African Americans started to defend their rights and honor to become freemen like every other citizen of the United States. African Americans were beginning to gain recognition after the 14th Amendment was ratified in 1868, which declared all people born natural in the United States and included the slaves that were previously declared free. However, this didn’t prevent the people from disputing against the constitutional law, especially the people in the South who continued to retaliate against African Americans and the idea of integration in white schools. Integration in white schools played a major role in the battle for Civil Rights in the South, upon the coming of independence for all African American people in the United States after a series of tribulations and loss of hope.

    Read More

More about Racial Inequalities and Tension

Open Document