I grew up knowing my great-great grandma who was born in 1906. She would tell me about how she grew up when I was a child. She would tell me about how her family went through racism at its prime. She was the lightest member out of her family almost blending in with the whites. Therefore, she had to go to town to sell their food to the markets because it was too dangerous. She told me about hangings and murders that went unsolved, but everyone knew who did it. She taught me that my skin color had more importance than I knew at then. When she passed away, I remember holding a poem she wrote never forget who you are. I learned that the world consisted of ignorance, hatred, and no honor. In the 1960s, the Civil Rights Movement made the white society come to accept the black community. The Supreme Court has prepared laws making the minorities’ equal. These laws do not change the views of who is dominant in this country. I believe racism is here to stay because through the teachings in this world, whites are dominant and minorities are not.
Let me introduce the words that have put this country to shame. Racism means the ill will toward other races and expresses that ill will in speech or action (Zack, 2006). Prejudice means injury or damage resulting from some judgment or action of another. Stereotype means a derogatory idea about all members of the group, regardless of individual difference (Zack, 2006). These three words have existed for a long time throughout history causing mayhem within the races only leading to institutional racism. Institutional racism means formal practices and traditions in social organizations that harm some racial groups or deny them the same opportunities as other racial groups (Zack, 2006). Therefore, an e...
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...of black ancestry or nonwhite ancestry has a special kind of imperfection on mixed races (Zack, 2006). Hence, Obama lives by his black ancestry; regardless, he is seen as an imperfection of his mixed racial heritages. He takes in the aspect of ethnicity. This leads to my other reason his strong beliefs into the black culture. He has married a full African-American woman even though raised by a white woman. He celebrates his love for black history by throwing festivities. He learned his black culture and with his physical traits. He can be accepted to the community as a black president.
References
Cone, J. (1991). Introduction In Martin & Malcolm & America: Dream or a Nightmare (pp. 1-18).
Yamato, G. (n.d.). Something about the subject makes it hard to name. In Race and Racism (pp. 90-94).
Zack, N. (2006). Thinking about race. (2nd ed.). Thomson Learning, Inc.
Review of James H. Cone's Martin & Malcolm & America: A Dream or A Nightmare
As a nation, we have made great strides at improving race relations, but this does not mean that racism is extinct. As was pointed out in the class lecture on the Civil Rights Movement, many things have improved, but the fight for civil rights should be continuing as there is still oppression in operation in our own State as was made clear on the issue of suppressing voter rights. Racism is not born into mankind, racism is taught. This shows that if hate can be taught, then love and respect for others can be taught also.
Tindall, George Brown, and David Emory Shi. America: A Narrative History. New York: W.W. Norton Co., 1997.
It would be ignorant to say racism does not exist till today. There is almost a complete 100 year difference between the reconstruction period and the Civil Rights Movement for equal rights to the Black society. While slavery took time to vanish in the south in those hundreds of years, segregation was pushed harshly, laws we 're enacted to prevent Blacks from having certain privileges that whites had. Segregation almost seemed to kick the Blacks out of the society we live together in. The Jim Crow laws had made efficient work in separating the Blacks from the Whites in society, and it took the Civil Rights movement in 1964 to finally bring more equality to the African-American society. However, the Ku Klux Klan and still other organizations had existed and continue to exist despite efforts to bring equality. There is a strong social equality for the Black population in America today, but because of hate organizations and discrimination still existing today, black lives are being lost through murder, and even in forms of police brutality. Take for example the L.A riots in 1992 from the beating of Rodney King, or going back to 1967 the Detroit riots which tore apart these cities. Today Black Lives Matter movements exist to crush out racism in society so people no longer have to live in fear, and it is an existing movement that I think will actually fade as generations in the future work to build up society, and racism will become a thing of a past. There is however, always going to be something that causes prejudices and hate in society if not directed to one group of people. Even today if racism disappears between blacks and whites, prejudice occurs between cultural people here in America. These problems exist mainly in America, and it is socially slowing us down from advancing as a
Wilkins, Roger. “Racism.” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 572 (2000): 159. Sage Publications, Inc. Web. 25 Mar. 2014
Omi, Michael, and Howard Winant. "Racial Formation in the United States." 1994. The Idea of
Despite all these accepted images of successful black people "selling" the idea that the color of a person's skin is irrelevant, racism still exists and will forever exist in America. It is a never-ending phenomenon that is ingrained in American life. Racism is America, just as America is built around the idea of racism. As the civil rights activist and scholar Derrick Bell would say, "Racism is an integral, permanent, and indestructible component of this society." He proclaims that no matter what blacks do to better their status, they are doomed to fail as long as the majority of whites do not see t...
Sellin, Thorsten. "Race Prejudice in the Administration of Justice." American Journal of Sociology 41.2 (1935): 212. Print.
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.
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.
Obama emotionally influences the nation to move forward from the issues of race that is hindering America. Without dwelling on his family tree, Obama reminds us that his father was black and his mother white, that he came from Kenya, but she came from Kansas: “I am married to a black American who carries within her the blood of slave and slave owners — an inheritance we pass on to our two precious daughters. I have brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, uncles, and cousins, of every race and every hue, scattered across three continents, and for as long as I live, I will never forget that in no other country on Earth is my story even possible.
Marks, Jonathan. “Great Chain of Being.” In Encyclopedia of Race and Racism, ed. John H.
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.
Blum, Lawrence. I'm Not A Racist But: The Moral Quandary of Race. New York: Cornell University Press, 2002. 5
Racist and racism are provocative words in American society. To some, they become curse words. They are descriptive words of reality that cannot be denied. Some people believe that race is the primary determinant of human abilities and capacities and behave as if racial differences produce inherent superiorities. People of color are often injured by these judgements and actions whether they are directly or indirectly racist. Just as individuals can act in racist ways, so can institutions. Institutions can be overtly or inherently racist. Institutions can also injure people. The outcome is nonetheless racist, if not intentional (Randall).