Racism in Modern Southern America: Causes and Impact

Since the land was first “discovered” in 1492 by Christopher Columbus, racism has played a huge part in America’s past and present, and more than likely, future as well. While many would claim that racism in “virtually nonexistent” in today’s society, they are exceptionally misguided. The existence of racism in the South specifically is still undeniable, even in 2015. The causes of racism in the modern South can be boiled down to two things: fear and ignorance.

Most will agree that racism has its roots in fear, but fear of what exactly? According to linguist and cultural critic Noam Chomsky, “American culture is imbued with fears that African Americans will someday repay the violence and oppression that has marred their history in this country”

Humans are, by nature, power-hungry, and will often resort to any means necessary to achieve their ends. Hidden in the pursuit of power is fear, and the yearning for power to eliminate the fear. The more afraid one is, the more control they will pursue in order to feel safe. This logic remains at the core of hate-groups such as the infamous Ku Klux Klan. “Thus the Klanspeople have built a life upon their fear along with all of the others who are not in the Klan but who hold onto racist practices because of their fear of what will be lost if change comes into their lives” (Meeks). People in general tend to not handle change very well; they are steadfast in their ways. While racism is generally frowned upon, it persists because people are afraid of the world working any differently than it is already. “Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering” (Lucas, "Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace"). When people are afraid, their fear will begin to penetrate their very being and will soon become their sole motivator. These people are then liable to resent the fact that they are afraid and proceed to perform a drastic deed. If they are unable to eliminate their anger, it will eventually evolve into the hate of the thing they once feared. By this logic, the hate displayed by those deemed “racists” is caused by fear, no matter the justification for said fear, the pain of the victims

This in itself is not bad, but when people fail to allow their views to be changed, these preconceived notions become harmful. This type of prejudice or "pre-judgment", based on ignorance, is an expected response to racial, social, sexual and other forms of differences, because all human beings tend to prejudge others on the basis of limited knowledge, whether they realize they are doing it or not. Hence we are all prejudiced, and practically none are exempt from this bias. The majority of prejudice in society stems from ignorance of other groups and their culture and social condition. Due to the existing structure of American society, that is to say the de facto segregation found in most social circumstances, many Whites have next to no first-hand experience concerning Black communities. This de facto segregation prevents different racial or ethnic groups from intermingling and gaining perspective from one another, thus perpetuating the ignorance, which adds to the attitudes of prejudice. The sole solution to this ignorance is through education and awareness of their actions the possible consequences. Until society is educated, racism will continue to