Racism in America

In society there is a lot of misconception of the term racism. According to the merriam-webster dictionary members of one race are intrinsically superior to members of others race which many people would agree with. What is racism? The normal person if asked will simply reply, not liking someone for their color of their skin. Racism from my attitude which is substantiated by historically events is a system of power .Thus is a system of power i.e. to control the world and its people. Employed by Europeans to subjugate and discriminate against other groups, in particular Africans/black people. Racism is a power which ran thru a systemic way to hinder and sabotage other groups. The system is so elaborate that it almost seems nonexistence

Throughout history in America there has always been the idea of racism. When Americans think of racism, they usually think of slavery and that racism is no longer a problem in America. However, this is not the case. Racism is still very apparent in America. It is true that since the end of slavery, the U.S. has made great strides towards becoming a less racist country. In reality, racism will never be extinct. In today’s society, all American citizens of all races have the same rights as one another, yet there is still racism. Racism can be linked directly to stereotypical mindsets of certain groups of people. It is human nature to make conclusions about other people, this is what leads to racism. Today’s racism is not limited to whites

There is still some racism from whites to blacks, but things are beginning to make a turn and some blacks are now beginning to be very racist toward whites. Some African Americans call whites “crackers,” “white privilege,” and other things due to their white race. But, no outrage or protests occur after they say these things and few people even know about the statements because the media will not cover them (Backer, 2015). This proves a double standard in today’s society. Backer states, “When a white man/woman uses racist language towards another race, they get ridiculed for it and very rightfully so. On the other hand, when a minority uses racist language towards any other racial groups, no one seems to care,” (2015). Blacks can say whatever they want about whites with little fear of criticism or backlash, but whites are not allowed to make fun of or criticize black people (Peterson 2015). According to Jesse Peterson, if a white person dares to speak the truth about blacks, he or she will be labeled “racist” and immediately shut down

Even in 2015, there are still clear signs of not only racism but white privilege as well. African Americans are killed every single day yet people still believe this isn’t a racial issue. If a white person were to be killed by a black police officer in “self-defence” there would be total pandemonium. There’s many cases where a white police officer/person was able to get off on murder when the victim was black. Tamir Rice, Sandra Bland, Mike Brown, and Sam Dubose are prime examples of police brutality. There was even a hashtag that was started to raise awareness on these issues. The hashtag “#BLACKLIVESMATTER” is definitely more informative than news stations today. News stations are always able to twist the story to benefit the white person more. They’ll call mass

Racism is defined as “the belief that all members of each race possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races.” We live in a nation mixed with many ethnicities, we are known as the “melting pot” of the world. Everyone that was born here has a family member that immigrated here from a different country unless they are of Native American decent. Often times people are stopped by police because of their race even if they are not doing anything wrong. Many times when they are stopped by police and they did do something wrong they swear up and down to the District Attorney or judge that the cop was racially profiling him or her.

Racism goes a long way down the American history. It came as a result of slavery which began in 1619 when African slaves were brought to Jamestown, Virginia, which was an American colony in the North, to help in producing crops such as tobacco. Slavery was then a common practice in all American colonies through the 17th and 18th centuries, where African slaves helped in building the economic foundations of the now American nation. Slavery was then spread to the South in 1793, with the new invention of the cotton gin. About halfway through the 19th century, there was immense westward expansion in America, together with the spreading abolition movement in the North,

Racism is the trend of thought, or way of thinking, which attaches great importance to the notion of the existence of separate human races and superiority of races that are usually associated with inherited physical characteristics or cultural events. Racism is not a scientific theory, but a set of preconceived opinions they value the biological differences between humans, attributing superiority to some according to racial roots. Even in such ethnically diverse country as the United States, racism continues evident against people of different ethnic traits and skin color. According to Steinberg (Steinberg, 1995), racial discrimination has been the most important cause of inequality between whites and blacks in the U.S. Because of that, minorities in American society have been fighting over years for equal rights and respect, starting with the civil rights movement in 1960s. Also, public policies implemented since 1964 in the United States have been instrumental in reducing economic inequality between blacks and whites, such as the affirmative action, a federal program that tries to include minority groups by providing jobs and educational opportunities (Taylor, 1994). From this perspective, does racism still play a dominant role in American values and American society? If so, what are the consequences of this racism that still remain in American society? What is the impact of the Barack Obama presidency on the unending fight against racism in this country?

Racism has shaped societies since the beginning of time, as far back as the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Even then, people living in the land of Goshen were subjugated to racism because of their differences. From Hitler and the Nazis to the Southern American slave owners, prejudice of one race against another has resulted in atrocities. Racism has shaped the form of our present day societies. Racism will likely never be completely removed from our society it will always exist. However, in an effort to counteract the disease of racism, modern-day societies have drafted and enacted legislation for the sole purpose of ensuring that people treat each other with respect and dignity allowing one another their inalienable right to their

Merriam-Webster fully defines racism as “a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race”. In his article, Balkaran points out that racial discourse can be inferred to be aversive, academic, scientific, legalistic, bureaucratic, economic, cultural, linguistic, religion, mythical, or ideological. He states that racial discourse and expressions have been prevalent towards African-Americans. “Race matters exist in different places and at different times under widely varying conditions,” he writes. This pushes into the understanding of racism in the history of the United States.

Racism has been a terrible problem in American society for hundreds of years. Racism issues are not limited to one specific race, but include all races. It is the responsibility of the people of this nation to address racism and learn to accept and embrace each other for our differences, and allow this great nation to become even more united for our sake and the sake of future generations. To eliminate racism it is imperative to know first, where racism started and how it has developed, why it continues to be present in our nation today, and what we must do as a people to overcome this major problem.

We are taught not to see this type of racism growing up in a white dominated country. We are taught that racism is an act that is intentional and seen as blatantly racist, such as accusing a black man of shoplifting over a white man, or a white woman getting a job over a black women strictly based on race. But we overlook the small things in our daily life that effect Black people in our culture every single

In an article titled, “It’s Time to Talk About ‘Black Privilege’” by John Blake, the article goes into detail about whether there is a set of societal advantages African Americans benefit and which other people of other races don’t have access. This is known as “black privilege”. The article asks its audience to think about if the idea of black privilege could possibly be linked to racism. “Of all the benefits of Black privilege, perhaps the most offered example is the hypothesis that Black people get to be racist. They get to say anything they want about White people” (Blake). The fact that African Americans have historically black colleges and universities exclusively for black people has been brought to people’s attention. The entire theory of black privilege rests on the premise there are certain things white people can’t do. Since they cannot do it, it must be deemed a

These people are correct in a sense; loud and public acts of racism are no longer prevalent in the US as they were in the past. However, today racism is stealthy and unspoken, and often deftly covered up with fabricated cover stories to legitimize the discrimination. This new breed of racism is perhaps even more difficult to fight against than its more egregious past self; its subtlety allows its perpetuators to claim ignorance of any discrimination, and its lack of media attention lulls Americans into complacence and acceptance of the current system. Further disturbing is the prevalence of “covert racism”, also commonly called “subconscious racism”. Many white Americans may actively stereotype and discriminate against blacks without even being aware of their actions and thought processes (BlackYouthProject). This phenomenon is a sad consequence of being raised a subtly racist society which perpetuates discrimination, even if never openly. Many subconscious racists may also be unwittingly subscribing to “symbolic racism”. In J.H. Moore’s book Encyclopedia of Race and Racism, Henry Sears characterizes symbolic racism as the endorsement of four specific beliefs:

After living in a place like Bend Oregon for 18 years I haven’t ever noticed a difference between blacks and whites. Bend has been said to be “one of the whitest places to live”, yet I never viewed a city by its race. Being racist to me meant that it was the whites who had a problem with the blacks and whites didn’t want anything to do with blacks. I hadn’t actually seen racism in action from anyone here. Now, after watching the film Crash and reading the essays “Blinded by the White: Crime, Race and Denial at Columbine High” written by Tim Wise and “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” written by McIntosh, my understanding of race, diversity, and communications have changed.

It seems to be agreed upon that racism by non-racists cannot occur, but that is simply not true. It is not enough to state that one is fully vested in diversity and is anti-racist. White privilege is also believing that racism is only seen when there is a goal of discrimination, without understanding that tolerance of an accidental prejudice is what keeps the system of privilege intact. As McIntosh (1988) has noted, "I was taught to see racism only in individual acts of meanness, not in invisible systems conferring dominance on my group" (p. 10). Racism can be the raised eyebrow of surprise that a professor might give to a black student who has the correct answer. It can be the solicitous behavior of a guidance counselor who may assume a student of color cannot navigate the financial aid bureaucracy. These may be unconscious acts, or one may believe that the assistance is helpful, but it is racism nonetheless. It is demeaning, and is far more hurtful than a white person can envision. According to Boatright-Horowitz et al (2013) “Persons of color may feel discomforted or insulted, but they are likely to experience difficulty discussing it because they can expect to be perceived as overreacting by whites to minor or nonexistent racist offenses” (p. 698). White people are incapable of even seeing that this is an issue, because they have never experienced actual racism. Even in a college environment, generally accepted as being tolerant of diversity and largely progressive,