The Presence Of Discrimination In The United States

Racism is one of the main global issues that occur today. Racism is the belief that characteristics and abilities can be attributed to people simply on the basis of their race and that some racial groups are superior to others. Many of us create racial stereotypes on the basis of race, color, nationality, religion and other factors. No one is born being racists and hating others because of their skin color, background, or religion. It is a learned behavior that our society has taught us. When the parents are prejudice towards other races, they pass those negative behaviors onto their children. Racism and discrimination have also been used as powerful weapons encouraging fear or hatred of others in times of conflict and war, and even during economic downturns. To understand why does this social problem still exists is the history that acts as guidance, which determines our future course of action. Hence, if history itself is misinterpreted and if we are not taught to learn a lesson from our mistakes, history shall repeat itself in its most retrogressive forms. I believe that we should learn how to love and support others in order to help stop racism from spreading.

The history of racism in the United States started out when the New World was discovered. It has been part of the European colonization of North America at the beginning of the 17th century. “ The American nation-states began with Europeans brutally dominating and enslaving indigenous people. The lands seized in the “New World” were worked by so-called “Indians,” people whose lives did not matter to the while Europeans who, quite literally, worked the locals to death.” (Have Black Lives Ever Mattered? 2017 p.3) From the moment that Europeans stepped foot onto the North American continent, the native Americans were treated unfairly. The Europeans plan was to overcome and conquer the land, along with that came racism against Native Americans. On the other hand, Native Americans did not mind the Europeans arriving on their shore, all they care about was getting free land and cheap labor, but what really happened was that the Europeans brought diseases that have killed many of them and were tortured. They forced Native Americans to convert to Christianity and to practice the European culture and those who didn’t confirm were punished. During the time of the New World, many of the Africans brought to America starting in the 17th century arrived as slaves and were kidnapped from their homelands in various parts of Africa. African men, women, and children were beaten, tortured, and forced to convert to Christianity as well. A large number of African Americans were slaves in the southern states. For those Africans in America who were free, there were discriminatory laws that forbid them from owning property and voting.

Another historical event that occurred was the Civil Rights movement during the 1950s and 1960s. “The Civil War had officially abolished slavery, but it didn’t end discrimination against blacks—they continued to endure the devastating effects of racism, especially in the South.” (Civil Rights Movement, 2009). After the Civil War ended, this gave the opportunity for colored to be equal and have freedom. However, this only ended slavery and to this day colored people, there is still some discrimination. “The respect that black soldiers earned in World War I was followed by lynchings of black men in their military uniforms. This pattern repeated a generation later when soldiers returned from World War II. Thus in the 1940s and 1950s, African American veterans collected more insult and injury than GI Bill benefits” (Defeating the New Jim Crow with Antilynching Activism’s best tools, 2014 p. 145) This states that colored man served in the military during WWI and WWII, yet they are still discriminated due to the Jim Crow laws. Many black men were injured are provided with lower healthcare support than whites, which is unfair because of their race.

The social media has a negative framing towards black. The media points out many stereotypes about African Americans such as viewing them as a threat, might have a weapon or having drugs. Many black people deal with policing, education, and their workplace, and even healthcare every day. “Social cognition research reveals that people automatically associate weapons more with blacks than with whites (Payne, 2006), and they are more inclined to “see” guns mistakenly when a black person holds an innocuous object (e.g. cell phone) than when a white person holds such objects” (Broadening the Conversation: BLM, 2017). Researchers revealed that people associate weapons with black people more than whites and are mistaken to see a gun when a black person holds an object. Black people also receive poorer healthcare than white people do even though their health is at greater risk more than white. According to Why Health Care Is Different If You're Black, Latino Or Poor article it states, “ The foundation estimates Latinos and African-Americans experience 30 to 40 percent poorer health outcomes than white Americans. This disparity leads not only to shortened lives and increased illness but also costs the nation more than $60 billion in lost productivity each year.” (Health Care Is Different If You're Black, Latino Or Poor, 2015)

The Trayvon Martin case is a great example that demonstrates how the media and criminal justice showed some relation and had some discrimination against black. Martin was shot and killed Feb. 26 by a neighborhood crime watch captain. He was visiting over at his father's house. George Zimmerman was carrying a loaded gun saw Trayvon walking in the neighborhood and he looked “suspicious” because he was wearing a hoodie and looked like he was on drugs. Martin called 911 and the operator told Zimmerman not to follow him and yet he did it anyway. Zimmerman said that Martin was attacking him and punched him on the nose. Zimmerman then pulled out his gun and shot Martin in the chest. Zimmerman got arrested however he got away with the murder. After his death, three black women posted a hashtag Black Lives Matter on social media to express their rage and intolerance of the taking of innocent black life.

Intersectionality is a framework for conceptualizing a person, group of people, or social problem as affected by a number of discriminations and disadvantages based on their race, class, gender, and religion. Inequality also is a major in distributing wealth among racea snd gender. Racism is composed of theft of Black wealth and income equality, with ‘skin color’ prejudice on the individual level. According to What is intersectionality, and what does it have to do with me? website states, “For instance, a black man and a white woman make $0.74 and $0.78 to a white man’s dollar, respectively. Black women, faced with multiple forms of oppression, only make $0.64. Understanding intersectionality is essential to combatting the interwoven prejudices people face in their daily lives.” (What is intersectionality, and what does it have to do with me? 2017) This clearly demonstrates that a person’s race and gender affects their income and class compared to white. Many black women found it difficult to identify with the issues of the white feminist movement, issues such as the pressure to be a homemaker. Black women, who often had to work in order to keep their family out of debt and therefore did not have the luxury of being homemakers, did not feel as though these issues pertaining to their experiences. This intersectional experience of facing racism in the feminist movement and in civil rights encouraged black women to call for a feminist practice that centralized their lived experiences.

Institutional racism can be seen in areas of wealth and income, criminal justice, employment, health care, housing, education, and politics, among others. Institutional racism is defined as racism perpetrated by social and political institutions, such as schools, the courts, or the military. Unlike the racism perpetrated by individuals, institutional racism, also referred to as systemic racism, has the power to negatively affect people belonging to a racial group. Before the legislation was passed to end slavery, slaves across the world fought for freedom by organizing slave rebellions. In addition, the descendants of slaves fought against attempts to perpetuate racism after slavery during the civil rights movement. However, even once the legislation was passed, it didn't fully mark the end of slavery. “In Texas, slaves remained in bondage two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. The holiday Juneteenth was established to celebrate the abolition of slavery in Texas, and it is now considered to be a day for celebrating the emancipation of all slaves.” (5 Examples of Institutional Racism in the United States 2019) Racism exists in medicine, many times patients were denied in health care or drugs during the late 1800s and early 1900s. Many blacks believed that because of their race they couldn’t get proper treatment and couldn’t even get pain medicine. Religious institutions have not been untouched by racism. There were several Christian denominations have apologized for discriminating against people of color by supporting Jim Crow and backing slavery.

My frame towards this social movement is that I believe that racism still exists everywhere in the world. The history of racism has a huge role in many races and gender. Racism did not just happen one day, but it all started when the Europeans came to the New World and colonialism happened. The media gives negative stereotypes about African Americans including criminal justice. The interpersonal is what people assume racism looks like on the individual level as prejudice or bigotry. This is the smallest and most vital level that racism exists because, without the interpersonal, institutional and systemic racism cannot exist. Studies have shown that people are not born to be racists, but it is a practice that they have observed and taught from their families. Institutional racism is what permeates schools, hospitals, universities, courts, civil service, and the government. Now, all of these institutions impact our lives everyday which cause a constant harm. Our society determines our interpersonal domain such as race and class, which is one reason why many black people have a lack of healthcare and wealth to help support their family needs and try not to stay in debt. and If all black people have the same equal rights as white people do then there should be an easy solution to this social problem.

Racism is an enormous social problem that existed in the past until this day. The belief that all members of each race possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, especially to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races. From this point in time racism has spread to all the corners of the world. the time that will always be remembered for the most racism will be the colonization of the new world or what we now call North America. One of the solutions to possibly reduce racism is to take the pledge against racial discrimination on the website for the World Conference Against Racism. Start an anti-racism group at a high school or college. First, is to start an activist group and have a goal to help reduce racism at school/ college. Then start planning any events or activities for the people who are interested to participate and spread it on social media. If you hear any offensive comments in your workplace then you should always speak up. You may also get involved with a local, national, or international organization that is dedicated to working towards an issue.