Causes Of Racism

In the United States, racism is a very complicated issue that has existed for a long time. This issue continues to be a problem even today in the 21st century. Sociologists all have varying beliefs about racism and what causes it. However, they all agree that racism is a social problem. Racism is explained as people who believe that a race is inferior to another, and therefore does not deserve fair treatment. This problem causes much discrimination towards certain groups. It also forces many minority groups to face challenges that make it difficult for them to be successful. Although various types of sociologists have different ideas about the causes of racism, they all do agree however that this is a problem that needs to be solved completely.
When we look at inner-city neighborhoods, we can tell that not only are they shaped by the race and poverty that exists within them, but rather by emotions evoked by their experience with poverty and discrimination. This is a functionalist belief about poverty stricken peoples. They believe that many of the youth in inner cities develop values that force them to have a much harder time to be a successful member of society. There is an ideology called “code of the street”, and as identified by Elijah Anderson, it is when the youth in inner-cities try to behave in a way that they believe is right for them to fit into the society in which they live. Unfortunately, many of these behaviors that they adopt make it much more difficult for them to become a part of the larger culture. Functionalism also establishes that self-segregation can be beneficial for minorities because it unites them and creates a sense of community. This however, can also be dysfunctional when society minimizes the amoun...

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...el expresses the causes of racism the best is Symbolic Interactionism. I see in society all the time that people make racist jokes and such that try to make the idea of racism not as serious. I think that many people lack an understanding of the issue so therefore they begin to participate in racial tendencies without being fully aware of it. There are many people that play a much more active role in racism such as large business owners trying to keep minorities powerless; however in regards to most everyday people they are much more likely to participate in the racism expressed by Symbolic Interactionism.
Racism is a serious social problem that continues to affect many innocent people. The social theory groups all have varying opinions about the causes and solutions but one thing that they strongly believe is that this is a social problem that needs to be solved.