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Inequality in america against black
Promoting rights of minority groups
Cases of racial inequality in america
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The documentary The House We Live In centers around the history of race in the United States, and how it can still determine social standing even today. According to the documentary race is still one of first things we notice when we meet or see new people. Even though we may not be racist or believe in racial stereotypes, we can still perpetuate them by letting them determine our initial thoughts or passing them on. Throughout the history of the United States, being a minority never carried the same advantages as being white. At a time, even groups who we would determine as caucasian were not considered to be fully white as they were immigrants from places such as Eastern Europe and had to go through legal processes to determine their “whiteness”. …show more content…
After WWII the government provided long term, low-interest loans for homeowners who many returning veterans took advantage of with the GI Bill.
However, white citizens were the only ones to take full advantage of the present opportunities for neighborhoods were completely segregated and there were racial requirements for housing loans. Even when LBJ eliminated the racial requirements, and minorities were able to move into previously all-white suburbs the value of these neighborhoods fell drastically for the banks paid the previously white residents to move. After watching The House We Live In, I realized that there are legitimate reasons why minorities are disadvantaged within our society to begin with. The way that minorities were not able to take full advantage of the low interest loans or the GI Bill that white Americans were to benefit from account for some of the reason why white Americans today generally have more wealth. Their relatives were able to get a head start on building their assets while minorities were forced to live in low income neighborhood even if they could afford to live in
suburbs. I can relate to the documentary when I look at the friends that I had in high school. More often than not, my caucasian friends came from at least a middle class family, owned their homes and cars, and did not seem to have money issues. On the other hand, my friends that were minorities generally were not as wealthy as our caucasian classmates as they would more often rent their homes and not drive as nice of cars, etc. The documentary relates to the belief that our textbook expresses that inequality is a natural part of human culture. In the United States, for a very long time this inequality was based upon mostly race, and although it is not anymore, the legacy of these inequalities are still present. The idea of social mobility is also present in the documentary for it explains that even though it is possible, mobility is more difficult when your parents and grandparents came from disadvantaged backgrounds and were not able to amass wealth.
Bridge to Freedom provides the historical documentary behind the events that served as the narrative for Selma. Instead of a drama, the viewers receive an actual documentary that shows the confrontations between the marchers and the government. Like Selma, it highlights the violence, the deaths, and the beatings, but also goes further back in time to show society’s treatment of African Americans.
... became the idea of people with different skin color. To this day, I believe we still have the same attitude towards certain “races”.
The author provides several examples of survey results that illustrate this. For example, while a majority of whites wanted separate schooling, transportation, etc. for blacks, less than 25 percent of whites wanted that in the 1970s. Also since 1940, the number of whites who believe and act on the stereotypes of blacks has decreased significantly (though, it is still high, ranging anywhere from 20-50 percent). Bonilla-Silva provides four trends in which these changes in racial attitudes have changed: racial optimists, racial pesoptimists, symbolic racism and sense of group
Feagin’s “White Racial Frame” states that the majority of whites are “willfully ignorant or misinformed” about the circumstances people of color face in today’s society (Feagin3). “The White Racial Frame” that Feagin presents is “an overarching white worldview that encompasses a broad and persisting set of racial stereotypes, prejudices, ideologies, images, interpretations and narratives, emotions and reactions to language accents as well as racialized inclinations to discriminate” (Feagin3). It all started with the first contact of Europeans and the Western Hemisphere. In the European colonialism,
notice people of different backgrounds. The part that is most surprising is the statement about people of unlike races are becoming clearly defined as being lesser than. Although some white people are stereotyped, most people view whites as being greater for no clear reason. First, we can see the cruel cycle of how American culture reveals ethnic stereotypes, and how society has such negative thoughts about minorities because of the way other races are described on television, movies, music, sports, books, magazines, media, etc. Omi continues to disapprove on popular culture and explain how
“The House I Live” by Eugene Jarecki is a documentary that sheds a light on America’s ongoing battle with drug abuse by encompassing multiple viewpoints from all walks of life ranging from both sides of the law and everything in between: the police officers, politicians, drug dealers, inmates, grieving parents, authors and journalists about how the war of drugs affect their lives and the lives of others. The overall purpose of the documentary was to show the war on drugs and how it has failed in the United States.
Perhaps, the “Melting Pot” myth gained strength during the Industrial Revolution. With millions of immigrants entering the United States, culture was changing within the United States. Americans set a high standard for there society and everyone wanted to be accepted. There was a social requirement to live in a civil society creating together the “American Dream,” which leads to prosperity. Many immigrants moving to the United States brought with them various traditions of their culture and after moving, they repressed such beliefs and forged ahead with a new way of “American Thinking.” The rituals and traditions of such societies should have brought diversity to this nation’s culture however, these ways would soon become a part of the past. The “Melting Pot” myth heavily influences American society and people believe that everyone no matter what skin color or religious belief is created equal. This belief of the American Way of life is idyllic to say the least. Unfortunately, this myth has been thwarted due to a high level of racial supremacy within the nations past and even present. There are two particular events in national history, which will forever hinder equality: slavery of African Americans and Japanese internment camps during World War II in America. These substantial events shape our society and are only the tip of the iceberg when it
I watched the documentary called, “The Power of an Illusion: The House We Live In”. The documentary talked about how the laws and policies in America create a racial divide; in addition, the documentary talks about how our federal housing policy has oppressed people of color throughout our culture. This was an interesting documentary that certainly talks about how our policies and laws in America have always been to benefit the whites and to exclude people who are non-whites.
...er, it is declining. Since the 1960’s, there have been progress towards racial housing segregation. However, the problem of racial discrimination remains an important factor in determining current examples of social and economic inequality. Despite everything, it is suggests that unfairness does continue to affect the portion of current opportunities. Even though there are laws and agencies that supposed to prohibit this type of matter, it still exist and hidden away from federal and state minds. The article supports the reality that minorities are unfairly treated based on
So why would one have the connection with minorities and poverty? Could there possibly be some sort of relation between race and class? This all started with our Federal Housing Agency or the FHA. In the book The Possessive Investment in Whiteness the author George Lipsitz put extensive research into how the FHA started and how its agency ties into minorities receiving loans or the lack of. In 1934 the FHA was provided from the government who then gave the agency’s power to private home lenders, and this is when racial biasness came into place through selective home loans. Lipsitz says “[the] Federal Housing Agency’s confidential surveys and appraiser’s manuals channeled almost all of the loan money toward whites and away from communities of color”(5). These surveys were conducted by the private lenders who had free reign to prove the loans to whomever they want. Because the minorities did not get a chance to receive the FHA loans that they needed, they are then forced to live in urban areas instead of suburban neighborhoods. There was this underground suburban segregation going on with these private lenders, which would then greatly diminish better opportunities for minorities to live in better neighborhoods.
The United States is a racialized society, with racism deeply embedded into its history. The most renowned display of racism in the United States is the enslavement of Africans by white people. This is one of the many instances that highlights the government’s implementation of institutional racism, which has been experienced by people of many different races. In this documentary, American citizenship, the Federal Housing Administration, and real estate appear to be the focal portrayals of institutional racism. For hundreds of years, being white was essential to gaining American citizenship. In 1922, Ozawa, a Japanese businessman attempted to gain citizenship. However, the Supreme Court denied his request, stating that he was scientifically classified as Mongolian, not white. Three months later, a South Asian man, Thind, proved to the Court that he was white because he was scientifically classified as Caucasian, and therefore
Discrimination has always been there between blacks and whites. Since the 1800s where racial issues and differences started flourishing till today, we can still find people of different colors treated unequally. “[R]acial differences are more in the mind than in the genes. Thus we conclude superiority and inferiority associated with racial differences are often socially constructed to satisfy the socio-political agenda of the dominant group”(Heewon Chang,Timothy Dodd;2001;1).
In society, race clearly affects one’s life chances. These are the chances of getting opportunities and gaining experience for progression. The social construction of race is based on privileges and availability of resources. Looking at society and the formation of race in a historical context, whites have always held some sort of delusional belief of a “white-skin privilege.” This advantage grants whites an advantage in society whether one desires it or not. This notion is often commonly referred to as reality.
The stigma that comes with being a minority in America is overwhelming. It is harder to find a job. Many stereotypes are put upon minorities, and minorities are often looked at as a less meaningful part of the community. Minorities are unable to live normal lives in America, especially since they are thought to be most of the problems in America. The way you are looked at is often a large judgement in itself. In a paper called Prejudice in the Modern World Reference Library, about the prejudice in America, it observed: “Often the higher social classes associated the lowest classes with race or nationality. This association is part of the stereotypes created by different class members” (“Social Class Prejudice”). To review, in this evidence that the high class associate the low class with race or nationality points out that the high class of America has an idea about minorities that assimilates them with poverty and poor fortune. Races are frequently misunderstood to the point of them becoming their own stereotype. In the same paper as before, they declare, “For example, another way of identifying social groups is by skin color, a concept known as racism. Such racism serves to maintain a working class. Race in the United States serves as a key marker of social class (“Social Class Prejudice”).” This quote portrays how being born in certain races can put a person at deficit since they are automatically put into social classes. Everywhere in America race is used as an initial sense of guidance which can lead to less success. This helps to show how minorities are treated different compared to the “superior race”. Minorities are unable to find well-paying jobs which makes it hard to earn capital, which makes it hard for them to become small business owners. In the Social Class Prejudice paper they made the affirmation “Many racial minorities in the United States lack assets (property owned and savings).
The Home documentary was a beautiful, insightful and impactful movie. Starting from the beginning of life on this planet we call Earth. But upon humanities claim the Earth dying off little bits at a time. Adding to, how important it is to balance between organisms, slight changes around the planet affecting everything. Overall, the video starting in the classroom but continues with every breath we take, every one being more valuable than the last.