Racial Discrimination In America

1821 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The effects of racism in schools

It seems that Racial Discrimination has been apart of society for some time now; however, racial discrimination has been apart of many cultures as early as the 1400s. During this time period, Europeans were colonizing Africa and the Americas. Many of the white settlers believed that they were the superior race to all different races so they began to create ideas that they need to “colonize the savages”. Through these ideas, the “white man's burden'” was used to completely justify the enslavement of cultures and the taking of their land. Naturally, as time passed on, these choices led to the groundwork for further exploitation and discrimination of all races that were different. Racial Discrimination leads to psychological problems, large amounts of violence, and loss of opportunities for those who are discriminated against ("Background on Racial Discrimination").
As for America, discrimination has been apparent ever since the first settlers colonized the new found land. Over 1 million Native Americans had homes and societies built way before the colonial period started. Wars, mass movements, and large massacres began to occur in the growing country. After the already owned territories were incorporated into the United States, reservations were created for the Natives in order to have a place for them to live. Many years later, slavery of African Americans began in the United States and lasted until the 13th amendment was passed. Even though slavery came to an end, segregation and racial hate groups, like the KKK, became a major part of society. This led to separate schools, large riots, and lynching just because of the tension that was present between the races ("Background on Racial Discrimination" ).
Racism can be defined by ...

... middle of paper ...

...place Discrimination. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Jan. 2014.
Nathan, Miriam, et al. “Perceived Discrimination And Racial/Ethnic Disparities In Youth Problem Behaivors”. Am J Public Health. 2013;103(6):E1—E8.” American Journal of Public Health 103.11 (2013): e1-2. CINAHL with Full Text. Web. 11 Dec. 2013.
Poussaint, Alvin F. "Is Extreme Racism a Mental Illness?" PMC. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Jan. 2014.
"Psychological Causes and Consequences of Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerances." American Psychological Association, n.d. Web. 26 Jan. 2014.
"Racism Still Igniting and Fueling Violence and Conflict" United Nations Human Rights. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Jan. 2014.
"Xenophobia | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization."Xenophobia | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Jan. 2014.

Show More
Related

  • Just Walk on By: Black Men in Public Spaces, by Brent Staples and I Have a Dream, by Martin Luther King Jr.

    998 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout history, racism has been present. In biblical times, Cain was marked by God so that people would not kill him. The people treated him badly because of the mark though. In American colonial times, blacks were taken from their homes in Africa and sold as slaves in America. Then in 1865, the United States ratified the 13th amendment. It freed 4 million black slaves. Although the bonds of slavery were broken, blacks were still not equal. Local governments began trying to take away what few rights blacks had. They imposed poll taxes and grandfather clauses, laws that kept blacks whose grandfathers were slaves from voting. This kept African-Americans from electing their own representatives who...

    Read More

  • Tulsa Race Riots

    1511 Words  | 4 Pages

    There have been traces of racism throughout America since the country was founded. Blacks, along with other races, were constantly fighting to be treated equally. Even though the slaves were freed in 1863, they still faced many racial and prejudice issues. However, in the early 1900s, it seemed as if African Americans were flourishing in the town of Tulsa, Oklahoma. The thought of African Americans prospering disgusted most whites to the point they wanted to do something about it. These thoughts and actions caused a horrific event known as Tulsa Race Riots that not only affected everyone in the time period, but will continue to affect us and live in our memory.

    Read More

  • Racism and the American Dream From 1492 and 1877

    908 Words  | 2 Pages

    Let’s begin with racism, which dates back to as far as humans can remember. “It may be defined as the hatred of one person by another -- or the belief that another person is less than human -- because of skin color, language, customs, place of birth or any factor that supposedly reveals the basic nature of that person. It has influenced wars, slavery, the formation of nations, and legal codes” One of the most known acts of racism was the enslavement of Africans in the new world. This racism was a result of the racist belief that black Africans were less human than white Europeans.

    Read More

  • THE POLYGENESIS THEORY AND ITS EFFECT ON HUMAN ETHNIC RELATIONS

    1698 Words  | 4 Pages

    There are so many ideas that explain how racism began. According to polygenesis theory, racism rose from the different treatment for each race with existence of stratification among people. Racism can be broadly defined as an attitude, belief, behavior, or institutional arrangement that favors one racial group over another (Farely, 1995). From this definition we can see that racism is not only a distinction about the color of skin but can be elaborated to the bigger scope. Discrimination that assumes one race is better than another race and an environment that serves different treatment for each race can be described as an implementation of racism.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Structural Racism

    711 Words  | 2 Pages

    We have a long history of racism in America that has been structured to favor White people. Structural racism can be defined as, “a system in which public policies, institutional practices, cultural representations, and other norms work in various, often reinforcing ways to perpetuate racial group inequity. It identifies the dimensions of our history and culture that have allowed privileges associated with “whiteness” and disadvantages associated with “color” to endure and adapt over time”(Structural Racism, 2004,p. 11). Overt racism became illegal during The Civil Rights Movement that took place between 1954-1968 (Tuck, 2015). Although society seemed to be heading toward a more socially acceptable society, the movement enabled white people to blame the struggles black face as a character flaw. White people will believe that black people have a lot of problems because their culture is bad or they have bad values. The message they are reinforcing is that being black is inferior, and this is an example of structural racism operates. Structural racism is a system of forces that keeps people of color in a permanent second-class status, and it is the foundation of racism in our society. Society is structured in a way where the hierarchy of white people oppresses Blacks, Latinos, Native Americans, etc and has

    Read More

  • The Civil Rights Movement: Rosa Parks And Martin Luther King Jr.

    1408 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...till goes on today. The black community may have defeated segregation but they are still resented by many groups of people. The Ku Klux Klan still exist today and are allowed to have meetings even though there numbers have decreased. Middle-eastern people are grudged upon after the 9/11 incident and are victims of racism around the world. The problem with society is that racism will always exist and get passed down generations to generations. Causes are not quite known but it is a part of human nature.

    Read More

  • Derrick Bell Racism

    1168 Words  | 3 Pages

    For Example According to Dinesh D’Souza whites refuse to hire African Americans and work with them. Today we see a lot that occur and continues that way. As Dr. Ellis mentioned in class the Europeans wanted to colonize the rest of the world which includes America. Which can explain why whites have a fear of African Americans advancing. In the American society almost everything/anything is based on racism. Race influences a lot decisions made in the U.S. “Minorities are underrepresented in our elite universities, and therefore opportunities to serve in top policymaking or policy-analytic positions (and opportunities to serve in positions that enable one to acquire the knowledge, experience, and contacts to qualify for top positions) rarely go to minorities.(Ron Mincy, Is racism

    Read More

  • Effects Of Racial Discrimination In America

    701 Words  | 2 Pages

    In American, there is a big problem that is racial discrimination. Because the long-standing institutionalized discrimination results in this problem. So what is institutionalized discrimination? How has discrimination become institutionalized for various ethnic subpopulations in the United States?

    Read More

  • Discrimination of Minorities in America

    928 Words  | 2 Pages

    It is hard to believe that after electing a minority president, the United States of America can still be seen as a vastly discriminatory society. A question was posed recently after a viewing of Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream…” speech of whether his dream has become a reality. After consideration, a majority of the viewers said no. Although many steps have been taken to improve racial equality in America, there is still no way to legislate tolerance. Dr. King’s message of equality for all has been lost in a black and white struggle over the taken meaning of his context. Until our society can allow all people to live in peace we will never truly achieve King’s dream. Case in point, referring to President Obama as our "our First Black President" should not be considered a statement of pride over how far we have come. Placing this racial qualifier, even in a positive light, only serves to point out his minority status, not the fact that he is the President of the United States. According to Dr. King's dream, a man or woman, black or white, would be viewed as President without qualifying their differences from mainstream America.

    Read More

  • Segregation in the United States: The Black Codes

    1258 Words  | 3 Pages

    America has been the site of discrimination in race for years. The Black Codes were laws each state came up with on their own that limit certain rights, prevent them from voting, and keep the black slaves under white control. Even after the Black Codes ended, a new way to keep African-Americans unequal came up. The Jim Crow laws were a series of laws passed in order to keep African-Americans unequal from white Americans. Every state had their own form of the Jim Crow laws. African-Americans used to be treated very poorly by the rest of the United States. They were still treated as though they were slaves until the end of the Jim Crow laws. Even after that, southern states still attempted to keep African-Americans from being equal to the rest of Americans. Taxes were put up in order to vote, which kept African-Americans from doing so because most were very poor. They still did not have equal opportunity in the work force either. African-Americans were not the only ones being treated like this either. Native Americans and Hispanics were treated the same way that African-Americans were. The United States used to treat immigrants inadequately.

    Read More

  • The Negative Effects Of Racial Discrimination In America

    1075 Words  | 3 Pages

    Racial discrimination is a pertinent issue in the United States. Although race relations may seem to have improved over the decades in actuality, it has evolved into a subtler form and now lurks in institutions. Sixty years ago racial discrimination was more overt, but now it has adapted to be more covert. Some argue that these events are isolated and that racism is a thing of the past (Mullainathan). Racial discrimination is negatively affecting the United States by creating a permanent underclass of citizens through institutional racism in business and politics, and creating a cancerous society by rewriting the racist history of America. Funding research into racial discrimination will help society clearly see the negative effects that racism

    Read More

  • Racial Discrimination in the U.S. Justice System

    4767 Words  | 10 Pages

    Turner, Billy. 1986. “Race and Peremptory Challenges During Voir Dire: Do Prosecution and Defense Agree?” Journal of Criminal Justice 14: 61-69.

    Read More

  • Racism In The 1800s

    178 Words  | 1 Pages

    Looking back at the history of United States in the 1800s, clearly racism was everywhere, and slavery was a major part of society. In the 1900s, racial discrimination still played a major part in society as White Americans were given the rights which includes right to vote, schooling, employment, or the right to go to certain public places. Colored people, did not have the equal rights and freedom as White Americans, especially African-American who back then were turned into slaves. Despite the fact that formal racial discrimination was largely banned in the mid-20th century, this issue of racism still exist even in today's society. The problem with society is that stereotypical views of various races still play a role, like when people always

    Read More

  • Race As A Social Construct

    1076 Words  | 3 Pages

    The concept of race is an ancient construction through which a single society models all of mankind around the ideal man. This idealism evolved from prejudice and ignorance of another culture and the inability to view another human as equal. The establishment of race and racism can be seen from as early as the Middle Ages through the present. The social construction of racism and the feeling of superiority to people of other ethnicities, have been distinguishably present in European societies as well as America throughout the last several centuries.

    Read More

  • Racial Discrimination Of Minority Groups

    1567 Words  | 4 Pages

    According to the materials to which I have been exposed in this course, in my informed judgement, the views of these Millennials are very inaccurate. The society on which we live in today still produces discrimination towards minority groups. These groups include but are not limited to: African-Americans and women. Evidence of discrimination are exemplified via an article by authors Joe Feagin, Adriane Fugh-Berman, and Roxanna Harlow (McIntyre, 2015). These articles examine the discrimination that minority groups face in our society and offers an explanation (social factors) to how this millennial obtained misinformed views.

    Read More

More about Racial Discrimination In America

Open Document