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History of racism in America
History of Racism
Racism in the past and racism today
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Racism, as a dictionary term, is the belief that a person or group of people are meager because of their ethnic background (Webster, n.d.). However, the term “RACSISM” can be applied to many different subjects under prejudicial debate. If one thought about it, the definition of racism can mean more than just a hatred for a specific race or races. The word could imply the discrimination of religion, gender, or sexual orientation. And from this conception, a fixed yet illiterate belief of how certain factions behave, develops. These established interpretations are known as stereotypes, which have a wide range of topics they are used to define. Religion, gender, race, and sexual character are just a fraction of subjects that are often stereotyped.
Some speculate that the wide acceptance for vulgar humor, in this case, racist jokes, is a contributing factor to the concern. Others argue that the expanding tendencies of xenophobic attitudes, the fear or hatred of foreigners (Webster), is the underlying reason as to why the world repeatedly pushes patterns of animosity. However, the truth is, even though each of these factors adds to the duration of discrimination, they aren’t the biggest reason to why the problem remains. If one stopped to think about it, they could see that every instance is linked to three crucial justifications. The true cause of indifference and the politically incorrect standards that go along with it is the tolerance for such discrepancies, ignorance of different people and their cultures, and bigoted
However, the term, seemingly simple in it’s nine-letter structure, means so much more than that. Ignorance is a cognitive block of the mind, one that can prohibit all comprehension of contrasting cultures. Those who are cretinous believe that they’re ideals are always correct, and embrace false beliefs, such as stereotypes. Furthermore, the misunderstandings, or rather, the misguided interpretations of dissimilar people, can lead to wars, riots, and death. The Civil War, the Holocaust, and the Arminian Genocide are just a few examples of the many historical implications derived from such incomprehension. Hence, ignorance equals conflict. But, ignorance does not equal constancy. Using the practices of re-education, what was once illiterate can become enlightened. It may take some time; considering those who carry distorted presumptions might refuse to believe they’re wrong. Even so, with the correct means of re-education, every mind that can be defined as simple and incoherent can grow to be receptive. Take into consideration Martin Luther King Jr., for instance. He influenced thousands of Americans with a speech that sought to show the world the importance of racial equality. His renowned speech, “I have a dream,” reached the ears of many not only in the United States, but worldwide. Africans, Europeans, people all around the globe took note of his
...r own unique ways.; however, the authors focus on different aspects of prejudice and racism, resulting in them communicating different ideas and thoughts that range from racial discrimination to stereotypical attitudes. The range of ideas attempt to engage the readers about the reality of their issues. The reality about a world where prejudice and racism still prevail in modern times. But when will prejudice and racism ever cease to exist? And if they were ever to cease from existence, what does that mean about humankind?
Referring to the article with the same name “I’m Not Racist, But…”, a social psychology lecturer at the University of Sydney, Dr. Fiona White says, “stereotyping is a normal cognitive process that allows us to efficiently categorise things into groups” but “becomes problematic when people begin to endorse certain negative associations and allows these negative associations to affect their behavior towards certain groups.”
Racism is a form of extreme prejudice that leads to physical and psychological violence. Racists can be any color: white, black, brown, red or yellow. A white racist thinks all blacks are alike, while a black racist thinks all Hispanics are alike. In addition, a Hispanic racist may think all Native Americans are alike. The ethnic boundaries of racism "pigeon hole" anoth...
Racism (n): the prejudice that members of one race are intrinsically superior to members of other race (Wordnet search, 1), a controversial topic in today’s society, a subject that many people try to sweep under the rug, but yet a detrimental problem that has been present in America since the colonial era. Will this dilemma come to a halt? Can all Americans see each other as equals despite their skin color and nationality; and what role has it played in past generations versus today’s generations and how will it affect our future? Has this on going way of thinking gotten better or worse? These are questions raised when many think about the subject; especially members of American ethnic groups and backgrounds, because most have dealt with racial discrimination in their life time.
In many circles of the world, various groups of people distinguish themselves from one another through religion, language, culture, and sometimes gender. People also develop stereotypes about a particular group of people in order to identify them. However, most of the time, these stereotypes hold true for only some members of a group. Sometimes, these stereotypes are just plain misconceptions that do not even apply to the group they claim to be. Stereotypes are placed on people because it is a way to easily identify what type of person or ethnicity an individual is.
Racism is defined by merriam-webster.com as ‘1. 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. 2. Racial prejudice or discrimination.’ Racism exists among all races and ethnicities, but most prominently between whites and blacks. The most basic cause of racism begins with the idea that there is something different between different ethnicities. Though that thought is illogical, it is one that seems inevitable. The amount of hatred one can hold against another because of the difference in their skin pigmentation is uncanny. There are an uncountable amount of sources on racism to be found just by merely looking on the internet. In The Bluest Eye, a novel written by Toni Morrison, alone one can find a series amount of racist comments and “ways of thinking”, but beyond that racism can be found in poems, films, and everyday life.
From the beginning of recorded history, possibly before then, humans have found a necessity for classifying and categorizing every aspect of life. This need for order has been used to efficiently organize and clarify the endless details on Earth. This arrangement of objects in groups has also created a very sinister and volatile mindset that some people live by. This associative manner of classification has lead to the formation of beliefs in race identities, stereotypes, and superiority in the form of racism. Racism is contempt for people who have physical characteristics different from your own (Nanda and Warms 1). This concept is often combined with what is called racialism. Racialism is an ideology based on the following suppositions: There are biologically fixed races; different races have different moral, intellectual, and physical characteristics (Nanda and Warms 1). This is the ideal that many people engage in consciously and the way some people think without even realizing it. The only way to overcome this derogatory belief system is to define the meanings and misunderstandings of racial differences.
Racism is commonly thought of as an act that is synonymous with violence; however, one common form of racism, environmental racism, often takes place without people being aware the events are happening before detrimental activities have been put into action. In Melissa Checker’s book Polluted Promises, she relates that Reverend Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. coined the term environmental racism while stating that there is “deliberate targeting of communities of color for toxic waste disposal and the siting of polluting industries” (Checker 14). This problem is important to discuss, as many groups of people around the United States continue to be impacted by these events every day. Such people include
Racism comes in many forms ad can be expressed in many different societies in various ways. 1 The dictionary defines racism 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. This definition of racism makes it clear that it is a perceived point of view that implies prejudice towards people or a person based solely on their race. Racism has been an issue in many societies for many years and still is an issue in modern society. 2 Recently in the U.S. many cases of racism towards African Americans have been shown in the media. However racism is not just a U.S. culture based issue but also a cross-cultural issue
While racial prejudice and racism may seem and sound similar, they are different. According to the Oxford Dictionary racism is “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” (Racism); whereas, prejudice is a “preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience” (Prejudice). An important difference between racial prejudice and racism is that prejudice is a part of individuals, and racism is a part of a society. Racism is far more powerful than racial prejudice, even though it takes racial prejudice for racism to exist. Racism is where a “racial group has the social power to act on racial prejudice and negatively impact the lives of another racial group” (Harvey & Allard, 2012, p. 72). Racism is far more impacting and damaging than racial prejudice, even though racism cannot exist without some form of racial prejudice being present. An example of racial prejudice would be to assume that African American teenagers tend to be thieves. An individual store owner may have such racial prejudice simply based on an unfounded preconceived opinion. The store owner may be more suspicious of African American teenagers when they shop at his store that that of White teenagers. Racial prejudice can also happen when a person sees a group of African American teenagers, and automatically views them as gangsters and trouble makers simply based on an unfounded preconceived opinion. An extreme example of racism is when African Americans were not treated as equals in many parts of America before and duri...
Since the beginning of time people have been defined by their race or their skin color. It 's evident that a place, or city where a person is raised may have an impact on that person 's behavior in what people do, the way people do, what people say or how people express themselves about certain things. Having a mixture of different races in our society is not a bad thing because it brings different cultures together. A mixture of cultures allows others to appreciate the differences of people. These differences may bring to light the good of some and the bad of others. The bad of others which can lead to something that needs to be taken away from society. The one key that needs to be taken away from society is racism, of any form, especially as it relates to color. To be racist means to believe that a particular race/culture is superior to another. Racism towards African Americans has caused emotional damages to citizens young or old. Racism can be destructive mentally knowing that a person is judging another person by the color of one 's skin, the
The topic of race has always been a touchy subject due to the history behind it. The color of the skin tone determined the superior from the inferior and the dominant from the subservient, according to history. The presentation on 01/28, defines race as, “a socially constructed set of categories outlining a group of people who share a set of characteristics—typically, but not always, physical ones—and are said to share a common bloodline.” Race does not only consist of physical attributes but also socially constructed ones too. Race is much more than skin color. The statement, “Obama’s presidency is proof that racism no longer exists in the US,” I do not consider this to be true, therefore I disagree with the statement. Racism is still in existence and is prominent within the United States, whether people want to admit to it or not. Appointing Obama as the president does not prove that the issue of racism has completely vanished. The existence of racism is evident within institutions such as employment, economics, segregation, education, and the justice system.
Pregnancy outcomes are affected by racism and chronic stress due to many life’s factors such as social and economic. Studies have proven that the majority of African American babies are born premature and with weight problems in comparison to white American babies, and it is no a coincidence that these race is the one most affected by discrimination. Racism could be the answer to this dilemma because it is an issue people have been dealing with for decades, which has increase people worries to the point of becoming a chronic stress. A century ago, the average American lived only about 48 years, but as living conditions and medical care improve, people began living longer as mention of the “In Sickness and in Wealth” video. The society made possible for living conditions to improved, but still was not able to fight racism. For example, in the 1930’s the new social programs prevented an economic crisis from becoming an even worse health crisis by providing services that protected children and good health. The same happened when the returning veterans got the GI bill, offering them home...
Racism is based on the belief that one’s culture is superior to that of others, and this racial superiority provides justification for discrimination. Racism begins with categorising by race, and therefore stereotyping particular cultures. A simple definition of prejudice given by St Thomas Aquinas states prejudice as “thinking ill of others without sufficient cause” (1. pg 21). Racism is a major issue in today’s society, affecting a large number of the world’s population and causing political and social turmoil. To evaluate the true meaning, effects and views concerning racism in today’s world, a number of literature sources were researched including novel, films, short stories, poetry, song lyrics, textbooks and magazine articles.
We often see within the U.S this at times spoken, but most of the time unspoken fear towards the black community. A fear of a black man or woman commuting robbery at a store. A fear of black man dealing drugs or terrorizing society with his “gangster” ways. These assumptions are exercised, even in light of the countless individuals who have rose above these predisposed and unfair accused racial characteristics. In an age of social media and television it’s been almost impossible to not be bombarded with race and the abundance of terms which many news stations are throwing at you, most of which many common Americans are not privy too. In the end we know someone must suffer from all the fear, and hate that is circulating. The blacks in the U.S