Background/ Examining the Past Racism is the belief that races possess distinct characteristics, abilities, or qualities; distinguishing them as inferior or superior to one another. Many claimed the history of civil rights was a long and difficult struggle for equality and social justice. Some examples of these struggles are that there are, in effect, two criminal justice systems: one for whites and one for blacks (Ware, 2013). Civil rights began in the 19th Century with the abolition of slavery and the Reconstruction Era. Also, during that time, African Americans gained citizenship and the right to vote. In 1954, the Brown v. Board of Education marked a vital moment that declared racial segregation in public schools illegal. Another example …show more content…
Eradicating racism is not only a goal, but it is also an important topic that needs to be addressed. Society needs to take action and commit to justice and equality. Shannon Ahrndt explains a few of her thoughts in an Intercultural Communication entry. She explores the complexities of communication across different cultures. It dives into the challenges, strategies, and implications of interacting with individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds. It sheds light on the impact of culture on communication practices. Ahrndt’s entry offers insights into the dynamics of intercultural communication, addressing concepts such as cultural norms, language barriers, and effective intercultural engagement. She agrees that discrimination is completely wrong and while it should have an end to it, it will never be eradicated due to every individual having freedom to act the way they want to other individuals. Almost everyone wants a fair society where everyone can feel loved and have a sense of belonging. Racism relates to everyone because it affects our everyday lives. Racism is a lifelong issue that diminishes human dignity, and when it is addressed, it is key to a more inclusive and cooperative world. Fairness is the foundation of justice, and it simply involves treating everyone with integrity. With eradicating racism in mind, …show more content…
Eradicating racism may be an unattainable goal due to deeply embedded historical legacies, social structures, and ingrained prejudices. Lines of Argument Allison
Despite the passing of the Civil Rights Act and Affirmative Action, racism evolved from the blatant discrimination of the 1960s like segregation, to the slightly more passive racism of the 1990s such as unfair arrests/jail time (Taylor). Curtis’ writes three decades after the aforementioned progress and yet, looking back on the 90s, there is an alarming amount of similarities between the two.
...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?
For 75 years following reconstruction the United States made little advancement towards racial equality. Many parts of the nation enacted Jim Crowe laws making separation of the races not just a matter of practice but a matter of law. The laws were implemented with the explicit purpose of keeping black American’s from being able to enjoy the rights and freedoms their white counterparts took for granted. Despite the efforts of so many nameless forgotten heroes, the fate of African Americans seemed to be in the hands of a racist society bent on keeping them down; however that all began to change following World War II. Thousands of African American men returned from Europe with a renewed purpose and determined to break the proverbial chains segregation had keep them in since the end of the American Civil War. With a piece of Civil Rights legislation in 1957, the federal government took its first step towards breaking the bonds that had held too many citizens down for far too long. The Civil Rights Act of 1957 was a watered down version of the law initially proposed but what has been perceived as a small step towards correcting the mistakes of the past was actually a giant leap forward for a nation still stuck in the muck of racial division. What some historians have dismissed as an insignificant and weak act was perhaps the most important law passed during the nation’s civil rights movement, because it was the first and that cannot be underestimated.
Katz, Phyllis A. and Dalmas A. Taylor, eds. Eliminating Racism. New York: Plenum Press, 1988.
In the earlier days of the 20th century, racism was largely black and white; today racism has become multicultural and multicolored. The period from 1890 to 1940 is known as the Jim Crow era in the history of prejudice against the African-Americans. Millions were brutalized, killed and frightened to death for voting and taking formal education, during these years. The concept of 'lynching', where the whites openly 'punished' the black population, was a rampant practice. White people would publicly hang black people for petty reasons, all over the country. Up through the middle of the twentieth century, for example, African Americans were denied access to certain public places, including hospitals, universities, and parks and were “granted admi...
Since the beginning of colonization, America has been controlled by religiously and ethically diverse whites. The most profound cases of racism in the “United” States of America have been felt by Native Americans, Asians, African Americans, Mexican Americans, and Muslims. Major racially structured institutions include; slavery, settlement, Indian reservations, segregation, residential schools, and internment camps (Racism in the U.S., 1). Racism has been felt and seen by many in housing, the educational system, places of employment, and the government. Discrimination was largely criminalized in the mid 20th century, and at the same time became socially unacceptable and morally repugnant (Racism in the U.S., 1). Although racism was
Racism is a theme seen throughout all history. Not just one group has been affected by it in one way or another, but many groups if not all have experienced it. In the following we will explore racism in history.
Racism is a major issue that has affected the United States since its discovery. Racism is the hatred by a person of one race pointed at a person of another race. The United States has grown up to improve as a whole but this process is a long way away from completion. Some citizens still believe that African-Americans are inferior to Caucasians and that they should be slaves. In the 1950s, whites and blacks were segregated to a point that they could not go to the same schools or even use the same bathrooms.
Racism is the mistreatment of a group of people on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, place of origin, or ancestry. The term racism may also denote a blind and unreasoning hatred, envy, or prejudice (Dimensions of Racism). Racism has had a strong effect on society. Despite the many efforts made to alleviate racism, what is the future of African Americans' Racism's long history, important leaders, current status, and future outlook will be the main factors in determining how to combat racism. Racism is still present in many societies, although many people are doing their best to put an end to racism and its somewhat tragic ordeals.
Racism: a Short History George Fredrickson makes an argument ultimately against the dichotomy between civilization and savagery, specifically the resurgence of ethnoreligious bigotry that, according to him, replaces 20th century race theory in order to justify continued inequities and sociopolitical oppression worldwide in Racism: A Brief History. His book delineates the rise of modern race theory, beginning in Medieval Europe and synthesizing an explanation for the existence and success of the overtly racist regimes, the United States, South Africa, and Nazi Germany. Fredrickson cautions, however, that racism can easily become interchangeable with religious bigotry when facing corporatism that aims to alienate, marginalize, and devalue human beings as mere consumers with little agency or any collective sense of identity. Racism's ultimate goal, according to Fredrickson, is to establish a permanent hierarchal order that "has two components: difference and power." Fredrickson's analysis is probably one of the most direct and functional definitions of racism that I have run across in a while.
The Development of Racism Slavery's twin legacies to the present are the social and economic inferiority it conferred upon blacks and the cultural racism it instilled in whites. Both continue to haunt our society. Therefore, treating slavery's enduring legacy is necessarily controversial. Unlike slavery, racism is not over yet. Loewen 143.
Racism is a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that one's own race is superior and has the right to rule others. This trend has been around for a long time, from slaves, to discrimination, etc. Although in many cases, people in the time period often tend to act like it does not exist. When looking back on certain situations and their aftermath people then realize the true nature of racism. In 1962, 85% of whites thought that black children in their community had just as good of a chance of getting a good education as white children. The constant trend for lack of knowledge about racism and/or discrimination is real. Now, whites, realize that in 1962 black children did not have as good of a chance, if any, of getting a good education in comparison to white children. In 1969 nearly half of all whites (45%) believed that blacks had a better chance of getting a good-paying job than they did. Once again history repeated itself, in that many whites now realize that blacks not only did not have a better chance of getting a good-paying job than they did, they had a worse chance. (Abagond)
I was aware of these oppressions and have often times struggled with what I can do individually to work towards alleviating these oppressions. The Next Steps portion of the chapter on racism really outlined methods of actions that could be applied to all forms of oppression. One method entitled “FLEXing Cross- cultural Communications,” outlines productive communication, depersonalization, and open- mindedness when it comes to understanding and practicing competency. This model serves as a tool to motivate action to those form other cultures in ways that in the end everyone can
Racism is a worldwide problem that will never be eradicated and there are no simple solutions to it.
Racism and prejudice has been present in almost every civilization and society throughout history. Even though the world has progressed greatly in the last couple of decades, both socially and technologically, racism, hatred and prejudice still exists today, deeply embedded in old-fashioned, narrow-minded traditions and values.