In conclusion I must say that when I refer to white people it’s not white people but I don’t know if it’s a majority of white people or a minority. But Throughout this essay I haven’t mentioned police brutality because of the fear someone might respond “Blue Lives Matter” or my favorite “All Lives Matter”. But every time I hear those phrases I always wonder what white people have against hearing about issues concerning oppression. My advice would be the same James Baldwin states in his essay White Man’s Guilt, “One Wishes that Americans-White Americans-would read, for their own sakes, this record and stop defending themselves against it. Only then will they be enabled to change their lives.” This so true because white fragility is one of the
For as long as I can remember, racial injustice has been the topic of discussion amongst the American nation. A nation commercializing itself as being free and having equality for all, however, one questions how this is true when every other day on the news we hear about the injustices and discriminations of one race over another. Eula Biss published an essay called “White Debt” which unveils her thoughts on discrimination and what she believes white Americans owe, the debt they owe, to a dark past that essentially provided what is out there today. Ta-Nehisi Coates published “Between the World and Me,” offering his perspective about “the Dream” that Americans want, the fear that he faced being black growing up and that black bodies are what
Not only does White discuss those instances of racial prejudice, she also talks about how racism affected her in her adult life. She is unsure if her being black was the reason her group of faculty members were denied a boat to explore the river. However, finally at the end of her essay, White explains how she overcame her fear and connected with a part of her identity that allowed her to find peace and strength in nature. She talks about how her ancestors from Africa were not afraid of the world around them and how they embraced it and how she
Throughout the course of history, nations have invested time and manpower into the colonizing and modernizing of more rural governments. Imperialism has spread across the globe, from the British East India Company to France’s occupation of Northern Africa. After their founding in 1776, the United States of America largely stayed out of this trend until The Spanish-American War of 1898. Following the war, the annexation and colonization of Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines ultimately set a precedent for a foreign policy of U.S. imperialism.
Everyone has privilege in one way or another. People feel that privilege is give to one race more, instead of every race. The race that it’s getting more privilege is the White race and with that comes White privilege. White means the people who have a light skin color also known as Caucasian or European and privilege means an advantage over others. An example of privilege is getting away with something that someone may not get away with. So White privilege is defined as “an invisible package of unearned assets that [someone that is White] can count on cashing in each day, but about which [they were] ‘meant’ to remain oblivious” (McIntosh 1990: 1). McIntosh is saying in that quote is that Whites do not recognize that they have this privilege
Winthrop D. Jordan author of White Over Black: American Attitudes Toward the Negro 1550-1812, expresses two main arguments in explaining why Slavery became an institution. He also focuses attention on the initial discovery of Africans by English. How theories on why Africans had darker complexions and on the peculiarly savage behavior they exhibited. Through out the first two chapters Jordan supports his opinions, with both facts and assumptions. Jordan goes to great length in explaining how the English and early colonialist over centuries stripped the humanity from a people in order to enslave them and justify their actions in doing so. His focus is heavily on attitudes and how those positions worked to create the slave society established in this country.
Police brutality has been an apparent mark on the struggles, trials, and tribulations of people of minorities for years, primarily Black people. From the times of slavery to the present unlawful targeting and murders of black citizens with no justification, police brutality has been an enema in Black American culture for hundreds of years. Seen both in James Baldwin’s “Going to Meet the Man” and in the current happenings of the United States. The hashtag “#BlackLivesMatter” has been a focal point in the current struggle for equality of the races. The current outpouring of support for black lives and
With racism being more private one would assume it would be a silent killer but actions speak louder than words and those actions are heard very clear. There are still tensions between whites and blacks as unfortunately there are many white officers of the law who are given power and abuse it. Since the beginning of this year there have been a total of 896 people who have been killed by police, many of which were unarmed people of color. Which has started an uproar among citizens and sparked the Black Lives Matter movement which has taken the country by storm, even professional athletes who have the spotlight on them have been vocal about their support in the movement. This country was founded on the basis that each individual was created equal yet, so many years after the formation of it and, and all the advances we have made towards equality, the hate of color is still very much alive. As a person of color I am aware of the discrimination that is made so public recently but I am hopeful that one day, we will be able to see past color and discrimination will no longer
You can conclude from this essay that racism is very complex issue and to address it we need to destroy the fundamental belief that race doesn 't matter . This is a time where yes race matters because past colored or different people were prosecuted for being who they were born to be in a physical form, I think race became such a hot topic when our system was invented to fail those of
Many white Americans are living with the fear that they didn't really deserve their success, and that maybe luck and privilege had more to do with it, than brains and hard work. There are numerous reasons for the widespread discrimination at all levels, but the main reason for the existence of discrimination is a privilege to certain groups of people, and widespread social prejudice towards certain groups of people. Differences between people have always existed, but they gain in importance only when are different importance given to certain differences, so it creates privileges. People who are privileged in one society are often not aware of their privilege. It is very easy to be oblivious to the privilege. The problem of discrimination is very complex and there is no unique formula that would solve it. There are general patterns in a white supremacist culture, that all white people have privilege, whether or not they are racist themselves.
Professor’s comment: This essay assignment was designed to equip students with an understanding of academic research, theories, and concepts on race relations and then use that as a basis from which to critically think about, analyze, and develop strategies for change, both for themselves and for the world around them.
America has had plenty of racial unrest, and what 's shocking is how we continue to ignore its side effects. Many people believe white privilege does not exist or it’s not a real thing even though America was built by white people, with a foundation for whites. White privilege is prevalent in America. They believe there is no way the color of someone’s skin, gives them a privilege. In reality, it does. No matter how much we ignore the fact, that the color of your skin can change the way you live, it’s true. It’s not fair, but it’s true.
Racism within the Justice System. Living in the twenty first century, Americans would like to believe that they are living in the land of the free, where anyone and everyone can live an ordinary life without worrying that they will be arrested on the spot for doing absolutely nothing. The sad truth, with the evidence to prove it, is that this American Dream is not all that it appears to be. It has been corrupted and continues to be, everyday, by the racism that is in the criminal justice system of America. Racism has perpetuated the corruption of the criminal justice system from the initial stop, the sentencing in court, all the way to the life of an inmate in the prison.
This has created awareness throughout the country, and everyone is aware of hate crimes that still occur in many parts of the country. This awareness is breaking people’s perspective of a nation where racial equality was considered with pride. The growth in people’s attitude has been helpful in the fact that white people are more empathetic and supportive of the problems faced by lower middle-class black people. However, this support has gone too far. There are many white people who post about hate crimes on social media, where they undermine their own race, in order to support other races. It almost seems as if these people have lost their racial identity, and only want to support the minorities so that they can belong to that group. There are always posts and blogs opposing any article published either online or on paper. Hate crimes now range from racist comments to attacks. Even if a small, unintentional racist comment appears anywhere online, there will be thousands of people attacking the person for weeks to
In the “White Man’s Burden”, Rudyard Kipling claims that it is the duty or burden of the white men to civilize the non-whites, to educate them and to religiously lift them (lecture notes, 2/8). Kipling is specifically talking about the colonized non-whites (lecture notes, 2/8). The idea that the newly colonized non-whites were lacking and needing help from a greater society was common among American whites at this time (lecture notes, 2/8). Rudyard uses the whites’ public feelings towards the issue and writes “The White Man’s Burden” in an attempt to move the whites to help the non-whites because he thinks it is a very beneficial movement for the U.S.
The protestors that take part in these movements believe that policemen are actually evil and devoted to taking the lives of their innocent people (“The Truth of Black Lives Matter,” 2015). People who support the “Black Lives Matter” movements state that 1960’s civil rights laws have not made enough progress. These laws made three powerful declarations: black lives matter, black citizens matter, and black families matter. The reality in their eyes is that if this were the case, police violence and brutality should not be specifically aimed towards black people. Senator Elizabeth Warren makes a speech about the unfair discrimination and the situations that are going on every second of the day. “This is America, not a war zone, and policing practices in all cities, not just some, need to reflect that” (Fang, 2015). Sherriff Ron Hickman draws out the perspective of police and what he thinks are the unfair practices within America. “We’ve heard black lives matter, all lives matter. Well, cop’s lives matter too. So how about we drop the qualifier and just say lives matter” (Wing, 2015). Shannon J. Miles allegedly shot and killed a deputy, and police have yet to find a motive. It is logical for them to assume that the Black Lives Matter movement is a major source of the problem. There is an intuition on many police officers