It is a known fact that many people think that racism no long exists. We as people live our lives oblivious to what is happening in the world, we pretend that racism is not a problem in the society that we live in. There are people living in the world today and they don’t even realize that they contributing to the problem, they claim to be open minded but they discriminate against other peoples human rights. The subject of racism is very interesting to me.
As a twenty nine year old African American I have witnessed and read stories and situations about racism and how it affects the people around us. Even though there is so much to learn and be taught about this issue in my research paper I will be focusing on what racism is, how racism affects people, how we fall victim to racism, and how we can stop racism.What is Racism? Racism has existed throughout human history. Racism can be defined as the hatred of one person by another person or the belief that another person is less than human because of skin color, language, customs, and place of birth or any other factor that supposedly reveals the basic nature of the person.
It has influenced wars slavery, the formation of nation, and legal codes . As a result of the European expansionism racism emerged in the 16th century and has continued to the present as a socially constructed system of values to justify the evil of human exploitation for socioeconomic advantage. Racism is the outward manifestation of an inward system of values designed to structure privilege by means of an objective, differential and unequal treatment of people for the purpose of social advantage over scarce resources. In my opinion racism is one of the worst factors associates with modern society.
It destroys our spirit and turns us against each other. It promotes that the ideal of man is based on their skin color instead of character. I would love to imagine a world without racism the benefits of love, forgiveness, trust, kindness, benevolence would flourish.Racism is an issue that has continued to persist in our country due to centuries of slavery and oppression among the population of African Americans. We are all familiar with slavery and oppression in American history. There are white Americans that believe that they are the victims of reverse racism.
I can’t blame them for feeling that way, because it is very true in some cases. Even as African Americans are still victims of racial profiling and racism. I have witnessed personally certain occurrences on several occasions.How Racism Affect People “Racism can and has destroyed us as individuals and ultimately it has destroyed the world” racism effects people or a group of individuals.
Racism affects that way that other societies and groups of culture think. Because of this we from stereotypes or false thoughts about groups do to not being educated or misunderstandings. Racism is an ugly entity, but in reality, it will shape the way we think if we let it. It causes our negative thoughts to come to life causing more division within the human race. By allowing racism to take control over our minds it becomes what we think and feel and eventually it shows in our actions. Racism affects people lives in different ways depending on race, gender, and class.
It is still present in life today even though there has been many efforts to reduce its power.Today there are still efforts being made and some have been successful such as the boundaries Present Barak Obama has crossed despite being biracial and how many people are taking a stand (Williams 1999). In my opinion racism seems to affect mainly African American as some people are very prejudice against them like the Ku Klux Klan whose power may not be as strong as it once was still exists. African Americans are also affected by the stereotypes. Racism also comes in our lives through the way we are exposed to it. No one is born racist it is something that we develop at a very young age usually by our parent or guardian.
We become affected with this issue very young.How We Become Victims White people believe that they have somewhat replaced blacks as the main victims of racial discrimination in America. Both blacks and whites agree that anti-black racism has decreases a lot but the problem is its still here and no matter how much we try to hide it, it stills shows. We are all affected by racism in some way but I think a large percentage of the victims are African Americans. White people think that we are just being too sensitive, and we are not. I have actually known whites to compare ableism to being black.
Yes there are white people that actually believe that the color of your skin can actually be a handicap.Racism did not end with the Civil War in the U.S or even with the Civil Rights Movement. Following these two events the actions based on racism were covered by laws, but the laws failed to replace the hatred in many peoples heart. While the historic forms of racism involved the use of slavery or preventing minorities from living working and eating in certain areas, current forms of racism are just as destructive to society as a whole.
Some of the most current forms of racism we deal with involves police pulling minority citizens over simply due to the color of their skin or the car they drive.As African Americans we are followed closely and watched by security guards during visits to the mall. In the worse cases today, it involves parents teaching their children to avoid those of a particular race or color , groups. In 2003 there were more than 751 hate groups active in the United States.
These groups and individuals make no attempt to understand those of minority races. Instead they hang on to embedded and destructive ideas of whites as the superior race. These ideas destroy the attempts to bond our communities, work environments, and our society in general. Even with laws against racial discrimination, we as Americans are prevented from making the progress needed to truly evolve into the humane and loving country it claim to be.How Can We Stop Racism It is always asked how we can stop racism in America.
The answer is you can’t we can try our hardest but the cold hard fact is, it will always exist. Our focus should be on how we can reduce it in our everyday lives. I don’t just mean with black and white people but with the human race as a whole. It is in our nature to pre-judge, draw up assumptions and self-categorize people.
Racism have been defined by some scholars as prejudice and discrimination on the basis of race. Looking at the term prejudice it means an attitude of prejudging someone usually in a negative way. Thinking “Well he is a black man so there for there for his morals and values are low” is an example. People who think like this don’t try to get to know that all men in this society including black men are very diverse.When we analyze the term discrimination we are talking about an act of unfair treatment directed against a group or individual.
I have witnessed many changes on this earth but how can we prevent racism in our society in 2013? How can we make sure that all racial groups are treated fairly and based on race? I have come up with an answer to these questions and it centers on two different levels. I have concluded that there are certain steps that we have to take to prevent racism or our society or it is doomed to deconstruct. On one level policies should be made by people who have a fair agenda. For example, the policy of affirmative action is perceived to be helping blacks more than any other group in the United States. This perception is totally wrong because white women have benefited from affirmative action more than any other group in the United States. On another level some of the things that we can do to prevent racism fall directly on parenting.
He who rules the cradle rules the world. Parents in the society we live in have the primary responsibility to socialize their children. Lastly, go and talk to your neighbor, colleague and even someone that you have no relationship with whatsoever and realize that we are all people.The majority of people in America are law-abiding people who go to work and pay their bills and take care of their children. We are all in this boat together.
When we realize this I believe that it will add to the percentage of the decrease in racism. In conclusion we have learning that through life experiences we have all witnessed or have been a part of racism. My goal was to educate you on what racism really means and what we perceive racism to mean. We discuss how we are affected by racism and who exercises racism in their lives today. I know that we all have our own prejudices when it comes to race of any kind, but the point is we have to learn how to control ourselves and not let it affect the people around us. We are all entitled to our own thoughts and feelings, but it’s the actions that come to play that we have to be mindful off.
As I end this paper I want to address a statement that I made earlier in the paper, about other races thinking that we as African Americans are very sensitive when it comes to this matter. When I started researching and writing this paper last week that’s originally how I felt. A situation occurred with me at my job the other day that allowed me to view this from a different angle. I now say that not only are African Americans sensitive but we as a society are sensitive when it comes to racism. The sensitivity is not something that we are born with its something that grows in us through life experiences.
