Protected Classes: An Annotated Bibliography

Groups of people within a given society should be able to work with each other harmoniously and smoothly as possible.

With a multicultural and heterogeneous society such as the United States, some groups are bound to be marginalized, depriving them of equal opportunities for social mobility and improvement. Because of this, laws and practices in the United State were instituted so as to protect different classes of people against discrimination.This annotated bibliography explores diversity issues concerning the Protected Classes of Race and Color. Although there are other protected classes, the issue of race is an important area of study because of the way it shaped American history and how the significance of race and racism is decreasing in contemporary times. Diversity is an important concept that describes the way that society is composed of different people with different cultural backgrounds and different ways of doing things. It helps people avoid cultural chauvinism and superiority based on any dividing category.

Nationals from Asia and Latin America have been pouring into the United States since the late twentieth century. Yet, blacks have been in the country longer.Ahmed and Swan (2006) explores the issues of diversity while taking into account the recent changes in the usage of a number of words and phrases related to diversity. The authors take into account the recent regulations and laws passed in the United Kingdom and how these laws may be incorporated into the educational system of the country.The authors argue that diversity and equality are becoming integral parts of the performance audit of companies and organizations and how this contributes to a wider cultural shift in the way that diversity is being viewed and implemented in the country. They also take note that diversity is now being bureaucratized and incorporated in the operations of organizations in the society.

The authors look at class, race and gender and how these affect crime and justice in the United States. Contrary to the claims of a lot of people in government and in society, the justice system still possesses discriminatory practices against marginalized sectors such as people belonging to non-white races. Nonetheless, the authors also point out that great improvements have been implemented since the 1960s.Blauner argues that the issue of race is far from over between white and black Americans.

This is because blacks and whites have different definitions of racism. Whites tend to treat racism as a peripheral issue, only to be looked at if someone cries out. Blacks on the other hand consider racism to be a central issue for them. Because of this difference in perception, Blauner argues that blacks and whites are “talking past each other.” For racism to be completely eradicated, racism should be understood from both the perspectives of whites and the perspectives of black.

 Cole and Omari argue that race and class divisions are still important in the lives of black Americans. Yet, they view education as their passport to their emancipation from poverty. Yet, by the time they enter schools and university, black Americans experience covert racism, which are detrimental to their pursuit of education and upward mobility. When they fail to rise above their situation, a number of them point to racial discrimination. If black Americans were to move upward in their economic standing, diversity policies should be implemented in schools and workplaces all over the United States.

Fine, et. al. managed to look at the issue of race and racism from the other side of the story—from the whites. White has become synonymous with privilege, more so because it has been institutionalized.

The authors aimed to provide a balance outlook in the debate and they managed to help further study the phenomenon of whiteness. Gallagher’s most important contribution to this topic is his recognition of the declining significance of ethnicity and race in the United States and how this is being used to justify white supremacy and why people of other race should be blamed for the their abject economical situation. Although the significance of white ethnicity is decreasing, covert racism and discrimination is on the rise and this is far more difficult to deal with than overt racism.Hero and Tolbert argue that race and ethnic diversity influence the policy and politics of a particular state in the United States. For more homogenous states, there is a lack of good policies for minorities.

Hence, there is a greater tendency for racism, discrimination and prejudice. On the other hand, the presence of greater multiculturalism tends to enable better diversity of views and better public policy for both the majority and minority groups. Canada is a highly multicultural society with diverse population. As such, the government has undertaken various programs to integrate each ethnic groups into the mainstream of the society. No matter what ethnicity a person belongs to in Canada, they are aiming for equality, human rights, respect for diversity and full cooperation.

The Canadian government’s initiatives on diversity are worth emulating by any country with several cultures in its territory. Class distinctions and privileges based on color do not start automatically. Even schools become the conduit of covert forms of racism. For Weis & Fine, schools are also places where racist practices were institutionalized, giving power to the majority groups in society and silencing the minority and the marginalized people.

Such public policies, discourses and practices, albeit unknowingly, contributes to discrimination.More often than not, the concept of diversity has been equated with race and racism. Winston says that it is far broader than that. Of all the eight protected classes in the United States, race has received the most attention.

This undue focus on race, has stunted the overall growth of diversity in the workplace and in providing assistance to other protected classes in the United States.