11 Facts About Racial Discrimination

Racism is a disturbing and brutal topic. People over look racism because they don't feel that their opinion is going to affect the community. The question often asked is “How has racism changed” and “Has racism gotten better or worse?” I am on the fence with this particular topic. Today, we have no more segregation in the United States, this means no more separate water fountains, bathrooms, schools, blacks don't have to sit at the back of busses, etc. Although, there has been more brutal acts of racially motivated acts against all races. Obviously there's still racism, it’s not just going to disappear, it’s always going to be here. It’s all about people’s opinions, it’s not like a fact that can be proven wrong. Racism has changed in many different ways since the 1930s.

Racism throughout time has had a powerful negative force in society. There have been many efforts made to relieve racism. Racism is still present in America, although many people are doing their best to put a stop to racism and its somewhat devastating effects on young black males in society. “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.” (Lee) The negative stereotypes and racial profiling that Americans hand down from generation to generation are damaging not only to the minorities but to those perpetuating them as well. The behaviors that are kept alive because of these negative stereotypes and the behaviors associated with them, create an emotional and social struggle as well as presenting obstacles when receiving an education and employment opportunities.

     Two hundred and twenty-five years ago, Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence. The words he wrote were, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness (Jefferson 685). “…created equal…,” those are very powerful words. Equality, meaning being the same, on the same level, no one higher or lower than the other, but can we honestly say that racism is no longer prevalent in our country? Of course not, the recent incidents, such as Rodney King, James Byrd, Abner Louima, and Amadou Diallo, proves that. In an article entitled, “Racism Down But Not Out in the US Government Study Finds”, published on September 22, 2000, Assistant Secretary of State, Harold Koh reported to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, “America’s struggle to secure racial equality remains incomplete. The residual effects of slavery and institutionalized racism can still be seen in the lingering disparity between blacks and whites in income, levels of education, and health care and rates of incarceration in our nation’s prisons”. Koh too, mentioned the recent incidents that have happened saying that, “we have not yet met the challenge of creating a color-blind society” (Husain 1).

     I believe racism to be as apparent today if not more profound then in the past. A large portion of society believes that no man is still to this day denied any unalienable rights. I do not believe this statement to be true. We have adopted affirmative action programs and enforced strict equal opportunity employment laws to hinder discrimination. Although I believe it is still a very prevalent issue in today’s society. Despite laws, investigations and results show that twenty percent of African Americans interviewing for jobs were turned down due to the color of their skin (Omi and Winant 67-68). Indeed racism may be very subtle in most cases; it is not a thing of the past but rather a very serious problem in society that evolves

Racism has been an ongoing problem for decades, but now it has evolved into more complications rather than black people versus white people and wanting equality.

I believe racism to be as apparent today if not more profound then in the past. A large portion of society believes that no man is still to this day denied any unalienable rights. I do not believe this statement to be true. We have adopted affirmative action programs and enforced strict equal opportunity employment laws to hinder discrimination. Although I believe it is still a very prevalent issue in today's society. Despite laws, investigations and results show that twenty percent of African Americans interviewing for jobs were turned down due to the color of their skin (Omi and Winant 67-68). Indeed racism may be very subtle in most cases; it is not a thing of the past but rather a very serious problem in society that evolves sociohistorically.

Racism these days is rarely spoken about, which leaves some people believing that we now live in a world full of peace. But that’s hardly the case, racism still, and I have no doubt that it always will be around, simply because there are people in this society who have adopted beliefs that black people will never be eligible to equal rights as what white people have.

We have issues: more specifically , the United States has issues, continuous and all-encompassing issues of racial inequality.The United States is experiencing a outburst of racism, as can be seen from the 2014 killings of two unarmed African-American men, to the brutality of white supremacy in Charleston and the string of arsons in black churches across the South. Of course, it’s nothing new for a nation with a long history of extreme racist violence—the most recent lynching-related death occurred in 1981, hardly a lifetime ago, when Michael Donald was hanged by two members of the Ku Klux Klan.The United States, however, continues to avoid its history on race, refusing to confront its past in a “post-racial,” “colorblind” society, and that policy of systemic ignorance is particularly strong when mention of racial equality is brought up. Although the concept of equality has never truly existed in this world, as can be traced back to the very beginnings of recorded history we see the nobles ruling the commoners, conquerors reigning over the conquered, the will of man dominating women; the United States needs to acknowledge the fact that racial inequality still exists within our country and has in no way progressed towards betterment.

Racism in America is no longer a big problem because segregation has been abolished for more than forty years. ("Primary Documents in American History.")Now African Americans can do so much more than they ever could before.("Primary Documents in American History.") They can do things such as professional sports, vote, get good paying jobs, and own a business. Although African Americans can now do all the things whites can do that doesn't mean racism is completely gone. There are still many racist people in the world and there probably always will be.

Black people have been discriminated ever since we can imagine, and got worse after the civil war. This has changed the way others think, our country was capable of seeing prejudicial treatment upon minorities. On many occasions the people have united and spoke against the injustice deaths of many who will never be forgotten. As stated by Dailyprogress.com in The noxious effects of racial profiling,”The NAACP and other civil and human rights organizations throughout the United States held massive protests to condemn this killing”. Racial profiling are changing the way minorities feel towards our government. In a peaceful manner human rights organizations are assembly protests and meetings to discuss the

Many people refute that discrimination is something that was left in past but the current situation of America is the argument against that. The consistent racial tensions between white police officers and blacks has been televised since 2012; as the death of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed teen, that was shot by a neighborhood watch volunteer which sparked outrage in the state of Florida. This isn’t the product of killing one black young man but the consistent tyranny of a society that was raised to judge skin tone. The deaths of people such Eric Garner, Ernest Satterwhite, Michael Brown, and Tamir Rice little in common with each other except their race and that they were killed by some type of law enforcement that saw them as an immediate threat without actually understanding the situation. These men and boys lost their lives to a simple understanding and will never be able to present their case in

Racism in modern America has yet to be cast out of existence because most people has turned a blind eye to it. Moving through time, from when Jim Crow laws were first introduced, until today. The nation has greatly moved forward but it has taken steps backwards at times. Overcoming racism is proving to be one of the most difficult tasks for this country. Although, some would say that

First thing that I would like to address is the fact that racism still exists within all cultures. Some people won’t admit that they are racist, but their actions and words prove otherwise. Most people won’t directly discriminate other races, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen everyday. Many will argue that their race is superior over another, or that their actions of a few individuals of a certain race determines how that race of people are, therefore making them unequal. I think all people should be treated equally, no matter who they are or what they look like. From a personal experience, I have witnessed racial discrimination, not something that happened to someone else but to me right in front of my eyes as I head home. For one, I was one of those people that never thought racism had ended but thought that it has dimmed its light. It was not

Even though the Civil Rights was so long ago, some still question whether our world has overcome the problems faced back then. The U.S. has changed significantly since the Civil Rights in both positive and negative ways, but the majority has clearly been positive. Obviously, there are still improvements we need to make as a society to banish all racism. However, if we work together as a whole, we will definitely be able to achieve these goals.

Civil rights activist Al Sharpton said, “We have come a long way from the days of slavery, but in 2014, discrimination and inequality still saturate our society in modern ways”. This quote rings true where equality in the workplace is concerned. In Toni Cade Bambara’s short story “The Lesson”, we see what social discrimination looks like through the eyes of children who are observing a wealthier part of town. In their eyes, they see and injustice and question why it is not being altered into something centered more on equality and equal opportunity. Toni Cade Bambara’s story “The Lesson” is written to make a point about racial discrimination in the workplace and social inequality.