Analysis Of Are We Raising Racists By Jennifer Harvey

“The scars and stains of racism are still deeply embedded in the American society.” US Representative, John Lewis said this in his return to the steps of the Lincoln Memorial he spoke on 54 years ago, during the March on Washington. Racism has been around since the beginning of time, but it is not human nature. Racism is something that is taught, and given the amount of time that has passed since To Kill A Mockingbird and the March on Washington, one would think that racism wouldn’t be a serious issue any more. Although race relations have improved along with other social issues from the time of To Kill Mockingbird, racism and discrimination are major problems in today’s society.

On reading the writer’s background, it is expected that the story is amusing since Dick was a comedian. To the contrary, the story shows the pain and humiliation that the poor had to go through when he was a kid. This was especially so for the people of color as in many instances he uses the phrase “your kind” which refers to people of African Origin. The situation of discrimination and one race viewing itself as superior to the other still exists today. This explains the police brutality towards the blacks currently because they believe that most of them are criminals as a result of a prejudice created by the color of their skins. Therefore, the story through the use of excellent literary devices manages to capture the emotional, physical and social tribulations that racism exposed people to, especially those in poverty through discrimination which is present to date. The concepts of racism and poverty in the story still apply to the twenty-first century through acts such as discriminatory arrests by police and also the effects of these discriminations to the emotional well-being of the victims.

Why do we hate? Why do we lie? Why do we forget? Three questions provide a strong explanation of how African Americans were treated, whether it was the use of verbal or physical abuse. These questions also describes how African Americans were implied into education. Authors wrote many issues regarding the ignorance and abolishment of slavery in more of a “Whites” perspective to teach the American society what they want to hear and not what actually happened. And further more, forgotten sources. Some want to forget was has happened over the course of our time, some want to hide the truth of how this has affected society and the race around us. Three documents were discussed with hidden facts and deep recognition of what is the truth behind

This change in racism is why both authors stress the need to understand the very specific brand of American racism as it changes throughout time. Looking backwards and forwards in time proves to be an integral method of displaying the concerns of history as it pertains to the future.

Wise’s examination of the inconspicuous character of racism 2.0 dovetails fittingly with our course’s recurring theme of institutionalized racism. In class lectures we have defined institutionalized racism as the discriminatory practices that have become regularized and routinized by state agencies, organizations, industries, or anywhere else in society. Although such practices might not be intentionally racist, they end up being racist nevertheless as consequence of the systematized and unspoken biases that have become increasingly convoluted and entrenched within society over time. It also doesn’t help white people to recognize these discriminatory practices considering they have been unconsciously tailored to be consistent with white perspective and mentality. In her article, White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack, Peggy McIntosh examines not only how white folks often consider themselves to be a normative figure within society, but also how they are carefully taught not to recognize the advantages they gain from the disadvantages that impair people of color. In the article, McIntosh acknowledges the reality of her own white privilege and expresses, “In my class and place, I did not see myself as a racist because I was taught to recognize racism only in individual acts of meanness by members of my group, never in invisible systems conferring unsought racial dominance on my group from birth” (McIntosh 4). In fact, even if white folks do not believe themselves to

The history of the United States in regard to racism and discrimination is no secret. Children are taught about segregation, slavery, and the Civil Rights Movement like the events were purely in the past. In part the events were in the past; however, the results of said events are not. As Americans, we live in a nation with a rough history and, in order to keep growing together, we cannot forget what has happened. Granted, racism is not extinct, but it is most definitely not the norm it was 50 years ago. Many people are not aware of how much racism still exists in our schools, workforces, and anywhere else where social lives are occurring. According to Derrick Bell’s book, Faces at the Bottom of the Well, Bell uses fiction stories to show that racism still exist but has a different form. In American society, racism is still evident today in racial symbols, covert racism and affirmative action.

The idea of racism has evolved and has become less prevalent throughout the last century. Schools and public areas are unsegregated, voting rights, racial slurs being considered as unacceptable behavior etc. American sociologist and race theorist, Howard Winant states that’s “The ensuing approaches increased recognition of racial injustice and inequality, but did not overcome the discriminatory processes” (Winant,2000)Although the United states has come a long way to try to end racism, one cannot ignore the fact that it still exists. It is something that may seem invisible in society, but everybody knows that it still thrives and that it’s racial attitudes affect the way our society functions. One of these invisible forms of

“Racism still occupies the throne of our nation,” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. pronounced just before his assassination. Almost fifty years later, we are still faced with the same unchanged threat that makes the words of Dr. King true. As individuals, communities, and a proud nation we have made an everlasting fingerprint for the children of our future, yet we lack the strength of acknowledgment to alter the course of racial discrimination and conquer prejudice. Has the formation of structural discrimination rooted itself too deeply into our subconscious that hope for rehabilitation seems unattainable? As a nation, we voted a man with a white mother from Kansas and a black father from Kenya as the first multiracial President of the United States. Racism has not been eradicated because of the racial background of President Barrack Obama and we have not accomplished victory because of his African decent because prejudice has been too deeply fixed within our society. Social circumstance and the insinuation of race continue to change over time, precisely because race has become a social construct that serves political ends. The prior and present leaders of our nation organize, generate, and endorse the laws and public policy that ensure racism continues to maintain itself against people of color. Our historically racist foundation, the rising effects of structural discrimination, and the view of modernized racism all actively participate in shaping our structural

It makes no sense to lie to children, and telling them one side of history is essentially lying to them. In chapter 1, “Multicultural Education: Characteristics and Goals,” having rich white males dominate the how we learn is not beneficial to explaining the true essence of the races in America. Explaining the warfare and what the white males went through, as well as only honoring holidays based on white males’ religion is “single-group studies.” I realize that yes the Founding Fathers helped to create the country and eventually the public-school system, but there is no need to do everything like they did. We should be more open to every race. This country was founded because they wanted to be free, but the only people who are free are white males. Yeah, it was democracy for that period, but we as a country need to challenge ourselves to be open making ourselves better by being open to one another. If we keep social class as an issue to learn then how free are we? I think that this country is melting pot of all sorts of races and instead of oppressing it, it should be celebrated. Once children start learning about other people’s culture they can start to create their own opinion of what is right and wrong. But the people in power, the white males, do not want that which is wrong. I cannot stress this enough, we’re all immigrants to this country. Is it because we freaking kicked Native

“The plague of racism is insidious, entering into our minds as smoothly and quietly and invisibly as floating airborne microbes enter into our bodies to find lifelong purchase in our bloodstreams.”(Maya Angelo 2005) Racism is a global issue that’s occurring all around the world however, almost half of Americans feel racism is a major problem. According Catherine E. Shoicet (2015), CNN journalist,’’ In a new nationwide poll conducted by CNN and the Kaiser Family Foundation, roughly half of Americans -- 49% -- say racism is "a big problem" in society today.’’ (p. 1). Slavery in America plays a big part in the reason racism still exists today. Any act of Racism should be against the law. Racisms leads to hate, violence, and physiological

Televised on all broadcast are shows and movies that are based on the past and some of the horrible things that have taken place. Slavery around the world, the AIDS epidemic, Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, Hitler and the Nazis, and even the events that occurred on September 11th, 2001. Students learn about these events in their classes during middle and high school. One thing that the students do not seem to realize is that these events occurred due to a little thing called racism. Racism is everything but little, though. Racism still exist in our contemporary times. There are several examples to prove racism still exist, but one that is very transparent to see is from the last three presidential elections. In 2008,

Many raised in urban less affluent areas can quickly become dissolution with the education system being offered to them. Ultimately, resulting in dropping out of High School and continuing in the vicious cycle of poverty. However, “Prosperoman” knew that escaping the harsh living conditions from the inner city would require him to worship and put all his faith and desires into education, books and knowledge as he knew that religion alone would not be sufficient. He was raised by an illiterate single parent but would not allow his circumstances to define his future. Therefore, “Prosperoman” dedicated himself to graduate high school and continue to higher education at a prestigious University where he majored

The population of the United States of America has been one of mixed race since its very beginning. Boatload upon boatload of enslaved Africans provided a labor force which would fuel the American South’s economy for many years, until national abolition and the subsequent civil rights movement created a primarily biracial population of blacks and whites. The US has come a long way since those days, and today every child born into the US is taught from an early age the evils of racism and the shameful actions committed by slave-owning US citizens in the past. From textbooks to televisions, the modern USA seemingly works tirelessly to teach its population that discrimination by race is wrong and that all races are equal. This has led to a great national complacence among whites, and a widespread belief that the US has mostly eradicated racial prejudices. But it is not so, and despite a population almost entirely composed of people who would not consider themselves racists, racism still pervades in the US. In many cases modern racism occurs at the hands of whites who almost absolutely are completely unaware of their discriminatory actions. In the films “Frozen River” and “The Visitor” racism was touched on repeatedly and played an evident part in the messages they were trying to portray.

Racism has become a growing problem, infecting people’s brains like a parasite and turning them into racist zombies. This idea was encouraged by slavery in the seventeenth century, where it grew from European dominance to the New World—the Americas. When slavery was abolished, black people were not equal—and it lead to discrimination in the nineteenth to twentieth centuries. Even in North America’s marches to freedom and equality in 1963, today we’ve seen on TV the horrors that survived all these years of racial discrimination. Of course, this does not mean that racism only directs itself to African-Americans, it can go to immigrants from all over the world that

“Racism is taught in our society; it is not automatic. It is learned behaviour toward persons with dissimilar physical characteristics.” (Alex Haley) Racism is not a thing that you are born with, racism is something which is learnt through the language of the society around you. Harper Lee in her book To Kill a Mockingbird explores with the irrationality of adult attitudes to race and class in the Deep South of the 1930s. In this novel it is seen that racism is taught it is not inherited. Racism is a belief that characterises differences amongst the different racial human groups, which determine their respective cultures, usually involving the idea of that one’s race is more superior and has the right to rule or dominate others. Racism is one of the most controversial social topics in the world today even in the 21st century. In the treatment of negroes, it is showcased that they are not equally treated to the whites therefore, this will be observed by their children leading them to follow on the footsteps of their parents. They further degrade the Negroes by calling them offensive names however this is considered normal in their society. No one defends Tom Robinson and everyone assumes that he is guilty by stereotyping his skin colour and his culture. An abundant explanation of racism is portrayed through the three main points of this essay.