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Essay On Racial Discrimination

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Why is Discrimination Still Prominent in our Nation?

In his essay “Just Walk on By: Black Men and Public Space”, Brent Staples argues that black men are often in danger of being victimized because of society’s perception of them as dangerous based on the stereotypes associated with them. Black men are more at risk than other races of suffering racial injustices because of stereotypes concerning crime, living conditions, and behavior.

Some may claim that people of color do not face as many racial injustices as their ancestors because of the abolishment of segregation and the recent election of a black man into the Oval Office. Although racism has been declining in the last century, it will never disappear. Unfortunately black men have been portrayed as thugs who can only commit crimes. About 13.2% of the population is represented by black people, but America’s prison system is made up of about 60% black ("Unapologetically Exposing America's Racist System." Racism In America. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2017). This has led to institutional racism, which is different from other types of racism because it is a specific group naturally being treated worse than others consistently as a result of social norms . The social disadvantages of black people such as white privilege, which only give benefits to people of white skin color, or the economic disadvantages, where black people are treated a certain way due to assumptions about morals, or integrity, make others treat them as less than human. These stereotypes steered other races in the direction of making false assumptions about blacks, therefore putting them in danger of being discriminated against.

It is known in many parts of the United States that certain areas are crippled with poverty. Studies have shown that white people prefer to live in communities where there are fewer black people, regardless of their income (Gebeloff, John Eligon and Robert. "Affluent and Black, and Still Trapped by Segregation."). Demographics show that even working blacks struggle to find affordable housing; from 2005 to 2012, the percentage of black home owners decreased from 46% to 42.5% ("Housing in Black America." BlackDemographicscom. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2017). It is

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