Cultural Diversity in America: Examination of African Americans and Asian Americans Many ethnic groups reside and persist in America. Minority groups are misunderstood and undervalued in today’s society. There are many cultures, history, social relations, religious traditions, and linguistic aspects enduring in our country because of our abundant diversity. Two minority groups that are misconstrued are African Americans and Asian Americans. These two groups of people have many differences, but also have a few commonalities. African Americans and Asian Americans influence society in the United States in multiple ways, for example specifically in educational settings. Unfortunately, the dominant group, Caucasians, have difficulties …show more content…
As time elapsed de jure segregation, also known as the Jim Crow system, began in the South that replaced slavery in the South. According to Healey (2012), “Under segregation, the minority group is physically and socially separated from the dominant group and consigned to an inferior position in virtually every area of social life” (p. 182). Under state and local laws, African Americans were considered inferior to Caucasians. All aspects of life were included in segregation such as schools, restrooms, parks, stores, and any public facility. The civil rights movement began to eliminate laws based on racial segregation. In 1954, the Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka that separate facilities are unequal; therefore, the laws were unconstitutional, which abolished de jure segregation (Healey, 2012, p. 233). During the civil rights movement there were many influential leaders such as Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. promoting nonviolent protests. Finally, in 1964 United States Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, outlawing discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, or sex. This act was only the beginning as our nation is still trying to eliminate discrimination completely. These important historical events have influenced past and current African Americans. Asian
Often times, people of the twenty-first century forget that segregation was real, people do not realize the impact of segregation nor how powerful it was. Segregation was real, segregation was powerful, and segregation affected the lives of many, whites would harass anyone who was not of their color. People associate civil rights with Martin Luther King Jr., and although he sparked the Civil Rights movement, he should not be completely accredited for getting rid of segregation. Supreme Court cases have diminished segregation. The elimination of segregation was not immediate, but took decades to completely part with. Most people would agree that these three cases have stood out and made the most impact: Plessy v. Ferguson, Brown v. Board
Political change can take a long time. Sometimes it is so slow in coming that those who stand to gain from such change decide to help expedite the process of political decision-making. African Americans in the US, especially in the south were still at the receiving end of racial injustice. A “separate but equal” policy was enforced in 1886-97 when the Supreme Court ruled that segregation was not discrimination. Segregation was seen as a process that severely limited the opportunities of black people. In 1954 the “Separate but Equal” policy took a major hit in the Brown v. Board of Education Case of 1954. They stated that in the field of public education, the policy of “Separate but Equal” has no important place. By this time Black Americans were tired of waiting. After being so patient you will see the emergence
The duration of the Civil Rights movement lasting a little over a decade left a permanent mark in American history. In sum, slavery has been abolished for over a century, but African-Americans continue to be slaves to the nation’s society while being oppressed by the amount of inequality received since the 1800s. Segregation; a word used as an excuse to mistreat, divide and restrict those who were born and reside on this developing nation, of which we call, America has led the economy to believe that it is the norm to drink from divided drinking fountains, and use restrooms assigned for different colors of skin. The reason for that was “Separate but Equal” doctrine, a quick-fix solution used to mask inhumanity between blacks and whites. While not every Black person, Native American or Chinese student feels segregated, it oppresses Americans proving it in supreme court cases like, Plessy v. Ferguson Brown v. Board of Education Lau v. Nichols Shelley v. Kraemer and University of California v. Bakke , focusing on the
As a consequence of the ‘Jim Crow’ segregation laws being passed in 1896 the civil rights movement began in America. Non-violent protests, such as the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the student sit-ins, had a significant impact on the abolishment of the ‘Jim Crow’ laws; however, because of how ingrained the desire for segregation was in the white American society, particularly the south, racial segregation continued.
The Pew report on Asian Americans is one physical manifestation of the Asian model minority myth- the belief that all Asians are educated, wealthy, assimilable, and submissive. The model minority myth which was actualized during the World War II has since evolved to be more than a stereotype. For many Asian Americans, it has become a tangible barrier, barring disadvantaged Asian Americans equal access to social programs and educational opportunities. The myth has grown to become so influential, so pervasive that it has manifested itself in the discourses on legal policies such as affirmative action and in the rhetoric of the pseudo statistical Pew report. Racism is far from being over; it has taken on new form-praise and laudation- to justify rejection of aid to underprivileged people. The Asian model minority myth has stripped Asian Americans of their diversity and homogenized them as a privileged, educated community. As a result, Asians have
In Spite of the devastating history of segregation in the United States. A lot has changed in the past fifty years since segregation ended. The United States shifted from arresting African Americans for using “white only” facilities to integrated schools all over the country. Influential individuals such as Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr helped pave the way for African Americans to live as equals to along with their white counterparts in the United States of America.
America is greatly influenced and enhanced by the many versatile cultures which inhabit it. Cultural diversity has added to our economy in such a way that it brings innovated ideas and contact structures throughout the world. International cuisines have come to America through subcultures, have expanded the food industry, and have allowed English Americans to try new foods and flavors. Immigrants have brought with them religious values that greatly differ and vary from those at which were natural in the main stream American culture. The educational development through foreign nationals has led America, as a nation, to excel and be deemed one of the most intelligent nations in the world! Consequently, the subcultures have kept our
Nearly a century after the abolishment of slavery in the United States of America in 1865, Black Americans still faced oppression, segregation, race-inspired violence, and poverty. There had been significant attempts to improve the status of black Americans before 1950 with the biggest achievement being the overruling of the “separate but equal” doctrine by the Supreme Court in 1954. Although the court had declared the rule illegal, federal government still failed to implement the decision with black people having to face the risk of crossing racial barriers. The next decade and a half saw the formation of various civil rights movements compel the government to enforce the decision and all areas of public life. The civil rights activist used
Colleges and universities should emphasize the diverse culture we live in. This position can be validated through the passages written by Mike Rose's "Lives on the Boundary" and Adrienne Rich's "What Does a Woman Need to Know." The following two quotes exemplify Mr. Rose's and Ms. Rich's point of view illustrating this topic. A quote from Mike Rose affirms "We are in the middle of an extraordinary social experiment: the attempt to provide education for all members of a vast pluralistic democracy."(Rose, 117) In another quote Ms. Rich states, "For no woman is really an insider in the institutions fathered by masculine consciousness."(Rich, 69) Our society is made up of various cultural groups. Colleges and Universities are a microcosm of
While diversity amongst families in America has been an ongoing problem in regards to immigrants, is their presence ambivalent to what people feel about immigration; or does it pose a threat to our society in terms of financial setbacks. Although, many American’s today feel immigration is a severe issue in today’s society, others feel that their presence actually benefits us in many way’s; creating a comforting financial contribution to society rather than hardship. So, why do some Americans feel threatened by the presence of others, from other origins; other than their own. That’s because these immigrants cross the borders illegally in hopes of a new found freedom, while coming her to look for help through that of government assistance for
What is different about the way of life in Montana compared to Washington, DC or your country? Why?
My life has been split into two very disparate halves. I spent the first 8 years of my life growing up in the urban jungle of Queens Borough New York. New York is the largest city in America, as well as one of the largest in the world. The city was a palpable living, breathing entity that I could feel all around me as I grew up in the center of this metropolis. I grew accustomed to the flocks of pigeons that bustled around as if there lived a separate city above my own. I learned how to navigate the twisted network of roads that joined my apartment building with the rest of the urban sprawl. The sound of police sirens, trucks, and people became my lullaby as I fell asleep. I learned to love not only the movement of the people in the city, but also the diversity of the populace that surrounded me. Queens was a melting pot, something evidenced by the multiple areas populated by African Americans, Asians, Europeans, Hispanics, and Indians. Diversity was the norm. My own parents, who met and married in New York, are a perfect example of this level of cultural interaction, my mom being an immigrant from Ecuador, and my father being a descendent of Yugoslavian immigrants. The art, music, and literature of New York is composed of expressions from a diverse multitude of nations, all contributing their own influences to the vibrant cultural atmosphere that thrives in the city. I was exposed to this mosaic of human interaction from a very young age. I would best describe myself as a speck of paint in a massive portrait of the Big Apple.
American culture is known as “melting pot”, because it has a wide range of diversity. Basically, it means that everyone contributed something in the American Culture. Western culture is still different from other cultures around the world. First example, American culture takes privacy really seriously. Talking to someone about personal information’s such as: marital status, age or income is plain intrusive.
Ask any American how they feel about multiculturalism you are likely to get one of two responses: either a cringe or a smile. Those that cringe will say something along the line of “Multiculturalism is the wrong way to look at things. It separates us by saying that everyone is different instead of saying that we are the same and unifying us.” Those that smile will talk about how great multiculturalism is because they get to see aspects of all different cultures on television and on the radio and they are free to explore all the different things that various cultures have to offer. In actuality, one cannot help but wonder if either of these responses reflects the true meaning of multiculturalism? What do
For many years, African Americans had been fighting against a lots of racist policies and the civil rights movement highly affected American society. The civil rights movement in the United States was a struggle of legal, political and social by African Americans and dreamers to gain full rights of citizenship and racial equality. In 1870’s, several southern states congresses passed the law which allow to separate colored from white people. This colored included any people who have blood from black. This segregation applied to schools, parks, public burial grounds, theaters and restaurants. However, in 1954, the United States Supreme Court ruled that Montgomery’s bus segregation laws and Jim Crow law were unconstitutional. This ruling was made