Examples Of Discrimination Today

During a time where African American literature was fueled with racial segregation and pride in ones race during the Harlem Renaissance, Zora Neale Hurston offers a different and controversial approach with her literary work “How it feels to be colored me”.(13) In the works Hurston uses several colloquialisms, anecdotes, imagery and figurative expression to invite the reader on an adventure filled with pleasure. The poem takes the reader from the beginning of the Hurston’s childhood back in Eatonville, Florida into adulthood in Orlando, Florida. Hurston proves that overcoming racism can be accomplished by uniting the public and ignoring the visual difference in a person’s outer appearance. Hurston’s strength, individuality and resilience scream

In the article “Quandaries of Representation,” which was written by Mona El- Gehobashy. She talks about “the ways in which racial rhetoric, informed by prior English understandings of sub- Saharan Africa, disrupts the narrative. Not the least of which is how and where American indigenous groups fit into a larger world order” (Smith). Mona also talks about what she had to grow up with, while trying to get a job in America and being a Muslim. There was also a much deeper fact to her essay, and that was discrimination towards people that might not look, act, or believe the same way as you. Discrimination has always been around, but it seems like it has become more relevant today then what it was in the past.

In Zora Neale Hurston’s essay “How It Feels To Be Colored Me”, her racial identity varies based on her location. Towards the beginning of her life when Zora was in her own community she could be a lighthearted, carefree spirit. However, when she was forced to leave her community, Zora’s identity became linked to her race. In this essay I will demonstrate how Zora’s blackness is both a sanctuary and completely worthless.

The memoir “How It Feels to Be Colored Me” by Zora Neale Hurston, was first published in 1928, and recounts the situation of racial discrimination and prejudice at the time in the United States. The author was born into an all-black community, but was later sent to a boarding school in Jacksonville, where she experienced “race” for the first time. Hurston not only informs the reader how she managed to stay true to herself and her race, but also inspires the reader to abandon any form of racism in their life. Especially by including Humor, Imagery, and Metaphors, the author makes her message very clear: Everyone is equal.

We probably know discrimination occurs in any situation, anywhere. I think discrimination depends on individual reasons or social problems because everything around us can make us fall prey to discrimination. Today, we know discrimination of race is unlawful, but it is still existent in some people, and it gets skillfully concealed under some form, or another. For example, in the essay “Black Man Ponders His Power to Alter Public” by Brent Staples, the author is a black man. He explains a few encounters in which he has been a victim of discrimination because of his skin color. I love America, because this country includes many different races; it makes me think of the beautifully-diverse prairie flowers. I thought

One of Hurston’s stories, How it Feels to Be Colored Me, reflects the author’s perspective of the colored race (specifically herself). According to the story, when Hurston reached the age of thirteen, she truly “became colored” (1040). The protagonist was raised in Eatonville, Florida, which was mainly inhabited by the colored race. She noted no difference between herself and the white community except that they never lived in her hometown. Nevertheless, upon leaving Eatonville, the protagonist began losing her identity as “Zora,” instead, she was recognized as only being “a little colored girl” (1041). Hurston’s nickname “Zora” represents her individuality and significance; whereas, the name “a little colored girl” was created by a white society to belittle her race and gender (1041).

Have you ever been discriminated or treating someone differently because of the way you looked In society today people discriminate both intentionally and unintentionally. These experiences have been put into stories to show the world we need to change in “The Fourth of July” Audre Lorde writes about how when a black family visited the capitol they were treated differently than the white families. In “On Being a Cripple” Nancy Mairs writes about how people treat her different because she is medically a cripple. In “Just Walk on By: Black Men and Public Space” Brent Staples writes about how because how being a big black man makes people treat him differently. In all these stories it shows discrimination of different kind.

The two essays “How It Feels to Be Colored Me” by Zora Neale Hurston and “The Fourth of July” by Audre Lorde, both have a similar, constant theme, women speaking back to racism. Black Americans face disadvantages everyday due to their skin color. In the 1800s-1900s, it was even worse for women. These ladies had to deal with both stereotypes of being black and a woman. A majority of white people around the time saw them as nothing but a waste of space. There was a constant struggle to be accepted.

In our world today, it is unlikely that we will not face some sort of discrimination in some way. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary website, discrimination is defined as “the practice of unfairly treating a person or group of people differently from other people or groups of people”. Someone’s discrimination can stem from past experience, the way they were brought up, or their own prejudices. In the movies The Jackie Robinson Story and A League of Their Own, racism and misogyny run rampant. These two groups both faced extreme discrimination in their journeys to fulfill their dreams of playing baseball. Whether it is Jackie Robinson being tormented for the color of his skin or the women being tortured for their sex, these two groups both found strength in themselves to fight off the negativity.

“Cracker.”, “Niger.”, “Wetback.” Everyone at one point of their lives have been faced with raw derogatory slang terms that are often used to categorize individuals into groups. It is sad to think that many years have passed, and these hateful terms are still prevalent to this day. In America, it is not so harsh towards white individuals than it is towards people of color, immigrants, and surrounding minorities. Discrimination against minorities is still present in the lives of those individuals who sustain themselves in America and will not be leaving anytime soon. We must come together and see each other as human beings to unite and create a change that will reduce unfair prejudices, biases, and stereotypes directed towards innocent individuals.

I was astounded by the ubiquitous presence of racial discrimination in America. I have never been racially discriminated until I moved here. One day I was verbally attacked by a perverted Caucasian man who got aggressive after I rejected his sex offer. I was labeled with horrendous names in regards to my race. I was dumbfounded. I smiled and walked away. Also, while at lunch at the new school, I needed to know the whereabouts of my peer helper. Unaware of racial tensions at the school, I described him as “the black guy.” I received strange stares and snarls as I was being

“Discrimination is treatment or consideration of, or making a distinction in favour of, or against a person or thing based on the group, class, or which that person or thing is perceived to belong to rather than an individual being or object.” (Dictionary.com) Imagine living everyday hiding your true self, disguising the person you actually are and what real emotions you feel. People are shading themselves from the world to this day as society has become very judgmental and has certain expectations and images. Many are still experiencing discrimination in forms of racism, feminism and health conditions such as disorders and illnesses. Although discrimination has improved in the world, it is still prevalent in today 's society and has become worse because of the way society treats people of another colour or gender based on social images and stereotypes.

“Discrimination is treatment or consideration of, or making a distinction in favour of, or against a person or thing based on the group, class, or which that person or thing is perceived to belong to rather than an individual being or object.” (Dictionary.com) Imagine living everyday hiding your true self, disguising the person you actually are and what real emotions you feel. People are shading themselves from the world to this day as society has become very judgmental and has certain expectations and images. Many are still experiencing discrimination in forms of racism, feminism and health conditions such as disorders and illnesses. Although discrimination has improved in the world, it is still prevalent in today 's society and has become worse because of the way society treats people of another colour or gender based on social images and stereotypes.

We live in a society today that says we do not discriminate, that we learned from the past and are above that now. It is heavily taught in schools at a young age that discrimination was a thing of the past, that no one will be treated differently because of who they are. Some preach this idea so fiercely, yet there are untold numbers of circumstances in which people of all kinds are set apart and alienated from others, and the people that preach against it refuse to see it even when it is right under their nose. We are currently living in the delusion that discrimination does

Discrimination happens to be exhibited in many ways and different settings. Some of the reasons people discriminate are race, belief, sexual preference, employment, religion, gender, size, and even a person health status. Usually the person that discriminates has a narcissistic behavior and preoccupied with issues of power, vanity, and personal adequacy. Their disorder and ignorance of what the discriminator doesn’t understand, fuels their negative feelings. Many times the basic root of discrimination is heredity, passed down from generation to generation, which also makes it easier to keep discrimination alive. People experience discrimination in a variety of settings like work, school, church, stores,