Institutional Racism : An Excuse Or A Reality?

“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.

We have all sat through multiple history classes and learned about slavery, segregation, and the Civil War. We have all seen brutal movies and presentations based on racial injustices and the lack of equality. So often, we forget that these issues are still so present in our community. Slavery is illegal in the United States but other forms of racial profiling, insensitivity, and racism continue to be a recurring social barrier. Racism is still very much alive. The United States is “equal” yet somehow segregated. There isn’t quite a quick fix to this problem. Clearly, this has been an ongoing issue and requires major progression in our personal global

Following, numbers of shootings involving law enforcement and black men, race became a pertinent topic among American people. It seems that two groups have revealed themselves through these discussions, those who believe race is still a problem in America, and those who believe America is a post-racial society. History is one of the clearest indicators showing that race may still be relevant in modern communities. A plethora of connections can be drawn between discrepancies in poverty, incarceration, and poor education between whites and blacks when you look at events in our nation’s history such as slavery, sharecropping, Jim Crow laws, and more. With that being said, one of the more significant examples of institutional racism in America is one that is rarely

Do you ever believe that you have been a victim to a microaggression and there was nothing ever done about it? A victim of institutional racism that made you feel doleful and surly? Institutional racism happens a lot, but not as much as microaggressions, but a lot of people wonder why they get this type of vibe from white supremacist. These are the same people in the same country, with the same daily schedule but somehow they judge people based on their skin color. Some reason you aren’t allowed to lead this country if you are any other skin than white. There's a lot of racism in America, and a lot of people really wonder will the microaggressions, microinsults, the institutional racism will ever stop. People look at our president Donald J. Trump with his campaign of “Make America Great Again” does he mean the bad times for the African Americans? The bad times, for the Asian Americans? Do white people in general categorize all cultures/ ethnicities other than white as minorities? There are two articles that come together, to grow on this idea, to answer the questions above and to explain in full detail. Both of these articles, compare on what and how plenty of “minorities” feel in America. The speech essay “Analyzing Some Thoughts On Mercy” and the argumentative essay “6 Reasons We Need to Dismantle the Model Minority Myth of Those ‘Hard-Working ‘ Asians” by Ross Gay and Rachel Kuo deal with the problem with racism shown by white supremacy. Through these texts the

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

Explain how institutional racism could result in internalized oppression for members of marginalized populations. Provide examples relevant to a specific minority group, based on the chapters you selected.

“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

Institutional racism has solidified its position into various aspects of American society. It has installed itself into employment practices, all levels of education, healthcare, housing, politics and the criminal justice system. Institutional racism has made some subtle changes to replace the boldness of slavery and Jim Crow. However, in educational institutions the effects of racism and discrimination are so delicate they typically go unnoticed by students of color. Individual racism usually happens on the personal level where the prejudice is expressed either consciously or unconsciously while there is some form of interpersonal encounter. When it comes to institutional racism it is similar to the individual concepts, however policies and practices are associated with with the belief of racial dominance of one group over another. It is a powerful system that use race to determine power and privilege(Reynolds et al., 2010). Even after the desegregation of school, educational institution are still separated. In Shelby County where I have lived since 1999 there are schools for minorities, and there are schools for whites. The schools for minorities in the city of Memphis have police officers walking the halls and there no books for learning. There are higher numbers of Whites students enrolled in private, charter, and magnet schools in the more affluent segments of the county. They will be exposed to the advantages of a proper education because of their race and privilege

In modern day America, racism is a prevalent issue that is often brushed to the side as an issue of the past. As a citizen in America we are under the assumption that, in accordance with the Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, and by Biblical standards, everyone is equal- therefore prejudice based on race is wrong. In order to establish how wrong racism is people should be educated about the reasons why and how to prevent it. The best way to do this is to teach about it in school curriculums. The quandary in this paper is that racism is not taught in schools to the adults and the youth today- the only ones that have a hope of making a real difference. While Racism is by no means new to society it is a covered matter up where people are often left ignorant of an issue that impacts thousands of Americans on a daily basis. Despite historical significance, racism is often glossed over in history classes even though it has a high influential impact on society. More often than not school history classes speed through from slavery, the Civil War, Jim Crow, and the Civil Rights Movement as a way to honor Black History Month; while important cases involving racism, like Brown vs. Board, Brown II, the case of Emmett Till, and the Clark experiment are often times left out because of the negative outlook it has on American society.

Racism can be enacted individually or institutionally. Institutions can respond to Blacks and Whites differently. Institutional behavior can injure Blacks, and when it does, it is racist in the outcome, if not in intent (2008). Racism remains an ingrained part of the American experience for many ethnic populations. Racism thrives even among many other organizations, obstructing the effectiveness of the programs and services offered. One primary way to determine institutional racism is seeing how many officers are minorities versus ones who are not. Another way to tell is seeing how many black people are pulled over by white cops every day. Strength in realizing the institutional racism exists is hard because the evidence is not as concrete.

‘The Macpherson Report describes institutional racism as ‘The collective failure of an organisation to provide an appropriate and professional service to the people because of their colour, culture or ethnic origin.’ (Craig, 2007, p. 92).

We are members of Tuareg tribes and affiliate to our ethnicity because we speak one language and have one cultural background as well as identity that bound us together. Although some of the Tuareg of Ghat didn't support what Qaddafi army did during Arab Spring, and some of us fought against him, we are collectively portrayed by many Arab people in Libya and by social media in Libya and the world as supporters of the previous regime. As a result, we have been regarded as the least valued people in Libya, treated unfairly and badly in all aspects of life. We are facing institutional racism and discrimination because of the color of our skin, and belonging to the Tuareg people who many of them loyal to Qaddafi(See Appendices,)

Racist thoughts and actions have been around for centuries. In the past racism was expressed through language, using slurs and explicit words. Discrimination and hostility based upon the color of one’s skin was also considered racism, but was not something to be ashamed of. However, now in today's society the racial references that were used in the past to determine racism have now been encoded and have entered into the private sphere. Due to neoliberal governments, the acts of racism have been taken out of the public eyes and have been internalized within the individual. With racism, not being as prominent as it used to be with the racial reference in our language the effects have changed. Has the connection between racism changed how society

Institutionalized racism runs deep within the American culture. Its roots have slowly engulfed society over time and in today’s society, it exists as much as it did decades ago, if not, the problem has gotten worse. Institutionalized racism is a system that feeds off on power and privilege that is dependent upon race. This system uses disparities between races in order to profit in its economy. Society often overlooks where the problem persists and very often, it is in the most innocent of places where this problem feeds off on. For instance, in academia the problem is subtle, but it is one that has the most severe consequences for students that are not white. Also, one of the major consequences experienced by students of color is the rise of mental illness. I am part of the group of students of color that has experienced institutionalized racism. The system often gets overlooked because of the belief that this system is not present in academia. In reality, the system implants its roots as soon as a child begins school and from there the roots expand as the child moves up in grade level. Institutionalized racism in academia and its effect on mental health for students of color is important because America needs to acknowledge that this system harms students that are not white.

America is a melting pot if there ever was one, the United States is one of the most diverse countries in the world and as such, racial issues has been and continues to be a relevant topic. The term institutional discrimination was first coined in the 1960's during the peak of the civil rights movement. Institutional discrimination moves away from the prejudice-causes- discrimination model which expressed immediate effects of discrimination rather than the cumulative effects such as lost jobs, lost housing opportunities and immediate effects of discrimination on individuals and families. Even though the term institutionalized racism was coined during the 1960's, the beginning of institutionalized racism in America comes from the imperial expansion of European powers overseas. The interest theory gives sociologists a way at understanding how this sort of racism came into fruition, " Interest theory suggests that discrimination can be shaped by desire for social, economic, or political gain. Such motivation need not be linked to a prejudiced view of a minority outgroup" (Feagin and Eckberg 7). For this theory it really isn't the fact that an individual looked different, but the misconception on how someone looks to motivate them to treat them as a lower class in thus, believe they can be taken advantage of.