The article “I Racist” by John Metta gave an interesting and opinionated perspective about racism, especially in the white community that I, personally, agree with and at times, resonate with as well. I am not a black person in the United States to which I understand is already a privilege. Metta stated the issue with police brutality and shootings to Black Americans that has happened recently which means that a teenage girl like myself who is not black is already less likely not to be shot in this country. I fall victim to this inherent racism because I can recognize it myself. I do not mean to, but I do get scared when I see a group of black teenage boys walking around at night. Although I try to justify it as much as I can by saying “It …show more content…
I remember playing with dolls with my black friend and she took the white doll instead of the black doll. Racism thrives even in the black community. It is the reason why humans are taught that white is “pure” and black is “evil” and I could not even imagine how that would make me feel if I were a black person. My mother mentioned to me once that since I was little, I always had a variety of multi-cultural friends who all have broadened my perspective on life. My best friend who is black told me once how when she was growing up, her father made her research a genocide in Africa and made her learn about African culture although she is Haitian. We both agreed how uncanny it was the the Holocaust during WWII is so frequently mentioned and taught but other genocides all over the world have been completely ignored by the schooling system. This is another subtle form of racism because we choose to acknowledge the horrors that took place to a White race but refuse to see the horrors in everyone else. I hope more African Americans, Muslims, Hispanics, etc. choose to speak out the way John Metta did to start an uncomfortable, but much needed
All through the United States the African American community has been targeted by the Caucasian community. We are in the year 2015 and still to this day we are having the same problem our grandparents and their ancestors were dealing with in today’s modern society. A young lady by the name of Renisha McBride became another victim of racism, she was shot and killed asking for help after she was in a car accident. The accident happened in Dearborn Heights Michigan, which is 20 minutes away from the major city Detroit. This is an unfortunate event that happens all the time throughout the country.
According to the CNN article titled “Poll: 1 in 5 blacks report 'unfair' dealings with police in the last month,” African-Americans were experiencing unfair police treatment due to their racial standards in their community. “Terms such as ‘driving while black’ and ‘walking while black’ have been coined, with studies showing that blacks are pulled over, questioned or arrested by police at a disproportionately higher rate than white Americans” (Poll: 1 in 5 blacks report 'unfair' dealings with police in the last month n. p.). Presumably, since African-Americans are people of color they are often treated unfairly in their communities, especially by white policemen because they can be racist towards them. Policemen will often end up focusing on their racial standards, and what the color of their skin is instead of what they act like as an individual, and how they treat others in their community. Moreover, in the film, Prom Night in Mississippi, African-American high school students were treated unfairly by white high school students, and also by other white people in their community. They were doing this because they too were only focusing on the fact that they are African-Americans, and how they did not see them as equal individuals within their community. For example, when the high school had two separate proms, one only for the white high school students, and
Racism is still a very prominent issue in America today. Yes, it has improved from the days of slavery, and we do have a black president; but society is nowhere near equal, and that is not acceptable. White Privilege by Paula Rothenberg truly opened my eyes to the extent of the social injustice on African Americans. Just by being white, one is oppressing another race because the privilege and respect that comes with the skin color. Whether intentional or not, the racism is still there and present and that is not acceptable. Being white, I’ve never suffered from the repercussions of racism, but after reading and becoming more aware of the suffering of African American’s, it is significant to write and spread the knowledge about racism and especially implicit racism. Everyone is surrounded by racism on a daily basis, and it’s important to be aware of your actions and the effects they have on society.
There were recent reports of white policemen shooting black teens for no apparent reason. The authorities say that they were causing a disturbance, but many others claim that they were racist. Being alert of your surroundings is one circumstance but being racist is an entirely different situation. Researchers have designed an experiment to test if people are racist, and the studies showed that people are "more likely to shoot an unarmed black man than an unarmed white man" (Kristof, 2). It is infuriating that people somehow undertake in racist actions subconsciously. The skin color of a person does not have anything to do with how civilians treat each other. People know that men and women are all equal, but they never live up to what they believe in. The Civil Rights Movement (thanks to Martin Luther King Jr) allowed African Americans to have a much better place in society, though they still receive ignorance, neglect, and hate. All the negativity that comes from those that make it obvious when they clearly are not comfortable around African-Americans is evident to bystanders who witness it. Nothing makes them makes them stand apart from the rest of society. Racism will worsen if we as a society take no action but sit and watch it
Ultimately, the narrative of systematic oppression defines black history in America, yet the systematic oppression from the past caused cultural impediments that combined with systematic oppression in today’s society affect the black community presently. Constantly, the media portrays black people through mostly negative lenses as they’re depicted as having no class, being too aggressive, or through the most typical and praised roles of being slaves or nannies to their employer’s children. Similarly, the wealth gap between black people and other races still exists as a remnant of the injustices black people faced in the past. Furthermore, police brutality continues to occur with little consequences to the officers who attack black people for
Here in the year 2014, racism is till very obvious to everyone’s eyes. Minorities aren’t treated well in restaurants, they are given fewer choices than white people with the same background, and they also are still the last ones to be chosen on the playground or in gym class when picking teams for dodge ball. No one is born racist. It is something that is taught through cultural transmission, just like language. Slavery was abolished in 1865 under Abraham Lincoln, which was only several generations ago, but the hatred that some older white folks have for African Americans is still unreasonably alive. How might the events that have recently occurred in Ferguson, Missouri affect how racism plays such a dominant role in today’s society involving
It is not a secret that black Americans are at a larger economic, political and educational disadvantage, yet so many white Americans believe that the black American is as successful as a white (Embrick 2015, 838). So in cases of police brutality, minorities are portrayed to be offenders and violent, while the police are given the role of a protector in media (Embrick 2015, 839). Although it does not mean that such publicized cases of police brutality are not thought provoking for white Americans, many do understand the situation and the existence of this violence (Sigelman et al 1997, p. 789). It is simply that majority believe it is outside of America’s racist history instead, and based more on criminal behaviour (Sigelman et al 1997, p. 789). This impacts society to split into two, the world those who are privileged live in and the world that the poor and marginalized are forced into (Embrick 2015, 837).
Our rights as given to us by the Constitution of United States of America are important to ensure our protection from government. Everyone has equal rights and protection and cannot lose these rights. One of these rights is the Fifth Amendment that protects all U.S. citizens against self-incrimination, or causing oneself to be deemed guilty of a crime. Understanding this right can help prevent the government from abusing our rights. In the case of the Central Park jogger, these young men lives were changed forever for simply not understanding or given warning that they are guaranteed rights to protect
The education system is notorious for teaching its own agenda, and not necessarily all the facts of a situation. For many years, the education system on all levels has been teaching students what it means to have privilege, and how life would be if they did not. Usually, the white students are the subject of privilege, and the minority student are the subject of life with racism, and without privilege. White privilege has been an underlying lesson to students for generations, and contributes to the power and superiority white people feel over everyone else. When the Michael Brown shooting occurred, it opened up many people’s eyes to the inequalities that are being perpetrated by the very education system meant to teach students how to live
As I witnessed the videos and sound recordings of the police killings of these Black youth: Trayvon Martin, Aiyana Stanley-Jones, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice and Darnisha Harris, I, too, lost hope for racial equality and developed a fear of law enforcement that still exists to this day. These emotions are quite common amongst Black youth, yet the presence of such is
It is said that America is free, all people have equal rights and are treated the same, but when it comes to the lives of black people the same rules should but do not apply. Although African Americans only make up 2% of the U.S. population, they are killed at twice the rate of whites, hispanics and Native Americans, and were 9 times more likely to be killed by police officers in 2015 (Swaine, Laughland, Lartey, McCarthy). Being born black in america means that not only are you more likely to be pulled over by police and hassled, but you are almost 10 times for likely to be shot and murdered by a police officer. ‘Yes, all lives matter, but all lives, white, are not being shot six times the rate of blacks and that’s what we need to be aware of’ (Schwartz).
It has been many decades since the end of enslaving African-Americans in the United States of America and the laws – since then – have tried to impede discrimination of all kinds especially racial profiling. The debate of racism has never stopped even in January 20th, 2009 when the American nation elected its forty-fourth president of the United States who was the first African-American president in the entire American History. “Racism is over,” many people became very excited and delighted, “America had chosen a black man to lead the nation, there is no more racism.” However, a lot of undesired incidents that occurred after that in many states between white police officers and young African-American individuals have made this concept questionable that it might be tightly related and connected to racism, or in other words, racial bias. In his article “The New Threat: Racism without Racists,” This article was published on the official webpage of the CNN to target a group of people who do not believe that racism still exists, and that it is the main reason behind many crimes committed by police officers against minorities specially the incident of Ferguson, Missouri and the murder of Michael Brown the eighteen-year-old African-American. John Blake enumerates much evidence and quotes many researchers and activists in order to insist that racism has become more natural and impulsive rather than an intended behavior towards minorities. Moreover, this article might target other
To begin, racism, which is a social construction is no doubt embedded in America 's police and government. It is an epidemic that has gone on for centuries where white people are dominant and superior to other races, particularly black people. Racism has structured the lives of black people to be inferior and harassed by authorities because many whites view blacks as a threat. The only way for white people to eliminate any fears and negative stereotypes about black people is through the police targeting them. In the article “What is Racial Domination?” it states, "Because racism infuses all of social life, people of color and whites alike develop thoughts and practices molded by racism; people of color and Whites alike develop stereotypes about racial groups" (Desmond & Emirbayer, 2009:347). This statement explains that black people and white people both do develop stereotypes about other and even their own
Once in a small town in Canada there were two grocery stores, one was owned by a man named Bob and one the other was owned by Patrick. Patrick had owned a grocery store for 4 years now. So he was trying to teach Bob some things. Everything was fine until bob started stealing Patrick's customers. Bob was selling more things than patrick had ever sold. Patrick got jealous.
Racism is an ongoing force that negatively impacts the lives of Americans every day. The racist mindset in America stems from the times of slavery, where blacks were thought to be inferior to whites. Throughout history, the ideology of race and racism has evolved and developed several different meanings. Today, we can still see the devastating effects of racism on people of color, as well as whites. “Racism, like other forms of oppression, is not only a personal ideology based on racial prejudice, but a system involving cultural messages and institutional policies and practices as well as beliefs and actions of individual” (Tatum, pg. 9). As a result of this system, it leaves the