Racial And Ethnic Inequality

Movies and entertainment outlets speak volumes about the current state of a nation’s culture. Cinematic creations in the United States allow small voices to be heard and controversial issues to be addressed. However, a repetitive and monumental issue continues to be addressed, yet continues to persist in our 21st century culture, racial inequalities. Since the inception of the United States, black men and women alike have been disenfranchised at the hands of the “white man” in America. Instead of continuing the conversation today, the issue is continually silenced referencing the successes and achievements of the Civil Rights Movement in the 20th century. Nonetheless, an unfortunate reality looms upon this great land; racially based systems and structures continue to exist in 2015 the in United States. This paper synthesizes three films focused on racial inequalities in different time periods. Separate but Equal (1991), Selma (2015), and Crash (2005) illustrate how influential the Civil War amendments are, while serving as an uncanny reminder of how the racial prejudices during the 20th century continue to exist in our great nation today. Needless to say our nation has made great strides, but still has a long way to go.

Throughout the semester, we have discussed many different social justice issues. One issue that has stuck with me is gender and racial inequality. Gender inequality is very important to me because I was raised by a single mother and surrounded by women all the time. I do not believe that anyone should be payed or treated differently due to their gender. While growing up, I saw that women are capable for doing anything and often times have to work harder than men to prove themselves. Racial inequality is an issues that is important to me because I feel that all individuals should be equal. I think Dr. King’s idea of color blindness, not today’s definition, should be something that we as a society strive for. We need to move past the idea that

There are approximately 7 billion people in this world. Each person has a unique combination of traits such as skin tone, face shape, body type, eye color, hair color, and other characteristics. These traits vary due to genetics, environmental factors, and much more. An individual 's race is defined by their physical characteristics and how they differ among others. Race is not defined by the way an individual behaves or portrays themselfes; it is based strictly off of their physical traits. Since America was founded, race has played a significant role in the relations of the citizens in this country. For decades, different races have been stereotyped and been prejudice towards one another, without realizing how invalid their judgements are. Specifically, African Americans have been discriminated by caucasians in America since it’s founding. It began by the enslaving of African Americans, and today, the discrimination and inequality is more hidden in society. Although America has made significant progress in overcoming racial inequality in the country, many African Americans are still being subject to hardships that Caucasian Americans do not face, especially in regards to the justice system.

Since America’s beginning, race based barriers have mired the fulfillment of our shared principles and many of these barriers still persist today. The institutionalized inequalities are detrimental on an individual basis as well a societal basis. Racism does not only affect the individuals that are being oppressed but also how society functions as a whole. Racial inequalities have manifested in American society in ways that underlies a wide range of societal domains such as housing patterns, educational opportunities, healthcare inequality, and incarceration rates. Current events and experiences demonstrate moreover that racial inequality is still adamant in the American culture. Long after slavery, the Jim Crow Era, and the civil rights movement, racial inequality has taken distinctive forms which affect many people within a racially oppressed group. Racial segregation at large is embedded within a structural matrix that not only permeates in the American culture but in our private and public institutions. Disparities in the criminal justice system and housing patterns remain a key barrier to racial equality in America. In order to eradicate racial inequality, there needs to be policy solutions that place fundamental changes to a system with profound historical origins, one that structurally disadvantages minority groups.

Johnson, H. B. (2014). The American dream and the power of wealth: Choosing schools and inheriting inequality in the land of opportunity. Routledge.

“Nothing could be more insulting to me than the concept of civil rights. It means perpetual second-class citizenship for me and my kind” stated by James Meredith, a civil rights activist. The civil rights movement was all about gaining rights, but in the end African Americans barely gained the right to vote. The civil rights movement was a failure because African Americans still face inequality in housing, education, and jobs. The United States is all about equality when it comes to race, gender, home country, and religion, but blacks continue to suffer through poverty.

The barriers that separate men have existed for centuries. Race, class, status, these are all ideas that have created a divide among humans. This divide creates competition and tension. Throughout the history of the legal system, justice has been used to validate slavery and other forms of racial inequality. Our system now has changed, but the basic concept has remained the same. According to one study, the judicial system was invented by whites to protect whites and keep people of color at bay (Constitutional Rights Foundation, 2017, p1). This idea of preserving a one superior racial system resulted in a bias still existent today.

In class we have been focusing on the topic of racial and socioeconomic inequalities, and how they are demonstrated in todays society. Both are issues that have improved over the years but are stuck in a pretty bad place right now. We need to become aware of these issues and be willing to make changes to see progress and equality across the United States.

Racial and ethnic disparities can be a touchy subject when talking among many circle of people, even so with some Caucasian sub-group.US Census reported that 1 in 4 Americans are of a race other than white; 1 in 3 children are African American, Hispanic, or Asian; and 1 in 10 people are of foreign-born. When majority dictated make all decisions and the minorities does not have any power. This cultural diversity can have inferences with our health care. Ethnic culture affects our beliefs, health, illness, and medications, as well as how we interact with our healthcare providers, and even how we comply with our prescribed medications, as well as mental health status (Cultural diversity and Medication Safety , 2003).

There are various ways that race has been utilized to rationalize inequality. For instance, the fact that America ultimately created a race. Under those circumstances, American created this ideology which has constructed political and economic goals that favor the Whites. One of the founders of this inequality is Thomas Jefferson who believed that blacks were inferior to the Whites in the endowments of body and mind. There was a belief that Africans were different kinds of people. Additionally, scientific experiments were constructed that allowed scientists to compare human beings’ skulls with one another to prove a racial hierarchy. Furthermore, race has been utilized to shift attention and responsibility away from opposers and toward the

Measuring racial and ethnic equality is not a simple or straightforward task. As Gary M. Klass points out in the “Measuring Racial and Ethnic Inequality” chapter of his book Just Plain Data Analysis:Finding, Presenting, and Interpreting Social Science Data, “Numbers never speak for themselves.” Klass’s purpose for this chapter is to demonstrate the range of data that is derived from social indicators and that can be used to analyze racial and ethnic disparities in different spheres such as income and wealth, health, education, and criminal justice. After summarizing the content covered in the chapter, Klass’s methodology and findings can be discussed and evaluated.

Studies show that police are more likely to pull over and frisk blacks or Latinos than whites. In New York City, 80% of the stops made were blacks and Latinos, and 85% of those people were frisked, compared to a mere 8% of white people stopped (11 Facts about Racial Discrimination). America is known as the land of opportunity. Immigrants and people come from far and wide seeking success and achieving their dream in this land. There is a reason for that and throughout history this reason hasn’t changed. America is a melting pot. The most diverse country in the world. We have Asians, African Americans, Chinese, Indians and much more all living together as one. You go into any big business, law firm or

“1]. How does social inequality impact people of different nationalities [ethnicities & races], classes, and genders in society.”

Throughout America’s past, racial inequality has been a reoccurring theme in our society. Ever since the Europeans invaded America the white man has been superior compared to all ethnicities. No more than two hundred years ago, African Americans were slaves and only counted as three fifths of a person. Within the past hundred years African Americans have managed to obtain more equality in some situations, but in other cases racial inequality has become worse than it was when segregation took place. The gaps between the quality of education of white and black students receive appears to be growing instead of shrinking. The lack of quality education blacks receive has contributed to significant health differences between

Multiple factors contribute to racial inequality. Under those circumstances, many people have this belief that a particular ethnic group is superior compared to others. For instance, Berlin states, “white people set black people apart socially and ideologically. The belief that people of African descent were somehow different, if not in origins then certainly by experience and perhaps by nature.” For this reason, racism is different in different parts of the world. Different cultures teach different values to their citizens. Ultimately, fear of different ethnic groups could cause racial inequality from the 1500s to the present, ethnocentrism is the main cause because it is expressed in different ways in the United States, countries teach