Racial Inequality

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.

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.

America is known as “the land of the free”, but my question to you is, who is worthy of this privilege? For as long as I can remember, minorities in America as never received the same privilege as the so call founders of this great nation. Now America’s middle class, which consist of mainly Blacks and Hispanics are under invasion. This is what I call Racial and Ethnic Inequality. A race is defined as a person’s physical features, such as their hair, eye color, bone structure, and the icing on top of the cake a person’s skin color. Ethnic inequality is being bias, one-sided, or discriminating towards an ethnic group. For over 30 years, the fortune of the middle class black and Latinos households declined by 75 percent and 50 percent, in that exact order it was given. At the same time, white middle-class households fortune increased a bit. The middle white class had $116,800 in funds as to a disappointing $2,000 for Latinos and a stunted $1,700 for blacks. This wealth decline is unjust, not only that it is a threat to the middle-class American’s growth. I honestly must say I feel so sorry for the overall economic health. I recently came across a new report of the Institute for Policy Studies and Prosperity. The wealth gap between whites and other Ethnic groups are a big difference. In the new report of the Institute for Policy Studies and Prosperity, it shows that the white families with more wealth can buying a new home, starting their own businesses, and covering

Social inequality is a recurring problem throughout, not only the country, but the world. There are all kinds of inequalities throughout the world, and without any person or thing creating awarenesses this will induce more pandemonium. With that being said, in order to terminate racial inequality, people that are capable of bringing awareness to it need to start producing familiarity locally because it will suddenly erupt onto a more global impact. When analyzing how starting to bring awareness to social inequities and raise awareness at a local level can turn global and change the world, one who explores the specifics of racial discrimination can aware others about the dangers and results of this certain inequality. Politics, professional athletes protesting, and media discrimination are ways people have been making local awareness a global reality. In the end, with more and more awareness, more and more people will help end inequalities throughout the world.

Black Americans have a history rooted in the struggle for equality and recognition as members of the American society. Over time, since the creation of the Constitution, blacks have continued to search for their role in America and have gained some formal standards for the black race. Although at the framing of the Constitution, blacks were not given the regard as citizens or even whole people, time progressed and gave way to opportunities to acquire legal aid in the crusade for racial equality. With the ability to utilize the court system, its formalities, and ultimately its power to enact national laws, blacks were able to win civil rights litigations, thus making advancements as a race.

Since the beginning of time, racial inequality has influenced the way society feels and treats one another. In the times of slavery in the United States, white people were in control of almost everything, resulting in the oppression of black people. This dark period in American history has shaped the country to what it is now. With racism being very much alive in present day society, black Americans are still fighting for equality throughout the country. Although speaking out against racial discrimination is the humane thing to do, many people in present day society have chosen to stay silent and not take action. It is important to understand that whenever an individual ignores or disregards an issue like racism, they are still

According to State of Working America, African-Americans have the highest poverty rate at 27.4 percent. In the United States, descendants of slaves are currently barred from freedom because of racism and classism, and is enforced through the laws. This started with the Jim Crow laws in the twentieth century, and classist laws and prejudice have kept segregation alive long after the Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964. Racial inequality needs to be addressed because it mirrors slavery. It is essential for the public to understand because it impairs many lives.

The structural approach to racial inequality sheds light on the way interactions between numerous actions, policies, and institutions produce and maintain the white supremacist status quo. Structural racism refers to the way American social, political, and economic institutions systematically privilege white people, to the disadvantage of people of color.

One of the biggest struggles that our country has had to overcome is the fight for racial equality. The fight for legal, racial equality was only half the battle; achieving recognized, public equality was a very time consuming task. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. The legalization of this act was the result of massive amounts of hard work. Many people had to come together in order to make a change. They fought for what they believed in, and racial equality would not have been legalized had it not been for their strength in numbers. If I could be a part of any historical event it would be the fight to legalize racial equality.

What is racial and ethnic inequality? To understand racial and ethnic inequality you must understand what is considered race and what is considered ethnicity. According to our textbook, “Race can be defined as a group or population that shares a set of genetic characteristics and physical features” meanwhile ethnic groups “are set off to some degree from other groups by displaying a unique set of cultural traits, such as their language, religion, or diet” (Leon-Guerrero). When others are treated unjustly, whether it is in the workplace, school, community, public facilities, etc., due to their race or ethnic group then that is racial and ethnic inequality. One big factor or cause of this inequality is racism. Racism is “the belief in the inferiority of certain racial or ethnic groups, often accompanied by discrimination” (Leon-Guerrero). People believe that the color of a person’s skin or certain features of that person make them better than those who have a different color of skin or set of physical features. They believe that their language and religion is the correct and best meanwhile the rest are seen as inferior. Those same people think that because of their skin tone or language, they should have more privileges and rights than those who are different from them. Most of the time, those people are not part of the minority group and think they are better than those in minority

Racial inequality is one of the first things that comes to mind when people hear “diversity”. My goal in this paper is show effective ways to encourage community diversity while simultaneously discouraging conflict. Webster’s dictionary defines diversity as “The condition of having or being composed of different elements, especially the inclusion of different people in a group or organization” (Webster). Education is a key component to help shape a person’s attitude toward society Greaney). The beliefs, perceptions, and understandings that people acquire doing their adolescence years tend to influence how they perceive things in life. (Epstein 1997; Seixas 1993) Providing educational information on different culturals is one way to encourage

“The land of the free” is the motto of the country and the American people. This motto has made America what it is today, and has been an example of what America is known for, their freedom. The reason the American people are free is that they are protected by the Constitution of the United States. This Constitution protects everyone who resides in the United States, and provides for equality amongst all people. Over the past several decades racial equality has played a significant role in the making of history. America is a country in

After watching the video, I realized that the reality is that the situation has not gotten better. In fact, I believe that it has gotten worse over time. Since the video was broadcasted eight years ago, there has been numerous attempts by local and federal government to close this gap and attempt to reduce the social inequalities that were mentioned. In the video, it was mentioned that the United States alone spends over $72 trillion a year in health care alone. Currently, that number has risen and it is estimated that the United States spends over 15% of its GDP on healthcare alone. This is higher than any other country in the world. Unfortunately, the spending and the overall health of its citizens is not positively correlated. The social and racial inequalities depicted and explained in depth by Dr. Kawachi seem to be the underlying cause of the many health issues that Americans face today and unfortunately, all these issues could be prevented with the efforts of not only society but by community leaders, businesses, and government.