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Racism: A Skin Deep Problem Essay

Decent Essays

Racism: A Skin Deep Problem

In our most recent class unit, we discussed racial inequality and discrimination in the United States of America. According to PBS, “the idea of race has no genetic basis.” Present day society has transformed race into a way to divide people into different groups. Previously, people used to be classified by “religion, status, class, even language.” Now, with great influence by the media, people are divided by skin color. Two main factors worth examining when discussing racial inequality and discrimination in America are segregation in education and the idea of being “imprisoned in poverty.” Segregation in education is a large aspect of racial inequality and discrimination in America. The segregation issues are …show more content…

All of this links together in a Huffington post article that states that less than 1% of Fortune 500 companies have black CEO’s. There are only four black CEO’s left in Fortune 500 companies after McDonald’s former CEO, Don Thompson, retired in January follow a dip in their overall numbers (Berman, 1). The article continues on to state that according to Ronald Parker, CEO of the Executive Leadership Council, Fortune 500 companies are looking for candidates “with more international experience” (Berman, 1). He goes on to say “Women and people of color aren’t afforded those opportunities” (Berman, 1). Therefore, they are not being considered for these positions. If we want to bridge the gap of racial inequality and discrimination in America by race, we need to give black students the same opportunities that whites students are given. This will lead to them being in position to be considered for high level positions in corporate America and avoid a life “imprisoned in poverty.” I am not saying that by eliminating segregation in education, we will eliminate racial inequality and discrimination. Education is a good place to start though. There are many factors to why there is racial inequality and discrimination in the United States, but making strides in equal education across races will make a huge difference in the elimination of racial inequality and

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