Racism : A Social Problem

In one way or another everyone encounters racism at many times in their life. Whether they are making the comments or victims of it, racism is everywhere and continues to be denied throughout the world. Neil Bissoondath, a Trinidad native, writes "I'm Not Racist But…" which discusses the types of labels given to different ethnic groups and the encouragement of racism they give. Based on the effective way it was written, Bissoondath's essay is suggested for an English 101 text.

There exists in our community a monster, a monster as old as mankind itself. This monster is known by many names; some call it racism, others discrimination but the only thing certain about this monstrosity is that it can be overcome if we all unite to fight against it. Racism is “a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race” (Merriam Webster). Racism has multiple causes ranging from living in a secluded community, to the basic instincts of mankind which likes exemplify the differences found in others not like themselves. Racism can destroy the foundations on which a community is laid upon and can intrude upon the peace and sanction of many of its members. By informing members of the community on the reasons why racism continues to persist, encouraging acceptance and providing further education on how to relieve racial tensions, we can resolve the issue of racism once and for all.

Over the years, the face of racism has taken on many forms. In present day America, racism is a very taboo subject. It a common view that racism is not a big issue anymore, given the large strides that we, as a country have made towards equality. However, the inequalities that still exist between races point to a different situation. Instead of the blatantly discriminatory acts that our nation has witnessed in the past, modern racism practices are more covert and seemingly nonracial, making this kind of discrimination seem more acceptable and politically correct. The Civil Rights Movement forced society to implement a new, subtler way to perpetuate racial inequality. In Racism Without Racists, Bonilla-Silva describes the justification

Racism is a socially constructed concept used by multiple groups of people and creates a hierarchy of sorts based purely on the color of a person’s skin or their cultural origins. It has been an idea that has existed since the beginnings of civilization. A more modern iteration of this concept was made prominent in the 16th century as European settlers began to explore different areas of the world, specifically areas in or around Africa. But slavery can be seen back in the 1500s all the way to 1880 and was most likely a leading example of what helped define racism up to the 20th century. In Ali Rattansi’s book, “Racism: A Very Short Introduction” , the author connects how slavery and race are closely tied together. European explorers would ignore the cultures the invaded in order to see these people as nothing more than native groups that were meant to be seen in a subservient role. Slavery would continue to grow across the Atlantic and seen as an institution that created large amounts of wealth for those who could reap the benefits from it. As long as money was being made, slavery persisted and was justified. Race and racism was conceived the way it was because the slave owning system was controlled by European colonizers.

While coming up with a topic for this paper, one of my questions dealt with war and cultural groups. I will be the first to admit, Racism was the last thing on my mind. The original question being, “How does war affect a Social Culture and how does it stand today?” When I started thinking about Cultures that had been so deeply affected by war, one of the first that came to mind were the Japanese in World War II. Then I recalled what one person had told me of their younger days at college, when they were attending school. Their name will remain anonymous; I do not want to make the victim’s name public as it has a very personal nature.

Explanations that justify the use of racism directly relates to differential treatment of minority groups and contributes to racism’s existence as an unstoppable social problem. The foundations of these explanations are based on the common misunderstanding of the definition of race. Thus, problems that tend to concentrate in one race are mistakenly judged as “race problems”. This judgement leads to the establishment of a system of inequality between a superior race and inferior races. However, the logic behind these explanations don’t account for the true reasoning behind minority individuals value status. In fact, these explanations contribute to minority individuals’ further struggle in life.

Many Americans say racism is a big problem, according to CNN. Racism is one of the World’s biggest issues today. There are a number of people who are racists and spreading racism around the world. There are also many people who are actually facing racism in this world. Racism is bad as it was before and it is still here in many people. Definitely, no one born racist, but his/her surroundings or cultures or environment make them racist person. There are plenty of people in America who are facing racism. While racism still a big problem in the United States, it can be decreased or reduced by making changes in the community, supporting or attending different cultures and learning about cultures.

The concept of race is an ancient construction through which a single society models all of mankind around the ideal man. This idealism evolved from prejudice and ignorance of another culture and the inability to view another human as equal. The establishment of race and racism can be seen from as early as the Middle Ages through the present. The social construction of racism and the feeling of superiority to people of other ethnicities, have been distinguishably present in European societies as well as America throughout the last several centuries.

Racism and racial stereotyping are constructs that has been around since the beginning of the colonization of America. It’s a notion very prevalent yet undermined by skepticism. Many would believe that a nation such as the United States of America has progressed from such a hideous perspective, however, their existence is once again escalating. We see racial profiling and discrimination portrayed in various forms throughout our daily lives. Whether it be something simple as segregated neighborhoods or schools to things such as minorities being discriminated against during employment opportunities. It’s apparent that the barrier placed between blacks and whites is something affront yet learned racism in its entirety. There’s an underlying connection between racism and anxiety of black individuals causing them to turn to their own rather than seek sympathy from opposing races. This brief synthesis analysis will draw connections to this generalized statement aforementioned to elucidate on how perspective of minorities changes over the course of their lifetimes.

Historically, racism has existed through out human history from 500- 1000 years. Racism is considered to be directed on the part of the Westerners towards the non westerners, such as the Asians, Africans and others. Racism however, is defined as hatred imposed from one person to another. Racism can also be that one particularly race is more superior than the other, or less human, due to the state of origin, colour of skin, language, ethnicity, gender, religious, and different biological characteristics (ADL archive). The essay will address the impact of racism to individuals and our community, and also further will discuss the nature of racism.

Racism, although described in many ways, is commonly defined as the belief that one race is superior to another. It is the belief that differences in race give one “the right to dominate others or that a particular racial group is inferior”. This idea of superiority not only is thought by the individual but can also be thought systematically. It is the prejudice structural thinking that fosters practices and policies in institutions, such as government, that leads to inequalities embedded in the system. Therefore, racism is not only bigotry or prejudice; it is unfairness, based on the idea that one race is inferior, that creeps into every aspect of American life.

A social justice issue that is of pressing concern today and is still around, is racism. With the Presidential election which recently concluded, there has been plenty of talk of racism and the “Black Lives Matter” protests. Then, there is also professional athletes protesting themselves, such as Colin Kaepernick, quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, who chose not to stand for the National Anthem because he did not want to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses the black community. Extreme Epictetus would remind him of what he’s getting himself into, because you know the media would blow this into proportion and everybody will know about it. He would also say to do what you believe and just continue what you’re doing if you have

Before people were calling their self-one race and did not have people going around saying or claiming different races but as of the 2000 national census marked an important change in how we measure race in the United States. Race classification is the social problem that is discussed in this passage. A lot of people in the article stated that they were black and white, white and Asian, as well as white and Indian. But overall the social problems have something to do with the United States categorizing people into races. Race is a socially constructed concept, social construction concerns the significance, perception, or meaning placed on an object or event by a society, and adopted by the inhabitants of that society with respect to how they view or deal with the object or event.

On the other hand, race is a classification system of people based on their physical traits, skin color and inherited characteristics (Difference Between, 2011). The conflict between race and culture has created racism and discrimination. As mentioned earlier, despite the obvious ethical dilemmas of inequality, oppression and injustice surrounding racism, the way it evolved has made some individual ignore its presence. The racial privilege and white bias continues to play an integral part in avoiding racial talk. Hence, racism is not only considered to be historical or structural but also a belief of group of individuals against a racial other (Bonilla & Forman, 2000).

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