Racism And Racism

In America, a culture of sustained racism and sexism influences foreign policymakers, which results in colonialism and imperialism, the desecration of nations, and militancy. The authors of the articles, Michael L. Krenn and Laura McEnaney, with differing skill sets, provide evidence of racial and gendered bias in foreign policy. In “The Adaptable Power of Racism,” Krenn expertly examines the history of racism within foreign policy; how racism adapted in the face of religious and scientific challenges, and the overall effects of racist foreign policies.1 McEnaney, in “Gender Analysis and Foreign Relations,” provides a lackluster account of the application of gender analysis to foreign policy, specifically in relation to the policies of the Cold War and Spanish-American War.2 The history of racism and sexism in America provide a blueprint for foreign policymakers, where racist militancy and sexist excuses override basic human rights.

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.

In the United States, one of the earliest forms of racism was the use of slavery. [how did slavery start]. By the 1800s, slavery had become a major part of

In the summer of 1619, the first Africans were brought to Jamestown, Virginia not to live as free settlers but as subordinate slaves. They worked strenuously for Whites, who considered themselves superior to Africans, without much benefit. Racism is not just the belief that one race is superior to others, but the act of negatively identifying individuals based on the color of their skin. Attributing race to individual character has proven to have negative implications that are difficult to mend. There have been different approaches to rectify the effects of racism dating back even before the Civil War. One of the fruition of these attempts is Affirmative Action, which was initially enforced “to ensure equality in hiring” among minorities. Later, Affirmative Action was amended to include education under its protection. Throughout its duration, however, it has alleviated the racial tension unsubstantially. Affirmative Action’s attempt to halt the racial disparities in higher education that has burdened the African Americans constitutes an inconsequential solution: It forges the same environment suffering the struggle it has been trying to eradicate.

There are several theories of racism and slavery but a few of them are universally accepted. Two universally accepted theories has been mentioned and discussed in this work along with the influences of each of them over other and upon the society. The comparison, understanding and contrast of these theories of John Brown and Thomas Cobb has been elaborated completely.

Today in the United States one of the most controversial issues is race relations. Mainstream America would like to exist in an environment of integration and race independent societal construct. However, one cannot negate the existence of racially motivated problems. Slavery, which is a primary component of the development of what we call modern American culture and its abolition could be considered the moment where race relations started to become an issue in the US.

The concept of racial differentiation and slavery was originally non-exist within the early 1600s. Europeans, Native Americans, and Africans were used as ‘indentured servants’ for unfree labor, such as farming cotton and tobacco. During this time, blacks and whites worked together under their masters and even bonded. However, the elites despised this relationship and “had to teach Whites the value of whiteness in order to divide and rule their labor force” (Buck, 24). Rules and regulations were implemented to display superiority of the whites over blacks. Due to this, race had slowly developed over time, starting from colonial Virginia to the early 2000s.

When faced with the debate between the relationship between slavery and racism, scholars often use two arguments that attempt to provide an answer of whether or not slavery produced racism or racism was a necessary precursor to slavery. Some authors address the relationship between slavery and racism by exploring the economics behind slavery while relating it back to the development of chattel slavery and racism. Others explore how the views Europeans had on Africans prior to the mass enslavement and argue that these interpretations came from racial differences. This led to not only slavery, but the growth of racism seen not just in early America but that is deep seeded in many people even today. When reviewing the works of many authors,

This paper will examine how race and racism plays in a role in today’s society, like which races are giving more opportunities because of their skin color, and is racism still a big part of today’s world like it was back in the early 1900s or are we turning a blind eye to racism? We will also take a look into racial oppression in today’s society and how it is playing out in our lives. We will not only look into how African Americans deal with racism in everyday life but also other races that face racism because of their skin color and systemic racism. Also take a look at some basic concepts and theories of Race/Ethnic relations.

Racism is defined as ‘prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one’s own race is superior’ according to Oxford Dictionary. When talking about racism and discrimination, many people think back to the time of the Jim Crow laws. These laws allowed racial segregation in the southern states of the United States of America. Having separate restaurants, drinking fountains, and even different schools for whites and blacks was all common during the Jim Crow Era. People most likely think back to the violence and riots that were a result of these laws. Although physical violence was a major aspect of the time, most do not realize that mental and emotional abuse was a huge result as well and often times went unnoticed. W.E.B. Du Bois and James Baldwin share that racism not only results in physical abuse, but also mental and emotional abuse which can lead to mental health issues and unique ways of processing the world by describing these effects as diseases.

It’s even more interesting to note how the origins of the American legal, social, and economic institutions affect the way today’s institutions exist. More specifically the way they manifest structural racism. The ideology of racism has been woven into the very foundation of the U.S. and consequently has acted as a machine to keep slavery alive today. Many institutions are so prideful of their capitalistic values but once analyzed they can be shown to be directly linked to slavery. An example of this is the formation of modern police

The ancient practice of slavery shows relationships that have existed in the course of history in different ethnic groups and peoples, even within societies and cultural groups. Racism has been part of every culture in the world, observing and classifying the blacks as inferior or despising his

Racism consists of unfair treatment toward a person or group people from a specific racial group that defines people by physical appearances and seeks for biological proofs. It is formed by social construction and shaped by broader social force. The history of race originates from very early when white people brought Africans to the United States and treated them inhumanely to prove white superiority. When races started to mix, the categorization of people becomes complex, such then the formation of the One-Drop Rule. This rule further classifies any mixture of non-pure people as non-whites and provides them with inequalities in social, economic and politic status. Even through scientific studies, people want to find reasons to show their justifications. In the 1700s, taxonomy of groupings established to rank people in levels by Linnaeus and then follows Blumenbach who invented the word, race, and phenotype of color. The studies continued in the 1800s, where people searched for a biological definition of race. Eugenics and Social Darwinism formed in the 1900s to preserve and improve the dominant groups in the society. The whites wanted to show their purity, and gradually it became common sense in the United States that they belong at the top and were more dominant than others. One of the constitutions of America states that "All man created equal" which means ironically the opposite to any non-white racial groups and radicalizes a utopic, color-blindness society in the

The opportunity for everyone to be treated fairly and have the same rights is something that many have fought for. Many such as Martin Luther King, Jessie Jackson, Rosa Parks, and Malcolm X are some of the most prominent people who fought for the freedom and for all to be treated fairly. Webster defined discrimination as a positive or negative attitude toward an individual based on his or her membership in a religious, racial, ethnic, political, or other groups. When reviewing the definition of the word, one can say that this subject still exists, it is now just considered as stereotyping. Years before the 21st century racism and segregation was a problem that African Americans and other ethnicities dealt with segregation from the white community, some still question whether racism still exist in schools, on the job and especially in communities where they live.

Racism has long been a running issue within our world’s history. It goes back to the middle ages and has somehow continued its path of hatred and negativity into the 21st century (Fredrickson 100). Throughout history we see this common pattern of racism being carried out by Europeans and the West—along with Christianity—as a means of reflecting their negative feelings towards certain ethnic groups and people. We can see how prejudice and discrimination have affected people of all backgrounds and the negative effect it as on not only the people experiencing it but just how common it really is.