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Racism In Ww2 Research Paper

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Racism is a term that has been around as long as history has been recorded. In some form, all around the world, there are records of events that show how one race had negative views of another race; many of the times one group views the other group as lesser because they feel they are uneducated, inadequate humans, or even different species. This being said it isn’t surprising that racism still exists as tensions amongst world powers are increasing in the years leading up to America’s involvement in World War Two. Racism still existed when Japan launched a surprise attack on the US at Pearl Harbor, but racism took on a more transparent form, sometimes called systemic/institutionalized racism. Flint, Michigan is an excellent example of systemic …show more content…

This fear will mark as the starting point for racism from WWII until now. This fear is one that shows what institutionalized racism looked like in the midst of chaos. The attack stunned Americans, citizens and military members alike; not only did it stun those who witnessed the carnage it made it easy to point the finger at the enemy, based on racial classifications. This blame game led to Executive Order No. 9066 issued by FDR in Feb. 1942, which in summary allowed the forced migration of the Japanese located in strategic military zones. Japanese is a tricky word here, but it means anybody of Japanese ancestry either foreign born or Nationally born. This executive order is the first step of institutionalized racism, which made it lawful to force these people into internment camps because of their race, and it is argued that “they” are a threat to National Security. The idea that they are a threat to National Security is somewhat bogus as many of those relocated are more American than …show more content…

These petty crimes are largely accompanied with strict punishments, such as felonies, that scar the reputation of those convicted. This scar makes it even more difficult for these people to find good jobs so they can get out of this never ending cycle. Looking at the broader picture would be looking at Flint and similar cases. This institutionalized racism that has been implemented in some form or another since WWII has caused a downward spiral for the poor minorities that is seemingly impossible to get out of. Flint is a great example of the consequences of this systemic racism. In short, the issues in Flint happened because the government viewed these people as “nobodies,” but what they don’t realize is that they are the ones that have caused this issue to escalate to the point it has. The Governor allocated a certain amount of money to the impoverished city, an amount that reflects the wealth of the citizens of the city. Because of the policies discussed earlier on, the civilians in Flint were extremely poor, so the money the city was allocated was extremely small. The government knew very well that the money Flint had to work with was not enough to provide adequate standard of living, but they turned their heads, and wiped these nobodies away like dust under the

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