Reflection About Racism

Is it racism or economics which hinders many African American communities from progressing economically in the 21st Century? This research proposal will address this question by examining the social and psychological impact caused by racism and the economic impact it’s had on the African American community. This proposal will further investigate whether the emotional scars of slavery continue to hamper African American progress or if racism is actually the cause.

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.

It appears to be that the discussion of race and class in America has become amplified, especially in the last couple of years. For many, it is a touchy subject that hits close to home. With the presence of social media and news that feeds off of racial tension in America, the issues are polarizing and difficult to productively discuss. America’s handling of race and class relations is generally not something to be proud of, and there exists a long history of issues with race. It is clear that there is a lack of understanding and empathy of what others experience toward those who are oppressed. So often it is too easy to dismiss another human’s experiences as reality if one has had no prior encounter with the same challenges. Race is easy to sweep under the rug, but we must address the problem, and it is not a one size fits all solution. It is a problem that has been years in the making and continues to have an enormous impact on our human capital from an economic standpoint. And most of the time, there is a correlation between race and class.

During the time of the civil rights movement, in Angelou’s poem, Still I Rise, her use of figurative language appeals to the reader's emotion to understand the shrewdness of the treatment towards women. In her poem she writes, “You may shoot me with your words, You may cut me with your eyes, You may kill me with your hatefulness.” These lines from her poem illustrate the painful affect that ill mannered behavior has on not just women, but all people. Angelou presents her message of cruelty to women through judgement and rudity by using figurative language, and this helps to give her purpose a weightier impact on the

True justice, for every man, woman, and child, no more racial profiling, rapists or pedophile.” In this poem it starts with a man talking about what he see in his eyes but it isn’t what other people see. He wishes for others to respect and not have any negativity in this world. All the bad things are creating bad things that lead other people in a bad mood or can harm others such as leading them into suicide. Racial profiling can be one of the many reasons for people’s deaths. The man’s thought while reading this poem shows how much he wishes for things to stop all the bad things and I can see where he’s going with that. We don’t need to live with this in our world, all we need is positivity around us and everything else will be fine but it seems that the world is not made that

Oppression is at the root of many of the most serious, enduring conflicts in the world. Times were tough in America during the turn of the century. Lots of changes were occurring, and many folks had a difficult time coming to terms with them. Black Americans in particular found themselves caught in a culture that appeared somewhat better than it had been before and during the Civil War. But the fact of the matter was: things just weren't so peachy. This poem is a reaction to the racial climate of the late nineteenth century. The son of former slaves, Paul Laurence Dunbar, was born on June 27, 1872 in Dayton, Ohio to parents who had been enslaved in Kentucky before the American Civil War. At age 33, he died of tuberculosis on February 9, 1906. He was the first African-American poet to reach a wide audience, publishing verse poems and short stories before his early death. His use of both negro dialect and standard English helped to portray his cultural lifestyle, joys, and tribulations distinguishing him from other writers of the late 1800s, early 1900s. In his poem, the speaker opens the poem with the declaration that we wear masks that hide our true feelings. He goes on to emphasize the severity of the pain and suffering that these masks try to cover up. By the end we understand that all of the politeness and subdued emotions are just phony disguises of the painful truths that hide behind them. With that knowledge, he try’s to get his audience to understand his purpose in

Before I began this class I thought I was well versed in terms, of race, ethnicity, and nationality. However, I may have been partially wrong. I always considered my race to be Mexican and my ethnicity to be Hispanic while my nationality is American. However, according to the definitions I don’t have a race. On forms, I usually check the block for other and identify by ethnicity. I consider myself of Hispanic ethnicity from Mexican descent. However, to Mexicans from Mexico, I am not considered Mexican. I am a white Mexican, Mexican American or Chicana; both of my parents are born in Mexico of Mexican parents. I am most certainly proud of my roots as well as being an American. In the world we live in today it’s difficult to neglect the fact that I stand out for obvious reasons. That at times I am treated differently. That because of my roots I am told to go back to my country. That I shed a tear as I write this because I live with an inner struggle of who I am.

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.

Racism in a pre-Civil Right Era was violent, abhorrently blatant, and prevalent to a fault. Post Jim-Crow, racism has diminished so much so that it barely exists; or so society likes to believe. In actuality, racism has been transformed under a different lens where racism still stands as the structures and functions of American society but have been so normalized and legalized that white Americans feel as the country has progressed in terms of racism. This lens, one that Eduardo Bonilla-Silva has defined as colorblind in his book Racism without Racists, explain how racism still dictate how people of color live and suffer in contrast to their white American counterparts despite the racial “progress” that society so desperately want to believe. Colorblind racism can be defined as the belief or behavior that racism no longer exists at all or like it once did in the past by disregarding how race plays a role in minorities lives and thus continuing to prop up the same racist structures and foundations that was at play decades ago before the alleged “progress” of the post civil rights era. What makes colorblind ideology a problem at its basis is held within the fact that white Americans know that race exists yet they both subconsciously and willfully ignore how the sociopolitical and economic aspects of the nation work to keep white Americans ahead while minorities struggle to survive in a world that essentially ignores them. A prime example of colorblind racism in a modern

Cullen utilizes imagery throughout the poem, to illuminate the racism African Americans endured and impact racism carries. The speaker in the poem is an eight year old in Baltimore. In the first stanza, Cullen describes the child as “heart-filled, head-filled with glee.” This image portrays the speaker as innocent and joyful. Then the speaker notices a boy staring at him, the speaker believes there’s little difference between them, that the kid “was no whit bigger.” The speaker gets a rude awakening after the boy “poked out his tongue.” A seemingly playful meaningless gesture is met with the boy calling the speaker “N****r.” Cullen contrasts these two experiences because it depicts how racism comes out of nowhere and effects those you wouldn’t expect. The last stanza, the speaker “saw the whole Baltimore. The image of seeing is not just visual, but a metaphor for the loss of innocence where the speaker now is exposed to the hate. Cullen masterfully uses imagery so that readers understand the incredible impact that words have, especially when used for hate.

This is a poem that is mainly directed to the violence that was often experienced by children with an African-American ethnicity. The violence was mainly experienced on the streets where a majority of these children lived.

There are many destructive forces in this world, one of them being racism, the most powerful prejudice in society, as seen by Harper Lee’s ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’. This small town in the 1930’s, during the Great Depression presents numerous examples of racism and its negative repercussions. As illustrates in the novel, racism is displayed in a variety of ways throughout the novel, however it is most present in the case of Tom Robinson’s trial, the prejudice that is displayed by the citizens of Maycomb, and the state of Calpurnia’s Church.

Unfortunately, in this time and age, racism continues to be an issue in the American society, especially in the south. Since the introduction of slavery, many people have the belief that skin color determines someone’s ranking in life. After the freedom of slaves, racism became a big problem in America. As a result, other races look down upon many different cultures and ethnic groups believing that they are superior to others. Racism has lead to people discriminate against one another and become prejudice. Unfortunately, racism effects peoples lifestyles, job opportunities, and education.

Racism and the effects of racism can be seen anywhere. In the hallways of the high school, the streets, housing, neighborhoods, cities, and more, one thing is seen, and that 's segregation, which is ultimately caused by racism. Walking in the hallways at school, chances are that you’ll see a group of whites, a group of Hispanics, and a group of African Americans, but rarely do you see these three groups interacting with each other. Racism has been made a part of people’s everyday lives, a border posed by racism: segregation. Racism and its effects can not only be seen around us but can also be traced throughout countless readings in HWOC this year. Almost every literary work focuses on the topic or underscores at its effects, and today, you can walk into any library or bookstore and find something, whether it be a news article or chapter book, regarding racial conflict. This alone is evidence of how racism has integrated our society and continues to inform and manipulate our minds. The literature we have been exposed to this past year is a reflection of society, similar to a reflection in a mirror showing us the piece of hair sticking up in the back, literature is showing us the problem so it can be addressed.

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