Reflection Paper On 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.

When asked about white privilege, many whites believe that it is a myth while other deny the existence of white privilege entirely. However, white privilege is not a myth. White privilege is very prevalent in society and uniquely effects many different groups. Peggy McIntosh discusses white privilege in her article “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack.” McIntosh states, “I have come to see while privilege as an invisible package of unearned assets which I can count on cashing in each day, but about which I was, "meant" to remain oblivious” (par. 3).

Throughout history in America there has always been the idea of racism. When Americans think of racism, they usually think of slavery and that racism is no longer a problem in America. However, this is not the case. Racism is still very apparent in America. It is true that since the end of slavery, the U.S. has made great strides towards becoming a less racist country. In reality, racism will never be extinct. In today’s society, all American citizens of all races have the same rights as one another, yet there is still racism. Racism can be linked directly to stereotypical mindsets of certain groups of people. It is human nature to make conclusions about other people, this is what leads to racism. Today’s racism is not limited to whites

White privilege is a unique form of racism given its fascinating characteristic of not involving hostility. Therefore, it cannot be directly blamed on someone (Pludo, 2015). The lack of blame does not cause any discomfort on the white persons enjoying the privileges.

One of the major issues in our world is racism. Racism affects almost everyone and it is never a positive thing. Racism has been around since the beginning of time. Even if you aren’t racist in any way, we all have been taught to subconsciously have a stereotype for every race. Whether it’s how the dress, act, what they eat, or how they talk, there is some form of stereotypes for everyone. Racism knows know race or gender, sometime in everyone’s life we have experienced racism whether it be silent or loud. A time which I experienced racism I was walking with my dad to this restaurant not far from my house. The people working there were all Hispanic, as that is the majority

Today, the U.S. is considered a “post-racial” society, and many believe that in this day and age, equality is much more prevalent among races. However, the word “many” is mostly referring to the white population in the U.S.. Majority of white people often refuse to believe that they have more privileges, or benefits, compared to people of color. Throughout history, and even in todays society, white privilege has been an issue that many people of color have discussed. For example, research shows that white people are much less likely to be arrested and jailed compared to black people, even though blacks only make up 30% of the population, they make up 60% of the prison population. White privilege and the advantages received through colorism is very much evident even now in current times.

Minorities are still fighting to be seen as equals and treated as human but people still think we have achieved equality today. It really is up to educators to teach children about white privilege and how it affects people. White privilege is something that white people benefit from just because of what they look like, but they have no control over it. This can range from having more opportunities for jobs to being more likely to have enough money to go to private school. I am focusing more on the idea that white people have these benefits and have the privilege to deny that such a divide exists. Being able to dismiss the idea of white privilege shows ignorance and can minimize the experiences of those who have suffered at the hands of white privilege.

Firstly, white privilege entails wide media representation, where people of colour are consistently underrepresented. Many people don’t see this as an issue at all, but it is necessary

“White privilege refers to the fact that in many societies, “white” people have access to greater power, authority, and privileges, than non-white people” (Robbins et al. 2013:81). It goes beyond letting white people get away with more than other races; it also discriminates against them. This is well illustrated by the history of white privilege in America and how it changed over time (Nkomo & Ariss 2013) and how white privilege is used to benefit white people (Blum n.d). Without white privilege, people would be equal and perhaps live in a more peaceful society. Therefore, if white privilege has been around for years and continues to be an issue in America and all around the world, than without educating the population and making them aware of the issue it will continue to happen.

Throughout time, some views on particular issues in society change dramatically while others remain unchanged. Sometimes, only one aspect of the issue is perceived differently while the rest of the topic stays the same. This is demonstrated well in the case of racism. In the United States, racism itself has not changed, but the allotment for what is considered acceptable has. Racism deals with the actual outward discrimination upon a race or the mental process of thinking a race inferior to your own. This phenomenon exists in the U.S. today just as it existed in the first years of the nation's existence; however, the way it is perceived has changed drastically. Abraham Lincoln and Harriet Beecher Stowe

As of 30 June 2006, the national rate of imprisonment for Indigenous Australians was 13 times higher than the rate for non-Indigenous Australians [ABS]. In modern society, there is an assumption that over-representation of Indigenous Australians in the criminal system is due to systemic bias. According to Snowball and Weatherburn (2006), systemic racism refers to any set of arrangements, procedures or rules that results in systemic unfairness to a particular ethnic or racial group. [REF2] Snowball and Weatherburn also found that there was some small ‘residual effect of race on sentencing’ which may suggest that ‘racial bias may influence the sentencing process even if its effects are only small’. [REF2]

American society likes to believe that race relations in our country are no longer strained. We do not want to hear about the need for affirmative action or about the growing numbers of white supremacist groups. In order to appease our collective conscious, we put aside the disturbing fact that racism is alive and well in the great U.S.A. It hides in the workplace, it subtly shows its ugly face in the media, and it affects the education of minority students nationwide. In the following excerpts from an interview with a middle class African American male, the reader will find strong evidence that race plays a major role in determining the type and quality of education a student receives.

White privilege is something that many people take for granted in North America, and Europe; predominantly Caucasian continents. Even though people are becoming more aware of this social advantage that a lack of melanin can bring, there are also people who still believe that they are more superior. Whether consciously, or subconsciously it happens in most places. Even in countries such as mine like Pakistan there isn’t white privilege per say, but there is pale privilege. The paler you are the more likely you are to get a good job, a good spouse, and a good life. That is just how it goes. We need this issue to become prevalent in way that white privilege will not be a thing. It will just be human privilege, so that all of us can count as one

Throughout this course we have learned about many things, one in particular would be Racism. We have learned about many different types of racism along with examples of racism. Before I go into specific examples of racism that I have learn about in this class, I will first define and explain the differences between racism, prejudice or also known as bias, discrimination, race, and racist so there 's a clear understanding of why I picked the specific examples. The definition of racism that we learned in class would be an “Institutionalized system with disproportionate unjust outcomes for a particular race”. Prejudice or also known as bias was defined as “A negative feeling, opinion, or attitude toward a certain category or people” this would be an feeling with no action acted upon, where discrimination is defined as “Action or inaction toward a category of people” which would be acting on the negative feelings or opinions of a certain group. The definition for race is a “Social construct, but a lived reality” while a racist is “Discrimination based on the category of race”. (Disadvantage privilege notes, 2016)

The reason to select this topic was because all of us in the group have gone through racism and discrimination in one way or the other. It hurts in many ways when you do not get equal opportunity and chances because of the color of your skin. This is unfair on all the levels. Every human deserves equal rights. The way we are deceived by other people cannot decide the way we live. There have been multiple meetings at the UN that have been held to eliminate Racism. If there is no law as such, we do we want to follow such a tradition that gives nothing but a complex to the same human race as anyone else is. Racism has polarised and shrunken the society and doesn’t offer much to the minority groups. The main motive of our group behind choosing this topic was that we all have worked hard enough but we did not receive the kind of appreciation, we would have achieved if we were of