Scott Kim
Communications 10
Prof. M. Goldstein
Katharine Hepburn, Harvey Milk, Fred Korematsu, and Kenneth Clark were all leaders representing minorities in America. These deviants to society made efforts to bring about positive cultural changes in times of strong sexual or racial discrimination. Great improvements have been made as a result of the contributions these citizens made to our country. In 1930’s America, the public view on gays and lesbians were not as liberal as they are today. It wasn’t until influential figures like Katharine Hepburn and Harvey Milk caused up a stir in social politics that changes were made. Katharine Hepburn was a successful Hollywood actor with major roles in big screen films as well as in
…show more content…
His death came as a shock to the gay community and he is often seen as a martyr who died for the cause. Racism is a disease that is deeply ingrained in American society. It has its roots in the colonial era when slaves were brought over from Africa to help build this country. Since then, every new wave of immigrants with a different face or culture was faced with discrimination by the “White Christian Male”. African Americans had endured the worst end of racism for decades under the hands of the white man as well as other ethnicities that assimilated with the WEM’s (White European Male). Consequently, the culture and psyche of Black Americans had been bruised and many of them have a self-hating complex that regard anything of white culture to be superior to his or her own. Kenneth Clark was a psychologist who set out, once and for all, to prove that segregation is institutionalized racism. His “black doll/white doll” study is a great contribution to racial studies and it is used even to this day. Before the 60’s, the US had laws in place on how many immigrants of Asian descent would be permitted into the country. Even before that, the Japanese immigrants who were already settled in America faced much discrimination from the majority culture, though not nearly as severe as what the black people faced. Even so, they were still considered second-class to white people and were often not treated
America is know as the land of opportunity, but on the surface America is a country full of discrimination. Lately there has been a lot of discrimination going on in America. Police have been chastised for discriminating against African Americans. Homosexuals and other members of the LGBT community are being discriminated against for being who they are. As Americas economy stays at a lower status classism seems to rise as well. America seems to be on the verge of an enlightenment period of equality.
America has had discrimination against minorities for a long time and it will continue to have it until people treat minorities with respect. Discrimination is when people treat minorities bad because of their skin color, ethnicity and the place they were born. For immigrants, the problems they had to arrive to America were not a good experience only by the struggle to gain acceptance among the population. Most immigrants came to the U.S. to have a better life and give education to their children. Almost all immigrants have experienced discrimination at some point in their life and even some are still experiencing it today. Most Latinos don’t have a choice but to deal with it because they know they are illegal and they can’t say anything
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
The 1960s and 1970s were times of great change in the United States. These changes were initiated by a handful of extraordinary people whom have created a path for the next generations to finish what they have started. These extraordinary people have made a lasting impact on the United States’ citizens to this day. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X had helped with the rights of African Americans, Rachel Carson who promoted taking care of the environment, and the LGBT organizations that fought for equality.
The Japanese Americans sustained many injustices during the pre-World War Two era, including exclusion from traditional establishments and occupations. It was noted, “the [economic] argument and the discriminatory measures are plain contradictions” (Goto 105-106). Although the stated goal of Californians was to have a unified population, their actions belied their true motives. The colossal nature of the assimilatory feats performed by Japanese dictated that “even Californian agitators themselves, in their moments of private reflection, admit the wonderful power of adaptability of Japanese,” but, “in public they do everything to prevent the process of assimilation from running its natural course” (Goto 106). Often, the bigoted owners of white establishments barred people of Japanese
In the 1880’s, America began seeing the first Japanese immigrants arrive in the Pacific Northwest. The Japanese came to this country searching for a better life. Many hoped to begin a new life in America where they could raise their families. There were others who came here merely to earn and save money only to return to Japan later on. The Japanese people who began their lives in America experienced little racism and discrimination, that is, before December 7th, 1941 when the country of Japan bombed the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. After this event, the Japanese-American people’s lives would change dramatically.
In the early twentieth century, Asian Americans in the United States faced to lots of obstacles. Since they lived in a “different shore”, they were treated as unassimilable people, and therefore, they experienced many unequal and discriminative treatments. Both Asian Americans lived in Hawaii and the mainland lived in unbearable life under racial discrimination. However, due to geographical and ethnic differences, Asian Americans in the mainland had more difficult time, since majority of the United States’ population were white people. Asian Americans in the mainland had an intense competition with white working class. In other words,
In the 1900’s many Japanese came to America in search of a better life. They found a home in Hawaii as well as the main land where they would take up jobs such as fishermen and railroad workers. Economically, they didn't fell very welcome in America, the white workers tried to push them out by making them uncomfortable in their jobs. Politics were also not on their side, laws prevented the Japanese from owning land or becoming naturalize citizens. Suddenly the Immigration Act of 1924 stopped all immigration to the U.S. The next generation, the Japanese Americans attended public schools along side Americans but were still facing discrimination. After Pearl Harbor they were treated even worse than before. Americans were confusing the Japanese
In the history of Japanese migration to the US, there are two distinct stages. The first was the migration to the US allied Kingdom of Hawaii. There the Japanese faced discriminations similar to what was experienced by the Freemen of the South. The second stage of the Japanese migration was into Mainland USA, the Japanese experienced many of the same oppressions other non-white European groups, however, Japanese managed to overcome them and rapidly gain more rights than their counterparts. However, their success contributed to their internment during WWII. During the journey, leading up to the Japanese American social status experienced today, they endured discrimination based on their race, ethnicity, and gender. Some were specifically targeting
History is a complex chain of reactions; everything is the result of one event and the causation of another. Thus, if traced back decades, the Stonewall riots were the result of building social tensions in the United States and the approaches taken towards unearthing the psychology behind homosexuality. Following the upheaval caused during World War II, the people of the United States were eager to restore order in all elements of society. Security became the most valuable asset, making anyone who posed even a remote threat to the “American way” a target. An emphasis on anti-communism spurred by Senator Joseph McCarthy led to the onset of a national state of paranoia and disorder, alongside anarchists, supporters of radical revolution, and communists, the queer population was lumped into a category of people considered a threat to the United States government. Homosexuality was just short of a death sentence for those concealing their sexuality, so much so that during the late 1940s nearly 5,000
Racism in this country has been prevalent over centuries now, and still a huge hindrance in the United States of America. Racism has a huge history with scholars documenting the long illustrious reasons and root causes as to why this has become such a major topic of issue in the United States and its psychological and social obliterations in the society.
Recommended Organizational Response ……………………………………… . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Discrimination based on sexual orientation has been denounced morally based on the argument that those who fall outside of the “normal” heterosexual orientation were “born that way”. The rationale behind this judgement is that those who did not choose something should not be discriminated against because of it. There already exists a societal consensus that it is unfair (and even immoral) to discriminate against someone based on their race, hair colour, disability etc., and many believe that those within the sexual minority status should be included in that list. William S. Wilkerson, however, argues that there is some aspect of sexual orientation that is constructed through conscious choice—by means of how an individual interprets their feelings and desires. His theory rests on the assumption that no human experience is self-evident (including sexual desire) and thus they are all open to interpretation, and involving some level of choice. Wilkerson contends that since the sexual desires individuals experience can be interpreted, then so can the meanings behind the desires—which make up ones understanding of their sexual orientation. Wilkerson uses two arguments to make his point—a direct and an indirect one—both of which argue that sexual desires are indeterminate until the individual interprets them to mean what they choose it to mean. The focus of this paper will be to challenge Wilkerson’s indirect argument against the notion of the given, which, he believes, is
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
The criminal just system should view all people no matter what their race, gender, or social class is. In a world where Lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgender people are being slandered, it is hard for them to get jobs because of their sexual preferences or how they identify. Gays and lesbians who choose to come out around “straight” people they work with will probably face at least some (if not much) discrimination. During work, “discrimination based on sexual orientation must not be tolerated in any form in modern law enforcement. Instead of prejudice and intolerance, police departments and chief executives should embrace a “Do Ask, Do Tell” attitude toward gays and lesbians (Winchell, 2008)”. They will go out of their way to cause harm either (physically/ mentally), professional humiliation, and the refusal of some heterosexual officers to work in close proximity with the LGBT officers. Instead of discriminating on others, officers should begin to judge based on the quality of their work and strength of character.