Social Roots Of Racism

(2011). There are also issues regarding power and sharing resources which must also discussed. Multiculturalism does not address these issues and by promoting multiculturalism, these problems are not

Multiculturalism has split our society. Political correctness is stifling free speech”, states the Ukip manifesto. Their “Pocket Guide to Immigration” promises to “end support for multiculturalism and promote one, common British culture”. After attracting some negative publicity, it has disappeared.

Structural or institutional racism is formed by the social, economic, political or educational forces that foster discriminatory outcomes or give preference to members of one group over the other deriving its genesis from the concept of race. The biological fact for the race has been invalidated by biologists, but the social aspect of it is formed by the community. The physical traits still possess the meanings of social race identity. It is these social race identities that deliberate placement in the social hierarchy, which dictates the access to or denial of privileges and or power. Assignment of status based on skin color character has evolved to a complex social structure that promotes power differential between whites and people of color. The use of physical features in classifying individual, institutional groups trace its history from the extended encounter between the Europeans and non-European back in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. In the United States, the cognitive dissonance between values and beliefs of the human rights, liberty, democracy and equity founders alongside with the practice of Africans ' enslavement. The move made Mexicans a foreign minority in their land was determined by the classification of citizens by their characters as inferior and not worthy of any entitlement. The concept of race has been widely used to institutionalize benefits to one group of people and deny the same benefits to other people.

The anecdotal instances of racism in Rankin’s Citizen together demonstrates the existence of a structural form of racism. The anecdotes demonstrates that if a person is of colour they suffer different treatment which distinguish them to be an ‘other’ type of person. The idea behind these racist encounters can be further categorized into three categories: overt racism, covert racism, and institutional racism, and these ideas together form the basis behind structural racism.

Racism in the United States started with bringing slaves over for farming. Slavery in America began when the first African slaves were brought to the North American colony of Jamestown, Virginia, in 1619, to aid in the production of such lucrative crops as tobacco. Slavery was practiced throughout the American colonies in the 17th and 18th centuries, and African-American slaves helped build the economic foundations of the new nation. The invention of the cotton gin in 1793 solidified the central importance of slavery to the South’s economy. By the mid-19th century, America’s westward expansion, along with a growing abolition movement in the North, would provoke a great debate over slavery that would tear the nation apart in the bloody American Civil War. Though the Union victory freed the nation’s 4 million slaves, the legacy of slavery continued to influence American history, from the tumultuous years of Reconstruction to the civil rights movement that emerged in the 1960s, a century after emancipation.

Racism is something that will never go away in the U.S. because the “race card” is used so commonly, in order to justify the unfairness that they feel like they are receiving. Most of the U.S would just like to move on and ignore any kind of racism but there are those out there that use it for attention reasons because, well, it’s easy. They say that Caucasians are the most racist or the starters of racism, but the truth is all people are racist more so than prejudice, because there are few people that will let the idea of racism die.

“Racism is the belief that characteristics and abilities can be attributed to people simply on the basis of their race and that some racial groups are superior to others. Racism and discrimination have been used as powerful weapons encouraging fear or hatred of others in times of conflict, [or] war, the fight for civil rights, and during economic downturns” (Shah). Racism has evolved throughout the years, yet still remains pervasive and highly oppressive. We are taught at an early age that we are all created equal, however as people grow, many tend to believe otherwise. This semester, our textbook has shown us racism taking root in our country from the day Columbus arrived, well into the 1830’s, and has provided principles that are still relevant today. Throughout the years covered in our reading assignments, David Walker’s “An Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World,” William Apess’ “An Indian’s Looking-Glass for the White Man,” Christopher Columbus’ “Letter of Columbus,” and Samson Occom’s “A Short Life Narrative,” all works provide personal accounts demonstrating the growth of racism in America ranging from the years 1451 to 1829.

Martin Luther King believed all people should be equal. Though it may be difficult to realize this today, racism has had an enormous affect on the United States.From the 1800’s up to 2013, Americans have had many stages of biased ideas and or opinions towards other races. The idea of one race having superiority over another race has affected the United States in many ways today, leading the country towards equal rights and equality among all races.

In Omi and Winant, Racial Formation the topic of what race is brought up. They bring up the question of "What is race?" Which lead to the use of pseudo-science to justify the physical difference that were observed. Race is later defined as a social construct which is shaped by broader societal forces.

Boycotts are effective in today’s society because they bring people together, creates social change, and affect businesses economically. Racism is one of the main reasons boycotts take place because it is a major issue that affects all minorities. The causes of racism in today’s society is white people get angry over minorities working and police brutality rates increased leading to multiple black people being killed. One major protest that was started due to police brutality was black lives matter movement on August 9th 2014 because of a fatal shooting of a black teen known as Michael Brown. Most black lives matter protest takes place in the south because racism is more of a problem down there especially with police brutality rates increasing. The protest was not effective because just a year after Michael Browns death more white police officers have been involved in black people’s death. These protests are still going on today in hopes to decrease the amount of black lives taken by police officers.

In Europe and the United States the struggle against racism has progressed slowly and it is becoming less evident. With organizations such as Youth Against Racism in Europe, and simply having a black and white able to be friends, racism is beginning to decrease. It has only been fifty years or so since America’s public schools were ordered to become integrated, and we sure have come a long way since then.

Racism is a word described by Merriam-Webster as “a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race”

History has proven that racism is much more than an ideology but it’s an integral part of the human evolution (For example: Slavery, Religious conflicts in middle east, the recognition of women’s rights etc…). We can identify multiple forms of racism which humans were and are still confronted to (sexism, skin color, the appearance, religious, the cultural and physical differences, handicap). All of these factors have reached and deprived individuals from freedom, liberty of expression, equality. Not only does it affect human liberties it also divides individuals in two different categories, indeed; we can identify a dominant “race” and an oppressed “race” where the advantages and power are very unequally distributed.

The years around this trail had some major news surrounding this time period. This is when racism was at an all time high. African American individuals were being place as blame for every little thing according to their race. The author Franklin (2002) that throughout early American history, as Europeans came in contact with people different from themselves (i.e., Native Americans and Africans) they adopted the assumption of cultural superiority (Smedley, 1993). This type of issue was extremely popular back in the mid 1990’s for some reason. I cannot grasp the reason for having high racism, however, this is what individuals were feeling at the time.

Giving extra-protection to minorities can lead to reinforcing oppression of vulnerable members of that group. This is because it is akin to giving the powerful members of those groups the opportunities to undermine the basic liberties and opportunities of vulnerable members. These vulnerable members include those who are against religion, sexual minorities, women, and children. The “internal minorities” objection is especially troublesome for liberal egalitarian defenders of multiculturalism who aim to promote inter-group equality while also challenging intra-group inequality, including gender inequality (Zalta, 2010).