Social Status In Teenagers

Racial formation is a vast sum of signifying actions and social structures that clash in the creation of complex relationships and identities that is a labeled race. Throughout the history of the United States, a large array of strategies was engaged in regarding education that took advantage of nonwhites. Since policies by those who supposedly “protect our rights” attempted to eradicate social, economic and cultural aspirations, dominated groups were more often than not suspicious of the school 's interests. According to John Ogby, “children from dominated cultures often failed school because they considered the school to be representative of the dominant white culture” (Spring, 101). This portrays racial formation having an effect on equality. “Acting white” meant to attempt to do well in school because

The institutional and cultural influences that generate these ideas of privilege and oppression are derived from the cycle of socialization. Before children are even able to comprehend what race is, the cycle of socialization is already shaping their views on society and social identities. Bobbie Harro illustrates the cycle of socialization by stating, “the socialization process is pervasive, consistent, circular, self-perpetuating and often invisible” (41). This makes the cycle extremely influential for the creation of our social identities in our society. In my personal experience, I vividly remember my parents taking extra precautious in poor black communities when I was younger to ensure my safety. Although their only intention was to promote my wellbeing, indirectly they established the notion that poor black people are dangerous. Obviously it’s erroneous to claim all black people are dangerous, but this is evidence of the beginning stages of the cycle of socialization taking action.

For those of us who are a different ethnical group such as Hispanics and Latinos we are believed be individuals who come from Mexico and bring drugs along with criminals. Being the daughter of two immigrant parents I am expected to fail as compared to those who are of a higher and white family. However, the thing is that we are labeled as failure due to the ethnicity that we have running through our veins. Being born in the United States there will always be someone who believes that they are the center of attention and that the world revolves around them. For individuals of this ethnicity such as myselves we aren’t given many opportunities or materials that will benefit our futures. For example, some schools may focus more on students that came from higher and better schools rather than the poor schools. They will quickly label us and make assumptions that we’re never going to learn, get well paying job and that many girls will end up pregnant rather than staying in school.

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.

Students who attend schools can be affected by their culture, race and background, much like how Puerto Ricans were oppressed in East Harlem in the 1980’s. This article explains how race can affect how people of certain races grow up, and how they are treated, and how when this treatment is unfair, the students usually drop out of school. “Study examines how race, culture influence school discipline, dropout rates”.

81% of Black adults reported that they have experienced at least one incident of day-to-day discrimination. And Adolescence is a stage in which to examine the impact of racial discrimination on the psychological part of African Americans (Racial Identity Matters). Which can cause a person to be scared expectably if someone has already confined in themselves of their race. "My siblings had already instilled the notion of black pride in me. I would have preferred that Mommy were black. Now, as a grown man, I feel privileged to have come from two worlds" (McBride 103). It was easier to accept the black

Due to the discrimination of African-Americans, and oppression resulting from it, the government, justice system, educational system, and society has made it clear that African-American teenagers obtaining a thorough and effective education is the least of their concerns. It is almost as though African-American teenagers are purposely being set up to fail. As stated in “The Oppression of Black People, The Crimes of This System and the Revolution we need”, “Today the schools are more segregated than they have been since the 1960s with urban, predominantly Black and Latino schools receiving fewer resources and set up to fail. These schools more and more resemble prisons

There are approximately 7 billion people in this world. Each person has a unique combination of traits such as skin tone, face shape, body type, eye color, hair color, and other characteristics. These traits vary due to genetics, environmental factors, and much more. An individual 's race is defined by their physical characteristics and how they differ among others. Race is not defined by the way an individual behaves or portrays themselfes; it is based strictly off of their physical traits. Since America was founded, race has played a significant role in the relations of the citizens in this country. For decades, different races have been stereotyped and been prejudice towards one another, without realizing how invalid their judgements are. Specifically, African Americans have been discriminated by caucasians in America since it’s founding. It began by the enslaving of African Americans, and today, the discrimination and inequality is more hidden in society. Although America has made significant progress in overcoming racial inequality in the country, many African Americans are still being subject to hardships that Caucasian Americans do not face, especially in regards to the justice system.

Hope, E., Skoog, A., & Jagers, R. (n.d.). It 'll Never Be the White Kids, It 'll Always Be Us: Black High School Students ' Evolving Critical Analysis of Racial Discrimination and Inequity in Schools. Journal of Adolescent Research, 30, 83-112. doi:10.1177/07435584I4550688

In terms of racial issues, our current generation of young adults is already more open-minded and accepting than ever. “This latest generation doesn’t harbor some of the ugly prejudices that our parents or we Baby Boomers do” (Reeves). Unfortunately, this does not stop racism from finding its way to them one way or another. We may have taken a substantial leap over the years in deterring racism, but there are still kids today that are brought up believing the same stereotypes and propaganda that our elders are lead to believe. Adults in institutions such as schools are still taking race and color into account of their students’ performances and their unorthodox achievements, without a doubtful thought of themselves. As quoted from Kuznia to support, “Although the counselor no doubt had Alejandra’s best interests in mind, the decision to steer her away from a four-year university was a classic example of unintentional racism”. Also, even today in 2014, interracial couples are still judged and garner disdainful looks by others in public for no apparent reason. Society is being hypocritical in this way by telling us that we should not look at skin color, but still not naturally harboring the idea of the freedom to marry.

One would not want to live a life if they knew their chances of reaching their goals, were almost certainly downsized or marginalized by their race. Well, sadly this is the case for Blacks in America. Blacks are often found to be, at the bottom of the American society. America is suppose to be “The land of the free, and the home of the brave,” allowing all citizens equal opportunity. However in a harsh reality it is not, but instead the land of the incapacitated, and home of the Whites. Looking back in time, America has always been a country of racial inequality that benefited Whites and demeaned any other race. Examples of racial inequality in our history consist of the American-Indian war, slavery, Jim Crow laws, and general discrimination. Thus the term “White Supremacy,” meaning Whites have dominance and are superior, came about. The feeling of Whites Supremacy is still felt in today’s society, and is one of many reason why race still matters. Even though the are many theories of why race still matters, it is important to realize 3 major reasons why that is so. In short, race matter because of the increased likelihood of minorities experiencing: poverty, racial profiling and Institutional racism.

For many years now the people in power or “whites” have passed laws so that other racial groups are kept at the bottom of the social hierarchy. These racial group that are kept at the bottom become racialized and oppressed therefore they become unequal to the people that are at the top of this hierarchy. The racial groups that are kept at the bottom vary from the Native-Americans to the Mexican-Americans and obviously the African-Americans. In this essay I will be comparing how the racialization process has been similar and different between these racial groups. I will also define race and racialization. Furthermore, I will explain how class, gender, sexuality, and citizenship has impacted the racialization process within these groups.

Although our culture is said to be completely removed from the idea of racial discrimination, this sense of inequality can be seen occurring behind the scenes within our society. Within the subtopic of race, several areas including our current culture, social psychology and the current format of our social institutions allow for the production and often the reproduction of racial discrimination in our day and age. Throughout this course, the various readings and class lectures have been very beneficial when examining the impact that racial discrimination and inequality has on our society. In this paper, I will delve into the subtopic of race and ethnicity and expound on how it is greatly influenced by our culture, social psychology, and social institutions around us today.

Your status has a huge impact on how you live your life, whether you’re aware of it or not. This topic was chosen because we all have a status, and can relate to much of the research that is found. Many of us began the semester, with the preconceived idea that social structure has little influence on life chances, we soon learned that ………….

Although some individuals may wish or even naively claim that we live in a post-racial society, the reality in twenty first century America is that individual and institutional racism continues to take a horrible toll on young people of color, who are at greater risk of race-based violence, unjust criminalization, as well as economic, political and educational discrimination. The powerful advantages that come from being born white are immeasurable and painfully real. It is critical that white individuals recognize the depth of their privilege, but doing nothing more than that can appear self-congratulatory, and as an attempt to exempt them from responsibility. An example of one writer’s over-simplification of white privilege can be found