The Social Problem Of Racism In The United States

Chapter one covers the history and definition of racism. It also covers different pathways of racism and how racism is manifested. Within this chapter the impact of racism of people of color is discussed and its effects, such as depression. Symptoms beyond the mental and physical aspects are also discussed such as incarceration.

Racism goes a long way down the American history. It came as a result of slavery which began in 1619 when African slaves were brought to Jamestown, Virginia, which was an American colony in the North, to help in producing crops such as tobacco. Slavery was then a common practice in all American colonies through the 17th and 18th centuries, where African slaves helped in building the economic foundations of the now American nation. Slavery was then spread to the South in 1793, with the new invention of the cotton gin. About halfway through the 19th century, there was immense westward expansion in America, together with the spreading abolition movement in the North,

Racism, a controversial topic in contemporary American society, has only been accentuated in recent years due to interracial violence, especially violence portrayed by white police officers on black individuals. This violence has led to even more violence and protests upon the police officers as the protesters, mainly black, feel as if they are being policed unfairly. These protests have ranged from mainly peaceful to full on chaos and violence. One could connect this interracial violence and protests to several different criminological theories, including conflict theory, differential selection and processing hypothesis, and neutralization theory. Likewise, these theories could be combined with an end-to end theoretical integration method in order to strengthen empirical validity.

Racism is the trend of thought, or way of thinking, which attaches great importance to the notion of the existence of separate human races and superiority of races that are usually associated with inherited physical characteristics or cultural events. Racism is not a scientific theory, but a set of preconceived opinions they value the biological differences between humans, attributing superiority to some according to racial roots. Even in such ethnically diverse country as the United States, racism continues evident against people of different ethnic traits and skin color. According to Steinberg (Steinberg, 1995), racial discrimination has been the most important cause of inequality between whites and blacks in the U.S. Because of that, minorities in American society have been fighting over years for equal rights and respect, starting with the civil rights movement in 1960s. Also, public policies implemented since 1964 in the United States have been instrumental in reducing economic inequality between blacks and whites, such as the affirmative action, a federal program that tries to include minority groups by providing jobs and educational opportunities (Taylor, 1994). From this perspective, does racism still play a dominant role in American values and American society? If so, what are the consequences of this racism that still remain in American society? What is the impact of the Barack Obama presidency on the unending fight against racism in this country?

Is racism still a problem in America more than fifty years after the Civil Rights Movement, and 48 years after the 1964 Civil Rights Act signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson? How far has America come from the days when African Americans were lynched by fanatical racist mobs and from the days when Jim Crowe laws trumped the laws set forth by the U.S. Constitution? This paper delves into those and other issues involving racism in America. Thesis: American has come a long way from the days of lynchings and prohibitions against African Americans voting or sitting at the lunch counter. There are laws that protect minorities from discrimination in housing and hiring, and great strides have been made. However, racism remains a reality, including institutional racism in America.

Racism has been a terrible problem in American society for hundreds of years. Racism issues are not limited to one specific race, but include all races. It is the responsibility of the people of this nation to address racism and learn to accept and embrace each other for our differences, and allow this great nation to become even more united for our sake and the sake of future generations. To eliminate racism it is imperative to know first, where racism started and how it has developed, why it continues to be present in our nation today, and what we must do as a people to overcome this major problem.

According to Franklin et al., (2006) Race-related stress is an outcome of perceived that can cause emotional abuse and psychological trauma. The stress, emotional abuse, and

Another significant psychological effect of racism is its attack on the ego identity of its victims. Negative images of blacks are pervasive in American culture. The age-old proverb that 'sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me ' does not ring true for the effect that believing

The final major aspect of racism is health. Health affects more blacks than whites concerning this issue. An article from Counterpuch.org claims, When African Americans are interviewed most revel high anxiety levels caused by ill treatment (Golash-Boza). An ample amount of blacks feel conscientious of themselves and their surroundings because of hefty levels of stress due to the pressures of trying to blend in. Counterpunch also adds, “Racism is especially detrimental to people of color, but has negative repercussions for everyone insofar as it is a hindrance to human development” (Golash-Boza). Even though blacks tend to carry more of the weight on this topic, discrimination affects everyone. A section from the Humanrights.org websites adds,

After living in a place like Bend Oregon for 18 years I haven’t ever noticed a difference between blacks and whites. Bend has been said to be “one of the whitest places to live”, yet I never viewed a city by its race. Being racist to me meant that it was the whites who had a problem with the blacks and whites didn’t want anything to do with blacks. I hadn’t actually seen racism in action from anyone here. Now, after watching the film Crash and reading the essays “Blinded by the White: Crime, Race and Denial at Columbine High” written by Tim Wise and “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” written by McIntosh, my understanding of race, diversity, and communications have changed.

Racism has been a problem in the U.S, for a long time now. It dates back to the time when Native Americans were attacked, relocated and forcibly assimilated into the European culture. However, many people relate more to the African slave trade that occurred a few centuries ago. At the time, the prevalent notion was that Caucasians were superior to other races. Unfortunately, this ideology still persists in the present day American society.

There are links between racism and mental and physical health, decreased productivity, and reduced life expectancy. Not only does racism affect and disturb a person’s legal rights, it also contributes to stress, depression, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and potentially mortality. There was a study, to test the effects of prolonged and continuous racism and how it affects mental health. The study showed that minorities that experienced discrimination happened to have symptoms like depression and anxiety. Also, people who experience racism feel unsafe and may feel like they need to avoid certain places or situations, this also can lead to mental health

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.

B: Problems associated with racism range from social problems to financial problems. Social problems include alcohol or drug use/abuse and emotional withdrawal. Some emotional problems include depression, feeling isolated, feelings of guilt and blaming oneself. Body aches, headaches, and stress problems are some physical problems (“Impacts and Consequences”). Racial discrimination can also cause people to quit jobs or school, lose concentration, and have a negative impact on grades and important records. Finally, people can also suffer financially, such as decreases in academic/job opportunities, loss of jobs, incomes, and/or benefits (“Impacts and Consequences”).

Racism affects everyone no matter the skin color. It doesn 't matter if you 're black, white, red or tan we have all experienced racism directly or indirectly. One thing that was taught to me at adolescent age was is there are two times in everyone 's life where they don 't care who their neighbors are. One is the newborn nursery and the other is the grave yard. When those newly birthed babies go into nursery they don 't even have a concept of race and prejudice. It is only how we raise these children. Racism is taught. Everyone of those single babies deserve equal opportunities, respect and value.