The Theme Of Biased Education In The Film 'Mississippi Burning'

It has been said many times that, “racism is taught- you are not born a racist.” The question is, where do people learn their negative racial attitudes from? It can stem from many different causes such as your family members, friends, media, or your community. Personally, I believe that your parents are a big influencer on how you are as a person- how they raise you plays a big part on how you view society and the world as you get older. Research says that a parent and child’s relationship is a strong predictor of an individual’s adjustment (Cole, 2014). Young kids that are constantly being exposed to racial stereotypes will embed those stereotypes within and will continue to think the same as they get

I think you bring up a very important point, over whether racism (or other forms of discrimination) is innate or learned behavior. While I realize that this subject is controversial, I tend to agree with you that racism is in fact a behavior that is learned. I think the evidence that young children do not care about the race (or religion for that matter) of their playmates, or even their caregivers (such as teachers).

Some possible causes of racism can be of an institutional racism, which means that a group of people have the same faith about a certain type of person. Racism can be from the past and what people of

There are various examples of causes coming from racism. Fraternity members at the University of Oklahoma learned a racist chant which was caught on camera and posted online. It was not something that was a part of the tradition. “Do I think these young men are racist in their heart? Do I think they’re proud of what they did? No.” said Boren. (Bidwell). 25 students have received discipline from this video coming out. Also kids from school districts have experienced racist remarks and bullying. Kids are getting bullied for all types of reasons and racism is one of them. People think that remarks about your cultural or ethnicity are not a huge problem. Racist slurs can sometimes be taken lightly. Two stories were shared from students who attended schools in the Oklahoma area. “Holemant said for 2 years she has tried

We are taught not to see this type of racism growing up in a white dominated country. We are taught that racism is an act that is intentional and seen as blatantly racist, such as accusing a black man of shoplifting over a white man, or a white woman getting a job over a black women strictly based on race. But we overlook the small things in our daily life that effect Black people in our culture every single

I attended William B. Murrah Highschool for my freshman and sophmore year; however, I auditioned to attend the Mississippi School of the Arts for my junior and senior year. Once I'd auditioned, I was informed I was accepted which was why I left to attend the Mississippi School of the Arts. While I atteneded Mississippi School of the Arts, for my junior year I took a class at Brookhaven

For those who practiced racism, the effects of racism were detrimental as well. Racist viewpoints were taught to white children at very young ages, and this caused them to grow up hating blacks. This caused black parents to instill fear of white people in their own children, and made them become racist as well. Racism among whites usually varied on social status, however. Wealthier whites tended to be more racist than those in the lower class. On the contrary,

Mississippi 1964, a time of extreme violence where the laws of segregation are questioned by those who stand up to inequality and fight for justice. Mississippi Burning, directed by Allan Parker, reveals the atrocities of racism and segregation that unfold in Jessup County, Mississippi. The film follows the disappearance of three civil rights boys and the controversy surrounding the sheriff’s office as the FBI intervene. Parker has successfully shown the theme of racism of African American people in the film by use of characterisation, symbolism and sound effects/camera angles. The film’s main characters are FBI agents Alan Ward (Willem Dafoe) and Rupert Anderson (Gene Hackman).

     The Mississippi Burning Trial” was not for the cold-blooded murders of three young civil rights workers, but rather for the violation of their civil rights. The federal government wanted to break Mississippi’s “white supremacy” stronghold on the South. “The Mississippi Burning Trial” proved to be the opportunity to do so. The three branches of the federal government and their various departments were actively involved in bringing about this civil rights trial in Mississippi and these activities and personal views are well documented in court records, department records, and the press.

In 1964 Mississippi was faced with the civil rights movement. The movement showed great signs of hope and progress from racial segregation and discrimination of african americans, three civil right workers go missing. Mississippi Burning illustrates the civil rights battle that the nation was facing at this time. Mississippi Burning is a mystery/thriller film loosely based off the Mississippi Burning murders on June 21 1964. Mississippi Burning explores racism and hatred of a group of white supremacists and how they have been oppressing the African Americans community. This movie was directed by Alan Parker, produced by Frederick Zollo and Robert F. Colesberry.

The population of the United States of America has been one of mixed race since its very beginning. Boatload upon boatload of enslaved Africans provided a labor force which would fuel the American South’s economy for many years, until national abolition and the subsequent civil rights movement created a primarily biracial population of blacks and whites. The US has come a long way since those days, and today every child born into the US is taught from an early age the evils of racism and the shameful actions committed by slave-owning US citizens in the past. From textbooks to televisions, the modern USA seemingly works tirelessly to teach its population that discrimination by race is wrong and that all races are equal. This has led to a great national complacence among whites, and a widespread belief that the US has mostly eradicated racial prejudices. But it is not so, and despite a population almost entirely composed of people who would not consider themselves racists, racism still pervades in the US. In many cases modern racism occurs at the hands of whites who almost absolutely are completely unaware of their discriminatory actions. In the films “Frozen River” and “The Visitor” racism was touched on repeatedly and played an evident part in the messages they were trying to portray.

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.

Another very common cause for racism is the unfamiliarity of one towards other races. People have the tendency to fear what they do not understand. If a person has not grown up around a particular race before, then the chance of the person being a racist toward that particular group greatly increases. Not always, but when a person has already been supplied with negative stereo types, and does not have real experiences with at least one of the people in that particular group, then the chances of racism tendencies are increased. The explanation recently stated is the reason why it is important for children to be around other races at a young age: to ensure that their minds are used and adapted to being around them. When they are in those situations, subconsciously, they learn traits that counterbalance negative stereotypes that they may learn in the future. (The 4)

Firstly, let’s focus on the learnt aspect of racism. One argument for racism being taught is the fact that throughout human evolution, continental travel would have been extremely difficult and unlikely to happen due to the sheer unfamiliarity with the world. For example, dangers, such as predators, or how to prepare or even prolong existence throughout long travels in transportation such as boats would prove difficult. Furthermore, the technology was insufficient and undeveloped to were ferrying people was an unrealistic concept. This indicates that there was essentially no contact between different races or explicitly different looking people which suggests that humans evolved without the recognition of ‘races’ and therefore without the ideology of a ‘superior’ race existing.

Another attribute that leads to racial discrimination is the way that people find means to justify their actions by degrading the actions of others. For instance, during the Vietnam War, American soldiers assumed that civilians of small villages were aiding the Vietcong. Based on presumption, the soldiers felt justified to torture the villagers and destroy their homes. “If we are able to convince ourselves that another group is inferior, immoral, or dangerous, then we can feel justified in discriminating against them, enslaving them, or even killing them”. The American soldiers deemed the torturing of the village people reasonable by convincing themselves that it would help destroy the Vietcong. Self-justification is apparent even in today’s society. Humans are always searching for excuses to justify our actions towards one another.