Dr. Preston
Expository Reading and Writing
Racial Prejudice
It’s the 21st century, the issue has been addressed decades ago but it is still here, racism. What is racism? Racism is a belief that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that one’s own race is superior and had the right to rule others. Another way to put it? Racism is generally defined as actions, practices, or beliefs that consider the human species to be divided into races with shared traits, abilities, or qualities, such as personality, intellect, morality, or other cultural behavioral characteristics, and especially the belief that races can be ranked as inherently superior or inferior to others, or that members of different races should be treated differently. That’s just the dictionary definition, what thrives one to be racist is stronger than just the meaning itself.
Here are 4 causes of racism:
Stereotypes- Stereotypes are a sure possibility to be created, especially through media. When someone is exposed to stereotypes of a specific group for the first time, especially at a young age, then that person will believe that they are all the same or behave similar.
Unfamiliarity- This is probably the most common cause of racism. People tend to fear the unknown. This is not true all the time though, but when a person has already been fed negative stereotypes, and does not have the actual real life experiences with at least one within the particular group then the chances of racism are increased. This is why it is best for young children to be around children of other races. This will also counterbalance any false stereotypes they may counter in the future.
Selfishness- This is an obvious one. Some of us can be very selfish at times, only caring about ourselves and not worrying about others. If individuals don’t respect others, then there is a great chance of discrimination being aimed towards others. This is why you’ll find that most caring individuals aren’t truly racist or prejudice in general.
Environmental Factors- This one may or may not seem surprising. We are all made differently. Our physical environment can effect our biology and therefore, in many cases, affect our minds. Of course freewill and choice are options, they usually are but an individual’s potential for racism could be increased .
There are more reasons for racism and those reasons probably go more in depth but these are just the basics.
Racism is existent on a global scale, in some places more than others. In American though, the subject is still a matter and it is due to the ‘melting pot’ that we have in this country. Has it declined in the past though? This is a complex question because racism is constantly changing. Though it is changing, it can be said that racism is still alive and well in America. Nowadays, it is rarely noticeable due to most of society frowning upon it. So feelings like racism are often kept secret. The subject of racism is a continual controversial issue within everyday American society.
It has been over 4 decades since the Civil Rights movement and there is no debate of the oppression and inequality that has been imposed upon minorities in this country. Slavery is a black spot on the soul of our nation’s history. We humans as a species should always have been treated equally. Even the way our government treated minorities in past is unjustified.
Now picture this, a male pharmacist is about to end his shift until a man of a different race with a black hoodie enters the pharmacy looking real suspicious like. The pharmacist prepares for the worst.
-Did you picture a white pharmacist and a minor in the black hoodie? If you didn’t, then good on you but if you did, well, this leads me to my next topic.
There is a little bit of prejudice in everybody. Some show it way more than others of course. We all can be racist to a degree. I’ll hear a clever racist joke and chances are, I am going to understand it and probably laugh, even if the joke is directed towards my race. You might hear a racist joke(it could be clever or in bad taste) and you might not laugh, but there is a big chance that you will understand the reference. Racism is not just white people looking down on blacks. Racism is everywhere. There is even racism within a race. Don’t understand me? Let me put it like this, there are those subgroups within a group that stand out even to the whole group.
Racism is everywhere and most of it was addressed and not resolved:
The Asian American Movement- their goal was to change their status in society. They called for Asian Study Programs in U.S. colleges, the development of a united Asian American community, and for programs to revitalize Asian ghettos. This took place in the 1960’s and 1970’s.
Black Panthers- this group wanted to relieve poverty the lack of power face by urban blacks. They wanted an end to the systematic harassment and brutality from the police force. The Black Panthers also wanted to cure social and economic ills. This group began in 1966.
Chicano Youth Movement- the aim of this group was to better the lives Mexican Americans, to bring attention to the disadvantaged position of Mexican Americans and to build unity among the Chicanos. This group was active through the 1970’s and lost momentum in the 1980’s.
Native American Movement- The members of this movement sought to draw attention to the bad state in which Native Americans are in. This group was found in 1968 and split in the early 1990s.
These groups sought to end racism or at least decline it on a national scale and with the help of the White Civil Rights Activists, they made well progress. At this current time, all races in America share the same rights. All though these issues were addressed and they were solved politically, the story is different in a social sense.
In the 21st century, racism in society is tightly covert. It was the 20th century when it was a problem and it was noticed by many. One that noticed this injustice was Tupac Amaru Shakur. He addressed the issue in his song “Changes” as well as other problems in society:
“ see no changes. Wake up in the morning and I ask myself,
"Is life worth living? Should I blast myself?"
I'm tired of bein' poor and even worse I'm black.
My stomach hurts, so I'm lookin' for a purse to snatch.
Cops give a damn about a negro? Pull the trigger, kill a nigga, he's a hero.
Give the crack to the kids who the hell cares? One less hungry mouth on the welfare.
First ship 'em dope and let 'em deal to brothers.
Give 'em guns, step back, and watch 'em kill each other.
"It's time to fight back", that's what Huey said.
2 shots in the dark now Huey's dead.
I got love for my brother, but we can never go nowhere
unless we share with each other. We gotta start makin' changes.
Learn to see me as a brother 'stead of 2 distant strangers.
And that's how it's supposed to be.
How can the Devil take a brother if he's close to me?
I'd love to go back to when we played as kids
but things changed, and that's the way it is
Come on come on
That's just the way it is
Things'll never be the same
That's just the way it is
I see no changes. All I see is racist faces.
Misplaced hate makes disgrace to races we under.
I wonder what it takes to make this one better place...
let's erase the wasted.
Take the evil out the people, they'll be acting right.
'Cause both black and white are smokin' crack tonight.
And only time we chill is when we kill each other.
It takes skill to be real, time to heal each other.
And although it seems heaven sent,
we ain't ready to see a black President.
It ain't a secret don't conceal the fact...
the penitentiary's packed, and it's filled with blacks.
But some things will never change.
Try to show another way, but they stayin' in the dope game.
Now tell me what's a mother to do?
Bein' real don't appeal to the brother in you.
You gotta operate the easy way.
"I made a G today" But you made it in a sleazy way.
Sellin' crack to the kids. "I gotta get paid,"
Well hey, well that's the way it is.
We gotta make a change...
It's time for us as a people to start makin' some changes.
Let's change the way we eat, let's change the way we live
and let's change the way we treat each other.
You see the old way wasn't working so it's on us to do
what we gotta do, to survive.
And still I see no changes. Can't a brother get a little peace?
There's war on the streets and the war in the Middle East.
Instead of war on poverty,
they got a war on drugs so the police can bother me.
And I ain't never did a crime I ain't have to do.
But now I'm back with the facts givin' 'em back to you.
Don't let 'em jack you up, back you up, crack you up and pimp smack you up.
You gotta learn to hold ya own.
They get jealous when they see ya with ya mobile phone.
But tell the cops they can't touch this.
I don't trust this, when they try to rush I bust this.
That's the sound of my tool. You say it ain't cool, but mama didn't raise no fool.
And as long as I stay black, I gotta stay strapped and I never get to lay back.
'Cause I always got to worry 'bout the payback.
Some buck that I roughed up way back... comin' back after all these years.
Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat. That's the way it is.
Some things will never change”
-Tupac Amaru Shakur 1992
This song was written to reflect Shakur’s view on urban society.Racism is a belief that will live on and cannot be truly demolished. It is the upsetting truth but a belief cannot be erased. It is the belief that races can be ranked as inherently superior or inferior to others, or that members of different races should be treated differently. Racism is one of the world's major issues today. Many people are not aware of how much racism still exists in our schools workforces, and anywhere else where social lives are occurring. It is obvious that racism is bad as it was many decades ago but it sure has not gone away. Racism very much exists and it is about time that people need to start thinking about the instigations and solutions to this matter.
Works Cited
A, Francisco A. "Civil Rights Movements." Interactive Student Notebook (2013): 50. Carbado, Devon W.. "Racial Profiling Lives On." The New York Times. 14 Aug. 2013. 10 Nov 2013. <http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/15/opinion/racial-profiling- lives-on.html?smid=pl-share&_r=0>.
Hickman, Jeff . "Racism In America: What Has To Happen For White And Black To Unite?.“Yahoo. 1 May 2007. 10 Nov. 2013. <http://voices.yahoo.com/racism- america-has-happen-white-and-311025.html?cat=9>.
"Racism." Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/racism#Contemporary>.
"The 4 Causes of Racism." Yahoo. 22 Apr. 2007. 11 Nov. 2013. http://www.workscited4u.com/search.php?Frmt=MLA&Src=WebDocument&mo de=manual>.
"racism." Dictionary.com. 11 Nov. 2013. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/racism?s=t>.
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