Introduction
The issue of racial inequality has been and continues to be a challenge in the US. Despite the increased formation of several social justice movements and increased mass protests over various forms of racial injustices experienced in America social, economic, and political discrimination continues to thrive to date. As a result, several discriminative behaviors meted out to black Americans by white supremacists continue to increasingly manifest themselves in various spheres of American daily life. Some of these behaviors include racial, gender, educational, health discrimination, and stereotyping. This paper discusses major issues relating to the current status of racial justice in America revolving around racial identity and racism. Additionally, the paper also reflects on the need to rethink how history should be taught in American schools to reduce racist behaviors during multicultural interactions.
Discussion
Most black Americans have had several experiences of discrimination in various instances of their interactions with white Americans. Some of these experiences include discrimination from access to healthcare services in certain hospitals due to skin color or race. In addition, the majority of the races mentioned above have experienced physical and verbal abuse by white police officers during their stop-and-frisk on numerous occasions (Wetts & Robb, 8). However, most black people especially African Americans take pride in their race because they still succeed within their standards despite having narrow opportunities to chase their dreams in America as a minority group. Therefore, a substantial population of African Americans still choose to remain racially black.
Usually, some white Americans have friends from several ethnicities in the black community, including African Americans. Most of these friendships are built and maintained through frequent communication interactions irrespective of racial differences. On several occasions such as during job interviews in companies that are dominated by whites, African Americans often find themselves to be the only black individual in the waiting bay. At this point, African Americans experience racial insecurities and might become oversensitive to discriminatory behaviors, or develop feelings of discrimination automatically. Research findings affirm that most people find discrimination appalling and unacceptable because race is neither a choice nor does it make one less human than others (Wetts & Robb, 7). People who discriminate against others due to racial reasons do so because they perceive themselves to belong to a race that is more superior and successful than others. There is a possibility that one can be color or racially blind if they can focus on the strengths of others and view them as just humans themselves.
Undoubtedly, racial stereotypes play a significant role in shaping personal beliefs about other people’s race and my race. Although some racial stereotypes are not always accurate most stereotypic descriptions fit the cultural behavior of that particular race (Wetts & Robb, 4). Racism exists mainly due to unequal attribution of various qualities to people who are racially different. Therefore, attributing positive features to various races does not make one racially neutral as long as one has to involve racial comparison and preference in their attribution analysis. Most black people attest to having been victims of racial stereotypes in their neighborhoods, especially those who live near white Americans.
On several occasions, black people experience stereotypes during frisking and search operations conducted on the streets by white police officers. Mostly, police officers make stereotypic comments about how difficult it is to find a black person without narcotics or a gun on them. These stereotypic assumptions have always made black people feel unwanted in society due to their color and race. The existence of politically correct behavior cannot effectively alleviate racial insensitivity because it only controls how people interact with others but does not uproot the ingrained racial beliefs that people hold against others. Simply, political correctness only serves to silence people from expressing their racist behavior but does not eradicate their stereotypic beliefs (Alsaad et al. 46). People can avoid racial stereotypes if they make active interactions and learning about other cultures a personal initiative to gain firsthand information instead of relying on stereotypic beliefs. Making race-related jokes that are stereotypic can be entertaining and hurting to different people at the same time. People from a different race can enjoy stereotypic jokes which might make people whose race is joked upon feel ridiculed.
One example of discrimination whose effects are still vivid to many African Americans is the loss they suffered during the Covid-19 outbreak which spread all over the United States of America in the year, 2020. During this time, many black people suffered from chronic pandemic illnesses and died due to a lack of access to healthcare services like those enjoyed by white people (Milner et al. 397). Arguably, the issue of discrimination exists because people of one race feel superior and right to enjoy certain privileges that minority races are untitled. Creating awareness about the harmful effects of racism. Advocating for equality in institutions and workplaces can help people to unlearn racism and change for the better. Notably, the best way to empathize with people who have suffered the edge of discrimination for ages is by encouraging perpetrators to admit to their discriminative behaviors (Alsaad et al. 44). After realizing that they have been wrong for subjecting minority races to discrimination racists should confirm the behavioral change by embracing equity and neutrality during any dealings with people from different ethnicities.
Undoubtedly, African Americans residing in the US, do not resonate with any of the white privileges listed in McIntosh’s article. White privileges only work to the advantage of the people who qualify for the white class of people. Mostly, people’s knowledge about institutional racism is limited to how black people are segregated and denied opportunities to empower themselves in various aspects such as education, employment, and healthcare access by racist people. If most white people can recognize the privileges they enjoy, they can try to accommodate people from minority races to bridge the race gaps existing in the US (McIntosh, 3). Alternatively, those privileges can personally decide to overlook them and embrace equal treatment of people regardless of their racial backgrounds.
Racial justice protests being witnessed in the US currently have only succeeded in raising awareness about the plight of black people in America but have achieved little success in reducing systemic racism. Most whites are yet to be willing to share or give up their privileges to accommodate racial equality (Alsaad et al. 47). Racial inequality forms the source of other forms of inequality such as gender, and economic disparities because racists judge a person by their color or race first before considering other factors. The probable reason why the poor white and black people never unite is that the former are still considered white and thus enjoy some white privileges contrary to their counterparts.
American society can restructure the current system using its privileges to support the less privileged through social programs that seek to promote racial, gender, and class equality. Additionally, society should advocate for equal access to opportunities, resources, and essential services for all to avoid widening the existing disparities (Wetts & Robb, 9). Removal of race-related questions in the application, and census forms can play a significant role in reducing racial inequalities. This would allow indiscriminate distribution of resources and open up opportunities for everyone regardless of their race.
Notably, most white-based schools discourage history teachers from including racially sensitive topics such as racism, sexism other forms of discrimination arguing that reviving the dark US history promotes hatred towards the country and others. Therefore, students in such schools grow up unaware of racism-related topics and only learn through life experiences. As a result, some white students in racially biased schools may discriminate against others without knowing because they never learned how racism manifests itself within society (Fuentes et al., p.70). There is a need to revise the history syllabus of racially biased schools to accommodate issues such as racism and sexism to avoid increased cases of unintentional discrimination due to lack of knowledge.
Racism does not deserve any respect within society as it causes harm to others. Therefore, people who supported or practiced racism in the history of America do not deserve any monumental memory or celebration. Therefore, monuments of supporters of vices such as racism do not deserve a place in the current America which is trying to build coexistence between whites and other minority groups. The demolition of such monuments will be the right policy that confirms that the country does not embrace racists. Additionally, Americans can further atone for the victims of historical racism by establishing laws that promote equity and discourage the continuity of all forms of discrimination. Discrimination in American history had adverse effects on those who experienced it and their later generations (Milner et al. 399). Discrimination denied many black Americans a chance to prosper economically and thus calls for restitution are in order. America should view itself as a multicultural country and treat every citizen equally to achieve a peaceful co-existence between people from all races in the future.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the US has witnessed increased mass protests over racial injustices such as discrimination based on race. However, such protests have a long way to go before ending racist behaviors in America. White Americans should endeavor to promote equality by admitting that everyone is equal regardless of class, gender, or race. However recent research shows that white supremacists are not ready to admit they are racist and exercise discrimination against minority groups. As a result, it is difficult to end racism in America because racists are unwilling to change their attitude about racism. In addition, racist people should actively engage with multiple communities in the minority groups to gain deep cultural understanding which will enable them to erase stereotypic beliefs they hold from their childhood. There is a need for revision of the history syllabus to accommodate topics such as racism and sexism to avoid the growth of unintentional racism and sexism within the current society. Monuments remind people of the historical figures who significantly contributed to a country’s history. Therefore, monuments of people who supported racism in American history harbor bitter memories and deserve demolition.
Works Cited
Alsaad, Abdallah, et al. “Does Social Media Increase Racist Behavior? An Examination of Confirmation Bias Theory.” Technology in Society, vol. 55, 2018, pp. 41–46.
Fuentes, Milton A., et al. “Rethinking the Course Syllabus: Considerations for Promoting Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.” Teaching of Psychology, vol. 48, no. 1, 2020, pp. 69–79.
McIntosh, Peggy. “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack.” Web.
Milner, Adrienne, et al. “We Need to Talk about Racism—in All of Its Forms—to Understand COVID-19 Disparities.” Health Equity, vol. 4, no. 1, 2020, pp. 397–402.
Wetts, Rachel, and Robb Willer. “Who Is Called by the Dog Whistle? Experimental Evidence That Racial Resentment and Political Ideology Condition Responses to Racially Encoded Messages.” Socius: Sociological Research for a Dynamic World, vol. 5, 2019, p. 237802311986626.