Racism in America

Racism and Bigotry

Racism and bigotry have distinct meanings, according to Marger (2012). Racism is a belief structure or philosophy that is thought to offer rationalization and reasoning for racial discrimination. This is a behavior targeted at rejecting individuals from a particular demographic who have a legitimate claim to social rewards and positive opportunity. Defining and recognizing prejudice from the start is critical because it offers a lens through which racism and unequal enforcement of legislation can emerge. Ever since African Americans were brought into the United States forcibly, including other ethnic groups such as Mexicans and Native Americans, they have been victimized by the practices of racism and discrimination that have been supported by the law enforcement administrations and regularities. For instance the extensive assaults against African Americans during the 1920s in Harlem, the 1965 Watts Riots, regulatory stress and violence against women of African American origin and additional women of color from different ethnicities, the fatalities of Trayvon Martin and Amadou Diallo as many recent events can just be formulated as conditions of racism in American population; these indicate historic and contemporary ways through which minorities have been violated and harmed by the members of political and governed associations.<\/p>

The Perception of African Americans by White Americans

Michael Tonry, in his publication Punishing Race (2011), outlines the fact that White Americans have a tendency to justify regulatory violence and inequality against African Americans due to the racial hostility against the population group. To White Americans, therefore, African Americans are perceived as contestants of negativity and harsh behavior in the system of criminal justice. On a superficial basis, such a statement may not appear sound and valid, but there is an extensive amount of information present in the literature which proposes that African Americans are conventionally considered as criminals, and this idea was absorbed further by the media and general population.<\/p>

Negrophobia and Racial\/Criminal Stereotypes

In his writing Criminology Theories on Race and Crime (2010), Shaun Gabiddon elaborated the 'Negrophobia' philosophy which was elaborated in an additional manner by several other authors before. Negrophobia can be deduced as a condition, which involves a fear of being harassed or mistreated by African Americans that can cause harming the population or racial\/criminal stereotypes. These conditions and outcomes can be harmful because any White American can use such reasons to shoot a Black individual on the slightest of fabrication.<\/p>

Discussion

Race inequality and racism have essentially influenced American history from the very beginning. Americans have a perception of the foundation of American colonies, and later, the United States as determined by the struggle for freedom, economic and political liberation and religious rights (Longhurst & Brown, 2013). Although racism is an unacceptable word in America, there are multiple social developments and actions which still consider discriminatory practices. Hundreds of Mexican Americans, Negroes, Puerto Ricans, Indians and additional groups of minorities in our society are going through severe injustice and scarcity. This has not just been a matter in the past, present times have multiple situations and examples of racism.<\/p>

Effects of Racism

Racism in the country has contributed in a negative manner for the disadvantaged groups of American population. Initially, it has consistently divided substantial political and social considerations, overlooking their functionality to test present forms of inequality and strength (Hughey, 2015). Elites and upper class ruling individuals have profoundly derived racism as an important strategy of dividing and conquering to protect their interests. For instance, research on wage discrimination has represented that in cities and regions of the United States where the salary differences are high, the salaries of white workers are really low; there is also an inequality among the white population. In the future, it will be economically better for White Americans, if there was less racial discrimination present within the worker groups.<\/p>

The Harmful Impacts of Racism

The harmful impacts of racism upon the society do not just involve White Americans. These are also associated with certain groups of minorities, often through conditions that are still not completely identified (Graff, 2016). These involve long-maintained institutional structures, population trends, political supports, along with personal and social attitudes and values. According to Herring (2007), the issue with diversity is that individuals consider it to be troublesome. The considerations of racial relations in America in the beginning of 21st century are the outcomes of a consistent formulation that happened in the 20th century. The dismantling of the equipment of legal separation in the 1950s and 1960s, the civil rights movement and successive destruction of multiple economic and social supports of racial domination are some of the past events that provide evidence on how racism has been problematic for different individuals.<\/p>

Perspectives on Racism in America

The perspectives of racism in Americans from the beginning of the 21st century can be supported with the help of three major features:<\/p>

Important and consistent progress has been made in terms of civil rights of the 1960s and on several other notions of racial discrimination. This has resulted in the initiation of a supportive middle class of African American students, professionals, workers, and even businesspersons. These proceedings have also evolved the corporate, political, and cultural presence of African Americans in different sectors.<\/p>

Racism prevails, both in bigger institutional ideas and ordinary social considerations in which people are living and opportunities are found. These discriminatory procedures are responsible for having destructive outcomes on people, as they take advantage of fairness values, limit additional advancement of ethnic balance and cultural equality.<\/p>

Economic divide and poverty outcomes consistently shape lives of multiple African American individuals particularly minority groups. The marginalization of deficiencies formed by economic tendencies and persistent discrimination guarantees racial characteristics in the modern United States, presented in the consequential rates of captivation of young African American men. This considerable detention of young, poor, and underprivileged African American men, as a result, extends their relegation from the force of work and consistent employment options.<\/p>

Strategies to Overcome Racism

There are some definitive elements necessary to bring about removal of racism from the American culture and social developments. Anti-racism training and education are some of the strategies implemented to provide reference on multiple action mechanisms (Ponds, 2013). These procedures are responsible for introducing different behaviors, attitudes and beliefs in participants that can eliminate the thought processing and even the initiation of differences. Anti-racism considerations are different from the ones that are focused on increasing behaviors that are consequential (Ponds, 2013). These advance tolerance-focused aptitudes and a cultural understanding among individuals through awareness and building relations that is essential for future projections of racism and any cultural discrimination.<\/p>

Anti-Racism Strategies

Anti-racism strategies are present in different forms and shapes. According to Binkley (2016) these anti-prejudice mechanisms function on four different levels: individual, interpersonal, perceptual-cognitive, and societal-intergroup. Racism can also be eliminated with the help of dissonance (psychological imbalance resulting from an apparent inconsistency among their values). Interventions that target these prospects with the changing outlook of different groups can be arranged to address the issue better. Government and different administrative agencies can consider delivering effectual strategies to a wider audience through suitable advertising. Although it is not an anti-racism method or technique, it is a medium for the transformation of such strategies. Suitable campaigns that take advantage of such strategies and mediate different social groups for the cause will definitely have some important impacts on account of racism.<\/p>

Conclusion

Racism in American population is a virtue which should be sought after. Individuals seeking to find a suitable solution for the issue must take into account some major, important points. Initially, racism in the region is the outcome of more than 300 years of consistent subservience of Africans and Indians. The negative behaviors, attitudes, racial remarks and institutional structures formulated with the passage of time and are deeply embedded into the cultural heritage. Substantial changes cannot be carried out overnight; it will take continuous, prolonged combating by both White and African American groups. In order to achieve this goal, commitment and dedication is required to the fullest.<\/p>

References

Binkley, S. (2016). Anti-racism Beyond Empathy: Transformations in the Knowing and Governing of Racial Difference. Subjectivity, 9(2), 181-204. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org.nauproxy01.national.edu/10.1057/sub.2016.4

Gabiddon, S. (2010). Criminological theories on race and crime (2nd ed.). New York: Routledge

Graff, Gilda. (2016). Post Civil War African American history: Brief Periods of Triumph, and Then Despair. The Journal of Psychohistory, 43(4), 247-261. Retrieved from http://nauproxy01.national.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com.nauproxy01.national.edu/docview/1776154919?accountid=36299

Herring, W. R. (2007). The Trouble with Diversity: How we Learned to Love Identity and Ignore Inequality. Rhetoric Society Quarterly, 37(2), 217-221. Retrieved from http://nauproxy01.national.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com.nauproxy01.national.edu/docview/216254212?accountid=36299

Hughey, M. W. (2015). Beneath the Surface of White Supremacy: Denaturalizing U.S. Racisms Past and Present. Choice, 53(2), 332. Retrieved from http://nauproxy01.national.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com.nauproxy01.national.edu/docview/1717623117?accountid=36299

Longhurst, J. E., & Brown, J. C. (2013). The Five Shifts: Ensuring an Environment for Healing. Reclaiming Children and Youth, 22(1), 13-17. Retrieved from http://nauproxy01.national.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com.nauproxy01.national.edu/docview/1367551506?accountid=36299

Marger, M. (2012). Race and ethnic relations: American and global perspectives (9th ed.). Belmont: Wadsworth

Ponds, Kenneth T. (2013). The Trauma of Racism: America's Original Sin. Reclaiming Children and Youth, 22(2), 22-24. Retrieved from http://nauproxy01.national.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com.nauproxy01.national.edu/docview/1427457869?accountid=36299

Tonry, M. (2011). Punishing race: a continuing American dilemma. New York: Oxford University Press