Racial prejudice and discrimination are issues that have occupied American social circles for the last four centuries that this nation has been in existence. American life has been characterized by race and class where a section of the population is deemed superior and others inferior. Racial discrimination is a historical issue that has seen people of the higher class discriminate against those of, the lower class, hat led to the historical slavery. The African American and other minority groups have often been depicted as underdogs and history have it that they have always been on the receiving end regarding poor living conditions, lack of proper education and even no access to high paying jobs. In the past, the law has been used to institutionalize and legalize racial discrimination (Yancy & Feagin 3). Racial discrimination is a type of cancer that has eaten into the American social circles, hindering the formulation of relations across racial boundaries.
According to Joe Feagin, who is a sociologist and a researcher in the field of racism has a lot to offer on this issue, according to him, the issue of racism spans a couple of centuries and specifically since Europeans stepped into North America (Jordan 62). To this day various groups have had to bore the brunt of racism as has been witnessed in the way legislations have been formulated, social practices as well as criminal activities that are directed at certain ethnic groups. The white racial frame that has been created has always implied that whites are superior beings, they deserve better and that their word is to be regarded as more important than that of any other group. Social scientists have always used some of the principles and concepts that have been formulated by whites, and many of them favor white concepts more than they do the concepts of the minority groups. That means these concepts are not offering the feelings and attitudes of the analysts of the minority groups and that further propagates the white racial frame (Yancy & Feagin 2).
The very first form of racism to be experienced on the North American soil started when the European settlers conquered the land and wanted to take possession of it while shoving aside the Native Americans. They presented the natives as savages and heathens who did not deserve to occupy their land, all they saw were an opportunity to civilize them. By the use of Christianity, Europeans were able to steal land from the natives, displace them and denied them the right to practice their culture and religion. They imposed their belief system on the Native Americans. That very act is what led to the disintegration of an already existing culture, and to this day, the Native American culture is on the brink of distinction because time and space have rendered it as inferior to the dominant European religion and traditions (Miller & Garran 76). Institutions such as schools and Indian reserves were created to hold the natives so that they could be easily assimilated. The white racial frame that was created in the 17th century set a precedent for more racial prejudice incidents that have dominated the American social space to the present day.
The most prominent form of racial discrimination at all times is that which targeted the African American community. At the commencement of the 17th century, they began arriving in the country as slaves having been kidnapped from their homelands and brought to the Americas to work on their master’s lands. All those who arrived were stripped of their identities; they were given new names and a religion and traditions to adopt. That only meant that they had to abandon their belief systems, forced to take up Christianity and other white ideals that were alien to them. Many were killed and hanged at the whims of their white owners, even those who were said to be free did not have any right to own property let alone vote (Jordan 81). That same racial card was played for a long time up until now where incidents of shootings of innocent African American victims by while law enforcement officers show the deep-rooted hatred whites harbor against African Americans.
The bombing of the Pearl Harbor in Hawaii was the climax of racial discrimination against minority another minority group other than African Americans. The target group was Japanese- Americans who were being harassed and discriminated by government surveillance. The last stroke on this issue came in 1942 when President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an executive order that permitted the internment of Japanese- Americans (Miller & Garran 107). That order led to the exclusion of the members of the Japanese community from living or inhabiting some areas. Those who defied the order were imprisoned many of them died in camps. As a minority group, the Japanese Americans were singled out and accorded ill treatment that made them lesser humans and not equal to the superior race. These acts just show how much the racial problem had become so much institutionalized and even supported by sitting presidents who defied the constitution to make other racial groups less important than others. Sadly, the United States has had to deal with problems stemming from racial discrimination throughout its existence (Yancy & Feagin 5). The racial inequalities that exist today started a long time ago, and if the whites of the present day view themselves as deserving superior work ethics, possess greater intelligence and other abilities that others do not have; they are not to blame because it is their forefathers that set the pace for such reasoning.
Today, The United States leads other countries of the world in fighting the war on terrorism but propelling “Islam phobia” at the same time. Muslims in the United States and all over the world have been branded terrorists; they suffer from discrimination and prejudice as well as harassment directed at them from fellow Americans. It is not that only white Americans propagate this form of prejudice and discrimination, but the acts are just following the trend that has been practiced for many years. It is not surprising that a presidential contender can call upon other Americans to join hands in sending all Muslims back to where they came from, what is worse is that presidential candidate is white by race. It is funny that this form of racism is allowed because levels of religious intolerance are hitting the highest point. Some of the things that keep happening in the current American social space have become justified by law even when they are wrong.
The white frame sets precedence for a racially biased society where people of color are often regarded as inferior. Worse still, whites are often presented as virtuous, and that is the highest form of hypocrisy that exists in this highly racially biased society. Even young children receive racial framing and by the time they get out of their domestic social spaces at home, they come into the world knowing that racial boundaries exist and that they separate and differentiate all racial groups (Feagin 36). In the daily interactions of most Americans, situations of pro- white and anti- black or people of color. Some of these habits and attitudes will be hard to shade as they are deeply entrenched in the United States.
Works Cited
Feagi, Joe R. Racism America: Roots, Current Realities, and Future Preparations. New York: Routledge, 2014. Print
Jordan, Winthrop, D. The White Man’s Burden: Historical Origins of Racism in the United States. New York: OUP, 1974. Print
Miller, Joshua & Garran, Ann. Racism in the United States: Implications for the Helping Professions. Belmont: Thomson Brooks, 2008. Print
Yancy, George & Feagin, Joe. The American Racism in the “White Frame”. The New York Times. PDF File
