Thematic issue reflection paper: racism and racial inequality
Introduction
The thematic issues for this research paper are racism and racial inequality. The reason for this is because both themes have always been controversial issues in the world. These themes are what have shaped the United States of America to be what it is now. In order to see the controversies brought on by the two themes, it is very important for one to be able to define each theme. Racism is defined as the beliefs, attitudes and behaviours that favour one group of people who are perceived to be superior over another that is perceived to be inferior. This began during the era of slavery in the world. Racism is what brought about racial inequality in the society. Racial inequality is defined as the imbalance of economic resources, educational opportunity, and the distribution of power to a certain group of people in the society. Racism and racial inequality have caused damages either physically or mentally to a lot of people especially to those who are being oppressed.
Racism
Racism has been claimed to have started during the slavery era. In the thirteenth and the fourteenth century, that is when racism began to be noticed when the Jews were being discriminated and claimed to be witchcrafts or devils. These people faced exclusion and executions by the Christians. This was the first signs of racism at that time.
The middle ages period was when the Europeans were exploring the world. This was when they came into contact with people of colour coming from countries such America, Africa and Asia. These people were living primitive lives and the Europeans began to make judgement about them and thus felt that they were inferior to them. They began enslaving the Africans by using the story of ham who was cursed by his father Noah in the Book of Genesis. They claimed that the descendants of ham who were black were supposed to be enslaved. This thought began to change into more about race in that, in 1667, there was a decree that was made in order to ensure that the blacks were in bondage simply because they were claimed to have the heathen’s ancestry. In the late seventeenth century, there were laws that were formulated and passed in America that banned the union or marriages between the whites and the blacks. This caused the children who were born from a mixed race to be discriminated against by the white and sometimes the black community. The formation of these laws indicated that the whites were superior to the black people in the society.
The enlightenment era where scientific theory was being used more to rationalize events happening in the world. According to most scientists, there were different kinds of human species. Those who were in support of slavery claimed that the blacks and whites were of two different species. This meant that the black people came from an inferior species that needed to be dominated while the whites came from a superior species.
In the 19th century, that is when people recognized nationalism and imperialism, which caused the people to be more racist. At this time, some people began to fight for the rights of the blacks and the Jews in that they wanted them to have equal rights. This was a time when slavery was beginning to end in that some of the slaves were being freed. In the United States of America, the former slaves and the other people of colour seemed to be in large numbers. This threatened the elite white Americans in that it became more of a competition between them therefore; they found ways in which they could oppress the blacks and be deemed more superior to them. This caused the white Americans as well the European whites to formulate laws that will ensure the blacks and the minorities were being oppressed and discriminated against in the workplace and other social areas.
In the late 19th century, the European nations began to scramble for Africa in that they believed that it was their right to take over Africa. In the 20th century, that is when the racist regime became more popular among the whites. There were laws that were formulated, which segregated the blacks and had restrictions. The laws ensured that all the blacks were not allowed to vote and were put last in the social cast. The laws allowed the lynching and beating of the black people whenever they did something wrong or at times, they were framed for things they did not do such as rape. The whites and blacks were never to intermarry, and when a person is seen to interact with them they were excommunicated by the others. This is when the white movements were formed such as Aryan brotherhood movement and the Ku Klux Klan. In the 20th century, that is when there were the world war one and two. In these two wars, the black people were involved in fighting for the country. Therefore, after the war ended those involved were treated a bit better by the whites in the community. This is when the rights, movement fought so hard for the equalization of rights for both the whites and blacks. Some of the notable people who fought for the rights of blacks were Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. In the 21st century, there are still cases being reported of people being racially discriminated in the society.
Racial inequality
Racial inequality has been brought on by racism in the society. Racial inequality began during the time of slavery and has continued to the modern society especially in Europe and the United States. Racial inequality in America began when the European white settlers entered America and displaced the indigenous people away from their fertile lands. In the process of displacing the indigenous people from their lands, the European killed and tortured them, which caused these people to flee. In short, the indigenous people were forced out of their lands. The justification for taking the lands was that the indigenous people were considered to be uncivilized in that they were savages. One of the most notable events where the Cherokee people who came from the Southern United States were forced out of their land even if they were practising agriculture and were not nomads. This action was done by Andrew Jackson. In the 19th century, nearly all the Native Americans had already been displaced and were pushed to the Indian reservation lands that were not as fertile as their original one. They were restricted from leaving these areas. In the 21st century, the Native American had less restriction and was free to assimilate and move. The Native Americans still feel the legacy of how they were racially oppressed and isolated by the white Americans.
Slavery was another way in that brought about racial inequality in America and other parts of the European nations. During the slavery era, the blacks were considered to be properties who were being sold in the markets and treated badly by the elite white people. The people who were in slavery were beaten, tortured, raped and lynched without any legal restrictions from the government. There were some slave owners who did not mistreat their slaves because they considered them to be a valuable investment. At the beginning of the 19th century, the slave trade was banned, therefore, making slaves to be more valuable and expensive. This caused the slave owners to be extra careful with the slaves thus caused the slave number to increase. The slaves began to form a resistance against slavery and the fact threat they were large in numbers caused a lot of problems for the slave owners.
When civil wars began, the number of the slaves was almost 13 percent of the population in the United States. After the civil war, many blacks who were in slavery were freed. The fact that the number of people who were once in slavery was many caused a threat to the white people in America. Since they were in government made them formulate laws that will ensure that they were separated and that they were superior. The blacks were viewed morally inferior, in that they should not be able to exercise their liberty. The other reason that caused the discrimination of the blacks by the whites was that they were once slaves, therefore, they should not have the equal rights as them. According to the 14th and 15the amendment of the US constitution, states that all American citizen is equal. However, this was not practised instead the blacks and the minority people were made into second class citizens in, which they were denied some rights.
In the 20th century, racial inequality took another turn in which the government allowed for racial profiling. In racial profiling, the police were to target some people from a particular race and charge them for crimes, which they may not have committed. These were very common in the 1980s, when the Latinos and blacks were well known for having drugs and weapons. The people of colour were not given equal rights with regards to education, economy, judiciary and socially. This inequality is still being experienced in the present. The major difference is that the racial inequality for the blacks has changed in that in the modern society it is the Muslims and Arabs who are being discriminated especially at the airports. This was because of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack.
In conclusion, when it comes to the issues of race and racial inequality are something that would always be there unless people begin to regard themselves as equals. It is a fact that in the modern society racial issues has decreased over the years. Life in America for people of colour right now has changed in that they are able to get good jobs or live in areas where there once not allowed to enter. There are still cases where the minority people are still being racially segregated. There have been reports where blacks and Latinos have been arrested while they are innocent because of their race. When looking at the education system the public schools, which are mostly largely populated with children of, colour usually gets less funding than the ones in the upper eastside. These usually cause some of the students to not complete schools. Racism and racial inequality is an issue that will never end.
Bibliography
Bonilla-Silva, Eduardo. Racism without Racists: Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in the United States. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2003.
Feagin, Joe R. Racist America: Roots, Current Realities, and Future Reparations. New York: Routledge, 2007.
Gallagher, Charles A. Rethinking the Color Line: Readings in Race and Ethnicity. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2009.
