Jane Doe
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One of the most inhumane aspects of racism is the oppression that exists for the less privileged members of society. The harsh reality of this is that only the white race has and continues to remain in the most beneficial position, whereas every other “colored” race deals with some form of oppression in the United States (Tatum, 2008). In America, the most oppressed group of people has been and remains to be the African American population. Of course, many would claim that to be a stereotypical statement, which further validates just how ingrained the American society is that black people are what comes to mind when the topic of racism is discussed.
Needless to say, the shameful history of slavery in the United States is a reality that both white and black people aim to have closure for, but evidence of the damaged mindset of the black race (the oppressed), and the unconscious sense of superiority of the white race (the oppressor) are still present. One only has to look at the current educational system, imbalance in socio-economic class, and the prison system to see the blatant and horrific signs of the oppression of black people in America that continues to dehumanize an entire group of people based on the pigmentation of their skin color. The ridiculous notion that an entire group of people must live with less opportunity based on the evolutionary process of higher levels of UVB exposure resulting in increased melanin, is beyond absurd and unintelligent of the human species to continue to perpetuate (Jablonski, “TED Talks”, 2009).
If anyone were to question the claim of racism in America, they must unbiasedly examine the following information regarding the segregation within the school system in regions throughout the nation. “In Chicago, by the academic year 2002-2003, 87 percent of public-school enrollment was black or Hispanic; less than 10 percent of children in the schools were white. In Washington, D.C., 94 percent of children were black or Hispanic; less than 5 percent were white” (Kozol, 2005, para.2). These statistics are only one small example from so many more reported in an article written by Jonathan Kozol for Harper’s Magazine titled, Still Separate, “Still Unequal: America’s Educational Apartheid” (2005). One of the biggest challenges the American society faces is the unwillingness to even acknowledge that the statistics are a display of “racial segregation” (Kozol, 2005).
Sadly, these truths that many in the privileged class may deny are factors that will continue to perpetuate the unjust practices associated with oppression. As stated by Mantsios (2006), if oppression present in one sphere, then it is likely to occur in another sphere of one’s life. Therefore, these segregated schools full of kids who most likely come from the lower socio-economic class are further held back by the lack of equal opportunity in education that will be received by their white counterparts. Pretending that racism is long gone is one of the worst things to happen for the oppressed because if society ignores its existence then no action will ever be taken to reverse this lack of humanity that is harming the entire nation.
In concluding this discussion on the severely oppressed group of the African American population there is a poignant message mentioned by Tatum in “Defining Racism: Can We Talk?” worthy of mention in closing the discussion. “We may not have polluted the air, but we need to take responsibility, along with others, for cleaning it up” (Tatum, 2008, p.). If each of us as members of the human race does not take it upon ourselves to life our fellow up in life, then the human race is in trouble for the long haul. It is our responsibility to evolve ourselves to be inclusive of one another despite the evolutionary process that has created “color” distinction in our skin.
References
I did not have the actual class material to use for proper formatting on these references since I found them from random sources online. You will need to format them. I formatted the TED Talk source.
1. Defining Racism: Can We Talk? Beverly Daniel Tatum
2. Still Separate, Still Unequal: America’s Educational Apartheid Jonathan Kozol
3. Class in America:2012 Greg Mantsios
Jablonski, Nina. (2009, Feb.). “Skin Color is an Illusion” (TED Talks, Web). Retrieved from
https://www.ted.com/talks/nina_jablonski_breaks_the_illusion_of_skin_color?language=en#t-448790
