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Racism
Unfortunately, racism is a pervasive element in American society. As the reaction to the 2008 Presidential election at the University of Mississippi shows, many Americans cannot tolerate a person of color in a position of power. The right-wing rhetoric that continually denounces Obama in the media stems in part from covert racism, rather than being just attributable to different political beliefs. The causes of racism are complex and multifaceted, and extend to the core of American history. It is impossible to study American history without studying the history of white power, and yet, as the author of Lies My Teacher Told Me points out, most textbooks whitewash American history to create a climate tacitly tolerant of racism. Before the emancipation of the slaves, the American economy depended on the free labor pool that slaves provided. It was necessary to have a marked and visible class of human beings, in this case persons of African ancestry, that could be readily subjugated via use of force. Even after the emancipation of the slaves, racism endured as African-Americans made...
Many Americans still view persons of color as the underclass, which is why the election of Barack Obama caused the violent reactions at Ole Miss described by Johnson in the Washington Post article. Racism in America is perpetuated by both personal and structural elements in the society, creating a vicious cycle that prevents the United States from living up to its promise to be a great nation.
The personal elements that cause and perpetuate racism include biased beliefs, stereotypes, and socialization into a racist community. Racist beliefs have a psychological and sociological dimension to them. They allow for the creation of in-group/out-group statuses, and enable a stratified society. Racism and stereotyping simplify social encounters, making it easier for the feeble-minded to contend with complexity and diversity. It is easier to group all persons of a single group under the same umbrella than it is to treat each person as an individual, without any preconceived notions or prejudices.
There are also direct benefits to being a bigot. When racism is perpetuated, it allows for the creation of a white dominant culture. Those who control the dominant culture control how blacks and whites are portrayed in the media. For a long time, African-Americans had no control over how black people were portrayed in movies or on television, because these types of media barred African-Americans from active participation other than to be caricatures. Thus, the housemaid in Gone with the Wind fulfills the "mammy" stereotype that helps…
Women's Oppression, Racism, Colonialism And Feminism "The Committee is concerned that women's access to justice is limited, in particular because of women's lack of information on their rights, lack of legal aid, the insufficient understanding of the convention by the judiciary and the lengthy legal processes which are not understood by women. The Committee is concerned that physical and psychological violence cases are particularly difficult to be prosecuted in the legal
Figure 1. Demographic composition of the United States (2003 estimate). Source: Based on tabular data in World Factbook, 2007 (no separate listing is maintained for Hispanics). From a strictly percentage perspective, it would seem that Asian-Americans do not represent much of a threat at all to mainstream American society, but these mere numbers do not tell the whole story of course. For one thing, Asian-Americans are one of the most diverse and
English Literature Race, Regionalism, and Rights: in Snow Falling on Cedars Literature is an art form, which can convey love, hate, beauty, and ugliness. Literature, in the form of novels, has the capacity to challenge and reflect upon cultural and societal dilemmas. The David Guterson novel, Snow Falling on Cedars, and the 1999 film adaptation, illuminate the issues that a young Japanese-American man faces when he is accused of the murder of
True Meaning of Snow David Guterson is the young, American author of Snow Falling on Cedars which heavily consists of human nature and human emotions. Snow Falling on Cedars, narrates the trial of a Japanese man accused of murdering a white man in the post-World War II era. Throughout this literary work, Guterson uses elements of nature: land, trees, water and especially snow, as literal and metaphorical tools to develop
Prejudice What is it like to experience prejudice on a daily basis? Many, if not most, whites do not know what it is like to be a member of an underclass. It is important to understand the structural elements of prejudice in a society. It is also important to understand how to deal with prejudice on a personal level. There are many ways to deal with prejudice. One is to fight
Like other symbols of the civil rights movement such as the song "We shall overcome" and peaceful sit-ins, to Kill a Mockingbird quickly assumed a similar position. As the focus of the movie was on right and wrong, the director of this film, Robert Mulligan, provided the American movie viewing public with a strong lesson in justice but he was also able, largely through the character of Atticus Finch, to