Racism (white racism against blacks) has changed since the Jim Crow era and the era when racial segregation kept black kids out of white schools in the South. But racism still exists because racism has been institutionalized in America. The way black students are punished versus the way white students are typically punished in one example in this paper. Also, whites earn more than blacks and blacks do not receive the same quality healthcare services as whites do.
Racism in America -- the Causes - Effects
Why has the ugly social scar of racism -- whites demonstrating racially biased attitudes and actions against African-Americans -- continued in the U.S. through the years? What causes people to look down on those of another race -- or to otherwise hold people of another ethnicity in contempt? Given the fact that the U.S. Congress passed the Civil Rights Act (1964) and the Voting Rights Act (1965), and that Americans elected and re-elected a bi-racial president (Barack Obama), an objective observer from another country might imagine that racist attitudes have subsided (and in ways things have improved on racial issues).
There is still today -- and may always be -- white racism against blacks, and this paper points to the fact that racism has continued to be a social and moral blemish in the U.S. because it has become institutionalized and carried from generation to generation.
The Legacy and Institutionalization of Racist Beliefs and Behaviors
Jim Wallis writes in the peer-reviewed journal Crosscurrents that the most visible "…and painful sign of racism's continuation is the economic inequality between blacks and whites" (Wallis, 2007, 199). This is a classic example of the cause and effect of institutionalized racism; that is, the median income for white Americans in 2007 was $48,500, while the median income for black Americans was about $31,000 (Wallis, 199). The unemployment rate for black teenagers is "…twice that of white teenagers" and this has become an institutionalized reality for black youths in the inner city (Wallis, 199).
Other examples of the institutionalization of racial bias can be found in the nation's capital, Washington D.C., which has traditionally had African-American mayors. Wallis points out that the subway routes follow class and racial lines; middle class commuters are carried through "gentrified areas…into the suburbs…avoiding black ghettos" (200). Also, the busses that ran through the more affluent areas of Washington, D.C. (16th street) have typically been newer and air conditioned while the busses that run on the 14th street corridor -- "…just two blocks away" from the "gold coast" upscale neighborhoods of 16th street -- are typically "…old, hot, and broken-down" (Wallis, 200). Wallis concludes his essay by explaining that racism has much to do with who has the power to "…dominate and enforce oppression," and currently that power in America is "…in white hands" (202).
In the peer-reviewed journal Peace Review: A Journal of Social Justice, there is more evidence of the institutionalization of white racism. The article points to a survey of 294 public schools in America, and in that study it was discovered that when black students are disciplined for rule-breaking, they "…tend not to receive more benign sanctions" like counseling or meetings between parents and teachers, as misbehaving white students often receive. In fact black students -- a group that makes up 33% of the study body in some schools -- served "…53% of the suspensions over the last 10 years" (Nagel, 2011).
The studies referenced by Nagel show that black girls in middle school are "…suspended at four times the rate of white girls" (Nagel, 304). The survey Nagel refers to also shows that black students tend to serve "…longer suspensions on average" and black students are more likely to receive suspensions for "…subjective misconduct like profanity and insubordination" (304). Again, these trends show that racism may not be overt or blatant -- like someone, for example, shouting mean racist words at a black student or attacking a black student because of the color of his or her skin -- but they racism is more apt to be subtle and institutional.
Institutional racism is also present in the healthcare field, according to an article in the peer-reviewed journal Seminars in Dialysis. The authors' research reveals that (according to many empirical studies) black Americans are "…less likely than whites to receive a wide range of medical services," and that includes services that are designed to save lives (Callender, et al., 2004). Blacks make up about 12% of the U.S. population but they account for 50% of the waiting list for kidney transplants, Callender writes, adding that a study in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that heart patients -- all of whom had the ability to pay -- got "inequitable and inferior health care" if they were black (Callender, 178).
The institutionalization of white racism can be found in the history books and in the textbooks, according to James Loewen's book. The matter of John Brown is a case in point; Loewen researched 18 history textbooks in order to examine how the authors treated the case of Brown (who was an abolitionist). Loewen found that books published before 1890 found that Brown was "…perfectly sane" but books published between 1890 and roughly 1970, Brown "was insane" (Loewen, 2008, 173). But the textbooks published after 1970 have described Brown as "…slowly…regaining his sanity," Loewen writes, using some sarcasm (173).
You’re 81% through this paper. Sign up to read the full paper.
Sign Up Now — Instant Access Already a member? Log inAlways verify citation format against your institution’s current style guide requirements.