Prejudice Based on Skin Color - Dissertation Example

Prejudice Based on Skin Color Unlike other human physical dimensions such as height and weight, which are normally distributed among people in various societies, skin color is not. The distribution of skin color tends to be multi-modal such that distinct groupings of people that share the same skin color can be observed. The persisting norm throughout human history has been to treat all the people within a given grouping in the same way, but subject people in different groupings differently. It is this different treatment of human beings based on their skin color that gives rise to this particular form of prejudice called colorism (Dovidio and Gaertner). The Role of Genes in Controlling the Skin Color Kontopoulou and Marketos defines "A gene as a basic unit of hereditary; a linear sequence of along a segment of DNA, which provides the coded instructions for the synthesis of RNA, which in event gets translated into a protein, leads to the expression of a hereditary character, such as, skin color". It is, therefore, important to note that genes form the blueprint of our bodies it is, therefore, logical to say that genes determine our physical appearances. As stated above, our skin color is a good example of genetic control in action. Skin color is largely dependent on the extent of melanin found in our skin cells. The degree of melanin is pre-determined by the genetic blueprint of some genes located in each cell. The synthesis of melanin is controlled by two genes, each of which has a dominant and recessive manifestation (Kontopoulou and Marketos). This in turn leads to a possible 16 combinations of genotype when coding for the skin color. Although the skin color can be expressed in the 16 possible combinations, there are five distinct possible genotypes the genes of melanin can manifest. Therefore, when a child is born, it will be of any one of those five colors. However, after the expression of the skin color through genetics, external factors, for example, ultra-violet rays from the sun may change the skin color away from its initial genetic expression (Kontopoulou and Marketos). Distance from the equator is also another external factor that affects the skin color. Persons tend to have lighter skin pigmentation as the distance from the equator increases. Even though the non-genetic factors have an effect on the skin color, it is important to note that the effect of genes overrides them all (Kontopoulou and Marketos). This is because the expression caused by then gene is irreversible as compared to that on non-genetic factors. The light skin has always been favored over the dark skin across the various human cultures throughout history. This is because light skin has always been associated with beauty, intelligence and grace while the dark skin has always been considered to be inferior, uncivilized and subordinate (Dovidio and Gaertner). This view was later entrenched in the general psyche by the unfortunate tragedies of slavery and colonialism of the dark-skinned people by the light skinned people throughout the work in the 19th and 20th centuries. This legacy has perpetuated the view of superiority of the light skin over the dark skin into the modern times. During slavery era, the lighter skinned black slaves were favored by their masters over their darker skinned counterparts because they were perceived to be more intelligent, co-operative and beautiful as contrasted with darker skinned slaves who were considered ugly, uncivilized and crude (Sulem et al.). This had a lasting impact in that it allowed these lighter skinned black Americans to access a good education and forever get ahead of their darker skinned counterparts who remained in the spirits (Condron). Black people have received disproportionately much of discrimination based on skin color throughout history. Most of the people in North America today are descendants of black Africans who were brought in the North America English colonies as slaves to work on plantations owned by white people during the colonial era. These modern day black Americans, especially in the United States, have endured and suffered centuries of prejudice and segregation because of their skin color (Dovidio and Gaertner). This type of discrimination has been institutionalized and now permeates every facet of life for an African American in the United States. It is over 40 years since the Civil Rights Act was signed into law granting black people and white people equal access to public settings and institutions, in theory. But the reality has been very different for Black Americans as racial, and ethnic bias continue to permeate American society. African Americans continue experiencing both overt and covert racial prejudice in the workplace, in search of housing, and in everyday social settings (Dovidio and Gaertner). African Americans suffer overt discrimination in the US justice system. Research have shown that the law enforcing officers are more likely to pull over and frisk black people or Latinos than whites under similar circumstances. In New York City, 80% of stops were made on blacks and Latinos. 85% of these people were frisked as compared to a mere 8% of the whites stopped. After being arrested, African Americans are 33% more likely to be detained than whites while facing a felony trial in New York, among many other studies. The most recent high profile events in Ferguson in Missouri where a white police officer shot dead an unarmed black teenager point to the deeply entrenched racial prejudice that African Americans continue to suffer. The logical conclusion from these studies and events would be that dark skinned people (e.g. black people) suffer undue and undeserved prejudice based on the color of their skin from light skinned people. (Dovidio and Gaertner). Employment Although there have been major gains as far as equality in the job market is concerned, African Americans often have to put up with racial discrimination in the workplace. Numerous studies in relation to discrimination of black people and other minority groups in the American labor market validate this conclusion (Tomaskovic-Devey et al.). For example, statistics from a 2001 survey indicate that more than one-third of blacks and nearly 20% of Asians and Hispanics reported that they had personally been passed over for a job or a promotion because of their job or ethnicity. African Americans are twice as likely to be unemployed as white people. In addition, the wages of Hispanics and blacks continue lagging behind while those of the whites with the same qualifications continues to increase. Hiring decisions have consistently shown discrimination of the black people with white preference ranging from 50% to 240 %. Another study also has shown that black male spend more time searching for job opportunities, gain less experience and unstable employment than the whites with equivalent qualifications (Tomaskovic-Devey et al.). The research also revealed that when it comes to compensation in the workplace, whites are likely to be offered wages on average of 15 cents/hour higher than those of their equally qualified black counterparts. Overall, the existing literature points towards consistent discrimination in access to employment opportunities for black people on the basis of their skin color. This goes ahead to support the dominant view among the perpetrators of this form of discrimination that light skinned people are more intelligent and have better qualities suited to the workplace despite the inexistence any scientific basis for this. Housing American cities are still characterized by residential segregation on the basis of race and the levels of segregation remain unaffected by the rising economic status of the blacks (Massey and Denton). This discrimination in the housing market takes the form of less information offered about existing units and fewer opportunities to view units. Conversely, the blacks in the case of home buyers, get little financial assistance and thus resulting in fewer wealthy communities with larger proportions of minority residents. Another study points to a gender and class dimension of racial discrimination. One research found out that black women and/or blacks who speak in a manner associated with lower class upbringing suffer more discrimination than black men than that manifest a middle-class upbringing (Purnell, Idsardi, and Baugh). Overall, the existing literature suggests that discrimination in rental and housing markets remains pervasive. Although there are some promising signs of change, the frequency with, which racial minorities experience discrimination in the search for homes suggests that discrimination remains to be an important barrier to residential opportunities. This kind of discrimination in the housing sector could stem from the widely held view that black people are a likely source of trouble and violence among the white people. Credit Markets There remain wide gaps in terms of the wealth possessed by white people as compared to the wealth of the black people (Oliver and Shapiro). Since home ownership is an important foundation for wealth accumulation, discrimination against blacks in owning homes presents a significant impediment to their wealth accumulation. The case for mortgage facilities for home purchasers shows a continuous form of discrimination towards blacks applying for mortgage loans. Studies have shown that there are fewer favorable terms for mortgage facilities for black people compared to the white people with the same credit characteristics (Oliver and Shapiro). For instance, the study found out that Hispanic and black's applications for mortgages were more likely to be rejected compared to those of white with the similar creditworthiness in the credit markets, discrimination happens in the form of black people are less likely to receive loans compared to the white people. Moreover, interest rates quoted to the blacks are usually higher compared to of the whites, in addition, to receiving less coaching and information (Ross and Yinger). Consumer Markets As compared to discrimination in the above three categories of employment, housing and credit markets, relatively less research has been done on discrimination in the consumer markets towards blacks. Nevertheless, there are observable disparities between black and white people when it comes to the consumer markets. Research indicates that blacks and Hispanics are often disproportionately subjected to financing markup charges at car dealerships, which are as higher as $339 more than those of whites with the similar credit histories (Pager and Shepherd). The research also revealed that blacks experience discrimination ranging from poor services in restaurants to heightened surveillance in departmental stores to outright harassment in public accommodation for middle-class black Americans (Pager and Shepherd). Why do Black People Suffer Discrimination? Classical research has shown that prejudice or racial animus underlies discrimination, with feelings and beliefs of the inferiority or the undesirability of certain racial groups associated with subsequent disadvantaging behavior (Pettigrew). Collectively, these factors are called intrapsychic factors. Works Cited Condron, Dennis J. "Social class, school and non-school environments, and black/white inequalities in children's learning." American Sociological Review 74.5 (2009): 685-708. Dovidio, John F., and Samuel L. Gaertner. "Aversive racism and selection decisions: 1989 and 1999." Psychological science 11.4 (2000): 315-319. Print. Dovidio, John F., and Samuel L. Gaertner. "On the nature of contemporary prejudice." Race, class, and gender in the United States: An integrated study (2004): 132. Print. Kontopoulou, Theano D., and Spyros G. Marketos. "Tracing the origin of the term" gene"." HORMONES-ATHENS- 2 (2003): 135-136. Print. Massey, Douglas S. "andNancy A. Denton. 1993. American Apartheid: Segregation and the Making of the Underclass."Print. Oliver, Richard, and Thomas Shapiro." Black Wealth/White Wealth: A New Perspective on Racial Inequality. (1997). Print. Pager, Devah, and Hana Shepherd. "The sociology of discrimination: Racial discrimination in employment, housing, credit, and consumer markets." Annual review of sociology 34 (2008): 181. Internet source. Pettigrew, Thomas F. Prejudice. 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