Racism in America - Research Paper Example

?Racism in America The history of racism is interconnected with the history of colonization and slavery. One can see that racial supremacy is the grass root level reason behind racism and slavery. Besides, racism curbs the development of a multicultural/multiracial society. When this problem is superimposed into the context of American society, the after effect is much more problematic because it curbs the cohesion among the different races in the American society. To be specific, racism leads to prejudice, discrimination, segregation, forced labor and slavery. Racism in America can be divided into two: racism during colonial era and racism during slave era. Thesis statement: Racism curbs the socio-political and economic growth and development of African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans and Asian Americans in America. How Racism has affected different races such as African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans and Asian Americans Racism in America affected different races (African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans and Asian Americans) in different ways. Some of the immigrant races (say, African Americans) in America fought against slavery and became victorious. On the other side, some other races (Native Americans) subdued to racism. A. African Americans The history of racism faced by the African American population in America is interconnected with colonization of Africa by different European nations and slave trade from the African mainland to the different parts of America. In the initial stages, the African Americans served the European settlers in America as ‘sharecroppers’. Later, some of them were allowed to own property. Besides, most of the African Americans served in vast agricultural lands in America. So, the low social status of the African Americans in the earlier days limited them from entering the public domain of the American society. Later, the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 helped the African Americans to gain political rights in the American society. Till 1865, slavery prevailed in America. For instance, the 13th Amendment, which was against slavery in America, helped the African Americans to extend their struggle for equality in the mainstream society. The Emancipation Proclamation helped the African American slaves to be free but it did not help them to gain equal status in the society. Martin (2009), makes clear that “During the early 1950s, the movement –at first led by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People- forced an end to segregation on trains and interstate buses by successfully appealing several federal lawsuits to the U.S. Supreme Court” (419). The Civil Right Movement was another innovative step taken by the African Americans to gain equality in the mainstream society. Nenty (2008), states that “The Civil Right Act of 1964 achieved a substantial number of rights for African Americans since the 19th century’s Reconstruction” (68). One can see that racism and discrimination based on skin color still prevail in the American society. This eventually drags the African American community to educational disparities and criminal acts. For instance, the origin and growth of groups like Ku Klux Klan put forth racial supremacy and eventually led to large scale violence against the members of African American community. So, the African American population was forced to face racial riots, discrimination and segregation. This hindered the economic development of the African American population in America. B. Hispanic Americans The racial problem faced by the Latin Americans (generally known as Hispanic Americans) is interconnected with the history of Mexico. To be specific, the Mexican-American War led to the annexation of some of the areas of Mexico by the American forces and this eventually led the Mexicans to face racism and discrimination. Later, the after effects of the Great Depression forced the Mexicans to return to their native place (say, Mexico). This did not solve the problem of discrimination faced by the Mexicans in the society. Gradually, the Mexicans who hesitated to return to their homeland became the victims of racism and discrimination in the American society. For example, Zoot Suit Riots (Los Angeles, 1943) between the naval servicemen and the Mexican Americans proves that the Mexican Americans were forced to face racial violence in America. The problem of racism hinders the growth and development of Hispanic Americans in the mainstream society. Within this context, the Chicano Civil Rights Movement during 1960s helped the Hispanic Americans/Mexican Americans to gain some rights (say, equal protection) because it eventually led to the 14th Amendment of the constitution in the United States of America. On the other side, the problems faced by the Hispanic American children are severe because they became the victims of segregation and discrimination within the public school system in America. From a different angle of view, large scale immigration from Mexico to America is one of the reasons behind the problem of racism faced by the Hispanic Americans and Latinos in America. To be specific, illegal immigrants from different regions of Mexico aggravated the problem of racism faced by the Hispanic American population. Marger (2011) states that “Today, anti-Latino discrimination seems focused mostly on large immigrant populations in specific, locations, particularly on Latinos who have entered the United States illegally” (236). But this cannot be considered as an excuse for racial violence and lynching faced by the Hispanic Americans. C. Native Americans One can easily identify that the history of the United States of America is interconnected with renaissance in Europe, geographical discoveries and colonization. Within this context, the history of Native Americans and the problems faced by them are closely related to the colonization of America by the European seafarers and settlers. Besides, European settlement affected the Native Americans because the European settlers displaced the Natives with force. During the 15th century, the Native American areas were under the control of Spain. The Spaniards grabbed the Native American lands and enslaved them. During the 18th century, the English settlers gained supremacy over the Native American lands. So, colonization affected the Native American population in America and eventually led to racism. For instance, the Choctaws were a prominent Native American tribe in Mississippi region. But colonization affected this tribal people and they were forced to face discrimination and racism. The Cherokees (tribal population in Georgia) were prominent among the Native American tribes. They were forcefully displaced from their land and their resistance against colonization became futile. Later, most of the Native Americans were forced to live in reserved areas. Gupta (2005), states that “Native Americans say that crimes committed against them-including those resulting in death- receive only a cursory investigation, while crimes committed against “whites”, allegedly committed by Native Americans, are fiercely prosecuted” (197). Besides, the residential school system implemented by the government eventually led to discrimination and marginalization. The Indian Citizenship Act of the year 1924 was an innovative step to reduce racism against the Native Americans. Still, the Native American population faces a number of problems related to racism. D. Asian Americans The majority of Asian American immigrant population in America consists of Chinese, Japanese, Indian and other immigrants from the Middle Eastern nations. Earlier, the Chinese immigrant faced a number of problems related to racism in the American society. Ancheta (2006) makes clear that “Racial barriers to naturalization prevented Asian immigrants from gaining full rights of citizenship; racial barriers to immigration prevented Asians from entering the country at all” (25). Besides, some of the Immigrant laws/acts like Chinese Exclusion Act, implemented in the year 1882, hindered the Chinese immigrants from entering the mainland of America. In addition, discrimination in the mainstream society led the Chinese immigrants to a number of riots like Los Angeles riot (in the year 1871). But the problems faced by the South Eastern Asian immigrants were not similar to the problems faced by the Native Americans and the African Americans. For example, during the WWII, the Japanese population in America faced discrimination because they were held in internment camps. But this did not affect the post war relation between the United States and Japan. On the other side, the immigrants from the Middle East were forced to face racism, discrimination and marginalization and it eventually led to far reaching consequences. For instance, the 9/11 incident created bias against the immigrants from the Middle East. To be specific, the global spread of terrorism and the influence of the Middle Eastern nations among the international terrorist organizations eventually led to the bias against the immigrant from the Middle Eastern nations. This bias forced the immigrant population from the Middle East to face racism. One can easily identify that strict implementation of immigration laws is helpful to hinder the rapid spread of terrorism. On the other side, it leads to racism and related problems. Summing, the multiracial characteristic of the American society effectively hinders the growth of racial problems in America. Still, some problems related to racism faced by the natives of the American continent (Native Americans and the Hispanic Americans) and the immigrant population (African Americans and the Asian Americans) are yet to be solved. Besides, the development of the natives and the immigrants is interconnected with overall development of a modern society. So, ample importance should be given to resolve the problem of racism in America because it curbs the development of the American society as a whole. References Ancheta, A. N. (2006). Race, rights, and the Asian American experience. New Jersey, USA: Rutgers University Press. Gupta, A. (2005). Human Rights of Indigenous Peoples: Comparative analysis of indigenous peoples. New Delhi, India: Gyan Publishing House. Marger, M. N. (2011). Race and Ethnic Relations: American and Global Perspectives. Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning. Martin, G. (2009). Understanding Terrorism: Challenges, Perspectives, and Issues. California, USA: SAGE. Nenty, N. U. (2008). American Politics 001: The Whole Nine Yards. Bloomington, IN: iUniverse. Read More