Race and the American Quest for Equality - Essay Example

The fact that German-Americans were not held in internment camps proves there was a racial dimension. Most African-Americans were brought to America against their will and enslaved. Slavery was not a new practice. In the ancient world, people could be enslaved if they were defeated in a war. The fact that Americans enslaved a specific race meant that society justified their actions by claiming that people of that race were inferior. Even after African-Americans were released from slavery, they still had to struggle against widespread racism and economic and political discrimination.

Native Americans were horribly disadvantaged when the Europeans first came to America and began to take their land. In a long process, the United States took more and more land until they had taken virtually all the lands that had once belonged to the Native Americans. Discrimination continued against the Native Americans even after their lands had been stolen. They were forced onto small reservations where jobs were hard to find and alcoholism and psychological problems went untreated. Even though there has been great progress in reducing racism, these groups are still disadvantaged today.

Racism still exists in America even though most people are now afraid to show they are racist or don’t even believe they are racist. One part of racism today is the stereotyping of members of minority groups. Comedians today joke about how Asian Americans are good at math and have small penises and African-Americans are violent and lazy and Native Americans are alcoholics and lazy.. Sometimes these jokes are funny and the comedian is making fun of his own racial group, but that does not mean that it is not racist.

The jokers forget that members of a "race" are individuals who cannot be defined by their ethnic background. These groups are also disadvantaged today because of the economic and political discrimination their ancestors have already experienced. If your parents and grandparents were successful, then it is much easier for you to be successful because your parents are able to teach you how to succeed and they can provide support to help you take advantage of your opportunities. People in these groups who have been discriminated against do not have a fair chance to help their children be as successful as those who have not experienced discrimination.

San Francisco includes many people in its vision of success, but it is still not perfect. I know many Asian Americans who are successful here, but that does not mean they are always treated fairly. I don't know as many African-Americans, but I know that some of them are successful and some are not as successful. For the ones who aren't as successful, part of the reason they are disadvantaged is probably because of their "race," and this is wrong. I don't know many Native Americans, which shows that they are still disadvantaged, since they used to be the only people here.

I feel that the best way for me to change people's vision of who is included in my community is to celebrate my own culture and to try to learn more about others' cultures. Many of the differences that have been attributed to "race," which makes people believe the differences are biological, should be attributed to culture. For example, the comedian that says