Washington D.C as a world city - Essay Example

Social Problems in Washington DC The efficiency in striking a balance between Social, Political and Economic factors is the key in defining development. Social Equality is the prim Dona among the social issues. If social equality is achieved then remaining problems are minuscule. This is an area where the defenses of Washington fall weak. One of the major social challenges faced by Washington from a long time is social inequality or Racial Discrimination. Racism has its roots deep in the history of the US and this problem is inherited by Washington (Gibel, 2007).

Racism is a belief that a particular race is superior. This directly influences the social condition in the society and acts as a primary driver for social inequality. (Gibel, 2007) The problem with Washington has been the issue of Native Americans Versus the African Americans. A research work conducted at MIT and the Chicago University revealed that the filtering of candidates for issuing jobs was done based on whether the applicant had a white sounding name or a black sounding name and around 60-65 percent of applications were rejected in the case of blacks.

Jews marched on Washington against racism on 20th of April 2002 (nkusa.org, 2002). The Jewish leader Rebbi Weiss delivered a speech on ethnic equality mentioning the advantages of social equality in the society and its affect on the all round development of the city. Not only this, the plague of racism even affected the law protecting bodies like the police, fire and municipal services. Police officials exchanged hundreds of racist messages through E-mails including segregated group meetings (adversity.net, 2005).

In 2001 about 10 percent of the police force is involved in the investigation for law violation (adversity.net, 2005). The Racial discrimination in the society of Washington follows the models of racism. Individual racism where a person acts in such a way to degrade others based on race like a boss not hiring or promoting an efficient worker on the basis of race etc (William, 2002) were common. The lack of proper parenting for and injecting the evil thoughts of racism into children are resulting in racial discrimination in schools and colleges.

The environment of social grouping also has a major impact. The differences in the power and influence are easily seen in the majority section of society (William, 2002).These racist policies embedded at organizational level is structural racism. The American psychiatric association stated that racial discrimination affects the mental health of a person and leads to further mental disparities (Carter, 2005). This racial discrimination is the root cause for inter-group conflicts that in turn disturb the peace and harmony in the working of the society.

This leads to more anti social elements like drug trafficking, Child abuse, hatred towards each other and many likes. Racial discrimination in Washington is due to lack of minority residents and their representation in work force. The lack of a representative to look at their needs is also an issue (Faegin, 1994). In order to overcome these problems concerned to racial discrimination there should be awareness that is spread by the government bodies in the city regarding multiculturism and diversity emphasizing the importance of respecting each other.

These awareness programs can be put in practice from schools to work places. Publishing news and important notices in multiple languages, having plays that show the cultural importance, giving more opportunity to people of minority category can help reduce this problem. Family therapies, drug and alcohol counseling and other social activities may help in improving the situation. Resident participation should be more in these developmental activities that create a feeling of oneness among people.

In the end the old philosophy quotes come handy that mention that irrespective of the race, ethnicity, languages spoken and cultures followed the human race is one. Having a broader and flexible mindset is what societies expect from citizens and it is the citizens who have to feel this responsibility. References:1. Carter RT, 2005, Handbook of Racial-Cultural Psychology and Counseling Training and Practice (vol.2). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley2. Faegin J, 1994, Sikes M. Living with Racism: The Black Middle Class Experience3.

Article on Racism in Police Officials published on 6th Oct 2005, found at: http://www.adversity.net/policefire_1_dc.htm4. Mevorach, Katya Gibel (2007) "Race, Racism and Academic Complicity" in American Ethnologist 34(2): 239-2405. The Practice of Macro Social Work, 2002, William G. Brueggemann6. March on Washington against War and Racism, 20th April, 2002, Found at: http://www.nkusa.org/activities/speeches/wdc042002.cfm