Understanding of Racism - Essay Example

John Q. Doe English 344 8 May 2000 Racism is Not Dead Racism is best understood as the belief that a race is superior or inferior to another. It also generally involves the belief that a person’s race determines his moral or biological characteristics. Originally, many people in various parts of the world supported a scientific belief that there were different races that had different characteristics. However, modern research into biology and DNA has destroyed any scientific basis for the concept of race. Humans, regardless of their outer appearances, share the same genes. All humans have the same basic physical needs and exhibit the same basic behaviors. The small differences in appearance that do exist, such as skin color or height, are such minor differences in genetic expression that they are insignificant. Essentially, genetic differences between “races” are nonexistent. The idea of culture has replaced the idea of race. A culture is a group of people with similar traditions, values, behaviors, and language. However, though science has disproven the biological concept of race and most individuals have become intolerant of overt racism and hate, racism still exists as an undercurrent in human society. Society treats individuals differently based on direct and indirect decisions that in turn originate in the concept of race. One area where racism still exists is in the funding of American public education. The funding formula for public schools in the United States was developed during a time in which racism was not only tolerated but also openly propagated. Races, by law or other influences, were forced to live in certain geographic areas. This issue is problematic because, once settled, the population of a geographic area does not change much except by immigration or emigration, which is often very slow and takes hundreds of years before the demographics of the area exhibit change. Public school funding in America comes from the tax revenue of the school district. Because many geographic areas are still racially homogenous, some of these areas have a lesser tax base from which to draw school funding. The end result is that the schools in these districts are underfunded, and the students receiving education at these schools suffer economic disadvantages due to the quality of the education. Attempts to change the funding formula for public schools in recent years have met with much resistance. Rich, largely white, school districts do not want to send funding to poorer, largely black, school districts, which is an example of one race believing itself dominant over another. This inequality in funding is an example of institutional racism that society accepts. Connected to inequality in education is inequality in wealth that results from racism. Wealth in America is largely built by inheritance of property. A family buys land and then wills this land to successive generations who buy more land and then will it to the next generation and so forth. In America, which was settled mainly by white Europeans who bought or claimed all the original real estate, the government did not allow slaves and other minority groups to own property. When the government freed the slaves, they had neither the wealth nor resources to purchase land. Originally, the U.S. government promised the free slaves land in the form of forty acres. Had the government followed through with this promise, black Americans would have had the same economic start as the white settlers did. However, because the government did not provide the freed slaves with land, black Americans had no wealth to transmit to future generations. The result is that the black population of America is still relatively poor when compared to other populations. Once again, attempts to change this inequality through reparations are voted down by modern voters. The concept of reparations is also condemned by many white Americans as being unfair and racist, though the U.S. government made a promise that it failed to meet. The reason that voters never pass these measures is due to the racist belief that black Americans do not work hard enough, or they would have wealth. Another example of racism in American society is the view of professional sports. Many people believe that certain races succeed in sports because of physical superiorities they attribute to the individual’s race. For instance, black Americans compose the largest majority of NBA players. Many white Americans believe that this overrepresentation of one race in the sport results from physical advantages that blacks hold over whites. They believe that blacks have extra muscles and other physical factors that make them faster or stronger than whites. The idea has no genetic basis. This belief in the physical superiority of a race arises, instead, from a form of racism. The obvious answer to this inequality in sports is due to culture. Different cultures emphasize achievement in different sports. For instance, black American culture often emphasizes success in basketball and football but not in hockey. Consequently, white Americans and Canadians compose the largest majority of hockey players. All sports require physical prowess and all cultures and races in the world participate in sports, so one race is not genetically superior to another in any given sport. Take a sport that is less culturally specific, such as soccer. There is great diversity in the professional players of this sport. Almost every race and culture in the world has a representative playing soccer in a professional league. The American entertainment industry inadvertently promotes racism and is racist. Movies produced in American lack any ethnic diversity. Though all minorities in America combined are approximately 25% of the population, this diversity is not present in the movie industry (“USA Quick Facts”). One would assume that approximately one out of every four actors in a movie would be of an ethnicity other than white. However, any movie watcher would know that this is not the case. Movie producers and directors are mostly white Americans who choose white Americans to be in their movies. A recent example of this type of racist casting in a movie is the immensely successful Hunger Games. The protagonist in the book is described as an olive-skinned, dark-haired, multi-ethnic girl. But, the woman cast to play this role is a blond-haired, blue-eyed, pale-skinned, white American. If not for racism, why would this woman be cast to play this part? Are there not multi-ethnic actresses capable of playing the role? Of course there are. The idea that there are not is ludicrous. In the music industry, racism also exists in the different genres. Americans associate certain races with certain genres of music. For instance, individuals associate hip-hop music with black Americans. Because of this association, it is difficult to become successful as a white rap artist. The example of Eminem is the most prominent instance of this form of racism. He is the most famous white rap artist, and he is famous because of his race. If his race did not matter, he would not be known as the most famous white rapper. The lack of diversity in the entertainment industry exhibits the promotion of racist hiring practices. The government of the United States promotes many security policies that are racist. In order to identify people who have a higher likelihood of committing a crime, the government allows security officers to profile suspects based on physical appearance, one of the standards for the concept of race. An example of this racism is the profiling of suspects following the 9/11 tragedy. Following this event, the federal government passed the Patriot Act. This Act allowed airport security to search travelers based on a profile that potential terrorists fit. The problem is that one of the characteristics of the profile is a person’s race. So, any person that matched the physical characteristics of a Middle Eastern person fit the profile. While this measure might seem reasonable given that the terrorists involved in the 9/11 event were from the Middle East, the profile of a terrorist is not based on race. A terrorist can originate in any race as the definition of a terrorist is an individual who attempts to incite social change by invoking fear in a society. There are examples of terrorists in all cultures and races. White militant Americans committed the Oklahoma City bombings in the United States. Recently, a man in Norway, Anders Breivik, killed 77 people who he accused of supporting the rise of Islam. He was a white Norwegian, a domestic terrorist. Because terrorists exist in every culture, no profile can be made and any attempt to create one is an example of racism. Racism still exists in American society in the form of product advertising. Many American companies originally played off racial stereotypes to sell their wares. Since blacks were often cooks and servants prior to the Civil Rights Movement, the mascots of some brands of food featured black slaves and servants. An example of this type of advertising is Uncle Ben’s Rice and Aunt Jemima’s Pancake Mix. Both of these products feature black mascots who represent the superior cooking talents of blacks. The mascots also feature clothes that were typical of clothes provided to slaves. The companies, realizing that their mascots are racist, have attempted to modernize the images. But, these subtle changes to the images do not hide the assumption that underlies the image, the role of blacks as servants. Another example of racism in branding is the product, Band-aids. In deference to the dominant race, Band-aids default color is a color meant to simulate a white person’s skin. However, the package of Band-aids terms this color, skin. Very few people, white, black, Hispanic, or otherwise, match the color of this product, but it is termed “skin.” Modern advertising also features numerous examples of white individuals in a dominant position over individuals of other races. Oftentimes, the white individual is larger and placed above the minority. All of these products and advertisements promote the idea that one race is superior or inferior to another. Lastly, a final example of racism is present in the lack of diversity in leadership positions within the United States, politically, economically, and otherwise. Given the amount of ethnic diversity present in the U.S. and the democratic form of government, one would expect that the Congress and other leadership posts in the government would be held by people of all different races. But, the vast majority of these positions are held by white males. There are very few Asian, Hispanic, or black members of Congress. The various corporations of America show the same lack of diversity in leadership. The problem is so large and acknowledged that there are lists of the largest black-owned corporations. Because of racism, there is a need to categorize businesses by the individuals who own them or are their CEOs. One specific example of this type of racism is the case of Tony Dungy. Tony Dungy was the first black NFL head coach. Since most NFL head coaches are former players and many of the players are black, one would expect that many of the head coaches would be black as well. But, even in the current period, NFL head coaches are largely white. Much was made of Tony Dungy’s hiring when the Indianapolis Colts announced it because there had been no black head coaches in the NFL. The only reasonable explanation for the lack of coaches of different ethnicities is racism. Overall, racism in America, and the world as a whole, is not openly tolerated. Society condemns individuals who issue statements claiming that one race is superior to another. However, the invisible racism that exists under the current of many public policies and behaviors is still alive. While very few individuals will claim that Hispanics are genetically made to pick fruit, they have no problems characterizing Mexicans as the people who stand at Home Depot, eating tacos, and waiting for a job. Racism is alive and well in America. Work Cited Deshayes, Pierre-Henry. "National Post." National Post. 25 Apr. 2012. Web. 26 Apr. 2012. . "USA Quick Facts." http://quickfacts.census.gov. U.S. Census Bureau, 2012. Web. 26 Apr 2012. . Read More