Persistence of Racism in Contemporary US Society - Case Study Example

Racism Understanding the persistence of racism in the contemporary US society man s reviewing its historical context, specifically the antebellum period (period before the famed Civil War 1865 of America) (Cook 12). The displacement of Native Americans marked the beginning of this period. Predominant characteristics of this period included the implementation of discriminatory expansionist policies, which constituted the mistreatment of Native Americans and the widespread use of slave labor to meet the unlimited demands of the rapidly increasing population (Cook 14). Post-Civil War US proved a more favorable environment for minority groups featuring less forms of overt racism, as legislative policies instituted by the government imposed punitive measures on those found guilty of discriminating against others based on their race. Despite this, subtle forms of racism exist in contemporary US society whereby people use bureaucracy to conceal their racist agendas. Explored in the essay are the mistreatment of Native Americans, enslavement of African Americans, problems faced by Latin American immigrants in the US, and exploration of examples of persisting racism in contemporary US society. Mistreatment of Native Americans The Native Americans were the initial occupants of land in America. They hunted and gathered to sustain their nutritional requirements. Initially, President Thomas Jefferson saw the institution of a policy, which allowed Native Americans to retain their ancestral lands east of the Mississippi. The only condition attached to this was that the native population was to assimilate themselves with the rest of the population. They were to supplement their hunting and gathering practices with agriculture. As time elapsed, it became impossible for the government honor the terms of the policy due to the rapid population increase among the immigrants and Whites in America. They, therefore, resorted in the displacement of Native Americans from their ancestral land. Andrew Jackson, who was the President at the time, signed the Indian Removal Act’ on May 26, 1830 into law. The new law sanctioned the forceful eviction of Native Americans from their ancestral land. The acquired land was to be used to set up plantations. These would ensure large-scale production of crops that would be used for food and other industries. It would also provide the immigrants with a place to settle where they could begin building their lives. Time ensued, and the Whites encroached on Native American’s land outnumbering the native population. They assumed total ownership of the land and established their own institutions and systems (Keegan 56). Throughout, the Whites continued to dishonor the terms of the various treaties signed between them and the Native Americans, which guaranteed the latter equal land West of Mississippi in exchange for their original parcels of land. Tribes that did not co-operate faced forceful eviction from their lands by government officials who abused their power. For example, the Cherokee people experienced forceful eviction from their land. This was after signing the ‘Treaty of New Echota’ by a small part of the entire tribe. The tribal leaders missed out of the entire treaty signing process. This led to the death of estimated 4,000 tribe members in 1835. The march came to be known as the ‘Trail of Tears’. The government justified their actions by claiming that the natives’ presence disrupts the harmony in the region. They also claimed that the land would benefit the American population. However, this was not entirely true. Many of the government officials were greedy and simply desired sole ownership of the land. This led them to act in inhumane ways that led to the death of many Natives (Keegan 60). Enslavement of African Americans The Antebellum period saw increased manufacturing of products in America. Most manufacturers were, therefore, in need of cheap labor to meet their manufacturing demands, which only immigrant workers could provide. There were two categories of immigrant workers in the antebellum period. The first lot was the workers who migrated to America in search of a means to sustain their livelihood without coercion. The others underwent forceful eviction from their countries without their approval. The zeitgeist of that time supported the expansive use of slave labor. The thriving slave market profited from the sale of slaves acquired from conquered states in the African continent (Cook 78). A variety of factors worked together to contribute to widespread colonialism, and in turn to slavery all around the world. The superior states were always in constant disagreement as they all rushed to acquire colonial territories overseas. The Berlin conference 1885-1886 came up with guidelines of behavior that would ensure countries respected each other’s colonial possessions. This meant lack of interference with the set boundaries, which demarcated each dominating country’s overseas colonial territory. Implications born out of this conference included; exploitation of the precious minerals found in the colonial territories. The colonies were crucial to these countries because they were vast regions of untapped resources. They were sources of raw materials needed to sustain different industries abroad. The colonialists further exploited their colonies by robbing them of able-bodied individuals to be used as slaves in the provision of cheap labor. They left the elderly, the sick and the children behind in their colonies. America was a British colony before the 1776 Revolution. Many of the British slaves acquired from African colonies were brought to work in the huge plantations in America. When America gained independence, these slaves remained to serve in the same capacity under their new owners (Cook 80). Discrimination against Black Americans persisted throughout this period. The slaves became exposed to harsh conditions, which they had, to work under without complaining. For example, the plantation slaves received limited access to adequate health care. They sometimes had to work when they were sick which made them succumb to them eventually (Keegan, 2010). The women slaves also faced a constant threat of sexual abuse by their masters. In the event that a woman was a victim of sexual abuse, she dared not to report it to her masters because nobody would believe her. They suffered in silence and many resorted to drastic acts like committing suicide. Cases of slaves killing their masters were also common during the antebellum period. Extreme levels of frustration were responsible for such acts. Black American slaves found solace in religion. The belief in a supernatural phenomenon who took notice of all their afflictions gave them hope to cope with all the mistreatment they experienced. They retained either their traditional religion or adopted Islam or a form of Christianity, which had doctrines that were different from those taught in white churches. They resented their oppressors’ religion creating their own. They also turned to artistic ways in which they expressed their feelings. Music and poems by black, American slaves reflected their experiences providing an outlet for them to purge their feelings. Slaves forged their own path despite the fact that their lives followed the course of their owners’ demands. George P. Rawick puts emphasis on this by explaining how black, American slaves forged their own lives in spite of exploitation (Cook 82). He further adds that their experiences helped them create institutional and behavioral basis that helped absolve them of the victim mentality. Slaves drew their strength from fellow slaves (Cook 82). They formed associations where they met in secret and shared their experiences. From a psychological point of view, this provided them with an avenue to express their true self. They no longer had to hide behind masks as they always did while they stood in the presence of their masters. Bottled up emotions are unhealthy and normally lead to destructive habits. These associations prevented these from happening. Laws in the South were exceedingly strict especially when dealing with black slaves (Keegan 54). With every passing negative incident, the laws became worse than the previous ones. Black Americans lived in constant fear for their lives. They cowered at the sight of any authoritative figure and ensured they pleased their masters at all times. Many opted to flee from to the North when they caught on the wrong because they feared the brutal punishments they would receive. The White population in the South had no respect for the slaves unlike the White population in the North. Majority of the White population in the South were poor small-scaled farmers who could not afford to own slaves. Despite this, the poor White population still considered themselves superior to the slaves simply because they were white. Most of these people worked to own their own slaves. Slave ownership was the basis used in the ascription of social status in the South. The conditions in the North were accommodating to the Black Americans. Treatment of immigrant population The immigrant population in the US predominantly comprises predominantly of Latin Americans who leave their native homelands in search of better economic opportunities in the US. Unfortunately, majority of the immigrants lack legit or proper immigration documentation, which hinders them from accessing higher paying employment opportunities. Majority of these immigrants live in dilapidated conditions in low-income neighborhoods where they have no choice but to access public social amenities such as education institutions. In addition, they can only access low-wage jobs whereby they are likely to face victimization by their employers. The mistreatment of undocumented workers is prevalent in the US, as the legislative policies in place do little to protect their welfare. In addition, mistreated undocumented workers opt to stay silent because reporting to relevant authorities might result in their deportation. Majority would rather persevere the inhumane treatment rather than go back to their native country where they are likely to face more financial problems. As recent as this year, the country’s White majority population remains conflicted about instituting immigration legislative reforms. Opponents infer that such reforms will lead to an influx of immigrants into the country, a situation likely to deny the native population access to employment opportunities, which are limited. Conversely, proponents for the reforms infer that integration of undocumented immigrants will help improve their living standards while simultaneously pave way for them to access opportunities available to native citizens. Both sides continue to rely on the use of publicity campaigns to advance their agendas. A common practice is the use of smear tactics to tarnish the image of those at the forefront of rallying for or against immigration reform policies. For example, President Barrack Obama, a proponent for reforms has been at the center of many negative publicity campaigns against immigration reforms. Persistence of racism in contemporary US society As discussed, racism in the US persisted long before the enslavement of African Americans. Despite overt forms of racism dissipating, subtle forms of racism against these minority groups persist in contemporary US society manifesting itself in different facets of society; for example, on the public, financial/ marketplace, education fronts. On the recent Labor Day celebrations, two firefighters from Staten Island found it humorous to paint themselves black and act out James Byrd Jr.’s gruesome death on the department’s float. Their actions only received criticism after going viral on social media and publication on print media; however, there were no punitive measures imposed on them. In another situation, the court ordered Nationwide Insurance Company to pay the Richmond Housing group $ 100.5 million in damages for denying their African American clientele housing insurance. David Jones estimates that only six hundred and eighteen Black and Hispanic students were accepted in eight of the Specialized High Schools in New York City, which have an estimated 5, 229 student population. According to him, racism, although subtle is prevalent in the education system especially in New York City (Jones 5). Racism has transcended the school grounds and spilled into competitive sports grounds. For example, an article by Young outlines trending tweets on Twitter, which all had racist connotations after a predominantly White team lost to its opponents of color. Sports in general has and continues to be an avenue for bridging racial gaps, as all sportsmen are deemed equal with only their performance distinguishing from each other. Police brutality against African American and Latin American citizens in the US is on the rise despite this trend’s reduction in antecedent years. Cyril Barker, in his article reviews the circumstances surrounding Trayvon Martin’s death whereby he cites an interview done by the deceased’s mother where she talks about the police gunning down her seventeen year-old son for looking suspicious in his hooded jacket in the rain (Barker 43). In retaliation, the public continues to hold demonstrations to protest the inhumane treatment of innocent civilians by law enforcement officers on grounds of racial stereotypes. A fact that cannot be downplayed is that racism results in adverse effects for the victims. Kenneth Ponds’ assessment of the behaviors exhibited by youth of color during his first interaction with them shed light on the effects of racism. According to Ponds, the youth had no comprehension of the role played by racism in influencing their behaviors; however, from a bystander’s standpoint it was apparent that the behaviors exhibited by the youth resulted from racial trauma (Ponds 22). He recommends the use of education and treatment to help victims cope with the adverse effects of racism (Ponds 23). Often, racial stereotypes predispose individuals of a specific race to exhibit behaviors that mirror prescribed stereotypes. For example, it is assumed that African and Latin Americans often affiliate themselves with gangs and criminal activities compared to Whites. Due to such stereotypes, African and Latin Americans gravitate towards delinquency, which in turn leads to them getting the raw end of the deal whereby they miss education and employment opportunities or in worse case scenarios face harassment from law enforcement officers, which in some cases has ended in fatality. Conclusion In conclusion, racism in the US predated the enslavement of the African American population. The forceful displacement of Native Americans from their land triggered the chain reaction whereby Whites developed supremacist ideologies. Since then, they continue to expose minority races to mistreatment; for example, the mistreatment of immigrant workers and the refusal to institute reform policies that seek to protect the latter’s rights. Legislative reform after the Civil War helped to minimize racism; however, at present, subtle forms of racism persists in the US. Keen on avoiding legal liabilities, majority of racist individuals hide behind bureaucratic policies to limit specific races from accessing their institutions. It is apparent that racism results in adverse consequences for the victims such as manifestation of deviant behaviors. However, one of the ways of mitigating these effects entails the inclusion of racial healing in education and treatment of victims. It is difficult to eradicate racism completely but management is possible via the sensitization of the public against the undesirable outcomes of racism. Read More