Racial Discrimination and Hispanics in the United States - Term Paper Example

Racial Discrimination and Hispanics in the United States I. Introduction Race refers to the classification of people into groups based on similarities in heritable physical traits such as eye color, skin tone and facial features. The passing on of these characteristics from one generation to the next is a complicated process that is studied in the field of genetics. The concept of race and the method of grouping people into races are points of contention among those in the field of science, particularly with those who believe that race is not a valid taxonomic classification and those who believe that it cannot be applied to human beings. Apart from being a notable source of scientific debate, race is also a vital social issue in that it is often used by people to justify discrimination. According to the Encyclopedia of the Supreme Court of the United States (2008), racial discrimination takes place “when unequal or unfair treatment is provided to a person or group of people on the basis of their race” (Encyclopedia of the Supreme Court of the United States, 2008). Racial discrimination stems from racism, which is the idea that race determines one’s character and capacities and that the existence of racial differences means that there is an innate superiority of one race over others. Much of present day racism is a result of colonialism in the 15th century. During this time, Europeans began the colonization of Africa and the Americas and began to think of themselves as superior to the people they conquered. This false belief gave them enough justification to enslave the people and claim their land. Thus, inherent racial differences became a reason or, perhaps more appropriately, an excuse, for abuse and discrimination. Racism includes not only personal biases against particular individuals. It affects entire aspects of society and has repercussions that transcend generations. In the United States, racist prejudices are still held by some people. It has been observed that each racial group holds, in some form or another, certain racist attitudes towards other groups. II. Racial Discrimination in the United States Racial discrimination involves “actions or practices carried out by members of dominant racial or ethnic groups that have a differential and negative impact on members of subordinate racial and ethnic groups” (Feagin, 1991). Essentially, it is treating people differently based on their race or any characteristic that may be falsely attributed to race. In the United States, “tolerance” has spread due largely to globalization and the mass media. In recent years, much emphasis has been made on Americans being supposedly “color-blind”. Nevertheless, studies have shown that, indeed, racism and racial discrimination do exist in the United States. In 2003, researchers from the University of Chicago and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that there was prevalent discrimination by employers against job seekers with “black-sounding” names (Krueger, 2002). The results of their study showed that applicants whose names “sound white” were 50 percent more likely to receive callbacks for interviews than their peers with “black-sounding” names (Krueger, 2002). The researchers concluded that Americans have unconscious racial biases that may have stemmed from the country’s long history of racial discrimination. Among the developed countries, the United States’ population is one of the most racially diverse (Bendick, 1996). According to the US Bureau of the Census (1994), people of European descent comprise the majority of the population, followed by African-Americans at about 12 percent, Hispanics with 8 percent and Asians at 3 percent. Native Americans, the only people whose forebears were not immigrants to the United States, account for less than 1 percent of the population (US Bureau of the Census, 1994). In the almost four centuries since Europeans began to arrive in the United States, succeeding generations of immigrants have been incorporated into the country’s social and economic milieu. For instance, migrants from Eastern and Southern Europe were considered “lower class” during the nineteenth century but today they can be found at all levels of society (Bendick, 1996). However, for some races, particularly for those which were more recently incorporated into the United States population, integration into the nation’s social mainstream is nowhere near complete. Blacks and Hispanics, because they are the two largest minority groups in the country, seem to experience racial discrimination the most. III. Hispanics in the United States Hispanics, otherwise known as Hispanic-Americans or Latinos, comprise the second largest minority group in the United States (Bendick, 1996). The Southwest, particularly the states of Texas and California, has long been populated by individuals of Hispanic descent but it was only in the 1980s and 1990s that their population boomed and spread throughout the country. Hispanics can be further subcategorized into Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Central Americans, Cubans, and others (Bendick, 1996). Hispanics, just like Blacks, are apt to have less employment success than their White contemporaries (Bendick, 1996). According to the U.S. Bureau of the Consensus (1994), the unemployment rate for Hispanics in 1993 was considerably higher than for Whites (10.6 percent and 6 percent, respectively), though not as high as for Blacks (12.9 percent). Hispanics also experienced lower earnings and less access to training. The majority of employed Hispanics worked as laborers and service workers. Other occupations held included those in skilled construction crafts and professional and managerial positions (Bendick, 1996). The U.S. Bureau of the Consensus (1994) also showed that Hispanics lack educational credentials as compared to their White and Black counterparts. Also, almost half of the Hispanic population spoke little or no English. This may be the crucial answer to the Hispanic people’s disappointing experience in the labor market, where a good command of the English language is considered a necessity, more so than other factors such as education. Nevertheless, Bendick (1996) states that these discrepancies in qualifications do not account for all discrepancies in the experience of Hispanics and other racial groups in the labor market. For one thing, Hispanics, unlike Blacks, did not experience slavery and segregation in the United States. However, they have been made to feel unwelcome in certain neighborhoods, given substandard educational opportunities, and are frequently stereotyped. Thus it may be reasonable to state that similar experiences in racial discrimination in the labor market may account for some of their employment struggles (Bendick, 1996). IV. Racial Discrimination and Hispanics Hispanics have experienced restrictions on their civil rights since the mid-nineteenth century (Chapa and Millard, 2007). It was observed that during this period, individuals of Mexican descent residing in Texas suffered prejudice and hatred from non-Mexicans. This kind of racial discrimination eventually led to further and more severe civil rights violations against Hispanics such as blocking their right to vote, segregation of their children into substandard schools, residential segregation, and discrimination in the workplace and the labor market (Chapa and Millard, 2007). Studies have also shown that, as recently as the early twenty-first century, there have been cases of racial discrimination against Hispanics in many aspects of society. For instance, it was found that among defendants, sentences given to Hispanics were more severe than those given to Whites (Chapa and Millard, 2007). Studies and statistics also show that Hispanics are not getting equal access to higher education. In 2004, Chapa and De La Rosa reported that less than half of Hispanic adults had received a high school education and that the percentage of Hispanic high school graduates who enroll in college has been on the decline since the mid-70s (Chapa and Millard, 2007). Also, the percentage of Hispanics with bachelor’s and/or advanced degrees was significantly low compared to the total population of bachelor’s- and/or advanced-degree holders. This occurs in spite of efforts to increase Hispanic access to public education by non-government organizations, possibly because of existing barriers to education such as the high level of poverty and low level of parental educational attainment among Hispanics (Chapa and Millard, 2007). V. Stereotypes and Prejudice Hispanics originate from a variety of ethnic groups from all over Mexico, South America and Central America, yet other Americans tend to view them as a single homogeneous group of people. In the mass media, they are often portrayed as overly emotional, passionate, aggressive, hypersexual, and indolent. Recently, anti-Hispanic sentiments have grown strong due to increases in illegal immigration and the ensuing fear that Hispanics are taking over White communities, particularly in the Southwest where the population of Hispanics is concentrated. A. Stereotypical images in the media Stereotypical images of Hispanics abound in the country’s mass media, and these may have strong repercussions for them. In 2003, a study published by the National Association of Hispanic Journalists reported that stories about Hispanics made up less than a percent of all stories on the news even though Hispanics now make up more than 13 percent of the country’s population (Mendez-Mendez and Alverio, 2003). They also found that poverty, crime, illegal immigration, and terrorism made up more than 60 percent of all news stories about Hispanics, that the number of Hispanic-related gang violence in the news was significantly large as compared to statistics on Hispanic-related crimes, and that illegal immigration seems to be the focal point of news stories about Hispanics (Mendez-Mendez and Alverio, 2003). B. Hispanic-related Gang Violence Cases of Hispanic-related gang violence are becoming more and more common and have spread across the nation, with a 50 percent increase from 1999 to 2002 (MacDonald, 2004). An increase in the dropout rate of Hispanics has also been observed, along with that of teen pregnancy. More disturbingly, incidents of crime and single parenthood among young Hispanics seem to worsen over time (MacDonald, 2004). These elements have given rise to the question of whether or not Hispanics are being assimilated well into the common American way of life. Researchers have found that the answer to this is yes, but that perhaps they are being “assimilated downwards” into the worst aspects of American society. For sure, Hispanics are industrious, honest and respectable people but, given the sheer numbers that immigrate yearly, even a small percentage of the Hispanic population going bad would have dire consequences to society. Of foremost concern to officials is the fact that Hispanics are being recruited into gangs at increasingly-younger ages. Worse, even children who have not yet been recruited are emulating gang members, copying the way they dress, talk, and present themselves (MacDonald, 2004). In the suburbs of Miami, Hispanic youths have been found responsible for break-ins, drug sales, robberies, rape, and other cases of violent behavior (MacDonald, 2004). The FBI has dubbed this “a national problem” (MacDonald, 2004). This upsurge in the culture of Hispanic-related gang violence has been attributed to several factors including the continuous invasion of illegal aliens, the dissolution of many Hispanic families, school failure, and the drug trade. VI. Hate Crimes According to the FBI’s Hate Crimes Statistics Report released in October 2008, there has been a steady increase in cases of hate crimes against Hispanics. In 2007, 595 incidents were reported, which was also an increase from those in the previous year, which totaled 576 (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2008). The report also indicated that 61.7 percent of victims of bias-motivated crimes were Hispanics (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2008). The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund or MALDEF has stated that Hispanics are being assaulted in American neighborhoods because of increasing anti-immigrant sentiment promoted by the mass media and efforts by local authorities to implement federal immigration laws. This has caused anti-Hispanic attitudes to go on overdrive, thus leading Hispanics to feel unsafe in their own neighborhoods. VII. Racial Discrimination and the Law Based on the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution, racial discrimination is unconstitutional “when engaged in by the federal government or by a state, or by an individual or organization on behalf of a state” (Encyclopedia of the Supreme Court of the United States, 2008). Incidents of private racial discrimination (in the workplace, perhaps) are handled separately. These are dealt with under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Cases of racial discrimination are evaluated by means of the due process clause from the Fifth Amendment which provides that no one shall “… be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law” and the equal protection clause from the Fourteenth Amendment which states that “… no state shall… deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws” (Encyclopedia of the Supreme Court of the United States, 2008). The law also looks to the Thirteenth Amendment, which prohibits slavery, and the Fifteenth Amendment, which prohibits discrimination in suffrage, to contain racial discrimination. One of the most famous decisions on racial discrimination handed out by the Supreme Court is Brown vs. Board of Education. This was the historic case wherein the Court tackled the issue of segregation in public schools. The court resolved that the process of segregation by race was unconstitutional, that “separate was not equal”, and that segregation could affect children for life (Encyclopedia of the Supreme Court of the United States, 2008). The case did not, however, end racial discrimination in America. In its wake, many tried to keep from desegregating their schools. Today, racial discrimination continues not only in schools, but in workplaces, public recreational areas, etc. VIII. Conclusion Recently, the Southern Poverty Law Report told the story of low-income Hispanics in the South, reporting how they are cheated out of their pay, denied basic health and safety measures, preyed on by criminals who are aware that they would be hesitant to report crimes, and repeatedly underwent racial profiling and harassment by local authorities (Bauer, 2009). This behavior towards poor Hispanics, according to the report, is promoted by public figures that, instead of working to forbid and eradicate racial discrimination against Hispanics, actually aggravate the situation by using it to spread false propaganda and further their own agendas. Several communities in the South, for instance, have created laws that make it impossible for undocumented immigrants to avail of services. Also, many local authorities in the South, equipped with 287(g) agreements with the federal government, are implementing immigration laws in such a manner that has given rise to cases of unnecessary racial profiling and harassment, which in turn has made Hispanics more hesitant to trust the police (Bauer, 2009). The Southern Poverty Law Report found that there is a civil rights crisis in Hispanic communities, particularly in the South, that must be addressed. References Bauer, M. (2009). Under Siege: Life for Low-Income Latinos in the South. Alabama: The Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved on 11 June 2009 from < http://www.splcenter.org/legal/undersiege/UnderSiege.pdf> and . Bendick, Jr., M. (1996). Discrimination against racial/ethnic minorities in access to employment in the United States: Empirical findings from situation testing. International Migration Paper 12. Geneva: International Labor Office. Retrieved on 11 June 2009 from . Chapa, J. and Millard A. V. (2007). Latinos. Encyclopedia of Race and Racism, 256-258. Feagin, J. R. (1991). The Continuing Significance of Race: Antiblack Discrimination in Public Places. American Sociological Review, 56 (1), 101-116. Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2008). Hate Crimes Statistics Report. Retrieved on 11 June 2009 from < http://www.latinosagainsthatespeech.org/news/11_09_08.html>. Krueger, A. B. (2002, December 12). What’s in a name? Perhaps plenty if you’re a job seeker. The New York Times. Retrieved 11 June 2009 from . MacDonald, H. (2004, July 25). A New Latino Underclass. The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved on 11 June 2009 from < http://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/_dmn-new_latino_underclass.htm>. Mendez-Mendez, S. and Alverio, D. (2003). Network Brownout 2003: The Portrayal of Latinos in Network Television News, 2002. National Association of Hispanic Journalists. Retrieved on 11 June 2009 from < http://www.nahj.org/NAHJbrownoutreport03.pdf>. Tanenhaus, D. S. (Ed.). (2008). Encyclopedia of the Supreme Court of the United States. New York: Macmillan. U.S. Bureau of the Census. (1994). Statistical Abstract of the United States. Washington: U.S. Department of Commerce. Read More