Racial discrimination in America - Essay Example

The development of world civilizations and cultures is indebted to the victims of slavery and forced labour. Still, slavery prevails in different societies in an indirect way, i.e. discrimination and racism. Besides, one can identify the indirect influence of racial supremacy in discrimination and racism towards the lower classes and minorities in the society. Thesis statement: The research work proves that racism and discrimination in schools, workplaces, and public places in America limited the development of different racial groups, the comparison based on interviews prove that the past and today’s generations perceive racism in different ways, and racial discrimination has decreased in the society due to the influence of celebrities and other media publicity.

Racism/ racial discrimination: One cannot ignore the fact that the development of the American society is indebted to the thousands of slaves who worked under inhuman conditions. The European Renaissance ignited the spirit of curiosity in human minds and resulted in geographical discoveries. Within this scenario, the coastal areas of the African continent became the hotspot of salve trade. This resulted in the slave trade from the African continent to the different states in America and to the different nations in Europe.

The slaves who were transported to America were forced to suffer forced labour in the factories and farmlands. Joe R. Feagin opines that, “The United States can be seen in metaphorical terms as a “house” of racism, one with a political-economic foundation firmly built during the first two centuries of colonial development” (29). The Emancipation Proclamation was helpful for the slaves to keep themselves away from the yoke of slavery. In addition, the policy of multiculturalism helped them to gain importance in the mainstream society.

Still, discrimination is a burning issue in the society because coloured people are judged on their skin colour and racial identity. Joe Feagin opines that, “Although Jim Craw segregation was finally ended in the late 1960s, today African Americans still face much racial discrimination in public places” (209). So, one can easily identify that the dominant race hesitates to consider the fact that minorities have certain rights in the society. Still, the public educational system does not ensure equality among children because racism is still evident in the society.

When African American employees show progress in their career lives, they are secretly criticized and ridiculed at their workplaces. But the dominant race never shows contempt towards the African Americans in a direct manner. Robert Charles Smith states that, “While the doctrine of white supremacy or black inferiority is rarely articulated in public places today, its lingering effects or residues are occasionally expressed by public figures, and at least one-fourth of white Americans are still willing to tell survey researchers that they believe blacks in a variety of ways are an inferior people” (141).

Instead, the dominant race discriminate the coloured people by creating inferiority complex in their minds. To be specific, one cannot identify racism on the surface of the society, but the lower layer of the society faces racism and the minorities face discrimination. Comparison: The comparison based on the interviews with an elderly African-American citizen and an African-American youngster proves that there are