Relationship between Prejudice and Discrimination - Essay Example

The cycle of prejudice and discrimination begins with a preconceived notion, a prejudice, against a minority group. Acting on this prejudice through discrimination leads to social disadvantages for the affected group. These can be manifested in many ways, but often show up economically due to a lack of equal access to education, housing, and work (Brux, 2011).

Due to the stage of social disadvantage, the prejudice and discrimination ultimately become a self-fulfilling prophecy by creating a belief in the inherent inferiority of the minority group. Individuals that wish to discriminate against the minority need to do nothing more than point to the impoverished circumstances of their existence to prove their points about the minority being inferior. This perceived inferiority, in turn, fueled more prejudice and discrimination, perpetuating the cycle.

In my world, I have seen this exact cycle imposed on the few African Americans that lived in my small town. The entire community lived in a row of falling-down houses on the same block on the edge of town. They didn’t even makeup 1% of the population, but they got blamed for everything. People would often say about the community that there was no shame in being poor, but living like they did had no excuse. No one ever seemed to stop and think about the fact that not a single business owner in town would hire a black man or woman to do anything more than sweeping the floor or empty the trashcans for less than minimum wage.

I know it was illegal, but most of the African Americans in my town were paid cash under the table and less than the minimum wage. Why did this happen? It happened because employers said that because they were black, they didn’t deserve anything more than they got paid. In other words, they were inherently inferior to whites, so they were worthless as an employee.