Race and Racism as a Policy of Ethnic Segregation and Discrimination - Essay Example

Race and Racism Race is a senseless fake ification of human beings, which does not have any scientific or biological base. The concept of race was actually developed for giving power and authority to white people and to strengthen the dominance of white group over the non-white group. Racism can be defined as a policy of ethnic segregation and discrimination. Racism is purely a socially learned practice. It has been some thing which has been followed by people and transferred to the next generations. It is a powerful, destructive and senseless practice (Morrison, 1970) which can undermine the goodness of a society. Race is a very powerful social divide which can invite so many problems and conflicts. Society that is divided on the basis of race will never see prosperity and equality. Racism is of three forms; open racism, convert racism and violent racism. All these promote a particular form of hatred towards certain ethnic groups. Race is purely a political construction. Racism springs up because of pride in one’s own race (a part of heritage). We can see in history that the powerful faction has always assumed that they are superior to others in its race and culture. These ethnic groups will try to put down other inferior groups in order to strengthen their own group (Healey, 2005). This will eventually result in extreme hatred towards the other race as well as an overall sense of bigotry. Inferior group will be denied all rights and their demands and opinion will not be considered at all. The strange segregation will thus undermine the unity and cooperation prevailing in the society. There are various biological and socio-cultural distinctions which people use to classify themselves and others. They sometimes consider color of the skin (lightness or darkness) as a criterion of segregation (differentiating marker). Some times they consider various other ethnic differences and cultural variations. This segregation has resulted into isolated, ill developed and racially segregated society which will promote racial mistrust, useless conflicts and various other discriminations that will finally block the society from attaining equality and progress (Atkinson, 1970). These biological and socio-cultural distinctions will result in systemic inequalities, and stands as a hurdle to the development of the society and personal improvement of individuals, which will ultimately contribute for the widening of the socio-economic gap between superior group and the inferior group. Cultivation of racism will result in the suppression or dehumanization of a particular group. Racism, according to Webster’s New American Dictionary, is a belief that some races are superior to others. ‘Racism’ is the most frequently occurring word in American History. Deep roots of racism appear in the very foundation of American society. Racism is a socially constructed policy in America. Members of the superior group in America have nurtured various frustrations in order to achieve political, economic and social success dominance over the inferior racial groups. Several problems related to racial discrimination have haunted the nation. Several conflicts have arisen out of the issue. It is not easy to forget what happened in the town of Rosewood (Florida) in the year 1922. It is one of the most shameful chapters in the history of America. Approximately 150 black people were assassinated by a white lynch group (from Sumner, the neighboring town) as a white lady falsely claimed that she was assaulted by a black man. Black people were suppressed to the core and were not given any privilege in the society. Discrimination prevailed in schools, job places, government offices and in all institutions (Theil & Finizza, 1971). Black people’s children were not given admission in white people’s schools and were not allowed to share anything with them. Society became a playground of discrimination. Blacks were not given any freedom and were forbidden from entering white majority areas. Another example of racial classification is the housing segregation that prevails in US. Housing segregation still remains as a big problem in United States. Black-white segregation persists in its highest form in the nation. People with dark skin (Negro) are considered untouchables and are treated badly by their black counterparts. Blacks are found to be driven to the worse neighborhoods compared to white people of similar economic and social standing. Blacks are deprived of good residential places and live in backward areas having big crime rates. Blacks are not able to find good residential location as a result of strong social forces that bring about discrimination and favoritism in real estate and mortgage lending practices also (Charles, 1955). Segregation is found as the fundamental reason of scarcity and backwardness in black African Americans. Despite of the positive steps taken at the Civil Rights movement, reducing rate of housing segregation is found to be very slow. Cities are geographically divided according to these racial bounds. Segregation has resulted in the creation of a less privileged group residing in low class areas, who are deprived of good educational and employment opportunities. No business will appear in these areas since nobody will dare to invest in areas where nothing but crime alone exists. People will remain poor in these areas with less money and no opportunity of employment. They will not have any source of income and are imprisoned in the vicious cycle of scarcity and sufferings. Ethnic conflicts are not confined to United States alone. Many nations had this bad fate of ethnic riots and wars. They lost their peace and welfare (economical and social) because of racism and related problems. For example, various ethnic conflicts occurred in Nigeria after the British amalgamation of the southern and northern protectorates in the formation of the present Nigeria in the year 1914. Muslims residing in the north of Nigeria and Christians from the southern part had conflicts. Ethnic tensions destroyed the peace of Nigeria during that time. People from dissimilar cultures, races and religions had to come together because of amalgamation. This resulted in riots and fights. Ethnic groups fought with each other; Hausas (mainly Muslims in the north) and Igbos and Yorubas (Christians from South) had conflicts. The mutually conflicting groups had several ethnic conflicts and hindered the welfare of the nation for a long time. Sri Lanka also has a similar story to tell. Ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka is the story of conflict between Sinhalese (who are the majority) and Sri Lankan Tamils (the minority group). The conflict in Sri Lanka has been an on going issue which has made the nation deprived of normal peaceful life. Sri Lanka has got non stop civil wars between Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the government. LTTE demands their independent state (Tamil Ealam) in the north-eastern part of Sri Lanka. Conflicts and wars have become usual and common in the island since 1983. Nearly 65,000 people have lost their lives and this has brought heavy blow the total population. Economy of the nation suffered heavy loss because of the chronic wars. Government has to divert much of the resources towards war settlement and peace restoration. It is true that a world without racial conflicts and discriminations will appear only in dreams. Even though it is impossible to completely eliminate racism from this world, there are people for whom the race and skin color never matters. They hate discrimination and always want to break the strands of racial and communal segregation. They love harmony and peace and establish fellowship with people irrespective of their race or color. They still believe in inequality and fraternity and try to root out discrimination from the society. They fight for an unbiased political system and undivided community. They ask a question to this segregated world, “If all men are created equal, why should there be distinctions?” References Morrison, T. (1970). The Bluest Eye. New York: Penguin Books. Atkinson, A.B. (1970). On the measurement of inequality. Journal of Economic Theory, 2, 244-263. Charles, A. (1955). Forbidden Neighbors: A Study of Prejudice in Housing. New York: Harper & Brothers. Theil, H., & Finizza, A. J. (1971). A note on the measurement of racial integration in schools. Journal of Mathematical Sociology, 1, 187-193. Healey, J. F., (2005). Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class: The Sociology of Group Conflict and Change. Thousand Oaks CA: Pine Forge Press. Read More