Sample Paper on How Racism Presents Itself in the US
Though America has made a tremendous stride from the time of slave trade, and great achievements were realized through the provision of equal rights anchored in the race in the 1960s, racial discrimination remains a pressing issue in the contemporary times. Racial discrimination is common across the United States, though it is mainly felt powerfully in conservative areas of the nation, for instance, in Midwest and South, in addition to small urban settlements and rural places.
How Racism Presents Itself in the US
The United States is a greatly multicultural nation (Racism in the United States). However, the minorities in America are usually exposed to prejudice, varying from racial actions to hostile crimes. The people who mainly experience racism in the US society are the African Americans, Muslims, and Hispanic Americans. Youthful African Americans, mostly boys, are deemed violent, poor, dangerous, and aggressive, which is an instance of the stereotype that the Black people endure. On the contrary, their white counterparts are presumed to be friendly, rich, and peaceable. While the Hispanic females are taken to be foolish, the Muslims, in particular men with beards, are regarded as terrorists attributable to the occurrences of 9/11.
At times, racism in the US is blatant and open but is usually more subtle and entrenched into the system as evident in racial profiling by police officers, in addition to other government representatives, which makes it almost impossible for a number of groups, particularly African Americans, to overcome the cycle of poverty. Prejudiced strategies in learning institutions result in a situation referred to as ‘school-to-prison channel’ (Racism in the United States). Attributable to zero-tolerance approaches in learning institutions, the underprivileged black children are finally compelled to leave school and land in the juvenile justice system, rather than having an opportunity to learn and obtain counseling when necessary.
How Racism Compares Cross-Culturally
In Brazil, the official practice historically was for the natives to intermingle with the Africans and the whites. Though the motive behind this approach was racist as the government desired “whitening” the population, the influence was that interracial marrying and children were encouraged. In this regard, the dissimilar cultures mixed and intermarried (Racism Still Rife in Brazil’s Role Models). On the contrary, America has historically been a white segregationist community. The different races were prohibited from mixing; in fact, just like interracial marriages, the majority of non-white immigration was forbidden up to around 1960. There is a lower level of interracial dating, marriages, and friendships and more hostility amid the different groups in the United States when judged against Brazil. In some African nations such as Zimbabwe and South Africa, there has been mounting racial discrimination against the whites, attributable to such issues as poverty, apartheid, and deficiency of land. However, unlike in the United States, though some Africans and Brazilians are profoundly racist, they appear less probable of holding bitterness or becoming extremely furious concerning race issues to a position of even causing harm.
There is a huge difference between racism in Europe, Australia, and America, possibly because of the concerns of the slave trade. Although most of the European states took part in the slave trade, they mainly practiced it outside their home nations. Nevertheless, most Black slaves in Australia went back home. Therefore, unlike in the US, the Black people in Europe and Australia are mainly immigrants. Hence, racism in Europe and Australia usually entails injustices and unfamiliarity while in America it is established in issues of slavery. In this regard, racial discrimination in the US is more profound and more difficult to address than in Europe, Brazil, Africa, and Australia (Racism Still Rife in Brazil’s Role Models). In conclusion, racism is still being practiced in the US and other countries across the globe. The level of racism in America is worse than in other countries such as Brazil, Australia, and African and European nations.
Works Cited
“Racism in the United States: By the Numbers.” YouTube, uploaded by vlogbrothers, 30 December 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQdMgtncpoE.
“Racism Still Rife in Brazil’s Role Models.” YouTube, uploaded by Journeyman Pictures, 27 September 2010, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfldf7vwzLA.