Orlando Sanchez Expository Essay

Orlando Sanchez

3/23/15

English 11000-B

Racism in the United States

Although it is not supported by the government or popular amongst most people in American society, racism is still very much a problem even today. Most people would not openly admit that they are racist, however everyone has some type of prejudice against another group. American society has come a long way since the days of slavery and things are slowly getting better. However, racism is still a serious problem in the United States.

Racism has come a long way since the 1900s and the civil rights movements. Although great strides have been made in race relations, people are still discriminated against based on skin color and cultural backgrounds. This holds true even for those who have completely assimilated themselves into the American society. Although not always open about it, most people have some kind of racist ideologies. In his speech “A More Perfect Union”, Senator Barack Obama writes “… a woman who once confessed to me her fear of black men who passed her on the street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe.”(Obama 4). Through this example about his white grandmother, Senator Obama shows that racism is not always outspoken. People still maintain these racial prejudices regardless of whether they are acceptable or not. For example, I have heard on multiple occasions that African-Americans live in poverty because they are lazy and don’t want to work, that they rather depend on welfare for survival. However, when looking at statistics, 39.8% of welfare recipients in the U.S are black, while another 38.8% are white. Looking at this data, it is obvious that poverty does not discriminate. There is a social stigma where many believe that as long as people keep these prejudices to themselves then they are not really part of the problem. It is very common for those who are not victims of racism to ignore that racism is still very much a problem.

Just as there are many people who face racism in everyday life, there are those who have never experienced it to a serious degree. Because of this those who are not victims of racism tend to ignore the problem. In his “Letter From Birmingham Jail” Dr. King writes, “I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in the stride towards freedom is not the White Citizens Councillor of the Ku Klux Klanner but the white moderate who is more devoted to order than to justice.”(King 3). Dr. King believed that the obstacle to gaining civil rights was not the openly racist groups, but the people who saw that what was going on was wrong and chose not to stand up for what is right. This holds true even today, those who aren’t targets of racial violence and discrimination choose to ignore that it is a problem. Although racism is no longer legal as it was in the mid 1900’s, some might argue that institutional racism is still present in today’s society.

Racial segregation and discrimination is no longer legal in today’s society but there are still rules and regulations in place to prevent certain groups from prospering. Robert Slayton in his article “Institutional Racism” writes “applicants with black-sounding names received 50 percent fewer callbacks than those with white-sounding names."(Slayton 1). Situations like these are what contribute to the economic hardships or certain groups. Jim Crow laws may no longer be around but people and even entities like businesses still hold these prejudices against individuals of color. The effects of the institutional racism that was present in the 1900’s are still visible even today.

Jim Crow laws were a form of legalized discrimination or racism that was specifically aimed at African-Americans. This form of institutional racism prevented African-Americans from owning property or participating in unions and overall lack of economic opportunity. Although they are no longer around, the residue from the damage they caused is still present. Senator Obama stated “… the inferior education they provided, then and now helps explain the pervasive achievement gap between today’s black and white students.”(Obama 5). Obama speaks in regards to the once segregated schools that have a history of providing education that is not up to par with “white schools”. This holds true today where it is easy to see the difference in education between a white suburban school and a predominantly black inner-city school, even though they are supposed to follow the same curriculum.

There are those who may argue that racism is in no way as serious of a problem as it was in the mid 1900’s. Many might say that they judge people from the content of their character and not their skin color, but every day there is evidence that says otherwise. Recently there have been several race riots across the United States as a result supposed of racial discrimination by the police. Whether or not racism played a role in these tragedies is irrelevant when one looks at the fact that minorities have an innate distrust of the police. This distrust does not come from invalid reasoning; instead, the police and other government institutions have acted in such manners where this distrust is earned. Another possible argument against the severity of racism might be that the targets of racism earn it based on their actions or behaviors. Civil rights leader Malcolm X has been quoted saying “The American Negro never can be blamed for his racial animosities - he is only reacting to 400 years of the conscious racism of the American whites.”  Although I myself am not African-American, I can understand and apply this quote to the events going on today. There is only so much that a group can endure before their breaking point is reached, which is why many people sympathize with those who march against the police when an African-American is wrongly killed.

I believe that racism is not a natural occurrence, but instead it is a learned behavior. Even though the days of slavery are long gone and the civil rights movements happened nearly 50 years ago, there are those who still have the oppressive ideologies from those time periods. Children are not born racist, but they learn to be racist from those around them. This will continue to happen to each generation unless it is stopped collectively by society. Just because segregation has ended and people of color have the same rights as white people does not mean that the goal of equality has been reached. Racism is still alive in America, and as long as people continue to choose sides and see the situation as “us vs. them”, race relations will stagnate and never progress further. Senator Obama writes” This time we want to reject the cynicism that tells us that these kids can’t learn; that those kids who don’t look like us are somebody else’s problem. The children of America are not those kids, they are our kids.”(Obama 8). Obama is stating that the progress to make America a better place for all starts with instilling the newer generations with good values, regardless of race all the children are American and deserve the same equal opportunities. People of color are no longer bound by physical chains, but they are not entirely free yet. There has been much progress made in race relations, however there is still much progress to be made.