Racism in America

Learning Intentions Describe the history of racism in the USA Try to explain - why are people racist? Be able to give recent examples of racism in the USA Identify a group which faces inequality in the USA. What can be done about racism?

Introduction Racism is the belief that one race, skin colour or group (religious, national or ethnic), is superior to others in humanity. Racism has existed in the USA ever since it was first colonized by the Europeans in the 17th Century. Over the years various groups (apart from white people) have borne the brunt of racist actions and attitudes. In recent years many advances have been made in fighting racism, however it has seemed that, despite all of this, racism has increased.

Native Americans Racism against Native Americans began from the very first moments that Europeans set foot on the land that was to become the USA. Europeans believed that the original inhabitants were heathens and savages, and so they felt justified in stealing their land and committing genocide against them. Native Americans who were known as “Indians” were frequently portrayed as bloodthirsty bad guys in films with white American men as the heroes. The long term effects of this racism are still visible in the USA today – Native Americans have the highest rates of suicide in the population. There is a high level of unemployment, poverty and a low life expectancy.

African Americans Many of the Africans brought to America starting in the 17th century arrived as slaves, kidnapped from their homelands in various parts of Africa. A number of them were known to be royalty and literate. African men, women, and children were stripped of their names and identities, forced to “Christianize”, whipped, beaten, tortured, and in many cases, lynched or hanged at the whims of their white masters, for whom slavery was key to maintaining their vast properties and land. Families were separated through the process of buying and selling slaves. While not all Africans in America were slaves, a large number were, particularly in the southern states. For those Africans in America who were free, discriminatory laws that barred them from owning property and voting, for example, as well as the belief in the intrinsic inferiority of dark-skinned peoples by the dominant white majority, held them back from full equality in the United States.

Although slavery was ultimately outlawed and laws prohibiting discrimination against African-Americans passed, racism against this community remains and is manifested in more subtle ways today. For example, the Washington, DC, Fair Employment Practices Commission has found that black people face discrimination in one out of every five job interviews. The American Sociological Association notes that, “today employers use different phases of the hiring process to discriminate against minorities (e.g., recruiting from primarily white schools instead of through job training programs) and offer higher status jobs and pay to white employees. Reports of job discrimination against African Americans are correlated with darker complexion, higher education, immigrant status, and young age.”.

Jewish Americans Although Jewish people have been in the USA for over 300 years, racism against Jewish people has been common for all of that time. The same ideas that were popularized in Nazi Germany were also commonplace in the USA in the early 20th century. The Ku Klux Klan, a white supremacist group who have been active in the USA for hundreds of years, attacked Jewish people as well as African Americans. There has never been a Jewish President of the USA.

Islamophobia Hatred of people from a Muslim background has become more common in recent years. After the 9/11 attacks there has been significant stereotyping of all Muslim people in America. There have been many attacks on Muslim people, and the police and government, as well as airport security are seen to treat Muslims with a high level of suspicion.

Hispanic Americans Hispanic is a term used to describe people who are immigrants from a Central or South American country. This is a group which has grown significantly in the USA over the past few decades as many people have immigrated, looking for a better standard of living for their families. In the media, Hispanic people have often been portrayed as belonging to gangs or drug cartels, and many have been trapped in poverty because of a lack of job opportunities. Many Hispanic people work in the low-wage economy, which means that poorer white Americans have blamed them for a lack of jobs.

Why can it be said that the USA was a racist country? Question Why can it be said that the USA was a racist country? Explain your answer and give examples.

Is America Still racist? So we know that America was racist in the past – definitely. There used to be segregation in schools, and on buses. Black people weren’t allowed to vote. But hasn’t all that changed? Black people can definitely vote, there are many laws in place to stop schools from segregating children based on their colour. There has been a black president. Doesn’t all this mean that racism is gone? Sadly not, in recent years it has been argued that racism in the USA has become even more prominent. It has always been there, but certain developments in the USA seem to have made it come to the surface more. Donald Trump, social media and police brutality have revealed the extent to which the USA still harbours some people with very racist views.

Questions Why are people racist? Have you ever experienced any form of discrimination? Have people prejudged you, based on your appearance, sex, religion? Have they treated you differently because of it?

Socialisation From a young age we are socialised into the views that we hold. This means that our families, school and the media teach us about the world. Some sociologists say that this is where we learn all of our prejudices. We are taught to feat things that are different to us. We have a tendency to blame any problems that there are in society on people who are visibly different to us. If we always focus on what makes us different from each other, then we are more likely to continue to fear and discriminate against others.

In the USA because there have been many laws passed which are supposed to protect against racism, and maybe even because there has been a black president, many people now think that racism doesn’t exist anymore, and so think it is ok to start using the language of hate against black people, and people from other minority groups.

Young black Men Young black men in the USA face discrimination in the criminal justice system. Young black men are 6 times more likely to go to prison than white men – for committing the same types of crime. In states which still have the death penalty, black men are 11 times more likely to face the death penalty for committing the same type of crime as a white man. In recent years, the number of young black men killed by police has been highlighted by campaigns like Black Lives Matter

Black women Black women face discrimination within the media. On top of racism, they have to deal with sexism. The fact that their bodies are under such intense scrutiny by society. What they wear, how they present themselves. How their bodies look. So they have two layers of discrimination to deal with.

Trayvon Martin Michael Brown Charles Kinsey Philando Castille Case studies Trayvon Martin Michael Brown Charles Kinsey Philando Castille

Donald Trump effect Has the USA become more racist because there are figures like Donald Trump actively trying to stoke up hatred? He has used racial stereotyping and discrimination throughout his campaign. He seems to deliberately try to say things that will offend people in order to get publicity. He is deliberately trying to increase racism in the USA in order to get more votes from white people. He has made comments about Muslims and Mexicans, as well as African Americans. And has frequently said that he doesn’t believe that Barack Obama is American.

Social Media Social Media has helped people to publicise the movement. The #BlackLivesMatter movement has brought together people from all across America. Everyday stories of racism that used to go unnoticed are now being discussed. This allows people to fight racism.

But social media also helps people to publicise their hate. Social media allows people to troll anonymously. People feel like they can say anything from the safety of their computer or phone. This has led to a horrific culture of bullying, and racism is one tool that is used to destroy peoples’ confidence and sense of self.

Question – answer on paper… Reading Task Go to the following pages, read and take notes on Racism in America http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada- 37436676 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada- 36751233 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-36826297 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada- 37374029 Question – answer on paper… Is racism still a significant problem in America? Give reasons for your answer.

Essay Question- Homework How has the development of social media helped to both cause and fight against racism? Introduction Case Studies of racism in America The Donald Trump effect How has social media caused racism? How has social media helped to fight racism? Conclusion

How would we create a multicultural Society? Multiculturalism means people from different ethnicities, religions and cultures living alongside each other – but this can be difficult to achieve There have been problems recently as racism against Muslim people around the world have faced discrimination, and because of the #blacklivesmatter campaign we are aware of how racism is still a massive issue in the USA. The people who make up Scotland are from many different backgrounds – how can we ensure Scotland is a multicultural society and all people are equal and valued? How can we make sure that people from different sexes, genders, sexualities and disabilities can be included? Write up a plan to present to the First Minister – explaining how Scotland can be a multicultural society Think about Education Policing Health Politics

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