Racism in America Race and Ethnic Relations Melissa Hawkes

Table of Contents Reflection of thoughts before class Definitions Articles Charts Books on Racism Reflection of thoughts after class

Before I do not like people being treated unfairly just because of the way they look, or their religion, or where they are from. It is always an opportunity to learn something new when you meet someone different from you. Prejudice happens a lot and it is sad because it prevents people from understanding each other. Diversity is something that I believe should be celebrated so I always like learning about other cultures and their traditions.

Definitions Race: Social category, based on real or perceived biological differences between groups of people Ethnicity: Social category, based on common language, religion, nationality, history, or another cultural factor

Definitions Racism: Ideology about the superiority of one racial or ethnic group used to justify inequality Discrimination: Unequal treatment of individuals based on their membership in a social group, usually motivated by prejudice

Articles From the BLOG on The Huffington Post’s Website Millennials and Racism: How We Can Change the Discussion This article gives a take on racism from young America. Saying that they are more accepting of other races. m/ryan-chapin- mach/millennials-and- racism_b_ html A study released last April confirmed a couple of things about Millennials: first, that we have progressive attitudes about race; and second, that we would rather not talk about them. According to the poll, conducted by MTV and David Binder Research, 91% of year olds strongly believe in racial equality, and 73% of them think that having "open, constructive conversations about bias would help people become less prejudiced."

Articles From The Guardian’s Website America is Still a Deeply Racist Country This article discusses how racism still exists in America. commentisfree/2014/jan/12/a merica-racism-subtle- dangerous-new-york Neither has the color of its residents: the poor side of town in New York is still almost entirely dark skinned. It took me a few months of slow recognition, fighting a thought I did not want to believe: we are still a deeply racist country. The laws on the books claim otherwise, but in Hunts Point (and similar neighborhoods across the country), those laws seem like far away idyllic words that clash with the daily reality: everything is stacked against those who are born black or brown.

Charts From Quickfacts.Census.Gov

Charts One prejudice is that there are more blacks on welfare than whites. This chart proves that is not true. From Motherjones.com

Books This book has a lot of study and research information about environmental racism, race, and health. It has some provocative concepts about and examples of contemporary racism.

Books Sociologists, political scientists, economists, criminologists, and legal scholars discuss how living in a “color-blind” society is just not possible.

After Racism isn’t going away in America. But most of the people seem to be more accepting and understanding about differences then they have been in the past. Things are getting better but Americans still carry some bad habits about judging people unfairly. Americans are on the right path towards being a successful melting pot. But we still have a lot to learn.