...Ethnic Groups & Discrimination Course ETH125 October 3rd, 2010 I chose to identify with African American. I chose to identify with African American because I am half white and half black. I am multi-racial. I believe that African Americans went through a lot more issues that I would like to learn about. For more than 200 years before the Civil War, slavery existed in the US. After the war, things got worse for blacks. Former confederates passed laws called black codes after the war to limit the right of blacks and segregate them from the whites. At that time, 95% of slaves were black. However, they were still segregated all over town. Republicans wanted to make sure that when the south revamped itself, that the blacks would be freed to become viable members of society. Unfortunately, in 1877 the Democrats regained power and crushed all laws that were created by the Republicans. The Democrats were able to strip the blacks of everything they worked to gain. They took away their right to hold political offices, vote, and participate as equal members of the society. Gradually, the laws of discrimination were reinstated. The main reason for the laws was to take away the power that the blacks finally had gained. The Democrats wanted to stop blacks from voting. The Democrats made sure that there were fees charged at voting booths and was too expensive for the blacks. There were also literacy tests. Since teaching blacks was illegal, most adult blacks were...
Words: 750 - Pages: 3
...Modern Urban World Torrence The differences Whites and Blacks, as well as their comparisons, are portrayed through two different movies of two different eras of American history. Remember the Titans centers around an integrated high school football team in Virginia in the 1970’s. The team has to figure out how to bond together as one in order to overcome racial adversity of the south in the 1970’s. The Great Debaters takes place in Texas during the Great Depression of the 1930’s. Three black college students on a debate team, along with their coach Professor Tolson, travel the road debating more and more prestigious colleges, while developing as young educated black men (and women) in the racist 1930’s south. Character development is both films plays a vital role. In Remember the Titans, the relationship formed between Gary and Julius, and Boone and Yost symbolizes the White/Black differences coming together and actually forming stronger friendships then that of two of the same races. There were also the supporting roles of characters that helped integrate the football team such as Louie, Rev, and Blue who were the very first players who were able to set color aside as it has nothing to do with neither football nor the quality of a man. In The Great Debaters, the growth of Henry Lowe and the relationship between James Farmer Jr. and his father are crucial to watch. Henry Lowe starts off as a misguided young man who responds to conflicts with walking away and surrounds...
Words: 520 - Pages: 3
...Ethnic Groups and Discrimination The ethnic group that I identify most with is African American. African Americans immigrated to the United Sates. Immigration, according to our course material is defined as “Coming into a new country as a permanent resident”. Unlike many other ethnic groups, African Americans were not given a choice to come to the United States. They were brought over as slaves by way of Dutch ships carrying 20 slaves from the Caribbean, to Jamestown, Virginia in 1619. The enslavement of Africans actually began in the early 1500s, with slaves arriving on Caribbean shores in the hands of Portuguese and Spanish slave traders. (Ciment, 2001) The 20 slaves were quickly sold off to local tobacco farmers, although it is unclear whether their states remarried as slaves or if they were indentured servants. The process of slavery of the African Americans actually began at the trading posts on the west coast of Africa. African Kings and merchants cooperated and traded slaves for European goods, this was known as the first stage of the triangular trade. The long trip across the Atlantic Ocean to the New World, was called the middle passage of the triangular trade. The last stage occurred after the slaves were brought to America, and were sold into slavery in exchange for goods, i.e. cotton, tobacco and sugar. By the 1700s, the population of enslaved Africans had ballooned to about 20,000(ibid). They were shipped to the United States until, 1807, when the U.S banned...
Words: 906 - Pages: 4
...Response Paper #1: Race in Theater The issue of race was prevalent in society during the times when theater first came about. It is only natural that this way of thinking would push through in different plays, whether it being Greek or African American. When people hear about ‘race issues’ they tend to automatically think of black and white racism. Of course this is one of the main segregations, but race issues can be seen in many different circumstances and cultures. For example, there was some type of discrimination shown in the play, Medea. The film, Master Harold and the Boys definitely brought to light another aspect of superiority issues; as well as the play, Death and the King’s Horsemen. Stereotyping is a very common way in which racism is perpetuated in theater. The Minstrel shows, which were performed in the 1830’s, were a major way that people stereotyped blacks. The whites would dress up with black masks and portray dumb characters. This was purely for entertainment but it affected our culture and how people view African Americans. Even cartoons in the earlier days would have characters with huge lips or black skin that were always the dumbed down silly characters. This just made racism worse by displaying it on television, making it a part of our culture. In the play Medea, Euripides portrays Medea as being a foreign woman, barbaric, and not as important as the Greeks. This shows how racism exists in all types of cultures. The play, Death and the King’s Horsemen...
Words: 339 - Pages: 2
...Since 1948, the white governments all around have built a racial segregation system called apartheid, which means separation in Afrikaans. Apartheid was developed after World War II by the Afrikaner-dominated National Party (NP). Officially should apartheid policy help South Africa's black raise their living standards, but in reality, the apartheid system wanted to make the blacks “disappear” from the white South Africa, but still have them as cheap labor reserve. Apartheid is a big problem, but who decides what people are worth? Is it not their actions, rather than their skin tone that should determine this? In the short story “the Bench” we meet a colored man named Karlie. Karlie is at a demonstration in Cape Town, South Africa, where he listened to speeches about how blacks have just as many rights as white. A specific speaker captures Karlies attention. A white woman in a blue dress is against the apartheid system and all the racial segregation. Her and the other speakers makes Karlie think a lot about if the speakers are right or wrong. Karlie is from a village in the country-side of South Africa where he works as a farmer, therefore is all these new impressions so confusing. After hearing the speeches Karlie walks to the railway station. On his way to the station, Karlie thinks about the speakers words, and when he comes to the station he sees a bench. The bench was colored white, like it was only white people that could sit on it. Karlie decides to sit on the bench...
Words: 735 - Pages: 3
...Racism is based on the belief that one's race is superior to that of others, and this racial superiority provides justification for discrimination. Racism is people hold power over others because of their skin color and racial inheritance. Racism shows that the quality of man is based his, on the color of his skin rather than on his actions. Despite who discriminates, or why is it done and how it is practiced and defended, racism promotes power, recognition, advantages, and opportunity for some people at the expense of others. Racial discrimination destroys what many strive to build. Racism leads to hate, war, and the worst forms of social injustice. On the other hand, a world without racism is one in which the benefits of love, forgiveness, kindness and understanding would flourish. Race has been a problem in the United States for a long time. More specifically, people have been treated differently according to their race. Different races have also had different levels of academic and professional success. Despite being illegal for several decades, segregation is still existent in many public schools in the United States. However, it has become long-standing; it has been hidden deep inside society. Many Black Americans live in poor communities. Therefore, they attend poorly prepared and worn out schools. Without the necessary materials needed to learn, they lose interest in school. As a result, many of these students drop out of school before graduation. In turn, their potential...
Words: 1117 - Pages: 5
...reason the officer wants to search your car. After much hassle you are finally free to go, yet still have no explanation as to why you were pulled over to begin with. Now imagine you are black and the officer is white. You have probably just experienced racial profiling. Racial profiling is a problem which is gaining widespread notoriety in the United States. It may be the most important homeland issue we face today. Racial profiling is a clear violation of the civil rights of United States citizens. Not only does racial profiling affect civilians, but it actually makes law enforcement ineffective. Most efforts to investigate and eradicate racial profiling have failed due to unclear findings and a lack of accountability on the part of law enforcement. New measures must be taken in conjunction with current measures to curb racial profiling. A stringent federal program to monitor and survey our nation’s police officers is needed. The public also needs to become more involved in efforts to stop racial profiling. Until these measures are taken, racial profiling will continue to eat away at the heart of our nation. Racial profiling is one of the most important civil rights issues facing our country today. Not only does racial profiling affect the direct victims, it negatively affects all people of color, in all generations, of all levels of economic standing. The integrity and accountability of...
Words: 3179 - Pages: 13
...Civil Rights Act of 1964 stands as one of the greatest achievements in U.S. history. Although the law made discrimination illegal, its effectiveness, especially Title VII covering the employment domain, remains highly contested. The authors argue that legal shifts produce workplace racial integration only to the extent that there are additional political pressures on firms to desegregate. They examine fluctuating national political pressure to enforce equal employment opportunity law and affirmative action mandates as key influences on the pace of workplace racial desegregation and explore trajectories of Black-White integration in U.S. workplaces since 1966. Their results show that although federal and state equal employment opportunity pressures had initial successes in reducing racial segregation in workplaces, little progress has been made since the early 1980s. They conclude that racial desegregation is an ongoing politically mediated process, not a natural or inevitable outcome of early civil rights movement victories. Discrimination in Recruitment The article presents the author's comment on the paper by Jerry M. Newman which addresses important issues related to operational definition of racial discrimination in employment. He contends that Newman examined the pattern of company responses to the candidate employees and...
Words: 498 - Pages: 2
...Does Racism Really Exist (name) University of Phoenix Abstract In this paper, I will analyze what forms of racism that I have experienced within my life. Whether going to school, work, family events, or community events I seem to see racism where ever I go. At some point I needed to ask myself, “why are people racist and what makes us this way”? When I have noticed racist comments and actions from my community leaders as well as from my own family this causes me to get depressed about what’s to come in this country. Are we born racist or is it the people around us that influences the way we think about racism? Does Racism Really Exist I am a Caucasian male and grew up in the City of Woodhaven, MI. Within this small city there is a population of roughly 40,000 people and of that count, there are only about 2,000 that would be considered a minority. As you can imagine, most of the people that lived there looked like me and had much the same religion and moral standings. As I grew up, I attended three different schools and the first of which was Yake Elementary School. There must have only been a select few minority children attending that school as I had never remembered encountering children different from myself until I went to Brownstown Middle School. There, I noticed a small group of African American children that were in the same grade as me along with some Asian America and Hispanic American children...
Words: 1914 - Pages: 8
...freedom rides, James Meredith fought to integrate blacks and whites at the University of Mississippi, and Rosa Parks instigated the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Although these protests were often legal and non-violent, the protests made a powerful impact on civil rights in the United States. With the bravery and help of activist like Carmichael, Meredith, Parks and many others, the country slowly worked to acknowledge the basic rights and contributions of African-Americans within the United States. Through it all, African American civil rights leaders risked and sometimes lost their lives in the name of freedom to end segregation, discrimination and isolation to attain equality and civil rights. With civil rights activists leading the fight for racial equality, America slowly but surely became a better place. Through the protests, marches, sit-ins and news articles; African Americans showed there was more ways to attain freedom and equality as opposed to violence. Even before Rosa Parks, on Sunday July 16, 1854, Elizabeth Jennings Graham boarded a street car of the Third Avenue railroad company at the corner of Pearl and Chatham streets. The conductor of the train ordered her to get off and Jennings refused. With the aid of a police officer, Jennings was ejected from the street car. Eventually, Jennings filed a lawsuit against the Third Avenue Railroad Company in Brooklyn. Consequently, her case was handled by a future President of the United States, Chester A. Authur. In 1855...
Words: 2613 - Pages: 11
...Civil Rights Movement Marilyn Hemingway History 300 May 08, 2013 Dr. Goldstein African Americans have experienced racial discrimination in virtually every single area of their lives. America has come a long way since the 1800’s when slavery was common, but that road certainly hasn’t been easy or short for Black American. Not long after the Civil War ended, African Americans experienced a form of racial segregation called Jim Crow. The name "Jim Crow" originated from a character in an early nineteenth-century minstrel show song. A white minstrel blackened his face and jigged around while singing. The "Jim Crow" character regularly appeared in minstrel shows touring the South. Eventually, Jim Crow became the name of the racial caste system which operated primarily, but not exclusively, in southern and Border States. These laws legalized segregation from the 1860’s through 1967. The most widespread laws mandated racial segregation in schools and public places such as railroads, restaurants, and streetcars. Since segregation laws typically excluded African Americans from services, Jim Crow laws began as an attempt to move forward by providing separate services for blacks. These laws were adopted earliest in most southern towns and municipalities where diverse crowds lived. These communities passed vagrancy laws that controlled the influx of black homeless migrants. Many southern states during the...
Words: 2034 - Pages: 9
...years ago. II. Apartheid, Afrikaans literal meaning of “Separateness or apartness,” was a system of legal, racial segregation laws enforced by the National Party government of South Africa. III. It is important to know what the people of that country have gone through to get to where they are today. IV. I would like to inform everyone on what apartheid is, what laws were implemented and enforced and the effects it had on the country. TRANSITION: In high school history we were taught about Spanish explorers, the Holocaust, the Roman Empire, Napoleon, and Jim Crow laws- but we were never taught about the apartheid in South Africa? Body I. How could we be so clueless to, quite possibly, the most influential event in the lives of many South Africans? A. In 1948, right after WWII, apartheid as an official policy was first introduced. It was an expansion of existing policies combined with a new system of institutionalized racism and white domination. 1. At the time, Whites had complete political control over all other racial groups and has removed the right of blacks and coloureds to sit in parliament. a. Their biggest fear was that one day South Africa would be integrated and would later lead the nation to racial assimilation. b. The supreme goal of apartheid was to maintain white authority and power, and to establish legal racial separation. 2. 25 million blacks and coloureds lived in South...
Words: 1681 - Pages: 7
...Understanding Racism and Discrimination Being a white female I could never fully understand racism and the feelings that come from discrimination based on my looks or the color of my skin. Through literary works like Alice Walker’s “The Welcome Table” I get a glimpse into what it might be like. It is also through this type of writing that I am reminded of issues from the past that still exist in the present. Through the reader response analysis approach I will discuss how “The Welcome Table” has inspired me to evaluate how I treat others and if my actions are conducive to a progressive society. In regards to the reader response approach Clugston (2010, section 16.2) states “you must account for your feelings by finding specific aspects of the literary work that make you feel as you do.” (P. 413). What grabbed my attention to this story was the imagery “She was angular and lean and the color of poor gray Georgia earth, beaten by king cotton and the extreme weather.” (as cited in Clugston, 2010, Section 3.1) that made me wonder about the old woman’s story. The metaphor Alice Walker uses to describe the old woman’s face “on her face centuries were folded into the circles around one eye, while around the other, etched and mapped as if for print, ages more threatened again to live.” (as cited in Clugston, 2010, Section 3.1) leads me to believe she has lived a difficult life. Her age and appearance don’t come from her hard work alone but from something much...
Words: 859 - Pages: 4
...Racial Profiling Still Active Today Research Methodology in Public Safety Racial Profiling “It is said that Milwaukee Police Departments are said to be “racial profiling” due to their Police Chief implementing a “traffic stop initiative” only in African American Communities. The Police Chief tried to say it that it wasn’t “racial profiling” but rather “targeting the high crime areas of Milwaukee (White, 2010).” Racial profiling occurs when police routinely use races as a factor that causes an officer to react with suspicion to take action. Though the Police Chief feels he is doing the right thing by supposedly protecting “black victims,” the community feels that the police department is “racially profiling.” Racial profiling in my opinions an ineffective strategy. It says that you don’t want to learn about your community person’s behavior and you’re just ready to judge the person by the color of the skin. It cannot be disputed that the perception of racial profiling by police department still exist within minority communities and societies at large. This is a recurrent topic of debate and divisive issue in many communities. This was clearly seen and addressed when I saw the problem first hand when I worked in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Questions: Some questions to be asked are: 1. Should police do more to control excessive force? 2. Should...
Words: 309 - Pages: 2
...against racial profiling and they blame the justice system for the higher number of minority inmates. I believe that it’s because of the drug-war and poverty and not as much the justice system racial profiling. There is no way to answer this question without looking farther into what racial profiling is, and what affects it has on people. From my understanding, when most people hear the words racial profiling they automatically think of black Americans being harassed by the police or other law enforcement officials. Racial profiling does not just consist of law enforcement officers arresting or detaining minorities because of their color or ethnicity. It also consists of people harassing other people differently because of their name, appearance, beliefs, and any personal trait they have. Merrian-Webster defines profiling, as the act or process of extrapolating information about a person based on known traits or tendencies. (Profiling, 2013) In my opinion, most people do some sort of racial profiling on a daily basis. It may be something as simple as locking your door when you drive through a bad part of town. This does not make you a bad person because statistics may prove that where you are driving does typically have a higher crime rate, but does it make it right? Quoting statistics at this time is not going to open any eyes or prove any points. At this time, I would just like to discuss the different points of view on profiling in general, where racial profiling...
Words: 3048 - Pages: 13
