Essay Example for Students: Racism in America

Extrajudicial killings of the Latinos and the African American in Ferguson, Mo., on Staten Island and in Santa Rosa, CA have reignited a debate about race. However, race, racism, and inequality are historical and neither is it likely to end. The killings and the movement such as "Black lives matter" just exposed how far the racism has permeated the systems and Latinos and the African Americans are tired with racism perpetuated by both the ordinary people and the people in power including the president for his racist rearms and the criminal justice systems for the extrajudicial killing.

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Whether revere racism, subtle racism, colorism or internalized racism, there is a clear indication that racists people or systems often discriminated against the minority groups. Extrajudicial killing s of the minority groups in America, inequality and overt discrimination in America, may conceal many racial undercurrents (Feagin and Sikes). Currently, the level of racism in America is questionable especially considering the fact that America is the land of the free. The president has often been called up for his racist remarks and this has proven that there are legally and socially sanctioned privileges and rights that are only enjoyed by the white Americans but they are denied to the minority groups such as Latinas.

Structural racism is evidenced by the widespread annually in terms of education, employment, health care and other social services. The minority groups are facing structural barriers and this can be attributed to their socioeconomic class. The racism affects their ability to secure quality housing, have proper healthcare, access employment, and education. Doherty also argued that racism disparity has significantly permeated the only systems that were supposed to correct racisms- the criminal justice systems as the effectiveness of the criminal justice systems is undermined by the same. "There are more deaths, more police officers getting away with murder. Racism is now out in the open, in America and other countries (Doherty).

One of the most laudable arguments in racism debate is the role of historical and current public policies in perpetuating racisms. Many institutional and cultural narratives have overtly perpetuated racial inequalities. The same practices and cultural narratives have also constrained mobility for the minority groups such as the communities of color. Race and racism have played and is still played major roles in the overt segregation and inequality in public and private institutions (American Anthropological Association). There have been memorable events in Charlotte, Baton Rouge, as well as Fergusson and Baltimore that only scratched the surface of the underlying problems of racisms. The events may have sparked new rounds of national discourses and debates, but they too are dying because there are no proper structures aimed at elevating the public debates around racism and inequality in the United States of America (Feagin and Sikes 121).

Understanding the historical narrative around racism can help in understanding recent issues such as discrimination and extrajudicial killing. For example, there has been argument purporting that the government is engaged in purging as a way of reducing the minority group. On the other hand, the mindset groups such as the Latinos and the African American are considered an economic burden to the government. Racial profiling has been a common case in combination with segregation, is affecting the American economy and the society, as the African Americans remain a burden because they do not have access to economic resources necessary to empower themselves. The structural racism is the main driver of racial wealth gaps in America, housing discrimination, mass incineration and recidivism that are often associated with Latinos and the African America (Feagin and Elias 931-960). Finally, American Anthropological Association reported that credit scores rating is a system that has also perpetuated the racial disparity but these are usually hidden from the plain sight. Therefore, the recent extrajudicial killing and the subsequent black lives matters movements have just unearthed the covert racism affecting the Latinos and the African Americans. This proves that racism in America has been widespread and ongoing since the colonial era but is currently hidden behind multitudes of policies and legal amendments.

Works Cited

American Anthropological Association. "AAA Statement On Race - Connect With AAA." Americananthro.org. N.p., 2018. Web. 8 Aug. 2018.

Doherty, Ben. "Common Struggle: Black Lives Matter Leader Talks Of Painful Parallels With Indigenous Australia." the Guardian. N.p., 2018. Web. 8 Aug. 2018.

Feagin, Joe R, and Melvin P Sikes. Living With Racism. 2nd ed. Boston: Beacon Press, 2011. Print.

Feagin, Joe, and Sean Elias. "Rethinking Racial Formation Theory: A Systemic Racism Critique." Ethnic and Racial Studies 36.6 (2013): 931-960. Web.