Racism and Its Impact
Racism is described as the assumption that one culture or race is fundamentally superior to another, despite anthropological evidence to the contrary. Racism has been used to bind some races to unjust laws throughout history. Differences in physical appearance have often been used as justifications for discrimination. Racism is a term that incorporates not only racism based on a person's race, but also racism based on economic power, gender, and culture. Racism has existed in the United States for a long time, with its peak occurring during the Jim Crow period. Various organizations have emerged to address racism in the country over the years. The efforts from these groups have always been based on cleansing racism in aspects such as social, political and the legal structures platforms in the U.S. Despite these efforts, racism continues to thrive in the country, beneath the fabric of society untouched for years. The widespread institutional and societal changes which have been used since 1960 have done little to ameliorate the covert racial discriminations that the minority face; however, there are several modern approaches that can be used to overcome the vice of racism in the United States.
Encouraging Cultural Competency
One way in which racism can be overcome is by encouraging cultural competency. One way in which the perceived racism continues to manifest itself in the society is through perceived discrimination. Perceived racism is whereby an individual thins that other individuals especially the white people are racist in nature. Any action done by such individuals are taken with criticism. As such, many individuals are in the state of being discriminated although in most cases they are not. The main problem with perceived discrimination is that it fosters further racism between the different races. Cultural competency helps to eliminate perceived discrimination/racism (Kristin 45). By allowing people of different cultures to engage in many activities that build the society, they will learn different things about one another leading to a mutual respect. Cultural competency can be achieved in institutions by increasing cultural awareness whereby the aim is to reduce cultural insensitivity.
The Role of Education
The current generation have avoided their history by being ignorant about what happened years ago. This has led to cultural insensitivity leading to slight racism within the new generation. One way of ensuring that racism is overcome among the people of the new generation is by letting students trace their family origins. This can be done in schools through the provision of assignments which should be made mandatory. The process of ending racism should start at a young age. By letting the students know the evilness of racism, most will try to follow a different part rather than repeating what their ancestors did. Changes can be seen among young children in school. Most have embraced one another living and participating in sports in harmony. The older students lack this kind of harmony among the different races. Education can be used to end racism while the students are young rather than letting it develop then trying to control it (Derek 386).
Education and Communication
The second strategy of overcoming racism in the United States is educating the society. For many years, the country has concentrated its efforts on trying to force the people of different races to live together. This has done little in helping people live with one another without discrimination. Currently, there are many platforms that can be used to educate the people about the importance of living together in harmony without subjecting one race to numerable taunts, abuses or discrimination. In Latin America, different forms of education was put in place and this is the area that racism is dwindling at a fast rate (Warren and Sue 40). The US has been left behind in dealing with racism in the Americas. With the current technological advancement, various information can be relayed to the people and in turn help millions of people facing racism to live in peace.
Challenging Colorblindness and Racial Avoidance
Colorblindness or racial avoidance has perpetuated racial discrimination. For instance, social policies such as affirmative actions have not reduced the rate of racial discrimination in the country. Currently, these practices exist in the United States and it has facilitated racial sensitivity among the different groups. By avoiding the use of affirmative actions, people will not see the differences that exist among the people. However, colorblindness and racial avoidance is akin to a state of denial among the lawmakers. Racism exists and it is better if the issue is tackled head on rather than using such measures which facilitate further the difference between the different races (Seabrook and Wyatt-Nichol 3).
Embracing Diversity and Identity
Diversity and identity are other elements that can be used to overcome racism in the US. These are the aspects or characteristics of the community that have given rise to racism. For every country to overcome racism, it is imperative that they adopt diversity, do away with the ghetto mentality concerning the blacks, and exclusion of the negative differences that exist among the people. The eradication of racism can be done by transposing the concept among the people of living together. This will in turn give a new vision to human relations. With such a move, the dialogue of civilization and cultures will give rise to the expression of bio-culture. In overcoming racism, diversity can be transformed from an ideologically and historically laden concept to a value whereby pluralism links diversity to unity dialectically (UNHHR 34). This will create interaction among the people of different races leading to the end of racism.
Increasing Interaction and Overlooking Racial Backgrounds
The current low rate of interaction fuels discriminatory patterns as seen by some of the housing patterns seen in most states where there is a black community and in other areas, a white community gated property. By doing away with such arrangements, interaction will increase while racism will decrease at the same time. Conversely, racism can be overcome by helping the people overlook their racial backgrounds through framing (Grassroots Policy Project 25). The word illegal has been used extensively to help the people forget about their differences and come together. For instance, immigrants who do not have proper documents are currently being labeled as illegal. As much as this at times might lead to a small issue of racism based on the race of the immigrants, it has, however, helped the Americans to come together as people of one nation and not of different races.
Conclusion
In conclusion, racism can be ended if the correct steps are undertaken. For years, the government has always tried to force interaction between the different racial groups in the United States. However, interaction should be left to happen out of each person's volition. However, necessary measures ought to be undertaken such as educating the young ones about the problem of racism and how it has affected millions of people in the country. Through empowering the younger ones and the current generation, the issue of racism will end sooner.
Work Cited
Grassroots policy Project. Race, Power and Policy: Dismantling Structural racism, (2010), 1-38.
Griffith, Derek M., et al. “Dismantling institutional racism: theory and action.” American journal of community psychology 39.3-4 (2007): 381-392.
Haltinner, Kristin. Teaching race and anti-racism in contemporary America. New York: Springer, 2014.
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). Dimension of Racism, (2003), 1-2008
Seabrook, Renita, and Heather Wyatt-Nichol. “The ugly side of America: Institutional oppression and race.” Journal of Public Management & Social Policy 23.1 (2016): 3.
Warren, Jonathan, and Christina A. Sue. “Comparative racisms: What anti-racists can learn from Latin America.” Ethnicities 11.1 (2011): 32-58.
