Premium Essay

Racial Prejudice Essay

Submitted By
Words 1593
Pages 7
What is Prejudice? Researchers struggle to define prejudice. Some say it is “a negative attitude or feeling toward an individual, group, place or thing” ( (Bokanic, 2009). Others say that this attitude is based on assumptions, which leads to the prejudgments of others. Whatever the case, prejudices can be formed against another person because of race, weight, gender, language, religion, or virtually any difference. Prejudices lead to discrimination and stereotypes.
For example, Wrenee, a French-American, was a victim of racial prejudice as a child. As she grew up, she searched for a place where people would not prejudge her based on her racial background. She became a doctor in a town in Southern Alabama, where her physical appearance …show more content…
More often, it is used to speed up a conversation on what is not considered to be an important topic. Stereotyping goes beyond race and gender. Consider conversations people have about people from the next town, another department in one’s school, supporters of other soccer teams, and so on. To change a person’s view of a stereotype, one must be consistently different from it. People must be aware of their own stereotyping blinding themselves to the true nature of other individuals. Stereotyping can be reduced by bringing people together, by their similarities not their differences. When they discover others are not as the stereotype, the immediate evidence creates clarity that leads to improved thoughts about the other …show more content…
Those who experience this on an ongoing basis due to who they are as a person, feel insecure. People who are stereotyped against may develop physical or mental health problems as a result. Each person has the social responsibility to be thoughtful of others. To resolve the situation, each individual on the micro level must change his or her attitude. Attitudes are “sets of beliefs and feelings toward an object that predisposes the person to act in a certain way when confronted by that object” (Bokanic, 2009, p.

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Ethics

...reveals that minorities are over-represented, primarily because of racial prejudices within the system. The well-publicized war on drugs is one of the main causes for this over-representation, for it has primarily targeted poor people of color. As Walker et al (2003) note, despite repeated studies showing there is little difference in the level of drug use between blacks and whites in the United States, three-quarters of the people incarcerated in American prisons for drug trafficking, dealing, or abuse are African-American. In social terms, one of the most troubling problems with America’s war on drugs is that it appears to be motivated at least in part by racism. As Mason (2000) notes, under New Jersey’s Operation Pipeline drug interdiction program, for example, eighty percent of the motorists stopped by police were black and just thirteen percent were white. Sentencing laws also appear to be racist, for they punish minorities more. Getting caught with four-hundred grams of cocaine requires no mandatory prison term, but possessing four-hundred grams of crack can lead to life in prison. One of the most blatant demonstrations of prejudice in the criminal justice system is racial profiling. According to critics, racial profiling is a unfair law enforcement strategy that enables police officers to stop and question African-Americans simply because of their race. According to Malley (2000) racial profiling is a process often employed by police, both officially...

Words: 355 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Deadly Unna Racial Prejudice Quotes

...This text is about the book Deadly Unna and how it shows racial prejudice. This book clearly without a doubt shows racial prejudice with events and terms that have been mention by the author throughout this book. This text will convince you to have a strong mindset on how the author is trying to show that their is is racial prejudice in Australia. For example Dumby didn't win the trophy and was especially racist to him and how their was favouritism towards Coach Arks son from the committee of the club and the coach who was Arks. Blacky removing the Graffiti was an example for standing up for Racism from the so called Porky Fraser which is very disrespectful as the author explains it well. Then Lastly Darcy was making up rude comments about the Nungas and how they carry a some sort of disease but it wasn't just Darcy who did this it was a lot of people nearly everyone made at least a rude joke or comment just because of...

Words: 1012 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Examples Of Prejudice In To Kill A Mockingbird

...To Kill a Mockingbird: Prejudice Essay Prejudices are all around. Race, gender, religion. There really is no way of making this stop, but there are ways of making them more obvious, so the people can see how bad they can be. One way is through literature. Harper Lee did this very well in her novel To Kill a Mockingbird which is told by Scout, a six-year-old girl, and her life through a few years when racism was at its peak. Scout's father is a lawyer who supports most everyone and causes much controversy when he accepts a case where he must defend a black man. Racism is the most emphasized prejudice in To Kill a Mockingbird because of the time that this book was set in. That was the norm. Some examples are when Aunt Alexandra wouldn't let Scout visit her housekeeper's house only because she was black. Another example is when Tom Robinson, the black man Atticus is defending, is in the Maycomb City jail. There was an angry mob of white men outside of his cell wanting to kill him. Some may say that gender is the most emphasized prejudice in this novel. While it is brought up a lot,...

Words: 827 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

Eth 125

...Course Description This course is designed to educate students about issues of race and ethnicity by presenting historical and modern perspectives on diversity in the United States, and by providing tools necessary to promote a respectful and inclusive society. Students will complete several activities that allow them to examine their own values in relation to the values of various other racial and ethnic communities. Policies Faculty and students/learners will be held responsible for understanding and adhering to all policies contained within the following two documents: • University policies: You must be logged into the student website to view this document. • Instructor policies: This document is posted in the Course Materials forum. University policies are subject to change. Be sure to read the policies at the beginning of each class. Policies may be slightly different depending on the modality in which you attend class. If you have recently changed modalities, read the policies governing your current class modality. Course Materials Schaefer, R, T. (2006). Racial and ethnic groups (10th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Axia College’s Writing...

Words: 3070 - Pages: 13

Premium Essay

How Do Genocide Groups Cause Discrimination?

...Throughout history, the issues revolving around racial division have resulted in serious conflicts across the world. Due to incredibly violent and cruel events occurring in the past and present, simply discussing the issue of racial tension in some situations can lead to offense and outrage. These reactions to race can cause extreme divisions not only in our country but also our world resulting in prejudice and discrimination. There have been multiple events throughout history in which discrimination lead to widespread death. Prominent examples include the genocides of the Armenians, the Holocaust, the Rwandan genocide, and most recently, the Darfur genocide. While it may be hard to imagine that one group of people could find themselves so...

Words: 656 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Racism

...segregation that had occurred that it’s just a natural thing that happened in the past and still goes on today. The invention of racism was socially constructed and as a society, we developed the concept of racial segregation, racial discrimination, racial stereotyping and negative prejudice. Some believe that there is no real original concepts of how racism began, but how would we wrap ourselves around the concept of racism being uniquely developed so that one race was meant to be inferior to all the rest? There are many ideas about how racism came about. Some say that it’s because that’s how nature took its course. It was just made to have one race has to be above all the others, a superior race, and the inferior races, which are looked at as being intolerable. Seeing one race less important than another is dehumanizing but it is within the definition of racism, inferiority and superiority are stated. According to the Oxford dictionary, racism is defined as the belief that all members of each race possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, esp. so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races. This mentality of having superior and inferior races began in the 1600s where slave trade was considered to be normal. Slavery was not based on racial discrimination against one specific race or ethnicity but it was based on what was available. Eric Williams, author of the book called “Capitalism and Slavery,” states beautifully the role racism played...

Words: 1970 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Eth125 Appendix D

... | |Ethnic group |People of the same race or nationality who share a distinctive culture. | |Anti-Semitism |The intense dislike for and prejudice against Jewish people. | |Islamophobia |Prejudice against Muslims. | |Xenophobia |A fear of foreigners or strangers. | |Persecution |The act of persecuting (especially on the basis of race or religion) | |Religious group |A set of individuals whose identity as such is distinctive in terms of common religious creed, beliefs,| | |doctrines, practices, or rituals. | Definition of Ethnic Group, Anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, Xenophobia, and Persecution: WordNet. (2012). Retrieved from http://wordnet.princeton.edu/ Definition of Religious Group: The 'lectric law library. (1995 - 2012). Retrieved from http://www.lectlaw.com/def2/q028.htm Part II Select at least 1 religious and 1 ethnic/racial group not your own from the list below. • Religious groups (based on http://religions.pewforum.org/pdf/affiliations-all-traditions.pdf) o Christianity • Evangelical Protestant ...

Words: 3055 - Pages: 13

Premium Essay

Charles Lawrence On Racist Speech

...In the essay On Racist Speech by Charles R. Lawrence III, he writes about the fact that racial insults have become an issue in what is supposedly a free country. Lawrence states that universities must create policies or codes in order to ensure the protection of all students from any remarks that can be considered racial harassment. However, he points out that the opposing side claims that if such policies were to be created, they would be impeaching on every American’s constitutional rights as stated in the first amendment. Lawrence states that this argument has “placed the bigot on the moral high ground and fanned the rising flames of racism” (65). I agree with Lawrence’s point of view in the respect that any sort of racial insults should not be protected under the first amendment and those who claim otherwise are only doing a disservice to everything the constitution stands for. In order to ensure the equality of every individual, universities should place policies that prohibit the use of racial insults. In the beginning of the essay Lawrence claims that protecting individuals against racist speech is one of the most important ways to “reinforce society’s commitment to (racial) tolerance as a value” (65). While I do believe...

Words: 1020 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Appendix F

...Part I Define the following terms: Term Definition White privilege rights or immunities granted as a particular benefit or favor for being White Racial profiling any arbitrary police-initiated action based on race, ethnicity, or natural origin rather than a person’s behavior Racism The belief that all members of each race possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race Reverse discrimination actions that cause better-qualified White men to be passed over for women and minority men Part II Complete the following using the MySocLab Social Explorer Map: Income Inequality by Race located on your student website: · Select 1 racial group from the list below: o African American o Asian American o Arab American o Hispanic American/Latino o White/Caucasian · Write a 250- to 350-word summary of the economic, social, and political standings of that group. Use additional resources if necessary, from the University Library or your textbooks. Even though all Americans have experiences hardship since the economic slowdown, African Americans have suffered greatly from this situation. The average income of African Americans has declined by 1.3 percent since 2000. Along with the decrease in income, the unemployment rate of African Americans has increased. African Americans also have higher rates of poverty and slower growing rates of employment than other minority groups. The political standing of African Americans is very interesting....

Words: 1068 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

To Kill a Mockingbird Prejudice

...English Essay Describe at least one idea that was relevant to people in today’s society in the written text. Explain why the idea is relevant to people in today’s society. In the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, an idea which is still relevant to people in today’s society is prejudice. The idea of prejudice was shown throughout the novel, most prominently by Tom Robinson’s trial, and the character Arthur “Boo” Radley. Tom’s trial highlighted the idea of racial prejudice and the character Boo Radley, who is a victim of speculation and rumours, helped us better understand social prejudice. Racial and social prejudice are still prevalent and are experienced in our society today despite our seemingly enlightened and tolerant mind-set. Prejudice and the negative mind-set that it induces is influenced by our surrounding family, friends and media. Even though all humans are born with a strong moral conscience, we are bombarded with pictures and people that influence our first impressions of people and make us judgemental, unconsciously or not. The dictionary defines prejudice as a preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience, which is clearly the case in Alabama in the 1930’s. The 1930’s was the time of the Great Depression and was before the Black Civil Rights movement took place. People of colour or a different race suffered majorly due to discrimination and prejudice against them. People in small towns during this time period were often...

Words: 1339 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

To Kill a Mockingbird

...11/13/12 Compare and Contrast Essay Similarities between Harper Lee’s Childhood Life and Scout Finch’s Childhood Life The To Kill a Mockingbird novel written by Harper Lee is commonly considered one of the twentieth century's most widely read American novels. The vast majority of people that have read the novel are of the belief that the events contained within the novel are based on Harper Lee’s childhood experiences growing up in the South. However, absent of Harper Lee actually confirming the inspirational source for her novel; it’s still an assumption made by the masses. Nonetheless, we all have to agree that there are some very distinct similarities between Harper Lee’s childhood life and the childhood life of Scout Finch’s in the novel. Similarities that exist between Harper Lee’s childhood life and that of Scout Finch in the To Kill a Mockingbird novel were the facts that they were both raised in small rural towns, both of them were tomboys during their childhood years, and they both lived through times of racial prejudice. The first similarity between Harper Lee’s childhood life and Scout Finch’s childhood life is that they were both raised in small rural towns in Alabama. Harper Lee grew up in the small rural town of Monroeville, Alabama that. The town has a small closely knit population where everyone knew their neighbors and knew their neighbor’s business. Aside from this the town of Monroeville is riddled with poverty and racial segregation issues. The pace...

Words: 1053 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Stop And Frisk Case Study

...weapon is another cases, more impulsive trigger finger when confronted by black men and are more cautious with white. “In our minds, young black men are associated with danger.” This is a result of what happen in Ferguson Michael Brown was and unarmed teenager that was shoot. By putting cam in police car on there body may improve behavior.Even though it remains ubiquitous policies can suppress prejudice that affecting the society. Gerke expresses racial profiling attained student prospect. The “stop and frisk” practice have a great impact on student performance and channeling them into the punitive criminal justice system. He has shown the gender gap, feminist and masculinity between blacks and Latino.In addition, boys masculinity establish...

Words: 388 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Poverty

...This essay looks at how is how personal prejudice, cultural assumptions and structural power relations ignite oppression and discrimination. I have chosen to look at this in relation to poverty and race. This essay aims to define discrimination and oppression, and relate this to what is evident when talking about poverty and race and discuss the implications for the young people I work with. The literal meaning of discriminate is to identify a difference. When the term is used in a legal, moral or political sense it is generally used to refer to unfair discrimination, this refers to the process where a difference is identified and used to impose unfair treatment. Oppression is the outcome of unfair treatment. associated with discrimination has oppressive consequences for the people so affected. It is important to note the differences between anti/discriminatory and anti-oppressive practice are primarily semantic, rather than theoretical or ideological. What is paramount is that as care and social workers we all must tackle this issue head on, without fear of opening a can of worms. Poverty is an issue that has been talked about for many years in Scotland. Nethetheless, in despite severity of the situation, and regardless of the impact on our youth, and ultimately the future of our country. Even though legislation put in place to ensure the well being of our children, it can be argued that not enough is being done to tackle the issue. Poverty is an issue which raises...

Words: 2061 - Pages: 9

Free Essay

The Colo Line

...Essay Question 1: What did W. E. B. Du Bois mean by his concept of "the color-line", and how did it come to be defined so strictly over time? The idea of “the color –line” alludes basically to the part of race and prejudice in history and society. Be that as it may, of need, for Du Bois, it requires a multidimensional examination which recognizes and looks to comprehend the convergence of race and class as both methods of mastery and methods of resistance on the national and worldwide level. Du Bois connects with the inquiries of race, racial mastery and racial misuse with the understood recommendation that “the issue of the twentieth century is the issue of the shading line." In 1924, W. E. B. Dubois said this in regards to race relations in the United States. He said, "The issue of the twentieth century will be the issue of the shading line." That is, the overwhelming issue amid the century would be the racial clash in the middle of Blacks and whites. Today, regardless of the advancement our nation has made in race relations, despite everything we have an approaches to go. It was the line that held the best employments in the economy for one gathering of individuals, while denying them to another through both the law and private organizations, for example, organizations and, to its ruin, numerous unions who denied participation and occupations to those on the wrong side of the shading line. Also, it is the same shading line that would reject occupations to those on...

Words: 765 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Racism

...African Americans have been discriminated against, not as individuals, but solely because of the color of their skins. In her essay “How it Feels to Be Colored Me”, Zora Hurston relays to the reader that being discriminated due to your color doesn’t take away from who you are as a person, nor does it change the morals and virtues and pride that you have for yourself. Hurston speaks of her life experiences, and through those experiences she has became to know who she was, which at the beginning made her feel ashamed. The author didn’t realize or have ever been truly exposed to racism until the age of thirteen, when she moved from Eatonville, FL., a predominately black community, to Jacksonville, FL. Until then white people only differed to Zora because they didn’t live in her town. There in Jacksonville Zora experienced racism and discrimination; through all of this Zora never felt bitter towards those that discriminated against her. “But I am not tragically colored. There is no great sorrow damned up in my soul, nor lurking behind my eyes. I do not mind at all. I do not belong to the sobbing school of Negrohood.” (Hurston 266). Though slavery was sixty years in the past, Zora understood that slavery was the price that was paid for civilization by her ancestors. Racism is alive and well. The past year many of us were stunned by the cases of racial intimidation and judicial bias, during the Michael Brown and Eric Garner case. I will not say that the two cases derived...

Words: 1053 - Pages: 5