Racial inequality in the United States
In terms of race and ethnicity, how has the meaning of “We the People” changed over the years, and why. Give examples to support your standard. For example, you can cite immigration and naturalization laws. In any event, some research may be necessary. Discuss the experiences of at least two different racial /ethnic groups.
Racial inequality has been a contentious issue in the United States since the days of slavery. The manifestation of racial inequality across different settings is mainly a result of racial profiling, where individuals are related based on the existing stereotypes. The decisions that are undertaken from a personal point of view are views as considering individuals as being inferior or superior. Minority groups in the United States are still being considered as inferior by their white counterparts. Racial inequality has created major divisions and development of relations on racial lines in the United States, which is detrimental to cross-cultural relationships and overall commitment to the united states for all. Racial inequality remains a major issue in the united states across different settings including, school, health, law enforcement, and within the social environment where individuals are engaged using racial connotation.
The United States has undergone tremendous change over the years based on the question of race with significant amendments to the constitution with the objective of creating a unified nation where everyone is treated equally regardless of their race. The end of slavery saw the implementation of different measures that focused on eliminating racism and treating all united states citizens as being equal. However, despite these changes, there have been significant challenges over the years, which have highlighted a renewed form of discrimination perpetrated by different agencies, especially the criminal justice system, through mass incarceration.
There have been major concerns about racial inequality within the criminal justice systems where the law enforcement officers have focused on ethnic stereotypes in their attempts to profile crimes across different settings. African American and Latino individuals are associated with violent crimes and the use of drugs. These assumptions mean that when a crime occurs within a given place, the first suspects are mainly individuals of black decent. The number of individuals who are being incarcerated majority is African Americans.
A significant change that has occurred over the years is the transformation of discrimination characteristics from slavery to modern-day racial profiling, which is profoundly hidden with the application of the law from the criminal justice system. The changes that have been implemented have focused on creating a favorable environment for all. However, there are still significant issues that need to be addressed. The racially-based ideologies that are held within the criminal justice system present a challenging environment where the application of law can be made successfully. Wacquant (2015) asserted that mass incarceration had been a significant issue in the United States, especially considering that there is disproportionate of the offenders incarcerated despite the similar trend in crimes committed across different races. Therefore race is still a thorny issue based on the perception and ideologies help by different individuals. Consequently, the approach to control these negative ideologies needs to focus on diversity (Wacquant, 2015).
Hunt (2014) highlights that the idea of race is embedded in people’s ideologies. Thus the race or racial thinking informs the decisions made by individuals and are explained based on social interaction. Therefore racism is entangled in the mind of people because of how they think and relations that are formed where even the blind can make a conceptual sense of what entails race or racism. Individuals within the same racial group are influenced by a common thought process that informs their opinion regarding race and the existing perception (Hunt, 2014). Thus based on the findings from the article, it is evident that the basis of racism has shifted from physical as seen in slaves to a more complex system, as observed in the current mass incarceration. The race is defined mainly by physical traits such as skin color. However, the changes that have taken place provide a different understanding of factors that determine race, considering that individual opinion and perception are essential in deciding essential elements that help explain a committed understanding of these changes.
Racial inequality and discrimination in the United States were declared unlawful, where an individual can be prosecuted if proven that their actions amount to discrimination. However, there has been a transformation in the manner of racial inequality across different ethnic groups is being done in the United States. African Americans are always faced with insults and dismissals, which have a detrimental influence on individual wellbeing (Delgado, 2018). Microaggressions are degrading, considering that they target individual moral and confidence. Most of these insults and problems that African Americans face are based on assumptions rather than an understanding of the actual outcomes. Microaggression of African Americans borders on racial profiling and discrimination. There are assertions and comments within the society that are commonly used to refer to African Americans and Latino Americans.
Despite the continued use of these terms, they focus on promoting racial discrimination. The words that people use have a significant influence on individuals either positively or negatively. Thus, it is essential to understand that these words’ conduct of individuals towards African Americans are perceived negatively. The fact that society appears to have accepted the situation on microaggression creates a difficult environment where it is essential to help implement better strategies that help modify the level of development (Hotchkins, 2016).
Brezinski et al. (2018) identified that undergraduate African American students are the highest victims of discriminative behavior from the majority of whites campuses. The results of the study showed that their perception and understanding of microaggression played a significant role in identifying related behavior. Feeling inferior is associated with negative perception in life. African Americans and many of Latino individuals viewed themselves as being inferior were more likely to identify incidences of discrimination or when the racial inequality aspect becomes visible. A steady mentality and self-confidence are essential factors in handling this negative behavior in society.
Latino individuals have been associated with drugs and violence as well, considering that there is an emphasis on the fact that they bring drugs into the United States from the Mexican border. However, not every Latino individual is associated with drug trafficking as assumed by many individuals, including police enforcement (Harris, 2015). The level of profiling occurs across different levels, including social settings and school, which are major settings that racial inequality occurs.
African American and Latino students are highly likely to attend school with limited resources considering that the majority come from low-income families where education is a luxury that they struggle to attain. However, despite the efforts that are put in place, there are fewer efforts among instructors to push and ensure that students attain their academic success through improving their mental strength (Legewie, 2016). The majority of African Americans are considered as being inferior and uneducated, which most of the aggressors use to demean them by making discriminatory statements. The majority are upset by these statements, although others do not dwell on them so much because they believe that they know their worth.
Racial profiling has a negative influence on the development of African Americans as well as other minority groups in the United States. The overall commitment to making better decisions has been a significant factor in creating a profoundly transformed environment where it was possible to help manage diverse needs and aspects that define individual development. Racial profiling is associated with decreased confidence and self-belief among the respondents. African American and Latino students have a stressful experience in white-dominated campuses because they are perceived as being foreigners and being in the wrong place. This negative perception is false and creates a difficult understanding of the need to promote positive behavior among individuals (Brezinski, Laux, Roseman, O’Hara, & Gore, 2018).
Student self-belief and identity play a vital role in influencing their social interactions and the development of individual behavior. A student who has a high level of self-belief is less likely to be a victim of microaggression. Weak mental strength, however, is associated with a low self-belief, which makes students vulnerable to bullying and being victimized within a social context. Therefore developing a more diverse process should concentrate on motivating students and ensure that they do not feel inferior, which is an essential aspect in defining a more exceptional approach in implementing positive outcomes (Chatters, 2018). Therefore self-identity is a crucial factor that can help develop a reliable system where it is possible to attain improved results. Improving personal decisions is based on a strategic assessment of specific measures that define an enhanced level of individual development.
Attaining academic success is defined by different factors that present a positive environment where all individuals, regardless of their background, can achieve higher outcomes. African American students are faced with difficult situations considering the need to navigate through a hostile social environment where they are perceived as inferior and not good enough (Belina & Keitzel, 2018). African American students have to prove their worth over and over again because there is a stereotype that they are not always bright and intelligent. However, overthought this assertion is wrong; some African Americans are bullied to a belief that they are inferior and survive at the mercy of their white counterparts.
Therefore despite the measures that have been put in place aimed at controlling racial inequality within the United States, the aspects of inferiority and superiority have dominated people’s ideologies, which influence the decisions and actions that are performed by different individuals. Maintaining a proper system that defines change presents a well-organized system that offers a well-integrated system that gives an appropriate emphasis on the need to embrace the needs of every individual while also creating a more reliable system that helps promote positive level development. Racial inequality limits the focus of the United States as a diverse country that embraces unity and peace across different ethnic groups.