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The Social Equality Paper

Ryan Davis

English 12 and College Writing

Mr. Stoll and Ms. Garcia
14 October 2014

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America would be lying if our society could claim that there is social equality.
There would be more scholars solving problems to help us all to be healthier, safer, and
richer as a nation. If there were an even playing field for each school child to achieve
according to his or her ability, America would probably benefit and people in our country
could possibly be happier. There are barriers in the culture of or society that can block
true social equality. Racism is an ongoing problem for America that robs its citizens from
each being treated equally, and, as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stated, Human progress is
neither automatic nor inevitable... Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice,
suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated
individuals.(brainyquote.com). Martin Luther King, Jr. stated his hopes for social
equality in America when he gave a famous speech during the March on Washington and
stated, I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where
they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character,
(drmartinlutherkingjr.net).
Racism has many ways of being expressed in the United States. Racism could be
through hatred, and that individual may have a personal opinion about a certain group. It
could be through complete ignorance and that individual or group may not be tolerant of
other types of people. Through everyday life, racism persists on and shows up in media
and normal conversation between different races. Subtle, direct, and indirect are all
different forms of racism that are sprinkled throughout the American society and will
unfortunately be around for years to come.
Racism can be deeply ingrained in the minds of humans. It is often the point of
view through which people define themselves and others. To define the term, Racism is

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a doctrineit claims to find racial differences in things like character and intelligence,
(Teaching Tolerance On Racism and White Privilege).
For the Blacks in America, race is something that is thought about all the time.
Often, stereotypes lead to misunderstandings and accusations. Stereotypes can lead to the
overreaction of law enforcement. These factors can cause a person of color to feel
basically unsafe. Because people are stereotyped by the clothing they wear and some
clothing is believed to be worn by thugs or dangerous people, Black people often feel
that, to be safe from accusations of wrongdoing, they must be mindful of their appearance
so they will not look threatening. Black Americans often wonder if they wear a certain
thing, will it bring an image to other peoples minds to think of them differently. In the
same way, Black Americans can be seen as threatening because of their cultural habits.
The way some African Americans communicate with each other could make other races,
and Black people of other cultures, uncomfortable. Some have a dialect that is loud and
aggressive and can sound like arguing when they are only joking. Because of images in
the media or ideas promoted by friends and family, racist feelings can be triggered by
seeing a person of another race and projecting and prejudging. Some people avoid contact
with certain races because it makes them feel safe. Many parts or Los Angeles are
segregated according to personal the preferences of those who choose not to live near
other races. Society has promoted the ideas of the dangerous black person, the studious
Asian person, and the industrious Jewish person, others treat an individual of a certain
race as an object rather than an individual (Beth Morrisey). Society may have grown to
expect these behaviors from these groups instead of getting to know individuals. Because
of what people feel other races are capable of, some people are hired for great jobs and

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some people are followed by store security. Whites may not need to worry so much about
these problems, One of the functions and privileges of racism is that White people dont,
as a whole, carry race as an identity you get to be an individual, you get to be
yourself (White Anti-Racism, Tolerance). Whites do not need to worry about being
looked at with suspicion by another race as much as any other race does. This is because
of the power structure of our country assures White people are rewarded according to
their merits instead of being excluded because of prejudice.
Racism has been around for years upon years, and for many years to come after
those years had passed long ago. In the Bible, the Egyptians enslaved the Jews and
looked down on the Jews as a lesser race. The Holocaust was an extreme consequence of
racism. Racism is infused into American history, unfortunately. Direct racism in the form
of slavery was the law in America for over 200 years. The use and abuse of another race,
Black Africans, to build this country continues to be a stain on the American conscience.
Today direct racism is often exhibited in body language, speech, and insulting attitude
of the racists, among other behaviors, (Nadra Kareem Nittle).
Indirect racism is the result of practices in the law, workplace, or school system that
unintentionally affects racial minorities negatively. Thus, systemic and unwanted racial
disparities remain disturbingly common, (Kevin Johnson USA Today) An example is
laws that sentence people to more jail time for offences that are more common to
minority communities. Crack cocaine is more common in the Black community and
those found with crack cocaine are sentenced to longer prison terms than those found
with powder cocaine, which is more common in the White community. These laws result
in larger number of Black people in prison. This affects their ability to get work the

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future or be able to vote. Not being able to vote is one of the most important rights to
lose. Those individuals lose the right to choose a government that stands up for their
rights and provides the opportunities they need.
Subtle racism can be as simple as an innocent conversation that illustrates
ignorance about another race. An example of this would be individuals wanting to touch
the hair of a black person wearing an afro or someone saying, youre so well spoken.
Where are you from? Both of these instances could occur in social settings and are
experienced as racist but are not always meant to be racist. Plenty of seemingly harmless
behavior is actually in this category, such as refusal to engage, benign ignorance, jokes
and banter and imitations and mockery are all to be types of indirect racism(Beth
Morrisey). Subtle racism can be very insidious as prejudiced attitudes are not limited to
a few pathological or misguided individuals, (S. Plous) The culture of workplaces and
those in the position to hire, government officials and teachers can project prejudiced
attitudes. School board members, law enforcement officers, law makers, and many others
in positions that affect the lives of others may hold deeply engrained racist views and
encourage or allow behavior, possibly without being aware of it. From this a culture of
exclusion or lack of empathy and cultural awareness affects the ability of racial minorities
to obtain good jobs, gain entry into some schools, receive equal and fair treatment under
the law, or be graded fairly in school. The challenge to society is to admit that this occurs
and take a stand to correct it. All too often indirect racism can be hard to challenge
because those who engage in it may not even be aware of what they are doing.(Beth
Morrisey)
Racism has been deeply embedded into Americas history books because of the

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recent years of African American oppression and the years upon years of slavery that
came with it. Americans today struggle to get along with other classes or people they live
around. Many struggle to understand others that have backgrounds different from their
background. There may be reasons for this social norm because of the racism and tension
that followed the end of the 200 years of slavery, continued with the Civil Rights
Movement and segregation, which showed the true colors of each race, metaphorically
speaking. Many years of racism have taken place. However, Gone are the days of Nazi
Germany and the Holocaust, legalized slavery, of lynchings of the Ku Klux Klan (S.
Plous). After all of these instances of racism the problems cannot be solved easily. One
reason is simply hate.
Hate is one of the most problematic fuels for racism. Hate has caused many
disputes among races. During the civil rights movement, the whites created numerous
ways of showing hatred towards the blacks, such as the Ku Klux Klan, who are terrorist
organizations who are extremely racist to and against the black Americans in every way.
There is hate between groups in the Middle East which has resulted in centuries of
conflict. There is hate between groups in Africa that has led to genocide and terror. There
seems to be absolutely no reason for hate Hate is murder committed in ones heart, and
racism is a form of hatred that injures not only the victim but the penetrator as well,
(charlotte.cbslocal.com Nicole Jaworski).
The wide varieties of racism can spawn different reactions and each reaction has its
own consequences. People who obviously show hate in their reaction towards people of
color will get a reaction that would not be as polite as that person would have been to
them originally. Since all people dont have the same reactions to different words and

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phrases people do not tend to watch what they say around certain people. People listen
the most when people do not think people are always listening. Insensitive comments,
racial jokes often distance different groups from each other. These things should never be
said in the first place because We should always be sensitive to how others feelespecially since various racial and ethnic groups have suffered profoundly as a result of
racism and its consequences, (Nicole Jaworski cbs.com). Stereotypes are also ways of
enraging certain groups who are not as tolerable of racial slurs, and stereotypes alike.
Stereotypes can hurt people and generalize people into categories that dont
completely match what they do or who they are. Stereotypes can be incredibly direct and
offensive against a certain group or ethnicity. Assuming that all White people feel
superior to other races, that all Asians are good at math, or that all Black people are poor
keeps us from knowing each other as individuals. It affects the self-esteem of the
individual. The world may never know how many potentially great minds or great
inventions were prevented because stereotypes robbed some people of a chance to
succeed. The reaction to these wrongs potentially produces even more hatred in the
world. People take things different ways. Stereotypes, regardless of whether we believe
them or not, impact people, (Jessica Wong).
Racism, be it subtle or direct, has the power to change things negatively anywhere
in the world. It defines some countries, can change the course of history. Racism and
inequality can dictate the course of a life by the opportunities available or unavailable
based on race. Racism has many different faces and can occur in many different places. It
can be seen on the playground or in college. It can occur in a restaurant when service is
not as good depending on the customers race. It could be recognized as hate in some

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parts of the world. It could also be recognized as simple classism and people being
treated unfairly just because they happen to have a certain skin color. Often people of
certain races are seen as also being of a lower class. Historically, people of certain races
are in different classes based on the opportunities they have because of their race. It can
lead to lives of poverty, incarceration, and can be deadly. It can lead to malnutrition, and
poor health care if, because of racial barriers there is no access to proper medical care.
But we are all interconnected here on earth. A disease that is not treated in one part of the
world because of a lack of medical knowledge can be carried around the world to sicken
people in other countries. We are all greater and better off when more of us humans thrive
and reach our full potential. Addressing, racism, classism, or sexism would benefit all of
us, even those who believe in their superiority. Even those who feel they are profiting
from the inequalities in our world by earning more money and having more opportunities.
For those who see inequality as a problem, how to approach the solution has been a
challenge for many years. Organizations have been formed to tackle the racial issues of
Black Americans and have found that equality for one group of people is connected with
the need for the equality of other groups. The NAACP found that, in advocating for the
racial equality of Black Americans, the bigger issue of social equality had to be
addressed. The NAACP magazine, THE CRISIS, attempted to address these issues as
early as 1920, when W.E.B. Du Bois wrote the following statement:
We believe that social equality, by a reasonable interpretation of
the words, mean moral, mental and physical fitness to associate
with one's fellowmen. In this sense THE CRISIS believes absolutely
in the Social Equality of the Black and White and Yellow races and

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it believes too that any attempt to deny this equality by law or
custom is a blow at Humanity, Religion and Democracy. (W.E.B.
Du Bois)
This indicates that Du Bois and the NAACP saw the people of the
world as interconnected in the need to recognize each others rights.
Du Bois recognized that the ideas of equality being reduced to simply
talking about Black Americans were a very small snapshot of the whole
issue. The issue is really about all of humanity and how to co-exist
respectfully with others rather than not getting along together
peacefully and fairly.
America is doing better than many places on earth in striving for
social equality. America was founded on the concepts of freedom and
equality. In the past two centuries America has come from the
complete hypocrisy of slavery to passing laws to protect every person
from the tendency towards inequality. There are many that now are
unwilling to work towards further equality. Some say that America is
past its racial problems and many Americans avoid candid discussions
on race, (Kevin Johnson USA Today). Some say that because there are
successful people of other races in sports or the movies that there is
no longer a need for laws to correct uneven opportunities based on
race. The truth is that true progress is only now being made. The
President is biracial and, even though he is brilliant and very educated,
he would previously have been unable to be elected to a high office in

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the American government. There are many people that see the
Presidents election as a huge breakthrough and a point of pride for
America. Until America is not surprised because a brilliant and
educated man was elected President, the conversation about equality
needs to continue.

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Works Cited
Confronting Indirect Racism." Confronting Indirect Racism. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2014.
"Examples of Subtle Racism and the Problems It Poses." About. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2014.
Johnson, Kevin. "Subtle Examples of Racism." USA Today. Gannet Company, 17 May 2014.
Web.
"On Racism and White Privilege." Teaching Tolerance. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2014.
"Racism in America Hasn't Disappeared." The Herald-Sun. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2014.
"Racism In America: White Americans Believe They Are Victims Of Reverse Racism - CBS
Charlotte." CBS Charlotte. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2014.
"UnderstandingPrejudice.org: The Psychology of Prejudice." UnderstandingPrejudice.org: The
Psychology of Prejudice. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2014.
"White Anti-Racism: Living the Legacy." Teaching Tolerance. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2014.
"Famous Quotes at BrainyQuote." BrainyQuote. Bookrags Media Network. Web. 20 Oct 2014.
"Dr Martin Luther King." I Have a Dream. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2014.
W.E.B. Du Bois, The Social Equality of Whites and Blacks." W.E.B. Du Bois,
The Social Equality of Whites and Blacks. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2014.

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Prompt
There is still quite the abundance of racism in the United States. What type of
racism is most prevalent in the United States? Subtle, direct, or indirect? Explain the
different types of racism that persist in the United States and how it affects people.