Alvarado 1

Cynthia Alvarado
Professor Malvin
English 114B
20 April 2015
Knowledge over Judgment
Racism and discrimination can be found anywhere, even in our own culture. Whether it
be towards gender, race, disability, age, or even in the workplace it is still apparent in our
community today. Just because a person is known to act a certain way or cause trouble, it does
not mean every person in that certain race are all the same. This generalization leads to fights and
misunderstanding between individuals and therefore should not be taken lightly. Instead of
generalizing certain people and groups we should be educating all towards the adverse effects of
racism.
There has been many issues surrounding racism in our life time, and many of those issues
have been tragic. One well known case that circulated around racism would be the iconic 1992
Los Angeles Riots, which began on April 29, 1992 after the trial of Rodney King. An African
American man who was harshly beat by a couple of white police officers after a high speed
pursuit, which were later found innocent. King was under the influence and when caught the
officers pounced on him and began to beat him. The Los Angeles community saw this as racism,
primarily due to the ongoing battle between both races and also because the jury itself was
primarily white. Until this date there has been very similar encounters, we would have avoided
this encounter if the people were simply more educated in the issue itself.

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In Always Running by Luis Rodriguez, Luis states that schools provided other
restrictions, dont speak Spanish, dont be Mexican you dont belong (19-20). Instead of
educating adults and students about discrimination, there are still some schools who actually
encourage racism. School should be a fun, and safe place which is why racism shouldnt exist
there in the first place. According to Education.com There has been a dramatic increase in the
rate of segregation of Black and Latino students from White students in the nations public
schools (Frey, 2006; Orfield & Lee, 2007). Which shows how even in the 21st century, the issue
of racial segregation in schools is still apparent. The best way to end or reduce racism and
discrimination in schools is simply by educating the students and showing them how hurtful it
really is.
There are many good ways to educate towards the negative aspects of racism and some
have already been initiated. We would be able to educate by having guests who can talk about
their experiences with racism and how they handled it and reduced it in their communities.
Another good way to educate everybody is by creating a group that raises awareness on the
adverse effects racism has on each and every person. Rodriquez himself joins a club like this in
high school it is called To.H.M.A.S (To Help Mexican American Students) and they began this
club in order to help with ordinary school issues but then escalated to bigger issues that were out
of school. As stated by Rodriguez But the barrio realities, and the long standing issues of
inequality and neglect, kept rearing their heads (173.). Clubs like this will join people together
by explaining what each person goes through in their everyday life.
However there has been various occasions where racism and discrimination have been
unintentional and where not ment to be taken wholeheartedly. According to Psmag.com Most of
the racism in schools today is not born out of intense hate and does not come from this place of

Alvarado 2
wanting the worst for students of color, its subtle. This statement by Jarrod Schwartz an
executive director of a nonprofit organization dedicated to dismantling institutional racism in
schools shows how racism can be unintended. Though it may be unintentional it does not make it
right to begin with. In a situation like this, the person should be taken aside and explained to that
their comment or action was way out of line and that it should be resolved. I have been in a
situation where my sisters and I were getting on the bus and some two ladies got mad because we
went in ahead of them and they said its because they are Mexicans sure to them in must have
been said unintentionally but to us it was not. Even if it was said as a joke it does not mean it
bothered any less which is why this should not be taken lightly or as a simple mistake.
Being educated towards any issue or subject not only makes things easier, but also makes
life more enjoyable. If people where simply more educated towards the negative effects of
racism and discrimination, we would not be having all these tragic events occur in the first place.
We could have avoided many riots and differences in schools and public places. There are many
ways to educate people like creating groups and having special guest speakers and so forth. Sure
there are occasions where we say something we do not mean but that has a limit, we should be
able to know when we crossed the line. Out of all the possible ways to stop or reduce racism the
best way is simply to be more knowledgeable about it.

Alvarado 2
April 29, 2015

Dear Professor Malvin,

This essay was very interesting to write but also quite tough. I really like how we had
different topics to choose from, but at the same time it made it more challenging. It was
challenging because racism/discrimination is a very narrow topic, you can go anywhere with a
topic like that. I chose to write about how people should be educated on the negative aspects of
racism/unintentional racism in schools and everyday life, but also why it should be stopped. It
took me awhile to finally choose a topic. At first I was set on racial profiling, but then I did not
know if the books had enough information so I chose the other topic. I thought I was doing well
until I realized I was already on my conclusion paragraph but still only had 3 pages. I added in a
couple more sentences and quotes but it still was not enough. I would had to say my strength in
this essay was that I added in a counter argument. My weaknesses would be not having five
pages, Im missing 2 sources, and last but not least was narrowing down a topic.
Overall I did like writing this essay, even if it was tough. I felt like I did better than some of my
past argumentative essays. Thank you for reading my letter.
Sincerely
Cynthia Alvarado

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Works Cited
Rodriguez, Luis J. Always Running: La Vida Loca, Gang Days in L.A. Willimantic, CT:
Curbstone, 1993. Print.
Racism and Schools. Education.com. D.E Campbell, 20 Jul. 2010. Web. 29 Apr. 2015.
Racism in Schools: Unintentional But No Less Damaging. Psmag. Rob Kuznia, 8 Apr. 2009.
Web. 29 Apr. 2015.