Racism and Discrimination
One of the lurking challenges that threaten the progress of the country is racism and discrimination against people from different ethnicities. Racial prejudice is the discrimination of people based on the color of their skin and the region where they are from. In the eighteenth to mid-twentieth centuries, racism had taken center stage in America. White people had the belief that they were superior to African-Americans, who had been former slaves. The inception of eugenics by European scientists further enhanced this belief since the studies ascertained that white people were superior to other races. As a consequence, racial laws were created, and people of color were treated differently than white people in social institutions such as schools, workplaces, and residential areas. However, the rise of the civil rights movements in the 1960s to the abolishment of these laws and new laws that outlawed racism were implemented. Nevertheless, racism is still present in society through the different treatment of people based on their skin color. However, education and the democratic process play an integral role in addressing racial prejudice within American society.
One of the ways to address the issue of racism and discrimination is through education. Education in the country has played a significant role in helping the oppressed minority members of society to demand their rights. People of color were denied the opportunity to have a good education like their white counterparts. According to the lecture, the absolute right to exclude was demonstrated in education by “First denying African Americans access schooling altogether” (Lecture). Similar to this, schools in white neighborhoods have better learning facilities than public schools, mostly found in the neighborhoods of people of color. Stitzlein opines that public schools have “a troublesome history of funding inequities across schools as well as practices that discriminate against some populations” (42). In his book, Anthony Jack shows this difference when he states that “there was a difference between what I had experienced at Gulliver and what I found at Amherst,” alluding to the lack of black students in the school (Jack). This is a common setting in most schools in the country where schools are racially not balanced since they are expensive, and most colored students cannot afford it.
Nonetheless, education plays a significant role in addressing the issue of racial discrimination because students are able to learn about racism as a social issue affecting the growth of society. In the video, Chicano! – Taking Back the Schools, students from the Latin community use their position as students to highlight the injustices they face as colored students (CaliforniaMexicoCtr). The students walked out of the classrooms to highlight the issue of racism that was inhibiting their growth and existence in society. The students are able to grow understanding how prejudice affects society, and this will help them come up with ways to solve the issue. Apart from this, improving the quality of education will also play a role in ending racism. Stitzlein argues that a group of education reformers argue that “good schools to all children and believe that by doing so, we will overcome differences children face outside of school” (29). This falls in line with the idea of challenging the dominant ideology through equal opportunity (Lecture). Therefore, through the equal provision of education opportunities, society will be able to fight the issue of racism in society.
Apart from education, the democratic process in the country could play a significant role in addressing the issue of racial prejudice. According to the Chicano video, in the early 1900s, segregation laws had been put in place to segregate white students from their colored colleagues (CaliforniaMexicoCtr). Such laws have had negative consequences on people of color since most institutions have been geared to prevent them from interacting with white people. Abraham Jack states that “Higher education in America is highly unequal and disturbingly stratified” (Jack). This highlights how these institutions increase their school fees to prevent people of color from attending the school. Selecting good leaders plays a critical role in controlling the issue of racism in society. These democratic institutions allowed for people to choose a person of color to be the president (Frontline). However, leaders like Trump can be viewed as “temporary face of an increasingly invasive corporate algorithm, one that views civil liberties…. as enemy forces to be administratively deconstructed” (Higdon and Huff). Furthermore, he seeks to undermine the democratic institutions created to protect equality in the country (Higdon and Huff). President Obama winning the elections challenged the white institutions that sought to discriminate against people of color in society (Frontline). The ability of the public to select leaders who oppose racial prejudice in society plays a significant part in ending prejudiced systems within society.
In a nutshell, education and democratic processes like elections play a significant role in ending issues of racial discrimination in society. Racial discrimination is a major challenge in the country, and it is well documented in the country’s history. However, through education, the issue has slowly been disappearing as people are becoming aware of the dangers of racial prejudice in society. Education institutions have been used to educate people on the importance of equal treatment as well as highlighting people’s rights and freedoms. As such, they are able to exercise their democratic duties such as voting to elect leaders who will be able to protect their democratic rights and institutions. The election of colored leaders like President Obama shows that people in society have progressed, and the issue of race and superiority does not have a significant influence on the kind of political choices they make. Overall, the development witnessed in the democratic processes, and the education sector has created a platform where people are able to address the problem of racial discrimination.
Work Cited
CaliforniaMexicoCtr. “Chicano! – Taking Back the Schools.” YouTube, 7 Apr. 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=xY6cytReBm8.
Frontline. “America’s Great Divide: From Obama to Trump.” FRONTLINE, 2020, www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/americas-great-divide-from-obama-to-trump/.
Huff, Mickey, and Nolan Higdon. United States of Distraction: Media Manipulation in Post-truth America (and what We Can Do about It). City Lights Books, 2018.
Jack, Anthony Abraham. The privileged poor: How elite colleges are failing disadvantaged students. Harvard University Press, 2019.
Lecture, “Critical Theory”
Stitzlein, Sarah M. American public education and the responsibility of its citizens: Supporting democracy in the age of accountability. Oxford University Press, 2017.