Role of Police Brutality in Racism
According to an article written by Mock (2018) and published on CITYLAB website, police brutality plays a significant role in racism: “racism plays a part in causing police to pull the trigger more quickly on black suspects” (par. 1). The article further argues that most police officers rule out the role played by racism when black people get killed, which is not true. In his article, Mock (2018) summarizes the findings of a research conducted at Boston University to determine racial disparities in police brutality or violence is informed by racism woven into policies and laws (par. 2). The researchers did establish that racism does contribute to higher killings of African Americans by police officers.
Similar sentiments as the ones expressed in Mock’s (2018) article are also expressed by Edwards (n.d.) who states that races play a big role in the way police officers treat Americans of African descent (par. 1). Edwards (n.d.) argues that since its inception, American society has been characterized by systematic racism (par. 1). He argues that there is need to acknowledge the historical role played overt biases in creating partial law enforcement practices which have resulted in friction between the police and African Americans (Edwards, n.d., para. 1).
References
Edwards, C. (n.d.). Race and the Police. National Police Foundation. Retrieved from https://www.policefoundation.org/race-and-the-police/
Edwards is an expert in matters to do with security, law enforcement, and contingency management operations. In this brief article on the National Police Foundation website, he explains the connection between police brutality or violence and racism. He explains that race plays a significant role in the way in which African Americans are treated by the police. Edwards is of the opinion that race should be critically approached in its relation to police violence is a meaningful solution is to be arrived at.
Mock, B. (2018). How Structural Racism is Linked to Higher Rates of Police Violence. CITYLAB. Retrieved from https://www.citylab.com/equity/2018/02/the-role-of-structural-racism-in-police-violence/553340/
This article by Mock Summarizes the findings of a Boston University study to investigate the relationship between “Structural Racism and Black-White Disparities in Fatal Police Shootings at the State Level.” The study found that police officers are influenced by race when making the decision to pull the trigger. The researchers found that police officers sometimes argued against race playing a role. But as the researchers discovered, certain policies also perpetuate racism in the police.
Why African Americans are quick to be Victims of Racism
The reasons for African Americans being more vulnerable to racism in American are both historical and structural. Speaking at a Democratic presidential debate on the Covid-19 pandemic, Joe Biden – former vice president – stated that black people have for many years been subjected to different types of social distancing in the USA: devaluation, segregation and discrimination (Biden, as quoted in Perry, 2020, par. 1). These policies were developed on the basis of racial hierarchy to isolate African Americans and other minority groups. Perry (2020) proceeds to state that “history has shown that social distancing through racist housing policies such as redlining extracted wealth from communities of colour…” (par. 3).
United Nations (n.d.) suggests that people of African descent continue to be racially discriminated and marginalized because of the need to continue with a legacy of colonialism and slavery (par. 1). Because of racial discrimination and racism, African Americans continue to be “relegated in many aspects of public life, they have suffered exclusion and poverty and are often “invisible” in official statistics” (United Nations, n.d. para. 1). Some of the structural factors that continue to make African Americans more vulnerable to racial discrimination include unequal access to services such as healthcare, education, technology, loans and even markets (United Nations, n.d., para. 1).
References
Perry, A.M. (2020). Black Americans were forced into ‘social distancing’ long before the coronavirus. Brookings. Retrieved from https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2020/03/20/black-americans-were-forced-into-social-distancing-long-before-the-coronavirus/
This article by Perry looks at the historical injustices that explain why African Americans and other minority groups continue to face challenges even today. It argues that certain historical injustices and discriminatory policies are the reason why certain communities in American are more vulnerable to economic and physical effects. Racial policies of segregation, devaluation, and discrimination, for example, isolated African Americans in history and the effects continue to be felt even today. As America combats covid-19, Perry argues that America is at war not just with the virus but also with its previous mistakes.
United Nations (n.d.). Vulnerable People: People of African descent. Retrieved from https://www.un.org/en/letsfightracism/africandescent.shtml
in this article, the UN looks at some of the reasons that put African Americans at the risk of being racially discriminated. It briefly mentions the historical and structural factors for their vulnerability and then proceeds to discuss solutions to the problem. It states that for African Americans to fully enjoy their constitutional rights, they must be allowed equal access to services such as education and health. It also proposes the need for states to create policies to promote racial equality.
Why Women Feel Less Superior than Men
Women in most societies feel that they are inferior because of the ideas and the gender roles that define what men and women can do or not do. It is because of these biases that women are not perceived to be equal with men. For instances, most world cultures hold the belief that tasks such as house chores or raising children are the preserve of the women, while men are expected to go out and earn an income for the family. Works done by men take the form of income. However, most tasks, such as doing housework or raising children, are seen as being dependent on the earnings of men, hence inferior. With time, these women learn to internalize these beliefs until it reaches a point when they perceive themselves as being inferior (Japan International Cooperation n.d., pp. 1-6). Paull (2020) observes that for thousands of years, women have been relegated to the position of breeders and not leaders (par. 4). And even though most women today are economically empowered, their image as breeders continues to persist. Paull (2020) argues that because of this fallacy, the potential of many women has been limited (par. 5).
References
Japan International Cooperation (n.d.). What is Gender? Why do women tend to have lower status than men? What problems result from gender inequality? Gender inequality in developed nations. Overcoming the gender inequality. Retrieved from https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwiR5ZPc1eDpAhUNEBQKHU1bDRIQFjADegQIBhAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.jica.go.jp%2Fkids%2Fpages%2Fkaisetsu_english2.pdf&usg=AOvVaw3MfQKBoV8X_Uaf2-f8uyL6
This article by JICA defines the term gender and explains reasons why women continue to have lower statuses in society. It argues that gender biases, unequal educational opportunities, and fewer opportunities for women to participate in community matters are the reason why women are considered to be inferior. Also in the article are consequences of these inequalities such as poor health of women and children. The article concludes by providing a brief explanation of how gender inequalities can be avoided.
Paull, S. (2020). 2000: WHAT IS TODAY’S MOST IMPORTANT UNREPORTED STORY?: Women Are Still Considered Inferior To Men. Edge. Retrieved from https://www.edge.org/response-detail/11723
Paull is a woman in the tech industry. She founded the group Gracenet which comprises of women in high-tech journalism, computing, and other similar fields. In this brief article, she argues that the pervasive beliefs that women are inferior continue to limit the potential of women around the world. She argues that women inferiority is so ingrained in our psyches that we accept it and do nothing to change the situation of things.