Professional Documents
Culture Documents
English 102
Dr. Wayne
16 March 2017
FIXING RACISM
Racism is the number one infectious disease in our country today. The effects of this disease
has poisoned the minds of various individuals into thinking that the pigment of one's skin is a
detrimental factor in how they should be treated or viewed as person. This lethal illness has
destroyed and divided our country in a variety of ways. Though many have diagnosed the
problem very little treatment has been taken to cure our country of this disease. When the laws of
slavery and segregation were removed very little was done to assure that the American people
integrated properly. Various stereotypes and preconceived notions of the other group were
created and have expanded and continue to get worse today. If we don't put an end to these racial
stereotypes there will never be peace between the two ethnic groups. In order for us to move
When reading the various sources a common solution to racism was trying to refute the
stereotypes and generations of hatred and mistakes between the two groups. Since African
Americans were brought to the Americas white people were viewed as the enemy. The African
American community went through decades of abuse and mistreatment. The hatred towards the
two groups today is hard to reverse because no one from the two side wants to sit down and have
a conversation on how to mend the relationship because it will require both sides admitting to
their own wrongs and those wrongs are typically uncomfortable to talk about. Said: It Includes
watching the struggle of white people to maintain dominance and understanding the struggle of
color people to gain equal opportunity, justice, safety and protection ( Kivel, 2002). Yet those are
the conversations that are avoided and need to be had so people can move forward on effectively
integrating the American people. A quote from the interview with Ebony Graves states it best by
saying: No progress will be made until both sides are willing to sit down and listen instead of
There were a few different points listed on how racism has negatively impacted our country.
One of the most detrimental ones was the war between police and the African American
community. This is one of the most lethal of all. Since the Africans were brought to the Americas
they were discriminated against by the white forms of law enforcement. This constant threat
cause Africans to begin to retaliate back and develop a feeling of unease around the police. From
the black panthers and Malcolm X to common day gang members the African American
community and police officers cannot seem to get along. A big cause of this is that police officers
often views black males specifically as a threat and the African American community often
views the police as someone who cannot be trusted and the reason why so many African
American males are incarcerated. Because these views the two groups have no respect for each
other and simple encounters can become dangerous. It was said that Adaptive behavior and
(Van Dijk, 1989). This still applies for white Americans as well. These toxic attitudes towards
each other must change. Another way racism damages is our country has to do with the
stereotypes targeted towards muslim and people from middle eastern countries. Trump's recent
muslim ban is proof that their are some strong feelings in the United states towards muslim
people. Yet that gives them not right to directly target and label them as terrorist. Studies show
that American Muslims are portrayed as an alien other within the media. It suggests that this
2007). By doing so not only do we cause havoc on our own soil, but we also begin to generate
problems with other countries that could eventually cause them to react and wage war on the
The media plays a detrimental role in racism.One of the secondary sources stated that:
Research from a cultivation perspective generally suggests that longer term cumulative viewing
of television content can lead to distorted perceptions of social reality that mirror the patterns or
portrayal featured in television content (Hartmann, 1974). It helps in aiding the development of
stereotypes between the two groups and continues to add fuel to the fire of racism. The media
rarely ever portrays positive interactions between white and African American people or between
white people and muslims. This keeps the cycle of hatred between the two groups generated. The
media continues to she a negative light on the African American community. Forcing white
Americans to make assumptions. When African Americans are constantly portrayed at menaces
to society or welfare babies people tend to assume that all African Americans fit under these
categories and that the ones who dont are rare exceptions. If we want to prevent these
stereotypes from forming we have to become more conscious on how we portray ourselves as a
race to the world. Music, movies and media needs to stop posting these negative images of the
black community or the rest of the world will continue to see us as a threat or as a government
assistant dependent population. The media also rarely ever displays a positive interaction
between white and black people. The same way the media spreads racism it can end it as well.
One author stated that The media can be viewed as a catalyst to end racism by discontinuing its
negative imaging on the issue, and replacing it with positive examples. The media also plays a
role in muslims being viewed as terrorist. Every time a terrorist attack happens the first thing on
the headlines is a muslim looking suspect. When lately the most recent attacks have not even
been by middle eastern people. The continuously associate terrorism with muslims and middle
eastern people forcing people in our country to believe that those people are these people are
dangerous and to take caution of them. When being muslim is a religion and not a terrorist group.
WORK CITED
Hartmann, Paul, and Charles Husband. "Racism and the mass media." (1974).
Kivel, Paul. "How white people can serve as allies to people of color in the struggle to end
racism." White privilege: Essential readings on the other side of racism (2002): 127-136.
Saeed, Amir. "Media, racism and Islamophobia: The representation of Islam and Muslims in the
Van Dijk, Teun A. "Mediating racism: The role of the media in the reproduction of racism."
Language, Power and Ideology. Studies in Political Discourse. Amersterdam, Phil (1989):
199-226.