It is extremely vexing that in 2016 racism is still a puzzling issue, considering the great leaps we have made in different sectors in the country over the past decades. It is evident from the violence that occurs daily between the minority communities and law enforcement that this will not change any time soon. The hostility that exists today due to the false notion of white supremacy can be credited as the main purveyor of this vice. That and the constant reminders that America is not the native country of most of these minorities, prove that it will be a while before racism is completely eliminated from the current society.
1.Stereotyping
Every day in different parts of the country, a significant number of Americans-particularly those who come from the minorities-endure several instances of racial profiling. You would have thought that such issues would have come to a halt once America elected a black president but no, these instances are still on the rise. These individuals are profiled at various institutes and stops while carrying out their day-to-day activities. We have all witnessed people of Middle Eastern descent being extensively checked and searched more than their Caucasian counterparts at the country’s airports. Similarly, Latino men are often targeted during drug searches and busts, irrespective of their backgrounds.
2. The Criminal justice system’s inclination to target people of color
In many parts of the country, the war on drugs has particularly been waged in communities where minorities work and live. When it comes to the justice system, these ‘people of color’ are also more likely to face harsher penalties and be charged with grave offenses, as compared to their Caucasian counterparts. A recent search showed that although people of color constitute just 30 percent of the country’s population, they make up 60 percent of the inmates in the correctional facilities. Studies have also shown that police are more likely to use physical force when they encounter people of color during arrests.
3. America’s election of Donald Trump as president
One of the gravest concerns about racism still growing strong came to light when the majority of the country elected Donald Trump as the president, in spite of his overwhelming racist remarks during the campaign trail. Trump did not hide his hatred of immigrants and often blamed them for the countries woes. As one of his campaign promises, he even went so far as to include the building of a wall on the Mexican border to ensure that no more Mexicans came into the country. Despite making the headlines for making racist remarks, majority of the country’s population preferred him as the best candidate for presidency, reflecting that they agreed with some of his discriminatory views. These views are now coming into the limelight, with more cases of racism being reported since his coming into power.
4. Police killing of black youths
Unless you have spent the last few years living in a cave or underwater, you are definitely aware that the police killing of black unarmed youth is an urgent issue, which has been plaguing modern America for the better part of the last decade. Recent statistics show that black youth are 21 times more likely to be shot by a police officer than their white counterparts. These killings have become a sort of ‘wave’ ; there have been a series of high profile killings of black unarmed males in different parts of the country such as Baltimore and Ferguson. Such damning statistics have led to the rise of different movements such as the Black Lives Matter movement, whose sole purpose is to put to an end the discrimination of minorities by law enforcement personnel.
5. States passing discriminatory legislations
Various states have passed legislations that do not shy away from profiling minorities. Even though these states have been criticized for convening these laws, nothing has so far been done to curb their governments from coming up with such draconian laws. An example is Arizona’s passing of the anti-immigration law, which has made it hard for people of Hispanic descent to work and live within the state. They endure constant harassment from law enforcement. In other cases, such laws have been put in place to control or address the prevalence of favoritism of minorities in the school system which also propagates the notion of racism and discrimination. I have no idea what this sentence means, hence cannot correct it. What did they intend to say?
From the harassment of black people by law enforcers, to the discrimination of minorities by the criminal justice system, there are several instances of racism still rampant in present day America. We may have made huge strides in other sectors, but a lot still needs to be done to tackle racism, and make sure that it is eradicated at all the different levels of society.
