The Origin Of Racial Discrimination
In the 21st century people everywhere are looking for equality in all its forms; people all around the globe express their feelings about equality on social media and it just spreads like wildfire in mere hours. The most protested belief is racism. Racism is “the belief that a particular race is superior or inferior to another, that a person’s social and moral traits are predetermined by his or her inborn biological characteristics” (Racism), or in other words racism is the believing a certain race is better than another race. “The American Dream and the Land of the Free turn out to be oxymorons as the United States, despite its multicultural make-up, is also one of the most racist countries in the world” (TeleSUR/ OA-cm). Other than the USA, countries like Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom, and Japan can also be found on the list. Racial discrimination can be against African American people, Latinos, Asian and Asian American people and many more people.
Racism has been present from thousands of years, and people have been struggling with the way they are treated by racist people, but in recent years many issues related to racial segregation have been addressed and have been solved. During the Middle Ages, statements about “blood” differences and “nobility” and “commoners” were made to explain class inequality. In the time of the initial growth of capital (around the sixteenth to eighteenth century), when the European colonies first took control of the colonies, racism served the purposes of merciless abuse, and frequently the validation for the slaughter of the Indians of America, Africans, and many people of South Asia, Australia, and Oceania. In the era of slavery, racism served the interests of slaveholders, who claimed that the equality of people in rights would oppose the very nature in which inequality exists. “Slave owners needed to justify their economic interest in subjugating other humans, so they claimed Africans were less than human, less civilized. Racist practice supported by racist thinking. ” (Sultan). Slave owners wanted to make their slaves fully reliant on them, and a system of restraining codes took control of life between slaves. Slaves were being treated as if they were properties when they were being transported for example: “They were side by side and could hardly move. Aboard the ship “Brookes”, for example each enslaved was given 182 centimeters x 41 centimeters (71 inches by 16 inches) to lie down, with 80 centimeters (31. 5 inches) up to the next layer of people.
They were only fed just enough food and drink to stay alive. Illness was rampant and many dead bodies were thrown overboard along the way. ” (Danish National Archive) Slaves encountered many types of abuse such as: Physical abuse, sexual abuse, and neglect. Slaves were usually forbidden from learning to read and write, and their behavior and physical movement was limited. “Slaves were punished by whipping, shackling, beating, mutilation, branding and/or imprisonment. Punishment was most often meted out in response to disobedience or perceived infractions, but masters or overseers sometimes abused slaves to assert dominance. ” (Wikipedia). Pregnant women were also punished, but masters administered ways to punish the women without harming their babies. They would dig a hole big enough to fit the pregnant women’s bellies, the women would lie with their bellies in the hole and the masters would proceed with the lashings. Slaves would also be mutilated, castrated, and they were even sometimes forced to wear torture instruments. The masters considered themselves powerful enough to sexually assault the slaves, Women would be raped and sexually abused. A group of women called “Jezebels” by their owners, these women were assumed to be more promiscuous than the other women and were repeatedly subjected to sexual abuse numerous times throughout the day. Even though women would suffer sexual abuse the most, men were also subjected to the abuse by promiscuous women who sexually abused them or forced them to impregnate other slaves so that the children who are born also become slaves to the same owner. “Slaves are raped without having anyone to report to, instead, the white slave owners expect them to be grateful for having sex with them, proudly saying that they are “doing them a favour. ” (Answers Africa). Slaves lived in very unsuitable conditions, the masters only gave them what they needed to stay healthy enough to work. Slaves lived together in crowded rough cabins, they slept on collections of straw and old rags thrown in corners. Slaves received a little bit of cornmeal, bacon, and molasses.
Slaves wore clothing made of home spun linen of “Negro cloth”. Someone who worked in the fields received “two coarse linen shirts, one pair of linen trousers. . . one jacket, one pair of trousers for winter, made of coarse Negro cloth, one pair of stockings, and one pair of shoes. ” (African American History for the 8th grade scholars of Milwaukee College Prep- LHC). Children of slaves had two coarse linen shirts every year, and when these two shirts got worn out the children had to go naked until the next year. After the act of slavery came racial segregation, ‘Racial segregation, the practice of restricting people to certain circumscribed areas of residence or to separate institutions (e. g. , schools, churches) and facilities (parks, playgrounds, restaurants, restrooms) on the basis of race or alleged race. ’ (Brittanica Encyclopedia). Racial segregation has been present in all parts of the world where there are communities with more than one race present. In the late 1800’s black people were separated from white people by law and by private action in transportation, public accommodations, recreational facilities, prisons, armed forces, and schools in both the Northern and Southern states. African-American people were arrested if they sat on the white section in places such as buses and restaurants. On the 1st of December 1995, A seamstress called Rosa Parks was sitting in the foremost row in which black people could sit in. When a white man boarded the bus, the bus driver told everyone in her row to move back so that the white man could sit in the row without any blacks next to him. All the African-American people listened and moved back but Rosa refused and as a result she was arrested for failing to obey the driver’s seat assignments. Rosa was fined 10 dollars plus a court cost of $4.
There are many stereotypes that are spread around about certain races, some of these stereotypes can be offensive and racist. Assuming that a Muslim will suicide bomb a landmark, thinking that all Chinese people get the highest grades, or supposing a black student in your class is unintelligent, these three statements are all examples of racist stereotypes that are offensive and unpleasant. Negative stereotyping comes from an ethnocentric point of view; one person’s race or ethnicity is the center of the world and all other groups are rated in reference to it. ’ Oversimplified and inaccurate portrayals have profoundly affected how we perceive one another, how we relate to one another and how we value ourselves. ’ (Racist Stereotypes). Other examples of racist stereotypes include: Black people love fried chicken watermelons, Chinese people like eating dogs, and Arab people always speak loudly.
Hatred is the force that drives people to violence, and sometimes hatred is focused on certain people who come from an ethnicity or are devoted to a certain religion. “The state - sponsored genocide perpetrated by Nazi Germany is an example of what happens when people who hate gain power. Hitler’s extermination took the lives of six million human beings for no other reason than they were Jewish. ” (Dream Essays). Some people might hate races because experiences that might have happened to them. For example, Some Americans hate Muslims because of all the media about terrorist attacks, ISIS, and suicide bombings that have been blamed on Muslims as a way of ruining Islam’s reputation. To conclude, Racism is a very complex subject. Only people who have been racially discriminated against know how difficult it is to act calmly and respectfully. The first instinct is to attack, but it is only fair when you try to take a stand against racism and judgement is that you state your case clearly and accurately. Before taking a stand against racism it is essential to know what it is, how it develops, and how you can recognize it when it happens to you or to another person. ‘According to Alfred Fleishman, St. Louis newspaper columnist, Racial prejudice is one of the scourges of our society. And when it grows and lurks, especially where it is not even noticed, the danger is even greater. ’ (Dream Essays). In our point of life, we don’t realize what we say until it has already been said, some of the jokes we say or even the music we listen to can be offensive. Some people think big and important issues as jokes, but there is always the possibility that people might get hurt. As young people we must protest for freedom, equality and justice for all people from different ethnicities and religions. We must work hard for providing a better society for future generations to flourish.
