Essay Sample on Origin of Race and Racism

Introduction

According to Smedley (2018), race is grouping humans based on the physical or social qualities shared by the group. Originally, race was defined in biological terms and believed that race is determined by the color of the skin and genetic inheritance. Later it was realized that race could be a matter of cultural classification. Additionally, race was categorized to groups that speak a similar language, but later it was advanced to those individuals sharing a common nationality. In the seventeenth century, the term race referred to a group of people with similar physical traits. Later people were racialized in relation to their cultural and social criteria whereby people believed that race could be constructed under social affiliation. Rex (2018) says that there are different types of races categorized into five namely; American Indians or the Alaska native, Asians, Black or African American, Whites, and Native Hawaiian or the other Pacific Islanders (Bowser, 2017). Racism, on the other hand, is the practice or belief of reflecting the racial worldwide whereby humans are divided into separate and exclusive groups based on the race they belong. Racism creates a causal link that connects physical traits and personality traits found in different races. Through racism, some races are perceived to be more superior to others, which make the inferior traits feel less appreciated (Rex, 2018).

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Racism in Germany was introduced after the country was defeated in World War I. Before the defeat, the country was deeply rooted in anti-Semitism that was practiced mostly by the Nazi party. The power bestowed on the party seized, and in return, they indulged in implementing policies that supported discrimination and prosecution of the Jews. Also, the policies led to massive killing of the Jews that lived in Germany during the Second World War (Smedley, 2018). Racism practiced in North America dictated that powerful races should segregate the powerless races. Each race was supposed to establish distinct communities that had special institutions like schools, hospitals, and religious centers. Racism also dictates that members of different races should not marry. People who were practicing racism in North America believed that members from races of low status should have limited access to employment opportunities, but power, employment opportunities and economic resources should be accessible to people of high-status race (Bowser, 2017). The differences in how these racial groups access privileges caused drift among them. The races perceived to be of low status experienced acts of physical, verbal, and emotional violence, and disrespect, which affected their confidence in how they relate with others.

In North America and Western European, slavery, colonization, and activities of empire building were based on racial grounds. The idea of racism brought differences between Europeans, Africans, and those ancestors with African origin that were transported to America to provide cheap labor. Slavery characterized Africans and descendants of Black Americans as lesser human beings than the Whites, therefore, justifying to preserve the systems that encouraged exploitation while demonstrating the United States and other Whites dominated countries as champions to human freedom and unlimited opportunities and equality (Golash-Boza, 2016). By the 19th century, racism had advanced and was practiced worldwide. Smedley (2018) states that the political and business leaders from different countries began to think about the societal ethnic components such as religion and linguistic groups in racial terms to differentiate the powerful and powerless races. The races that were perceived as of low status and most specifically those from colonized areas were seen as a source of labor and exploited for their labor, and discriminated them. Labor exploitation and discrimination against low-status races become a practiced norm in different parts of the world. The feeling of racial superiority was followed by colonialism, which led to hostility to the colonized and exploited races a practice that continued even after independence.

Since the mid-20th century, many of the conflicts that occurred around the world were interpreted in terms of race although many of the conflicts had their origin from ethnic hostilities that were long characterized by human societies such as Arabs, Jews, English, and Irish (Golash-Boza, 2016). Racism brought about hatred and disrespect that sabotaged any attempt of understanding among the races with differences. For that reason, many societies agreed that racism is wrong and social trends tried to move away from racism. Many human societies in different countries began institutions that combat racism by denouncing any beliefs about racism that lived among them. These institutions engaged in practices that promoted human understanding among the public of different races. In the United States, racism was attacked during the period of the civil right movement that happened in the 1950s and 1960s (Smedley, 2018). The laws and social policies that were against racial segregation helped to eliminate racism.

The concept of racial discrimination that in some people's mind involves the Whites expressing hostility towards the members of a racial group that is disadvantaged. In addition to direct behaviors such as being denied from accessing employment and other opportunities, racial discrimination can be unconscious. Unconscious discrimination occurs when an individual is discriminated through nonverbal hostility that can be either posture or voice. According to Golash-Boza (2016), discrimination can be against an individual when a decision of a racial group that is disadvantaged is assumed to affect a member of the group. There are a number of theories that give more information on how people are discriminated in racial terms.

Firstly, intentional or explicit discrimination analyses that prejudice and discrimination is articulated step by step whereby an individual treat a member of the disadvantaged racial group adversely (Smedley, 2018). Each step of discrimination enables the other since people learn by doing. In most cases, people get to the advanced stages of racial discrimination with the help of the earlier steps. Verbal antagonism causes racial discrimination although the comments may target a present member. Such comments may not be serious, but they can be regarded as unlawful as they may constitute a clear form of hostility. In combination with the nonverbal expressions of antagonism, racial discrimination can create an adverse environment in public institutions such as schools, workplaces, and neighborhood (Golash-Boza, 2016). Avoidance deals with an individual choosing to enjoy the comfort of one's racial group over interacting with people from another group. In a setting where there is discretionary contact, an individual may choose to associate or not to associate with people from a disadvantaged racial group. Also, in social setting people segregate along racial lines that affect the less privileged groups. The classical theory describes how intentional discrimination against certain racial groups affects the interaction of people, employment, and labor markets.

Secondly, Subtle, unconscious or automatic discrimination express racial hostility as people may still hold prejudicial attitudes towards the disadvantaged racial group (Rex, 2018). Although these attitudes may not present discriminatory behaviors with adverse effects, they may result in unconscious forms of racial discriminations. Indirect prejudice leads to the in-group member to blame the less advantaged racial group for their disadvantage (Golash-Boza, 2016). The outer group, the disadvantaged racial group, tries not to be lazy and not to present themselves in places where they are not wanted. Through such attitudes, the in-group manifest indirect prejudice to the outer group. The difference between the advantaged racial group and the disadvantaged racial are exaggerated by terming them outsiders worth of avoidance and exclusion.

According to Bowser, (2017), statistical discrimination and profiling is a theory of racial discrimination that shows how the processes result in consequences of hostile discrimination to the member of a lesser advantaged racial group. In such situations, individuals or companies use the beliefs about racial groups in making decisions about people from another racial group. Statistical discrimination refers to circumstances of racial discriminations on the basis of beliefs that reflect the distribution of traits of different racial groups. Golash-Boza (2016) states that these kinds of discrimination can be viewed as economically rational as they are illegal in the hiring processes since employers may use group characteristics to make an informed decision about an individual.

References

Bowser, B. P. (2017). Racism: origin and theory. Journal of black studies, 48(6), 572-590.

Golash-Boza, T. (2016). A critical and comprehensive sociological theory of race and racism. Sociology of Race and Ethnicity, 2(2), 129-141.

Rex, J. (2018). The concept of race in sociological theory. In Race and Racialism (pp. 35-56). London: Routledge.

Smedley, A. (2018). Race in North America: Origin and evolution of a worldview. London: Routledge.