Racism in U.S.: Prevalence of Discrimination Towards People of Color - Essay Sample

Introduction

It has been long since the destruction of the institution of slavery and the occurrence of civil rights movements. However, significant racial stratification is still being experienced and more so in the United States. Racism is described as the beliefs, attitudes, systems, and actions with the inclination towards discrimination of individuals or groups due to their phenotypic attributes or ethnicity. In the United States, more prevalence of cases of racism has been towards people of color. There are different forms of racism and include structural, institutional, and individual. These forms have great implications for the people of color, and especially in education, employment, health, and justice context, among others. As a result, this paper examines the consequences of being a person of color and racism.

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Forms of Racism

There are three mains forms of racism and include individual, institutional, and structural form. First, individual form of racism entails individual or internalized racism that is ingrained within an individual. Examples of this form of racism include privilege, internalized oppression, and beliefs concerning race impacted by the dominant culture (Scott 2). Second, the institutional form of racism happens in the institutional context in which there is discriminatory treatment and inequitable opportunities furthered by institutions such as media and schools based in the race (Clair & Denis 860). For instance, in institutions, some policies and practices perpetuate benefits to White people and against the people of color. Thirdly, there is structural racism that is ingrained in society as a whole and encompasses the history, culture, and interconnected institutions and policies (Vooris 4).

Consequences of Racism on People of Color

It is important to examine the implications of racial and ethnic discrimination at the different levels of the community. The implications of racism cannot be understated due to their far-reaching effects. First, racial discrimination is underscored as one of the essential social determinants of health and prevalent racial health disparities. It is evidenced that individuals exposed to racism and especially people of color, have poorer health outcomes, limited access, and inadequate patient experience (Stanely et al. 1). Institutional racism has resulted in the formulation of policies and practices that lead to the limitation of access to housing, education quality, resources, and employment opportunities to people of color. The implications are reduced resources for the racially discriminated, resulting in minimal access to quality health care services. Also, racism as the societal and individual level has hazardous implications on the economic status and health via the development of inappropriate policies that lead to adverse stereotypes and prejudice. The implication is the development of health-damaging psychological reactions, often referred to as internalized racism (Williams & Mohammed 1160). Racial discrimination can lead to impaired cognitive consequences (Miller et al. 995). The cognitive implications are related to psychological stressors that result in adverse changes in an individual's health status and adjusted behavioral that heighten health risks.

Second, racism has negative implications in education. It is expressed in covert ways and especially in cultural and institutional forms in the education system. In education, institutional racism is mostly disguised as standard operating procedures that are normalized in school settings (D'Andrea & Daniels 170). Some policies develop curriculums that are all not inclusive. In most cases, there is a white-centered approach to teaching. It has been reported that there is a correlation between racism experienced by minority college students and biopsychosocial implications, which anxiety, depression, adverse implications on physical health, and post-traumatic stress disorders. It is established that there exists perceived racism for minority college students, and the implication is increasingly stressed and trauma (Ingram & Wallace 106). The result is a negative implication on their educational attainment.

Thirdly, the issue of racism has significantly affected the minorities in the criminal justice system. It is indicative that African Americans, and especially those that murder Whites, have a higher likelihood of getting death penalties, contrasted to Whites accused of killing Whites. Also, offenders convicted of killing blacks are less likely to get death penalties. A significant social science study has indicated that substantial race influence in the juvenile justice system (Katherine 20). It means the racial disparities at the time of arrest are transferred to the judicial justice process. The consequence of racism in the criminal justice system means increased arrests, convictions, and incarcerations of people of color. It is important to note in some cases, people of color are wrongfully convicted and do not receive the necessary justice.

Conclusion

Racism has been and still is a prevalent issue around the world and especially in the United States. It is mostly experienced by people of color and comes in different forms, such as individual, structural, and institutional racism. These forms of racism lead to discriminations in different spheres of life, such as education, health, employment, and the criminal justice system, among others. The paper has examined the forms of racism and their consequences on the people of color. It reduces access to quality health care, education access, and administration of justice.

Work Cited

Clair, Matthew, and Jeffrey S. Denis. "Racism, Sociology Of." International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences, vol. 19, 2015, pp. 857-863., doi:10.1016/b978-0-08-097086-8.32122-5.

D'Andrea, Michael, and Judy Daniels. "Dealing with Institutional Racism on Campus: Initiating Difficult Dialogues and Social Justice Advocacy Interventions." The College Student Affairs Journal, vol. 26, no. 2, 2007, pp. 169-176., https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ899391.pdf.

Ingram, LaDrea, and Barbara Wallace. "It Creates Fear and Divides Us:' Minority College Students' Experiences of Stress from Racism, Coping Responses, and Recommendations for Colleges." Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice, vol. 12, no. 1, 2019, pp. 80-112., https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1845&context=jhdrp.

Katherine, Rosich J. "Race, Ethnicity, and the Criminal Justice System." Asanet.org, American Sociological Association - Department Of Research And Development, Sept. 2007, www.asanet.org/sites/default/files/savvy/images/press/docs/pdf/ASARaceCrime.pdf.

Miller, Andrea L., et al. "Introduction to the Special Issue on Race and Racism." Journal of Social Issues, vol. 75, no. 4, 2019, pp. 992-1001., doi:10.1111/josi.12359.

Scott, Chaunda L. "A Discussion of Individual, Institutional, and Cultural Racism, with Implications for HRD." Eric.ed.gov, files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED504856.pdf.

Stanley, James, et al. "The Impact of Racism on the Future Health of Adults: Protocol for a Prospective Cohort Study." BMC Public Health, vol. 19, no. 1, 2019, doi:10.1186/s12889-019-6664-x.

Vooris, Alicia. "Race, Racism, and Baltimore's Future: A Focus on Structural and Institutional Racism." Urbanhealth.jhu.edu, Johns Hopkins Urban Health Institute, 2016, urbanhealth.jhu.edu/what-we-do/social-determinants-health-symposium/2016/SDH_2016_Panel_1.pdf.

Williams, David R., and Selina A. Mohammed. "Racism and Health I." American Behavioral Scientist, vol. 57, no. 8, Aug. 2013, pp. 1152-1173., doi:10.1177/0002764213487340.