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Karl Garcia
Professor Malvin
English 115
19 November 2016
No More Racism and Discrimination
Racism can be seen in many different countries all throughout the world. It has been a
major issue for a very long time and it still continues to be a major issue in today's society. Even
in todays society there are still many people who are racist and/or discriminative. A great deal
of people in todays community have either witnessed racism and discrimination or has been a
victim of it. Racism and discrimination should be prevented because it has been a major issue for
several centuries, it creates division within society, it prevents people from receiving some of
their rights, and it can lead to violence.
Before knowing why racism and discrimination should be prevented, it is very important
to know the difference between the two. Racism and discrimination are very similar but are
different in a way. Harrell, a woman with a Ph.D. and a professor at Pepperdine Universitys
Graduate School of Education and Psychology, said that racism can be defined as a system of
oppression based on racial/ethnic group designations in which a pervasive ideology of racial
superiority and inferiority provides the foundation for structural inequalities, intergroup conflict,
discrimination, and prejudice(1). However she explains that racism differs from discrimination
because racial discrimination involves the expression of beliefs and attitudes rooted in racism
and that discrimination includes major civil rights violations and illegal activities such as hate
crimes, racial harassment, racial profiling, and job discrimination(2). The word discrimination

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means treatment or consideration of, or making a distinction in favor of or against, a person or

thing based on the group, class, or category to which that person or thing belongs rather than on
individual merit. A difference between racism and discrimination is that discrimination is more
action oriented. An example of racism is a white man believing they are better than an African
American man because they are white, but an example of discrimination is an employer denying
a job to an African American man for being African.
Racism and discrimination should be prevented because it has been a major issue for
several centuries. The first signs of racism involved slavery. Slavery is traced back all the way to
the B.C. Era. Ancient Egypt was one of the civilizations in this era that contained slavery. From
the B.C. era, slavery due to racism already existed, however it wasnt till the thirteenth and
fourteenth century that according to Fredrickson the identification of the Jews with the devil
and witchcraft in the popular mind of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries was perhaps the first
sign of a racist view of the world. Fredrickson, a professor at Stanford University, mentioned in
the quote that even though racism already existed for a long time, the first sign of a racist view of
the world only emerged around the thirteenth and fourteenth century. Then, from the thirteenth
and fourteenth century racism has continued on till today. Racism was found during the time of
the Slave trade which started around the fifteenth century. The Africans during this time were the
victims of racism and were being sold into slavery. This was due to the British equating
blackness with death and evil before they even met any black people, so when they did meet
them it resulted in Africans being viewed as some form of the devil or monster. Racism was also
seen in America since 1619 due to slavery when African slaves were brought to the North
American colony of Jamestown, Virginia. Although slavery ended in America on December 6,

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1865, racism still continues to exist today in America.On January 30, 1933 the holocaust began
in Germany and this was another event that occurred due to racism. In this time, the Jews were
the victims of racism and discrimination. Racism has definitely been a major issue for several
centuries which is why it should be prevented.
Racism and discrimination should also be prevented because it creates division within
society. An example of a time in history when society was divided due to racism was the
following years after slavery was abolished in America. Although slavery had been abolished,
African Americans and other racial groups were segregated. Restaurants had a seating place for
whites only and a separate place for blacks only. The buses at the time only allowed blacks to sit
in the back and if the bus was full and there was white people standing, the blacks would have to
give up their seats in the back. Even drinking fountains had a specific fountain for whites and a
specific fountain for blacks. An example of someone who was a victim of racism is Brent
Staples. Staples was a person who walked around often during night time. He said that people
avoided him on the sidewalks and when he is at an intersection walking to the other sidewalk,
people would start to lock their cars as he crosses in front of them. He believes that this
happened because he was a black man who was perceived as a thief or rapist walking around at
night. Later on he said, I now take precautions to make myself seem less threatening. I move
about with care, particularly late in the evening. I give a wide berth to nervous people on subway
platforms during the wee hours, particularly when I have exchanged business clothes for jeans
(Staples 540). This is an example of division within society because certain members of society
are avoiding other members from different races. In todays society, divisions among race is still
present. There are still those who are racist enough to avoid other people from other races. There

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are still adults and kids who refuse to be around African Americans. In certain schools around
America, people can see blacks hanging out with blacks only and whites only with whites. This
creates a division within society and therefore it should be prevented because it can lead to a
dysfunctional and uncooperative society.
Racism and Discrimination should be prevented because it prevents people from
receiving some of their rights. Although it is against the law, some employers will discriminate
against African Americans and end up not hiring them just because of their race. Also,
discrimination prevents people such as the LGBT community from receiving certain rights. In
the past African Americans and women did not have the right to vote. However, this changed
when the fifteenth and nineteenth amendments were ratified. The fifteenth amendment gave male
African Americans the right to vote and the Nineteenth amendment gave women the right to
vote. Today, American citizens have equal rights which is an improvement compared to the
1900s. This is all the more reason why racism and discrimination should be prevented, everyone
should have equal rights, but some members of society still prevent others from receiving their
rights.
Although many believe that racism and discrimination should be prevented, others
believe that it is acceptable for it to exist within society and some even believe that it no longer
exists in todays community. Blacks and other racial minorities such as Asians are the most
common races that are victims of racism. Some people believe that racism and discrimination is
acceptable because they believe that the victims deserved to be discriminated. Some employers
have the belief that it is acceptable for them to deny African Americans from a job because the
job should belong to a white man. These employers believe America is the land of the whites and

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argue that only whites should hold all the good and high job positions in the country. Some
members of society also argue that we are now in a post-racist world. They believe that by giving
Obama the Presidential power, the country stepped away from racism. This is partially true,
racism has definitely decreased throughout the years, but it still continues to exist today which is
why it should be continually prevented to the point where it no longer exists in society.
Racism and discrimination should also be prevented because it can lead to violence. On
January 30, 1933 the Holocaust began in Germany and ended on May 8, 1945. The Jews at this
time were victims of racism and discrimination. The Germans believed that they were racially
superior and saw the Jews as inferior and a threat to the German community. This led the
Germans to start gathering up the Jew and getting rid of them. According to the United States
Holocaust Memorial Museum, around six million Jews were killed during the Holocaust. This
event brought out a lot of violence from the Germans. Not only were six million Jews killed, but
many others as well such as Soviet civilians and Serb civilians (United States Holocaust
Memorial Museum). During the time of slavery in America, violence due to racism also
occurred. Whenever slaves were punished they were whipped and beaten up. The slaves were
also forced into hard working conditions. Lastly, the L.A. riots also started due to racism.
Reginald Denny was a victim of this riot (Smith 103). Reginald was a truck driver doing his job
like he regularly would when suddenly a group of people bashed the side of his window out of
nowhere and pulled him out of the truck. He was beaten up by this group and people on the scene
didnt bother to help him, instead a few people who were watching it on the news decided to help
him (Smith 104-108). Also due to the L.A. riots, many store owners and homeowners lost their
property. The participants of the riots began to start fires across the city and destroy other

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property. The damage cost because of the L.A. riot was around one billion dollars. Racism
should definitely be prevented because it has created so many events in the past that led to a
great deal of violence.
Racism and discrimination should be prevented all throughout the world. It has already
been a major issue for several centuries. It already led to a great deal of violence which resulted
in deaths, injuries, and property damages. It had and still continues to create divisions within
todays society. Also it continues to prevent certain people from receiving the rights that they
rightfully deserve. Lastly, racism and discrimination should be prevented because by doing so
we can prevent more violence, division within society, and prevention of rights from certain
people, which are all causes of racism and discrimination, from happening.

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Works Cited
"Documenting Numbers of Victims of the Holocaust and Nazi Persecution." Holocaust
Indent Encyclopedia. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, n.d. Web. 01 Dec. 2016.
Fredrickson, George. "The Historical Origins and Development of Racism." Race - The Power of
indent An Illusion. PBS, n.d. Web. 01 Dec. 2016.
Harrell, Shelly P., and Gesenia Sloan-Pena. "Racism and discrimination." Encyclopedia of
Indent Multicultural Psychology (2006): 396.
Smith, Anna Deavere. A Weird Common Thread in Our Lives Twilight--Los Angeles, 1992.
Indent New York, NY: Dramatists Play Service, 2003. Print.
Staples, Brent. Black Men and Public Space. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.