Almenario 1

Niki Almenario

Ms. Jorgensen

English 10 Honors Period 5

6 December 2018

Racism Separates the “United” States

Racism was supposedly a thing of the past, yet it is still prevalent in today’s world. It is

distinctively noticeable when different racial groups receive different treatment. Therefore, a

person with a non-white, non-American background might be judged by the surface of their skin.

Some people in today’s society still see a person for what they look like and not for who they

are. A person of color experiences the world in a completely different way than a person not of

color. Along with this, racism has found a way to separate the world by exploiting a trait that is

unchangeable. Racism and privilege increases conflict in America.

The way people treat each other has the power to make or break society. One is not born

knowing the color of their skin, as they get older it is learned. Labeling people by the color of

their skin creates a system in which one color gets special treatment over the other. Ta-Nehisi

Coates describes racism as “ the need to ascribe bone-deep features to people and then humiliate,

reduce, and destroy them”, in which people abuse others with hurtful words or actions to make

the person feel lesser than (Coates 7). He is revealing that racist beings feel they are more

supreme and they use skin tone as an excuse to degrade someone or a group of people. By

having racist judgments, people create a larger gap between each other, because they cannot get

past their ignorance enough to work together. It creates conflict in which, work places would

have to be segregated, for those types of people who get uncomfortable in a combined area
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would make the environment unsafe. This can be seen in “Understanding Diverse

Neighborhoods in an Era of Demographic Change” where a study was taken about the

interactions within an integrated school and it was found that “black students who attend

integrated schools are more likely to have racially diverse contacts, to report feeling comfortable

in majority- white environments, and to be employed in racially diverse occupations and

workplaces (Turner). The studies prove diverse environments decreases violence because each

person has learned to accept one another instead of having a closed off mind. These racially

diverse schools also saw increases in education, thus verifying that those who live in

desegregated settings are more successful and will be the ones to lower tension in racial

conflicts.

In the same way, the existence of privilege produces the failure of a country. One’s

pigmentation should not control what education they get, what jobs they can acquire, or even

what medical care they can seek. Racist minded people apply stereotypes to an individual before

even getting to know them and judge them based on that stereotype. Education and opportunities

can be stripped away because the race of one person is preferred over the other. In “White

Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” by Peggy McIntosh, white privilege becomes clear

to her and she notices the conditions her race is faced with. She describes whites as being taught

to think their lives are more normal, ideal, and how “whiteness protected [her] from many kinds

of hostility, distress, and violence, which [she] was being subtly trained to visit, in turn, upon

people of color” (McIntosh). Whites are given better privileges where they do not have to worry

about their safety or if they are getting the best choices; they can automatically assume they are

living the “normal” life. Also, in ​The Failures of Integration, ​there is the idea of winners and
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losers where​ ​“our tortured racial heritage -- one that initially was premised on blacks being

unworthy of the privileges of full citizenship-- masks our winner-take-all-system” (Cashin). In

other words, America was based on the idea of blacks being unworthy, so that leaves the more

prominent race to move ahead and become the “winners”. The presence if racial inequality

undermines the lives of many racial minorities, in which they are not able to achieve their full

ability because the opportunities might not be available to them. If society wanted to be true and

whole, then it should not punish a person by what they do not have the ability to choose;

furthermore, it should not grant special advantages to those who are seen as more ideal.

On the other hand, there are ways to heal the community in which racism and privilege are

not accepted and diversity is promoted. Looking past what’s on the surface and getting to know

what’s underneath is the mature way to live. Promoting equality and diversity is a key to a

balanced society . In “Communities promote diversity”, five communities advertise diversity and

are recognized for said programs. One county, Arlington, provided a Multicultural Outreach

Program where “ a Spanish language website for newly arrived residents, as well as citizenship

classes and Spanish interpretation at official meetings” are available (Conley). This county is just

one example of how being inclusive has positive outcomes; they started programs and they were

rewarded. Also, by combining different races they can create an advanced community in which

each race can learn from the other and thrive. Promoting diversity in communities has a positive

outcome, for relationships are strengthened and the amount racism becomes smaller.

All in all, racism and privilege only breaks the nation apart; people should work together to

heal this broken civilization. Having racism present in today’s society only initiates more

violence. Weak relationships between races inflates tension leaving citizens misunderstood or
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unhappy. A country filled with mistreatment and persecution is not a place anyone wants to live,

so no one in their right mind should think to treat someone that way.
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Works Cited

Cashin, Sheryll. “The Failures of Integration.” ​Center for American Progress​, 2005.

Coates, Ta-Nehisi. ​Between the World and Me.​ Spiegel and Grau, 2015.

Conley. “Communities Promote Diversity.” ​American City and County​, 15 March 2012.

Diaz, Julio. “A Victim Treats His Mugger Right.” ​Morning Edition,​ National Public Radio, 28

March 2008.

McIntosh, Peggy. “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack.” ​Wellesley College

Center for Research on Women​, 1988.

Turner, Marjory Austin, and Julie Fenderson. “Understanding Diverse Neighborhoods in an Era

of Demographic Change.” ​The Urban Institute,​ June 2006.