Racism in Modern Day America
Racism in Modern Day America
Often times in America, citizens avoid addressing racism in its modern form. Modern racism is the mindset that certain races are better or worse with specific instinctive abilities or weaknesses. Many of these beliefs are perpetuated by the media which shows stereotypes in different forms such as movies, cartoons, music videos, sitcoms, and newspapers. Whites are often regarded as naturally rational, fair, and caring while Blacks are often regarded as criminal, untrustworthy, and irrational. These myths are seen as innate phenomenon’s that are embedded in our subconscious belief systems. Historical racism continues to be reflected in socioeconomic inequality, and has taken on more modern, indirect forms of expression, most prevalently symbolic racism. Slavery and segregation are not legal, yet there are still fatal shootings like that of the Jordan Davis case. Davis was black while Dunn was white. Dunn, 47, parked beside 17-year-old Jordan Davis who was with three other young men and told them to turn the music down. Dunn exchanged words with Davis, who was in the back seat, and started firing into the car, later telling police he felt threatened. Michael Dunn was found guilty on four charges, including three for attempted second-degree murder, which could land him behind bars for decades. Yet there was no verdict on the first-degree murder charge tied to the death of 17-year-old Jordan Davis. Racial stratification even continues to occur in employment, housing, education, and even government. Americans pats themselves on the back for not being as horrible as they once were, yet they allow racism to become further rooted in every aspect of American life.
The disappearance of apparent racist policies and the passage of civil rights laws, such as the “3/5 Compromise” do not mean that racism itself has disappeared. The 3/5 Compromise stated that a slave would count as 3/5 of a person in terms of taxation and representation. A Black
Often times in America, citizens avoid addressing racism in its modern form. Modern racism is the mindset that certain races are better or worse with specific instinctive abilities or weaknesses. Many of these beliefs are perpetuated by the media which shows stereotypes in different forms such as movies, cartoons, music videos, sitcoms, and newspapers. Whites are often regarded as naturally rational, fair, and caring while Blacks are often regarded as criminal, untrustworthy, and irrational. These myths are seen as innate phenomenon’s that are embedded in our subconscious belief systems. Historical racism continues to be reflected in socioeconomic inequality, and has taken on more modern, indirect forms of expression, most prevalently symbolic racism. Slavery and segregation are not legal, yet there are still fatal shootings like that of the Jordan Davis case. Davis was black while Dunn was white. Dunn, 47, parked beside 17-year-old Jordan Davis who was with three other young men and told them to turn the music down. Dunn exchanged words with Davis, who was in the back seat, and started firing into the car, later telling police he felt threatened. Michael Dunn was found guilty on four charges, including three for attempted second-degree murder, which could land him behind bars for decades. Yet there was no verdict on the first-degree murder charge tied to the death of 17-year-old Jordan Davis. Racial stratification even continues to occur in employment, housing, education, and even government. Americans pats themselves on the back for not being as horrible as they once were, yet they allow racism to become further rooted in every aspect of American life.
The disappearance of apparent racist policies and the passage of civil rights laws, such as the “3/5 Compromise” do not mean that racism itself has disappeared. The 3/5 Compromise stated that a slave would count as 3/5 of a person in terms of taxation and representation. A Black
Cited: Smith, Tristan. “Shooting of Florida teen is no Trayvon Martin case, attorney says.” 20 Nov, 2012. Web. 25 Feb. 2014 U.S. Equal Opportunity Commission. Web. 25 Feb. 2014.