Summary:
Systemic racism is recurring and unequal relationships between groups and individuals perpetuated by a broad social reproduction process. According to Feagin, systemic racism in America began with European colonists enriching themselves substantially at the expense of indigenous people and the Africans they imported for enslavement.
Race and Racism Reflection Paper
Systemic racism is recurring and unequal relationships between groups and individuals perpetuated by a broad social reproduction process. According to Feagin, systemic racism in America began with European colonists enriching themselves substantially at the expense of indigenous people and the Africans they imported for enslavement. I agree with Feagin about the origins of systemic racism because of the European Worldview as described by Kambon. Kambon states that:
" The basic thrust of the European worldview defines an antagonistic and conflictual theme in so-called human-nature relations. The emphasis is placed on human intervention into nature to achieve mastery and gain control over nature through the mechanisms of aggression, domination,
oppression, suppression, repression, and unnatural alteration and reordering of all objects in nature."(Chapter 4:European Worldview, Pg 147)
This emphasis of the European worldview is clearly present in America today and in history. Racial oppression spawned from the European worldview and continues to exist through systemic racism which is nurtured by this country.
Racial oppression is the oppression of a group of people by another group of people based on the race in which society categorizes each of us as. This oppression makes the Black burden an ongoing reality in American/European society. I have experienced racial oppression due to the fact that I am a Black male in America. Black males are automatically placed in a stereotypical population in which the racially oppressive system is setup to hold us down and prevent us from achieving any success. The notion that Blacks can easily handle burdens that would psychologically crush others has been oversold in America.
I have experienced the system directly through unwanted and unjust interaction with the police based on the stereotype of Black males who dress and look the way I do. The system is setup to foster police brutality, keep large numbers of Black males unemployed or incarcerated and devalue our lives in many other ways. The conservatives try to eliminate Social Security stating that, "Black men don't live long enough to receive benefits or receive the benefits for a shorter time than any other group." The life expectancy of Black men is shorter than that of black women, white women and white men. It is shorter because of
all the obstacles that are setup because the core racist realities are manifested in each of society's major parts.
In conclusion, Racial oppression has made me realize that to American/European society I am categorized as a statistic. Black males are stereotyped as violent, drug dealers, disrespectful and unintelligent. I am living my life opposite of the stereotype that America places upon me because I am not included in the stereotypes they place upon me. I believe that because of the racial oppression in America, I must adopt a European aesthetic in order to become economically successful. I feel a heavy burden to graduate from college in order to obtain a successful career in the business world to gain success economically. In this society, you must obtain knowledge to gain economic power if you are not entitled to White/European privilege. Any way you look at it, Blacks in America have to work harder than any other race in America to gain wealth and success.
This is the complete article, containing 533 words
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