Introduction
Race relations in the United States reflects the colonial and slave era when discrimination against some races was prevalent. The issue of prejudice against Native Americans, Asian Americans, Latin Americans, and African Americans has taken place over the years.
The marginalized groups do not exercise their basic rights, which include civil, social, economic, and political rights. Since the constitution of the United States has robust provisions that protect human rights, the criminal justice system and human rights activists use them in reducing the prevalence of racial discrimination.
The minority groups such as the Black Americans have endured racial discrimination since the period of slavery. However, the society has not embraced the racial equality as a way of life, even when the Black American president is in power.
Racial discrimination reflects itself on diverse socioeconomic arenas such as workplace, education, and the political realm in the United States. Race relations encompass the way people of different races and cultural backgrounds relate in a community.
Therefore, the term paper examines the occurrence of racial discriminations in the United States by examining how different races interact in the labor market, education sector, judicial system, housing sector, and fashion industry.
Racial Discriminations in Labor Market
In the employment, discrimination has been visible in the past few decades as some companies could openly indicate that they do not employ the Blacks. In the United States, the chances of a White American to get employment are higher than that of an African American, an Asian, or a Latino owing to racial discrimination.
The labor market tends to experience a considerable racial prejudice. The marginalized groups face racial and sexual harassment as illustrated by a recent case where McDonald’s workers filed a case of racial discrimination and sexual harassment.
Most industries fired the Black employees from their jobs with the claim that they do not fit the profile of a specific work environment.
Supervisors also insult their employees using words such as ghetto, nigger, and coolie, as in the case of McDonald restaurant, where the supervisors allegedly abused their employees with reference to their skin color and their origin.
However, no one seems to take serious legal action against these supervisors even when the employees report them to the corporate offices. The management explicitly writes the company’s core values that embrace diversity and equal treatment, but in most cases, the leadership team fails to implement them.
In the labor market, race discrimination is also evident in promotion, payment, and work motivation allowances. In 2012, a case of discrimination came to the fore when African American employees accused the United Air Lines of discriminating against them in the aspect of promotion.
White American employers deny them the right to job promotions, regardless of their enhanced skills, increased job productivity, and their work experience. The stereotypical norms against their skin color and race deny them the opportunity to compete for higher positions.
Actually, discriminated employees earn lower salaries than their White American co-workers do. Hence, the Blacks are prone to discrimination in their workplaces despite their noticeable performance. However, bosses perceive the Blacks as low class citizens; hence, they find it appropriate to violate their employment rights.
Racial Discrimination in Education Sector
In education sector, racial discrimination is also prevalent, as the Black students initially could not study in the same school as White American students. Over the years, the situation has changed and the government has ordered the schools to integrate all races. Nevertheless, the discrimination continued in those schools.
The disciplinary department gives the Black American students longer detention and severe punishment than the White American students. According to a survey done in 2011-2012 by the United States Education Department, the Black students receive more suspensions than the White students do in public schools.
The administration has stereotyped that marginalized groups are prone to riot and their moral values are always in question. The access to veteran teachers is more available to the White students than it is to the Black students.
The minority students suffer social and psychological trauma, which affect their learning process and performance in classrooms.
Race Relations in Fashion Industry
The racial discrimination in the fashion industry is still present in the United States. Statistics show that the Black models in the United States have dropped drastically in a period of one year. Women with black pigmentation have minimal chances of enrolling in the fashion and design company.
The advertising clients do not consider the Black women since they believe that the Black people are not attractive. For example, The Times Sunday Magazine in the New York has a lower percentage of the Black models compared to the White models because the clients find them unmarketable.
Through observation, most photos in a runway indicate that the minority races are under-represented. Some of the minority supermodels of all time are Iman, Tyra, and Naomi Campbell. However, since the departure of Tyra and Iman, race inequality in the fashion industry is still high.
Race Relations in Housing
Race discrimination in the housing industry started after the abolition of slavery and has continued until today. The constitution fights against housing discrimination, but it is still prevalent in most areas. The discrimination is evident in the housing sector as renting, buying, selling, and financing houses have racial orientation.
Prejudice against Hispanics, Asians, and Blacks seeking for housing is evident today. A national study commissioned by the department of housing in 2013 illustrates that minority customers have a lower probability of getting a house than the Whites with equal qualifications.
The study points out that minority citizen are victims of racial discrimination in the housing industry. Mostly they get low class houses that are far away from schools and have no access to essential amenities. Most of the local governments violate the Housing Act by failing to grant the minority citizens the right to housing and permits.
Racial Discrimination in Judicial System
Racial discrimination in the judicial system is also prevalent in the United States as the Latinos, Asians, Africans, African Americans, Native Americans, and other minority groups find the judicial system as unfair in its dealings. The local police department tends to subdue the minority people and keep them in custody on minor crimes.
The judicial system views the marginalized communities as gangster groups, which host dangerous elements in the community. This stereotype makes the Native Americans and other minorities subject to the unfair judicial system through the police department. The system does not follow up on violation of the minority rights.
The power structure that the White people dominate does not consider the minority groups, who experience discrimination. The law is explicit in its provisions, but stereotypes cloud the enforcers and hinder the administration of equality and justice.
Impacts of Discrimination in the United States
Race relations in the United States have a negative impact on the marginalized communities and on the government at large. The people, who face all these kinds of discrimination, have psychological trauma, cognitive disabilities, and physical infirmities because their opportunities to elevate their lives have been incapacitated.
The prejudice limits their cognitive abilities as evident in their performance in schools and workplaces. Racial discrimination also limits their physical performance because strong judicial system does not support their determination to compete fairly in the workplace, housing industry, and other sectors.
The students in high schools and institutions of higher learning are likely to perform poorly due to limited opportunities in school and unequal treatment. The minority citizens experience diverse health risks due to their overcrowding in residential areas.
Racial discrimination affects the United States government negatively because unemployment of its citizens and workplace discrimination reduces productivity. Most people in the minority groups earn wages that are below the poverty level.
The discrimination against the minority weakens the national development indicators of the United States. The issue depicts the United States as a violator the international human rights, which the national government has the responsibility of guarding.
The poverty level is high among the minorities in the United States, hence, hindering efforts to eliminate poverty. The negative impacts of marginalization limit the livelihood of United States citizens and the gap will continue to enlarge between the majority and the minority.
Conclusion
Social relations are very important because they form the basis of our diversity. However, negative social relationships, such as racial discrimination, have detrimental effects on diversity. Establishment of social institutions offers robust strategies that aid in the elimination of racial discrimination.
These strategies include public participation in formulating policies in the education sector, labor market, political arena, criminal justice system, and housing industry amongst others.
Hence, the government should come up with a system of policy, formulate appropriate laws, and enforce the formatted laws efficiently through the judicial system. Moreover, the government should train and educate societies on the problems brought about by racial discrimination to eliminate the stereotypical norms of the minority groups.