1. Racism is a social problem based on discriminating people of other races.
2. Racism as the discriminatory and oppressive attitudes and behaviors against people belonging to different races can be considered as a social problem discussed globally because it depends on the vision of race as a social construction. Thus, racism is observed when people are divided into categories because of their races and definite racial (often physical) characteristics, and the representatives of certain races are perceived as inferior because of social racial stereotypes.
3. Different population categories can be affected by racism all over the world with references to the local visions of this or that race as inferior. In the USA, such minorities as African Americans, Latin Americans, and Asian Americans are affected by racism because of their biological differences, for instance skin color, and because of the developed social stereotypes and prejudices in relation to the role of these people in society.
Thus, three racial groups comprising the ethnic minorities in the country are affected by racism significantly. According to 2000 US Census, more than 36 million African Americans (13% of the American population), and 47 million Hispanics (15.4% of the American population) live in the USA.
Asian Americans present 4% of the American population (2000 US Census, 2012). As a result, more than 32% of the whole American population suffered from direct or indirect discrimination and abuse because of their race in 2000, and this number increases. For instance, 61% of Latin Americans accentuated the problem of racism in 2010, comparing with 47% in 2002 (2000 US Census, 2012; Clarke & Thomas, 2006).
4. African Americans and Latin Americans are affected by the issues connected with racism in many spheres of their everyday life. For instance, in spite of the fact 58% of African Americans live in metropolitan areas and they are educated, they suffer from racial discrimination in relation to employment and wages paid for their work (Tsuda, 2012).
Although racism and racial discrimination is legally prohibited in the USA, there are many forms of the indirect discrimination developed within community (Tsuda, 2012). African Americans, Latin Americans, and Asian Americans are challenged to be discriminated because of race during the everyday interactions at schools and workplaces by the representatives of the American ‘white’ majority.
The issues of developing stereotypes concerning the minorities’ intelligence and role within society, harassments, and abuses are presented in the American society. The problem is in the fact that different programs aimed to reduce racism (such as Affirmative Action) are perceived by the ‘white’ Americans as discriminating their rights.
5. In the USA, the problem of racism is often discussed as related to the period of slavery. The other people pay attention to the fact that the problem became not urgent in the 1960s, when Jim Crow laws were abolished (Takaki, 1993). In reality, racism is a characteristic feature of the modern American society which negatively affects the representatives of such minority groups as African Americans, Latin Americans, and Asian Americans.
Direct racial discrimination is prohibited in the country where more than 32% of the whole American population cannot be discussed as ‘white’. Nevertheless, the issues of indirect social discrimination, reflecting in accentuating inequalities and racial stereotypes, are frequently observed within the society. Thus, racism as a social problem should be addressed because people should not be divided into inferior and superior groups because of their biological qualities and races as all humans are born equal.
References
2000 US Census. (2012). Web.
Clarke, K., & Thomas, D. (2006). Globalization and race: Transformations in the cultural production of blackness. Durham: Duke University Press.
Takaki, R. T. (1993). A different mirror: A history of multicultural America. Boston: Little, Brown & Company.
Tsuda, T. (2012). Immigration and ethnic relations in the U. S. USA: University Readers.