An Unseen Advantage

An Unseen Advantage

[Name of the Writer]

[Name of the Institution]

An Unseen Advantage

Introduction

“I have a dream that one day little black boys and girls will be holding hands with little white boys and girls.” ― Martin Luther King Jr., I Have a Dream

The United States of America is a nation having a large population, which is increasing day by day. This population consists of people from multiple nationalities, religions, gender, races, colors, castes, creed and backgrounds. America has always been a home to this diverse population, since its discovery, when Christopher Columbus came here on October 12, 1492, and found Red Indians living here.

Since then, America has gone through a lot. It has seen wars and people coming here for the purposes of business and residence. The major transition took place in the form of slavery; when African were brought in abundance in the United States of America to be traded as slaves and they were made to work like animals for their masters. As a result, people who came here for war or as slaves started permanently settling down here and living their lives as permanent citizens of America. These people feel pride in being called an American but has America also accepted these people? Does the US also feel pride in its diversity and like calling these people as proud citizens of America with open arms? Maybe the case is a little different here. The following details will discuss whether the United States of America has progressed and rose above the differences between races, caste, and color, creed and gender. The following paper will also throw light that whether Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream has been fulfilled or still there exists differences among various classes and societies in the country.

Discussion

Racial differences and discrimination have always existed in the American society, and people belonging to any race, religion, caste, color, creed or nationality, other than American, have always been mocked and criticized for them being from a different background. Racism in the United States grew more rapidly during the colonial era when the Europeans came to the continent and settled here. It has been heavily observed that white Americans have always been given much privilege in almost every matter, whether it is security matters or jobs.

Racism has been a hot topic for many decades as it was found out that not every individual in the United States had equal rights CITATION Bra13 \l 1033 (Bracey, 2013). Although the Government and the leadership claim repeatedly that all the individuals belonging to, any nationality and ethnicity are treated equally, and no discrimination exists in the society, but something different is observed in practice (McIntosh, P, 2007). Many studies and pieces of research have proved that white males and females are granted more rights and given preference when it comes to education, voting rights, immigration, criminal procedures, land acquisition and in many other fields throughout the American history. People belonging to various nationalities have faced racisms at multiple levels; Jews, Arabs and Middle Eastern people who have been living here since ages still become victim to racism and called names. Similarly, the Chinese, Mexicans, Spanish and the individuals belonging to East and South Asians whose ancestors came to the United States long ago and have raised generations here, are still not recognized as American and face racism CITATION Har17 \l 1033 (Harriot, 2017).

Individuals belonging to races and ethnicities other than white culture and American nationality are still not given equal opportunities, not even at smaller levels. Many African-Americans, who have been living in the United States for many centuries, are still not given equal opportunities to get education among their white fellows. Many institutions, at the first place, still show discriminatory behavior while giving admission to the African-American students, and even if they succeed to get admission, they face massive racism in the form of discriminatory remarks and derogatory comments CITATION Wah94 \l 1033 (Wah, 1994). Similar situations are met when they set out while looking for jobs in their practical life after completing their education. Many instances have been reported by individuals belonging to multiple nationalities receiving insulting remarks and have faced bullying at least once on their life for being a different race CITATION Lee94 \l 1033 (Wah, The Color of Fear (Part 2), 1994). Even the report for the Human Rights presented by the United Nations and the United States Human Rights quotes that "discrimination in the United States permeates all aspects of life and extends to all communities of color."

Formal exhibition of racial discrimination and showing prejudice in any field or any level has always been discouraged, and was legally and socially banned in the mid-20th century but, internally, racial politics remains a big issue and racism is still reflected largely in socioeconomic inequality. The presidential candidacy of Barack Obama, and him becoming the first Black American president from 2008 to 2016, gave a ray of hope that America is progressing and has entered a new, post-racial era; but the political scenario, became worse after the termination of his presidential tenure.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, it can be said that although the war for equal rights and opportunities has been going on from a long time, the evil of racism has never left the American nation. It is a never-ending war which is being fought continuously between the phenomenon of white supremacy and the people of other nations, races, religions, castes and colors and creeds. There need to proper reforms and progression to curb this issue and cater to the problems regarding racial discrimination so that Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream can see its rise and become true in its real spirit.

“It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences.” ― Audre Lorde, Our Dead Behind Us: Poems

References

BIBLIOGRAPHY \l 1033 Bracey, J. H. (2013). How Racism Harms White Americans. How Racism Harms White Americans. Sut Jhally.

Harriot, M. (2017, April 10). #Not Racists Be Like: The Top 10 Phrases Used by People Who Claim They Are Not Racist. Retrieved January 20, 2019, from https://www.theroot.com/notracists-be-like-the-top-10-phrases-used-by-peop-1819142064

McIntosh, P. (2007). White privilege and male privilege. Race, Ethnicity, and Gender: Selected Readings, 377-385.

Wah, L. M. (Director). (1994). The Color of Fear (Part 1) [Motion Picture].

Wah, L. M. (Director). (1994). The Color of Fear (Part 2) [Motion Picture].