Racism Research Paper

Niya Brinston

Ms. Beuttel

ENGL 001

December 6, 2016

Racism Research Paper Final Draft

        Racism is a social problem that remains apparent in today’s society. Although that is the case, many people view racism differently, and even have their own definitions for it. According to Merriam-Webster dictionary racism is defined as “a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race”.  However, my personal definition of racism is when someone who act or say rude and degrading things to another person with their primary motive being race driven. Throughout my life, I can say that I have had personal confrontation with others who made degrading remarks based on the color of my skin. Racism should no longer exist, as it has been argued that we now live in a “color-blind” society. However, truth be told I believe that there is just as much racism today as it was in the slavery era, it is just people are good at covering up their personal biases. For example, recently after the election of President Donald Trump, many supporters of president-elect have surfaced as members of White Supremacist (i.e., Ku Klux Klan). Moreover, there has been an influx in violence by members of this groups, one of which was close to home in El Sobrante, California with the killing of William Sims. That said, the purpose of the current essay is to discuss the prevalence of racism in the United States. In doing so, I will provide personal examples of when I have been personal effected by blatant acts of racism.

        Overtime, I have read many of news articles and observed in the media that racism is remains a social problem. Unsurprisingly, there are different perspectives on what constitutes racism. One of the news articles that I have read discusses racism in the context of judging a person based on their hair, mainly African Americans. For example, the article mentioned that hair attacks is considered to be a form of racism. There several different types of hair styles worn by those who are African American, for example dreads, afros, naturals, and more recently fades. Black individuals at this particular school have accused teachers of not allowing them to have Afros, grow dreadlocks or wear braids.  Consequently, the students eventually complained about discriminatory treatment. After reading this short article, I was deeply saddened and offended by how black people were treated especially since I am a black female who at times wear braids and have family members with dreads and afros. People should not judge on how others look. No one should have to go to a school where administration attempts to dictate how students wear their hair. More concerning is that a senior student in high school was treated with not being able to take her exam because she had an afro. This is disturbing and intimidating to me. People should not be told how to wear their hair in order to be able to take an exam. Arguably, judging people based on how they wear their hair can lead to racism.

        In the past, hair has been used as a tool of racism.  For example, a few years ago I observed a radio host, Don Imus, used hair as a way to demean a group of basketball players. More specifically, during Rutgers and Tennessee women’s basketball game, Imus referred to Rutgers as “nappy headed-hos”. At the time, Rutgers had a team consisting of predominantly African American females. This is blatant racism, and hair was used to as a way to fulfill it. What bothers me is that this man was allowed to keep his job, and today he has his own talk show. Although this happened several years ago, it is safe to say that racism has not yet ended.