Professional Documents
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Vidrine Racism in America
Vidrine Racism in America
Katie Vidrine
Ms. Layton
English 1010
04 May 2020
Racism In America
Topic Introduction
Children in the average American elementary school are supposed to be taught the basics
of their education. They learn colors, how to read, and they’re taught basic math. Imagine a child
at their school, unaware of how their peers make fun of them because they have darker skin than
the other kids. Unaware of how their teacher blames only them for any fight that the kid
might’ve been in. The child might assume that this is normal behavior, simply because it has
been their life since they started school. Once the child grows older, they realize what is going
on, and realize that they haven’t been treated fair since they were born. Even though their peers
weren’t directly taught by the teachers to hate on someone because of their appearance, the
students in the class have learned from example that it’s okay to treat someone unfairly simply
When the average American is asked about the topic of racism, there are many different
ideas or stories that could pop into their head. Racism has been one of the most prominent
problems in society for the past hundreds of years, even though it was not fully recognized as a
problem for countless years. Racism is now considered abnormal and cruel in today’s society,
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and a portion of people believe that racist behaviors and ideas are entirely over, especially in the
Over past generations, society as a whole has been trying to improve and wipe out
racism, but they’ve gotten to the point where many people don’t even believe in modern day
racism. These people seem to forget underlying racism, or the non-traditional racism in everyday
life. They don't recognize that the racist behaviors that they were taught as a child are still racist.
The fact is that racism has not entirely been forgotten and has not been completely dealt with in
an effective way. “Racism occurs on a daily basis and comes with both physical and
psychological costs to its targets” (Patrianakos), which shows us that society’s efforts to stop
racism has done a decent amount, it is still affecting those who are victims to everyday racism.
Some people haven't realized the effect of everyday racism, and some simply haven't
heard the news stories of the poor children who were discriminated against. As said by Jamie
Patrianakos, “this type of discrimination typically encompasses offensive comments and subtle
behaviors, such as staring, bad service, and other forms of disrespectful behavior.” From this
simple sentence, Patrianakos is attempting to inform people about common, racist behaviors that
are found in many people. These behaviors, even though they seem small, have a large effect on
To discuss further, healthcare and racism have been tied together in research; racism
affects our countries healthcare. “Effects of racism in other settings can spill-over into the
healthcare environment” (Alang, Hardeman), which can be seen through research showing the
percentages of what race is more likely to have healthcare, and which race is less likely to seek a
doctor when having health issues. When looking at the statistics of seeking help for mental
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illnesses, white people are the most common to actually see a mental health expert. People who
are already discriminated against feel that if they become diagnosed or treated for a mental
illness, they will be discriminated against more, or simply accused of being a stereotype. These
side effects from racial discrimination are a big deal for the country. This shows us what society
as a whole needs to become more educated on, especially if racist behavior is affecting a
person’s quality of life. This may not be a traditional racist example that someone may think of
when asked about racism, but it’s certainly a type that affects people of color in day-to-day life.
Expanding on that idea shows that there’s more to racism than the traditional actions that
the majority of America classifies as racism. Most Americans believe that racism means
harassing or physically abusing someone because of their skin color, but it’s more than that. It’s
discrimination in the workplace, in schools, and in many different places and settings. In the
United States today, there are many news stories and articles written about how innocent people
of color have suffered from false assumptions based on appearance. Not only are the adults
Black kids realize from a young age what double standards are, and how it’s simply not
fair for them. As a teenager, these children make the decision of if they are going to work harder
to be treated equally, or if they’re going to give into the stereotypes that come with their skin
tone. Additionally, they have already been raised getting used to the little forms of racism; the
stares, the police pulling them over with simply no reason other than “suspicion;” or even the
simple jokes made in schools or workplaces which vary from race to race. When focusing more
on the idea of racism still being present in the United States, people can really get to see how
different people of color are treated than the average white person.
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There are many ideas on why racism is still a problem in today’s society, despite all of
the attempts and laws to stop racial discrimination; but the most popular idea is that children are
still being raised to have slight racial inequity. These children grow up believing that racism is
gone, because they were told that from a young age, but they still show signs of a racial bias.
These people are the ones who are harder to convince that there is still racism in today's world,
since they simply say that racism was demolished many years ago. There are many approaches
on how to inform someone of the racial injustice in the United States; those approaches will be
As this paper explores more on the ideas of everyday racism, and ways to prevent racism,
there are a few ideas that need to be remembered. These ideas include the knowledge of racism
being not only to one race, but to all persons of color; and another thing to remember is that
many people aren’t aware that they have underlying racist tendencies. Further discussions and
readings will include how racism affects health, experiments on confronting racism, and the
Racism is a very important topic for our society to be focusing on, even in America.
Realistically, many people believe that people of color don’t experience racism in the U.S.A.,
partially because the country has had one black president. Other people have simply called that a
form of ignorance, as there are many forms of racism that can be seen, if someone looks a little
more closely.
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Those who believe that racism is still an issue in the United States have pointed out many
examples of ongoing racism in today’s society. There are some well known groups who are
prime examples of more extreme racism in America, such as the Ku Klux Klan, White
Nationalists, and Black Separatists. There are certain people who are currently fighting against
migrants and immigrants in their country, who are also labelled as racist in today’s society. Other
groups labelled racist include those who think the country should not allow most Mexicans past
the border, or even those who are fighting against Native Americans getting government help.
Even the current President of the United States of America is known for wanting Mexicans out
of the country, and people support that due to believing that Hispanics are stealing American
jobs. This is just a more stereotypical form of racism that is growing to be seen as an acceptable
What needs to be done is to educate on all forms of racism, the subtle and undisguised
forms of racism in America. “Dismantling racism requires calling it out in all its forms. Subtle
and overt racism still exist in US society, and it is known that the cumulative effect of such
slights has a deleterious influence on the physical, emotional, financial, and psychological
welfare of its victims” (Combs); which shows that while many people are putting in the effort to
call out all forms of racism, there is the percentage that fights against it, and those are the people
There are many forms of discrimination in different aspects of life in America. The first
one that stands out to many people who research this topic is the health care among people of
color in America. According to multiple studies, “Blacks tend to receive poorer health care than
their White counterparts, which results in elevated mortality rates” (Patrianakos), which is
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generally ignored or not known about by many of those who have healthcare. It’s not that they’re
blatantly treated badly when being seen by doctors, but it’s that the health community already
has ongoing money issues around it. Those who are afraid of being belittled or discriminated
against don’t want to risk the fights between doctors and insurance companies, even if it’s simply
Additionally, the mental health community is something that most people of color are
afraid to be around. The discrimination that people of color already face is so huge to them, that
they are simply afraid to be mixed in with getting treatment for mental illness, or even being
included in the mental heath community as well. These people don’t want their lives to become
harder simply from trying to get help from suspecting a mental illness, so this group usually
attempts to suppress any mentally ill conditions, and continue on with their lives. It’s easy to see
how these communities are afraid to have a worse image around them, which shows that
something truly needs to be done so these people aren’t as afraid to get the help they need to
become healthy again. Moreover, people of color aren’t treated as seriously as white people
when they do reach out for help for their mental health. According to a study done in early 2019,
“blacks are also less likely to utilize psychiatric services, and if they receive care, it is usually of
lower quality than care provided to whites. Consequently, unmet need for mental health care is
greater among blacks than whites.” (Alang 1). This demonstrates that when reaching out for
help, but not receiving the care that is needed, is a factor in why people of color are hesitant to be
Another aspect of everyday life that is majorly different for minorities is the protection
citizens get from the police force. Police brutality is something talked about greatly among many
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people who live in America. This instance of racism is one of the most popular forms that are
brought up since people see the news surrounding any form of injustice involving the police. The
news occasionally broadcasts the stories involving a person of color and a police officer, but not
all of the stories are given enough attention. According to the 2010-2014 statistics from the
Lethal Force by U.S. Police report, “the number of deaths per million population among
non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic males were 2.8 and 1.7 times higher, respectively, than among
White males” (Buehler), which surprisingly isn’t known by many non-hispanic or black people
Discrimination can start at even a young age for many black or colored children. They
grow up hoping for a bright future, but once these kids start going to school, they’re bait for
discrimination and racist jokes. Most of these kids eventually learn how to ignore the racist
jokes, or how they’re expected to cheat or start fights in school, but other kids take it worse.
Some of these kids’ situations become worse than others. As said by Travis Riddle in the
National Academy of Sciences, “Students who are subject to the disciplinary actions examined
here are at substantially higher risk for negative life outcomes” (Riddle). His research
demonstrates that people of color react to racism in many different ways, but almost all are in
negative ways.
Additionally, there have been thousands of cases since 2010 of non-white kids being
arrested or being victims of police brutality while under 10 years of age. A more recent case that
spiked a lot of controversy was when a police officer arrested a 6-year-old and an 8-year-old at
an Orlando charter school. As said before, racial bias involving police force at such a young age
can severely affect how these kids end up in their lives. “These disciplinary actions put students
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at higher risk for negative life outcomes, including involvement in the criminal justice system”
(Riddle), which is easily understood when a person looks into how fragile a child’s mind is in
What should be done to prevent these forms of racism? That is a more difficult subject, as
research isn’t entirely sure how racism can be reversed or prevented. Most researchers have just
come to the conclusion that our people need to stay informed on modern day racism. America as
a whole needs to acknowledge the history and present situation surrounding racism and
discrimination. Racist behaviors need to be called out and stopped immediately in order for this
Racist behavior is something that a large percentage of Americans assume they can
recognize if it happens around them, but they later fail to realize it when they witness a portion
of everyday racism. Even if it’s witnessed, many people don’t think that they could stop it or
help fight against it. This is an example that shows why racism still needs to be a conversation
people are having in today’s world. According to studies, research shows that “the success of self
confrontation approaches relies heavily on both awareness and motivation. That is, people must
be able to recognize their biased responses, and they must be motivated to correct them”
(Czopp), explaining that one of the ideal ways to fight against racist behaviors is to raise
self-awareness and give more information on the effects everyday racism has. In order to
decrease people experiencing everyday racism, society as a whole must be informed about the
One person can make a big difference in someone else’s life, just by doing one of many
ideas on how to confront racism. In “Standing Up for a Change: Reducing Bias Through
confrontation occur not only on such a grand scale but frequently take place in everyday life [...]
Maybe it is a comment about how ‘Blacks need to get off welfare’ or perhaps something more
subtle like a racial joke intended to elicit a chuckle from the group” (Czopp). This is a common
example of a racist behavior that someone might hear or see in America. When someone believes
that another person is below them, or doing things wrong specifically because of their skin color
and appearance, that is defined as discrimination. It’s important to call people out on behavior
such as that. It is one of the many ways a single person could prevent cases of everyday racism in
their life.
Those who are confronted, but don’t believe that they are racist, need to be shown how
their behavior doesn’t match up with their beliefs. An experiment showed that “when individuals
were confronted with the fact that their egalitarian self-concept was inconsistent with their
reduce the negative effect associated with these contradictions, individuals often changed their
attitudes and behaviors to be more consistent with their self-concepts” (Czech). This could be
used as an effective way to reduce prejudice behaviors in the United States, and should be
Another idea to end everyday racism would be to start educating children from a young
age about the history and problems behind racism. This would mean teaching more about the
history of people of color and including making schools a zero tolerance zone for discrimination.
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Research done between different elementary classrooms has concluded that “the road to greater
equity in schools requires more professional development about race talk in elementary schools.”
(Coles & Smith). This shows that if we want to end racism in further generations, the schools
change. The main way the country can fight against or bring down racism is to acknowledge the
problem and encourage a zero tolerance behavior among everyone. The United States needs to
begin teaching younger generations more about racism, while also informing the general public
on ways the country could heal from this as a whole. It won’t be a quick or easy task, but it can
eventually be done.
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Works Cited
Alang, Sirry M. “Mental Health Care among Blacks in America: Confronting Racism and
Constructing Solutions.” Health Services Research, vol. 54, no. 2, Apr. 2019, pp.
346–355. EBSCOhost.
Alang, Sirry M., Rachel Hardeman.` “Police Brutality and Mistrust in Medical Institutions”
Bouie, Jamelle. The Racism Right Before Our Eyes. The New York Times. 2019.
Budhwani, Henna and Prabal De. “Perceived Stigma in Health Care Settings and the Physical
and Mental Health of People of Color in the United States.” Health Equity, Mary Ann
2010-2014.” American Journal of Public Health, vol. 107, no. 2, Feb. 2017, pp. 295–297.
EBSCOhost, doi:10.2105/AJPH.2016.303575.
Coles-Ritchie, Marille & Smith, Robin.“Taking the risk to engage in race talk: professional
172-186.
Combs, Barbara Harris. “Everyday Racism Is Still Racism: The Role of Place in Theorizing
Continuing Racism in Modern US Society.” Phylon (1960-), vol. 55, no. 1 & 2, 2018, pp.
38–59., www.jstor.org/stable/26545018.
Czopp, Alexander & Monteith, Margo & Aimee, Yau. “Standing Up for a Change: Reducing
Daniels, Jessie. “Race, Civil Rights, and Hate Speech in the Digital Era." Learning Race and
Jones, Russell, “A More Perfect Nation: Ending Racial Profiling,” Valparaiso University, 2007.
Riddle, Travis, and Stacey Sinclair. “Racial Disparities in School-Based Disciplinary Actions
Are Associated with County-Level Rates of Racial Bias.” PNAS, National Academy of
Weissinger, Sandra and Dwayne Mack. “Law Enforcement in the Age of Black Lives Matter”