Communities around the world face numerous challenges related to structural racism because it is ingrained in the social, economical, and political systems of society. Poverty continues to perpetuate through these communities due to income inequality, lack of access to affordable housing, and insufficient social safety nets. Dating back to the historical roots of slavery and segregation, redlining and other discriminatory practices created a very difficult lifestyle for people to thrive in. Children in these communities grow up surrounded by structural violence due to the lack of resources for their basic needs. Moreover, individuals in these communities face limited access to healthcare, education, job opportunities, as well as inadequate …show more content…
Challenges of educational, health care, and incarceration disparities are all interlinked with poverty and the generational consequences of racism and violence. However, through all this noise, communities continue to bounce back and grow stronger. Elder Michael Cummings, is a prime example of an individual whose work serves as a beacon of hope for the community of Watts. Elder Michael Cummings, also known as Big Mike, is a pastor and gang interventionist dedicated to supporting the youth in Watts. Elder Cummings grew up in Watts and was taken out of private school at an early age due to financial shortages. From his very first day in public middle school he was forced to join a gang in order to maintain his own safety against other students. Joining a gang provided safety in school against other students and when commuting due to different gang territories all across Watts. For Elder Cummings, joining a gang was a form of survival. He then went on to attend Southwest Community College and played …show more content…
Although outside experts and assistance can help bring resources to the community, actual change must come from lifting leaders within the community who have been raised and affected by the structural racism and violence. The communities typically will listen to, believe, and trust the leaders because they were once victims of the system and are showing great effort for change. These leaders are the experts of the communities and can reach out to people like Professor Jorja Leap for additional help in gaining access to the specific resources needed. Elder Cummings and his work is a prime example of how the actions of a single person can serve as a beacon of hope for the entire community. Through the various projects previously mentioned, Elder Cummings is making positive changes in the community. Project Fatherhood has been instrumental in addressing many challenges faced in Watts. First, the organization helps create an environment for families to thrive, even in non-traditional manners, and educates the fathers on responsible fatherhood and family engagement. These practices will help more children in the community grow up with a father who can guide them as positive role models and away from the cradle to prison pipeline, thus raising their own children successfully. Additionally, Project Fatherhood also provides access to economic
Through actively working together and maintaining preservation amongst the community, these activist are able to make important political statements justifying equality amongst blacks through categorizing treatments received as inhumane (Lewis 108) and religiously contradicting (Lewis
The Scar of America’s History: A Solution From Two Perspectives “Racism is man’s gravest threat to man - the maximum of hatred for a minimum of reason” (Abraham Joshua Heschel). Your skin color does not represent the type of person you are, so why be judged upon just that. No one can chose what color skin they will be born with, and most importantly what culture they will obtain to. Booker T. Washington was a black, middle-aged educator that believes in achieving change through patience, and tolerating your current situation in order to achieve long-term change. On the other hand, W.E.B. DuBois believes in more of an aggressive approach and directly attacking the issue at hand.
Rosa Park once said, “ Racism is still with us. But it is up to us to prepare our children for what they have to meet, and hopefully, we should overcome.” This illustrates how racism still exist but, it is up to the people to prepare their children to not become how society used to be. From 1619 to the 1960’s, women and African American people did not have the same rights as men or as white people did. Women were not able to make their own decisions and African American were slaves.
The Legacy of Redlining: Examining the Lingering Impact on Communities of Color Redlining is the insidious practice that drew a color line around neighborhoods, literally trapping generations of Americans of color in neighborhoods defined by disinvestment, segregation, and poverty. By limiting their access to quality housing, financial services, educational resources, and job opportunities, it perpetuates a cycle of poverty that is difficult to break free from. This form of systemic racism serves as a constant reminder of the inequality embedded in our society, which blocks individuals from achieving their true potential, affecting not only individuals, but entire communities. Redlining can specifically target young people of color because
The most interesting part of Ward’s book was learning about the many influential people throughout the history of America that saw the inequality in the system, and fought hard to change that. The story that was especially intriguing was about Kenneth and Mamie Clark. During Harlem’s response to the civil rights era, the local race relations expert and his wife sought to find more representative and innovative approaches to solve juvenile social control. Their focus was on racial integration in their clinic, the Northside Center for Child Development. It was there that the couple observed the psychological effects that segregation has on black adolescents.
In doing so there may be a chance to limit the amount of failure in that community. If fathers are significant in how prosperous their sons become, then fathers may need to be educated on the importance of fatherhood. In cases where “Self-determination” has driven individuals to succeed, they may be able to mentor future generations on how to project that from within. Davis, Jenkins and Hunt (2007) tell of their stories of how having a fatherless childhood effect their development, but it also tells of how they overcame their life obstacles. These three doctors were reared in homes where they experienced and saw a lot of things that lead them down the wrong path.
While we have made a little progress towards Martin Luther King’s dream, there is still much work to be done. By economic standards, black people in America are still being handed a check “marked ‘insufficient funds’”. “Middle-Class Black Families, in Low-Income Neighborhoods”, an article published in The New York Times, reports that “[even] among white and black families with similar incomes, white families are much more likely to live in good neighborhoods — with high-quality schools, day-care options, parks, playgrounds and transportation options.” Research shows that children in better neighborhoods are much more successful than children from poorer neighborhoods.
“ According to the National Association of Social Workers Web site, racism is “the ideology or practice through demonstrated power or perceived superiority of one group over others by reasons of race, color, ethnicity, or cultural heritage....” The definition further goes on to note that “racism is manifested at the individual, group, and institutional level.” (Blank, 2013) Despite how much time has passed by, racism continues to be a huge issue today. We see it every day, some have even been confronted by racial discrimination, or racial slurs even. We see how the system could be for example: how blacks continue to get more severe punishments or blacks have higher the chance to get criminally sentenced than whites.
There is power in building relationships. Promoting a sense of belonging and creating fairer opportunities and outcomes for families is crucial to community
Systemic racism and classism create barriers of education and opportunities, which in turn cause generational poverty which leads to emotional hardships. Generational poverty cannot be easily overcome with individual-focused initiatives. Although it is true that systemic racism and classism are major contributors towards impoverishment; Education, job programs and community and relationship building initiatives can have a huge impact on the lives of families and individuals. These programs can provide a path for an upward movement for people that breaks the cycle of poverty, this includes anyone of any race. By investing in more education and job programs for the impoverished, and building up relationships and programs, we can create a more equitable society in which we give more people more
(http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/DimensionsRacismen.pdf ) e. Causes: Racism is the result of many factors such as the fault upbringing of parents to their child 's believes or the obsession of authority of some people. f. Effects: Racism can have a really dangerous effects on victims, it can generally destroy them psychologically and sometimes physically. g. Stakeholders: (for solving the problem of the victims who are always abused by the racists, the solution should include the intellectual class, volunteers as well as the government help.) h. Solution Statement: (The Canadian Anti-racism Education and Research Society (CAERS) is one of the successful solutions applied to
Racism: Should It Be The Reason To Abandon Students? Freedom Writers written and directed by Richard LaGravenese , based on the book, The Freedom Writers Diary, by The Freedom Writers with Erin Gruwell .“At 16, I’ve probably witnessed more dead bodies than a mortician,” says a Woodrow Wilson High School student, before matter-of-factly describing a life in which gang and domestic violence are everyday occurrences.1 Racism , that is, basing on racial, people are divided into different social classes. Racism not only be the reason to prejudice students, but also be the root of violence. As Eva says: “schools are like the city and the city is just like a person, all of them divided into separate sections, depending on tribes.”
Racism, the act of “…prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race…”, is a major problem today. It gives people fear, doubt, shame, and sometimes guilt. In addition, racism gives people an awful perspective of life and sometimes, if one is looking up to a racist, the racist’s point of view begins to alter the person’s judgement. Racism could also lead to great conflict arising from those who heavily despise that race and maybe even mass killings, which foreshows that racism needs to be stopped and ended completely.
Racism: a curse for the society INTRODUCTION:- "Racism is an ideology that gives expression to myths about other racial and ethnic groups that devalues and renders inferior those groups that reflects and is perpetuated by deeply rooted historical, social, cultural and power inequalities in society." Racism is one of the oldest truth around the world .Racism, is said to be as old as the human society. Racism is nothing but only the belief that all members of each race possess the characteristics, abilities, or qualities which are specific to that race, especially, so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races. And this differentiation change the people’s mentality and bring death among themselves.
In this essay the main focus will be looking at a wide array of perspectives, including local in Hong Kong, global in USA, some solutions, and my own personal perspective. Causes and Effects of Racism: A cause of racism is one’s own instinctive reaction for their protection. People who are racist tend to be people who lack qualities such as self esteem. Racism can come from the feeling of being victimised, worthless and lacking the