Where and how does racism exist?
By DeShawn N. Rivers Jr.
Wiki. “Southern Arkansas University's Family Day Bed Race.” 2012.
Procedure: My first step was to gather a team of two. One being a black male and one being a white male. Both people will be dressed relatively the same, in casual clothing. The clothing should seem like moderate middle-class for both variables. Creating an observation sheet for after the experiment will be crucial. Picking a location is very important to the project. I chose the red line, “North/Clybourn” close to my school because the neighborhood is predominantly white and wealthy. Person A will set up in front of the train station while b is in sight so they can record data. Person A will ask 5 people “can you put me on the train or give me a $1 or something” while person b records how they react. After 5 people, A and B switch places and person B will ask 5 people while person A records.
Hypothesis: I predict that more people will give my white counterpart money. I think there will be assumptions of what I’m going to do with the money, or just my overall motives. The people at the red line will think “oh well, this young white man is just tryna get home.” I wouldn’t be surprised The systematic racism will speak for itself. I feel like stereotypes become ingrained in our mind to the point where we involuntarily believe in them.
Research: A white woman in LA, named Jacqueline Carr was not used to the LA bus system until she had to start using it. She describes herself as a “Unicorn,” referring to 92% of LA bus riders being black whereas their median salary was around $12,000. Ms. Carr decided to start observing how others react to her presence on the bus. Ms. Carr is apart of a small population in LA of people who ride the bus, but don’t necessarily have to. This glorifies the “unicorn” reference because this woman is not commonly “supposed to be on the bus.” The inequality of African Americans and whites still exist in today’s society. Even after having Barack Obama eight years of serving the country as president, there’s still a strong racial divide within our communities. According to the article, On Views of Race and Inequality, Blacks and Whites Are Worlds Apart, states,”Almost eight years after Barack Obama’s election as the nation’s first black president –an event that engendered a sense of optimism among many Americans about the future of race relations 1 – a series of flashpoints around the U.S. has exposed deep racial divides and reignited a national conversation about race. A new Pew Research Center survey finds profound differences between black and white adults in their views on racial discrimination, barriers to black progress and the prospects for change. Blacks, far more than whites, say black people are treated unfairly across different realms of life, from dealing with the police to applying for a loan or mortgage. And, for many blacks, racial equality remains an elusive goal.” Racial inequality still remains strong in many communities in the
United States. These racial inequalities creates racial divides, which leads to misperceptions of people only because the color of their skin. Depending on a person’s position in society whether they’re white or African American, their perspectives are different. Perceptions of how blacks are treated in the U.S. vary widely by race. Based on a recent study done, African Americans and whites were asked questions such as: Has our country made the changes needed to give blacks equal rights as whites? Will our country make the changes needed? Will country not make any progress dealing with blacks gaining equal rights as whites? Most African Americans agreed that this country will not make any progress gaining equal rights as rights. Most whites believe that this country will make changes for African Americans to have equal rights as whites. People’s perspective of different subjects play a major part in gaining success of gaining racial equality. There many ways we can fight against racial inequality, but first we must address some major issues. From the article, 11 Facts About Racial Discrimination states,”1. African-Americans comprise only 13% of the U.S. population and 14% of the monthly drug users, but are 37% of the people arrested for drug-related offenses in America. 2. Studies show that police are more likely to pull over and frisk blacks or Latinos than whites. In New York City, 80% of the stops made were blacks and Latinos, and 85% of those people were frisked, compared to a mere 8% of white people stopped. Host a poetry slam to educate others on racism and reduce prejudice in your community. 3. The U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics concluded that an African American male born in 2001 has a 32% chance of going to jail in his lifetime, while a Latino male has a 17% chance, and a white male only has a 6% chance.” The list goes on and on.
“Keep the Middle Class Alive.” 2010.
America Aljazeera. “In NY, Black Families More Likely To Be Split By Foster Care System.” 2012.
Raw Data: Me (Black male)
Zak (White male)
Black Man
yes
no
White Woman
no
yes
Black Woman
no
yes
White Man
no
yes
Black Woman
no
yes
Analysis: My data proves to be quite interesting in many ways. The project that I conducted was very “dangerous” in a way. These numbers could be very imperfect due to the fact that me and my white counterpart asked different people at different times, which could just mean that these stats are more simultaneous than logical. This could be very much true, but data doesn’t lie. The data shows that my white counterpart received four times as much money as me, but does this really mean racism is involved? Not at all, but the numbers are apparent.
Conclusion: After this project, I can conclude that systematic racism is very real. My results don’t exactly make those people racist. It just says a lot about humanity in this day & age. The system is poisonous and ingrained these things into our mind. They are so ingrained that we become accustomed to believing stereotypes that the “system” wants us to believe. If we look down upon each other, then there’s no way we can rise up, right? That’s the “system’s” purpose. These numbers are not surprising, but they reassure me that racism will always exist in the “system.”
Citations: "On Views of Race and Inequality, Blacks and Whites Are Worlds Apart." Pew Research Center's Social & Demographic Trends Project. N.p., 27 June 2016. Web. 12 Feb. 2017. "11 Facts About Racial Discrimination." DoSomething.org | Volunteer for Social Change. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2017. US, Ben And Jerry's. "7 Ways We Know Systemic Racism is Real." Http://www.benjerry.com. N.p., 08 June 2016. Web. 12 Feb. 2017. "What is Systemic Racism?" Race Forward. N.p., 04 May 2016. Web. 12 Feb. 2017. "Public Transportation Could Work..." Stuff Black People Don't Like - SBPDL. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2017. "Racial and Ethnic Groups." DHS: Racial and Ethnic Groups. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2017.