The course of Action for Addressing a Community Problem
Introduction
A community is a group of people who share a common identity, values and beliefs. One of the community problem faced by African-American living in America is the issue of racism. Off late white police officers in the United States have targeted African-American people through cold blood killings. An example is the death of George Floyd in the hands of a white cop which sparked nationwide protest on black lives. Floyd was taken custody and killed by the Minneapolis police shortly after his arrest for paying cigarettes using a counterfeit twenty dollar note (Evan, Ainara, Christiaan, Drew, Haley & Robin, 1). The death of Floyd is just one of a series of killings that target backs in the United States. The Black Community has struggled to contain the issue of racism for long without success but still the killings towards the black minority groups have intensified. This research aims on fighting racism in America and ensure that everyone is treated equally. Killings against the black minority should stop and those found to have violated the law necessary actions should be taken against them.
The war on racism needs to be won because so many black minority have suffered from racism claims against them. It is a worrying trend that most community members are facing in their day to day life. Furthermore, racism acts must be dealt with collectively because a community problem. Racism is an ongoing struggle in our society that must be handled with the weight it deserves. First the issue of injustices and inequality should be tackled to ensure African-American people feel equal and part of a white majority. According to an article by Arwa identifies racism as an enemy of the people and each and every one should contribute no matter how small to the fight (Arwa, 2). It is about time friends, family, relatives among others sit down and have the difficult conversation on racism. Young people need to be educated on the evil racism is doing to the society.
The context of these research is to understand the measure that communities are implementing to cub racism. Black lives indeed matter and the death of George Floyd is just the beginning of a struggle to protect the black minority living in the United States. Racism began in the early slavery era when African men were transported by Europeans and sold as slaves in America. Approximately six to seven million people were shipped from Africa to America to work as slaves. After the American Revolution many colonies in the United States began to link oppression of Africans to their own oppression by the British through leaders such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. In the 18th century many northern states had abolished slave trade but the southern colonies still slaves were important because they worked in plantations because their economy relied on production. Hence, after the abolition of slave trade the Americans who lived in the southern states were not happy and began to treat Africans as monkeys.
However many existing contents are focusing on ending racism but my submission focuses more on ending injustices and inequalities between the whites and African-American. Ending racism is not the answer to the perennial incidences that have occurred in the past. According to the history of racism it is clear that injustices and inequality is the answer to solving racism. Empowering African-American to earn respect from the white majority. That is the answer to racism
The context
The community is facing the problem of racism since the slavery era. Many African-American minority have been on the receiving end from their white counterparts. Racism is now a global issue affecting the entire world. In the United States high number of racism crimes have been reported that any other country. It is because America houses approximately forty-seven million African-American the highest number than any other country in the world. Many whites believe they are more superior to blacks. Hence racism can be a powerful weapon which is used to separate the white and black. Furthermore, racism acts fuels discrimination as whites believes black’s people resemble monkeys. For communities to completely tackle racism then young people must be involved in the debate.
In the United States alone approximately forty seven million black minority are at risk of experiencing racism profiling. However, many leaders have tried to resolve the issue of racism in the past with no clear success. Martin Luther king was one of the leaders who spoke extensively on racism. He wanted a fair America where the black and whites would be treated equally and not being profiled according to their race. However, Luther was assassinated in the year 1968 by a gunman while at the balcony of a Montel in Memphis. His death sparked nationwide fears on the oppression towards the black community. Before his death Luther was concerned about economic inequality in America. The Africans who lived in poor suburbs were paid fewer wages compared to the white majority. As a way to silence him he was gunned down in what many believe the government was to blame. To date many blacks Americans are concerned whether racism will end because many efforts aimed at ending racism have not bored any fruits.
In recent years research has shown that racism is on the rise and the government is not doing enough to end racism. From the recent killing of George Floyd it is clear that racism roots are so deep that the police force is now a victim. White cops are now targeting blacks in their line of duty, increasing tension between the black cops also serving in the force. According to a study by Anthony Marx in his book about American Becoming states there are changing in how racism is defined. Current trends in racism is that certain laws demarcating and depriving African-American is now a target of domestic protest. Many Americans natives believe Africans should not enjoy the full human rights they enjoy because they perceive them to be immigrants hence should be treated as less beings (Anthony, 304). Things do not look to be get better anytime soon. In fact racism seems to be getting worse that previously imagined because it is now a global issue affecting many European countries which has been receiving hundreds of thousands of immigrants from Africa. The challenge now is for the world leaders to create a framework that will curb racism.
Community organization in the United State are coming up with measures aimed at creating awareness for people to understand racism better. Through creating awareness the government may feel obliged to act with ease failure to which might result to protest, strikes among others. Furthermore the community is also educating the young ones on the need to stop racism and that blacks and whites should be treated equally. The young generations will inherit our places when we depart from this world and if they are brought up with strong basis on racism then the war on racism can be won. The young people should be taught to treat all people equally regardless of their race, color or ethnicity. Also equal rights and opportunities should be rendered to white and black children so that both may feel equal and no one is oppressed. Community organizations have arranged peaceful protests in major American cities to try and urge the government to protect the rights of blacks. These protests have proven effective because in the killing of George Floyd the arresting officer Chauvin was arrested and charged with murder. Chauvin faces up to 25 years behind bars if he’s convicted of murder. The arrest of George Floyd murderer shows transformations in the justice department because in the past a white cop could not be arrested to face murder charges of a black American (Ashford, 3).
Literature Review
According to an by Callie, Ronald and Frederick, 2012 which is available on the American Sociological review database talks extensively on racial discrimination of black Americans. These writers have profound knowledge on racism having previously researched on racial abuses towards African-American community by white police officers. They write from a neutral point of view and have not picked any side either in their writing, research or recommendations. The article talks on racial discrimination profiling of blacks as criminal offenders. Blacks are considered to be criminals because many Americans think race and crime go handy with each other. Despite calls to end racism some social behaviors remain extremely underdeveloped. Criminal behaviors by African-Americans have painted a bad picture on their community. That is why in most instances white naturally use racist words against blacks because of the bad perception they have about them. This article talks on the theme of racial discrimination profiling which many people have not addressed. Blacks should not be profiled as crime offenders when it evident only a few blacks are involved in criminal activity. The lack of a clear laws addressing the problem of racial discrimination and profiling is the cause of constant attacks of innocent blacks by the native whites (by Callie, Ronald & Frederick, 3). The researchers argue that legislations aimed at making racial discrimination and profiling should be enacted to protect innocent blacks who are cough up in between the cross fires.
Another study by Aerika and Gaither, 2018 about racial/ethnic socialization found in the journal of Applied Development Psychology analyses the situation where young children acquire the behaviors, values, perception and attitudes of an ethnic group and see themselves as members of the group too. The writers have extensive knowledge on racial socialization since all of them hold a doctorate degree on racism. The write on a neutral point of view and are not sympathizers of racism acts but rather focuses on educating the public on the need to come together and joining the fight against racism. The issue of racism is deeply rooted and children often acquire the same perception as their parents or their fellow group members. The researchers have found out that parents of color teach their children to be mindful of the police or other groups of people especially white natives. That results to ethnic/racial socialization were black’s children only feel safe when around other black Americans. They grow with the fear that white Native Americans are a danger to their race and this explains why most killings by police targets black minority groups (Aerika & Gaither, 4).
Both studies do not show any contradictors because both themes talks extensively on racism. Researchers have proved that the issue of racial injustices in deeply rooted in the heart of both African-American and Native Americans. Both facts of people see each other as enemies and coexisting with each other is hard. Both racial discrimination and racial socialization show two groups of people who are largely separated by color. The fact that the government is deeply concerned in eradicating racism achieving total success is a hard affair because of the separation that occurs when you speak of whites and blacks.
The study does not seem to disapprove something said in another study. In fact most studies have talked extensively on the need to end racism. Eradicating racism is not an easy task because the leaders who are expected to talk extensively on racism are racist themselves and have been elected through racist campaigns and policies aimed at oppressing blacks.
What is surprising from the study is that racism is hot topic that many researchers have not written extensively on how to end corruption. Most studies are focused on identifying racism in the society but not how to completely eradicate racism. It is the high time researchers focus on ways on ending racism since it is now resulted to being a global issue. International Human Right groups alone cannot win the war on graft everyone must take their place on the global stage to stand a chance of ending racism. A lot has to be done to ensure that racism is defeated and leaders themselves should be on the forefront to end racism.
My proposal
This proposal, proposes that everyone should stand against racism because it affects us all whether black or white. Therefore justice and equal rights should be applied to both blacks and whites if the challenge of racism is to be won. An example is the killing of George Floyd by a white chop who was later taken into custody and he is awaiting sentencing. That example shows George Floyd murder will not go unpunished and those responsible regardless of their skin color will face the full force of the law. The issue of racism has deeply established itself in our generations and it is important to educate the younger generation to treat their colleagues equally whether black or white because everyone is equal. Equality and justice has to be guaranteed for everyone regardless of their race, ethnicity or values.
According to the study by Callie, Ronald and Frederick which talks about racial discrimination and profiling found out that lack of equality and justice is what leads to racism profiling. Blacks are always treated less equally than their native white Americans because four hundred years ago blacks arrived in the United States as slaves. It is the main reason why African-Americans are treated as less beings who do not have rights. Not many Americans wanted to end slavery especially the southern states which used to grow cash crops and used African labour for free. And for that reason many white native use racist words to offend the blacks because they never wanted them to be free. However, this proposal seeks to end the injustice African slaves received by offering compensations to Africans. Also it seeks to remove the perception by many native whites that Africans are less beings by promoting the rights of all black people living in the United States (Callie, Ronald & Frederick, 21).
Lastly, this proposal seeks to establish a global non-governmental organization that will be on the forefront in fighting for the rights of youths. What has been lacking globally is a body that will be responsible for implementing laws and speaking up on the rights of Africans. Many international organizations do not have a stance when it comes to racism and that laxity has resulted to racism being a global challenge facing the world today. Apart from setting up global non-governmental organization to fight racism one can explore the need for the United Nations to create a department to address the challenge. The fact that the United Nations is well established in many countries may help in addressing these menace by speaking against it in global events to ensure leaders completely understand its stance. The war of racism needs to be won before it escalates further.
Countries all over the world should treat Africans will the same respect that many state accord citizens of other established nations. Lack of respect and injustices towards the black race is what brings tension between Africans and whites. If Africans feels their rights is not important, many tend to act for their self-interest like Martin Luther king who chose to disobey government orders and offer support to his fellow black community. The study by Arwa found out that racism is people’s enemy and we ought to fight it back till the war is won. The gap between the whites and blacks should be closed because even though both of us have different skin color we are one human being that should treat each other with the respect each one of us deserves ((Arwa, 12).
Conclusion
In conclusion racism has caused more harm in our society than good. Many countless lives have been lost in the quest to win the war on racism like the likes of Martin Luther who was assassinated because of his stance on racism among others. In a world that we live in today racism is wide spread and many Africans immigrants feel offended by abusive claims on their skin color. The black community is alarmed on how the police are targeting African-American youths and killing them in cold blood rather than arresting them if found breaking the law. An example is George Floyd who was killed while in custody by a white police officer yet he never resisted arrest. These are some of the few instances that racism has caused lives of our young African-American men and women who would have impacted the community in a positive way.
Hence, each and every one of us has a duty to say no to racism because it is an enemy of the people. Many people are deeply rooted in racial discrimination but time has come on the issue to be globally handled. The United States which is one of the countries with high racial discrimination reports should do more to enact laws to protect its African minority. Furthermore, people should be educated to ensure they see each other as brothers and sisters and not divide them in racial lines. But through our committed and dedication on the fight on racial discrimination the war will be won eventually.