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Victoria M. Burgess
Abstract
The focus of this research paper is bringing to light a major issue in the United
States today; racism. Many people would like to close their doors and minds, believing
the civil rights act did its job. Racism and prejudice are issues that without being
addressed the nation cannot move forward. This paper covered the first and essential
question of whether racism still exists today and if its definition can be agreed upon. It
explored the psychology behind prejudice and lastly focused on the ever-looming
Racism in Modern America is a hot topic found not just in our government, but in
households all across the country. There is a heated debate as to whether or not racism
continues to be an issue and what can be done to combat it. In this literature review the
following questions were explored without bias, in order to come to the conclusion of
Does race play a role or encourage the use of excessive force in law
enforcement?
from interview to observational. Visual aids were included as well to back the findings. A
topic such as Racism contains multiple facets in it, however the primary focus was
whether or not the media representation of the racial conflict in the country was
accurate. Tension among citizens is easily faked and it is sometimes hard to sort fact
from fiction. Prejudice in the form of racism affects many ethnicities, each one affected
differently. In its true form, it can cause destruction of personal life, property, and even
result in death. Law enforcement has not been excluded from the medias depiction of
racism either, therefore this review covered just how Law Enforcement came to play a
When you look at the media today, so many vectors are divided, its almost
impossible to find a happy medium between the radical differences in opinion they
present. Sadly, the misrepresentation of information and bias causes a division among
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the countrys citizens that otherwise might not exist. Especially when it comes to the
topic of racial division. In order to sift through what is popular opinion and what is fact
we must ask ourselves the hard questions; What is the true definition of racism, and
does it truly still exist to the extent we are being told it does?
To begin with, we must look at the melting pot that is American society. So many
radically different cultures, religions, and ways of life make up our country that one
group or another is bound to disagree. The racial division isnt narrowed down to simply
two groups either, although it would be hard to discern that were you to only follow
certain radical media. Some outlets would have you believe the majority of the tension
lies between African Americans and Whites. The term White is a loose one due to its
focus solely on the shade of ones skin and not necessarily on their cultural or even
racial background. According to a journal article written by Evelyn R. Carter and Mary C.
Murphy, Belonging to a group fundamentally shapes the way we interpret and attribute
membership (Carter, 2015). Where you are from, how you were raised, and your
parents perception of the world all shape your understanding of society. To add to it,
media now plays a key role in a persons understanding of society and what societial
shifts are in play. So what is the true definition of racism? Webster defines it as a belief
that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial
2017). By this definition one might see racism as outdated, focusing on the civil rights
era and slavery, where white superiority ruled in the southern sector of our country.
Racism, however, comes in many forms. Author Paula S. Rothenberg brings forth the
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perspective that wherever there is a dominate group in society, oppression will occur
due to the dominate group fighting to hold its position. Here, the lesser party is socially
(Rtohenberg, 2004). Under this definition of racism, it can be argued that it is very much
When one looks at a child, there is a certain sense of innocence that the child
possesses. When asked, child Psychologist Dr. Martin Leundbaum stated clearly
children are not born with a preconception of racism or prejudice. These are acts and
psychological states that must be taught (Leundbaum, 2017) . If children do not come
out of the womb with prejudice, can it be reasonably considered that there are
races? In an article by Psychology Today, Author Clay Routledge Ph.D., lists self-
prejudicial actions such as racism appear to restore esteem (at least for some). Humans
are social creatures. We like being part of a group and just as we like to see ourselves
people sometimes hold negative attitudes about that individual because they belong to
a different group. Lastly, Therefore, one cause of racism may be an innate proclivity
towards group conflict in the service of resource acquisition (Routledge, 2010). This
type of thinking leads back to the pack mentality. As humans for the most part do not
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like to be singled out, if the pack leaders are promoting racism, the majority tends to
follow.
(Beer, 2017)
Before the civil rights movement, racism went unchecked in areas of our country.
Cases of what we today consider police brutality, were simply the way of life for many
races back then. With the outpouring of media coverage we have today, we are more
aware of what goes on. Nothing is hidden. Therefore, cases such as the Michael Brown
case, are easily seen and have sparked outrage. Central in this argument is the
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excessive use of police force towards those of color over those that are white. Does
race really play into police brutality or is the media simply providing this distinction
based of what they show? According the Society Pages author Todd Beer, While whites
make up the greatest number and largest percentage of victims of lethal force by the
police in the US, it remains important to compare the rates to the distribution in the
general population (Beer, 2017). Trends are what make or break good data and while
the media focuses almost solely on the killing of blacks by police, it has made it
When politics come into play and the mainstream media a nation mainly watches
focuses on one race or one isolated issue, other facets of the issue become hidden.
Police brutality and the excessive use of force are not as much of a racial issue as they
are an ethics issue. Strictly according to data, whites are often killed in such situations
more than any other race. When you start to consider other data such as were the
victims armed, how they were killed etc. you find the result is not so transparent. In
2014, 12-year old Tamir Rice was shot on site by Cleveland police as he played with a
toy gun. While the person who called 911 told the dispatcher that the gun was probably
fake, she failed to pass that along to the officers. The officers pulled up within feet of
Tamir and killed him within seconds. How many others who were in possession of a
nonlethal firearm (toy, BB gun, etc.) were killed by police in 2015? Thirty-seven. In the
table below we see that blacks were disproportionate victims under these conditions
(Beer, 2017).
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(Beer, 2017)
The data starts to become convoluted and not so transparent when the proportion of the
population is brought into play. While whites may have higher numbers unarmed whites
continue to make up a smaller percentage of victims than their portion of the population,
while unarmed blacks make up about two and a half times the portion of the unarmed
victims compared to their portion of the general population (Beer, 2017). This being the
case, one can rightfully state that statistically, race does play a factor in cases of lethal
police force.
Race will never be a quiet issue in the United States. Politics, religion, violence,
culture; all these come into play when one is discerning whether one group is being
oppressed or not. Strictly according to data, in some sectors, racism and prejudice still
very much stands. Media continues to be biased on most fronts, only showing the side,
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they want to represent and not the whole truth. Change is slow coming for many nations
and the United States is still growing. Only one thing is for sure, freedom cannot be
References
Beer, T. (2017, November 13). Sociology Toolbox. Retrieved from The Society Pages:
https://thesocietypages.org/toolbox/police-killing-of-blacks/
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Counts, to Whom, and Why? Social & Personality Psychology Compass, 9(6), 269-280.
doi:17519004
Last Name, F. M. (Year). Article Title. Journal Title, Pages From - To.
Leundbaum, M. (2017, November 3). Racism in America Today. (V. Burgess, Interviewer)
Routledge, C. (2010, August 31). Exploring the Psychological Motives of Racism. Retrieved
mortal/201008/exploring-the-psychological-motives-racism
Rtohenberg, P. S. (2004). Race, Class, and Gender in the United States: An Integrated Study.