RUNNING HEAD, RACISM 1

Notre Dame University

Racism

A research papers

For the Course College English 2

Written by:

Lama Kaedbay

Presented to:

Dr. Toni Kopaly

November 29, 2020

Outline

A. Introduction

I-General Statement

II-Link

III-Thesis Statement

Racism has different causes, effects, and there are many ways to solve it

B.

I-Causes of racism: [ CITATION humanrights \l 2057 ]

a. Media representation

I-reflection of racism stereotypes

ii-presentation of black men in crimes

b. Self-interest

I-kidnapping of black people to force them into slavery

ii-increase of slavery from Europeans

c. Scientific racism

I of racism

ii-scientific racist beliefs

II-Impact of racism

a. Health issues [CITATION impactofracism \l 2057 ]

I-development of high blood pressure

ii-increase in the risk of having heart diseases

b. Mental Health Problems [CITATION impactofracism \l 2057 ]

I-depression

ii-PTSD

iii-anxiety and stress

iii-decreased treatment options

III-Ways to Fight Racism

a- Position of Black People[ CITATION Nic \l 2057 ]

I-placement of black people on politically powerful positions

ii- equal salaries for all races

iii-increased job opportunities for black people

b- Use of Social Media (Nicole Stamp, 2020)

I-educating people about race equality using online social media sites

ii-raise of awareness about racism

iii-increased job opportunities for black people

c-Black Organizations
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I-donation of money for organization that work on fighting racism

ii-raise of awareness for volunteering in these NGOs

C-Conclusion

Restatement of thesis statement

Racism
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Racism is defined as the belief that different races have distinct features, skills,

characteristics, or abilities to differentiate them as superior or inferior to each other. The act

of “racism” also allows certain ethnic groups to discriminate against other ethnic

groups through the act of institutional racism. Racism has been a controversial topic in the

world specially in the United States for many centuries, and it has been causing many serious

problems. There are some factors that have aided the aggravation of racism such as self-

interest, science, and media.

The first cause of racism is self-interest. Many researchers suggest the root cause of racist

views is self-interest. People from Africa were abducted during the 17th and 18th centuries

and coerced into slavery. This was because European investors found out that the labour

required to grow tobacco, sugar, and cotton in the Americas could not be done by indentured

servants. Europeans chose to use slavery instead of seeking to recruit voluntary laborers.

They needed barbaric behaviour to be justified, so they argued that slavery was acceptable

because they considered that colored people were less than humans.Racists also considered

enslaved people as commodities to be bought, sold , and exploited.

Scientific racism is another factor that resulted in the exacerbation of racism. Scientific

racism is the belief that empirical evidence exists to support racial discrimination. Science

replaced faith and superstition as an intellectual authority at the end of the 18th century. Then

it was "science" that explained many discriminatory views, such as that there were more

health concerns and shorter lifespans for mixed-race children. It's important to remember that
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junk science is "scientific racism." It depends on physical anthropology, craniometry, and

other methods that are mocked. For example, the post-war era saw scientists on the right-

wing fringe find ways to cloak their racist views in more palatable language and concepts.

And as Angela Saini certainly argues in her new book, Superior: The Return of Race Science,

published May 21 by Beacon Press, the “problem of the colour line” still survives today in

21st-century science [ CITATION Ram19 \l 2057 ].

Finally, the media also plays a significant role in increasing racism worldwide. Media is

supposed to be neutral in reporting the events that happens in the society, but media is

choosing one sided reporting, and it is violating the media ethics which leads to creating

chaos among people. The media’s discrimination has resulted in tension among different

races especially in the United States. Ricardo Torres-Cortez, a reporter at the Las Vegas Sun

and Hank Greenspoon School of Journalism and Media Studies alumnus, noted that news

media organizations, too, have played a role in perpetuating such biases. The language used

to depict communities of colour in even major news institutions like “The New York Times”

was sometimes far from inclusive in the past. “You see some of this racist language, and

you’re supposed to depend on these places to educate you. And they just weren’t at the time

doing that,” he said [ CITATION impactofracism \l 2057 ] . Moreover, the media has unbelievably

harmful ramifications. As an example, black men are over-represented in the media as

criminals of violent crime while Black people are also over-represented in news stories about

poverty. This influences Black people’s understanding of themselves and the perception of

Black people by society.

Second, racism has a great impact on society specially on the health of people. Studies have

shown that discrimination based on race or ethnicity, is a key contributing factor in the onset
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of disease. Experiencing racism leads to stress which is causes blood pressure and weakens

the immune system, which, in turn, raises the risk of developing long-term health conditions.

A 2019 found that racist experiences appear to increase inflammation in African American

people, raising their risk of developing chronic conditions such as heart disease and kidney

disease[ CITATION impactofracism \l 2057 ].

Structural inequality in medical care has been cited by several researches as a contributing

factor in poor physical health A study has found a connection between the treatment of pain

in black patients and false biological beliefs, such as that the skin of black people is thicker

than that of white people.

In addition to that racism cause a lot of mental health issues. Studies have proven that racial

discrimination triggers depression, anxiety, emotional distress, post traumatic stress disorder,

and suicidal thoughts. There are subtle sorts of racism that pervade daily life and increase

mental health issues. For example, the security guard who follows you around the shop due to

the colour of your skin. The boss who overlooks you for promotion—again. The white folks

that pass the road while you approach, keep away from sitting beside to you at the bus, or

maintain their luggage tighter as you step into an elevator. Not only does racism trigger

mental health problems, it also adds barriers to getting help. People may still encounter

discrimination within the health care system itself even if you have access to a doctor or a

therapist. A medical professional’s lack of cultural understanding results in misdiagnosis and

improper treatment.