Abstract
Racism has existed in America for more than 150 years after abolishing slavery ( Carter & Murphy, 2015) . The current form of racism is modern because, despite the lack of slavery like in the past, the blacks and other people of color experience similar issues like that during slavery. The main cause is associated with Afro-Americans' perceptions of their cultural belief that they lack motivation and are predictably violent. Racism has caused colossal gaps in how American society is structured. Intensive cases of discrimination characterize various institutions, neighborhoods, and the labor market. In the areas mentioned above, the Whites are favored, whereas nonwhites are subjected to harsh treatment. For instance, the nonwhites attend schools with inadequate learning resources as compared to Whites. The issues mentioned have led to consequences that need to the eradication of racism to obtain an inclusive society in America. The paper will discuss the causes, effects, and consequences of racism in the USA.
Key Words: Racism, abolition, slavery, labor market, discrimination, White, nonwhites, inclusive, and people of color.
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Racism in the USA
The abolition of slavery based on the 13 th Amendment in 1865 was meant to end racial segregation in the USA. However, the issues that people of color experienced during slavery, such as inequality, continues to thrive. Han et al. (2020) outline that 58% of Americans view that race relations in the country are quite bad. President Trump has worsened racism due to his constant negative remarks against the blacks. Racial segregation has led to blacks' subjection to police brutality and the inability to secure decent employment and frustrations. Racism in America is historically related to issues such as white supremacy and stereotypes that whites have towards blacks. Such issues have caused an increase in cases of discrimination among blacks.
Various issues cause racism in the USA. Notably, white supremacy is one of the main causes of discrimination. The Whites believe that they are more civilized than people of color, so they deserve better treatment and resources. The belief has led to the emergence of a positive distinctiveness perspective whereby different groups struggle to be better than others. Botts (2019) argues that the continuous reduction in the number of Whites in America due to the influx in the number of people of color has increased in racism cases. Primarily, it has been established that by 2050, the Whites will be less than 30% ( Carter & Murphy, 2015) . Such information has led to an increase in racial discrimination prevalence with the view of maintaining White supremacy per se. Racism is also caused by stereotypes about people of color, especially blacks. Historic perception of blacks that they lack motivation and moral standards have led to advancement in racism. The ancient perception that blacks are lazy is used by Whites to discriminate them in the labor market. Blacks are discriminated against because it is believed that they are biologically inferior.
Racism has adverse effects on people of color. Racial segregation has led to the rise in race compositions in learning institutions, neighborhoods, and the job market. In learning institutions, most schools are based on racial groups. In the USA, the public and private schools with a high concentration of Whites are not attended by people of color ( Carter & Murphy, 2015) . The people of color are forced by circumstances to attend schools with less access to quality resources, and few qualified teachers. Similarly, racism has led to segregation in neighborhoods. The people of color reside in low income and insecure neighborhoods as compared to Whites. In the job market, the people of color are last to be hired and the first to face termination. Besides, job positions that are reserved for people of color are characterized by low wages and unskilled labor force. Due to such issues, the people of color continue to live in a deplorable state of poverty since their income and job security cannot allow them to live fulfilling lifestyles like White. According to research carried out in 2018 on income, it was established that Black Americans earn 42% lower overall compared to Whites ( Han et al., 2020) . Such depicts on to extend at which racial discrimination has impacted on livelihoods of people of color in the US.
The causes and effects of racial discrimination in the USA have led to an increase in negative consequences among people of color. The issues of police brutality are one of the key consequences of racial discrimination. The Afro-Americans have been facing brutality from the police regardless of whether there is evidence or not on the alleged misconduct. Police brutality has contributed to the overrepresentation of people of color in the justice system. The police respond rapidly to assaults aggravated by nonwhites as compared to offenses committed by Whites ( Botts, 2019) . As such, it has been established that arrests and convictions are mainly directed to people of color. Racism has also led to a rise in movements such as Black Lives Matters, whose intention is ending injustices that black people have been facing due to racism ( López-Narbona, 2019) . Racism has also subjected blacks to risk factors associated with segregation, poverty, crime, and unemployment. Youthful populations who are alienated from mainstream social and economic institutions engage in self-destructive and risky behaviors. Such leads to an increase in patterns of violence and drug abuse among nonwhites.
In conclusion, racism is one of the issues that have existed in America for a long period. The people of color continue to experience discrimination, however, in the modern dimension. The main causes of racial discrimination in America are White supremacy and stereotypes based on historical believes leveled among people of color. The Whites view that they are better than other races in terms of civilizations, thus perpetuating racism. The cultural stereotypes that blacks are lazy, immoral, and more likely to engage in violent activities have also contributed immensely to racial discrimination ( López-Narbona, 2019) . Racism has led to negative effects on people of color. Notably, it has led to racial composition in learning institutions and neighborhoods. People of color study in unequipped schools and also live in areas with inadequate security. Discrimination has subjected Afro-Americans to dire consequences. Blacks have been experiencing police brutality for long. Similarly, due to the lack of economic and social equity, the youthful populations among the Blacks are engaging in inappropriate behaviors such as drug abuse and violence. Racism is an epidemic that is slowly destroying the lives of nonwhites, and thus, the American government should develop policies that can reverse its effects.
References
Botts, T. F. (2019). Backlash: What Happens When We Talk Honestly About Racism in America by George Yancy. philoSOPHIA , 9 (1), 166-173. https://doi.org/10.1353/phi.2019.0009
Carter, E. R., & Murphy, M. C. (2015). Group‐based differences in perceptions of racism: What counts, to whom, and why?. Social and Personality Psychology Compass , 9 (6), 269-280. https://doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12181
Han, K. T., Scull, W. R., & Harbour, C. P. (2020). Listening to Counternarratives of Faculty of Color: Studying Rural Racism in One of Most Conservative Communities in America. The Urban Review , 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-020-00576-w
López-Narbona, A. M. (2019). Systemic racism as power relations. The United States of America. División Operativa de Criminalística, DOCRIM , (1), 1-31. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ana_Lopez116/publication/332781699_SYSTEMIC_RACISM_AS_POWER_RELATIONS_THE_UNITED_STATES_OF_AMERICA_Ana_Maria_Lopez-Narbona_RACISMO_SISTEMICO_COMO_RELACIONES_DE_PODER_LOS_ESTADOS_UNIDOS_DE_AMERICA/links/5cc984804585156cd7be3523/SYSTEMIC-RACISM-AS-POWER-RELATIONS-THE-UNITED-STATES-OF-AMERICA-Ana-Maria-Lopez-Narbona-RACISMO-SISTEMICO-COMO-RELACIONES-DE-PODER-LOS-ESTADOS-UNIDOS-DE-AMERICA.pdf
