The
issue of race is a complicated one but is still a major player in society
today. On one hand, there’s the idea of racism and how that has affected
current social issues. So many people define racism so differently that having
a conversation about race might be complicated when dealing with those of
different skin colors and backgrounds. At the same time, there is also the
issue of how the media handles race and how people as individuals treats others
based on race.
With
any discussion of race in today’s society, there is the concept of racism.
However, racism is just as complicated as race, as those with different races
define racism differently. Many people who identify as white might consider
racism to be a thing of the past, as this kind of racism is “defined in terms
of segregation and lynching, explicit white supremacist beliefs, or double
standards in hiring, promotion, and admissions to colleges or other institutions”
(Blauner, 2009, p. 13) .
On the other hand, there is racism as black people understand it, as racism can
be based on “the underlying structures of power and position that continued to
provide [black people] with unequal portions of economic opportunity and other
possibilities for the good life” (Blauner, 2009, p. 14) .
Ultimately though, the differences in defining racism go to show that how
people interact with both race and racism come from their life experiences and
background, including their own race and skin color.
Race
is extremely important to understand social issues, especially with poverty,
violence, and how the media handles race related issues. One example of how the
media handles race is the Trayvon Martin case. On February 26, 2012, Trayvon
Martin was a 17 year old teen who had just moved to Sanford, Florida with his
father and was walking back to his father’s fiancé’s townhouse after buying
some Skittles and Arizona tea. (Botelho, 2012)
His father’s fiancé lived in the same neighborhood as George Zimmerman, who was
the neighborhood watch volunteer. Zimmerman and Martin had a brief but fairly
violent interaction, despite the police telling Zimmerman not to follow the
teenager, and the interaction ended with Martin dying of a gunshot wound. (Botelho, 2012)
The
weeks to follow the incident turned into massive media confusion and rallies on
behalf of Martin. One rally in Chicago that was held weeks after Martin’s death
had about 300 people dressed in hoodies, much like the one Martin was wearing
at the time of his death. Many of the people held signs that said phrases like
“It’s not a crime to be black” (Wisniewski, 2012) , implying that the crime was based on
race. Tracie Roberson is a black woman who attended the Chicago rally in
support of Martin and said that she thought “Martin was targeted because of his
race” (Wisniewski, 2012) . Many politicians, including Barack
Obama and Mitt Romney, spoke about the incident and continued to imply the
racial implications of the attack (Mason & Trotta, 2012) . The Miami Heat also
used hoodies as a way to stand in solitary with Martin and the NBA players’
union called for “a probe into what it described as racial bias by the police
in the matter” (Evans, 2012) .
All of these rallies, protests, and speeches go to show that race was a big
part of the Trayvon Martin case and that race continues to be a big issue of
today’s society.
At the same time, not only is race
essential to understanding social issues but the concept is still extremely
important in how people relate to one another.
While there are plenty of issues surrounding how white and black people
treat one another in the US, there are also incidents between white people and
others of color. Judith Ortiz Cofer discusses several situations where
strangers or acquaintances have purposefully pointed out her “different” skin
color, like the time she was awkwardly serenaded by a companion’s father with
several songs based on her color. She brought up the fact that he “would not
have been likely to regale a white woman with a dirty song in public” (Cofer, 2009,
p. 23) and thus, she
was treated differently based on her skin color alone.
Many Arab and Muslim Americans face
similar challenges of being judged by
others and perceived as something that they are not. September 11th,
2001 proved to be a hard event for the United States to handle and out of the
tragic event, an unintentional wave of racism came over
the country towards Arab and Muslim Americans.
Moustafa Bayoumi discussed his experience of being an Arab American
living in New York at the time of the attacks. In his experience, the US
government did not bureaucratically recognize people coming from an Arab
background, forcing these people “to be brown in reality and white in
bureaucracy” (Bayoumi, 2009, p. 27) . At the same time,
after the attacks, many US Americans seemed to be on the pro side of racially
profiling the Arab community, even after the government does not legally
recognize the community as a minority.
Bayoumi’s experience shows that the concept of race and how people
define it still matters in today’s society.
While many white people seem to
believe that racism is a concept of the past, race hold very important roles in
how society works today and how people interact with one another. The
differences in understanding does not allow for people of all colors to open up
and freely discuss issues of race and racism, as what might considered an issue
or racist for one person might not be considered the same for another. However,
even with the multiple definitions and understandings, there continue to be
racial issues. The media might use the race card to over dramatize a situation,
even with not knowing all of the facts. Such was the case with Trayvon Martin
and George Zimmerman, where the nation rallied against Zimmerman based on race.
Then there are the stories of Judith Ortiz Cofer and Moustafa Bayoumi, who both
share stories of being singled out based on their skin color or perceived race.
Ultimately though, all of this boils down to the fact that race (and the issues
surrounding it, including racism) is an extremely important concept and still
matters in today’s society.
Bayoumi, M. (2009). How Does It Feel to Be a Problem?
In E. Higginbotham, & M. L. Andersen, Race and Ethnicity in Society:
The Changing Landscape` (pp. 25-29). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Blauner, R.
(2009). Talking Past One Another. In E. Higginbotham, & M. L. Andersen, Race
and Ethnicity in Society: The Changing Landscape (pp. 11-15). Belmont, CA:
Wadsworth.
Botelho, G.
(2012 йил 23-May). What Happened the night Trayvon Martin Died. From
CNN Justice: http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/18/justice/florida-teen-shooting-details/index.html
Cofer, J. O.
(2009). The Myth of the Latin Woman. In E. Higgenbotham, & M. L. Andersen,
Race and Ethnicity in Society: the Changing Landscape (pp. 20-24).
Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Evans, S. (2012, March 24). Heat make hoodie
protest over Florida teenager death. Retrieved from Reuters:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/24/us-nba-heat-protest-idUSBRE82N02U20120324
Mason, J., & Trotta, D. (2012, March 23). Obama
gets personal over killing of black Florida teenager. Retrieved from Reuters:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/23/us-florida-shooting-obama-idUSBRE82M0QF20120323
The University
of Michigan. (2013). Poverty in the United States: Frequently Asked
Questions. From National Poverty Center: http://www.npc.umich.edu/poverty/
Wisniewski, M. (2012, March 24). Rallies Held
Around Country for Trayvon Martin. Retrieved from Reuters:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/25/us-usa-florida-shooting-rallies-idUSBRE82O00Z20120325
