Racial discrimination across the world has profound effects on life routine especially for the ethnic minorities in different societies. The barbaric act has persisted and hinders the effective development and progress of millions of persons globally (Carter et al. 232). It is important to note that racial discrimination is unequal treatment of people or groups of individuals based on their ethnicity and race (Carter et al. 232). Furthermore, racial discrimination is considered to occur when an individual is less favored, denied the same opportunities as others in the society over a similar situation in relation to his or her race (Carter et al. 233). In addition to this, many people have experienced inequality due to their ethnic origin, countries of birth, or skin color, hence leading to racial discrimination. Despite the continued advance in racism, the impact of racial discrimination as far as social behaviors are concerned remains underdeveloped (Carter et al. 234). Notably, various countries and world organizations have enacted numerous laws that make racial discrimination unlawful within their borders.
Racial discrimination occurs in different forms such as interpersonal level as well as in institutions and organizations through procedures, policies, and practices. Under interpersonal and individual levels, the act is physically experienced, recognized, and advanced through violent actions, discriminating individuals in work and social settings and making slur statements (Carter et al. 239). It is important to note that individual or interpersonal racial discrimination does not occur in a vacuum, instead, it develops from a foundational belief in the society (Carter et al. 245). Individual racial discrimination is an assumption of a person’s racist behaviors and beliefs. It is a form of racism that stems from conscious as well as unconscious. In most cases, it is reinforced and supported by an established system of racism in a country or region.
It is worth noting that people live in a society and that is rich in individualism. Moreover, the privilege relating to the freedom of speech allows people to speak their views freely, hence leading to possible discrimination statements that many individuals defend as personal opinions (Small and Pager 49). On the other hand, systematic racial discrimination involves practices as well as the policies that are majorly established in the organizations and institutions. Systematic racism is practiced in many parts of the world and it has resulted in the establishment of policies to promote or exclude certain groups of people (Small and Pager 50). Furthermore, systematic or structural racism is preventing substantial numbers of the population from participating in critical social and economic development across the nations. The world has witnessed numerous forms of systematic racial discrimination including Jim Crow laws that happen in the United States of America and the Indian residential system of education (Small and Pager 51). Additionally, there are such occurrences as segregation of African Americans from golfers’ elite, universal suffrage that leads to the exclusion of indigenous women from North America as well as the Head Tax, which occurred in Canada in 1885.
Perception of racial discrimination is a factor that has been reported over many years across the world. For instance, Black Americans as well as other small ethnic groups in the United States are among the most affected groups as far as racial discrimination is concerned (Small and Pager 53). The discrimination has also been reported in the street and other social settings in the United States and other countries in Europe and Africa. More than 20% of Black Americans, Asians, and Hispanics experience racial discrimination yearly in America (Small and Pager 54). Individuals that come from minority groups are being sidelined over employment and job promotion due to their ethnicity or race (Small and Pager 49). Despite creating strong laws in Canada that protect human rights, and the system responsible for addressing racial discrimination in the country, many still experience different forms of discrimination within the borders.
It is important to note that a significant number of Aboriginal populations, Chinese, Africans, South Asians, Muslim Canadians, Japanese as well as Jewish are among the groups of people that in one way or another have gone through racial discrimination in Canada. The legacy of racial discrimination in different countries such as the US and Canada has affected their structures and systems (Edelman et al. 2). The lives of racialized individuals in the world are greatly affected leading to depression and other health complications. It is evident that societies have formed racist ideas based on many factors such as economics, cultural, historical, political and social (Edelman et al. 3). The aforementioned factors should not be used to justify or measure racial prejudice and superiority. The discrimination has revealed apathetic ideas that some group of people is superior to others in the world. Ethnic superiority is openly displayed through name-calling, hate crime, or slur and creating images that insult a certain group of people (Edelman et al. 5). However, race is only a single factor that facilitates the occurrence of racial discrimination.
People are racialized through different manners such as stereotyping, overt bias and prejudice, and racial profiling. Notably, people have experienced racial discrimination due to stereotyping, which involves attributing a particular trait to all members of one group, irrespective of individuals differences (Edelman et al. 11). In most cases, stereotyping is grounded on incomplete information, misconceptions and false generalization of a particular ethnic group. An example of stereotyping as far as racial discrimination is concerned is making a statement that all Blacks are primitive or fools (Edelman et al. 15). On the other hand, racial profiling is also a form of stereotyping that has adverse effects on racialized individuals. It is ethnic profiling that is undertaken for other reasons such as security, safety, and public protection based on stereotyping particular groups of individuals (Edelman et al. 19). In most cases, the stereotypes are anchored on religion, ancestry, race, ethnicity, color, or country of origin.
Racial discrimination has far-reaching effects, especially on the racialized population in the country or society. First, racial discrimination leads to both physiological and psychological distress as a result of acute stressors that are associated with it (Burt et al. 414). Furthermore, the racialized groups normally feel offended especially towards the perpetrators of the act. In addition to this, distress due to racial discrimination leads to some form of revenge and attacks (Burt et al. 414). It is important to note that negative emotions as a result of racial discrimination have pushed many young people into bad behaviors such as drug abuse to control their feelings or avoid negative experiences (Burt et al. 414). For instance, the murder of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, by Minneapolis law enforcement officers, led to a series of demonstrations not only in the United States but also across the world. The peaceful act turned to violence leading to the destruction of properties by the Black Americans as a revenge for George Floyd’s death, and profiling racial discrimination in the country.
Notably, racial discrimination also leads to poor health among racialized individuals. Despite improved healthcare facilities and medical systems in many countries, for instance, in Australia, the US and Canada, such as insurance health coverage, minority groups still record negative health outcomes (Allen et al. 228). Such acts include delayed healthcare attention in the hospitals to the ethnic minorities, which eventually leads to many deaths or health challenges (Allen et al. 228). Moreover, racial discrimination is also the cause of a high number of school dropouts among the racialized learners in the developed and developing world. Education level is vital in promoting indicators of health among women, children, and the aged population (Allen et al. 228). When children drop out of school due to racial discrimination, it becomes a health concern to the whole society. In the US, the Black Americans’ children are leading among the school dropout due to harassment, unjustified suspension, and expulsion from the school, which also affects their mental health and productivity.
In conclusion, racial discrimination is an unfortunate and common phenomenon that has been in existence throughout history as well as in the current generation. The Black Lives Matter movement and numerous protests following the murder of Black American George Floyd highlighted the challenges that different people face today due to racial discrimination (Small and Pager 49). In addition to this, governments and non-governmental organizations have created systems to stop racial discrimination without much success. The effects of racial discrimination are worse for the country, society, economy, health, and racialized individuals. It leads to mental health challenges, causes depression, and a large number of school dropouts across the world (Small and Pager 49). It is important to continue sensitizing the public against practices that promote racial discrimination that ranges from individual to institution policies to foster equality and fair treatment to all people.
Works Cited
Allen, Amani M., et al. “Racial Discrimination, Educational Attainment, and Biological Dysregulation among Midlife African American Women.” Psychoneuroendocrinology, vol. 99, 2019, pp. 225-235.
Burt, Callie H., et al. “Racial Discrimination, Racial Socialization, and Crime: Understanding Mechanisms of Resilience.” Social Problems, vol. 64, no. 3, 2017, pp. 414-438.
Carter, Robert T., et al. “Racial Discrimination and Health Outcomes among Racial/Ethnic Minorities: A Meta-Analytic Review.” Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, vol. 45, no. 4, 2017, pp. 232-259.
Edelman, Benjamin, et al. “Racial Discrimination in the Sharing Economy: Evidence from a Field Experiment.” American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, vol. 9, no. 2, 2017, pp. 1-22.
Small, Mario L., and Devah Pager. “Sociological Perspectives on Racial Discrimination.” Journal of Economic Perspectives, vol. 34, no. 2, 2020, pp. 49-67.