Dissertation on Racism

Racism is a phenomenon that has existed in the world for many centuries, taking diverse forms and appearing in different parts of the planet. If to give a definition of this notion, racism is a strong belief that people with different color of skin, culture, language, customs or any other factor that is predetermined by birth are inferior or superior to others. Racists believe that particular traits of character and moral values are conditioned by the person’s race or nation. Throughout the history of mankind, racism has become the reason for wars and slavery many times. It also became the basis for racial separatism, in other words, the belief that all people should be separated by their race and should remain segregated. 

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Today the notion of racism widens a bit and sometimes refers not only to the differentiation of people by races but also by their nation and culture. Thus, it becomes very close to ethnocentrism, which is also widespread and is basically a branch of racism. The term “ethnocentrism” has a lot of interpretations, but they can be reduced to one meaning and it means to look down at people, who are different from you, and put your ethnic group in the center of the universe. Ethnocentrism leads to miscommunication, appearance of stereotypes and these factors have a serious damage on the cross-cultural communication. (Thompson, 2005, 27)

In general, there is nothing bad in patriotism and good attitude to your motherland and people who inhabit it. These feelings are even laudable. Problems appear when this love to your country, people or social group is expressed by the prejudice of the others. Ethnocentrism is a wrong way of thinking, as it creates false assumptions about the superiority of one group above all the others. Unfortunately, distinction between true patriotism and ethnocentrism is very subtle and we can see poor consequences of the substitution of these notions on the example of Nazi terror. In general, World War II was an illustrative example of racism. Adolf Hitler and the Nazi showed the unprecedented case of racism. The Holocaust, made by them, went down in history as one of the most horrible and devastating manifestations of racial discrimination.

Being a territory that combines many countries with different cultures and besides, attracting immigrants from other continents, Europe witnessed many times different conflicts owing to racism. The most dangerous and alarming tendency, apparent nowadays, is the revival of Nazism, so-called Neo-Nazism, in certain European countries. Numerous attacks against Arabs and Jews appear in Italy, France, Spain, Greece, etc.

If to consider the USA, being today a democratic country, once it was a hotbed of slavery and racism. Slaves, brought from African continent, served as a cheap labor force in the newly created country. The physical labor of slaves was used by the most Southerners. It was impossible to abandon slavery right at once. The changes of behavior of the slave owners did not happen until the end of the civil war. The issue of slavery became that compromise that gave Northern and Southern states an opportunity to agree on a federal government. Abolishment of slavery did not resolve the problem of racism and discrimination. Intolerance of the people toward other people and feeling of superiority, where some believed that some definite group of people could be regarded as chosen and superior by birth, did no disappear in the United States after the abolishment of slavery. Race still created a big abyss in the relations between the black and white people in the country. The slavery was cancelled but a new social model has not been built yet and African Americans had to find their way to survive and their place in the social ladder. A lot of them had to do the same work as being slaves. Therefore, many African Americans struggled against prejudices and for the equality. The history of racism in America knows many leaders who were ardent supporters of African American minority in the USA. We can mention such people as Malcolm X and Martin Luther King. Both of them lived in the beginning of the twentieth century and made a great contribution into the struggle against racism, despite the fact that they had different views and different life experience. Malcolm X’s life is f special interest as it shows how people can change their attitude to the problem and how all people should alter their treatment of racism.

Malcolm X spent his youth drinking, taking and selling drugs, and sending white people to black parlor houses. He realized bitterly that he could do nothing to improve the condition of black people but he was convinced that they should withstand white people and their help. When he was working in the Harlem ghetto, he used to blame white people in all troubles of the black and preferred not to see the misdeeds of his friends. However, with time his views changed, especially when he was sent to jail. That was a crucial moment because he regenerated and began a new chapter in his life. There he was converted to Islam that was preached by the organization the Nation of Islam. However, his animosity towards white people increased. He began to conceive racism as not the personal attack but as the confrontation of two worlds, black and white. This issue was no more a personal problem for him but a problem of national and international levels. Nevertheless, he revenged himself upon white people for the eternal subjugation because of the color of his skin. Another turning point in his life was during his pilgrimage to Mecca.

He saw another Islamic world, without racial division and realized that it differed from the one he had preached during his life. His attitude towards white people also changed, he saw whites that were not involved into racism. He broadened his perspective on the race relations and realized that it was a vital issue not only for the black in America but throughout the world. Finally, his views upon the problem were molded and Malcolm saw the solution in worldwide co-operation. 

Martin Luther King was another prominent personality in the struggle against racism he was famous for his non-violent means of defending African Americans. During all his life, he called people to protect civil rights of all people despite their race and nationality. As a result, he was the youngest person who received the Nobel Peace Prize. Unfortunately, many of his rewards for his activity he was awarded posthumously as he was assassinated at the age of about forty.

Today racism needs much attention. Perhaps it has acquired another form – it is not as obviously aggressive as earlier, however, the degree of hatred towards people of different race is not lower. The struggle with racism continues and is of paramount importance in the context of democratic development and the globalization of the world. Due to globalization, more and more people migrate, especially from poor countries to more developed, where cheap labor force is necessary. Thus, the confrontation of local people and immigrants is provoked. In this light, everybody should understand that the problem of racism must be eradicated. While different conferences are held by the UNO and various laws and acts are adopted, first of all it is necessary to change people’s attitude towards others. Tolerance and the principle of equality should be brought up in children since their birth. Racism is just a stereotype that should be eliminated. It is not a real fact that people of different skin color differ in their abilities and the history of mankind has proved it. On their way to democracy and equality, people should realize the necessity of blaming racism and preventing its development in the world. The question about the status of minority groups in different countries is a subject of loud debates in modern society. On the example of the African American minority in the USA, we can see how difficult it is to cross out shameful pages in history. Despite immense effort of American government, African Americans still feel imbalance in social, political and economic spheres of life in comparison with white Americans as representatives of majority group. A number of steps should be performed by the government and society in order to reduce imbalances between majority and minority groups and provide them equal rights and freedoms. There are many fields, which cause concerns of African Americans as a minority groups. The scope of this issues rangers from complicated political matters to minor social issues. Race discrimination is not as much spread as it was in the 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th, but still we can meet this problem even today. It is very difficult to get rid of the thing that used to be common for centuries and we need time to achieve the new level of development of our society.

To make a conclusion, the problem of racism is very acute nowadays and causes numerous disputes all over the world. Throughout the whole history of mankind racism developed and despite people’s efforts to abolish it, it exists nowadays. Certainly, people managed to achieve great results in their struggle, especially to bright representatives of persecuted people, such as Malcolm X and Martin Luther King. However, we should not stop in our efforts to make all people equal and should prevent any manifestation of racism in any corner of the world.

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