Race and Racism

Essay by JHolliday7University, Master'sA, April 2006

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Reflection Paper

Systemic racism is recurring and unequal relationships between groups and individuals perpetuated by a broad social reproduction process. According to Feagin, systemic racism in America began with European colonists enriching themselves substantially at the expense of indigenous people and the Africans they imported for enslavement. I agree with Feagin about the origins of systemic racism because of the European Worldview as described by Kambon. Kambon states that:

" The basic thrust of the European worldview defines an antagonistic and conflictual theme in so-called human-nature relations. The emphasis is placed on human intervention into nature to achieve mastery and gain control over nature through the mechanisms of aggression, domination, oppression, suppression, repression, and unnatural alteration and reordering of all objects in nature."(Chapter 4:European Worldview, Pg 147)

This emphasis of the European worldview is clearly present in America today and in history. Racial oppression spawned from the European worldview and continues to exist through systemic racism which is nurtured by this country.

Racial oppression is the oppression of a group of people by another group of people based on the race in which society categorizes each of us as. This oppression makes the Black burden an ongoing reality in American/European society. I have experienced racial oppression due to the fact that I am a Black male in America. Black males are automatically placed in a stereotypical population in which the racially oppressive system is setup to hold us down and prevent us from achieving any success. The notion that Blacks can easily handle burdens that would psychologically crush others has been oversold in America.

I have experienced the system directly through unwanted and unjust interaction with the police based on the stereotype of Black males who dress and look the way I do. The system is setup to foster police...