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Week 8, Post 1: Racism and Racial and Ethnic Profiling
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It is easy for us to believe that, in our seemingly progressive society, racism and discrimination are lost issues. However, there is one practice that constantly reminds us that racism and discrimination are alive and well—racial profiling.
We have seen some more obvious examples in the past year, but, it is important to understand that racism and discrimination are things that people of color deal with every day, often in less obvious ways. For this discussion:
- Find a current example of racism or racial or ethnic profiling from the past five years.
- Do not use George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, or any other racially charged police killings for this discussion.
- Try to find less overt (obvious) examples to show how racism is endured on a day-to-day basis.
- Use search terms like “subtle racism,” “covert racism,” ” hidden racism,” “everyday racism,” or “racial microaggressions”to find examples.
- Post a link to the related article or video.
- Briefly describe the situation and your reaction.
- Answer the questions: Do you think that racial profiling and/or racism is exaggerated? Why or why not?
- Explain what theory of race and ethnicity you think best explains what happened in your example and why.
Here are some examples:
- Not too long ago, the House approved the Crown Act Banning Racial Discrimination Against Natural Hair (Links to an external site.). This act was a result of experiences like those of Faith Fennidy and Andrew Johnson. Eleven-year-old Faith Fennidy was suspended from school (Links to an external site.) and told that her braids violated school policy. Andrew Johnson was forced to cut off his dreadlocks (Links to an external site.) before he could participate in a wrestling match.
- Another example is how many Black and Asian Americans have experienced discrimination during COVID-19 (Links to an external site.). This does not only include financial and medical disadvantages, but it also includes the way that people react to Black and Asian Americans on a daily basis.
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Week 8, Post 2: Ten Simple Things–What are you doing?1515 unread replies.1515 replies. You have probably hear the term anti-racism. An anti-racist:
- is a person who actively opposes racism and the unfair treatment of people of other races
- recognizes that all racial groups are equal. There is nothing inherently superior or inferior about specific racial groups.
- recognizes that racist policies have cause racial inequities
- understands that racism is pervasive (present everywhere) and his built into all of our societal structures
- Challenges the values, structures, policies, and behaviors that keep systemic racism alive and going
How can you be active in combatting racism?This week, we are reading Charles A. Gallegher’s “Ten Simple Things You Can Do To Improve Race Relations (Links to an external site.).” After reading the article, which of these ten things are you doing to improve race relations. Give a specific example. If you are not doing any of these, which do you plan to use in the future and how?