Raising Awareness About Discrimination

There is a common belief amongst many Americans that race and ethnic discrimination is no longer an issue. The problem is many people are confronted with the problems caused by people who are ethnically or racially discriminating against others.

WEST CHESTER, OH - JANUARY 09: House Speaker ...

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Discrimination is a very hard problem to overcome because many people believe that it doesn’t exist in today’s society. By raising awareness and educating the public that discrimination is an issue, many people can be aware of the issue and work to come up with a solution. Here’s a look at some ways you can raise public awareness about discrimination.

Public Speakers

Public speakers are a great way to raise awareness on discrimination. Whether it is the Kazakhstan President or a local Congressman, public speakers can share their experiences with discrimination and really give people a chance to see how it affects people on a daily basis.

Create a Social Media Campaign

One of the most popular ways to raise awareness about issues is to create a social media campaign. Social media campaigns involve creating Facebook pages, Twitter accounts and websites that help give you a platform to spread the message you want. With millions of people on social media outlets, you can begin to raise awareness that discrimination is still an issue in today’s society.

By raising the public’s awareness about discrimination, either by hearing personal accounts from public speakers or by launching a social media campaign, you can help others become aware of the issue and hopefully work to overcome it in the future.

 

Enhanced by Zemanta
Filed Under: General

Politics : A Challenge For The Youth

BEDFORD, NH - JANUARY 25: Former Minnesota Go...

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

A major part of the population in this world, do not prefer to play a role in active politics. The main reason for this type of response from the young generation is the number of problems that each one faces in their life when he enters into politics. In this world whenever there is a debate on politics, most of the youngsters often have a very bad opinion about this field whereas it’s the opposite.

Just like in any other business venture in this world even while entering into politics care should be taken so that we are prepared for all types of situations which life is going to offer to us. The onus of playing healthy politics entirely depends on the younger generation and that’s because it’s up to you that the whole community looks up to for making the changes which are good for the community.

Though we see many people talking negatively about politics and the ill effect it might have. But truly speaking, it is those people who don’t understand the very purpose of using politics and are often found to be in wrong place for taking the wrong decisions. Politics is a very cheap but a delicate game where you can end up being a winner or a looser. The important thing here isn’t the result but it is the effort which has been put and the effect it has among the people around which makes the difference.

Filed Under: General, Organizations Tagged With: , ,

Why are people racist?

A collection of mugshots showing multiple races.

Image via Wikipedia

There is clannishness everywhere in the Animal kingdom. Even among animals you would have seen how animals from other tribes are repelled by other tribes. Clannishness is a biological tendency of animal kind. In human beings, this tends to be a serious problem. Clannishness is not the domain of the sophisticated human being. Yet it still exists. We don’t know why.

Human beings are fundamentally the same. It’s just that they are presented differently to the world. A race can have a very strong influence on a person. If you are a black, you are expected to be big, strong, and athletic. If you are Nordic, you are expected to be rugged, sophisticated, and charming. If you are Asia, you are expected to be accommodating, good-natured, and hard-working.

A race does tend to carry a psychological and physiological attributes. A person in a race tends to behave the same way as others of the same race. So you can say that the behavior of a person in a race is in no way connected to the race. We can safely segregate behavior from racial characteristics.

A race is a beautiful concept. But has gone terribly wrong. A race actually brings a lot of variety to the world. Unfortunately, some races have fallen back on certain things, while others have advanced with certain things. If Africans were born in Europe, you would have seen Africans dying on parched Earth. You would have seen them enjoying themselves amongst beautiful meadows, and green plains.

The race concept might be a divine concept. But somehow we have placed hierarchies on it and classified it.

Filed Under: General, Racism Today Tagged With: , ,

Your Civil Rights Case

As far as we like to think we have come—as free-thinking and racially diverse as America tries to portray itself in films and other media, racial discrimination is still a very real problem. Discrimination is often the only reason a person ends up struggling with a civil rights case.

As President Barack Obama has noted, civil rights are at the core of how our nation runs. If businesses don’t abide by civil rights laws when choosing whether to hire a black applicant, a white applicant, or a Latino applicant, it may seem like an isolated incident among individuals. It’s not. It’s affecting the way the entire country runs, and your civil rights case is, too.

Because discrimination and ignorance of civil rights is so far reaching, there are people you can go to just for this kind of case in court: civil attorneys. If you think a regular lawyer will do, think again — civil attorneys know the ins and outs of civil rights, and they can help you. If someone has discriminated against you and you’re not sure how to fight back, a civil attorney will help you form a strategy and get justice.

All Americans have equal civil rights—as an American citizen, and as a human being. Your skin color and ethnic background should play no part in how qualified you are for a certain job, or whether your salary matches that of your coworkers. It sounds like a no-brainer, but it’s astounding how many businesses will play favorites, coming up with insignificant “reasons” for why they didn’t hire a black applicant instead of a white one.

 

Filed Under: General, Racism Today Tagged With: , ,

Charitable Organizations Dedicated to Advancing Black People

Black family at Construction SiteThe legacy of African-Americans through the efforts of people like Rosa Parks and Dr. Martin Luther King has brought improvement in the lives of black Americans. To keep the legacy going, many charitable organizations have made educating and empowering black people their focus. Here are some charity organizations dedicated to advancing black people.

  • Institute for Black Charities (IBC)

Also known as Black Charities for Children, Families and Communities, this non-profit organization founded in 1997 provides a broad range of services to African-Americans living in poor and underdeveloped communities. Services provided include emergency relief, funding to support community programs, educational workshops and public awareness campaigns. IBC currently has six affiliate chapters in Maryland, Washington DC, Virgina, Missouri, North Carolina and Texas.

Image sourced from http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/200169978-001/The-Image-Bank

  • National Black United Federation of Charities (NBUFC)

For over 17 years the focus of the NBUFC has been to generate funds for education assistance, health, economic and social development of African American communities and African countries overseas. The NBUFC is comprised of 28 non-profit organizations some of which are, the Black Women in Sisterhood for Action based in Washington D.C. and Georgia Black United Fund based in Atlanta.

  • United African-American Relief Foundation (UAARF)

The UAARF was founded in 2005 by Marshall T. Hall who comes from a family of wealthy black entrepreneurs from the early 1900′s. Marshall’s grandfather Robert Houston Isabell was a Pullman Porter during the 1800′s who went on to become a successful business and land owner. This legacy of black entrepreneurship is embodied in the philosophy of the UAARF through its committment to raise funding for education and promoting high school and college completion.

 

 

 

Filed Under: Organizations, Racism Today Tagged With: , ,

Our Schools are Becoming Charities in Society Today

It’s becoming common place in most states today, for schools to do fundraisers right and left to increase funding. These collected funds aren’t being used to fluff up the faculty lounge. They are being used to get basic necessities like paper, copier cartridges, and pencils. With the recent terrible recession, state funding and federal funding are down. States are scrambling to fund state education programs. As the end of a traditional school year approaches, many schools start finding their accounts are getting low. This means scrambling to find money in other accounts if possible or asking for funding from outside sources. Schools aren’t asking for money to buy ice cream cones for students every day. They need money to keep the lights on and the water running.

One of the greatest gifts America can give every generation is the opportunity for a basic education in grades K-12. Many people will say this education is free; however, this isn’t the case. Every taxpaying citizen in some form contributes to the public educational systems in our nation. In some states, the entire state tax goes to fund public education. So, the education that we provide our children isn’t free; however, it’s a wonderful blessing.

Our schools shouldn’t become charities in our society. The reality is that schools are going to continue to need money, because tax revenues are down and rainy day funds never existed or are depleted. The answers are difficult. Schools can get creative in finding ways to access outside funding. They can also be careful with the resources they have. However, there comes a point, where schools just need more money.

Filed Under: General, Racism Today Tagged With: , ,

Advancements the Honest Way

Do we live in a society where advancement is more important then ethics or honesty? Sometimes, its hard to tell when media and celebrities are considered. We often see those that are the most physically attractive, have the most money, or are the most popular gain in advancement in our society the fastest. However, in the workplace this isn’t uusally how it usually works. There are always situations that don’t follow this. But in the work place, most advancements occur when employees are found to be hardworking, innovative, money saving, and team players. Advancments in the workplace go to those who hopefully have earned them. Is this type of advancment that young people are learning, or is it the one they see enacted on television and internet websites? Are kids going to be shocked when their latest designer jeans, don’t get them a raise at work?

Its important for kids to understand the difference between the make believe world of advancement and the real world that exists for those of us who live in it. For most people, advancement in a career, academically, or otherwise comes after lots of work, creative thinking, team playing, and time. Its not somnething that is based on looks, cell phone ring tones, or hair color. Its based on skill, knowledge, creatvity, and lots and lots of hard work. One of the largest problems comes that many young people today think they will just be handed upward mobility on a platter. Everything has been handed to them so far, so why shouldn’t everything continue to be. They often feel backhanded when they come into the real world after high school or college and realise that it doesn’t work that way.

Filed Under: General, Racism Today Tagged With: , ,

Teaching Laws to the Young

Have you ever meet a kid that doesn’t know how to obey rules? If you have, then you have a meet a child that’s never learned about obeying laws. This is the child that opens the candy bar at the store, eats one bite, throws it on the ground, and doesn’t look back. It’s hard to imagine meeting this child, but they exist. If you spend a few days in a grocery store candy aisle, you’ll probably meet one. This isn’t the exact situation you’ll probably meet them in, but just ask any kindergarten teacher, and they can tell you about the first day of school with such children. When children are raised in a home where rules or laws are not taught and enforced, they don’t know how to obey. This can lead to all kinds of problems in normal socialized settings.

Families can instill obedience to basic rules, and teach children about obeying them starting at a very young age. This doesn’t mean that children should be hurt or held to harsh consequences. But it does mean that very young children can be taught simple rules, how to follow those rules, and the consequences that occur when those rules aren’t followed.

Children become adults. Adults, who have never been taught to obey rules at home, often don’t know how to obey the laws that are enforced outside of their home. It isn’t just parents who can teach children about rules, laws, and consequences. Teachers have to enforce rules with children every day. Think how difficult it must be for both a teacher and a student when that student hasn’t been taught to listen to a rule, obey the rule, and benefit from it.

Filed Under: General, Organizations Tagged With: , ,

Discrimination can Start Young and be Stopped Young

Discrimination is generally described in the American dictionary as prejudicial treatment of an individual based on their race. This can also include membership in a specific social category that is undesirable. There are many simpler definitions of discrimination. If we take it back to the preschool and kindergarten level, it can be not playing with someone because they are different. It can also be making fun of someone and using words as the form of discrimination. This early form of discrimination can also include verbalization that someone cannot do things that others can. So, the child doing the discrimination thinks they are better than the other child. It comes down to basic themes like I am better than they are, they look different, or they can’t do what I can do. It’s so easy for us to find what’s different even when we’re young.

Parents need to start talking about discrimination before their children can even speak. They also need to set the best example possible. If parents don’t want their children to discriminate, they need to not discriminate. They also need to talk about discrimination and what it is, what its causes are, and how to combat it.

It’s also easy to stop these early forms of discrimination if parents and teachers recognize and address them quickly. Schools try to do a good job at recognizing discrimination in all its ugly forms and addressing it quickly. Parents can do the same by having an open dialogue with their child about daily events. This includes not just asking what you learned today but asking about who children played with, what they play, what happened during lunch, and asking about friends. These simple conversations can lead to understanding situations that may arise where children need guidance. It gives parents the opportunity to talk about discrimination if they feel it appropriate in different situations.

Filed Under: General Tagged With: , ,

Education Coming up to Speed With Black History Month

Many American’s missed ever hearing about famous African Americans in history while growing up in my generation. It was a topic introduced into many of America’s public school curriculums only about fifteen to twenty years ago. We never knew much about Martin Luther King, Jr. just that he was assassinated before we were born or before we knew about life. We didn’t know that a staple in the American diet, the peanut, that is used in literally hundreds of different and products was really unknown to the United States consumer, until a young boy, born a slave, George Washington Carver became a scientist and agriculturalist and unlocked the peanut’s secrets. These weren’t people who we were introduced to us as making a huge difference to the nation or our world, but they really did.

Schools aren’t perfect at educating their students about the contributions made to our nation by African Americans but they are trying. In fact, many schools do a great job at using the month of February, Black History Month as a way to teach some important themes to students. Teachers are actually trying to teach students about some of the famous African Americans that have done so much for our nation. I’ve been impressed by teachers who build their entire curriculum around famous African Americans during the month of February. Now, when you walk down a school’s halls there are art projects and poems dedicated to Martin Luther King, Jr. There are books about African American history and culture.

We are doing a better job at educating our children about the history of African Americans in our nation. But we still have a long way to go before we’re in the right place. We shouldn’t just be focusing on this topic during Black History Month. It needs to be something that we teach all year long and not just at school.

Filed Under: History Tagged With: , ,
« Older Posts