Racism Today | Racial Influence

Why Is Knowledge Of Racial Heritage Important? Read Ahead To Find Out

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Many persons feel that learning more about black heritage and racial history will not help tackle racism. Well, there can be different opinions on this issue. However, there is no denying that racism has its roots in myths and unreasonable fears in the minds of those who practice it.

Many persons considered colored individuals as inferior. This is merely an expression of fear that perhaps colored individuals might be more powerful and more influential. Over the years, racism has adopted different methods and techniques to stay alive.

In some cases, politicians have made use of racism to stay in office. In other cases, a society that did not have the courage to face social issues sought to hide things under the carpet of racism. There is no doubt that history repeats itself, especially in case of social evils like racism.

That is the reason why knowledge of racial history and black heritage will be very useful. In fact, one should not stop at merely learning more about black heritage. It is important to give equal emphasis to all races. As on date, colored individuals have suffered more from racism. Hence, efforts to know more about black heritage may make more sense today. However, if racism is to die, society will have to reach that stage where all races are considered equal and all individuals study all races in detail.

The biggest advantage of adopting this approach is that even you can become an expert in tackling racism. Mere black heritage knowledge and racial history may not suffice. However, there is no denying that it is a start. You have to start somewhere and it is best to begin with gaining more knowledge.

If you want to do your bit to tackle the negative racial influence present in our society, you can start by learning more about others. As you learn more and as you pass on more, the fight against racism will automatically become easier.

Filed Under: History, Racism Today Tagged With: African American, Racism, United States

Important Political African American: David Dinkins

While other surrounding cities were all embracing African American political figures, the largest and most well known city in the United States was stalled. New York City with a populations of millions of people and even more visitors a year was stalled in an effort to elect the first African American mayor for this huge city. In 1990 that goal finally came, nearly 25 years after the first African American mayor was elected to a major city in the United States. In 1990, David Dinkins was elected the mayor of New York City.

David Dinkins grew up in Trenton, New Jersey where he was able to graduate from the top 10 percent of his high school class. Shortly after his graduation, Dinkins met his first racial roadblock in the political area. He went to join the United States Marine Corpse but was denied on the basis that they had already enlisted enough "African Americans" for that year. The year was 1945.

After graduating from Howard University, David Dinkins quickly became known throughout the Democratic party in the Harlem area. He served brief terms of office in the New York State Legislative Branch as well as the city Clerk for New York City. He was up for nomination as deputy mayor of New York City but was overlooked for the spot.

In 1990 David Dinkins became the 106th mayor of New York City. His mayoral reign was not without problems and issues. He was elected as a time of great racial unrest in the city and many people believed that he would be able to completely eliminate all that. He is often blamed for high rising crime rates, although the rates were similar or stable to those of previous mayors. His accomplishments as mayor include that of working to increase jobs in the police force by passing and enforcing a 25% increase in the New York City’s police force.

Filed Under: General, History, Racism Today Tagged With: African, David Dinkins

Are You For Or Against Racism? There Is No Middle Path

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What steps should you take if you want to stop instances of racism from happening around you? The first step is to find out whether you are, even inadvertently, promoting racism. This often comes as a shock to many. However, the truth is that most of us indulge in some form of racism without any conscious thought. Call it racial influence or call it influence of behavior seen in childhood and accepted without question but it is the truth. There are instances where we resort to certain negative practices and have negative thoughts attached to certain races for no rhyme or reason.

Most persons deny that they may be supporting racism. However, you should understand that it is possible for even a perfectly educated and civilized individual to unconsciously tilt to effects of racial influence.

Just find out how people react when they take a look at crime statistics. The fact that the most criminals happen to be black is what will stand out in your mind. Some persons might even mention this in casual conversations. However, the fact that the individual who commits crime also happens to be
- poor
- from broken families
- without any social support and
- invariably without any opportunity to become somebody in life
will never get the same importance.

If one is to tackle racism, one must adopt a completely sterile approach towards issue. If you do not bother to learn about black heritage and understand racial history, you may not be the position to counter the problem.

If the best that you can come up with is sympathy and empathy, then you must understand that this is nothing but a positive form of discrimination. Effects of affirmative action is a debatable issue. However, it is pertinent to note that the current President of United States did not enjoy any advantage over his opponents irrespective of whether the advantage would have been justified or not.
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Filed Under: Racism Today Tagged With: Racism

Is Lebron James the Victim of Racism?

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Unless you have been living under a rock in the recent months you should be aware that Lebron James is a basketball villain. After 7 productive but ultimately disappointing seasons as a member of his home states Cleveland Cavaliers, Lebron James took his talents and the hopes of many Cleveland fans down to South Beach to team up with fellow free agent superstars Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh.

The backlash for the other two players wasn’t even a tenth of what James felt. Jerseys were burned, angry hate mail flew to local and national columnists. Every seemed to have an opinion and the consensus was that Lebron James was a bad guy. So the question remained: was Lebron James a bad guy because of what he did or because of the color of his skin?

The truth is that Lebron didn’t do anything that hadn’t been done before. He isn’t the first high profile free agent who signed with a different team. He’s not the first player to want to play with his friends. He’s not the first guy to leave his team for a more attractive city(at least from a national perspective). And he isn’t the first guy to go somewhere where he thought he could win a title with much less stress.

So then race had something to do with it? Well, maybe not. It’s true that LBJ wasn’t the first to do those things but it might be the manner in which he did it that set him apart. Having aired a special on ESPN called the decision he effectively chose his another city over his hometown on National television. This couldn’t have gone over well and it seems to be that and that alone that is drawing the ire of the fans. It may not have anything to do with race, but to rule it out completely would be ignorant in it’s own right.

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

African American Heritage in the Twenty First Century

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The struggle of African Americans in the twentieth century is a widely known topic that has shed light on humanity’s seeming inability to accept diversity and or change. However, while the worst of it may be over, the heritage of African Americans inherited from those rough times still plays a role in how race in general is perceived in society today.

Generally, the inheritance of a family as well as the ideals, principles, and beliefs are handed down throughout the generations. While in fact a great deal of racism has been filtered out over the past decades from one generation to the next, there are still prevalent aspects of stereotyping and the discrimination that persists as a result.

Unfortunately, the key origin of this stereotyping comes from the difficulty that African Americans have had in being allowed to play a role in American society. While in fact there are many distinguished, viable, and reputable African American professionals, leaders, and Presidents; there are still many individuals that have been robbed of solid basis to begin their life due to the heritage that is tied to their family.

As a result of this, many African Americans are raised in environments that are not as equally opportunistic as many other areas of the country; they inherit the struggle to succeed and pull themselves out of the life that was passed down to them from the generations of their families before them who lived during the vastly discriminant era. This is an ongoing epidemic that results in stereotypical assumptions that relate crime and poverty to African American citizens while in fact it is strictly based off the psychological affects of environmental factors.

This is something that needs to be realized and then remedied. Due to this epidemic, racism still persists; while in fact it is a more subtle and a more passive form, it is equally as harmful.

Filed Under: History, Racism Today Tagged With: African, African American

Racial Influence

: Cover of Martin Luther King, Jr.

In today’s society, when we think about racial influence, our minds immediately move to life struggles and victories of African Americans. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., James Baldwin, Fredrick Douglas, and Wilma Rudolph, (to name a few) have contributed to the changes made in America and around the world. Were these influential leaders targeting at a small range of individuals or where their intentions much grater then we recognize? If times have changed, why is there still racism today?

If we look at the meaning of being a racial influence, it is to simply look at ones culture or tribe letting that impact the way we view each others lifestyles. Since the beginning of time, civilization has always voiced and expressed their heritage. Influencing is not about competition, but educating to teach others about identity. This could be a key to why so many countries, including the United States, are still pledged with racism. When we choose not to accept ones social class we divide ourselves creating a discrimination hedge. Refusing to comprehend originality causes us to be limited to what we have to offer humanity.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. served as a Civil Rights Leader to assist with equality. Even thought the 1960′s was a pivotal time for African Americans, Dr. King believed that all should be equated. Regardless of where a human being originated, no one should be excluded from having opportunities to strive for a comfortable life. Freedom marches and speeches that were organized by King and the Montgomery Improvement Association proved that this was a concern that needed to be altered. A prime example of how racial influence is to address awareness to others abroad.

Understanding who we are and where we come from, will enable us to have a stronger since of pride. Thus, charging us to become influential and holding each other accountable.

Filed Under: Racism Today Tagged With: Racism, racism today

How Blacks Ended Up In America?

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Slavery in pre independence America was illegalized by 1890’s, by this time the number of blacks in America was pretty large. These blacks were brought largely from African countries and a few from South America by slave traders. They mostly worked in the fertile lands of the Southern part of United States. It was said that the whites kept dying in the fields doing hard labor, hence the blacks were used instead to do the work for the whites. Black were made to work on agricultural fields and could trade their freedom for crops. A few black became wealth by growing crops of their own. These backs were only allowed to marry between other blacks of the other minority the Indians. After the illegalization of slave trade, there was a steady inflow of the Black population into America till the 1970’s from the Central America, Caribbean, Africa and South American countries. It was believed by the blacks that North America is the famed Promised Land where they could better lives that what they had then. This is similar to what is happening now with the Mexicans sneaking into America. Unofficial estimates show that about 250,000 blacks moved from land in 1890 and the beginning of the nineteenth century. After 1910, the number of blacks migrating to America increased rapidly where guesstimates suggest that more than a million blacks settled in America. This led to the questioning of the place blacks hold in the completely white society which gave rise to widespread racial intolerance.

The blacks were part of American Independence and fought alongside the Americans. Black were part of the World War I and World War II. They played a major role in all of these wars but were still rejected the basic human right and were treated like outsiders.

Filed Under: Racism Today Tagged With: Caribbean, Slavery, United States

History of Black Mayors

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There are more black mayors are in charge of U.S. cities today than ever before. During the civil right movement black leaders started to increase. Black leaders were becoming more involved in the political spectrum. Many of the early mayoral races were won on racialized platforms. Some people saw this as being part of a larger black struggle.

In the 1990′s there was less than 350 black mayors throughout the United States. According to The National Conference of Black Mayors there is over 500 black mayors representing United States cities. A large majority of those mayors are representing cities with a population of over 40,000 residents.

Black mayors address a wide range of issues, including the role of education in the city and health concerns of their residents living in poverty, the state of black leadership, and the crisis facing young black men in America today. Since the day the first black mayor was elected they have fought to provide a better life for the African-Americans in their community. They also work hard in making their cities safer and rebuilding the education system.

Black mayors are enthusiastic, but face special problems. They are normally Mayors in a economically challenged community. They are faced with the issues of high crime and low education marks. Bringing up the education marks and lowering the crime level can be a tough challenge. Thankfully there are more black mayors today than ever before and they are rising to the challenge like never before.

Educating yourself on the civil rights movement and the progress African Americans have had is something everyone should do. Understanding the struggles that they have faced might help some respect what African Americans have accomplished. The number of black mayors is increasing every year. We are also seeing more blacks move up through other parts of the political arena.

Filed Under: General, History, Racism Today Tagged With: Education, Mayor, United States

Black Heritage in America

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American black heritage is a long and storied history. So many people have struggled to bring African-Americans to where they are today. To be sure there will be those who say that we as a race still have a long way to go. And they’re right, to a degree. Take into consideration the accomplishments of those individuals and groups of the not too distant past. It becomes clear that we, as a race, stand proudly on their shoulders.

Martin Luther King stands out to many as being the largest bringer of change in modern times. His accomplishments were the completion of what many before him had started. The move for black freedom starts back in 1831 with Nat Turner. He brought about a successful slave revolt which ultimately resulted in his death. However, Nat Turner did not die in vain as his actions started the slow but steady falling of the dominoes that was the slavery system. 1831 was the year that the first evidence of outright activism began with a weekly newspaper called the Liberator. Its publisher regularly called for the abolition of slavery.

Big movements have small beginnings, and the movement for black equality in America was no different. The actions of Nat Turner started a wheel slowly turning. Frederick Douglas started publishing his own newspaper 15 years after Turner’s death. From here on out, the voices for abolition grow stronger. In 1849, Harriet Tubman escapes to the north and eventually founds the Underground Railroad. From here on out, the momentum to abolish slavery gets louder and louder. It still took more than 100 years from the time Harriet escaped to the ultimate goal of equal rights for all, but the efforts of those who came between should never be forgotten.

Filed Under: History, Racism Today Tagged With: Abolitionism, Harriet Tubman, Underground Railroad