Racial Bias

The concept of race has been in existence since the advent of mankind. It is a socially constructed item to identify people with similar physical characteristics such as language, skin color, disability, age, and gender. It is an aspect that has birthed both adverse and positive impacts among and between nations. The term has brewed a lot of conflict over its classification to be biological or socially developed. However, it can be concluded to have both biological and social features. Indeed, no continent in the world can argue not to experience the racial bias
. However, variation in races led to the development of racial bias that has not had a solution to date. On the other hand, racial discrimination comes when a nation or group is discriminated based on the nature of their skin color. The manuscript within is a discussion on the concept of racial bias in various sectors in the United States (Jencks et al. 28).
Race in the early centuries was considered to be a shared language among a group. However, in the beginning 17th century it was associated with physical traits but in the 19th century it became a popular term in the taxonomic sector plainly related to the genetic difference among human populations. The use of different essential elements by scientists to define the term using several genetic concepts beyond skin color and language. The various components have been observed to enhance the development of racial discrimination in the United States and other parts of the globe as well. Racial bias involves negatively developed attitudes or stereotypes influencing a person’s actions, understanding and decisions unconsciously. The bias effects commonly occur involuntarily though some happen voluntarily (Weitzer et al. 439).
Racial bias has been reported to occur in different structures in the United States. The conventional sectors in which the practice occur include the media, legal systems, learning institutions, health facilities and many more. The biases primarily occur based on different phenotypes. For instance, in the health facilities racial preferences are based on age and skin color. The old age is highly discriminated and given less attention as compared to the young people. The health practitioners consider the old to be about to face their death and need not to be hurriedly attended to like the young people. Additionally, the inferior communities such as the Black Americans, Hispanic, Asians and other communities of non-American origin face health discrimination based on their nations of origin and skin color. The Americans have a negative attitude towards the other races believing they are superior to them, and they deserve more attention than the rest of the communities (Jencks et al. 30).
The media has been at the forefront to facilitate acts of racial discrimination. The social media, print and electronic have been avenues through which the inferior communities to the American States have been associated with all kinds of criminal acts with the whites being the victims. The expression of the unconscious attitudes and stereotypes developed by the whites against the African American and the Africans are mostly expressed through the comments made in the media. The comments have painted the African Americans to be barbaric, inferior and of less value compared to the white community. The inferiority of the Black Americans has been extended to the developed articles and their geographical areas of origin considered less developed. Furthermore, the documentation of the media has made African American to be suspects and of no value in the land of the white (Weitzer et al. 455).
The media has popularized the inferior stereotype of the Black American to the extent that the courts use the stereotypes to pass their judgment as well as to handle the black defendants and the plaintiff. The racial discrimination in the tribunals and all other structures in the United States have their routes from the past. Research has shown that almost all states in America that handle cases of the death penalty do so on the basis of race. For example, in 1994 Justice Harry Blackmun argued that, “the biases and prejudices that infect society generally influence the determination of who is sentenced to death, even within the narrower pool of death-eligible defendants selected according to objective standards” when the courts refused to hear capital punishment between Callins vs. Collins referencing to the statement, it is clear that the aspect of color heavily and unfairly directs the weaknesses of the American Justice systems (20). Therefore, the justice systems need to change to provide fair judgment to all the races in the terrain (Jencks et al. 20).
Racial discrimination has also been extended to the different branches of the government in the U.S. The legislature that is delegated the duty to make laws has been at the forefront developing laws that tend to favor the white community as opposed to the Black Americans. In the past, the African Americans and women were denied several civil rights such as voting during elections. Additionally, the legislature has been reported to the habit of involving the whites only in the law making process. The executive and the judiciary not left aside are faced with the same disease of racial bias. The selection of the president and the senators are all based on the candidate’s race. For example, during the elections President Obama faced a lot of challenges based on his origin and the Islamic name. Having his roots from the African continent and sharing a name with the Islamic religion, commonly associated with terrorism was used to question his credibility as a candidate. The different branches of the government in the U.S are majorly biased extending the negative example to the people it governs (Weitzer et al. 435).
Despite racial bias being rampant in the U.S, several mechanisms have been put in place to handle the situation. The federal government and the Civil Rights movement are reported to develop voter election policies that enable all citizens, regardless of the race to vote. The affirmative action policy was envisaged to be the core determinant in reducing racial biases. Indeed, the intention of the work was essential to determine its effectiveness and efficieny. Though the chosen techniques were designed for the correct objectives, they failed to give the positive results as expected. For instance, affirmative actions failed to meet its purpose though it is the best mechanism that would enable the Black Americans receive their rights. It is then essential to the racial reducing policies and laws to be revised and made viable in eradicating and reducing aspects of racial discrimination (Jencks et al. 17).
The admissions to the learning institutions have also been observed to have some of their activities defined by the concept of race. The different districts in the American States have their student population determined by the race. Therefore, as much as there are many schools that are in the states, their distribution is based on Black or White schools. In the admission process even in higher learning institutions carry out their entries directed by the term race. The variation in the racial distribution of resources and admission in the learning institutions has made it difficult for all students to get equal treatment as the schools are categorized based on racial discrimination. The defined ethnic entries have been documented to bias well-performing students from getting admitted to the schools of their choice (Weitzer et al. 440; Jencks et al. 34).
Racial discrimination during the admission process has been observed to be extended to the distribution of resources inside and outside schools. The posting of teachers and tutors, as well as other learning resources, are unfairly done. Schools for the white communities are assigned all necessary requirements as opposed to schools known for the inferior communities. Additionally, the treatment received by international students highly differ based on racial bias. International students from African and Asian nations have their work marked strictly and the American system used in learning. The strict system eliminates the foreign students when unknowingly are faced with issues of plagiarism losing the opportunity to pursue their education that are paid for scholarships and education grants (Weitzer et al. 450).
The government has also been reported to employ racial bias in the distribution of jobs in the U.S. The different sexes have been used based on feminine and masculine features. Their employees have discriminated women based on the fact that they are likely to be subjected to maternity leave affecting the operations of the organization. Additionally, African Americans have been designated particular jobs with little pay as opposed to the whites who are assigned high salary positions. The variation in the delegation of duties in organizations based on gender are essential as the systems provide the females and males, regardless of skin color sufficient period for maternity and paternity leave respectively (Jencks et al. 5).
As much as racial bias has been associated with adverse effects, it is a positive aspect in the region as it enhances hard work. The discriminated team tend to work hard aiming to get to the point of the superior community. As a result, the zeal to attain the superior position builds the economy improving the living standards of the community. Additionally, racial bias has been a motivating factor to the eradication of squatters in a region. As the discriminated team work their way out of poverty, the squatters are done away with, and well-established structures built improving on the housing systems in the community (Weitzer et al. 436). it is then recommended that the police and other government structures need to develop laws that deter racial bias. Additionally, the personnel need to be trained on race appreciation and mixing of several races in the structures.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the concept of race has been in existence since time and memorial. The evolution of the notion has been observed to widen from the early centuries to the current time. The race has been used to refer to variation in a human population based on physical traits. However, the different attitudes and stereotypes associated with the concept led to the birth of racial discrimination. The unconscious perceptions and stereotypes accorded to a given trait has been observed to result in both negative and positive consequences of time and space. In the United States, racial bias has led to discrimination of the African Americans in the different societal structures. Additionally, it has been observed to enhance development and improvement of living standards as the discriminated blacks work hard to get to where the white community is positioned.







Works Cited
Jencks, Christopher, and Meredith Phillips, Eds. The Black-White Test Score Gap. Brookings Institution Press, 2011. Print.
Weitzer, Ronald, and Steven A. Tuch. "Perceptions of Racial Profiling: Race, Class, and Personal Experience*." Criminology 40.2 2002: 435-456. Print.