The Roots Of Racism

i think the most dangerous and persistent form of racism in america is in our justice system. black people are 10% of the population and 65% of the prison population and the majority of those are there on minor drug possession charges NOT violent crimes. They are and have been for many yeas the targets of a racist, biased legal system. But blacks get in the system early because of this and are exposed to badder harder criminals and come out worse for the wear. Lately every time I log online I'm reading about cops shooting black people, on their wedding day outside a nightclub in NYC, when they're unarmed, in the back as happened recently here locally in CA, or the police officer in Erie PA who was filmed talking about arriving at a murder scene of a young black man and taking a picture as he was "still twitching" then laughing at his mothers distress. We can make inane comments about basketball and purses being snatched but this is a serious issue that affects us all in the most profound way. I think we have a long way to go in this society with race issues although I see improvements. What I would like to see is equal outrage from white people at the aforementioned crimes when they happen to black people, but I don't; and the media is just as guilty as the police in that regard as we all are as individuals. Not speaking out against these acts of violence is an act of violence in and of itself. I was shocked to see how black people are treated by the police when I moved to a city that was more than 50% black. So many white people would drop the N word to me and were shocked when I asked them not to, so deep was the assumption that I just felt how they did.

I see Caucasians and people of African origin equally cordially. I believe, that perhaps people of African origin are more open, when they interact with others. I have nothing but warm regard and fondness for people of African origin, so I must be belonging to a minority, according to the study.

I taught at an almost all-black high school one year. I thought it would be free of prejudice since almost all the students were black (I am white). I had never seen such overt racism as these students displayed toward each other. "If you're black/get back. If you're light/ you're all right."All the students did was talk about race. Out in the halls it was "Get your black *** over here." Color was an obsession.

In situations where African-Americans were not the majority there was different behavior. The biggest behavior problems in classes were poor whites. They were mean and seemed to lack any sense of humor.

I think things are getting better. Kids don't care as much any more what color someone is. There are more varieties. The individual, rather than the racial group, is more important.

96 to 98% of African Americans voted for Obama. This pattern is repeated nationally among elected black lawmakers,mayors, and other political figures. Race and its ''ism'' is the reason for such actions. If criminals,[such as Jefferson, Simpson, Kilpatrick, or Mumia],they were ''railroaded'' by ''racists'' and are otherwise ''innocent'' by this racist standard even while they are led into a state or federal prison upon being convicted by juries that include blacks in their composition. If such national figures [such as a Steele, a Hutchinson, a Thomas, or an Elder] lean conservative, then these are branded ''race traitors'', ''uncle toms'' and ''house ni...rs''. Make no mistake Kelley. These are overt instances of racism as opposed to ''unconscious''. Indeed, one cannot argue the issues and debate the quality of leadership or jurisprudance as these apply to Obama or Sotomayor, to use two ethnic examples, without being branded a ''racist'', which is merely assisting your Race To The Bottom regarding this allegedly ''post-racial America''.

I've heard of IAT (or similar testing) before this article but appreciate the acknowledgement of the effects of years of conditioning, intentional or not, that has affected our perceptions.

It would be exceptionally naive to think that the Caucasian dominance in the media and over history hasn't affected out view of race. Stereotypes have an origin. An eye-opening book related to this issue is White, written by Richard Dyer where he explores the the phenomenon of whiteness in film in particular. Dyer, who is white, points out the raceless portrayal of white while non-white are raced people. The implication is that white is human and therefore superior while non-white is minority. The former is aspirational, the latter is not.

I don't think this article is about the blame game but a scientific and social observation. We are social animals and profoundly influenced by our environment - we can't oversimplify of ignore the real effects of our collective actions and attitudes.

I've heard of IAT (or similar testing) before this article but appreciate the acknowledgement of the effects of years of conditioning, intentional or not, that has affected our perceptions.

It would be exceptionally naive to think that the Caucasian dominance in the media and over history hasn't affected out view of race. Stereotypes have an origin. An eye-opening book related to this issue is White, written by Richard Dyer where he explores the the phenomenon of whiteness in film in particular. Dyer, who is white, points out the raceless portrayal of white while non-white are raced people. The implication is that white is human and therefore superior while non-white is minority. The former is aspirational, the latter is not.

I don't think this article is about the blame game but a scientific and social observation. We are social animals and profoundly influenced by our environment - we can't oversimplify of ignore the real effects of our collective actions and attitudes.

white people are all nazis and racists

Hello

"Is it prejudice when black women are more likely to be raped, murdered or assaulted by black men than men of any other ethnic group?"

This is a misleading and incomplete statement.

Within all groups, men are more likely to attack within their race - white, Asian, black, Hispanic.

This isn't specific for black people, as you're trying to imply.

The Obama Administration is only a few months old. Let us let the historic election settle into our collective subconscious before we determine whether we've realized any positive effects from it or not.

Fascinating! You address some very important issues. Unwarranted stereotypes in our society are not only targeted at blacks but also gays, women and many other perceived insiginificant groups; this needs to be challenged.

I am proud of our black President and female Secretary of State. Waiting for the gay to come out..

errific article with important insights. I did a study back in the 1960's, when I was taking a graduate level seminar at Cornell, that used a semantic differential scale to measure the response of different ethnic groups to advertisements that showed members of their ethnic group or members of a different ethnic group (Caucasian and African American). The results were remarkably similar to what you report. For anyone wanting a deeper understanding of this topic I recommend Gordon W. Allport's classic work 'The Nature of Prejudice' published 55 years ago, and still relevant today.

Terrific article with important insights. I did a study back in the 1960's, when I was taking a graduate level seminar at Cornell, that used a semantic differential scale to measure the response of different ethnic groups to advertisements that showed members of their ethnic group or members of a different ethnic group (Caucasian and African American). The results were remarkably similar to what you report. For anyone wanting a deeper understanding of this topic I recommend Gordon W. Allport's classic work 'The Nature of Prejudice' published 55 years ago, and still relevant today.