RACIAL STEREOTYPES IN USA
INTRODUCTION
By definition, a stereotype is a fixed and over-generalized belief about a particular group of people. The act of stereotyping is where you infer that a person has some characteristics and abilities which are similar to each individual in the whole group. In the United States of America, there is a negative attitude towards blacks due to their color and origin as they are perceived to be products of the slave trade. In the past weeks in the United States of America, there have been demonstrations due to the death of a black American George Floyd. The death of George Floyd was caused by a Minneapolis police officer by pinning him down and suffocating him to death. Video footage shows the police pinning George down by putting his knee on George’s neck. The death was as a result of police brutality to the black Americans due to racism. The death leads to demonstrations in the country where the blacks were agitating for their rights and privileges. The demonstrations lead to the imposition of curfews and president Donald Trump being evacuated from the white house. A civil rights activist Rev Al Sharpton says that since the abolition of the slave trade in the United States of America, the blacks have never had a chance of prosperity due to the whites putting a knee on their necks. In this article, we are going to look at how the death of George Floyd has impacted racial stereotypes in the United States of America and its possibilities of eradicating racism.
IMPACTS OF GEORGE’S DEATH ON RACIAL STEREOTYPES
Floyd’s death has led to demonstrations of thousands of United States of America, both the blacks and the whites, against police brutality. The act of George Floyd being pinned down by the police has brought many issues on the police force of the United States of America. The issue has brought a platform where many civil rights activists have found the opportunity to express their grievances. They agitate for equality between the blacks and the whites in the country. They talk about the mistreatments done to the blacks in the country, claiming that the whites have been putting their knees on the necks of the blacks. The religious leaders who have a black origin have also been at the forefront to talk about the mistreatments on the blacks. This kind of platform and the demonstration has seen some form of unison between the blacks and the whites in the country. The fixed notion about the blacks has been erased from the minds of the whites, and now all of them have the same goal, to demonstrate against police brutality.
George’s death has not only provided a platform for the blacks to raise their voices but has also called for the support of the international community. Not in the United States of America did the demonstrations occur but also in some European countries like the United Kingdom. The blacks in the countries have come out in their large numbers to support the ones in the United States of America. They claim that even though there is racism in their countries, also, the one in the United States of America is too much. During the demonstrations, they say that Europe is their homeland, and they have nowhere to go, they deserve to be treated better in their homes. The African continent has also taken to social media platforms e.g., Twitter and Facebook, to agitate for equality. The Africans call for justice to be served to George Floyd. The international community has helped to reduce the prejudices have against blacks in the United States of America. The international community also calls for racial equality in the country.
President being the symbol of unity in the country, the way President Donald Trump has dealt with the issue of the murder has raised many issues in the country. According to various interviews done on the residents of the United States of America, they believe that the president did not use the right way to solve the situation. The president’s take in solving the problem by telling the police force to use much force in their dealings has been criticized by all the citizens of the United States of America. These collective responses of the citizens towards the president’s take show some form of unison and the people coming out to talk about the act of their leader irrespective of their color.
POSSIBILITIES OF GEORGE FLOYD’S DEATH PUTTING AN END TO RACISM
According to R walker (2017), one way of solving racial discrimination is developing the colorblind ideology developed by Dr. Martin Lurther. Due to the many protests by many citizens of the United States of America, they are relatively enough to prove that the ideology has been incorporated. The demonstrations in the country were carried out by both the blacks and the whites, and the demonstrators never bothered the skin color because they had a common goal. The citizens came out in large numbers to protest against the police brutality in the country, and this brought some form of unity between different races in the United States of America. If this kind of unity continues, racism will be a gone issue in the United States of America.
According to P Kivel (2017), the best way of solving racism is considering the adverse economic effects of discrimination. Racial discrimination in places of work, schools, and even the labor market only leads to losses. The ones owning private schools by not enrolling the students of black origin only gain losses in their business. The workforce is greatly affected as the labor force is reduced due to racism. The death of George Floyd let many losses in the business centers. During the riots, the demonstrators resolved to loot different shopping centers, which is a significant loss to the business. This is clear evidence of the dangerous side effects of racism. The businesses of both the black and the whites were affected. The demonstrations brought to a halt many businesses and production as people took to the streets to fight for justice to be done to George Floyd. The transport sector was also greatly affected. Had there been nor racism in the country, all these losses could have occurred, this thought might help bring some sense of race equality.
Another way to the realization of racial equality is by digging to the social media and speaking out. This is according to D Patton (2017). This kind of approach can help attract the support of the international community. Letting the rest of the world know the kind of mistreatments the blacks face helped call for support. The death of Floyd trended in various social media platforms, which lead to many coming out to demonstrate. The African continent and countries like the United Kingdom protested using various social media, which helped to bring racial equality in the country. This kind of approach has helped black Americans to realize the support they have from the rest of the world, and this gives them the morale to fight for racial equality.
CONCLUSION
There have been many fixed notions of the blacks staying in the United States of America for about four hundred years ago, and they are taken to be inferior. The blacks in the country have faced so much discrimination and torture by the whites. They have not been comfortable in their own homes. Recently there was a murder of a black American, George Floyd, which was caused by him being pinned down by a police officer. This has led to demonstrations in the country, and both the black and the whites come out in their large numbers. This has helped create a platform for various civil rights activists to call for race equality, and the international community has also found a platform to call for fair treatment of the blacks. Floyd’s death can help bring an end to racism in the country as many residents have developed the colorblind ideology as they all call for fair treatment by the police. The economy has also been affected, and the need for equality needs to prevent any losses in the future. Social media platforms have been used to call for racial equality in the country.
REFERENCES
R Walker, D Francis, G Brody, R Simons (2017)Suicide and Life Wiley Online Library
P Kivel (2017) Uprooting Racism New Society Publishers
D U Patton, D Brunton, A Dixon, R J Miller (2017) Sage Journals Social Media+ Society 3