racism against blacks

1. Racism and Xenophobia 1
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2. Racism and Xenophobia 2
Racism and Xenophobia
Inequality against people of color has gone on for so long since Martin Luther King's era
until he was assassinated in 1968 for his activism against racism (Reddick, 2018). Discrimination
against the African Americans and the general "Black" communities globally is the most common
form of racism. The outright definition of racism is that members of specific races possess qualities
and abilities only specific to their race, usually distinguishing them as inferior or superior. The
racism experienced in the world is based on stereotypes of different groups of people. People of
color in the USA face xenophobia and discrimination in many sectors, from school to look for
jobs.
Firstly, the prejudice against "black" people has led to numerous deaths and injuries due to
their ethnic backgrounds. In 2020, an unarmed man George Floyd was knelt on to death for an
alleged petty crime. This discrimination has been the norm by some uneducated police force
members who think it is okay to mistreat people without going through the correct judicial system.
Over the years, people of color have faced discrimination and mistreatment by the people who
ought to protect them, citing excuses like "he was resisting arrest" or "he was armed."
Furthermore, it is evident how people of color are talented in music, termed institutional
racism. The popular music genre HipHop came about due to the African Americans, but people of
color in the music industry have faced a great deal of discrimination. An excellent example of such
is Nina Simone: she was a very talented musician but faced backlash for her music for fighting
against marginalization and discrimination (Walker, 2019). Nina faced xenophobia because of her
talent and the fear that she would revolutionize the music industry. Furthermore, she was an activist
who loved her race and always strived to fight for it; even in her songs, she faced backlash for it
in her lyrics about the Black community's oppression.

3. Racism and Xenophobia 3
Another form of institutionalized racism happens in the sports sector, where many players
of color participate in various sporting events, from football to basketball. Incidents, mostly in
football, of chants and animal sounds towards players of color are prevalent. Racism towards sport
professionals doesn't only happen on the field but also on social media. Despite social media being
beneficial for entertainment and different forms of communication, a small group of individuals
takes advantage of the anonymity to pass racist comments to individual players, which often comes
about if a particular African American player performs very well against rival teams. A good
example is Prince Boateng; while he played for AC Milan, he was racially abused by fans when
he touched the ball against Pro Patria (Hylton, 2020).
Fear of "black" men while driving in the USA is also very rampant. This form of
discrimination often comes about with traffic stops for an offense ironically termed DWB (driving
while black). Despite having all the required documents and observing all the traffic rules, these
types of stops often occur. These racist stops cause humiliation by innocent civilians into being
hassled for no reason. Such stops contribute to the arrests and killings of young men for
unjustifiable crimes. Xenophobia is also evident in the housing and living standards of the two
groups in the USA. The whites' living standards are more sophisticated, with better security and
amenities than predominant black neighborhoods. Black young men and families are stereotyped
as criminals hence even the few families that live in white neighborhoods live in fear because they
can be accused of anything.
People of color have also indulged in xenophobia to ensure their status and rights are
upheld. This acts as a reflex action considering the extent to which black society's rights have been
violated since the past century in slavery till date. This fear is brought about by the power held by
the “whites” and the need to consolidate their children’s future and their own. Whites who believe

4. Racism and Xenophobia 4
in black society's inferiority are more frightening if allowed in the police force. This makes people
of color live in fear, and hostility sets.
Hostility is not because of one racist action towards the black community but due to
collective rights violations. This leads to many black people having fixed negative opinions of the
white community that their main aim is to violate them until they are extinct. These ideas and
opinions are most probably transferred to their children, which further led to the deterioration of
the relationship between the black and white communities. Another reason for this hostility is
'white privilege.' This means the whites' freedom but denied to the people of color in case of crime
or any judicial process. Despite all the odds, there still are racist judges and officials who allow
freedom for certain ethnic groups but lock up others for petty crimes just because of skin color.
Xenophobia towards the “black” community has further led to their rights being violated
in various departments. This xenophobia has led to discrimination in employment, where it is
becoming challenging for people to get jobs because of race. Even when they get a chance to work,
discrimination in the workplace is almost inevitable. Despite having the education and the skills
required, people of color are generally pushed down the pecking order when it comes to jobs. Also,
most white-color jobs in the USA are mostly taken up by" whites," with "blacks" opting to work
for people of the same race or look for employment elsewhere.
In addition to inequality in employment, xenophobia has led to inequality in other
departments and sectors like court systems and housing. Discrimination in housing in the USA is
evident where there is a city for predominantly black families. Despite being successful, it is hard
to live and be accepted in mostly white neighborhoods due to skin color. Inequality surprisingly is
also evident in many court trials and judicial hearings where rights are outright violated only to

5. Racism and Xenophobia 5
serve the majority communities while trenching black society's rights for unjustifiable petty crimes
(Bhusal, 2017).
After all, is said and done, the main challenge and goal are to fight against racism and try
and eradicate it. Various actions can be taken up by ourselves and the people around us to ensure
discrimination against ethnic groups is eliminated for good. Firstly, education about racism is
essential. This will give people the awareness of the vices that come with racism and strive to end
it rather than not educate people against it. Education should come primarily from home, where
parents have a lot of influence and school and the society at large.
Moreover, racism can be combated by raising awareness about it to large people to help
them understand how they can play a part in ending it (Jones, 2018). Reporting any suspicious
case of discrimination to the authorities will also ensure perpetrators are punished and learn from
their mistakes and improve. Sharing stories of racist attacks despite how painful and difficult it
can be will also help. Sharing experiences shows the reality of discrimination and rallies people to
fight against evil. Generally, fighting racism should be a collective action from everybody if an
end is to be met. If people stand together globally to fight against racism, then its end will come
relatively fast.

6. Racism and Xenophobia 6
Work Cited
Bhusal, A. (2017). The rhetoric of racism and anti-miscegenation laws in the United States. IAFOR
Journal of Arts and Humanities, 4(2), 83-89.
Hylton, K. (2020). Black Lives Matter in sport? Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion: An
International Journal.
Jones, C. P. (2018). Toward the science and practice of anti-racism: Launching a national
campaign against racism. Ethnicity & disease, 28(Suppl 1), 231.
Reddick, L. D. (2018). Crusader Without Violence: A Biography of Martin Luther King, Jr.
NewSouth Books.
Walker, C. (2019). Sampling Nina Simone in Modern Hip-Hop.