Racial discrimination is a problem that has existed in our society for a long period, and its history can be dated from the past years. Racial discrimination is mostly demonstrated or encountered by people of color, mostly African` Americans, Latinos, Asians, and Hispanics. These people are discriminated against within different sectors and institutions, such as in education, business, or their workplace. They are not given equal opportunities as other white people, thus leaving them devastated (Andrew, n.d.). However, there are several solutions to the racial discrimination problem, including creating awareness among the public on equality for all people, application of special measures, and creation of public policies. Racial discrimination needs to be addressed now in the society in which we live since it has created a drift and conflict among people. Dealing with racial discrimination will encourage equality among all individuals and also ensure a harmonious and peaceful society where all individuals, regardless of their color, can live and interact equally in society. Now is the best time to implement the change since societies are expanding and new generations are emerging; thus, they need to live in peace with one another.
Moreover, people are now becoming aware of their rights and abolishing beliefs of differences, and thus, now is the best time to deal with racial discrimination. However, implementing the change might take about three to five years before a change can be observed. Still, people in society and political and humanitarian leaders need to work together to ensure change is being made. This paper will focus on advocacy against racial discrimination by identifying the problem, solutions, and how a change can be implemented to deal with the problem of racial discrimination within society.
Personal experience
I experienced racial discrimination while still young, and it made me think of advocating for its end. When we moved into a new neighborhood where mostly white people lived since my father was a military man, it was not easy for me. I could not speak fluent English, and my accent and color were different, making other kids look down on me. I could not play with them due to fear, although I knew we were all alike. When I joined the school in the new community, I understood the realness of racial discrimination in that state. I remember vividly the day I went to the library to request some books; I had not filled out my application form to allow me access to the book as the school demanded. Therefore, I needed to do that immediately before accessing the books. I waited for the library attendant, but she took long before coming, and when she did, she just looked at me without a word. I explained to her what I needed, and to my disbelief, she told me the application forms were not yet in and that I should wait until I called. I left but hesitantly. The next student waiting by the door was a white student, and when she requested the form, she was given it instantly. I was devastated, and that’s when I began to advocate against racial discrimination.
Racial discrimination is encouraged in society simply because people see differences in color as something that should divide people in society. However, they do not understand that sometimes differences are what makes people able to live and challenge each other. What most people do not understand is that the mind of these people is just the same as that of the whites. The differences are what create creativity within the society we live in. Another factor that greatly contributes to racial discrimination is history, which should be considered as a past, and people need to learn to move from history and culture. Racial discrimination will not unite the society. Rather, it will continue to divide people based on their different colors, which is very unethical. Democracy greatly impacted racial discrimination by considering people of color to have equal rights as whites. Therefore, differentiating people of color will be unethical and breaking the law. Logically, when we look at people of different colors or measure their intelligence, it is the same as that of whites. The only difference is the skin color, which does not signify a great difference. Thus, these people are the same, and changing the beliefs that discriminate them from whites should be necessary.
Implementing a change to racial discrimination requires great commitment and creating awareness through educating the media that color should not be a factor in discriminating against each other in society. Creating awareness will involve educating the public on racial discrimination, communicating with the public and society, and carrying out campaigns to promote peace and friendships among people of color. The campaigns will ensure effective communication and awareness that color should not differentiate people in society and should encourage peaceful coexistence. The media will play an important role in creating awareness, especially by promoting the campaigns on different television stations (Rights, n.d.).
Social media platforms can also be used since they are used by most people today. Social media platforms effectively create awareness and promote peaceful campaigns against racial discrimination. Consequently, policies can be implemented to stop or end racial discrimination. Through effective peaceful campaigns and awareness, the government may be forced to implement policies that include people of color in different economic and governmental sectors. The policies may include equal distribution of resources, equal rights to voting and public communication, and equal opportunities within the governmental and political positions. Although the policies may take years to be implemented, working towards making them will be strategic in ending racial discrimination.
Moreover, special measures can be incorporated within the government, such as implementing temporary programs to deal with racial discrimination while awaiting approval of policies. The special measures can be temporary actions to deal with racial discrimination at the moment before implementing a temporary change (Rights, n.d.). These solutions will deal with and end cases of racial discrimination within society.
Change implementation to racial discrimination is necessary and possible, but some challenges may hinder the change. One of the greatest challenges is white supremacy, which is mainly expressed in different sectors of the United States. The population of white people exceeds that of people of color, so implementing a change in such a population may be a challenge. Moreover, white people are in power and have taken the position of leaders in most organizations, businesses, and different institutions. Thus, they pose a challenge in the implementation of change. Therefore, implementing the change will need a serious strategy and strong campaigns to convince the white people. The good thing is that leaders, such as Abraham Lincoln, tried and succeeded in incorporating equality rights and fighting against racial discrimination.
Moreover, having an African-American president, Barack Obama, also paved the way for the implementation and awareness of equality and helped in the reduction of racial discrimination. These leaders also helped establish other organizations that support the rights and implementation of policies for people of color (Parker, n.d.). Such organizations will contribute to the effective implementation of change against racial discrimination. It may be a challenge at first, which may seem impossible, but the change will be seen given time, like a few months or even years. People will learn to live peacefully regardless of color, and there will be an open society with equal opportunities for all people, whether white, black, Latino, Asian, or Hispanic.
Works Cited
Andrew Daniller. “Majorities of Americans See at Least Some Discrimination against Black, Hispanic and Asian People in the U.S.” Pew Research Center, 18 Mar. 2021, www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2021/03/18/majorities-of-americans-see-at-least-some-discrimination-against-black-hispanic-and-asian-people-in-the-u-s/.
Parker, Christopher Sebastian. “Race and Politics in the Age of Obama.” Annual Review of Sociology, vol. 42, no. 1, July 2016, pp. 217–30, https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-soc-081715-074246.
Rights, UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human. “Developing National Action Plans against Racial Discrimination: A Practical Guide.” Digitallibrary.un.org, UN, 2014, digitallibrary.un.org/record/765799?ln=en. It was accessed on 13 Dec. 2023.
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