Week Fifteen: Racism By the Numbers

Whether we know it or not, we constantly categorize ourselves and others by race or appearances. Take a look at our school, for example. Although Troy is very diverse in national origin, we still see friend groups divided by skin color (I'm not trying to say that everyone purposely chooses friends just by race; I have no intentions of offending anyone). 

Likewise, racism also exists in the "real world" outside of school. In the video below, John Green states that "around 75% of White Americans do not think that there is racial bias in the criminal justice system" and that many Americans do not think racism is a significant issue. However, in his piece, Just Walk on By, Brent Staples discusses his troubles that he experienced because of his race. He explains that he was mistakenly taken as a hazard many times just because of his skin color, even though he never really was causing harm to others. John Green then reveals that on average, African American men's prison sentences were 20% longer than White men's prison sentences when they were convicted of similar crime. Clearly, there is a problem here, and the problem is racism. African Americans are constantly viewed as a threat, and this misunderstanding has affected many people. This misunderstanding,however, cannot go on forever. We all need to realize that racism is certainly an issue and listen to those that have been influenced by it. As Green said in his video, the statistics he included are only small details and we will never truly realize how people are affected by racism unless we listen to the voices of the victims of racism.

Link: Racism in the United States