Abstract The writer discusses that although many Canadians are proud of living in the only country in the world that embraces multiculturalism as an official policy, the truth of the matter seems to be that many minorities still experience racist discrimination in various spheres of Canadian life. This literature review examines the literature on the subject of racism in Canadian education, to ascertain whether racism is in fact a problem in Canadian schools. A good place to start the literature review is to look at the broad picture of racism in Canada, and in particular at the theoretical concepts and discourses that have been used to examine this issue.
From the Paper "Beiser et al. researched the effects and levels of stressors facing refugee Southeast Asian children in their new Canadian schools. They point out that many other studies have concluded that one of the most intense stresses such children have to cope with is the stress of fitting into these schools."
Abstract This paper presents a review of empirical literature on the topic of racism and violence. The literature addresses theories of racism and violence, including a discussion of ethnicity. The paper also explores ways to cope with exposure to racism and violence.
Abstract This paper examines Ralph Ellison? s "Battle Royal", Leslie Marmon "Silko's Ceremony", Martin Luther King's "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" and Malcolm X's ?The Ballot or the Bullet." It shows how they all offer vivid and important accounts of racism in the United States of America, all present different aspects of the problem and offer different ways of coping with them. More than anything, these texts testify to the continuing problem of racism in America and the multiplicity of forms in which racism can manifest itself.
From the Paper "Indeed, the manifestations of racism are so heavy within the "Battle Royal" section of Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man that it is difficult to pinpoint one single instance of racism, which outshines the others. Indeed, the chapter effectively presages all the manners of racism that will eventually manifest later in the book. The unnamed protagonist who has won a school prize is sent to the white men's club to deliver a speech, but is forced to compete in the Battle Royal instead, a request with which he too willingly complies. He is forced to box a large group of other men blindfolded, to pick coins off an electric carpet (which turn out to be fake coins), and eventually to read his speech with his mouth so full of blood that he can barely speak and is forced to swallow his own blood. The racism throughout the chapter is grotesque and at point absurd, but Ellison uses this absurdity to use the Battle Royal scene as an effective allegory for the rest of the book."
This paper discusses anti-racism in 20th Century writing focusing on the following works: "Their Eyes Were Watching God," by Zora Neale Hurston, "Sonny's Blues," by James Baldwin, and "Battle Royal," by Ralph Ellison.
Abstract This paper explains the refusal to ignore and tolerate racism in these three pieces of 20th Century writing. The author states that each writer looks at racism differently but illustrates through their fiction that racism existed during the early 20th century and that African-Americans had to deal with it in their own unique ways. This paper stresses that writers refused to tolerate racism; and ,through their works, they urged others to do the same.
From the Paper "In "Sonny's Blues", James Baldwin takes a different approach to racism. Sonny is a young man growing up in an urban ghetto, rather than a small Southern town, yet he and those around him face the same prejudice and racism, as he sees while he watches a young group of women sing on a street corner. ". . . it struck me all of a sudden how much suffering she must have had to go through - to sing like that. It's repulsive to think you have to suffer that much" (Baldwin 132). Sonny sees the suffering, but even though he reaches the depths of despair in heroin addiction, his life, and the story which portrays it, is more hopeful and uplifting, because Baldwin can see better days in the future, and he believes men like Sonny, who finally find their passion, and in it themselves, will help lead blacks to better days."
This paper discusses "de facto" versus "de jure" racism as related in Richard Wright's "The Library Card" and Brent Staples's "Black Men in Public Spaces".
1,075 words (approx. 4.3 pages), 2 sources, 2004, $ 37.95
Abstract This paper explains that the essay, "The Library Card", by Richard Wright, illustrates a young, black man growing up in Memphis who cannot borrow books from a whites-only library because he cannot obtain a library card. The author points out that the racism experienced by Brent Staples is subtler, but still present in the legal racism of the Northern states of the 1970s. The paper stresses that even if one man experiences de jure versus de facto racism, this does not mean that racism has less of an impact upon Staples's life than it does on Wright?s.
From the Paper "Both contradicting ideas in both essays"the young Black man dangerously striving for knowledge against legal constraints and the adolescent Black man dangerously lacking in knowledge, walking down a city street, are simultaneously held in the minds of racist society. The experiences of both authors, when viewed in consort, shows that there is no way out of the irrational, racist mindset"other than bringing it to the reader's attention. Black education is feared and Black violent ignorance?society fears what it has attempted to generate. It existed in the past, and it still exists today, just as damaging, even if the legal prohibitions that thwarted Wright are no longer in place. In fact, because Wright circumvented the law, perhaps the law matters less than the fetters that exist upon white minds that endanger Black self-esteem."
Abstract This literary study analyzes the morality and racial issues that arise within three works by James Baldwin. By analyzing "Go Tell It On the Mountain", "Another Country", and "Going to Meet the Man", one can realize the victimization that racism places within the philosophy of Baldwin's characters. By understanding these characters within a white racist environment, the premise for victimization within a racist construct is brought forth through an African-American perspective. The evolutionary basis of victimization in "Go Tell It on the Mountain" by James Baldwin relates the story of a young man, John Grimes, who must learn to abide by a religious moral standard in his life. The victimization of this tale is conveyed through a moral idiom, as both of John's parents have led lives of betrayal and infidelity.
A look at how Alice Walker can be considered a pioneer of 'womanism' and bastion of African-American literature through a review of "The Color Purple".
Abstract This paper looks at how Alice Walker, following the great tradition of African-American literature, has been considered one of the women writers who fought to "break the barrier" that divides African-Americans from other races and women from men in a dominantly white American and patriarchal society, respectively. In particular, it examines how, due to the extraordinary themes and powerful characterization of Celie, the main character in "The Color Purple", Walker has become one of America's most prolific African-American women writers.
From the Paper "What makes Walker successful in portraying the lives of African-American women? As reflected in The Color Purple, Walker sought to confront the primary issues and problems that African-American women (and women in general) experience during her time?that is, the issues of racial, gender, and socio-economic discrimination within African-American communities and the society. These issues include the racial discrimination against (by the dominant white American society) and among African-Americans; gender conflict between males and females, particularly in the struggle for power and dominance; repression of women through poverty; and coping with physical and emotional abuse, self-discovery, and lesbianism."
Abstract This paper discusses the idea of a racial shadow as is described in the book, "Reading Asian-American Literature" by Sau-ling Cynthia Wong. The paper examines Wong's opinion that many Asian-Americans are pulled in two directions at once and thus have a psychological, bipolar split. This desire to blend into the American culture is common in many Asian-American literary works, and the paper presents examples from a few of them.
From the Paper "Wong uses the term Doppleganger, which is a derivation of the German 'double walker,' a spiritual double or matching part of a living person. It is believed by many people that somewhere on this planet everyone has an identical unrelated double. Sometimes the Dopplegangers have the same interests and behaviors; other times, the two are in direct opposition to one another. If they should meet, says the myth, they will both die. The authors and characters in the above-mentioned Asian-American novels, who have both beings or Dopplegangers living within the same body, are especially affected. They cannot hope to forever stay clear of their double and get on with life. The double or racial shadows will live internally and either be a source of strength and support or of weakness and destruction depending on how the other handles the duality."
Abstract Systemic racism is found just as much in the nursing profession as in many other institutionalized workplaces. This form of racism produces serious conflict that can harm morale and efficiency because the problem can remain hidden. Systemic racism, or institutionalized racism, is racism that is built into the system. Systemic racism is the result of interlocking systems of social oppression such as classism, sexism and ableism in the health care system. This paper explains what system racism is and discusses the serious harm it can cause. In particular, the paper discusses systemic racism within the nursing profession and looks at how it is an especially problematic issue with regard to the delivery of health services.
From the Paper "Workplace diversity is a tremendous benefit, but it can cause serious problems not only for the staff but also for patients and the delivery of care (Aries, 2004). Systemic racism is found just as much in the nursing profession as in many other institutionalized workplaces. Minority and ethnic groups continue to be viewed as different. "Diversity has become a more pressing issue in the delivery of health services because added to long-standing racial disparities are problems associated with caring for new immigrant populations" (Aries, 2004, p. 173)."
Abstract This paper reviews Joe R. Feagin and Melvin P. Sikes' book "Living with Racism," in which the authors challenge the conventional view that racism is a thing of the past, gone with the days of slavery. To challenge this view, Feagin and Sikes collected personal accounts from over 200 middle-class black Americans to reveal the racism that pervades many aspects of American daily life today. The authors pull together accounts revealing subtle and overt racism, and examine how this racism is expressed in discriminatory behavior. "Living with Racism" is an important reminder about how much work remains to be done regarding racial relations in the United States.
From the Paper "The authors pull together accounts revealing subtle and overt racism, and how this racism is expressed in discriminatory behavior. Despite the Civil Rights Movement and the resultant laws that mandate against discriminatory practices, Feagin and Sikes gather a multitude of accounts showing how African Americans continue to face discrimination at public places, such as hotels, restaurants and stores. The stories are carefully gathered to provide a narrative account that encompasses many aspects of American public life. Together, these stories show that racism and the resultant discriminatory behavior are alive and well."
Abstract The premise of the paper is that slavery was not caused perpetuated by racism. The paper examines the debates by historians and sociologists that slavery encourages racism, and racism establishes slavery.
The historical evolution of slavery is analyzed in order to establish that this idea of mutual supporting systems of racism and slavery is not correct.
From the Paper "For many years, historians and sociologists have debated the relationship between racism and slavery. Some contend that slavery caused and perpetuated racism, while others argue that racism caused and perpetuated slavery. Examining the historical evidence indicates that in colonial and pre-Civil War America, racism was both a cause and consequence of slavery. Ultimately, institutionalized slavery and institutionalized racism co-existed as mutually supporting systems, based upon prevailing social and cultural assumptions that blacks were an inferior race. In order to resolve this issue, it is necessary to examine and evaluate slavery's historical development, for doing so provides evidence that in many societies, slavery has not been caused or perpetuated by racism."
Abstract This work traces the origins of slavery and racism in the modern era, and analyzes the debate over which phenomenon gave rise to the other. The paper also explores the unique aspects of African-American enslavement in colonial U.S. and its connection with the modern state of race relations in America. The paper also proposes a unique hypothesis that connects the rise of slavery in Europe and America to Europe's underlying fear of the rising cultures of the East. The essay also contains critiques and descriptions of the scholarship of Dr. Eric Williams, Winthrop Jordan, and others.
From the Paper "This essay concerns the work of West Indian historian and former Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago Dr. Eric Williams, who proffered the rationale in Capitalism and Slavery, that the philosophical origins of the Atlantic Slave Trade in the Americas was based upon economics, not racism. My purpose of addressing Dr. Williams theory is not to argue that slavery was, above all else, a major economic enterprise. Rather, I am interested in examining the origins of African slavery in Europe in the modern era and the overall European mindset of the early 15th Century, including their attitudes and preconceptions regarding the African continent. While not disputing the hypothesis evident in the title of Dr. William's essay ?Economics, Not Racism, as the Root of Slavery,? I contend that economics alone was not the sole impetus behind the tragic phenomenon of African slavery, and that the occurrence of racism was simultaneous. Furthermore, I am seeking to examine Dr. William's theory in the context of the African-American experience amid early U.S. history. That is, I intend to describe the distinctive nature of slavery in the colonial U.S., being developed under the English's specious pretext of black inferiority. My overall supposition is that the genesis of racist attitudes coincided with the initial Portuguese contact with inhabitants of Old Guinea in 1441, becoming especially prevalent among the English through their early experiences with black Africans. Because these attitudes were formed prior to any English involvement in the trade of African slaves, this position stands at odds with Dr. William's theory that racism was invented for the purpose of justifying the continuation of slavery."
Abstract This eight-page undergraduate paper identifies the central arguments in Calliste's chapter "Racism, Sexism and Resistance in Segmented Labour Markets", and offers a discussion and analysis of those arguments.
Abstract This paper examines how Achebe puts together a coherent, substance backed, logical argument revealing the racist aspects of Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness". The paper, however, explains that while Achebe attributes the racism in the story to the author, most of it should be attributed to the narrator, Marlowe.
From the Paper "Marlowe was a racist, but applying this label to Conrad is neither straightforward nor important. It can be inferred that Conrad probably did have preferences for Europe and Europeans because he was one-it was home, they were is people-and he lived in a time of strong racist settings. Yet, Heart of Darkness is a work of art, and as Oscar Wilde wrote, "Art has no influence upon action. . . . The books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame." (Wilde, 382). Achebe is ashamed of past expressions of racism in otherwise great works of literature: this is his individual perspective."
Abstract This paper discusses environmental racism and reveals the nature of environmental justice and its demands. It explores the effect of pollution on low-income populations from a positive and negative perspective. It examines the disproportionate number of waste sites placed in poor and blighted neighborhoods by corporations.
From the Paper "Environmental racism exists wherever low income or minority communities bear a disproportionate exposure to the pollutants put into the environment by major corporations. Hazardous waste sites are all too often placed in already blighted communities inhabited ..."
