Racism In Nicolas Kristof's Is Everyone A Little Racist?

Racism: The Other “Color Spectrum” A young black man walks through the road of life wearing a hood to hide his identity while a young white man walks through the road proud and confident about his identity. Situations such as these happen everyday and are discussed through articles such as “Black Men and Public Spaces” by Brent Staples and “Is Everyone a Little Racist?” by Nicolas Kristof. Articles such as these discuss the racism that plagues the country and devastates the communities of minorities due to the constant prejudice against their race. Consequently, the minorities begin to fall short of their potentials in life because of stereotypes that lead to unequal opportunities. However, it is also discussed that progress has been made …show more content…
Through research about racism in America, the ugly truth is shown that “we unconsciously associate ‘America’ with ‘white’, while on the other hand, “young black men are associated with danger” (Kristof, 2). To many people, the Whites are thought of as classed Americans whereas the the Blacks are thought of wrongdoing animals. As a result, people then treat minorities with contempt, by making Blacks feel alienated in America, “a white land.” As frustration accumulates, revolts and riots that only support the stereotypes that brand Blacks as danger take place. If action is not carried out immediately, it will be too late to achieve racial equality. A way to combat racism would be to purify the perspective Americans have toward Blacks. To do so, instead of thinking Blacks as wild savages, people should compare minorities to fellow admirable figures of the same race such as Cesar Chavez or Martin Luther King Junior. If society is able to alter the definition of what America is and what Blacks are to a positive way, we will not only boost the esteem of Blacks, but also create more economic equality by opening new doors for the all races in