The Consequences Of Racism In Today's Society

Racism seems to be a never ending issue that has been dividing our nation since the first settlers arrived and since it erupted in the 1900’s, turning it into something this country has never seen before. Parents and peers play a huge role in how someone is going to treat somebody of a different race or religion since nobody is born racist and the victims of racism will face a lifetime of emotional and physical illnesses because of the discrimination that lead to issues such as poor education and incarceration. Because of the society we live in today, the media intensifies the issues of racism, but does that help or hurt the situation? There is no clear cut answer to that but talking to your children about racism will help get rid of the problem …show more content…
Racism during a child’s early years will lead to numerous complications throughout the rest of their life. Recent studies by Dr. Gee shows that a child who is a victim of racism as a child will not only face emotional problems, but may actually become physically ill (2012). Being discriminated against will impact your social network and that has a domino affect on everything else including employment opportunities. Children who are victims of racism tend to be unemployed or underemployed which leads to poor health care for that individual and their families (Na, 2012). During Ausdale and Feagin’s research in 2001, they concluded that because the early years are such a sensitive time for the growing brain, the stressors, such as discrimination, will affect the brain for the whole life. Teenagers ,who are growing cognitively, are also deeply impacted by racism. They tend to develop self-esteem issues which they can bring out in anything from violence to depression (Na, 2012). In 2012, 70% of students who were arrested off of school grounds were African American (Kerby). There are no clear reasons for why their percent is so much higher, but researchers can assume it is because of upbringings, with about 46% of African American children raised in poverty and their need to express violence because of racial segregation throughout their lives (Economic Policy …show more content…
The biggest reason in my opinion is racism in children. Since we are not born with prejudice feelings towards a group of people, it has to be taught in one way or another. Studies found that the biggest influence on racism is your parents and your peers come in a close second. If at a young age parents put in their child’s mind that everyone is equal and not one race is superior to the other no matter what others think, the issue of racism will begin to decline rapidly. Not only does racism affect the mind of the aggressor but it also deeply affects the victim in more than one reason. After years of being segregated and judged because of their race or religion, mental illnesses as well as physical illnesses will begin to show. Children who are victims of racism tend to be more violent, have a higher chance of being incarcerated, and are more likely to face self-esteem issues. Since people who have been segregated are a smaller social network, their chances for a good job drop and if someone does have a good job to provide for themselves and their families, they will not have good healthcare and this is where the physical illnesses come out. For a family who doesn’t know where their next meal is coming from, healthcare is not an option which causes their health to decline. Since we live in a society that is extremely caught up in the media, I agree that