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Structural-Functionalism And Racism

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The nature of American society is racist as many social problems in the United States have racial aspects to them. Poverty, educational attainment, and basic social conduct are all affected by racial discrimination. While certain institutions discriminate against people of color unfairly, it is more important to understand the social awareness people of color must develop in order to live in a society where their skin color alone puts them at a disadvantage. Socioeconomic class, educational advancement, and social norms are influenced by racial factors. People of color are more likely to have a lower socioeconomic status, and mobility is near impossible because of the disadvantages people of color have compared to those who are not of color. …show more content…

By attempting to understand a situation through the Structural-Functionalism theory, it is clear that many social institutions are racist in their nature in our society. Social institutions are monetarily influenced, and since many people of color do not have financial advantages, social institutions tend favor those with advantages. Discrimination based on racial factors can also be explained by the Symbolic-Interactionism theory. People of color have to be very aware of their actions in society, for our society will analyze and discriminate as they see fit. Therefore, racism affects people at every given moment of the …show more content…

Due to Affirmative Action, institutions have to reach certain quotas to gain funding. However, once quotas are reached, there are many people of color who do not benefit. Timing is very important in whether or not a person of color can benefit from the government policy. Therefore, it benefits people by the situation and not as a whole. As diversity is very important to colleges and universities, their actions in the scholarship and admittance processes say otherwise. Every student is an investment, so logically it would make more sense to give aid or admittance to those who are not of color. People of color are more likely to drop out of college because of financial difficulty or other factors. Therefore, educational institutions take insurance policies to make sure their investment was the right one. Even though a student of color might be a much better candidate for an educational opportunity, universities might not give them those chances. Colleges can only offer so much financial aid in a year, therefore, universities are more likely to give that aid to a student who is more likely to spend more time and money at the institution instead of someone who is more statistically and stereotypically prone to drop out. Even though the person of color is more likely in need of education to better themselves and rise out of their socioeconomic

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Race should not be a factor for college applications, financial aid or scholarships. However, income should be a factor when it comes to financial matters such as aid or scholarships. Income can affect a person’s life by increasing stress. People with lower incomes are worried about food shelter, and other basic needs. Higher education is the best way for people to increase their income but without financial assistance, it is almost impossible to pursue a degree.

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It is no secret that racism still exists today, it is not a thing of the past. This is not by chance but rather careful laid out by the institutions we have today. This has ultimately had two different effects on africans and whites Americans. It is like the domino affect first came the housing issues and unfortunately this lead to a series of events that still are in motion today, which can be greatly seen through education and banks. Let’s take a first look at how institutions have affect white Americans.

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In terms of postsecondary education, African immigrants have been given priority over other black Americans for affirmative action in higher rank institutions, leading to the creation of the idea of them as a new model minority. They have been cited as the racial group with the highest percentage of university and advanced degrees at 48.9% in 2010 and 8.2% in 2014 respectively (Ukpokodu 70). There are many problems with the seeming prioritization of accepting more African immigrants into universities. Not only the fact that less native-born black Americans are not getting spots in these institutions therefore dividing African immigrants and native-born African Americans even more, but also that this puts pressure and intense expectations on

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Another thing that places students of color at a disadvantage in college admissions is the persisting cultural bias in high-stakes testing. “High-stakes” tests are those that are tied to major consequences, such as admission to college, or even high school graduation. Fair education reform advocates have long been citing an extensive record of standardized testing concerns, many of which relate to racial bias and discrimination. As researcher and author Harold Berlak explains in the journal Rethinking Education: Standardized testing perpetuates institutionalized racism and contributes to the achievement gap between whites and minorities. For instance, the deeply embedded stereotype that African Americans perform poorly on standardized tests

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AFFIRMATIVE ACTION IS A NECESSARY TOOL THAT IS NEEDED IN THE COLLEGE APPLICATION PROCESS Catie Biby PLS: 135 U.S. Government March 15, 2023 AFFIRMATIVE ACTION IS A NECESSARY TOOL THAT IS NEEDED IN THE COLLEGE APPLICATION PROCESS Affirmative action has lately seen a surge in popularity for unsatisfactory reasons, with this reason being its use in the college admissions process. Affirmative action has not only just been used in the college admissions process, and it hasn't been a recent idea. This type of action has been used for decades in several institutions, mostly in places of higher education and employment, with its first use being in employment.

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Proponents for race identification would argue that, ending race identification on college applications would cause “profound implications for the higher education leaving universities and graduate schools with a mass number of Caucasian students”(Cite). Removing affirmative action will only decrease diversity in the work force and universities leaving the majority of college campuses with the upper echelon. Proponents strongly believe in diversity and enhancing student’s exposer. That’s is why some university’s especially the University of California at Berkeley school of law are big supporters for affirmative action. When this university noticed a decrease in African Americans and Latinos admitted they thought affirmative action was the

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Since the 1960s, the racial and political climate in the United States has changed dramatically but in order to make a claim as to whether or not race relations in the U.S. have improved, declined or as I argue are in a state of stalemate, racism first has to be properly defined along with the colorblind and post-racial ideologies in which race and racism are currently contextualized in. Racism is and describes a system of disadvantage based on the socially constructed concept of race, a system that has covert and overt forms prejudice and bias and one that maintains and exacerbates inequality and inequity of opportunity among ethnoracial groups. According to Ostertag and Armaline, “dominant ideology and research” generally define and discuss

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There are people that exist today that were raised into holding a racist opinion on different ethnic groups. Through the symbolic interactionism perspective, racism can be resolved. Racism formed many years ago due to people interacting and sharing opinions about others. From the first day a person is born, they begin to adapt to their social worlds around them, beginning with their family. A persons’ family is the first social world they are exposed to for a majority of their lifetime.

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Systemic Racism in the United States Many individuals today have different point of views on how the United States of America became what it is today. For instance, point of views such as how society learned to function the way it does, the law and order in place, and ultimately, how circumstances have developed throughout history. Unfortunately, institutional/institutionalized racism, also known as systemic racism is also a concept that has settled and is grown to be quite predominant in the United States all through times past. Systemic racism continues to take place in settings such as banks, courts of law, government organizations, school systems, and the like.

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“ According to the National Association of Social Workers Web site, racism is “the ideology or practice through demonstrated power or perceived superiority of one group over others by reasons of race, color, ethnicity, or cultural heritage....” The definition further goes on to note that “racism is manifested at the individual, group, and institutional level.” (Blank, 2013) Despite how much time has passed by, racism continues to be a huge issue today. We see it every day, some have even been confronted by racial discrimination, or racial slurs even. We see how the system could be for example: how blacks continue to get more severe punishments or blacks have higher the chance to get criminally sentenced than whites.

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Affirmative Action is a practice that is needed in college admissions in order to better represent racial minority groups in institutions of higher learning. The United States is one of the most diverse countries in the world, however, it is not so diverse when it comes to the education system. Racial minority groups are underrepresented in the education system for a multitude of reasons. The main reason behind this is that students from racial minority groups often have to go to very segregated public schools. The issue with the segregated public schools that minorities attend is that, “Students in segregated schools typically perform considerably worse on test scores party because 90 percent of highly segregated minority schools confront

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733 Words | 3 Pages

However, with diversity comes inequalities that people of color face throughout their lives. A particular issue in the United States, specifically in education, is unequal opportunities and treatment in regard to race. Research shows that students from single-parent black families had a high chance of dropping out and participating in illicit behavior (Hallinan 54). While the issue of race is a complicated issue to breach for

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Essentially, these forms relate to a struggle for power and resources, one side being the oppressed and the other the oppressor. As racism holds unfounded bias, prejudice and discrimination within its core ideologies, the conflict theory undoubtedly supplies the best approach to obtaining a general conception of the effects racism has on society. Compared to functionalism or symbolic interactionism, the conflict theory addresses the exploitation of groups, ultimately making it the best course of action to begin a rational

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In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson issued the executive order that mandated policies, based on affirmative action, to counter the effects of past discrimination. This action affected primarily employers and businesses that provided tuition aid for individuals wishing to attend a college or university. After this landmark decision, affirmative action continued to grow and soon became a factor in deciding eligibility for higher education. As a result of these major policy changes over the years, the United States has experienced a significant rise in diversity in the classroom and work place. More importantly, it has opened a number of doors to minorities that lack the experience and paper credentials to apply to an employer or college.

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