Structural-Functionalism And Racism

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.

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

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