While exploring the issue of racism in the USA, the current paper discusses the extent through which people of colour are disadvantaged or treated unfairly within the society.  The increasing cases of police brutality on blacks and minority group, limited access to medical services and unfair treatment within the workforce is a clear indication that people of colour are disadvantaged. This paper argues that unless a conscious decision is made to stop white supremacy, and vilification of blacks in all spheres, the issue of blacks’ discrimination and prejudice is likely to remain pervasive in America.

The paper begins with a discussion of the issue of racism in the USA, followed with the provision of evidence to justify that the blacks and other minority people are disadvantaged in the region. Lastly, a discussion of the changes that need to be implemented to address the issues is presented.

Racism and Discrimination of Blacks in the USA

The black people and minority communities including Hispanics have continually been treated unfairly in the United States of America. Even with the abolition of slavery, more than 150 years ago, the country has not made much progress towards racial equality (Horowitz, Brown & Cox, 2019). There is much skepticism on whether blacks will have equal rights to those of whites in the region. About 58% of Americans have reported that race relations in the region are bad and are likely to worsen in the future (Hoskin, 2020). The findings from a survey by Pew Research Center indicates that blacks, far more than whites receive unfair treatment in different life realms such as the acquisition of employment, police treatment, and access to various facilities such as loans, mortgage, education and health care services (Desilver, Lipka & Fahmy, 2020). For a long time now, the possibility of experiencing racial equality has remained an elusive goal for many blacks in America.

The discrimination of blacks has been evidently witnessed in their acquisition of employment and in their management within the workplace. According to Horowitz, Brown and Cox (2019) blacks are disadvantaged when it comes to access to employment opportunities. The research done by Pew Research Center on racial inequality indicates that more than 80% of Americans believe that being white is an added advantage in the society, especially for those seeking for employment (Horowitz, Brown & Cox, 2019). The report also showed that blacks and other minority groups such as Hispanic are disadvantaged not only in getting jobs but also in enhancing their ability to grow and move ahead in their career. Further surveys have also indicated that blacks have limited access to employment benefits including rewards, loans and leave program (Horowitz, Brown & Cox, 2019). It is thus observed that the blacks have been continually been discerned in their places of work.

Significant inequality in access to essential services such as health care and education have also been reported amongst the black in USA. According to Boutwell et al (2017) people of color including Africans and African American were educated in segregated schools that offer limited education services in relation to the schools serving whites. As much as there were attempts to end the segregation in the subsequent years, much changes were never reported. As Grinstein-Weiss et al (2016) asserts the educational experiences has been substantially unequal and separate for the black and minority students. It is reported that about 75% of black and minority students will attend schools that are predominantly for the minority communities and are mostly located in the central cities (Grinstein-Weiss et al., 2016). In a recent data done on school finance cases in New Jersey, Alabama, New York, Texas and Louisiana, shows that tangible resources needed in schools, such as qualified teachers and a comprehensive curriculum largely differs in schools serving a higher number of students with color, than schools hosting mostly white students. Inequitable access to education services and resources reported inflict disproportionate damage on the black students, disadvantaging them economically.

Discrimination of blacks is also evident in the access and provision of health care. In a focus group discussion for a study that sought to explore the issue of racial disparities in health care, it was reported that substantial discrimination exists in the provision of health care (Grady & Edgar, 2003). More than 85% of the participants involved in the study asserted that their race acted as a predicating factor in the quality of health care they received, in case they obtain any medical treatment (Grady & Edgar, 2003). The black participants reported that they are normally treated differently by health care practitioners who often assume that they are poor, less educated or deserved less respect because of their race. A significant number of black patients are thus likely to receive poor quality health or fail to access the same than the whites.

Blacks in America are also more susceptible to police brutality and unfair access to the justice system. According to Hoskin (2020) increasing cases of police brutality mostly targeting the blacks have been reported in America indicating the existence of racial discrimination in law enforcement. The fact that most of these cases are not met with satisfactory legal address further justify the discrimination of blacks and their unfair treatment when it comes to getting justice (Shakour & Hillyer, 2020). Most recent cases of police brutality were evident in the news of the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd (Newman-Bremang, 2020). According to Newman-Bremang (2020) Arbery was fatally shot while undertaking his routine jogging by a white, who associated with a robber. As much as the victim, McMichaels was arrested and charged with murder, the hate and discrimination of the blacks by the whites in the region become more evident (Newman-Bremang, 2020). The death of George Floyd after being handcuffed and held down by a wedging knee are further indication of police brutality against blacks. The three names mentioned above are just but examples of blacks who have been subjected to the brutality of the police in America. According to Hoskin (2020) 24% of individuals killed by police in the year 2019 were blacks unarmed black men, further justifying the unfair treatment of the people with color by the police in the USA.

Proposed Changes

Ending racism and discrimination requires that a conscious decision is made both at an individual and a community level to stop the menace. Changing the world and individual view about self and treat everyone fairly and equally is the initial steps towards reducing the incidences of racism (Shakour & Hillyer, 2020). Currently, white supremacy is observed in almost all spheres within the society, and there is a belief that whites are more sovereign than the blacks in their places of work, or any social places where blacks and whites interact. There is need to blur the concept of self and treat people equally regardless of their skin color.

At the community level, changes should be made to oppose the current ideologies of racism. For instance, vilification of the dark skin and barring blacks from accessing essential services within America should be opposed. This can be achieved by incorporating policies to ensure admission offices in schools, hospitals and public service corporations do not discriminate people based on their color and race (Shakour & Hillyer, 2020). There is need for the community to continually support the minority and oppressed groups who are overly underrepresented in nearly all areas of public life.

Conclusion

Racial discrimination and unfair treatment of blacks is evident in nearly all areas of interaction between blacks and whites in America, presenting the people of color as highly disadvantaged in the region. Cases of unfair treatment of blacks have been reported in schools and in their attempt to seek for medical services. Also, the blacks have been subjected to unfair treatment by the police and inability to get justice as their white counterparts. While the issue of racism and discrimination has negatively affected the quality of life of blacks,  a conscious decision made both at an individual and community level to change the current situation can assist in curbing the racism pandemic. Individuals should abolish the belief of white supremacy and move towards a belief in racial equality. Also, the community and the government should implement policies to ensure individuals are treated equally and fairly in all areas of public life.