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  • Essay / The concept of racial formation and why racism still exists in the world

    Many people currently living in the United States of America or around the world tend to believe that racism is the culmination of past events and it gradually disappears. . Whether it's European expansion, African slavery, segregation, the Muslim ban, or having an African-American president - although the United States has evolved over time years of these events, racism has not yet been demolished. Several memorable speculations behind this statement reassure that racism is still active momentarily, whether through political, media, social or historical representations. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay During one of her interviews, Nobel and Pulitzer Prize-winning author and social critic Toni Morrison responds to the concept of “ post-racism” during an NPR interview in which she states that racism will disappear when it is “no longer profitable and psychologically useful” (NPR Interview 2008). In particular, she continues that when this disappears, racists "will face something truly terrible: misery, self-unhappiness, and deep pain about who they are" (NPR Interview 2008). As I look back on the sociological theories we have defined in this course, I recognize Toni Morrison's idea that racism still persists in the United States and around the world. However, from my understanding, racism will never go away but will further instigate a move towards one community or another community. racial association. Over the past centuries, we have seen such racial groups fall victim to racism. Whether you are African, Irish, Native American, Muslim, or affiliated with other groups that do not “represent” them as “American,” racism intentionally arises against them. Since European expansion in 1492, racism should and will remain eternally present in the history of the United States. Due to racism, initially, in the world's memories, a conflict within the corresponding nation had begun, causing the nation to split into two, the North and the South, and is known as the American Civil War. From this event alone, we can see how influential and affecting racism can be. It is further associated with the concept of colorblind racism: “Whites may express resentment toward minorities; criticize their morals, values ​​and work ethic; and even claim to be victims of “reverse racism”” (Bonilla-Silva 2003: 4). During the discussion, we looked at how the Irish, when they arrived in the United States, were discriminated against, even though due to their physical characteristics they could not be differentiated, forcing them to adapt to the culture “American”. Additionally, we discussed and watched a documentary about how white people used affirmative action against them by stating that the government was becoming racist towards them. They tried to victimize themselves because of the concept of color blindness. Not only that, but in class we watched Jane Elliott's famous blue-eyes-brown-eyes experiment, where she simulates that while growing children, at remarkably naive years, are accustomed to telling the difference between and others. This leads to a perpetual evolution of their attitude, their attraction and their judgment towards the other racial community which is not correlated like them. From a very young age, children are either guided by or acquire from their environment racial prejudices thatpsychologically induce difference. A day after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., a third-grade teacher, Jane Elliott, divided her all-white class by eye color, telling them that children with blue eyes were better off. quickly, and smarter than those with brown eyes and vice versa the next day. Arguments, inappropriate behavior, name-calling, and other offensive aspects developed through this experience among the third graders. Toni Morrison's statement that racism will disappear when it is "no longer psychologically useful" (NPR Interview 2008) . From this experience, Jane Elliott discovered that racial prejudice is a learned behavior that can be unlearned if we choose. However, it is my understanding that this behavior cannot be psychologically removed from civilization due to our extensive knowledge of history. Before migrating to the United States, I was never exposed to the concept of racism until my physical and social abilities were compatible with my upbringing and I made friends due to my Muslim background. It took me years to seem happy with my body and physical characteristics that deviated from my surroundings and left me in a bubble for all those years. Starting the course with American sociologists and authors Michael Omi and Howard Winant, who wrote the book, "Racial formation in the United States" is the subject of various theories, but one is about racial formation theory . According to them, the theory of racial formation indicates that individuals have distinguished themselves because of their characteristics, whether socially, economically or politically. Sociologists and authors are further beginning to express that the community is made up of a micro and macro level which interprets that society's evaluation or reasoning is based on how they perceive or examine racial disparities regarding certain groups of people. It can be justified that racial distinctions are immediately visible in the United States today through Muslim communities. Since the biggest event, September 11, 2001, people's judgment of Muslims has shifted towards the negative. An example of the cause behind this negativity is mass communication, which has facilitated the development and dissemination of information through the operating system and a dynamic capability never before seen. Social media coverage of the event generated regular sociological and psychological adjustments not only for Americans but also for Muslim people. About sixteen years later, the Muslim community came under political attack in the United States when a new policy was issued by President Donald Trump. On January 27, 2017, the Supreme Court declared Executive Order 13769, or in other words known as Muslim Ban, which stated that any person entering the United States of America from the seven Muslim-majority countries, which make up Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen will face a 90-day visa suspension. The once reserved term, Islamophobia, gradually began to generate fear and apprehension towards the Muslim community. Whenever an unusual attack happens, the first thought that comes to everyone's mind is, "Oh, he/she must be a Muslim." From particular experiences, I have heard this comment countless times around me. This ties in with Toni Morrison's statement that it benefits "vitriolic racists as well as social racists" to say, "That one over there is the cause of”.