America has for a long time continued struggled to either maintain thestatus quo or to eradicate discriminating habits within its border.
Broad divisions of the populationas conflict theorists believe is designed to be unequal. The society, therefore, is seen as a continuous struggle for power between twogroups. Karl Marx is the originator of this third most significant sociologicalframework, the conflict theory.
Conflict perspective, therefore, is used toexplain a host of social happenings such as revolutions, disparities betweenthe poor and the rich, and discrimination.The persistence of whiteness and racial inequality in America is anexample of a phenomenon where conflict theory can be used. The vices started way before America is the democracy itis today. The famous slogan that it isthe land of opportunity has continually been bogged down by the vices. Thesettler whites discriminated against the native Indians. The start of theseventeenth century brought African into the equation, literally adding morecolor to America (Doak 2013; Scott 2009). TheAfricans did not come with the same status as the white settler population.
The African came as a property. Their numbers swelled as more African arrivedto fill the demand for slave labor was required. It followed that a good majorityof the now African-American population continued serving their masters untilthe civil war.
Emancipation Proclamationissued in 1863 by President Abraham Lincoln did not automatically hand backhuman rights to the now free African American population. Worse, theconfederate states did not recognize the proclamation. The constitutionalamendments that followed abolished slaversput everyone equally protected under the law(Scott 2009).The final amendment gave the African-American people the right to vote.
Still, its population did not stand a good chance atfreedom. One race, the whites, had already positioned as the superior one beingowners of all factors of production. Thecoming to freedom of the black population had little to show for their freedom.A vast majority migrated from the southernplantations where they had been taken captive, in the first decade of the abolition of slavery. Again this was an attemptto stand a better chance at being free (Doak 2013). The conflict founded on racial grounds only continued to evolve, fromslavery to segregation. Factors of production remained where among the whitepopulation and as a result, the economicand social condition remained oppressive. Even with the coming of the World WarI, more African-Americans migrated to take advantage of opportunities thatopened up in industries cities (Scott 2009).
Again, with the World War II, a largepopulation of African-American would move. This introduction serves to bringthe attention to the core origins of whitesupremacist attitudes and the racial inequalities. This paper seeks to make the argument that,white settlers positioned themselves in ways that have consistently underscoredthe importance of being white that has resulted in friction with other racesthat want achieve similar privilege.
RACIALWEALTH GAPExclusion and inequality have played a significantrole in widening the wealth gap within America as they have elsewhere in theworld. The dynamics in America have been different. While, perhaps, in other countries, discrimination has emanated from notbelonging or having a connection to the powerful political elites, gender, or castesystems, in America inequality squarely rests on race.
For instance, a white household may possess up tothirteen dollars for every dollar a blacks household possesses or ten dollarsfor every in one dollar in a Latino household.The tendencies that build these patterns stem from historic injustices such as slavery,segregation and redlining (Herring and Henderson 2016).Wealth expansion around the World War I period favored the white veteransthrough policies to help them get an educationor to buy a home. The result was the creation of an American middle class thatexcluded the other citizens of color.
The expectation would be that with thepassing of time when these realitieswould surface, there would be a correctional step(Herringand Henderson 2016). Instead, historical injustices are continually inherited down generations.They are further reinforced by what seem like “color-blind” policies but whichcontinue to operate the old unleveled policies in today’s America.
However, inpractical assessment of the wealth gap argument, Professionals overlook thevast historical injustice. The wealth or lack of it is seen as the result of personal ambitions and daringachievements. This thinking is itself a blockade to the resolving challenges inexisting policies or the creation of new ones.LAWENFORCEMENTPersistentrealities of race in the United States continually show in the starkdisparities among the white and black populations. In the recent past, theblatant death of African American men in the hand of the policemen underscores the existence consistent racialinequality.
These inequalities then lead to stereotypes, and the result is the harassment and even deathof black lives. Perhaps toreinforce supremacy further, the resulting blacks’ protests, due to the deathof individualism the hands of the law enforcer, would experience aconfrontation with heavily armored police. The huge amount of anger produced bysome of these deaths and ensuing debates would soon be brushed aside withconcluding slurs such as that the victims were “no angels” themselves. Suchstatements reinforce long-heldstereotypes held by a white supremacist.
Theutterances seem to raise the bar high for the black communities that if at alltheir protests will be justified in future, the victims have to be perfect andblameless (Herring and Henderson 2016).Additionally,African Americans would continue to feel this was just another excuse to letthe white officers involved in beinganswerable for their actions, straining the racial relations further. While theofficer may go through a private time ofreckoning, the white populations theyrepresent is not seen to suffer the same fate. The rallying cry “Black LivesMatter” is founded on the grounds of reckless discrimination. Nonetheless, asexpected, the minority’s voices on the increasing cases of use of excessiveforce on African Americans by police officers that were beginning to gaintraction would soon die out.
The result? Institutionaldiscrimination against people of color.Conversely, there have been cases where a member of the white populationin a spurt of individual discrimination has beeninvolved in gun-crime. Although the victims do not include entirely black populations, how the situation is usually handled does not march what AfricanAmerican would have experienced. It is usually a rallying moment for citizensto stand together as the culprit is broughtto book.CONCLUSIONAND IMPLICATIONS Keenly interrogating America’shistory with racism opens up a lot of underlying inequalities. Whitesconsistently feel they have a country they helped build and have the moralobligation to guard it selfishly. The founding generations consideredthemselves superior being the owners of large plantation and slave masters. Thearrival of the blacks to supply much-neededlabor and the following freedom award, the immigration of Hispanics intoAmerica, and Native Americans need to be brought with itstensions between the races needs to be recognized as an equal were overridden by the historical positions in colonial America.
Whiteness found its way into the nation’s policies throwing offbalance the very core tenets that might have helped defined equality; wealthcreation, access to education and law enforcement. Today, the Implications ofthis persistent racial inequalities are seenin the wage and wealth disparities among the various races. Even lawenforcement seems to take sides. The Fourteenth Amendment to the Americanconstitution that made everyone under thelaw continues to be violated. Interestingis the recent election campaigns in which appealing to white voters includedthe using racial themes.
