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Racism in the United States has been a major issue in the country since before its founding. Founded as a settler society of religiously and ethnically diverse whites, race in the United States as a concept became significant in relation to other groups. Traditionally, racist attitudes in the country have been most onerously applied to Native Americans, African Americans and some "foreign-seeming" immigrant groups and their descendants.

History

African Americans: Slavery and Emancipation

In colonial America, before slavery became completely based on racial lines, thousands of African slaves served European colonists, alongside other Europeans serving a term of indentured servitude. In some cases for African slaves, a term of service meant freedom and a land grant afterward, but these were rarely awarded, and few former slaves became landowners this way. In a precursor to the American Revolution, Nathaniel Bacon led a revolt in 1676 against the Governor of Virginia and the system of exploitation he represented: exploitation of poorer colonists by the increasingly wealthy landowners where poorer people, regardless of skin color, fought side by side. However, Bacon died, probably of dysentery; hundreds of participants in the revolt were lured to disarm by a promised amnesty; and the revolt lost steam.

The central cause of concern to landowners was the unity of Bacon's populist movement. It raised the question to the landowners of how to divide the population politically in ways that would keep the poorer colonists divided enough to rule. To the Governor, the most threatening, and unexpected, aspect of Bacon's rebellion was its multi-racial aspect. Over the succeeding decades, colony parliaments which were influenced by wealthy landowners instituted formal racial divisions. Africans would be used as slaves, a category that was made lifelong and hereditary during this period. They were denied freedom of movement, gun ownership and land rights. White colonists were provided with substantial plots of land upon completion of their period of indenture, armed, and enlisted in patrols that policed black behavior and militias that fought Native Americans for land on the western border. This change began the infamously long period of the American slave society and marks for some scholars the beginning of the concept of race in North America.

Slaves were primarily used for agricultural labor, notably in the production of cotton and tobacco. Black slavery in the Northeast was less common, usually confined to involuntary domestic servitude. In both regions, only the wealthiest Americans owned slaves. In contrast, poor whites recognized that slavery devalued their own labor. The social rift along color lines soon became engrained in every aspect of colonial American culture.

Although the Constitution had banned the importation of new African slaves in 1808, the practice of chattel slavery still existed for the next half century. Slavery in the Confederate states of America ceremonially ended with the Emancipation Proclamation, which was issued on January 1, 1863 by President Abraham Lincoln. Slavery was legally abolished in the United States with the passage of the 13th Amendment which was declared ratified on December 18, 1865. Despite this, post-emancipation America was not free from racism; discriminatory practices continued in the United States with the existence of Jim Crow laws, educational disparities and widespread criminal acts against people of color.

African Americans: Nadir of American race relations

The next century saw a hardening of institutionalized racism and legal discrimination against citizens of African descent in the United States. Although technically able to vote, poll taxes, acts of terror (often perpetuated by groups such as the Ku Klux Klan, founded in the Reconstruction South), and discriminatory laws such as grandfather clauses kept Black Americans disenfranchised particularly in the South but nationwide following the Hayes election at the end of the Reconstruction era in 1877. In response to de jure racism, protest and lobbyist groups emerged, most notably, the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) in 1909.

This time period is sometimes refered to as the nadir of American race relations because racism in the United States was worse during this time than at any period before or since. Segregation, racial discrimination, and expressions of white supremacy all increased. So did anti-black violence, including lynchings and race riots.

In addition, racism which had been viewed primarily as a problem in the Southern states, burst onto the national consciousness following the Great Migration, the relocation of millions of African-Americans from their roots in the Southern states to the industrial centers of the North after World War I, particularly in cities such as Boston, Chicago, and New York (Harlem). In northern cities, racial tensions exploded, most violently in Chicago, and lynchings--mob-directed hangings, usually racially motivated--increased dramatically in the 1920s.

African Americans: American Civil Rights movement

Prominent African-American politicians, entertainers and activists pushed for civil rights throughout the twentieth century, quite noticeably during the 1930s and 1940s with noted allies including First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, who facilitated singer Marian Anderson's famous 1939 Easter concert when segregated venues would not accomodate her. Activists, particularly A. Philip Randolph agitated for civil rights throughout the Great Depression and World War II years, organizing protest marches and seeking government concessions. The efforts of civil rights activists began to bear fruit with the passage of Executive Order 9981 by President Harry S. Truman in July 1948, which banned racial segregation in the American armed forces. The 1950s and 1960s saw the peaking of the American Civil Rights Movement and the desegregation of schools under the 1954 Supreme Court case Brown v. Board and the organizing of widespread protests across the nation under a younger generation of leaders.

The pastor and activist Martin Luther King, Jr. was the catalyst for many nonviolent protests in the 1960's which led to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This signified a change in the social acceptance of legislative racism in America and a profound increase in the number of opportunities available for people of color in the United States.

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character" - Martin Luther King, Jr, "I Have a Dream" speech at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington D.C. (28 August, 1963).

West Coast Racism

In the Pacific states, racism was primarily directed against the Irish, Asian, and Mexican populations. Several immigration laws discriminated against the Asians and at different points the ethnic Chinese or other groups were banned from entering the United States. Nonwhites were prohibited from testifying against whites, a prohibition extended to the Chinese by People v. Hall. The Chinese were generally subject to harder labor on the First Transcontinental Railroad and often performed the more dangerous tasks such as using dynamite to make pathways through the mountains. The San Francisco Vigilance Movement, although ostensibly a response to crime and corruption, also systematically victimized Irish immigrants, and later this was transformed into mob violence against Chinese immigrants. Legal discrimination of Asian minorities was furthered with the passages of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which banned the entrance of virtually all ethnic Chinese immigrants into the United States until 1943. During World War II the United States created internment camps for Japanese-American citizens in fear that they would be used as spies for the Japanese. This was also done with the German and Italian populations, on a much smaller scale in the East.

The Zoot Suit Riots were vivid incidents of racial violence against Mexican-Americans in Los Angeles in 1943. Naval servicemen stationed in a Mexican-American neighborhood conflicted with youth in the dense neighborhood. Frequent confrontations between small groups and individuals intensified into several days of rioting. Large mobs of servicemen would enter civilian quarters looking to attack Mexian-Americans youths wearing zoot suits, a distinctive exaggerated fashion popular among that group. The disturbances continued unchecked by police for several days before the authorities, fearing the mob of servicemen would swell further, banned them from visiting the city on leave.

Anti-Semitism

Anti-Semitism has also played a role in America. During the late 1800s and early 1900s, tens of thousands of Jews were escaping the pogroms of Eastern Europe. They boarded boats from ports, mainly in Northern Germany, and arrived at Ellis Island, New York.

It is thought by Leo Rosten, in his book, 'The Joys of Yiddish', that as soon as they left the boat, they were subject to racism from the port immigration authorities. The derogetory term 'kike' was adopted when reffering to Jews (because they often couldn't write so they may have signed their immigration papers with circles - or kikel in Yiddish).

From the 1910s, the Southern Jewish communities were attacked by the Ku Klux Klan, who objected to Jewish immigration, and often used 'The Jewish Banker' in their propaganda. In 1915, Texas Born, New York Jew Leo Frank was lynched by the newly re-formed clan, after being convicted of rape and sentenced to death (his punishment was commuted to life inprisonment), even though there was overwhelming evidence that he was innocent.

The upper classes discriminated against their new compatriots. The prestigious universities made it difficult for academic Jews to get places. Yale university, in 1925, introduced a legacy sytem which favored children of alumni over Jewish students.

The goings on in Nazi Germany also attracted attention from America's racists. The Jewish Lobbying for intervention in Europe drew opposition from the isolationists, amongst whom was Father Charles Coughlin, a well known radio priest, who was known to be critical of the Jews believing that they were leading America into the war. He preached in weekly, overtly anti-semitic sermons, and from 1936, began publication of a newspaper, Social Justice, in which he printed anti-Semitic accusations such as The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.

Racism against Arab Americans

Racism against Arab Americans (and frequently others of West Asian descent (Persians, Turks) and of Muslim religion or pious Muslim appearance (Sikhs who wear turbans)) has risen along with tensions between the American government and the Arab World. Edward Said recalls how an Ivy League graduating class in 1973 (just weeks after the 1973 Arab-Israeli War) wore Arab dress in racist mockery. Racism spiked during the Tehran Embassy hostage crisis, the 1991 Gulf War and the Oklahoma City bombing (despite the lack of an Arab connection). Following the September 11th terrorist attacks in the United States, discrimination and racialized violence has markedly increased against Arab-Americans and many other religious and cultural groups. In 2001, a Sikh man was killed in a racially motivated incident as the victim's religious turban was mistakenly believed to be a symbol of his Arab heritage.

Minority racism

Minority racism is a controversial topic because of theories of power in society. However racialist or racist thinking among some minority groups is a very real phenomenon. Some racism may be towards other minority groups (such as black and Korean conflicts in some East Coast cities), new immigrant groups (such as Latinos) or even towards whites. One common area where racism is perceived to be prevalent is in interracial dating. In the past, white racists opposed "race mixing". Today, many minority groups, especially black women and Asian men, oppose interracial dating because of alleged disparity.

Segregation and integration

Court cases

See also: Jim Crow Laws; Brown v. Board of Education; Plessy v. Ferguson; Hernandez v. Texas; Smith v. Allwright;Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States;NAACP v. Alabama; Yick Wo v. Hopkins

Anti-Racism

Counter-Racist organizations

See also: Congress of Racial Equality or CORE; NAACP; ACLU

Institutional Racism

Institutional racism is the belief that aspects of the structure, pervasive attitudes, and established institutions of society disadvantage racial minorities, although not by an overtly discriminatory mechanism. There are several factors that play into institutional racism, including but not limited to: accumulated wealth/benefits from racial groups that have benefited from past discrimination, educational and occupational disadvantages faced by non-native English speakers in the United States, ingrained stereotypical images that still remain in the society (e.g. Black men are likely to be criminals).

The established institutions of society are taking some steps to combat the various claimed structural disadvantages in modern American society, particularly in the case of non-native English speakers or those raised in homes that spoke broken or pidgin English. Several states are attempting to reduce these educational disadvantages by developing a more culturally aware curriculum. For example, the 2005 California 6th grade statewide examination contained the question Patio comes from the Spanish word meaning what?. Including questions such as these provide opportunities for non-native speakers of English to have greater educational access.

Minorities have also been the subject of racism in the mass media through advertising campaigns utilizing references to stereotypes, such as Coon Chicken Inn, and the Taco Bell chihuahua.

Health care inequality

They are major racial differences in access to health care and in the quality of health care provided. A study published in the American Journal of Public Health estimated that: "over 886,000 deaths could have been prevented from 1991 to 2000 if African Americans had received the same care as whites." The key differences they cited were lack of insurance, inadequate insurance, poor service, and reluctance to seek care. A history of government-sponsored experimentation, such as the notorious Tuskegee experiments has left of legacy of African-American distrust of the medical system.

Hate groups

Main article: Hate groups

Only a few groups still openly advocate white supremacism in the United States. Among these are the Ku Klux Klan, the National Alliance, Aryan Nations, and several smaller groups like the White Order of Thule. Recently, numerous small white supremacist groups have been started as a backlash towards the recent influx of Somali and Hmong immigrants, especially in the midwest. Some of these groups target younger citizens, especially teens. Resistance Records, a supremacist music label, has recently drawn criticism for distribution openly racist music at popular teen hangouts. The Southern Poverty Law Center's Intelligence Project counted 762 active hate groups in the United States in 2004.

See also

• American Civil Rights Movement Timeline
• Bigotry
• Civil rights
• Eugenics
• Japanese American internment
• Manifest Destiny
• Racism in Russia
• To Kill a Mockingbird

Reference

Institutional racism

• Bullock III, C. S. & Rodgers Jr., H. R. (1976) "Institutional Racism: Prerequisites, Freezing, and Mapping". Phylon 37 (3), 212-223.

Health care inequality

• Woolf, S. H., Johnson, R. E., Fryer Jr, G. E., Rust, G., & Satcher, D. (2004). "The Health Impact of Resolving Racial Disparities: An Analysis of US Mortality Data". American Journal of Public Health, 94 (12), 2078-2081.

Anti-Semitism

• Rosten, Leo (1968) "The Joys of Yiddish"

• Racism
• American culture