Discrimination Lives

“This is our hope…with this faith…we will be able to transform…our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day…when we let freedom ring…we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

These are the words of Martin Luther King, delivered to the American people forty five years ago. Despite King’s and other civil rights activists’ efforts to end racial discrimination, this spoken-of freedom has yet to be entirely obtained. While various races may legally coexist in all aspects of our society, we as so-called “non-racists” continue to discriminate on a daily basis. Discrimination is defined as the “treatment or consideration of, or making a distinction in favor of or against, a person or thing based on the group, class, or category to which that person or thing belongs rather than on individual merit.” In other words, to discriminate (racially) is to deem one’s race as causal of his or her behavior and vice versa.

In today’s American society, discrimination occurs frequently, and disturbingly, it is rarely given a second thought. In the workplace, many Americans associate different races with different education levels. When employers hold interviews for a job position, they may quickly mistake minorities for less educated candidates than non-minorities with the first glance at the color of their skin. In schools, my personal experiences have brought to my attention the grouping of races. Asian students tend to befriend other Asian students, as African-Americans do African-Americans, and as Caucasians do Caucasians. While some argue that students may due so out of comfort with their own race, I believe discrimination is the main culprit. As children, most minorities have been picked on at least one time because of their race. Entering adolescence and adulthood, the same minorities feel unaccepted by those who discriminate. Who other than their own race would they feel comfortable befriending? Furthermore, racial stereotypes have become so common that mostly everyone would be able to immediately associate at least a few adjectives with different races if asked to do so. According to the definition, this is discrimination, and it is wrong.

If discrimination has been an issue since our society was born, and still remains an issue, what can anyone do to put it to an end? The first step is awareness. Not only should children be simply taught that “all men are created equal,” but they should more importantly be taught to treat their fellow man as such. As informed adults, we must learn to turn a blind eye to false opinions of and presumptuous attitudes toward different races. Only once we truly believe others to be equal can we indeed treat them as our equals. Also, the media, perhaps being the most powerful source of Americans’ ideals and opinions, should also intervene. Being able to report on particularly chosen stories of people belonging to different races, the media holds the power to begin changing our preconceived, stereotypical notions of racial behaviors and characteristics. If the media or the government cannot or will not take action to fight discrimination, then it is truly up to the individual to make a conscious effort to think and thereby act differently. Perhaps discrimination will never completely disappear from our society; it can, however, diminish gradually with one person at a time, until all races can truly be “free at last.”