Discrimination is defined as the intentional distinguished treatment of people based on the latters membership or perceived membership to a certain group, or their characteristics (Buxton, 2010).
The treatment may be a denial of rights and privileges, which are otherwise granted to people of other groups or those that possess various characteristics.
Discrimination exists in various types, these include; racial and ethnic discrimination, discrimination on nationality, on the basis of gender, sexual orientation, religion, disability, language and employment.
This paper will dwell on racial discrimination on people of African descent, and explore various aspects that include the highlight of their past and their present state.
Past Illustration
Racial discrimination against Africans descent has a deep and dark past. This is dated back in the slavery days. Indeed, the vice is common in many cultures, in the world.
The African slave trade is the most famous; the trade culminated in the Atlantic slave trade that took place between the 16th and the 19th centuries (Schaefer, 2012).
Slaves were acquired through slave raids in African villages, and prisoners sold by chiefs. The slaves were then sold to European traders who then sold them to the Americans. It is estimated that more than 12 million slaves were shipped out of their homes in Africa (Schaefer, 2012).
Once at their destination, the slaves were subjected to work on American farms and paid nothing except the rations of food by their masters. After the abolition of the slave trade, slave trade abolitionists returned many of the freed slaves to West Africa.
Some remains and are the ancestors of the African Americans today. Even after the abolition of the trade, African Americans had to fight hard for their rights due to the immense segregation that they suffered.
Present illustration
Even today, there are immense accusations of racial discrimination in America against African Americans. Lots of debates have been elicited to the job market that has shown that there is a great difference between the white and African Americans.
According to the United States department of labor, there is a great disparity in the unemployment rates for White and black Americans. There is an average unemployment rate of 6.3% in White Americans over the age of 20 years. However, the rate is double for Americans of African descent standing at an average of 14.2%.
Many other instances have been reported of such discrimination (Buxton, 2010). In November 2nd 2009, the Washington University Newspaper covered a story on students who reported a case to the Washington Attorney General for being denied entry to a bar just because they were African American students.
Impact of Misperceptions
One of the prime effects of the slave trade was the gun slave cycle was the increased tension, and insecurity that the slave trade caused (Feagin, 2009). People demanded weaponry for defense against slave raids.
The Europeans were in charge of the weapon trade, and they demanded slaves in return for the weapons. Moreover, African societies and countries were robbed of valuable manpower. This has been blamed for the poverty in some of the countries that were affected in by the trade (Feagin, 2009).
Many slaves died on their way to the slave markets due to the deplorable conditions on the slave ships. Buxton (2010) cites immense social suffering as families were separated, and people plucked from their homes.
Racial discrimination has profound effects even in the present age. African Americans have been found to have poor mental health due to the chronic exposure to discrimination, and the resultant effects of discrimination.
A survey that was done on 334 African American women showed that those exposed to racism developed plaque in their arteries due to the stress and psychological torture (Schaefer, 2012). This causes increased risk of heart disease.
Comparison
Obviously, immense strides have been made in recent times compared to the levels of slavery of inferior races; however, there are some similarities. As illustrated, African Americans are not getting an equal economic opportunity like white Americans.
This is the same as in the days of slavery when the slaves were not paid and denied their self development. Moreover, in the slave trade era Africans were regarded as inferior and even referred to as black cattle (Buxton, 2010).
Today, there are some stereotypes that run about African Americans being violent and criminals that they cannot even get a taxi in major cities.
On the other hand, major developments have been seen. First of all, laws that stipulate for racial segregation have been scrapped off and as a result, new ones that are against discrimination have been implemented.
People have also been empowered, which has resulted to them being open minded and not racially profiling.
Nonetheless, racism remains in the minds of many and needs to be rooted out evident in the scenarios described. America is slowly moving towards the right direction as people are now getting used to diversification in society.
Preventive plans
There are a number of ways that can be used to reduce and eliminate discrimination in our society. Before doing this, it is important to know that the beliefs are intrinsic, and call for change.
As a leader, especially in a capacity of legislator, I would propose strong laws that will punish anyone who is in the habit of racial profiling. At a social level, I would empower the community through collective events involving everyone in the community.
These events are meant to strengthen the social ties and remove any prejudices. These activities would target the schools to have a discrimination free generation in the future. In addition to this, as a CEO or human resource manager, I would ensure equal opportunities for employees of all races.
I would also do away with any stereotype targeting any race. I would also examine hiring practices and ensure all candidates are given equal opportunities for recruitment.
Topic motivation
I chose this topic because the issue of racism against African Americans is senseless and deplorable. Segregation based on skin color is not only absurd; it is also unethical and deplorable.
It is archaic and downright barbaric to associate characters with a certain race claiming that they were inherited in lineage, and thus inherent with the whole race.
I passionately abhor the practical and those that propagate. It is not only abuse of human right, but also an insult to human intelligence as this is no sober judgment.
Conclusion
Racial segregation against African Americans originated with the slave trade. Significant strides have been made towards its elimination, but more needs to be done as cases of discrimination continue to erupt. It is the duty of everyone to stop this deplorable blemish in society.
References
Buxton, T. (2010). The African Slave Trade. New York: Biblio Bazaar.
Feagin, J. (2009). Racist America: Roots, Current Realities and Future Reparations Remaking America with Anti-Racist Strategies. New York: Taylor & Francis.
Schaefer, R. (2012). Racial and Ethnic Groups (13th ed.). San Francisco: Pearson.
Many decades of uncontrolled migration of Haitians going to reside and work in other countries in the neighborhood have contributed to a noteworthy population in the Dominican Republic. These individuals are susceptible to extensive discrimination in addition to human rights abuse.
Consecutive governments by three major political parties have not been successful in the duty of establishing a legal structure that is attuned to the international standards. These governments have as well failed to act in response to the ill-famed and well-known abuses of immigration executives, the military, and the Central Electoral Board (CEB) coupled with health and education providers.
The CEB denotes the authority accountable for issuing birth certificates and identity records to the individuals born in the country. Big groups, which also include the private sector, possess a vested concern in sustaining an uncontrolled stream of cheap and submissive workforce in agriculture, building and construction, and resort hotels sectors.
The setback is made difficult by the deep-seated and ever-present injustices in the Dominican Republic, particularly amongst the oligarchy (Ferguson 296-297). The concept is that Dominican individuality is European and in particular Hispanic, despite the reality that Dominicans possess significant African origins.
The aforementioned approaches toward Haiti and Haitian migrants have their origins in the ancient times when the Dominican Republic detached itself from Haiti following 22 years of occupancy by the latter.
The Dominican xenophobia stood out conspicuously in 1937 when the tyranny of Rafael Trujillo commanded the armed forces to execute carnage of Haitian subjects in addition to Dominico-Haitians in the neighboring provinces. In this massacre, an estimated six thousand individuals were murdered.
The trend of statelessness remains a severe and ever-increasing problem in Dominican Republic. Scores of stateless people constitute the almost unconsidered but the most susceptible populace across the globe. The stateless individuals are not identified by the government of whichever country as citizens and are thus coerced into operating at the peripheries of the community (Howard et al. 350).
Devoid of citizenship, individuals usually possess no efficient legal defense, no capacity to ballot and minimal availability of education, jobs, medical attention, and birth and marriage certification. This research paper discusses the causes and general effects of statelessness and discrimination of Haitians in the Dominican Republic.
Additionally, it digs into the history and effect of the methodical, unfair denial of citizenship for residents with Haitian origin by the government of the Dominican Republic and more so with regard to the 2005 Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) ruling.
The situation of statelessness and discrimination exerted by the Dominican Republic over individuals with Haitian origin reveals a clear brutal act and violation of human rights.
Statelessness and expatriation of Haitians from Dominican Republic
The condition of statelessness does not denote a purely definite occurrence; instead, stateless individuals are found all over the world in addition to socioeconomic borders. In a universal expression, a stateless person signifies any individual that is not identified as a citizen by all countries through their citizenship certification and constitution.
The reasons behind statelessness are complicated and multifarious and comprise country progression, discrimination, contradictory laws between countries, internal adjustments of citizenship laws and decolonization.
Statelessness messes up the capacity of a person to carry out duties as a member of a community, both internally and globally, and its effects are harshly felt mentally in socioeconomic and socio-cultural perspectives.
Whereas particular conditions differ between nations, every stateless individual ultimately encounters devastating problems of living without an approved nationality. In fact, legal identification credentials are vital to attaining a broad selection of rights (Ferguson, 298-299). For grown-ups, statelessness poses noteworthy obstructions to fundamental rights like marriage, possession of land, jobs and balloting, just to mention a few.
The general effect of statelessness on kids is in particular upsetting. For kids, a lack of citizenship normally brings about the lack of access to sufficient education, medical care, and security and constitutional rights provided by a nation. Thru none of their mistake, stateless kids forcefully become heirs to a hard reality in addition to a vague future.
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) lays out the global criterion for the certification of birth of children. In accordance with UNCRC, children should be registered instantly after being born and must have the right to obtain citizenship, and as much as achievable the right to have and enjoy parental care.
Different from the standards set by the international law, stateless kids and grown-ups face the denial of globally identified human rights and security because of their lack of nationality. As a result, they are not capable of traveling freely or obtaining fairness when needed (Ferguson 300-301). Moreover, lack of proper credentials and evidence of identity makes a person migration limbo, susceptible to expatriation.
In a press briefing by Amnesty International in 2007, it was reported that there existed instances of inhabitants of Haiti expatriated from the Dominican Republic devoid of a due progression. The government systems had thrown out, as per the human rights group, more than 25,000 Haitians every year.
This expatriation encompassed even the ones that resembled Haitians regardless of if they had officially authorized citizenship or not. More than 500,000 Haitians were at that time having their occupations in the Dominican Republic. From the place of work to the streets, Haitian immigrants residing in the Dominican Republic take their rank at the lowest position of the social hierarchy (Ferguson 302).
These immigrants together with their offspring born in the Dominican Republic encounter denial of the utmost fundamental rights in front of the very eyes of Dominican state and community. Taking into consideration the ones working in the building and agricultural industries, without referring to the ones working in the tourism sector, workers of Haitian origin constitute the biggest and most susceptible minority population.
The mass expatriation done in the nonexistence of judicial supervision takes place together with the denial of Dominican nationality to a vast number of children born in the Dominican Republic but having parents of Haitian origin.
The aforesaid progressions go hand in hand with what is ordered by the first philosophy of Dominican antihaitianismo. This philosophy covers the actual nature of socioeconomic disparity in Dominican community by bending Haitians into scapegoats and the collective others who have the citizenship of the Dominican Republic.
On the Day of independence, President Joaquin raised the concern of backing collaboration, but not the union with Haiti (Ferguson 303-304). The president stated categorically that the citizens of Haiti fit into a different ethnicity.
All through this history, the philosophy of the antihaitianismo has worked to justify a continuing agenda to lessen the existence of Haitians in Dominican community, and in particular to eradicate bodies of the ones recognized as Haitians from the terrains of Dominican Republic.
In the after-effects of the earthquake that occurred in Haiti in 2010, this strategy has remained as it were, although the Dominican Republic turned out to be the first respondent to assist the Haitians following the calamity and allowed patients from Haiti to get services at their hospitals.
In spite of development in dealings indicated through this aid coupled with the deferment of expatriation in the period after the earthquake, the systems in the Dominican Republic restarted their illegal operations on migrants early 2011. Masses of Haitians were expatriated in this tangle that entailed checkpoints erected in different places around the nation (Howard et al. 351-353).
For instance, the highways in the outskirts towards the city contained some of the checkpoints and individuals that lacked appropriate documents were coerced into vehicles that drove them near the border.
Executives in the Dominican Republic affirmed in validation of this feat that unauthorized immigrants had escalated from the time of the earthquake as well as the risk of cholera that accompanied it. Officials at the Immigration Department stated that they were only working fortify their immigration checks in a bid to protect the people of Haiti and residents from other countries from people unlawfully getting into their territory.
In stressing this point, they affirmed that they had in no way infringed the human rights of any person. The capacity by which the Dominican Republic is capable of eliminating Haitian bodies past its borders is simplified by inhabited isolation, for instance, found in impecunious residential places.
Inhabited isolation permits the police force as well as military in the Dominican Republic an instant oversight of a high population of Haitian origin (Morgan et al. 22). De facto isolation like that discourages the absorption of the individuals of Haitian origin into the Dominican Republic and thus propagating the us against them way of thinking that lies deep inside the antihaitianismo.
The reality that immigrants from Haiti lack passports, proper identity documents from the government of Dominican Republic, work permits and travel permits and have a tendency of fleeing mass evictions illustrates that even the ones that with lawful credentials allowing their residing in the nation cannot intermingle with the Dominican community.
In accordance with the Jesuit Refugee Services, the individuals that are expatriated normally comprise of the ones born in the Dominican Republic, who are additionally kept isolated from the communal mainstream. Shockingly, the Jesuit-supported group has criticized the expatriation as infringement of the countrys immigration laws (Ferguson 305).
In accordance with the way of comprehending repatriation systems that were concurred upon by the two nations in 1999, the expatriation of undocumented inhabitants is to be reverential of human rights. It was as well agreed that expatriation was to take place within suitable daytime hours, and must offer deportees the chance to retain their credentials.
Instances of this accord not being followed, nevertheless, are both usual and awful. In early 2007, an organization by the name Amnesty International pointed the instance of a girl of Haitian origin aged 8 years who was detained in 2004 by authorities in Dominican Republic on the supposition that she belonged to Haiti and was kept in custody for one night as an unpredictable immigrant with no means of contacting her parents.
The cruel treatment the poor girl faced included two instances of being slapped hard that caused her mouth to bleed uncontrollably (Howard et al. 354-356). A Dominican human rights group stopped her expatriation by tabling watertight evidence that the girl in question was a citizen of the Dominican Republic by birth and therefore had all the right to reside there.
Moreover, recently the Dominican government commanded all the inhabitants to carry their identification document at all times. The identification document regarded as proper is the cedula. In one instance, an adult person that had 42 years of age was a Dominican by birth and with parents of Haitian origin did not have a certificate of birth.
His four kids that were citizens of the Dominican Republic by birth were not in a position to obtain cedulas also owing to monetary constraints to obtaining the required identification documents. The request alone for a certificate of birth, with no assurance of getting it, required one to pay a total of 147 dollars, a figure that is way above the monthly income of many residents (Howard et al. 357).
People of Dominican citizenship by birth but having a Haitian origin and that did not have certificates of birth are denied access to the required public, cultural, societal and financial services to assist in making them independent, successful members of the community.
Moreover, their education is inhibited by forbiddance against their continuing past the primary school state. Their public and political worth is thwarted by bans against their acquiring the proper identification documents that could permit them to cast a vote or even obtain employment opportunity in the formal sector.
In early 2007, the government of the Dominican Republic was forced to adhere to international forces in providing recompense to two ladies with a Haitian parentage to whom it had left without residency. One of these ladies was to obtain a recompense of 8,000 dollars with an extra 6,000 dollars for legal charges.
The conformity to the judgment given by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) in 2005 shocked everyone as the then president of Dominican Republic had publicly stated that his government was not going to offer the recompense (Ferguson 306).
Nonetheless, the cause provided for the aforementioned denial was that the parents of these girls had not fulfilled the obligation for registration behind schedule. This reason demonstrated the fortitude of the strenuous attempts to deny citizenship to the kids born in the Dominican Republic in the same condition.
In this regard, in a bid to guarantee that bowing to the judgment of the IACHR did not develop a standard for permitting citizenship or providing recompense to individuals in similar conditions, the government of Dominican Republic amended some sections in its constitution.
This was with the intention of allowing people with Haitian origin residing in the Dominican Republic to be regarded as residing in the nation in transit and thus incapable of having their offspring as applicants for nationality.
An effect of this act, certainly, was to guarantee the continued expatriation of people of Haitian origin and thereby preventing them from incorporation into the Dominican community (Howard et al. 358-360).
In recent times, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights urged the government of the Dominican Republic to provide one-year numerous entry permits to Haitians that had to make trips in and out of Dominican Republic and Haiti countries with the intention of paying visits to friends whose earthquake-associated medical conditions were worse enough to necessitate health care in hospitals within the Dominican Republic.
Nevertheless, by early 2010, just six of such travel permits had been given. It now remains unclear if the government of the Dominican Republic will provide more numerous-entry travel permits to Haitians with friends and relatives having health and additional humanitarian requirements or not.
Further, then protesting strongly against the probable unlawful retroactive exertion of any constitutional amendment, civil group activists should keep on prioritizing the requirement for a uniform playing-ground.
Contrary to the United States or the majority of nations in Latin America that have obtained noteworthy levels of migrants, the Dominican Republic has never had a regulation plan for illegal long-term inhabitant despite being an influential campaigner for the rights of Dominican emigrants and their children overseas.
Nevertheless, maybe the greatest hindrance to combating the paring down of the decree of law is not essentially based on law but culture. Whereas the local legal philosophy is paramount and indispensable, strengthened civic edification to make sure that a country is answerable to basic rights of its inhabitants is more important (Howard et al. 361-364).
Racial discrimination and unfairness in Dominican Republic
The colonization account of the area has brought about persistent racial discrimination in the Dominican Republic. While there lacks any certified government strategy of discrimination in the Dominican Republic, there is nonetheless a weighty and established problem of racial discrimination and unfairness.
This arises against the people of Haiti, residents of the Dominican Republic who are of Haitian origin and commonly blacks living in the Dominican Republic (Ferguson 307).
Even though none of the Dominican legislation is discriminatory as they appear, regulations concerning immigration, civil position and the provision of Dominican nationality to individuals of Haitian origin have an influence in the community in a way that could be classified as discriminatory.
Following a far-reaching interview that was carried out in a bid to comprehend the discrimination that black people of Haitian and Dominican origin encounter, it was found out that blacks characteristically reside in worse situations.
Additionally, they are hired in manual and poor paying jobs and suffer a great extent of injustice (Howard et al. 365-367). Upsetting references are directed to the black people like being uninformed, dirty or pig feed and many black people declared their everyday encounters of racial discrimination by government officers working in registration sectors, on buses, trains and other means of transport in addition to other places.
The majority of blacks stated that owing to their skin color or their Haitian origin; it was not possible to acquire registration permits and therefore is left susceptible to expatriation or extradition to Haiti, which comprised of Dominican residents that had no link at all with that nation (Haiti).
Consequent to this discovery, the United Nations professionals strongly proposed that the global community make sure that the Dominican Republic adapts to the responsibilities stipulated in the international human rights law, comprising the eradication of any kind of racism. It was not rare for the citizenship of different individuals to be openly in conflict, uncertain, and faced with disagreements.
It was frequent for people believed to be Haitians being kept in custody by the police and expatriated to Haiti, regardless of registration documents they had. Haitians are as well suddenly discriminated in the culture of Dominican Republic thru their appearances, references and terms.
Additionally, many residents of the Dominican Republic, with the inclusion of the government, employ the dyslogistic term Haitinization when referring to the depressing impacts that they attribute to the presence of poor Haitians living in the nation.
Partly, this animosity could be attributed to the reality that the Dominican Republic is an underprivileged country, with 30% of its populace existing below the poverty line (Howard et al. 368-370). With inadequate resources, the negative reactions concerning Haitians are propagated not just by the historic attempts for island supremacy but as well by a continued existence state of mind.
Support operations
Even though has at no time drew a similar intensity of concern like other sectors that are key to global human rights legal framework, it is currently a segment of the official strategy discussion at the United Nations. For over 20 years, campaigners have established affirmations that completely connect statelessness to the difficulties of offering personal protection and enhancing dignity, therefore taking it into the human rights establishment.
For instance, the Declaration on the Right to Development (DRD) identified the global autonomy to take part in, chip in to and have the pleasure in economic, political, cultural and social advancements, where all human rights are entirely attained.
More lately, nevertheless, the perception of statelessness has been clearly connected with movements to regularize immigration, citizenship and individuality in addition to strategies of fairness (Ferguson 308).
The difficulty of stopping statelessness has as well emerged in the concern of climate change program, in the detection that mounting sea levels could imply the end to the survival of several low-lying countries.
Projection for Change
Since the matter is anchored in the complex account of the two countries sharing an island, the solution to the situation of statelessness present in the Dominican Republic will necessitate more than undemanding lawmaking or constitutional amendments. Intellectuals, as well as campaigners of human rights, have recognized racism in access to citizenship as an international problem (Howard et al. 371).
The judgment by IACHR is deemed a vital resolution for its participation in international law on non-discrimination in addition to global human right to citizenship. From 1950, there have been campaigns by the United Nations (UN) that countries take action in identifying stateless individuals and prevent the establishment of statelessness as a whole.
The United Nations Economic and Social Council (UNESC) advice nations to considerately assess requests for naturalization made by stateless individuals usually inhabitants in their terrain and, if need be, to re-assess their laws on citizenship.
This is in a bid to decrease as much as achievable the level of statelessness initiated by action of laws like those. To make this possible, the government of the Dominican Republic should completely adhere to ruling by IACHR and consider the advice given.
The Dominican Republic and Haiti must both create and execute non-discriminatory nationality strategies. In particular, strategies on registration, identification of nationality, and immigration that hinder statelessness and function toward improving the state of the ones presently distressed.
The government of the Dominican Republic should completely adhere to the IACHR judgment of 2005 and express to the global society that they strictly hold the international standards.
In realistic expressions, the government of Dominican Republic has to establish and execute a registration technique in a bid to grant certificates of birth to every child born in the Dominican Republic, regardless of the migration position, ethnic group and race of the parents.
Possibly even more significantly, the government must strive to make sure that the suitable practice of the law is adhered to in instances where the citizenship of a person is taken to task (Howard 65-68).
Several proposals and policies for a suitable reaction by the government of the Dominican Republic have been considered by the global society. A number of countries have advised the Dominican government to respect the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless People (UNCRSSP).
Several nations have as well affirmed that the UNHCR, being the United Nations organization with the authority in aid of stateless individuals, develop a dynamic, lasting existence in the Dominican Republic.
Moreover, venture and contribution in the establishment of a local reaction to the intricate concern of statelessness and immigration founded on human rights have as well been recommended as a way dealing with the present condition (Howard 69-71).
International organizations like the World Bank have forwarded proposals for deliberation with the intention of helping the government of the Dominican Republic with the provision of registration and birth legal documents.
Nevertheless, Proposals like the ones forwarded by the World Bank have faced significant opposition, from Non-governmental Organizations (NGO) that consider that these plans could propagate the systematic discrimination of residents of the Dominican Republic having a Haitian origin.
On the other hand, intellectuals and legal professionals on Haitian concerns have made strides towards dealing with the problem of statelessness and discrimination. These scholars concluded that it was necessary to make amendments in the Haitian constitution in a bid to provide nationality rights to Haitians in Diaspora, taking no consideration of the nationality position in their accepted nation.
Moreover, the scholars affirmed that such human rights must as well be granted to kids of Haitian refugees in the Dominican Republic (Howard 72-75). This recommendation will only assist individuals that both desire and are capable of going back to Haiti. The majority of stateless individuals that were born in the Dominican Republic bears no strong connections to Haiti and prefers living in the Dominican Republic.
Conclusion
In spite of the anticipation of the international esteem and adherence to the international standards and obligations for citizenship, currently, the level of statelessness keeps on rising with minimal action being put in place to better the situation.
There prevails a growing international attention, with regard to the conditions in the Dominican Republic, that the laws, government strategies, and processes pose discrimination against residents in the country who have a Haitian origin with respect to their right to nationality. This element exists in infringement of the responsibilities to its residents and standards of international law (Morgan et al. 32).
Ultimately, Haiti and the Dominican Republic, with the aid of the international community, will find it necessary to establish strategies that would satisfy the anticipations of the international law, guarantee the rights of stateless individuals, and strive toward a decrease in the level of statelessness in coming years.
The governments must encounter the hard task of traversing the false impression of history that the individuals in the two countries exist in detached worlds. In a bid to curb the effects of statelessness on people, an incorporated teamwork is required and it should involve governments, international NGOs, and organizations of the UN, with a bigger responsibility to be carried out by the UNHCR.
Finally, the Dominican Republic bears the chance to come up with standards for tackling the intricate concerns presented by the trouble of statelessness, but it is still unclear whether it will make this step with or without extra force from the international community.
Works Cited
Ferguson, James. Migration in the Caribbean: Haiti the Dominican Republic and beyond, London: Minority Groups International, 2003. Print.
Howard, David. Coloring the nation: Race and ethnicity in the Dominican Republic, Colorado, Lynne Rienner Pub., 2001. Print.
Howard, David, Julie Gazmararian, and Ruth Parker. The impact of low health literacy on the medical costs of Medicare managed care enrollees. The American journal of medicine 118.4 (2005): 350-371. Print.
Morgan, Jana, Jonathan Hartlyn, and Rosario Espinal. Dominican Party System Continuity amid Regional Transformations: Economic Policy, Clientelism, and Migration Flows. Latin American Politics and Society 53.1 (2011): 1-32. Print.
Discrimination is an evil that has been affecting nations and organisations for years. It can be defined as an act that denies some people the right to enjoy some privileges and participation in particular social activities. In other words, a particular class of people is treated in a way that is not acceptable due to their country of origin, religion, disability, or sex, among other reasons (Vandenhole, 2005). Discrimination affects the victims to the extent that they are not able to participate fully in a group, or they are not able to behave the way they should in the group. In most cases, the groups of people who are discriminated are the minority in the society. This article will focus on discrimination in the United States of America and the policies that have been passed in a bid to end discrimination. It should be noted that the United States of America is among the countries that have had the most cases of discrimination. For instance, the black Americans were not treated equally compared to the other Americans during and after the slave trade era.
Basis of discrimination
The black Americans were discriminated by being denied a number of rights. For instance, they were denied the right to education and religion, as well as the freedom of speech. They were discriminated on the basis of their skin colour. Having originated from Africa, the black Americas were viewed by the white Americans as slaves and people who were not supposed to access any rights. The black Americans found their way to America during the time of the slave trade when Africans were taken to America to work as slaves. The African Americans have been treated as minorities in the society since then (Goldman & Corrada, 2011). The main reason for being discriminated is the colour of their skin. They are associated with apes; therefore, they are seen as if they are not complete humans. The black Americans have been fighting for their rights since the 16th century. Formation of movements to fight for the rights of black Americans has characterised the struggle against discrimination. One of the well-known movements is the American Civil Rights Movements, whose genesis can be traced back to the year 1783. The movement was in the front line in fighting for the rights of the African Americans. The movement lobbies for the social, economic, and civil rights of the African Americans. The role of African Americans in the military has also been debated in the fight against discrimination.
The Civil War was a turning point for the Africans Americans in terms of social and economic rights. This was after the 13th Amendment of the constitution. The amendment included a section that abolished slavery in America. Slaves were freed from the Southern masters. Racial discrimination was also criminalised (Vandenhole, 2005). The black Americans were given the right to make their own decisions and be the architects of their own destiny. This was influenced by President Abraham Lincoln and the might of the Republican majority in the US Congress, who were determined to grant equal rights to all the American citizens.
Policies have been passed in the United States as the war against discrimination continues. The policies bind the whites so that they can stop discriminating the blacks. The situation has improved significantly, as was noted when the US elected Barrack Obama as the first black president of the United States.
Complaint process
Ensuring that the people of the United States accept and embrace all the races is a process that has taken a long time to achieve. In the US, one is supposed to follow a complaint process if they are discriminated in their place of work or elsewhere in the society. The person who is discriminated is advised to take the complaint to the courts of law or follow the EEO process, which handles complaints of discrimination. The first step in this process is to inform an EEO counsellor (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2014). If one is an employed citizen, then they can report the issue in an agency that is located at the place of work. This should be done within one and half months after the discrimination. The counsellor then advises on what one should do.
The next step, in most cases, is to file a formal complaint. The complaint is then handed over to the agency to decide whether the case should be taken to the next step or be dismissed at that point (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2014). If the case is dismissed, then the agency carries out an investigation. Thereafter, a notice with two alternatives is given. One of the alternatives that are given is to request a hearing at the EEOC Administrative office. The second alternative is to request the agency to give its verdict on whether there was discrimination or not.
The hearing is done in one month after the agency issues a notice, if the individual wants the case to be heard. The hearing is conducted by the EEOC administrative judge (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2014). The judge makes a decision after the hearing. In case discrimination is found, then the judge orders for a relief. The agency gives a final order upon receiving this order, whereby it either agrees or disagrees with the administrative judge. It also states whether it complies with the order given by the judge.
One may file an appeal if they were not satisfied with the final order. The deadline for lodging the appeal is 30 days, otherwise the appeal is considered invalid. The EEOC attorneys conduct a review of the appeal. The agency also launches further investigations into the issue once the appeal is lodged. Whatever was said during the first hearing is also reviewed on a script (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2014). There is finality in the decision made by the agency once a request to reconsider the ruling is made. This implies that the request can be accepted or rejected by the agency, as it may deem appropriate. One can then go on to file a lawsuit in case they are not satisfied.
Conclusion
Discrimination has been reduced in the US in a significant way. The citizens of the United States now largely accept all the races and ethnic groups in the country. However, there are still aspects of discrimination in the country. There are legal processes that one should follow in case they are discriminated in any way. The EEO complaint process is one of the most popular processes that have helped in reducing discrimination in the US.
References
Goldman, A. L., & Corrada, R. L. (2011). Labour law in the USA. Alphen aan den Rijn, The Netherlands: Kluwer Law International.
The proposed research will use a case study approach to the problem. Six organizations will be used in the study, with each organization treated as a different case. The study will be carried out between January 2015 and April 2015. A case study approach is important because it is an investigation of a phenomenon as it occurs without the need for the investigators to intervene (Baxter & Jack, 2008). It is a detailed analysis of an individual case in which the primary assumption is that the investigator can acquire knowledge about the phenomenon or issue using an intensive exploration of one case out of a population of cases. The aim of a researcher in a case study is to arrive at a comprehensive understanding of an event (Baxter & Jack, 2008). At the same time, the researcher aims at developing a generalized set of theoretical statements or descriptions of the regularities in the phenomenon or problem being investigated.
In most cases, there is no rigorous plan of case studies because it allows the researcher to plan a field study without a comprehensive or predefined structure for the data collection and analysis. The assumption in the process of data collection is that the observations made in the field will guide the conduct of the study. As explained by Baxter and Jack (2008), a case study approach provides the researchers with a high degree of flexibility, an important attribute of the research. The major activity in the process is the collection of data. The nature of the subject matter has an important role of determining the nature and type of the selected data collection techniques and tools (Baxter & Jack, 2008). It allows the researchers to choose from a wide range of data collection techniques such as observations, interviews, surveys, focus groups or investigations of the available documents recorded from previous studies or surveys (Baxter & Jack, 2008).
Study population
As described above, the proposed study will examine six organizations as the cases. The cases will be selected from three different industries- manufacturing, service and health. Each of the three industries will provide two organizations. In addition, the researcher will target 15 participants from each of the six organizations, which means that the total sample will be 90 participants. Moreover, in each organization, 4 participants will be drawn from the management level while the remaining 11 participants will be drawn from the lower levels of the organizational structures. In addition, the researcher will include both males and females in the sample from each of organization in order to ensure that bias towards any gender is avoided. The aim is to ensure that equal representation of the two genders will be achieved.
Inclusion criteria
The criteria for choosing the case organizations will be based on six major aspects. First, both medium-sized (SME) companies and large organizations will be included. Secondly, the cases will be drawn from the three different types of sectors described above. Thirdly, the private and public sectors will be represented. In addition, the case cases for the study will be drawn from different parts of the country in order to ensure enough representation of diverse geographical regions. The case studies will also represent the diverse nature of the workforce as described above, where the demographic aspects of age, sexual orientation and religion/ belief will be represented. Finally, the cases chosen will be used as a paradigm of good practice in an organization based on the aspects of sexual orientation, religion/belief, age or the mixture of the three factors.
Identification of the sample population
First, a list of companies will be drawn based on a comprehensive review of good practice. The organizations will be selected to represent the inclusion criteria described above. It is expected that the researcher will be able to identify the diversity of the workforce in all the organizations. However, this will not be included in the final selection because the possibility of limitations is expected, including the inability to identify the diversity of the labor in some of the organizations at the initial stage of selection.
Data collection apparatus
It is expected that varying level of access in all the six organizations chosen as the case studies will be available. In all the cases, the researcher expects that human resource and diversity representative will be available for the interviews.
Semi-structured interviews will be used in the data collection procedure. Comprehensive schedule for the interviews will be developed. First, the participants from the managerial levels of all the organizations will be interviewed at strategic positions such as their offices, boardrooms or other places chosen by the participants. The interviews of the low-level employees will be conducted based on a comprehensive set of questions that the interviewer will be filling. The following table will be used to outline the key aspects of the organizations and the participants interviewed in each of the six cases.
Case Name
Sector
Location
Participants
Study issue
Housing corporation
Private service sector
15
Regional Hospital
Public health sector
15
Retail company
Private service sector
15
Police
Public
15
Communications company
Private service
15
Local authority
Public
15
The study will primarily be qualitative in nature. The information given by the interviews will be recorded in statements as well as in electronic formats. An important aspect of a qualitative study is to allow the freedom of describing the phenomenon as it occurs in nature. There will be little intervention or manipulation of the variables by the researcher. This is an important aspect of the study because it will allow the researcher to draw information based on the observations made. In this case, the feelings, perceptions and lived experiences of the participants will be examined. The participants will be expected to express their feelings or perceptions towards sexual discrimination at their workplaces. It is expected that the closed interviews will give the participants a good environment to express the lived experiences, especially because enough privacy will be provided.
Measures
The study will attempt to describe the phenomenon of sexual orientation discrimination at the workplace. As such, the aim is to determine whether sexual orientation discrimination occurs at the specific workplaces chosen as the case studies. In addition, it aims at describing how and why the phenomenon occurs (or does not occur) at the workplaces and the effects it has on the employees.
Therefore, the researcher will examine the interviews and describe the degree of discrimination based on the lived experiences. The measured factors will include level of earning for persons perceived to be (or are confirmed to be) lesbians, gays, bisexual and transgender against the level of earnings for the people perceived to be non-LGBT. The level of earnings will also be measured against an individuals level of education, marital status, occupation and region of residence (Dawson, 2005). The level of education, marital status, area of residence, gender and sexual orientation will be the independent variables while the level of income will be the dependent measure.
Secondly, an individuals ability or willingness to disclose sexual orientation will be measured against the independent variables (Dawson, 2005). The researcher will examine the organization perception of the individuals who freely and openly portray or express their sexual orientation and the perceptions of the colleagues towards the individuals orientation. In addition, the researcher will measure the outcomes of the disclosure of sexual orientation based on the level of income and the probability of promotion/demotion at the workplace. Discrimination will be described in terms of the probability of an individual being promoted or demoted or an increase/decrease in the level of income after the disclosure (Badgett, 2005). Therefore, disclosure is the independent variable while the dependent variables are the likelihood of promotion/demotion and increase/decrease of the income level for every individual who discloses the sexual orientation at the workplace.
The measures will require a comprehensive method for determining their validity as well as reliability. In this case, it will be important to carry out a pilot study prior to the actual study. In this case, the researcher will use a sample of students at the affiliated university. The students will be required to pretend to be the employees in the organizations mentioned and describe their perceptions towards sexual orientation in their companies . The pilot study will take one week to complete. Students and professors in the researchers department will be involved in verifying the effectiveness of research tools as well as the validity and reliability of the case studies, the data collection tools (interview questions) and the measures involved. any weakness noted in the pilot study will be addressed by improving the tools and measures in order to reflect the actual experiences of the employees with diverse sexual orientations in their respective companies.
Ethical considerations
In general, it is important to note that information about an individuals sexual orientation is a personal matter. It should remain a private issue. In fact, the debate about the disclosure of sexual orientation in the US and other parts of the world is highly contentious due to the private nature of the issue. As such, the proposed study will apply comprehensive measures to ensure that the privacy of the participants is addressed adequately.
In general, the five principles of ethics for psychologists provided by the American Psychological Association (2010) will be used to developed the ethical standards and guidelines of the proposed study.
First, the principle of no maleficence and beneficence will be considered. The researcher will seek to safeguard the rights and welfare of the organizations and the participants (American Psychological Association, 2010). The researcher will work independently of bias, malignant affiliations as well as prejudices. Bias towards any of the employee or organizations chosen in the case study will be avoided.
Secondly, the principle of responsibility and fidelity will be applied. The ethical compliance of the researcher will be considered by ensuring that the researcher does not have any personal interest in the information gained from the companies and their employees (American Psychological Association, 2010). The researcher will inform the case companies and their employees that the intended study will be used for academic purposes. It will be stated clearly that the knowledge gained will be used to contribute to the general knowledge about the issue of study.
Thirdly, the study will follow the principle of integrity as provided by the American psychological association. The aim is to ensure that manipulations, fabrication of results as well as fraud are avoided. The researcher will ensure that the reported results reflect the actual responses given by the participants.
The principle of justice will be applied in the study. The researcher will ensure that the information gained from the study will be made available through publication in the appropriate journal (American Psychological Association, 2010). No information will be concealed for the purposes of the researchers personal or institutional gains.
Finally, the principle of respect for the dignity and rights of participants will be applied. In this case, the researcher will seek consent from the companies involved as well as their employees. Consent forms will be sent to the managers informing them of the need and intentions of the proposed study. The employees will be required to fill and return consent forms informing the researcher of their willingness to participate in the study and provide honest information. The researcher will not coerce any employee to give information because the aim is to obtain honest and voluntary employees. The employees will be informed that their names, details, perceptions and sexual orientation will not be disclosed. Unique identification codes will be given to all the participants (American Psychological Association, 2010). In addition, the final report will no reflect the names of the organizations or their employees. Rather, it will indicate them in terms of unique codes running from A to F.
References
American Psychological Association. (2010). American Psychological Association ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct. Web.
Badgett, M. L. (2005). The wage effects of sexual orientation discrimination. Industrial and labor relations review, 6(2), 726-739.
Baxter, P., & Jack, S. (2008). Qualitative Case Study Methodology: Study design and implementation for novice researchers. The Qualitative Report, 13(4), 544-559.
Dawson, G. A. (2005). Sexual orientation discrimination. Equal Opportunities International, 24(3/4), 46 49.
Discrimination against the Jews is based on the global prejudice. Historically, the Jewish nation was a scapegoat for all troubles ranging from war to economic crisis. In the social context, the Jews are blamed for being rich. In the workplace setting, the Jews are considered to be paid more than they deserve. Notably, the attitude towards the Jewish nation is negative throughout the world, however, there are no evident reasons of this negativity. Even those people who have never met a Jewish person nurture negative perception. Nevertheless, very few people know that a true Jew is honest, careful, courteous, and prudent. The Jewish are truly religious and they act in a manner consistent with their religion. The Jews, however, are blamed for all global problems because their nation has managed to be more successful than the others.
Defining Discrimination
There are no people who are free of stereotyping. Every person makes assumptions (conclusions based on limited knowledge of the facts) about others based on an incident, impression, or personal encounter. Stereotype is a mental image of a group based on the personal opinion without consideration of individual differences. All Jewish people are stereotyped as greedy and mean, even though the character is not predetermined with ethnicity. Prejudice is a negative judgment formed about the group without knowledge of the facts. In the case with the Jewish employees, the majority of Americans know nothing about the Jewish nation, while the judgment remains negative. Discrimination is treating people in a less favorable way because they are members of the specific group. In other words, discrimination is prejudice in action. The Jews are treated less favorably in the workplace because co-workers have negative judgments of them (prejudice). Finally, scapegoating is holding one group responsible for all communitys problems, isolating or rejecting a group. As it was mentioned, the Jews are blamed for all problems in the world, even for situations they were not part of.
Statistics
According to the nationwide survey released by the Anti-Defamation League, the number of Americans who hold anti-Semitic attitudes is slow to decrease. The survey findings point out that anti-Semitic views endure in the United States and are unlikely to reduce. According to the national poll of 1,600 American adults, 14% of Americans (35 million adults) hold views about Jews that are anti-Semitic (ADL Survey 2005). All of the efforts undertaken to build a more tolerant nation are fruitless. Moreover, there is an increasing anti-Semitic activity in the country. In 2004, for example, 1,821 anti-Semitic incidents were reported (ADL Survey 2005).
The indicator of anti-Jewish prejudice in the United States is the question of Jewish loyalty to America. The survey found that one third of Americans think that Jews are more loyal to Israel than America as well as that the Jews were responsible for the death of Jesus (ADL Survey 2005). The results of the survey are the following: 70% believe that Jews have too much power in the US, 80% that Jews have too much power in the business world, 75% believe that Jews have too much control of Wall Street. In addition, half of the foreign-born Hispanics and one third of African-American hold anti-Semitic beliefs. Education and age were found to play roles in determining anti-Semitism: less education Americans are more likely to hold anti-Semitic views.
Jewish People in the United States
Thousands of young Jewish men and women spend several years engaged in full-time Torah study in yeshivot in the United States and in Israel, where they are exposed to the depth and richness of Judaism, but receive little or no preparation for confronting the challenges of the real world (Brafman 2006). Older people, gays, people with disabilities, women, African American, and Jews are the groups of people who are often discriminated against in the workplace setting. Notably, while the Jews are blamed for holding too much power in the United States, many Americans believe that Jews emphasize the importance of family life, contribute much to the cultural life of America, and are committed to social justice and civil rights (Graves 2007).
While the roots of discrimination against women in the workplace can be easily traced to the time when men enjoyed more rights and freedoms, the roots of discrimination against Jews in the workplace are hard to explain. There is no evidence that Jews were responsible for any attacks on American land; Jews were not responsible for the significant number of crimes compared to other groups; Jews were not guilty for economic problems or political instability. There are no evident reasons why the Jewish people are prejudiced so widely and openly.
The scapegoating of Jews differs from discrimination against other groups in the United States. For example, the African Americans are blamed for high crime rate and there are numerous studies devoted to research on criminal activity of African-American. Women, on the other, are discriminated because male-dominated society is not willing to accept the fact that mental development and abilities do not depend on gender. However, neither women nor African Americans are blamed for general social, economic, and political problems in the country compared to scapegoating of the Jews.
Notably, educated people are less likely to discriminate against the Jews in the workplace, while uneducated individuals are open to prejudice. From psychological perspective, less educated individuals discriminate against Jews because Jews tend to be successful in life. Jews, being truly religious, emphasize the importance of hard work. As the result, Jews succeed in workplace because they are willing to work hard. The income level of uneducated people is significantly lower and they shift responsibility for their personal failure to Jews.
Reducing Prejudice
There are several ways to reduce prejudice in the workplace. The success of initiatives depends upon the commitment of the upper management. In particular, managers should make respect for diversity a core value in company and articulate it in the companys handbook/employee manual (Stern-LaRosa & Bettman 2001). Ongoing awareness programs about the value of human diversity to all employees, diversity consultations and training programs may contribute to reduced prejudice as well. In addition, incorporating diversity as a business goal and creating environment conducive to the exploration of diversity, distributing a list of ethnic holidays and sponsoring a mentoring program are among the most effective tools to prevent discrimination against Jews and other ethnic minorities.
In conclusion, discrimination against Jews in the United States violates legal and moral laws. The Constitution states that all people enjoy equal rights and opportunities. Unfortunately, the United States is not free of discrimination and prejudice. Jews, African-American, women, gays and lesbians, disables, and other minor groups experience prejudice everyday. The American law does not allow any type of prejudice in the workplace, however, it does not mean that there is no discrimination in the workplace. According to surveys, less educated individuals are more likely to discriminate against Jews. Therefore, the key emphasis should be made on educating employees on diversity.
References
ADL Survey: Anti-Semitism Declines Slightly in America; 14 Percent of Americans Hold Strong Anti-Semitic Beliefs. (2005). The Anti-Defamation League. Web.
Brafman, B. (2006). How to walk the business tightrope. Aish.com. Web.
Homophobia is the range of negative attitudes and feeling towards homosexuality or people perceived or identified as being lesbians, bisexual, transgender (LGBT), or gay. Furthermore, it has been described as hate or antipathy, disdain, aversion born out of ignorance and unreasonable fear, which is often associated with religious beliefs. Homophobia manifests itself in hostile and critical acts, such as aggression and bigotry based on non-heterosexual sexual identity. There are various types of homophobia, such as, internalized-which is experienced by individuals who have same-sex attraction, yet they have negative feelings and views on their sexuality and institutionalized, which involves state-sponsored and religious beliefs.
Homophobia has a great impact on heterosexuals where they highly discriminate the non-heterosexual since they do not understand these individuals beliefs (Dilley, 2019). The most effective way to reduce the homophobic attitude in people is by allowing the heterosexual and non-heterosexual to interact. This helps reduce prejudice between the two groups by confronting each others beliefs or stereotypes and get to understand and face the realities of the matter.
Hate crimes are criminal offenses that demonstrate dislike or prejudice toward a victim based on their gender, identity, or expressions and sexual orientation. The practice is often carried out by state and non-state actors and is characterized as both global and local, and it occurs in public, online, home, education institutions, international, and in a nation. Studies demonstrate that LGBTQ people are more likely to suffer violence due to their non-conformity with sexual norms and gender as compared to the general population. The LGBTQ experience sexual and physical violence that harms their bodily and mental health and society at large (Dilley, 2019). The department of justice has enforced hate crime laws that are based on color, religion, nationalism, disability, and gender identity. Besides, it also prosecutes those involved in hate crimes where perpetrators pay penalties when found guilty.
The gay rights movement is a civil society that campaigns for non-heterosexuals equal rights and aims to repeal sodomy bans. It also campaigns for a stop to prejudice against them in jobs and housing. Harry Hay formed the first male association in the US in 1950-51 in Los Angeles. The movement association won a Supreme Court decision in 1958 that allowed it to distribute a newsletter through the postal system. The document also proposed that private homosexual relations between consensual adults be excluded from the scope of criminal legislation, which the legislature later adopted. In June 1969, the gays protested against the police for the raids in the bar. This was significant as it symbolized the formation of the new movement advocating for justice and equal rights.
In December 1973, through movement efforts, homosexuality was no longer considered a mental illness. Harvey Milk, the first openly homosexual elected representative, was murdered in November 1978. In December 1993, the Pentagon implemented a policy do not tell do not ask policy that allowed gays in the military as long as homosexuality was not revealed. President Bill Clinton signed the Marriage Protection Act, which legalized same-sex unions, in September 1996. The Supreme Court ruled in June 2003 that anti-sodomy statutes were illegal. In November 2008, California voters approved of the proposition of gays right to marriage. In May 2012, Barrack Obama signed in for the do not tell do not ask policy.
In November 2012, Maryland, Maine, and Washington affirmed same-sex marriage through popular vote. In June 2015, same-sex relationships were legalized in all 50 states. In 2020, the court declared that sacking an employee for being a non-heterosexual was a violation of civil rights (Dilley, 2019). As to the public perception of homosexuality, the movement aimed at eliminating discrimination, derision, and legalization of same-sex marriage. Through the movement, all this was achieved as homosexuality was no longer affirmed as a form of mental illness. There was no longer discrimination in terms of housing or employment. Furthermore, the heterosexual had equal rights in terms of marriage as it was legalized in 50 states and there was no longer hiding ones identity.
Reference
Dilley, P. (2019). How non-heterosexual student groups utilized liberation to achieve campus assimilation. Gay Liberation to Campus Assimilation, 233-252. Web.
The race is frequently a more authentic indicator of propinquity to pollution than income alone for mixed-race nations such as Canada. Certainly, community wealth is fundamental in determining environmental guidelines, especially regarding public land use, zoning, issuance of construction permits, and enforcement of the laws. The result is that the poor citizens living in Canada are more exposed to pollution compared to their rich counterparts. The discussion of environmental racism is then an important matter, especially for those who are interested in social justice and ecological conservation. Environmental racism shows a relationship between race together with class and discrimination that causes untold suffering to marginalized Canadians. However, the problems can be mitigated by the proper implementation of environmental policies by government officials.
Exploration of Environmental Racism and Justice
Environmental racism and the pursuit of justice against it knit bionomics with topics of race and class. At the center of the prejudice are the poor racial minorities whose abodes are exposed to high levels of various toxicities, while being denied some important ecological benefits (Johansen 1). More precisely, the marginalized African Canadians are denied include clean water and air, in addition to the use of resources for a decent and dignified standard of living. According to an environmental activist, Benjamin Chavis, this kind of racism is racial prejudice in relation to surroundings policymaking and enforcement that are aimed at the minorities of color (Johansen 1). More generally, this specific racism can also be described as the transfer of polluting industries with their toxicity from affluent countries to developing nations (Coolsaet 196). Within the context of Canadian society, environmental racism is witnessed when the worst toxicants move from the industrialized areas of Quebec to Vancouver regions inhabited by some Latin Americans. In essence, racial segregation on ecosystem issues is a matter that places a barrier between different social classes within the Canadian nation.
More profoundly, environmental racism and justice that addresses the prejudice connect human and civil rights with immense ecological crises. Environmental discrimination is characterized by human suffering and even death (McGhee 206-207) in highly polluted areas of Saskatoon. The pain is inflicted by several types of cancer and many other sicknesses borne usually by South Asian Canadians who are already marginalized. However, research on environmental racism and justice can be traced back to the 1970s (Johansen 2). Therefore, it is the scholarly works on environmental justice that have provided the poor minority Canadians suffering great attention among the world communities.
Different scholars have given different definitions to environmental justice as it suits them. Nonetheless, the most outstanding meaning has been given by Robert Bullard. He defined environmental justice as the fair treatment of all people regardless of their race, nationalities, or social status in the development, implementation, and enforcement of ecological policies (Johansen 2). From the definition, fair treatment is explained in a manner that no single Canadian citizen is inflicted with a disproportionate share of any biospheric pollutant (Johansen 2). Accordingly, every Canadian is accorded a right to move away from ecological toxicants, sue any perpetrator of pollution, as well as make conscious of their surroundings liberties.
Types of Environmental Racism and Associated Health Hazards
Ecological unfairness encompasses abroad spectrum of damage to human wellbeing inflicted by industrial emissions, resulting in air and water pollution that limits many Canadian minorities access to clean resources. Across Canada, poor Black immigrants find themselves residing close to petrochemical industries, toxic waste dumps, and other sources of pollution (Mitchell and DOnofrio 305). Also, discrimination includes prolonged periods of action in extremity response to natural calamities occurrences in areas dominated by the poor such as Nunavut, British Columbia, or Windsor (Johansen 6). Political inactivity as well features in ecological bigotry impeding comprehensive measures to every single problem (Johansen 6). Undoubtedly, the environmental discrimination which is perpetrated against Canadian Blacks exposes them to calamities than it does to their white counterparts.
The toxicity of air, water reservoirs, and soil in impecunious and minority Canadians imposes a catalog of health diseases on the individuals who live in such areas. Radiation poisoning has been associated with different types of cancer, miscarriages, and birth defects in Filipino and Chinese children born in the poor neighborhoods of Manitoba (Mitchell and DOnofrio 323). Mercury from Lake Ontario and lead out of Regina areas have profound effects on the childrens growth rates, behavior, and intelligence, including learning disabilities, problems with attention, and fine motor coordination. (Mitchell and DOnofrio 311-312). As an example, carcinogenic dioxin has caused immune systems changes, reproductive alterations, human developmental transformations, endocrine disruption, altered lipid metabolism, liver damage, and skin lesions (Johansen 10). Daily repercussions of many of these pollutants also include bronchitis, irregular heartbeat, nervous disorders, and thyroid diseases. Other sicknesses that are suffered by inhabitants of the polluted areas of Hamilton include immune-deficiency diseases, liver and prostate cancers, reproductive abnormalities, cirrhosis, high blood pressure, hearing impairment, stroke, anemia, and other plasma disorders (Johansen 10). Accordingly, environmental discrimination remains an impediment to the fight against all forms of diseases, if the Canadian government was to win its combat against maladies in the country.
Moreover, there exists a harmful biotic pollutant, Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCB) which contributes to environmental degradation. Like any other persistent organic toxicants, the effects of PCBs have been transferred from one Black Canadian generation to the next (Johansen 10). The contaminants also increase up a food chain in an exponential manner, causing more destruction at each step of the hierarchy (Johansen 10). For instance, a lactating Inuit mother is a stride higher in the toxic series from any seafood that she eats while her baby is another level above her. Clearly, the existence of the contaminants such as PCBs in the bodies of poor and racially discriminated mothers in Canada may tend to increase across generations.
Solutions and Challenges
Part of somewhat remedy to environmental discrimination will be to reorganize the movement of industrial effluence so that it is fairly shared across the boundaries of race and class. The broader solution is to decrease the quantity of waste that is flowing into the dumping grounds and other disposal areas all over Canada (Van Sant et al. 635). To completely reduce the quantity of toxic waste, especially from the affluent neighborhoods of Canada, a technological imperative can be applied (Johansen 18). As a matter of fact, redirection of the flow of waste acts simultaneously to decrease environmental pollution and avert discrimination.
Furthermore, Canadian society can be mobilized on the dangers of environmental racism, especially the health hazards that are associated with it. Citizens need to be educated on how improper waste disposal places a heavy burden on the poor and non-whites on matters of their wellbeing (Mitchell and DOnofrio 312). Through such education programs, the notion that health risks are passive human suffering will be struck from peoples thoughts. With the training against environmental racism, more people will then be united for championing their fundamental rights to a cleaner and safer environment.
In as much as many solutions can be proposed to the resolution of environmental racism, there are numerous challenges to it. In Canada, the main challenge has been the unwillingness of government officials to implement existing ecological blueprints. Ecosystem guidelines, regulations, and policies are not applied evenly, resulting in some persons, neighborhoods, or races being subjected to health hazards (Johansen 22). It means that the laws are discriminately implemented by the people entrusted with such a mandate. Precisely, there exists a racial divide in the way in which the Canadian government cleans up toxic wastes and punishes the polluters (Johansen 22). Evidently, there are policies to ensure that racial discrimination is resolved, but the main challenge is the ineptness of some public servants.
Conclusion
In summary, the exploration of environmental discrimination helps an individual to understand the correlation between race and prejudice, and the associated health risks. Additionally, the importance of public officials in implementing ecological guidelines has to be recognized. At the epicenter of this specific racism are the poor, who not only reside near the polluted areas but are also, denied some important ecological benefits. Nonetheless, the surrounding chauvinism has ignited the fight for justice, which is also referred to as environmental equity. The most common form of bigotry is the inaction by relevant authorities in times of emergency, especially in the areas of poor individuals. Indeed, the problem of biospheric racism can be mitigated by redirecting the flow of all pollutants so it to be shared across all boundaries of races and economic classes. Undoubtedly, ecological inequity is a social problem that can be reduced by involving every citizen in a clean, safe, and cohesive country.
Works Cited
Coolsaet, Brendan, editor. Environmental Justice: Key Issues in Environment and Sustainability. Routledge Publishers, 2021.
Johansen, Bruce. Environmental Racism in the United States and Canada: Seeking Justice and Sustainability. ABC-CLIO, 2020.
McGhee, Heather. The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together. One World Publishers, 2021.
Mitchell, Kaitlyn, and Zachary DOnofrio. Environmental Injustice and Racism in Canada: The first step is admitting we have a problem. Journal of Environmental Law and Practice, vol. 29, 2016, pp. 304-345, Web.
Van Sant, Levi, et al. Political Ecologies of Race: Settler Colonialism and Environmental Racism in the United States and Canada. Antipode, vol. 53, no. 3, 2021, pp. 629-642.
Thinking Outside the Box: Arabs and Race in the United States
Summary
In this article, Cainkar discusses the unique attributes of the racialization of Arab Americans in the US. Initially, Arabs in the US enjoyed the privilege of being seen as whites, albeit marginally, but according to the author, this aspect has changed with their social status becoming that of a marginalized group sharing many experiences as people of color in the country. The author argues that the downgrading of the social status of Arabs in the US could be measured through the various public policies, in mainstream representations, in social patterns of discrimination, separation, and exclusion, and self-identification (Cainkar 46). Generally, racialization in the US is based on the concept that whites are superior to other races. However, Arab racialization is different because it is historically tied to the rise of the US as a global power.
Analysis
The main point in this article is that Arabs in the US have undergone a unique form of racialization as opposed to other ethnic groups. Initially, Arabs were classified as whites and thus they enjoyed various privileges, such as land ownership and voting rights, which were inaccessible to other minority groups. However, with the rise of the US to become a global power, Arabs started being racialized, not because of who they are as people, but due to their homeland of origin.
Some of the theoretical issues that come up in this article include the issue of racism and how identities are formed. Race plays a major role in determining how people are judged and understood. In most cases, individuals are judged based on various attributes associated with race instead of being seen for whom they are, which is a deeply rooted misconstruction of human beings.
The major questions that arise from this article include whether racialization could be based on anything else apart from skin color. Another question is can the racialization process be measured to assess how deep it runs in society concerning a certain race?
I agree with all the arguments that the author makes in this article. For instance, it is clear that initially, Arabs were classified as whites, and thus they were in a position to enjoy some privileges associated with whiteness. However, with the rise of the US as a global power, which created its lasting conflicts with many Arab nations, Arabs in the country started being profiled for where they come. This aspect presents what the author calls a unique experience of the racialization of Arabs in the US.
This piece challenges other readings especially on the claim that Arabs are responsible for their own stereotyping. The author is categorical that such arguments are based on the lack of information and understanding concerning the unique nature of the racialization of Arabs. Additionally, due to the isolation of Arab Americans from mainstream vehicles of dissent, the nature of their racialization process is not measured comprehensively using the various social indexes.
Kinship, Class, and Ethnicity
Summary
In this article, King-Irani seeks to explain kinship, ethnicity, and social class from an anthropological point of view. The focus of this study is the contemporary Middle East to illustrate the contexts and processes that people in this region interact within their day-to-day living. According to King-Irani, in the context of this article, kinship and ethnicity are examined not as monolithic, unchanging facts, nor as independent variables, but rather as social constructs, adaptive strategies, political resources, and emotionally charged symbolic expressions of belonging (313). Therefore, it is difficult to understand kinship, class, and ethnicity in isolation without acknowledging the role of each in contributing to the others. For instance, from an ethnographical perspective, it is clear that various ethnic groups in the Middle East interact and compete with each other within sociopolitical contexts of poverty and uneven development. Therefore, in light of this understanding, ethnic differences cannot be understood outside the context of politico-economic differences.
Analysis
The main point that the author presents in this article is that one of the best ways to understand ethnicity and social classes in the Middle East is from an anthropological perspective. As such, ethnicity would be seen as one of many outcomes of group interaction in which there is differential power between dominant and minority groups&from this perspective, ethnicity is an aspect of stratification, rather than a problem on its own (King-Irani 328).
One of the theoretical issues that arise from this article is the question of ethnicity and how it is defined in different contexts. Conventionally, ethnicity is defined as the state of belonging to a certain social group by sharing common cultural traditions or nationality. However, the author introduces a different perspective whereby ethnicity is a stratification problem as opposed to being placing people in one group based on where they come from. The main question that arises from this article is whether there is a universal definition of ethnicity. How do people ultimately come to belong to a certain ethnicity?
I agree with the majority of the arguments that the author makes in this article. The idea of assigning people to different ethnic groups based on shared nationalities or cultural practices is wrong because, within such contexts, people experience life differently. Additionally, I agree that ethnic groups in the Middle East are kin-based tribal groupings, especially based on the way they invoke shared identities. I also agree that understanding ethnicity in this region presents methodological and definitional challenges for researchers due to the heterogeneity of the various modifying factors.
This piece challenges other texts that assume that ethnicity could be understood in its entirety from a broad perspective of people sharing nationalities and cultures. The issue of ethnic minorities is at times misconstrued because as highlighted in the article, while some individuals could be ethnic minorities in the context of numbers, the same groups could be the dominant class in terms of wealth and social class.
Racism & Beyond: Black Arabs Talk About the Racism they Encounter
Summary
In this article, Nabbout chronicles the experiences of black people in Arab countries. In the beginning, the author makes an outright observation that the Arab world is diverse but lacks people who accept and celebrate differences. The author goes on to present the various racism experiences of different black people living in various Arab countries including Egypt, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait. All the recorded experiences in this article point to the deep-running anti-black racism engraved in Arab societies from Africa to Asia and the Middle East.
Analysis
The main point that the author puts across in this article is that anti-black racism is a widespread problem in the Arab world. Nabbout says, Anti-black racism has long been a problem in our (and other) countries but it is rarely discussed. Therefore, by presenting the experiences of blacks in the region, the author hopes that there will be a change, specifically in how black people are viewed and treated.
The main theoretical issue that comes up in this article is that of racism and how it is normalized in different societies. It could be difficult for people to know that they are racist because it has become a way of life for them, hence normalized. With the experiences recorded in this article, it is clear that racism against black people in the Arab world is rampant and normalized. Some of the questions that arise from this article include how has anti-black racism normalized in the Arab world? Are the experiences given in this article a question of isolated incidences or are they representative of what is happening in this region?
Based on the first-hand experiences of black racism in the Arab world as narrated by the victims covered in this story, I agree that this is a major problem in the region. I also agree with the author that the issue of racism in the Arab world is rarely talked about and while the region is diverse in its culture among other aspects, the majority of people are unwilling to accept and celebrate differences.
This piece challenges the widely held perspective that anti-black racism is a problem reserved for the US and the west in general. The contents of this article indicate that this problem knows no boundaries and even in Africa itself, blacks are discriminated against, specifically based on Aymans experiences in Egypt. He says that during his early days in school, his classmates would use racist remarks about him, such as being referred to as Sudanese or chocolate head .
Works Cited
Cainkar, Louise. Thinking Outside the Box: Arabs and Race in the United States. Race and Arab Americans Before and After 9/11: From Invisible Citizens to Visible Citizens, edited by Amaney Jamal and Nadine Naber, Syracuse University Press, 2008, pp. 46-81.
King-Irani, Laurie. Kinship, Class, and Ethnicity. Understanding the Contemporary Middle East, edited by Lilian Schwedler and Deborah Gerner, Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2008, pp. 309-344.
Nabbout, Mariam. Racism & Beyond: Black Arabs Talk About the Racism they Encounter. Stepfeed, 2019, Web.
Stereotypes in a social, cultural, and political context can be defined as several predetermined expectations with consequences for beliefs of different values and oversimplifications about a group of people. Gender differences can be a significant contributor to stereotypes. This leads to a lack of equal employment opportunities in many businesses, not excluding the airline industry. Over decades there has been a significant gap and challenges for women who want to take on male roles. These stereotypes have led to discrimination in offering jobs in the aviation industry. Many stereotypes might not be correct and can be offensive.
Stereotypes can change when information arises and can change the most distinctive trait of a group. The belief formed by stereotypes always adds up to its description. Some stereotypes include how most people think that only men can fly planes, many flight attendants are female while male attendants are gay, and airlines have a hostile work environment. Although some females and males are fighting these stereotypes, there has been a culture in the airline industry to give females the flight attendant jobs and males the piloting jobs.
Why People Think that Only Men Can Fly
The first stereotype is an under-representation of females in that many think only men can fly planes. This is because the job needs physical and mental strength, which are muscular characteristics that females lack. There is also a claim that a high degree of responsibility for safety, sound technical knowledge, and outstanding leadership are required. Women are claimed not to have the power and capacity, leading to the emergence of occupational gender stereotypes. Occupational gender stereotypes can be defined as what is more suitable for men and women and peoples perceptions of different jobs according to their beliefs and cultures. Gender differences examine the lack of equal employment opportunities in top-ranking positions. The fact that the industry resists hiring female pilots makes it look like a male-dominated profession (Smith et al. 2). This makes men think they can dominate in the career field alone.
For female pilots to be fit for this job, they must suppress their female traits and show masculine behavior. This is a disadvantage to ladies in that they have to pretend to fit in the career. Females are mostly assumed to lack the capability to balance family life and work because of its nature that demands pilots to be away from home (Yan1koglu 3). This is because society expects women to take more responsibility in raising children and housework than men. Women face a unique set of issues like pregnancy and maternity leave which, in most peoples views, makes them unqualified to be pilots because they will have little time to fly and none for their families. Historically, challenging careers like being a pilot were left for men to pursue because they were complicated and expensive. People believed that they fostered muscular beliefs, values, and attitudes.
The stereotype of men being considered intellectuals, having the ability to think clearly, and having high problem-solving skills make it harder for women to be considered in the profession. Similarly, most male pilots claim that it is hard for women to adapt to the flight deck and that they find it challenging to engage female pilots in conversations. However, to overcome this stereotype, most females are trying to fit into the career by fighting gender prejudice from their fellow male pilots. Female pilots must prove their capability, knowledge, and skills to be accepted by others (Yan1koglu 2). Recently, gender roles in airlines have shifted focus to women in male-dominated occupations to give them the motivation and courage to pursue them.
Flight Attendants are Always Female and Male Attendants Gay
The second stereotype is that flight attendants are always female and generalized male ones as gay. In the early days, the profession went from being entirely for men to being a female one and, lastly, being exclusively sexually integrated in 1970 (Ferguson, and Ayuttacorn 2). This is because many flight attendants in the past, commonly known as air hostesses, had nursing qualifications and most nurses were female. During those days, there were zero male nurses and this played a big part in solidifying women as flight attendants. The term flight attendant is neutral, but the job is still characterized as feminine (Ferguson, and Ayuttacorn 2). Similarly, male flight attendants are rarely mentioned in the history of air transport. They are regularly emasculated and associated with being gay when presented in the culture.
The stereotype always looks real because the flight attendants job is to show care, empathy, and service to the people on board, which are described as female traits. Women are considered fit for the job because they are warmer and kind compared to men (Smith et al. 5). However, when men portray the two, they are considered gay. Furthermore, flight attendants are always expected to be neat and presentable, making it a more feminine career path due to the high degree of cleanliness required.
Similarly, the roles of male flight attendants are primarily invisible, and their masculinity is always directed to the cockpit. Even though some straight men want to join the career, they always have difficulty proving that they are not gay (Ferguson, and Ayuttacorn 1). Airplanes use gas so they prefer to minimize the weight in the planes when possible. Therefore, they tend to employ female flight attendants with less body weight than men to save on gas. Furthermore, the image of a flight attendant is typically depicted as slim, young, and pretty girls, making women dominant in the careers (Smith et al. 3). However, most men are now pushing their way through the job and challenging the devaluation of male staff in feminized roles.
Airlines Having a Hostile Environment
Airlines providing a hostile environment is considered to affect its people and customers positively and negatively. During the pandemic, airplane companies put measures to ensure their passengers and workers are safe. They included measures like emphasizing the use of masks, providing social distance, following the middle seat rule, and guaranteeing sanitization of the planes and people. The managers of the airplanes ensure that their employees are well taken care of thus increasing their pay according to the number of years of experience in the job (Gillet, and Tremblay 6). Airlines ensure the excellent health of their workers by offering great health packages, including dental, vision, and life insurance policies. Airlines give flexible schedules to their flight attendants, making it easier for them to balance work and family.
On the other hand, flying flight attendants and pilots are mostly exposed to sun rays and radiation from space, which may increase their risk of being prone to certain cancers. Flight attendants and pilots often work overnight, which may affect their sleeping patterns, leading to poor health (Gillet, and Tremblay 3).
Traveling across zones can cause jet lag effects because geographic movements and shift work also disrupt their standard sleeping patterns. This can lead to fatigue, changing hormone levels for female workers, and even difficulty in sleeping when they get back to their homes. Flight attendants must adhere to the strict rules on grooming even when they feel tired. Similarly, most pilots suffer from depression and mental illnesses but cannot open up for fear of losing their jobs. During peak seasons like holidays customers experience long waiting hours in lines for security procedures at check-in points. Lastly, the airline industry is always prone to terrorist attacks, natural disasters, and political instability, leading to long periods of inactivity, restricted movements, and unemployment.
Conclusion
Just like other industries, airlines contain stereotypes that have been believed to be accurate and practically seen. Stereotypes such as many people think only men can fly is changing since we have females who are engaging themselves in the career. Many industries have fallen for this stereotype since they mostly give male pilots the jobs denying the female ones. The second one is that only females can be flight attendants, and male attendants being gay. Similarly, many airline industries employ females for the role because it is feminine. However, it is being dealt with reluctantly, because it is always assumed to be a female-dominated field. Lastly, being a hostile environment, this has been proven positively and negatively.
The airlines put measures to protect their workers and customers against Covid19, give their workers good pay according to the number of experiences they have, and provide health insurance to their families. On the other hand, flights expose workers to radiation, jet lag effects due to geographical movements, and poor sleeping patterns. Long queues are experienced during peak seasons, causing fatigue to the workers. Lastly, airplanes are prone to terrorism, leading to losses, unemployment, and restricted movement. Despite the stereotypes, nationwide travelers can never avoid using planes to navigate between countries.
Works Cited
Ferguson, Jane, and Arratee Ayuttacorn. Air Male: Exploring Flight Attendant Masculinities in North America and Thailand . The Asia Pacific Journal of Anthropology, vol 20, no. 4, 2019, pp. 328-343. Informa UK Limited. Web.
The studies on urban political power as the capacity to influence the development of cities have resulted in several theories applicable in different settings. Clarence Stones in his fundamental work on the case of Atlanta presented the theory of urban regime as the most powerful model to accumulate economic development and sustain social equity. The main feature of the approach is the emphasis on municipal power as the capacity to accomplish goals rather than power over others (Mossberger 2016, 43). Such a model implies that all the actors work together on achieving mutual growth, while the urban environment benefits from this cooperation.
Although the theory has been successfully applied for decades, today, it receives significant critique as unable to answer pressing questions. The approach does not include the role of agencies and governmental influence that promote the interests of society. Social equity beyond the scope of economic relationships has been eliminated from the theory making it insufficient in a modern environment and requiring improvements. Nonetheless, the urban regime still provides a basis for politics and can be utilized to its full potential after transformative adaptation to modern-day reality.
Overview of Urban Regime Theory
Urban regime theory implies the model of cooperation between political and economic forces that reshapes the city and facilitates its growth. The approach has been dominating for several decades, explaining how local actors engage in coalitions to develop neighborhoods. The vision of coalitional power instead of unilateral offers four main categories of urban regimes, including development, maintenance, middle-class progression, the expansion of or lower-class opportunity (Mossberger 2016, 43). The letter variation is believed to be applicable in the case of equity achievement.
However, the theory developed on the example of post-war Atlanta faces significant challenges today. An urban regime based on gaining benefits for all participants fails to notice non-economic problems such as racial discrimination. Many scholars claim that the model ignores racial inequality as a structuring factor in cities (Seamster 2015, 1053). Addressing issues of social justice requires substantial efforts from business-government coalitions that are often not justified by economic motivations. The theory is found to underestimate the role of agency and political governance in managing problems that cities face today.
Although the urban regime has failed to address these issues, it still has the potential to respond to contemporary challenges after modernization and transformation. Many scholars, including Stone, who has founded the theory, work on its improvement and adaptation to modern-day reality. Public-private coalitions are still seen as the core of urban governance, while the issues of urban governance are paid greater attention (Rast 2015, 139). Thus, the government can create policies that motivate private local actors to engage in current issues, while the cities can still benefit from such relationships.
The Background on Race Issues in Toronto
The demographic pattern of Toronto is known as extremely diverse, entailing the issues of inclusion and equity. According to the recent census, 52% of the citys population represents racial minority with the majority of them identifying as people of African descent ( 2018 Equity, Diversity and Inclusion 2017). This population group experiences unequal policing, violence victimization, and economic segregation. Census data demonstrates that people are distributed unequally across the city, with the majority of racial minorities living in impoverished neighborhoods ( Wellbeing Toronto 2018). The brief assessment of the demographic structure of districts and average incomes per household demonstrates staggering differences. For example, racial minorities constitute 94% of the population of Milliken, with an average family income of $69,226. In contrast, such wealthy districts as Princess-Rosethorn have yearly household income rates at more than $200,000, with the minority representation of 14,1% ( Wellbeing Toronto 2018). This pattern prevails in most of the districts making Toronto racially segregated.
Increased street violence and unequal policing regarding racial minorities is another pressing issue in Toronto. The reports by the citys governments state that 85% of all victims of hate crimes are the Torontonians of African descent ( Toronto Action Plan 2017, 33). Additionally, these cases may go unreported due to a low level of trust in police. The city council reports that over-policing and racial profiling lead to the overrepresentation of black Torontonians in prisons ( Toronto Action Plan 2017, 33). Moreover, racial minorities are reported to have higher rates of school dropouts than non-minorities, which is motivated by the absence of relevant or culturally inclusive curricula and the stigmatization (Herbert 2017, 144). These issues are to be addressed both separately and as a part of the overall economic opportunity expansion plan.
As the problems of racial discrimination persist, the city council recognizes the disparity and structural discrimination that occurs in everyday interactions. The current strategy of the problem solution does not imply any radical actions from the municipal government. Instead, the policies are designed to motivate local actors to engage in racial diversification. The city is responsible for policing, education, and a significant proportion of working places, while businesses sustain the economic prosperity of the neighborhoods. Numerous education programs and tools teach employers how to identify and avoid racism at the micro-level and motivate hiring diversity. For example, Anti-Black Racism Analysis provides the instrument that allows the assessment of decisions and practices from the perspective of racial diversity descent ( Toronto Action Plan 2017, 14). Thus, the primary approach that Toronto currently uses in addressing anti-black racism implies the involvement of multiple public and private actors.
Analysis of Urban Regime Theory Application
The problems of race are intermingled in all social relationships in North American cities. The case of Toronto demonstrates how discrimination exists both on the macro and micro levels. Racial disparities result in institutional discrimination, economic segregation, and social injustice concerning minorities. Thus, the task of those holding political power is to eliminate these problems using their levers of influence. Apart from politics, public opinion is also a significant predictor of minority well-being. Scholars argue that mass media has the power to influence these attitudes through the dominant medias coverage of systematic, structural social injustices (Kim 2012, 76). Thus, the role of public services such as mass media should not be underestimated in developing power coalitions.
The application of urban regime theory to the problems of racial discrimination has its strengths and weaknesses. The approach has the potential to be used in addressing Torontos issue. While urban governance cannot influence all aspects of economic activity, it can motivate businesses to promote social equity. Moreover, the theory proved to be successful in developing cities, and its application in particular neighborhoods may bring positive results. Racial segregation in Toronto is not only a social construct but also the result of economic marginalization. Thus, by emphasizing economic growth among targeted neighborhoods, the urban regime can eliminate disparities and improve the social well-being of the minorities.
Despite its feasibility, the urban regime has mostly failed to address the problems of race in the city, because social well-being is beyond the scope of the theory that focuses mainly on economic growth. Although the approach can expand the opportunities of lower classes, discriminated populations have limited capacity to act and cannot use the potential of the theory to its maximum. The examples of black urban regimes in the U.S. have demonstrated that they were not able to serve different social groups as they represented the interest of the urban elite (Seamster 2015, 1053). That is why urban regime theory is not the ready solution for the problems of social injustice in an urban environment.
These implications, however, do not mean the inapplicability of the theory to address racial discrimination but rather suggest the need for modernization and change. The scholars exploring urban regimes recognize the necessity of incorporating agencies and political institutions. Thus, the new urban regime does not lack its core coalition, and cooperation, but it has an increased impact of government that sets the goals that serve social needs. In the case of Toronto, the city council attempts to collaborate with businesses to achieve racial equity, which may be seen as a modification of urban regime. However, the theory implies that the coalition should bring mutual benefits to the participants that lead to economic growth. That is why it is recommended for the city government to develop programs of financial motivation for the businesses that engage in racial equity policies.
Conclusion
The racial diversity of Toronto leads to numerous problems as the city struggles to fight anti-black racism. Today, the city council calls for support from local actors, which may be seen as the modification of urban regime. This is a feasible assumption, as Stones theory explains how the power in cities is constructed through the cooperation of different local actors. The urban regime addresses the issues of economic growth through the collaboration of private and public sectors. However, it often fails to notice the problems not directly involved in the economy. Nevertheless, the approach can still be used to tackle racial segregation after modernization and improvement with the increased role of government. Cooperation and coalition are still critical aspects of urban politics, which can be used to achieve government-directed goals that address social well-being.
Bibliography
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