Social Diversity Interview Paper

Discrimination Against African Americans

Ashley L. Wysong

General Psychology, Sinclair Community College

Roger Carpenter

November 15, 2020

 Discrimination against African Americans has been an issue in the world

forever. Everywhere I go, I see some sort of racial judgement towards African

Americans. But why? Because of their skin color? Truly, everyone has a different

skin color, but our society only sees two; white and black. We should not judge

people based on the color of their skin, when we have no idea what kind of life

they live. If only it were that easy to say. In today’s world, more and more

African Americans are being harmed just because of the way they appear on the

outside. Do these people even take a minute to get to know them before judging

them? Most likely, the answer is no. Many African Americans face challenges

every day, whether it being harassed walking down the street, or denied a service

at a public place. We should all take a minute and reflect on how we see others

and how we hope others see us. The world would be a much better place if we all

just listened to each other instead of using our eyes to judge so quickly. I believe

someday we will get there. If the world can get rid of slavery, we can also get rid

of the discriminations and stereotypes we have for one another.

 Let’s start from the beginning with slavery. African Americans were bought

and sold like animals to be slaves. They were forced to work in brutal work

environments and did not get rewarded for their work. It is shown that by

estimates, “slaveholders extracted more than $14 trillion worth of labor, in

today’s dollars, from their captives” (Systematic Inequality and Economic

Opportunity). Slaves did not even get payed for the work they were forced to d

It is proven that African Americans are still denied basic human rights to

this day. In one article they stated that, “About one-third of blacks (32 percent)

reported experiencing discrimination in clinical encounters, while 22 percent

avoided seeking health care for themselves or family members due to anticipated

discrimination” (Discrimination in the United States: Experiences of black

Americans). The fact that even 22% of African Americans do not seek health care

when needed because they feel they won’t be treated fairly is sickening. The

health care system should treat everyone with the same respect and treatments.

For centuries, African Americans have either been used or taunted. This

needs to change. Our world needs to accept everyone for who they are not based

on the color of their skin.

 When conducting this research for racial discrimination, I interviewed a

friend who is an African American, who would like to be remained anonymous,

and asked them a few questions. The first question I asked was, “Have you faced

any challenges being an African American in a society where people often look

down on you?” “Personally, no. Nobody has ever given me a hard time or made

me feel unwelcome. I have heard stories from my parents and grandparents

about people being rude to them, but those were different times.” -Anonymous

source. This response was actually surprising to me after everything that has

been happening in our country these past few months, but I am glad that they

have never personally received any hate.

The next question I asked was, “Are there any advantages or disadvantages

being African American?” Their response was, “Well going to a school of mostly

white kids could be an advantage or disadvantage. I like to think that associating

with a lot of white people gives me a step up in society, so people do not think of

me the way they usually do. Disadvantage is they don’t really relate to anything

my family or I go through. There aren’t many people who understand.” This is a

good friend of mine, and it is hard to see how many challenges they face just for

having a different skin color than most of society.

 Personally, I have never judged someone based on the color of their skin. I

believe that if you judge someone, it should be because of their personality and

you should have a solid reason, not just because of the way they look. But I have

seen the racial discrimination in our world. With the shootings that happened

recently and just plain rudeness towards African Americans. My interview

showed me how much I should appreciate how I get treated in today’s society.

Me, being a white female would never encounter some of the things they do.

Everyone should really be more sympathetic instead of judgmental. It is hard to

try and get the older generations to see things the way the younger generations

see them. Most grandparents for example, still will be racist against African

Americans because that is what they were taught. And some of our parents will

be racist, because that is what their parents taught them. If we all just teach our

children or future children how to love and accept people for who they are and

not what they look like, the world would be a much better place and we would all

get along so much better.

 Works Cited

Bleich, S., Findling, M., Casey, L., Blendon, R., Benson, J., SteelFisher, G., . . . Miller, C. (2019,
October 29). Discrimination in the United States: Experiences of black Americans.
Retrieved November 16, 2020, from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1475-
6773.13220

Danyelle Solomon, C. (n.d.). Systematic Inequality and Economic Opportunity. Retrieved

November 16, 2020, from
https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/race/reports/2019/08/07/472910/systematic-
inequality-economic-opportunity/