Northampton Community College

Principles of Sociology
Student: Fausto Castillo Tovar

Race Writing Assignment

Prejudice are those biased thoughts based on assumptions about a group of

people, normally related to how different they look from what majority groups think
they must look like. Prejudice not necessarily is related to race, people can be
prejudiced about people who look homeless, or who have a different sexual
orientation than yours. What can individuals do about individual prejudice they
hold? I agree with Vera Myers, we must work inside us, we have bias we do not
know we have, sometimes this is so little we cannot see it.

So, the first thing is to identify the prejudice we have like: when you are in a group
and there is this kind of “funny” person who like to make jokes about everything
and everybody, and always has something to say, this person probably will ask
about cocaine to a Mexican or Colombian person, and then will say “I was joking”,
or when you cross the street because you see a Black or Latino guy coming in your
way, assuming that this person could be a robber.

Second, work on that I think is necessary, without putting you in a dangerous

situation, try to talk to people with whom you are prejudiced, is important to accept
the difference, have empathy with those that are different, try to normalized those
difference, I mean, try to understand that the appearance is not everything, and
once you got it, have a voice to stand back against racism, xenophobia,
homophobia or other forms of discrimination.

This gives us, somehow, a pathway to fight against structural and institutional
racism, we have to recognize our prejudice, then we have to recognize our self if
we are part of a minority group, or if we have privilege because of our skin color,
knowing this, is one way we can see how structural and institutional racism
happen. Then have a voice to say when someone in an institution is committing
racism or being unfair with African American, Native American, Asian American, or
Latino/Hispanic. Also, use your Constitutional Rights, like vote, or denounce
publicly when injustice is committed against minority groups.

The last months have been very convulsed with the movement against racism, is
important to expose what is happening with the police brutality and even with the
justice system that is more likely to attack and condemn African Americans. As well
as vote to try to put in the Congress people who believe in a Country for
everybody, without ”race”, gender, or ethnicity difference.