Examples of institutional racism Essay

Although subtler than it has been in Western society, IR is still prevalent as a cordial factor. For example, Stephen Lawrence, a scurrilous teenager was unlawfully kil lead in a completely wanton racist attack by five white youths on April 22, 1993 (Macpherson, 1999). What was disturbing about this incident is that the inquest took 6 years to be scrutinized and police ref utilised to help Mr. Lawrence even though he was in a share of his own blood. Police were also given defining information that could have led to arrests, and they refused to accept that information.When whiz of the attackers was picked out from a criminal line-up pool, the police suggested that the survivour of the attack, Mr. Brooks who positively identified the assailant, was at best, guessing. The police would posterior confess that one of their officers could non remember anything he was told and later when chitchated upon to testify he indicated that he had no record of any notes he may have taken. Vid eo surveillance of the suspected attackers caught them on immortalize boasting how they were going to cut b miss people up.The case against the suspects was dropped after the police claimed that the eyewitness account of the survivour was unreliable. Subsequently, they arrested Mr. Brooks while he was protesting the fate of his friend and police promptly charged him. A judge would later throw out the case. Seeking justice the parents of Stephen Lawrence attempted to further prosecute the suspects. However, when that failed they launched a campaign for a public inquiry into the way that police handled the investigation of their sons murder.It was yet then that the above facts became publicly available. After the embarrassment of the police service and a lengthy inquiry, this led to the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry The Stephen Lawrence inquiry gave rise to the study of police stop-and-search in London which follows on from a trace published by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS). The Interim Report presented the results of the first year of a programme of action to improve police searches covered by section1 of PACE (the 1984 Police and Criminal order Act).The programme began in April 1998 and was implemented in seven areas of London Charing Cross, Limehouse, Brixton, Plumstead, Hounslow, Kingston and Tottenham. The pilot sites varied in the populations they take cared, the main crimes they had to deal with and the number of searches they recorded. Over the year, each showed signifi nookiet improvement in supervising officers use of the power and in the proportion of searches which produced an arrest. (http//www. met. police. uk/publications/stop_search/report. htm)The perception of realization of affable responsibility by the police and their origination of policy with regards to their policing standards has left many in the black community on edge. The black community does not trust police to act appropriately regardless of how they portray themselves ( Macpherson, 1999). This has led to further conflict and clashes with police. impinge theorists believe that conflict is a normal part of institutional practices.This shape up to the analysis of racial discrimination proposes that the intact society, not just the police, still survives on the historical wrongs done to heathenishal minorities and that the dominant ethnic groups desire to maintain the marginalized in positions of inferiority by perpetuating sets of advantages or privileges for the majority group and exclusions or deprivations for nonage groups (Rodrieguez, 1987). institutional racism is so embracing an operating principle that it no longer requires conscious or overtly racist acts to sustain it (Rodrieguez, 1987). The overt apathy that is displayed by police is inherent in control systems (Axelson, 1998).Further, the unfitness or lack of want to acknowledge that institutionalised racism even bes creates a veiled fast one that everything is fine. Another moment that the world bathnot forget is the Rodney King beating that took place in Los Angeles, California. Rodney King, a black man was severely beaten by a group of Los Angeles police officers. This unfortunate event was videotaped. When this event was dispersed to the various news agencies public dissent ensued. Los Angeles had riots. The whole incident led Mr. King to be awarded a sum of $100 million dollars.However, this award did nothing to quell the distrust of police by blacks nor has it substantially improved relations between blacks and police. Both are seen a necessary evils (http//archives. cnn. com/2001/LAW/03/02/beating. anniversity. king. 02/). institutional racial discrimination is Not Acknowledged The problem of institutional racism in the police force is not simply a problem of racist attitudes held by individual bad police constables but exposes a deeper problem of the reliance on outdated police policy that has become routine in an spiritless way.It is solely throug h exposing the results of institutional racism through such acts as police brutality, the lack of ethnic minorities in positions of power, the lack of ethnic nonage business ownership and the lack of ethnic faces in mainstream media can resistance to the belief that IR exists and is a reality. A fundamental question arising from this is, How damaging is it when media, schools, legislatures and other institutions call racist myths true? The cultivation of an inability to voice, express or even acknowledge that institutional racism exists and more overt forms of discrimination are the basis of which the prevailing Western culture maintains its influence is minimize at the least and a cause for riots and increased violence at its worst. This attitude and lack of acknowledgement that IR exists, creates those who are perceived as inferior, and they may internalize the others perception as valid and behave accordingly.The person perceived as inferior may develop a self-fulfilling omen i n relation to this, until this cycle is broken. The events of IR include lowered self-esteem and inadequate self-concept. The Pygmalion effect is a self-fulfilling prophecy where people conform to others expectations regardless of their true abilities. IR may become a state of mind and a set of emotions and values, and a set of behaviours. Institutionalised racist modes range from hostile domination to passive acceptance (defined as avoiding, ignoring or pretending to be correct and polite).In the social changes of the last twenty years, change, like the reduction of outward hostility has occurred, yet more accord is involve before equal acceptance and nigh(a) pull up stakes can occur (Axelson, 1998). Institutionalised racism is an corroboratory and largely invisible process which can be compared with the glass ceiling. It is a term encompassing the a great deal unintentional barriers and selection/promotion procedures which serve to loss members of ethnic minority groups.B raham, Rattansi, Skellington, 1992, pp.100-120) suggest that widening our rendering of discrimination to include indirect or institutional racism gives a much better understanding of the barriers faced by ethnic minorities. Braham et al. caution that it is important to acknowledge the wide range of practices involved roughly much more obvious than others. Rejecting the proposition that all institutions are uniformly racist, they argue that the kind of procedures that disadvantage black people also disadvantage other groups.The British Civil Service is a good illustration of the existence and strength of institutionalised disadvantage. A Cabinet Office report in 1995 cogitate that it was a bastion of the white, male middle-classes, making it difficult for ethnic minorities to progress into its upper reaches. The report cogitate that the main barriers to career development were prejudice and/or ignorance among managers and a lack of confidence among ethnic minority staff. These b arriers were derived from attitudinal or cultural stereotypes which limited expectations and opportunities on both sides.Conclusion In conclusion, institutional racism as defined has had serious deleterious effects on culture and society. These effects are manifested in words, ideas, schools, language policies, economic stratification social segregation, caparison markets, hiring and promotional schemas, ethnic minoritys psychological issues and ethnic minority access to a variety of social services and opportunities. The continuation of institutional racism, though discouraging, can be seen as a positive development from the perspective of the decline of the more overt forms of racism.However, the lack of knowledge or the denial of the more subtle forms of racism can be extremely pernicious to both majority and minority group members. Institutional forms of racism may include police practices, unemployment, housing and education issues, discriminatory practices and inadequate wel fare programs. IR may rear its head through the purpose by Western culture to arbitrarily decide what is socially valuable. People tend to take as valuable what is most familiar to them. Prejudiced attitudes can be found in many elements, including language, education, religion, norms of morality, economic science and aesthetics.A mental and emotional connection of the majority group with superiority and connecting minority cultures to inferiority makes IR pervasive and difficult to eradicate (Axelson, 1998). At an international level, institutional racism may be considered as a product of colonialist and imperialist strategies. These strategies employ racism as an important element in the justification and maintenance of relations of exploitation and unequal exchange with subordinate populations who happen to be physically different. research of racism focuses on the condition that the rise and fall of racial stereotypes and racial prejudice is closely cerebrate to the changing historical relations between different populations and to the interests of dominant groups (Seymour-Smith, 1986). A clear assessment of the attitudes, beliefs, social norms and corporate culture is required of the institution if it is to recognize policies, practices and procedures that may be exclusive to ethnic minority groups. It is through asking, seeing and acknowledging that institutional racism exists will create a forum for awareness.The lessons of Stephen Lawrence and Rodney King serve as societal reminders that a subtle, pervasive form of racism does indeed exist. Those attitudes are so immanent and accepted that they are our social norm. Our unwillingness to formally acknowledge that anything these beliefs and attitudes are indeed incorrect will create more tension and unrest.It is through the constant reminder and education that though the practice of institutional racism may be part of the social fabric, it is not acceptable. It is not acceptable because although it i s believed to not exist or acknowledged, the consequences of not acknowledging IR are seen through the disregard of humanity as in the cases of Stephen Lawrence and Rodney King. It shall only be through the forthright acknowledgement that something is inherently biased in our social framework will IR ever be diminished and eradicated.References viewed January 10, 2006. viewed January 8, 2006. viewed January 8, 2006. viewed January 9, 2006. viewed January 9, 2006. Axelson, J. A. (1998). Counseling and development in a multicultural society.Belmont, CA. Wadsworth Publishing. Braham, P. , Rattansi A. , and Skellington, R. 1992. (eds. ), Racism and Antiracism Inequalities, Opportunities and Policies. Sage. p. 100-120. Green, D. G. 2000. Institutional Racism and the Police Fact or Fiction. Civitas. London.Macpherson, Sir William (1999). The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry The Report of an Inquiry. London HMSO. Massingale, Fr. Bryan. 1998. The Ethics of Racism. Origins vol. 28, iss. 24, p . 26. Massey, D. S. , Fischer, M. J. (1998, December). Where We Live, in Black and White. The Nation, viewed January 9, 2006, . Myers, D. G. (1993). Social psychology (4th ed), McGraw-Hill, Columbus, OH. Jefferson, T. (1992). The racism of criminalisation policing and the reproduction of the criminal other, in Gelsthorpe. L (ed. ).Cropwood Roundtable on Ethnic Minority Groups and the Criminal Justice System. Cambridge Institute of Criminology. Price, A. J. (1997) Human Resource forethought in a Business Context, International Thomson Business Press, Ch. 9. Rodrieguez, A. M. (1987). Institutional racism in the organisational setting an action-research approach, in Shaw J. (eds. ). Strategies for Improving Race Relations. Manchester Manchester University Press. Seymour-Smith, C. 1986. Macmillan Dictionary of Anthropology. The Macmillan Press. lastname, initial. 2006. I felt that a more comprehensive explanation was needed.