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Prejudice and Discrimination in the United States

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Everyone has different eye color, correct? And hair color? Well, then why do people tend to discriminate against skin color? Interracial relationships are relations between those of a different race, not different culture. Interracial relationships tend to be looked down upon in society. Individuals suffer the hardships and disapproval of others every day. Because it is hurtful, because it is unjust, and because it is unconstitutional, interracial relationships should not be discriminated against any longer. Many persons go through life facing many challenges because of the discrimination of interracial relationships, some more than others. Hate is an extreme, deep-rooted dislike directed towards individuals or specific ideas.

Harassment covers a wide range of behavior that tends to be considered offensive. This has played a significant role in how interracial couples are treated globally, but especially in the United States. Some tend to see the relationship as a “psychological abnormality” or “a statement against racial prejudice” (Collins). Most pressure doesn’t come from friends or even strangers, but their own families. In some instances relatives do not even want the child of the couple to carry the family name, and family will keep their distance (“Challenges”).

Even today, if seen out with someone of a different race, there will be stares and sometimes rude comments. As much as America wants to say this is not an issue, it still is. Some people will not date outside their own race because their parents and friends have instilled in their head that it cannot be done, others just still have a prejudice towards other races altogether. With all of the surrounding negativity, how can any relationship survive? The simple fact is that some don’t, and others turn the negativity into hope and positivity which only strengthens their relationship. The continual discrimination in our surroundings is unjust and even considered unconstitutional. Controversy over interracial dating has been around for many decades, even many centuries.

Many people believed that by the 1920’s the race issue had been settled but interracial marriage was still illegal. Historically the US promoted the concept of purity and separation of races. Until 1967, there were anti-miscegenation laws, laws that enforced racial segregation at the level of marriage and intimate relationships by criminalizing the individuals (The Gale). The supreme court abolished the laws declaring them unconstitutional. The fourteenth amendment states that anyone born in the United States is born a US citizen and no law shall prohibit the privileges of one, or deprive any person of life, liberty, property, or equal protection (Greig).

In 1958, a newly married couple, Mildred Jeter and Richard Loving were indicted on charges of violating Virginia’s ban on interracial marriages. On January 6, 1959, they pleaded guilty to the charge and were sentenced to one year in jail. The Lovings challenged this sentence by questioning whether the State of Virginia’s actions to prevent and outlaw interracial marriage violated the equal protection and due process clauses of the fourteenth amendment The couple won the case and the supreme court abolished all anti-miscegenation laws in violation of the fourteenth amendment. The definition of prejudice is an unfavorable opinion that is formed without reasoning or complete understanding or knowledge of an individual or situation. Prejudice and discrimination in the United States have gotten much better over the years, but is still in occurrence all over the world.

Dozens of national polls in America during the past two decades consistently show more than three-quarters of us don’t believe we have a problem with racial tension in America. Fewer and fewer Americans openly admit that they’re racist, these polls have shown for years. But a new study conducted by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago found that many Americans still do, in fact, have beliefs about racial and ethnic minorities that are based on racist stereotypes (Nesbit). Discrimination against interracial relationships must come to an end. Racism is still evident in America today, some places worse than others. Interracially dating is something that is still looked down upon.

Depending on where someone is living could also affect how they are looked upon for interracially dating but people are seeing it is becoming more common in today’s world and hopefully more people will come to be more accepting. The numbers of interracial couples and marriages are rising daily and who is going to stop it? It is morally wrong and unjust in the eyes of more than half of Americans to judge someone by the color of their skin and to limit the people of America to their race, and only their race.

The Constitution states all men are created equal, so who is anyone to give the people of this free country a boundary on who they can and cannot associate themselves with? No matter race, religion, ethnicity, or law, nothing can change how the heart feels. Acceptance of this type of relationship is very difficult. As the culture progresses, interracial relationships will inevitably occur given the influences and diversity that younger individuals have. Society needs to be more accepting of relationships of this nature so the hate, prejudice, and harassment that has existed since interracial dating began, does not continue for many more generations.

Cite this paper

Prejudice and Discrimination in the United States. (2021, Nov 17). Retrieved from https://samploon.com/prejudice-and-discrimination-in-the-united-states/

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