The American Melting Pot Summary

Discrimination Around Every Corner When most people think about racism they conjure up pictures of caucasians suppressing another ethnicity but, what most people do not know is that there is racism between the same culture. While some differences between interracial and intraracial are noticeable, the similarities are striking. The idea that intraracial discrimination is as discernible as interracial discrimination is an interesting concept, and one that I believe in. All discrimination whether it is intraracial or interracial is based on the belief that one group is superior to another.

America is a country of great diversity, but many people are not treated fairly, and have not been for years. Even to this day many Americans black and white are discriminated for their skin color or beliefs. This is a problem that has been going on for many centuries, and it is still apparent that to this day civil liberties from the past are still not resolved. Sojourner Truth, Martin Luther King Jr., and Frederick Douglass were all black rights activists, and in their lifetimes they affected many people black and white, yet the civil liberties from the past are still yet to be resolved.

The phrase “melting pot” was originally used in the 18th century to describe how people from varies of region gave up their original cultures, backgrounds or races and combined them into a common identity. Although this term was created to emphasize the future unification of immigrants in America, this process of “melting into one” could also seem as forcing others forget their own culture and fit them within the new American culture. In the reading “Trans-National America,” the Randolph used the events during the WWI to explain the idea of “melting pot” was still hard to reach. In his second paragraph, he described how people still had their nationalistic feelings within them and would keep them even it was during the war period by stating

The unfortunate truth is that discrimination still exists in our politics/society/day

While I was viewing these articles, I really started to get angry inside. I understood all this exists, but reading it over and over again brings me back to remember how serious this situation is. Many of these topics was covered in the book The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, but these articles are bringing up topics that I never even considered. Such as, in the Silverstein’s article it said “Discrimination has been shown to increase the risk of stress, depression, the common cold, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, breast cancer, and mortality. ”(Silverstein)

In the article “Race in America: ‘We would like to Believe we are Over the Problem,”’ which was published on America, Maryann Cusimano Love argues that the racial inequity issues still persist today in the United States. She triggers her topic by responding to Delegate Hargrove’s arguments that “not a soul today had anything to do with slavery” and “it is counterproductive to dwell on the past.” She thinks Hargrove’s suggestions are defective because racial issues are still exist in the modern society, which people must be responsible for. As the evidence to support her argument, she listed historical statistics and numbers. She first makes it clear that the inequality in health care causes many African-American died in the United States.

“The diversity in our speech reflects the diversity of U.S. culture (Wonderopolis).” In the American language, there are multiple names, phrases, and pronunciations throughout the country. It is only expected to have different ways from someone who lives across the country from another, but it is interesting when people speak the same language but do not have the same terms, sayings, and pronunciations. There are many different words that we could substitute, on a daily basis, and it would still mean the same thing. As an example of this, there is garbage can or trash can.

Indeed, you mentioned an important aspect of disparities and it is one related to the disparities affecting racial groups. The United States is a multicultural country so for a healthcare professional to treat a disease or to approach a group is necessary to consider their cultural background, traditions, and beliefs. Despite all the United States effort to eradicate the racial differences in the Country, race continues as one of the most significant factors to take into consideration when we are evaluating health care services or high quality of care. Health disparities among Hispanics most the time is caused by the type of food they consume, and the lack of access to healthcare services. In addition, some Hispanic are not the United States

Imagine living in a United States in which discrimination, segregation, and racial prejudice no longer exist. A United States where the color of your skin, nor your sexual preferences matter. An America whose dark past brought horrible social injustices, will be of the past and will never occur again. Unfortunately, this America does not exist. We still live in an era in where the color of your skin defines you, where people feel discriminated, ostracized, and judged because of their race, religion, or sexual orientation.

The United States was perceived as an opportunity for a new life for many of the immigrants. Thus, the many reasons for their immigration was to flee from crop failures, lack of land or jobs, increasing taxes, and shortage of food (famine). Furthermore, many people left to the United States with the intention of having personal freedom and being free from being judged of their political or religious beliefs. As a result of the immigration, tension between nativists and immigrants grew. The nativists in America thought that the immigrants would ultimately affect the future generations of American born citizens.

From the slavery of African and Native American slaves to Jim Crow laws that dominated the South in the 20th century to police brutality that currently plagues the country, race has always been divisive in America. White, African-American, Asian, Latino are all races or ethnicities that create not only a division between people, but an expected societal role. What happens when two of those divisive categories combine? What is their new label? Do they have a new role?

The Impact that Race and Class has on Wealth America is a place of potential opportunity and success. There is a possibility of prosperity for everyone, no matter one’s race, social class, or ethnicity. However, success is more easily achievable for white Americans. People of color in America have struggled for centuries with housing, jobs and education all due to their race. Even though it is not just, white Americans have had the upper hand simply because of their skin color.

Today in class we talked about America and if we cherish diversity. At first the majority of the class said “yes” including myself, but as we finished our debate most of us had gone from “yes” to “no.” Also, in the articles we read in class earlier last week, Patel states that even though Washington had slaves, MLK junior still looked up to him as a great leader, he also states that Washington wanted America to stand for something different. McGregor does not believe America cherishes diversity because she wanted Oscars and acting academy’s to be more equal… most academy awards were given to white males on top of not having even one female in the directing industry. I believe that America does not cherish diversity because sexism and racism

In This Book Not like Us; Immigrants and minorities in America 1890-1924, which was written by Roger Daniels; a professor who taught History at the University of Cincinnati, focused on the 3 different groups, the Blacks, Immigrants, and Amerindians. He also focuses on the "Opposing forces" hostile to them, also seeing the different paradoxes of the supposed advancements that actually were conflicts in this period of time. This book covers everything from women's rights to the 1924 Act, so enjoy the ride. Much of this book Not Like Us is more devoted mainly to the Blacks in America and the Amerindians. In Daniels analysis this material is key, but it has very little relevance/applicability to the immigration reformer.

The idea of discrimination is an odd one. A human being has to look at another human being who, in some way is a little bit different, and think “This person is of lesser value than me”. Despite how strange that may sound it has played a frightening role in the history of human beings. Most notable examples are Nazi Germany’s treatment of the Jewish during World War II and the treatment of black people in America throughout its history as a country.