PSYCHOLOGY AND RACISM

Psychology and Racism

Psychology and Racism

Introduction

Psychology has been used to influence specific populations. The application of concepts of psychology can help solve various social issues like racism, crime, and religious extremism. Psychological interventions have shown to bring positive outcomes in solving these issues (Wayne, 2007). Racism has always been a subject of discussion all around the globe. With the passage of time researches on the effects of race on health and social behavior have been conducted, but yet the interpretations are vague. Racism is an ideology that represents the human races and believes and shows that some races are still considering superior to others (Sanders, 2006). Before slavery in colonial America, racism was fully based on skin color where thousands of African slaves served the European colonists with the white and Indian slaves. Still, United States faces many racial issues in different communities. This research paper will highlight the racial issues i.e. African American community in Nashville.

The racial studies have been restricted to a particular group, and not many researchers have carried out investigations relating to comparison of races in terms of biological differences (Williams, 2004). However, it is important to analyze the effects of racism that can cause race associates differences in health outcomes. This paper also details out the phases of race with respect of biological aspect.

Discussion and Analysis

Racism in the United States is an ingrained part of its society. In the twentieth century, indigenous were forced to abandon their cultures, languages and forced labor. There are many types of punishment, but the uprooting and replacement of their cultural background has to be one of the most heinous attitudes towards human being. African American people faced difficulty to fight for their rights and justice in the US society. Racism in the United States has existed since its establishment. Victims of racism were non-white indigenous population i.e. Indians and Negros. African Americans are people whose ancestors are from Africa. African Americans used this term to define themselves, but for various reasons they have also used terms such as Negro. The most frequently used terms are African American and Black, which are used interchangeably. Blacks continued to suffer discrimination, but found a great beacon of hope in Martin Luther King. Over the years, especially during elections the political class tried to capture those votes and recalled the image of Luther King. The claims were nothing more than a request to enforce the rights they were entitled and which were embodied in the U.S. Constitution (Williams, 2004).

The racism was a way of creating divisions even in the poorest sectors; capitalism took advantage of the slices of the divisiveness in their companies. Had a clear vision of the misdistribution of wealth, and to continue the deepening of the gap. Wealth was becoming impossible to end poverty and discrimination. In 1676, an uprising against the governor of Virginia and the system of exploitation of poorer colonists wealthy landowners headed by Nathaniel Bacon. After his death, the revolution lost its head, ...