Racism, Essay Example

I was once invited to a party at friend’s house and there were many international students from both European and Asian countries at the party. The discussion eventually turned to race and one of the students from India named Ameya claimed that in his opinion, blacks are inferior to whites in terms of intelligence and leadership. He stated that if we look at Corporate America, Silicon Valley, and even other professions with the exception of sports, the number of blacks is far below than what should be the number according to their representation in the overall U.S. population. The claim came as a huge shock to me that even intelligent people can have such a poor understanding of the factors behind some of the bitter social realities of our times. Ameya failed to realize that lower representation of African Americans in Corporate America, Silicon Valley, and other professions has less to do with racial intelligence and more do to with socio-economic factors.

As I heard Ameya’s claim, I immediately asked Ameya if Hindus from lower castes were less intelligent than those from higher castes in India and Ameya immediately replied no. I proceeded to ask whether Hindus from lower caste were as likely to become CEOs of some of the largest Indian organizations as those from higher castes and Ameya said that even though it is not true but things have been improving in India. I also reminded Ameya of the fact that more women are now obtaining undergraduate degrees in the U.S. than men and the same trend has taking place at science and engineering colleges as well but none of this was happening just few decades ago. This doesn’t mean women have suddenly become more intelligent than men on the average but only that social attitudes towards women going to college and pursuing a career have improved. I also reminded Ameya of the fact that women continue to be significantly underrepresented in science and engineering professions as well as Corporate America but things have been improving gradually.

I also explained that African Americans have been a persecuted race in America and things have only started improving gradually since the Civil Rights Movement though there is still much work to do. Many African American baby boomers faced explicit discrimination, even in access to education, thus, they had little opportunities for upward mobility in social and economic terms. Given the historical injustice against African Americans, it is unfair to measure the achievements of White Americans and African Americans through the same criteria. If we look at the achievements of African Americans over the last few decades, we realize they have made significant progress.

I also tried to educate Ameya about different factors that determine upward mobility in social and economic areas. One of the factors I mentioned was glass ceiling which limits the upward mobility of certain groups such as minority groups and women within Corporate America due to stereotypes and prejudices. Another factor is economic and social background. If you come from high-income or middle-income family and your parents are educated, you are at advantage against those who come from low-income family and have parents who themselves didn’t go to college. This is also one factor why African American kids are less likely to go to college than White American kids.

By the end of the conversation, I had successfully convinced Ameya that statistics alone do not tell the whole picture. In order to better understand any social issue, we should look at the root causes because the picture is not always black or white. African Americans are not less likely to reach leadership positions at Corporate America or in the Silicon Valley because they are less intelligent. The fact is that African Americans are at a disadvantage against the White Americans in terms of economic, professional, and social opportunities though things have been improving gradually