Most African Americans in America experience racism in every setting. When at work, applying for housing, medical visits, being publicly humiliated, attacked by police and many other scenarios. What is racism? Racism is when one feels targeted and is being discriminated against, mainly towards the minority population. Racism can be depicted in a culturally or institutionalized form. People experience racism within their own communities because of how they look or because who they associate with. People experience racism because of their culture and their beliefs. When we speak on racism, we incorporate prejudice & discriminatory towards certain ethnic groups. Many of us as well as our peers may have experienced racism or being discriminated against. These experiences can occur anywhere, while on the bus or while dining at a restaurant. It can happen while at work or even while at school. In the workplace, there is a high chance that an African American will get overlooked for a position because a white man seems more applicable. The African American candidate could have more experience, more knowledge, more education but will still be frowned upon because of the color of his skin. Unfortunately, it’s very common for a lot of companies to be racist towards this specific group of people. As for the Latino community, always being labeled as immigrants or always being told to go back to their country creates fear for these individuals. They may not want to excel or go against those of the white community because they feel overpowered. These specific communities do not have the same resources as the white community, because of the lack of money being put into these neighborhoods. 

Apart from racism, there is also a lot of discrimination that women have endured. A lot of women experience discrimination specifically at a work environment. Women may get overlooked because people don’t think a woman is strong enough to run the business. It is a social norm for women to be classified as household care takers. From back in history, Women specifically cleaned the house, cooked meals for their family, did laundry and always made sure that everything was in good shape. The glass ceiling represents women in the workplace because they have more obstacles in front of them to achieve the leadership they desire in these workplaces. Research shows that females and males have the same achievements and education needed to prosper into leadership, yet the males are always the ones being chosen for the higher position. Study shows that 41% of women have been discriminated against when involving work opportunities (Discrimination In America 2020).  

The marginalization of women has been an issue throughout history. Prior to the 1920’s, women were exempt from having any liberties. They were taught that they had to stay home because they had to complete their household duties which were to cook, clean and tend the children. The male figure would handle the economic aspects of the household by working. Women would suffer all kinds of discrimination when it involved education, income, and even the ability to vote. They were silenced for years because they were seen as not being capable enough to engage in the same social and political aspects as men. They were basically belittled simply because of their gender and this is known as sexism. For years, women have been manipulated into thinking they are not capable of accomplishing tasks that men do. They are discouraged from pursuing certain careers because they are seen as inferior. However, this has become a huge issue because avoiding the problem does not resolve it. In order for change to occur, women had to protest and fight for their rights in order to achieve some equality in society. But, this fight isn’t over because currently, women are still fighting for equal pay. In essence, the discrimination faced by women has been an ongoing problem that has taken decades to fix because woman are falling victim to the self-fulfilling prophecy.  

Racism and discrimination do not just affect a person based off of their gender but of their ethnicities as well. Ethnicity based racism and discrimination have also been an issue for centuries, reducing greatly but not completely disappearing depending on one’s current location. It has been the cause of many conflicts such as verbal aggression, physical violence, job hiring discrimination, disenfranchisement, biased thinking, unequal prison sentencing, and the failure to enact justice equally among different ethnicities. Not everyone may be openly or even knowingly biased towards certain ethnicities but a group that has been severely affected is the Black community. They have been victim to many racist encounters and discrimination in the workplace, education and even with the law.People’s implicit biases can cause subtle but impactful actions to occur such as micro aggressions, ethnic based stereotyping, and being stigmatized. On the opposite side of the spectrum, some people will even go out of their way to avoid interracial interactions in order to avoid seeming racist or being the target of racism. Racism and discrimination will also cause stress, stereotype threat, and concerns about failure that are in line with the perceived stereotypes of the group in question. These kinds of discrimination can also bring about internalized racism and discrimination, making a person feel that something is wrong with who they are. 

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