Race as a Defining Concept: Shaping Lives and Experiences in the U.S.

This essay delves into the pervasive issues of racial discrimination and prejudice, drawing from personal experiences and sociological perspectives. The author recounts instances of racial discrimination faced as a Mexican worker in the United States, highlighting disparities in salary, working conditions, and treatment compared to white colleagues. The essay further explores the significance of race in shaping people's lives, referencing the disproportionate impact of race in death penalty cases and the phenomenon of stereotype threat affecting intellectual performance. By examining these issues, the essay underscores the enduring importance of race as a defining factor in American society and its profound effects on individuals and communities. Desklib provides a platform to explore more solved assignments and past papers.

(Surname) 1
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1. Have you ever experienced prejudice or discrimination based on race or ethnicity?
Explain how common this experience has been in your life. How did this experience
make you feel?
In today’s society, discrimination and prejudice concerning ethnicity and race have
become a norm (Bottero, Wendy and Irwin, 467). As a Mexican worker in the United States,
discrimination based on race is an issue of concern. While working in an American oil company,
I experienced a lot of discrimination based on my race. To begin with, we have salary differences
across race groups. In my job group, all the whites received a hundred percent of their salaries
while my salary was only sixty-five percent. When I brought in complaints, threats of getting
fired would arise.
Secondly, lack of provision of better working resources. For example, offices used by the
whites were different from the ones other races used. Besides, the working equipment’s were in a
lousy condition hence being exposed into dangerous conditions. Lastly, offensive remarks from
the management due to lack of respect was another issue that was of concern. For example, in
case of minor mistakes, cruel and offensive words could be used to intimidate me.
The racial discrimination made me feel worthless. I felt as if I was below humanity and
less of person. Consequently, I developed trust issues with every white person due to the
prejudice. The experience was infuriating and taught me great lessons in life. I learned that the
way you treat a person could negatively or positively impact the person. This is because, in many
cases, victims of prejudice may end up in suicide.

(Surname) 2
2. In the wake of controversies involving police and members of the African American
community, there is a lot of talk about whether or not race is still a defining concept
in U.S society. How important, in your view, is race today in shaping people’s lives?
Provide specific facts from the chapter in support of your position.
The issue of race is a crucial factor in shaping the lives of people. To begin with, the race
of an individual has a significant role in death penalty situations (Krieger et al., 63) According to
Amnesty International, it was discovered that the majority of the death row victims were
executed for murdering a white person even though about half of all homicide cases are made up
by the African Americans.
Prosecutors may be less likely to seek a death penalty for victims from a minor
background especially the African-American. For the black people on trial due to the murder of a
white person, the chance of receiving a death penalty is usually three times higher (Glaude and
Eddie, 102) According to a report conducted in 2007, it was determined that about a third of the
African-American individuals on death row in the state of Philadelphia would serve life
imprisonment in case they were from another race.
Also, the intellectual abilities of an individual can also be destroyed by how other people
perceive your race (Omi, Michael and Winant, 99). In the year 1995, a group of two researchers
found that when a white and black student are given a “laboratory problem-solving task,” they
would perform equally well. However, when told to perform the similar job as a “measure of
intellectual ability,” they performed differently. As a result, the performance of the black student
was much worse than the white counterpart thereby conforming to the stereotype that all whites
are better. Therefore, even when social and economic advantages are eliminated, it was
determined that race still affects the society.

(Surname) 3
References
Bottero, Wendy, and Sarah Irwin. "Locating difference: class, race and gender, and the shaping
of social inequalities." The sociological review 51.4 (2003): 463-483.
Krieger, N., Waterman, P. D., Hartman, C., Bates, L. M., Stoddard, A. M., Quinn, M. M., ... &
Barbeau, E. M. "Social hazards on the job: workplace abuse, sexual harassment, and
racial discrimination—a study of black, Latino, and white low-income women and men
workers in the United States." International Journal of Health Services 36.1 (2006): 51-
85.
Omi, Michael, and Howard Winant. Racial formation in the United States. Routledge, 2014.
Glaude Jr, Eddie S. Democracy in black: How race still enslaves the American soul. Broadway
Books, 2017.