The Impact of Racism & Cooperative Contact: A Personal Essay

This essay provides a personal reflection on the experience of racism and discrimination faced by a Chinese individual in America. The author recounts instances of unwelcoming comments, racist slurs, and subtle segregation, such as being placed in a Chinese ghetto and observing segregated schools. The essay also touches upon the misrepresentation of Chinese individuals in American media and employment sectors. While acknowledging the pervasive nature of racism, the author suggests that increased awareness and knowledge about racial diversities can help reduce racial hatred. The importance of understanding the biological and geographical factors that contribute to racial differences is emphasized, debunking the notion of racial superiority. The essay concludes by highlighting the potential of cooperative contact between different races to foster cultural amalgamation and reduce racism, referencing historical examples like Apartheid in South Africa and the potential for cultural diffusion to improve international relations.

Running head: RACISM
RACISM
Name of the student
Name of the University
Author Note

1RACISM
Being a non-white and a Chinese person, I have been experiencing racism in every sphere
in a white majority country like America. America has been infamous for racism till date.
According to Smith (2017) the anti-Chinese sentiments or sinophobia has been inherent in the
Americans; however, the reasons for the modern sinophobia can be traced back to the factor that
in the contemporary times, China has been emerging as a world power after America and Russia
(Billé, 2014). Throughout my journey and visit to America, (the United States) I have not only
received unwelcoming comments on my appearance and physical diversity from the Caucasians,
but also racist slurs for my racial identity. Throughout my journey, I have also experienced Jim
Crow laws which are a pseudo-egalitarian law that states “equal but separate” belief. I have once
happened to travel from one place to another place via metro railway of the United States.
However, my journey through the metro railway was not at all pleasant because throughout my
journey, I have been subjected to not only rude behavior but they also exhibited lack of
cooperation and co-ordination throughout my journey and many men and women denied me seat
inside the cabin. I had to adjust myself in the situation which was not only obnoxious but also
shameful from my part, being a Chinese, moreover, an Asian by birth and origin. Not only that,
when I came to America, I had been given a hotel for accommodation at a Mongolian and
Chinese ghettoized area in the United State. The very fact of keeping a Mongolian or a Chinese
tourist in a Chinese ghetto is a case of racial segregation and ostracizing. As I went through the
country as a part of my travel goals, I have also observed that the United States has differentiated
and segregated as well as special schools for the Chinese, Japanese and the mongoloid students. I
have also noticed that the white students exhibit a contempt and a separate kind of racial
animosity against the Chinese, Japanese, or mongoloid students, almost similar to their treatment
of the blacks, Hispanics, Semites as well as the Latin Americans. I believe that the Chinese are

2RACISM
not only segregated but also misrepresented even in the American media and communication
sectors, along with the private and public sectors of employment. Even though American liberals
and free thinkers are trying to fight against racism, it has to be remembered that America is a
predominantly racist country.
Nevertheless, it also has to be remembered that there are ways by which we can, if not
eradicate, at least, reduce the magnitude of racial hatred in the society. With an increased
knowledge and awareness regarding racial diversities and variety from all around the world,
racism, up to certain extent can be reduced. As the people from all corners of the world would
get access to knowledge and information about different races, the reasons for their particular
physical characteristics, their inherent cultural as well as socio-cultural way of life, their
traditions and customs and the reasons for their respective socio-economic status, the world
would be less racist and a better place for everyone (Rodenborg & Boisen, 2013). Racism comes
either out of ignorance or out of racial superiority, which is in fact, again an exhibition of
ignorance. It has to be remembered that race is a different biological characteristic or attribute
that are inherited by a particular tribe or clan of people residing at a particular geographical area
and their race determines their adaptability of their geographical regions where they belong to.
For instance, the people who live near the equator have dark skin than people who live away
from the equator to the temperate zone. Therefore, it also has to be understood that race has
nothing to do with cognitive or intellectual or abstract superiority. However, despite of all the
thesis and anti-thesis provided, it is observed that the world has witnessed the most disgusting
form of racism as well as been an active participant in it. Apartheid in South Africa was one of
the examples. However, the social scientists have been researching about the ways by which
racism could be reduced up to certain extent and they have found out that cooperative contact

3RACISM
between different races can be the causes by which racism can be reduced. The nations from
different zones and parts of the world would make room for racial and cultural amalgamation
between themselves. Cultural diffusion and acculturation would not only foster and accelerate
international relationships among the nations but also help in organic cultural amalgamation
which might lead to reduced racism in the future (Rodenborg & Boisen, 2013).

4RACISM
References:
Billé, F. (2014). Sinophobia: Anxiety, violence, and the making of Mongolian identity. University
of Hawai'i Press.
Rodenborg, N. A., & Boisen, L. A. (2013). Aversive racism and intergroup contact theories:
Cultural competence in a segregated world. Journal of Social Work Education, 49(4),
564-579.
Smith, B. (2017). Colonial emulation: sinophobia, ethnic stereotypes and imperial anxieties in
late eighteenth-century economic thought. History of European Ideas, 43(8), 914-928.