PROJECT DOC: link

Why Do People Feel The Need To Be Racist?

Like in the story “There are people who claim certain “injustices” are race-related, but if
you ask me, they’re just being divisive” (Stone, 23). Due to this lack of information,
people are too entitled to see what is actually going on in the world because they never
genuinely have to deal with racism due to the color of their skin.

What makes people feel superior?

➢ Privilege
○ Growing up middle class or rich
■ Nice house, car, clothes
■ Healthy family relationship
○ More opportunities
■ Vacations, experiences, events
■ Education
● Private school, no school/vs any school
➢ Cause of this?:
■ In many cases being the majority population

What Impacts Does Racism Have On The Lives Of The Affected Individuals?

➢ Being against the odds, being put at a lower standard

Stereotypes and lack of education on culture.
False information.

➢ When people lack an understanding of a culture they often attribute

Stereotypes, many of which are negative.
● When you see all people of a race as under that view, it instills
the negative connotations, eg. “they are criminals”
➢ In a society where these individuals are the minority, these biased views put
them at a disadvantage.
● Less chance at getting a job. (less opportunities)
● Overall less pay for the same jobs.
● Higher arrest rate due to biased view of “crime”.
➢ All this strain can affect Mental Health
 ● When an individual is at constant risk of being unjustly arrested, and
despite qualifications can’t find a job, this puts a great strain on their
mental wellbeing.
●
➢ Physical Health
● Individuals struggle with their self-identity, self-esteem and feeling
like they never belong anywhere.

➢ Overall rate of success in life.

● With the odds of society being against them, when the majority of
individuals see them as less, in these nations minority individuals see
substantially lower success rates.
●
Quotes:
1. “Do I just take what they dish out, try to stop being “so sensitive”? What do I do
when my very identity is being mocked by people who refuse to admit there’s a
problem?” (Stone, 74)

Example of false assumptions based on bias:

2. “Don’t you say shit to me, you son of a bitch. I knew your punk ass
was up to no good when I saw you walking down the road with that
goddamn hood on... The cop squats and gets right in
Justyce’s face. “I know your kind: punks like you wander the streets of
nice neighborhoods searching for prey. Just couldn’t resist the pretty
white girl who’d locked her keys in her car, could ya?” (p.12)

3. “Both of you know what I do for a living,” he went on, “but very
few know my struggle to get there. It took me four years longer
than average to secure my position because I was continuously
overlooked for promotions. I worked much harder than many of
my Caucasian colleagues but rarely received a fraction of the
Recognition.” (p.85)

Intro-1st BP
Why Do People Feel The Need To Be Racist? (root causes)
What makes people feel superior?
Growing up wealthier you may have more opportunities and materialistic items
Mid
What Impacts Does Racism Have On The Lives Of The Affected Individuals?
Why does it keep happening even after years of protests
Due to stereotypes and racism, people tend to look down on certain minorities.
Mental Health
Receiving racist comments and actions can cause severe stress and significantly
lower happiness levels
● This can lead to high blood pressure, weaker immune system, and bad eating habits
● Depression and other mental health problems.
● Stress can also lead to drug, smoking & alcohol addictions, used to temporarily get
rid of the stress
●

3rd BP-Conclusion (how we can go against his)

What can we do to stop racism and police brutality once and for all?
Acknowledge racism in all its forms
Use your privilege to dismantle systemic racism are way to begin this complex process
Examine stereotypes and call out racist “jokes” or statements
Educate younger generations by spreading awareness through social media, newspaper,etc
Educate your peers
Educate yourself
This process of unlearning also requires us to educate ourselves on race, anti black
racism and white supremacy.
Take collective Action (Change is brought by collaborative action)
Commit to anti Racism ( On an individual level people must commit to being anti racist for
racism to end)

STATS: What Impacts Does Racism Have On The Lives Of The Affected
Individuals?:
 - 25% of discrimination complaints received by the Canadian Human Rights
Commission in 2016 relate to race, colour, national or ethnic origin, and/or religion
in Canada.
- 43% of hate crimes in 2017 were motivated by hatred of a race or ethnicity in
Canada.
- 16% of hate crimes in 2017 were specifically against Black populations.
- Racialized Canadians earn an average of 81 cents to the dollar compared to other
Canadians.
- Black males living in Toronto are 3 times more likely to be stopped and asked for
identification by police.
- Employers are about 40% more likely to interview a job applicant with an
English-sounding name despite identical education, skills and experience.

https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/federal-anti-racism-secretari
at/facts-figures.html

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/effects-of-racism

Quotes from Dear Martin we could use

There’s a lot of stuff Manny has that

Justyce doesn’t—two parents with six-figure salaries, a basement
apartment, a badass car, crazy confidence...

“That’s what it was like for me at the new school. Everybody saw me as black, even
with the light skin and green eyes. The black kids expected me to know all the cultural
references and slang, and the white kids expected me to ‘act’ black. It was a rude
awakening for me. When you spend your whole life being ‘accepted’ by white people,
it’s easy to ignore history and hard to face stuff that’s still problematic, you feel me?”
(pg. 79)