Race and Ethnicity Essay Example for Free

Race and Ethnicity EssayThe ongoing struggle to push the pelt glossary prejudice in the contemporary Ameri fuck society is portrayed in Michael capital of Mississippis song Black or White. Whereas the racism is defined as a superior fashion against other execute-frankincense making it inferior, the singer refers to this term as See, its not intimately hunts, plainly places, faces, where your communication channel comes from is where your space is. Michael capital of Mississippi, one of the most influential artists in the music industry, calls for equality in how peck mountain and be give way towards each other. The question, which this master thesis investigates, does it progeny if youre coloured or whiteness, is inducely answered by the singer It dont matter if youre raw or white. capital of Mississippi was trying to t gathere his society to act in a similar way and he calls for them to blistering their lives by Dr. Luthers dream . judged not by the color of t heir sputter, except by the content of their character. However, almost thirty geezerhood later, it still redemed only as a dream because he sang Im well-worn of this Devil, where the bad is macrocosm represented by the prejudice.At the akin time, he clearly states Im not gonna spend my life being a color this is where he makes his conclusion. This can entail that purge though he doesnt discriminate and would like to see color prejudice gone, he is still being discriminated against. While being the most prominent artist in the music industry, he still calls himself a color and he rebuts against it and wants to be seen for the soul he is and not the pigmentation of his skin.It is widely populate that Michael Jackson had military m whatsoever facial plastic surgeries and it is controversial whether or not he adapted his skin color by chemical peels or was it the disease called vitiligio that changed his face color to white. Therefore, it can be speculated that he modifi ed skin to appear white, which ultimately is his resource. It can be get ahead questioned since Michael Jackon cant win his struggle for racial equality, did he give up and go white just to end his cozy battle? Will all his suffering come to closure since now he serves white?Is this the real answer? It may be deemed as so since the skin color is the guide of ones position in the society where being white claims supremacy-control and power. It should be renowned that Michael Jackson is one of the superlative musicians of all times, having sold over 750 million records worldwide. He has accomplished so much in his life, hitherto still feels inferior and calls for racial equality in the world. His vision for a better world to live in, free of racism, ends on a sad note Its black, its white.To summarize, through decades, the blacks scram fought to be equal, as the American nation shall guarantee those rights, yet, the society is still divided into the superior, the whites, a nd inferior- the blacks (and other people of color). Blacks have always been portrayed as the dirty, the poor, the lesser-of-a benevolent type whereas the whites ar seen as the dominant, the good type. Again, Jackson does not agree with this stereotype in saying I aint second to none. Moreover, he claims that he will no longer be scared and mentions historical symbol of a KKK class I aint scared of your brother, I aint scared of no sheets. With his pass in 2009, many of his inner struggles come to the end, but will the next gene symmetryn start working(a) on being color-free as the king of pop envisioned? America has always struggled with racial issues, peculiarly those of black and white. Some them included racial segregation, education, workforce, banking and even seating on the bus. Black people endlessly tried to break thru into community, but were always pushed aside as dirty, poor and unwelcome. We, in young times, see the United States of America as a country that tr eats e realone equal.Americans should all be all equal, no matter what race, color, religion or any other characteristics they have. After all, we all remember year 2009, which is when Americans elected their scratch African American President. Question that comes to mind why first African American President, not just alone their 44th President? So the race and color of your skin does matter in modern times. My analyses of selected books, academic journals, films and music video will concentrate and argue if Americans indeed discriminate against race or if it is history and no longer exists in American life.First, I would like to take up into consideration the iconic Michael Jackson, one of the dandyest, perhaps the greatest singer and performer of the 21st century. Not only his songs deserve a closer look, but also his lifestyle ideas, fears and the public opinion. Black or White by Michael Jackson and Bill Bottrell is a one of the greatest singles in Michaels career. It was released on November 11, 1991. What inspired Michael to peculiarly select these two topics? Black or white as implied in the song, he sings about skin color.Songs starts in Africa, possibly showing Jacksons beginning he is black. In one of the scenes, Michael sings I aint scared of no sheets I aint scared of nobody season he is walking through fire images which is being compared to KKK and its torch ceremonies. Here, he is portraying his painful vision of KKK and its vision. Later, the performers sing Im not gonna spend my life being a color. What a great statement. Michael, throughout his whole life and his career, shows us his inner and constant fight for a non-racial America.Being black himself, he had struggled and finally came to the top, but still did not achieve the level of happiness which is no color in his country. Later, Jackson sings on Statue of Libertys torch, again possibly reminding us about the KKK, and at the same time the Statue symbolizes liberty, which for him will be color-free, no discrimination America. We shouldnt forget about Michaels actions in this video. In the original var., he is smashing the car, windows and the inn exploded. However, later he had to edit this version to minimize his violent behavior, however.He altered it by adding four racial graffiti meanings onto the windows that he was smashing. As I suggested earlier, Michael Jackson is portrayed as an angry black man who simply hates the discrimination against black people and shows his feelings by destroyed his surroundings, as he was being destroyed himself just for being of black color. In is interesting to observe, the Jackson, when asked to change his destructive aggressive music video, he indeed did change it, but didnt forget about this hostility towards discrimination. He had just portrayed it assortedly (graffiti).First message reads Hitler Lives, then Nigger Go Home, No More Wetbacks, and finally KKK Rules. It can be argued if Michael Jackson is si mply smashing windows with those painful ideas is destroying them to make a better world? Finally, the song comes from the album Dangerous. What did the author have in mind? Are all of those issues, painful experiences and the fight for non-colored America dangerous? It can be argued that yes. Jackson showed us the dangerous side of being black, where he was always forced to fight and that causes various sorts of trouble.In Black or White, Michael brilliantly portrayed two core problems people were facing day-by-day black or white. As we look at his lifestyle and constant metamorphoses, Michael Jackson had numerous surgeries that altered the color of his skin and make him white. It is very controversial as many sources quote that Jackson had a condition where one looses a pigment of his skin, called vitiligo. However, Michael Jackson public image is seen as a person who constantly tried to be white, therefore, sought surgeries to help him attain this goal.Michael Jackson shows us that it could have credibly been easier to make himself white and not struggle for color-free America, where everyone is equal, no matter of who there are or what they look like. It would also be important to analyze just about of the lyrics from Jacksons music video. He sings I had to tell them I aint second to none. It can be understood that he no longer is accepting the fact that black is second, which is worse, just because of the color. He continues And I told about equality he tells us he wants to be considered equal, despite his skin color.Next verse, he has really had enough of being pushed around because he is black I am tired of this devil, I am tired of this stuff, I am tired of this business. Finally, he talks about racism in See, its not about races, Just places, Faces, Where your blood, Comes from, Is where your space is, Ive seen the bright, Get duller, Im not going to spend, My life being a color. Here Michael Jackson compares himself to simply being a color . He is less than a human being only because he is not white. He is black. Again, he accents his refusal of living his life being black. He wants to be equal, equal to white. It should be also mention that throughout video, Michael Jackson is wearing black and white clothing (white shirt, black blazer, white accents on his right arm and nails, black shoes, white socks). He seems to be a person caught in a black-and-white world and struggles to change it, showing his pain. However, at the very end, he turns into a black panther. This transformation may symbolize him as a black man who will fight for his rights, yet, still remain black.In book The Color of Credit Mortgage Discrimination, look Methodology, and Fair-Lending Enforcement Stephen L. Ross and John Yinger present racial issues and argue the importance of skin color in banking. It should be noted that this book was published in 2002, year where we all think that American people are equal, peculiarly on racial hindquarter s. Therefore, why and how does the skin color come into play in banking? First, the American lenders take many factors into consideration when disbursing the mortgage.Such factors include many details such as the creditors power to repay the loan where the lender accesses the potential risk of losing the loan. There are many different lenders and they rack their information on statistics, demographics and make final decision based on the risk factors. Research showed that in the main blacks would seek loans, which are not favorable to all lenders. Therefore such bank does take race into consideration when reviewing for application for credit. It is also shown that blacks will most likely work with subprime lenders (44%) with comparison to whites (only 4%).Blacks primarily cannot use the prime mortgage market due to their poor qualifications, thus creating the black to white ratio of getting the mortgage with figures of 2. 28 denial for prime market and 1. 27 for subprime. At th e same time, contain research shows that blacks-even though have some qualifications as white would remain in the subprime market and thus be charged higher fees. Equal Credit Opportunity Act says It shall be unlawful for any creditor to discriminate against any applicant, with respect to any aspect of a credit transactionon the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex or marital status, or age (provided the applicant has the capacity to contract).(U. S. Code form of address 15, Chapter 41, Section 1691) This would mean that all people should be treated equally in banks, when doing business in banks, no discrimination in credit transaction. However, authors argue that the bank may take a different look at the person and who they are in business necessity can be proved. Therefore, even while it is regulated by law, certain discriminatory practices can and do exist.Later, it would be rather rough to prove that the lender discriminated based for example on race. All regu lations are not very clear and courts find it hard to find such a connection of discrimination. It is implied that blacks, with poorer ability to repay, living in trim down income communities, must face subprime, expensive mortgages to possibly make as much money as possible in the shortest time-so if the black borrower defaults on his payments, the lender wouldnt lose its investment.This is to compare with the white borrower who lives in the richer-type setting, is more likely to meet his payments, therefore, he is offered a prime mortgage rate, without the necessity to further secure the loan. It can be argued if blacks and whites are treated equally, despite many regulations. On one hand, the lender must draw together to all required regulations, but on the other hand, such institution can make necessary decisions to make that mortgage profitable thus, taking all factors into consideration in the application process.We can further analyze that race and color of skin does m atter when one is being evaluated for such an application. It is believed that whites pose a lower risk to a financial institution than blacks. This also means, as authors point out, that black are less likely to be approved for a higher-priced home than a white person, which causes the real the three estates agents to discriminate and not show the more expensive houses to blacks. Maybe they dont discriminate, they just know that lender is not likely to approve a black person in comparison to the same application of a white person?It is particularly important to note that authors point out that on average, black mortgage applications have higher loan-to value and debt-to-income ratios than do white applications. In closing, it should be noted that while many regulations exist, there is no proof that racial discrimination has gone away and some research suggests that blacks still have lower approval rate in comparison to the whites. It is said that race does play a key role when th e lender looks at your mortgage application.