RACIAL INEQUALITYTHE SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACT OF INEQUALITY

WHAT IS RACISM?

• RACISM - A BELIEF THAT CERTAIN GROUPS OF PEOPLE ARE INNATELY INFERIOR TO OTHER GROUPS OF PEOPLE BASED ON THEIR RACIAL CLASSIFICATION.

• PREJUDICE – AN ATTITUDE OR JUDGMENT, USUALLY NEGATIVE, ABOUT AN ENTIRE CATEGORY OF PEOPLE BASED ON THEIR GROUP MEMBERSHIP.

• DISCRIMINATION – DIFFERENTIAL TREATMENT OF PEOPLE BASED ON THEIR GROUP MEMBERSHIP.

RACE AND ECONOMICS

IF YOU LIVE IN TORONTO AND YOU'RE NOT WHITE, YOU STAND A GREATER CHANCE OF LIVING IN POVERTY.

(CENTER FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE, N.D.)

• Racialized Canadians earn an average of $30,385 per year compared to $37,332 for other Canadians, or 81 cents to the dollar. 

• In 2000, after a decade of remarkable economic prosperity, the poverty rate among African Americans and Latinos taken together was still 2.6 times greater than that for white Americans.

• Recent numbers for Toronto, illustrate that both unemployment and poverty rates are three times higher for racialized populations than for White groups

• Lower pay rates lead to higher rates of poverty among minorities, less access to health care and social services and an increase in crime.

RACE AND CRIME

• BLACK MALES LIVING IN TORONTO ARE THREE TIMES MORE LIKELY TO BE CARDED BY POLICE, NO MATTER WHERE THEY LIVE; POLICE STOP RESIDENTS MORE FREQUENTLY IN NEIGHBORHOODS THAT ARE LARGELY POPULATED BY PEOPLE OF COLOR. NOT ONLY ARE RACIALIZED PEOPLE CONSIDERED A GREATER CRIME THREAT, THEY ALSO FACE GREATER SURVEILLANCE.

• THE RECENT SHOOTING OF A BLACK TEEN BY WHITE POLICE IN FERGUSON, MISSOURI, AND THE SUBSEQUENT MASS PROTESTS, PROVIDED RICH SUBJECT MATTER FOR CANADIAN MEDIA AND OFFICE WATER COOLER DEBATE ABOUT RACIAL PROBLEMS IN THE U.S. YET, WE SAW LITTLE MENTION OF THE RELATED ISSUES OF RACISM AND DISCRIMINATION IN CANADA.

• AN INVESTIGATION BY THE STAR SHOWS THAT RACE, AGE AND GENDER PLAY A BIG ROLE IN WHO GETS STOPPED BY THE TORONTO POLICE (RANKIN, 2010).

SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY• THE CONFLICT THEORY PERSPECTIVE EMPHASIZES THE ROLE OF ECONOMIC

COMPETITION IN CREATING AND MAINTAINING RACIAL GROUP TENSIONS.

• THE CHINESE ‘HEAD TAX’ IS AN EXAMPLE OF HOW THE MAJORITY SOMETIMES SEES THE MINORITY AS AN ECONOMIC THREAT.

• CONFLICT THEORISTS BELIEVE THAT CAPITALIST PROFIT BY MAINTAINING SURPLUS LABOR FORCES IN ORDER TO KEEP WAGES LOW BY HAVING A CONSTANT FLOW OF AVAILABLE WORKERS.

• THIS PERSPECTIVE BELIEVES THAT THE WEALTHY FOSTER NEGATIVE ATTITUDES TOWARD MINORITIES TO MAINTAIN RACIAL TENSIONS, THEREFORE PREVENTING WORKERS FROM BANDING TOGETHER AND FIGHTING THE SYSTEM AT THE COMPANY’S EXPENSE, AND USING THIS TENSION TO DISTRACT FROM THEIR OWN GREED AND EXPLOITATION OF WORKERS.

• CONFLICT THEORY IS BUILT UPON THE IDEA THAT CONFLICT IS WHAT MAKES THE WORLD GO ROUND AND IS A REQUIRED PART OF A FUNCTIONING SOCIETY.

BEING BLACK IN CANADIAN CULTURE

HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=I0LF_F1P3GM

THE SOCIAL SOLUTION

• A SOLUTION TO RACISM IS A GOAL FOR THE VERY DISTANT FUTURE. ALTHOUGH TOLERANCE AND ACCEPTANCE HAS IMPROVED OVER THE YEARS THERE IS STILL NO END IN SIGHT.

• THE ONLY SOLUTION TO THE SOCIAL ISSUES THAT SURROUND RACIAL INEQUALITY IS AWARENESS. A THIRD OF CANADIANS (32 PER CENT) BELIEVE THAT RACISM IS A SIGNIFICANT PROBLEM IN CANADA, WHERE 55 PER CENT ARE SATISFIED THAT WE HAVE OVERCOME IT.

• GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS TO REGULATE EMPLOYMENT INCOME ARE NEEDED AND BETTER ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE, SOCIAL PROGRAMS AND EDUCATION ARE THE FIRST STEP IN SOLVING THIS WIDESPREAD ISSUE.

REFERENCES

RANKIN, J. (2010). RACE MATTERS: BLACKS DOCUMENTED BY POLICE AT HIGH RATE. THE STAR. RETRIEVED FROM: HTTP://WWW.THESTAR.COM/NEWS/CRIME/RACEANDCRIME/2010/02/06/RACE_MATTERS_BLACKS_DOCUMENTED_BY_POLICE_AT_HIGH_RATE.HTML

CENTER FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE. (N.D.) RACIAL INEQUALITY. RETRIEVED FROM: HTTP://WWW.SOCIALJUSTICE.ORG/INDEX.PHP?PAGE=RACE-INEQUALITY

MOONEY, HOLMES, KNOX & SCHACT. (2013). UNDERSTANDING SOCIAL PROBLEMS. NELSON EDUCATION LTD: TORONTO, ON.