Racism in the United States of America Coursework

Racism in the United States of America - Coursework Example With one step forward to curb the vice, America has appeared to make another step behind in the matters concerning racial understanding (Wise, 2013). In the last century, the face of racism was largely whites against blacks, but today racism is multi-colored and has a multicultural face; it has expanded to include antagonism among people of different cultures. Americans made history by electing Barrack Obama as the President of the most powerful nation on the earth. Obama defied expectations in the campaigns by influencing the citizens with his call for hope and change. Since the country chose a black President, some quarters have suggested that racial barriers have been broken. They claim that the long-standing social chauvinism against blacks is a thing of the past since Americans chose a black person to govern them. Some events in the recent past indicate that America has a long way to go so as to have equity among all races (Wise, 2013). The number of people arrested and jailed in the last few decades has increased in America. A majority of the arrests has been associated with the fight against drugs. Although both the whites and blacks have been involved in the illegal activity, the blacks comprised the majority of the people who got arrested. A report by Human Rights Watch in 2008 indicated that although the blacks comprise 14% of the of drug abusers, 37% of the individuals arrested for the offense were black Americans. Consequently, blacks, who comprise 13% of the American population and about 15% of drug abusers, are 37% of the offenders put in custody because of drug crimes (Miah, 2010). Statistics indicate that the police check blacks and Latinos at a higher rate when compared to the whites. In the city of New York, 80% of the police stop involved blacks and Latinos.