Before we enter the topic of discrimination and explain the issues revolving around it and how it is detrimental to our health, we must first define discrimination. So, what is discrimination? Discrimination is defined as unjust or prejudicial treatment of another person or thing. One of many marginalized communities that experience a great amount of discrimination is African-Americans. More precisely I will be talking about African-American adolescents and how discrimination can corrupt their minds and hinder development in the long term.
This is the main issue. People fail to acknowledge the feeling of others, they’re insensitive. Discrimination has always been an issue, especially in American history. Our whole foundation has been built upon racism and discrimination. Discrimination dates back to when Christopher Colombus “discovered” America, then later evolved into slavery, into the Jim Crow, until present-day systemic racism and discrimination. This is a hereditary trait, it has been passed down from generation to generation. Therefore it sets a bad example for the upcoming generation, especially the adolescent people of color.
Why is this topic compelling? Discrimination is not a topic that may be too hard to handle. The majority of people of color have experienced discrimination. Most of these people will bottle up the event that has taken place however, I urge you, it is not something you can just set aside. However, failure to acknowledge the “racism will continue to undermine health equity for all children, adolescents, emerging adults, and their families.” (Trent M., Dooley D., Dougé J., 2019). We cannot turn a blind eye to this situation. Neglecting the situation at hand will get nothing done and it will not create change. That is why you must call it out and distinguish what is appropriate and what is not.
This is the same conversation I had with Mr. Ayeni. Mr. Ayeni told me about the situation that happened with him. Mr. Ayeni distinctly told me around two officers confronted him. He recorded the situation and the officers kept being hostile to him telling him “if he doesn’t do what they [the officers] say they will arrest him.” Femi told me that this was confusing to him because he did not understand why he was approached by the officers. Eventually, they figured out Femi was not the person they were looking for and left the area instantly. This was the third time Femi has spoke about the situation.
Who is the intended audience? This message is not limited to a certain group? Everyone is vulnerable to be discriminated against no matter their race, ethnicity, etc. Therefore it is important for all people that have been discriminated against or any school staff to know the importance of discrimination and how to be supportive of others and find support in others. So, what do we do now?
Expression. Expression` is a good way to have a sense of relief. Therefore, people that have been discriminated against should have the right to speak up and voice their opinion. We must “advocate for improvements in the quality of education in segregated urban, suburban, and rural communities designed to better optimize vocational attainment and educational milestones for all students.” (Trent M., Dooley D., Dougé J, 2019) Schools should uplift these adolescent people of color. The purpose is to build them in self-esteem. This would show “ethnic minority adolescents understand how being connected to school may have short-term implications on their mental health and long-term consequences for their educational attainment in adulthood.” (Yuk Ching Pang, 2015). Therefore, we must encourage schools to dedicate some of the time to acknowledge the children and allow them to share their feelings with their peers about current events or even events that have happened in their lives.
Annotated Bibliography
- Pager, D. and Shepherd H. (2008). The Sociology of Discrimination: Racial Discrimination in Employment, Housing, Credit, and Consumer Markets
. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2915460/
Authors Devah Pager and Hana Shepherd talk about the measurement of discrimination and how from the civil-rights era to the present day, you have to look closely to see that discrimination is not practiced widely, however it is practiced in secret. These authors review the various evidence that revolves around racial discrimination regarding employment, housing, credit, and consumer markets and they invite people to educate themselves and insert their own opinion about the topic.
- Pang, Y. (2015). The relationship between perceived discrimination, economic pressure, depressive symptoms, and educational attainment of ethnic minority emerging adults.
Retrieved from https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=5501&context=etd
Yuk Ching Pang expands on the idea of how perceived discrimination can affect a minority adolescent. Yuk Ching Pang revolves around the idea that school is the main factor regarding finding a solution. Therefore, the moderation of school in a minority adolescent’s well-being can decide if the adolescent can stay in the right frame of mind.
- Gibbons F., Simons R., Burt C. (2012). Racial Discrimination, Ethnic-Racial Socialization, and Crime: A Micro-sociological Model of Risk and Resilience.
Retrieved from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0003122412448648
Gibbons F., Simons R., Burt C. talks about how racial discrimination has a relationship with the amount of crime in an area. The authors state discrimination is directly impacted due to the race of the person, and how much crime is in that neighborhood.
- Williams M. (1996) Racism and children’s health: issues in development. Retrieved from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8882837/#affiliation-1 (referring only to the Abstract)
Morris Williams talks about how discrimination affects children psychologically. Williams state that discrimination can affect a child’s health and can hinder the ability of the child to grow psychologically.
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Trent M., Dooley D., Dougé J. (2019)The Impact of Racism on Child and Adolescent Health. Retrieved from https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/144/2/e20191765
This article tackles the issue of how racism and discrimination affect a child’s health, mentally. The author states we must distinguish the role racism places on an adolescent’s development and health issues. The author then states after we acknowledge the role, we can tackle the situation with precision and care.
