Racial Discrimination

Racial discrimination in the United States is discrimination on the basis of an individual's race, generally manifested in blacks not receiving jobs, housing, education, and so on, of the same caliber as whites. Due to the unique racial history of the United States, racial discrimination often refers to the relationship between blacks and whites. Other groups that have been subjected to discrimination historically include Native Americans, Jews, Hispanics, the Japanese, and Muslims. However, these categories are generally considered to be discriminated on the basis of national origin or religion rather than race and are discussed in other entries.

To understand racial discrimination in the United States, it must be put in its proper historical perspective. Racial discrimination has deep roots in American history. Being founded by immigrants and well known for embracing immigrants from all over the world, the United States has a unique relationship with blacks. Africans make up the only group in what was to become America that did not voluntarily immigrate here. Rather, they were captured in Africa by Europeans and brought to the colonies to be used as a means of cheap labor to supply the ever-growing need of the colonists forging a new country from uncharted (for Europeans) territory. The choice to enslave Africans and the results of that system form the basis for much of the racial discrimination against African Americans still present in the United States today.

The first Africans in an American colony, who arrived aboard a Dutch ship in 1619, were actually not intended as slaves for the colony. The Dutch ran low on provisions and offered several of their African cargo, bound elsewhere, in exchange for provisions. Afterward, Africans brought to America were not enslaved but, as was the case with many Europeans, were indentured servants for a fixed period of generally 7 years. For the Africans, this arrangement lasted for only about 40 years. As the need for cheap labor grew, more restrictions were put on the indentured servitude of Africans, until finally they were enslaved for life and totally owned by their purchaser. Throughout slavery, there were a small number of free blacks and blacks who did manage to achieve a measure of success in business, the arts, and commerce, regardless of their circumstances, often with the help of sympathetic whites, but the system was overwhelmingly one of black enslavement and subjugation.

As the need for cheap labor increased, growing numbers of Africans were imported. Slaves were also bred by owners as a cheap way to increase an owner's slaveholdings, particularly after importation of slaves was outlawed in the early 19th century. Eventually, in some places the slave population rivaled or outstripped the white population. As such, slave uprisings were a primary concern. Each slave could not be watched at all times, so means were needed to prevent the possibility of such an occurrence. Ultimately, the consensus was that the most efficient means of control was a combination of self-monitoring mechanisms to keep slaves in line coupled with strict enforcement of rules by owners.

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