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Dylan Myers
Professor Turkman
English 102
11 April 2016
Racial Inequality: Representation in Pop Culture
Slavery, Segregation, and Freedom; these three words are only the beginning of racial
inequality in America. Throughout the history of American society, racial inequality has been a
huge problem. Most Americans don't think racial inequality is a major issue, or they do not think
it exists at all. How is racial inequality still prevalent in our society? How are people in todays
society trying to reach racial equality? Research has shown that racial inequality is a major issue
in American society because of the representation of race in our society; such discrimination,
selective representation, and especially stereotypical behavior.
All through the history of America, the presence of racial inequality has occurred. It all
began in early 1600s in colonial America with the introduction to slavery. After two hundred
years, the battle of African Americans was thought that it was over with the termination of
slavery. But after the ending of slavery began the introduction of segregation. Through this hard
battle of segregation some people have tried to fight racial inequality. Finally in 1963,
segregation had finally come to an end. When the occurrence of racial inequality was thought to

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finally end with the freedom of all races to come together. But then with the continuation of
individual racism, racial inequality has never subsided in Americas society. With the presence
of racial representation in todays society, racial inequality will never subside.
Discrimination is a huge tool for racial inequality. One example of discrimination
prevalent in Americans society is the use of economic status. The role of economic status in
racial inequality has been around ever since the termination of slaver in the 1800s. The total
consequence of all these direct and indirect, and active and passive methods of diverting income
and wealth interracially has been a massive unjust enrichment It is enjoyed by whites even to
the present. (America 42) White Americans have shown throughout history to not
acknowledging the presence of racial inequality or simply taking advantage of it. America goes
and explains how organizations such as the National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People (NAACP) needs to systematically try to achieve racial equality in the economic
(America 42). Throughout the history of Americas society, African Americans and other races

inferior to White Americans, have shown they make an average of 3,000 dollars less annually
at the same occupation as a White American.
Another example of discrimination is the role of education. In public schooling, the
stereotypical black student is the trouble maker that doesnt get the good grades. The average
African American student in school in America at the age of seventeen is only a little bit better
than the average white student at age 13 (Raphael 9). These statistic show that the discrimination

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of teacher can hinder a child from being successful in the future. But, these statistics are not all
the teachers fault. It was been known that the disposition of racial inequality can hinder a childs
performance in their educational career.
Then there is just general discrimination, which is all of the discrimination in the other
categories of life, such as heath/medical, housing, and social discrimination. The discrimination
of housing in America also contributes to the reoccurrence of segregation. The parts where
African Americans live (usually downtown area) is an area that has a habit of gang/gun violence.
The reason they have been segregated there is another result of economic discrimination.
Because of violence, the housing in those areas are usually lower, which mean affordable to the
low income residents in those parts of towns. According to Raphael, A 13 percent reduction in
segregation would eliminate about one-third of the black-white gap in schooling, employment,
earnings (Raphael 10).
Another representation of racial inequality, is the selective representation in social media.
This is mainly an occurrence in national or local news. Our news stations and any other news
station, picks on what they show, or what story they cover. News stations only usually broadcast
stories about African American only if they are the villain in the story. News stations use this

method because they think the story is more interesting, and will get the most viewers. It is not
just African Americans that they do it with, they also use selective representation with police
men. News broadcasting stations, usually only broadcast a story where a police man is the

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villain. This is why police men have bad representations, and why the stereotypical police
officer is a mean, white man, that is racist. Because of the use of selective representation,
stereotypes of African Americans, especially African American men, are fed and/or ensured.
But with that harsh use of social media to feed or enhance racial inequality, social media
can also show the real behavior or the true story. The use of social media has also been a
messenger around the world, about campaign to end racial inequality. For example, the use of
social media helped to create the Black Lives Matter Movement. The Black Lives Matter
Movement started after the death of Trayvon Martin, and became a message to Americans and
the World that racial inequality/discrimination is a problem in everyday society and became
some sort of anthem for todays youth (Huckabee). But the Black Lives Matter Movement went
on to have a rebuttal from the White Americans saying All Lives Matter. Americans thought
that with the use of Black Lives Matter was to oppress all and any other races other than
African Americans, that why they created the saying All Lives Matter. But in Huckabees
article The Problem with Saying All Lives Matter argues that with saying All Lives Matter
you are distracting from the real problems with racial inequality and discrimination against
African Americans (Huckabee). He goes further with his argument with the use of analogies, one
analogy he uses is about a house robbery, he concludes his analogy with the statement, There is
a difference between something being true and something being relevant. (Huckabee).

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The battle between Black Lives Matters, and All Lives Matter gains more and more
tension the longer time goes on. Now with the Presidential election and different presidential
candidate taking different sides of the matter, the tension has grown to a new high. At one
Presidential debate, both All Lives Mater and Black Lives Matter protesters were in the
same building arguing. Then chaos broke out and a group of All Lives Matter protesters
ganged up on a Black Lives Matter protester. The article All Lives Matter was always racist
explains the situation about how the All Lives Matter protesters ganged the other protester just
because of his different opinion, and wanting the Black Lives Matter protester to leave. Bry
then quotes President Barak Obama on his opinion on the Black Lives Matter Movement in a
Presidential Conference; I think the reason that the organizers used the phrase black lives
matter was not because they were suggesting nobody elses lives matter. What they were
suggesting was, there is a specific problem that is happening in the African American community
thats not happening in other communities. And that is a legitimate issue that weve got to
address. (qtd. Obama). Bry goes further and explains that people with the perspective of All
Lives Matter are people that are under the impression of all men are created equal, while
people with the perspective of Black Lives Matter are trying to tell people that the African
American community needs help and to be protected/treated fairly (Bry).
African Americans everywhere in our society try to get their voice heard through all sorts
of media. But what helps is that even African American celebrities are behind the movement.

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Some examples of celebrities supporting racial equality is, Kevin Hart, John Legend, Pharrell
Williams, and even Queens B herself, Beyonc. Beyonc even went further with the movement
in creating a single to represent racial inequality. Her single is called Formation, and it shows
representations of African American lifestyle. She goes and sings about African American
lifestyle, and tells how she worked for her success with the lyrics I see it, I want it, I stunt,
yellow-bone it, I dream it, I work hard, I grind 'til I own it, I twirl on them haters, albino
alligators (Beyonc). She also uses visual representation of racial inequality in her video;
toward the end of her video is a little African American boy in front of a police SWAT team
holding his hands up, and behind him the wall says PLEASE DONT SHOOT. This represents
the racial inequality battle that African Americans have to fight each day. According to the
Justice Department system, statistics show that African Americans are 12.8% more likely to get
pulled over than the 6.3% with Caucasians (Gau, 761). This is a monumental difference that an
average African American has to face in each days car ride.
Many different scholarly authors think there are many different ways to achieve racial
equality. But the all have one in common; Discrimination needs to come to an end. They all
think once discrimination as a whole comes to an end, the different races will be equal in the part
that they all deserve the same treatment. Such as economic wages for the same set of skills, and
education discrimination. One author discusses about the equality of a religion can help find a
solution to racial inequality. Marylee Taylor, the author of Race, Religion, and Beliefs about
Racial Inequality, discusses at the end of her article that the uniting of a religion can unite races

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as well. She states, Distinctions among black religious categories should not deflect attention
from the sizable overall gap between blacks and whites, whatever their religious preferences.

(Taylor 76). This belief that without the equality in one category of life, there cannot be equality
in another. With the uniting of a specific religion, Christianity for example, White Christians
cannot be equal with Black Christians if they are not equal anywhere else in the world; and vice
versa. But with the uniting of Christianity, whites and blacks can be equal. Taylor goes on to
explain what results you can see with racial inequality. Meeting the social justice goals of
religious institutions must, for example, entail organizing to promote universal health coverage
as well as volunteering at walk-in clinics. It must entail lobbying for more vigorous enforcement
of fair employment laws and a higher minimum wage as well as staffing soup kitchens. (Taylor
76). With the equality of jobs around the world, racial inequality can come to an end.
Research has shown that racial inequality is a major issue in American society because of
the representation of race in our society; such as discrimination, selective representation, and
especially stereotypical behavior. With the prevalent use of discrimination in todays society,
racial equality is at its highest. This point in our history as a society, we all need to work
together, to finally achieve racial equality in our lives as a whole. As Tyler Huckabee stated in his
article, There is a difference between something being true and something being relevant.

(Huckabee).

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Work Cited
America, Richard F. "Racial Inequality, Economic Dysfunction, and Reparations." Challenge
38.6 (1995): 40-45. Web. 3 Apr. 2016.

Bry, Dave. "'All Lives Matter' Is and Always Was Racist the Weekend's Campaign Rally
Proved It | Dave Bry." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 23 Nov. 2015. Web. 11 Apr.
2016.

Beyonc. "Formation (Explicit)." YouTube. YouTube, 06 Feb. 2016. Web. 11 Apr. 2016.

Gau, J. M. "Consent Searches as a Threat to Procedural Justice and Police Legitimacy: An

Analysis of Consent Requests During Traffic Stops." Criminal Justice Policy Review 24.6
(2012): 759-77. Web. 11 Apr. 2016.

Huckabee, Tyler. "The Problem with Saying 'All Lives Matter'" RELEVANT Magazine.
RELEVANT Media Group, 2015. Web. 03 Apr. 2016.

Raphael, Steven. "The Anatomy of Racial Inequality 1." Journal of Economic Literature 40.4
(2002): 1202-214. Web. 3 Apr. 2016.

Taylor, M. C., and S. M. Merino. "Race, Religion, and Beliefs about Racial Inequality." The
ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 634.1 (2011): 60-77. Web. 11
Apr. 2016.

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