A wise man, named Albert Einstein, once said, “Small is the number of people who see with their eyes and think with their minds” and he couldn’t have been any more correct. There is a very small group of people who actually think for themselves and are not swayed by the beliefs or judgments of other people; activists, such as Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, for example, deviated from the white dictators beliefs that one race was superior to the other—even though their entire lives they were treated and told that they were inferiors. This belief is more commonly known as prejudice.
There are many types of prejudices, including in the business and corporate world, but before they are presented, there must be a lucid understanding of the word itself. Prejudice is a biased assessment made about a specific person or group of people based on a common generalization. The purpose of expressing prejudice is to degrade the targeted audience, not by their own merit, but by a preconceived judgment (Allport 9). Although there are many forms of discrimination, there are 4 that have been major problems within the past century: racial, bigotry, sexuality, and elitism. However there are ways to try to help break the cycle of discrimination by supporting disadvantaged, marginalized women, LGBTQ, and businesses of color.
Elitism has been an issue in society for quite some time. Even in society today, there is an unspoken segregation between those who have money and those who do not. There is a glass ceiling for women, Blacks, Latinos, and minority employees and business owners. There is also a lack of access to capital for women and minority businesses.
The ones who are known to have money are treated and respected better than those who do not. In the 1950’s, as displayed in the famous play, The Crucible, names were a big deal during that time. Back then, the financial status of a person could be determined by the last name. For instance, a study was given to test the validity of the weight of a name by a scientist, S. L. Wax. He wrote two letters and sent them to various resorts and signed them with different last names—one signed “MR. Greenwood”; the other signed “Mr. Lockwood. To Mr. Lockwood, nearly all the resorts welcomed “him” as a valued guest, while nearly half of them did not bother to even respond to Mr. Greenwood’s inquiry (Allport 5). Although there are many laws that prohibit class and other types of discrimination, it does not eliminate or conceal the holes within the laws.
Sexual prejudices, such as gays, have been a huge issue in society and the business worls, as well. For years, the gay community has been trying to convince the higher authorities to legally allow same sex marriages, but there has not been much progress. In 2005, it was documented that a gay man was killed in Latin America every two days. In Brazil, there were 2,509 gays murdered between 1997 and 2007(“Homophobia, Prejudice & Attitudes to Gay Men and Lesbians.” 1). Sadly, this is society’s natural reaction when social norms are deviated.
Society alienates the “odd-ballers” and strips them of their natural rights as human beings. Society looks down and alienates people of color. “When you’re scared, especially of something you actually know nothing about, hatred is a natural reaction.” (“Homophobia, Prejudice & Attitudes to Gay Men and Lesbians.” 2). There are specific things that can, undoubtedly, trigger this prejudice—a few being religion, ignorance, and self-assurance. In Christianity, for instance, there is a strong belief that homosexuality is a sin and will be punishable at Judgment Day. A person that is devout in their belief would shun and disapprove the gay lifestyle in a way that will fuel their prejudice without even realizing it. Ignorance, also, has the same effect. Sometimes people judge by hearsay and common conceptions because they themselves do not have knowledge or experience upon the subject to make their own conclusion. Lastly, self-assurance is the third factor that plays a role in this type of discrimination. Sometimes people judge others who do not share the same beliefs or differentiate from themselves.
Bigotry is the second biggest prejudice issue that we have seen over and over again in society. The Holocaust is one of the biggest examples of bigotry in history. Bigotry is defined in the Miriam-Webster dictionary as “a person who is obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices; especially : one who regards or treats the members of a group (as a racial or ethnic group) with hatred and intolerance”. Adolf Hitler discriminated against all Jews and persons who did not fit his ideal image. Many Jews were stripped of their humanity and sent to gas chambers to die. This Nazi genocide went on for so long because many people ignored the fact that it was going on if it did not affect them, and they were scared. “Ignoring bigotry is tolerating it” (Ideology Bigotry 16). If prejudice continues to be ignored, as it was with Hitler, soon discrimination will rise again and take over.
The biggest prejudice that is the most problematic is racial discrimination. Less than 5% of corporate leaders are Black or people of color, and less than 10% are women (of any color). Looking back in time there has been many instances throughout the past few centuries that have allowed a worldwide legal segregation for particular races. In 1857, in the Dred Scott v. Sanford case, the US Supreme Court denied basic rights to blacks, which played a major role in the spark of the Civil War. Before the 1954, Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas case, schools were segregated—blacks and whites were not allowed to attend and be taught in the same schools. In the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycotts, blacks were arrested if they did not sit on the back of the bus. Although there were many people who boycotted and made minor changes in segregated areas, it wasn’t until Martin Luther King Jr’s (MLK) “I have a dream” speech that a movement was sparked.
In Martin Luther King’s speech, he spoke against all the racial inequalities that the whites dictated to society and the broken promises of the Emancipation Proclamation. He says,
Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. {…} But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination (“American Rhetoric: Martin Luther King, Jr. – I Have a Dream.” 1).
The purpose of the Emancipation Proclamation was to abolish slavery in the United States as a war measure. Although the war had ended and millions of slaves were freed, there were other states that did not agree with it and still blacks were treated and sold as property rather than as human beings. In pointing this out in his speech, MLK shed light upon the freedom that was promised to the prejudiced community a long time ago. Even today, decades after MLK both women and minority businesses lack Capital, resources to keep their businesses open, very few loan opportunities and other challenges.
The words of MLK were always listened to a respected by the black community, so as revenge on the white race, he could’ve been an activist who motivated the inferior race to take out all the whites and make them slaves, but he did not. He said, “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.’ {…} I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” (“American Rhetoric: Martin Luther King, Jr. – I Have a Dream.” 3). MLK did not want to continue the cycle of segregation and discrimination; he simply wanted equality for all humanity.
It is because of inspirational people like Martin Luther King that some believe prejudices can be eliminated entirely from society; but sadly that is not the case. Yes, MLK did have a positive influence on many people and he did make a difference, but what happened next? He died in order for equality to live—a martyr for a good cause. If society keeps rooting out all the positive influencers, there will always be discrimination.
“If we were to wake up some morning and find that everyone was the same race, creed and color, we would find some other causes for prejudice by noon” said an intelligent man named George Aiken and, like Einstein, he couldn’t be any more correct. Prejudice will always play a role in society because of people who refuse to look at the bigger picture. But you can help break the cycle by supporting and shopping at women, LGBTQ, and minority owned small businesses. Being mindful of where and how you spend your money can make a difference. Find a list of reasons to shop at women and minority owned companies.
Bibliography
Allport, Gordon Willard. The Nature of Prejudice. 25th ed. Basic, 1979. Google Books. Web. 03 Nov. 2011. <http://books.google.com/books?id=LE1BgKbISfMC>.
“Bigot – Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary.” Dictionary and Thesaurus – Merriam-Webster Online. Web. 03 Nov. 2011. <http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bigot>.
“Civil Rights: Timeline of Events – FindLaw.” Find Your Legal Rights, Legal Information, Law for Common Legal Issues including Lawyers for Legal Advice or Legal Help to Your Legal Issues. Web. 03 Nov. 2011. <http://public.findlaw.com/civil-rights/civil-rights-basics/civil-rights-timeline.html>.
Cothern, Julie A. “PREJUDICE AND RACISM: WHERE DOES IT COME FROM?” National Undergraduate Research Clearinghouse. Brian Cronk, 29 Apr. 2004. Web. 03 Nov. 2011. <http://clearinghouse.missouriwestern.edu/manuscripts/479.php>.
“Homophobia, Prejudice & Attitudes to Gay Men and Lesbians.” Http://www.avert.org. Web. <http://www.avert.org/homophobia.htm>.
“Human Rights Timeline.” Universal Declaration of Human Rights 50th Anniversary – UDHR50 – Main Menu Frames Version. Web. 03 Nov. 2011. <http://www.udhr.org/history/timeline.htm>.
“Ideological Bigotry: A Politically … – Eric Aka The Tygrrrr Express.” Google Books. Web. 03 Nov. 2011. <http://books.google.com/books?id=WVpgtmWCUCEC>.
King Jr, Martin Luther. “American Rhetoric: Martin Luther King, Jr. – I Have a Dream.” American Rhetoric: The Power of Oratory in the United States. Web. 03 Nov. 2011. <http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm>.
By Jon McNamara
