A topic on a social issue or policy’s impact on public health

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Racism
Social issues are described as challenges that have an adverse impact on people in a community. Across the globe, there are numerous social matters such as access to education, religious beliefs, substance abuse and inequality. Inequality is a general factor that influences many societies because it creates a notion that certain individuals are better than others. The United States Constitution advocates for equality across all areas but there are areas the constitution has not managed to eliminate disparities. Economic inequality, the gender difference in leadership and racism stand out as the most common forms of prejudice in the US. Racism refers to the giving of privileged treatment to a certain race since it is alleged better than the others, therefore, making it a major challenge to the US. The Fourteenth Amendment does not advocate for racism since it is purposed with matters pertaining equality. All manners of discrimination are harmful to the society and should be addressed so as to attain a community that is homogeneous. The following paper will aim at addressing the impacts of discrimination.
The implications of racism
Discrimination by race has been a challenge facing the United States since the slave trade era. The US is a sovereign nation that promotes equality across, but it has not managed to address racism since slave trade was abolished. Some White Americans have a negative notion that they are better than people of color, but in reality, all Americans are equal despite skin color or race.

Racism has impacted the criminal justice system since there are stereotypes held against people of color. The law enforcement agencies of the United States tend to associate people of color with crime and further sentence them with prejudice. When it comes to contravening the law, all lawbreakers, despite color should be treated without discrimination. African Americans offenders are treated with brutality as compared to White lawbreakers. Therefore, racism has led to an increase in police brutality against African Americans since white law enforcers tend to associate them with a crime. The Constitution advocates for equality on how criminals are treated and therefore, law enforcement agencies should not treat some offenders as better than others due to differences in color (“Black Criminal Stereotypes and Racial Profiling” n.p.). In the recent past, there has been an increase in police brutality resulting in the deaths of several African Americans hence causing people to protest against such instances. Video footages have shown white officers killing unarmed black suspects. Police officers should treat all suspects without bias and should avoid all manners of discrimination by race as a means of upholding the US Constitution.
People of color have higher chances of getting arrested as compared to white offenders. As fate has it, Black individuals are further discriminated against when it comes to getting bail. Black offenders have higher chances of getting arrested by law enforcers but have low chances of getting bail. What stands out is the fact that Black criminals will stay for more days in custody than it is for the Whites. Discrimination when seeking bail should be halted to ensure that all offenders get equal bail opportunities. Therefore, denying Blacks bail on the grounds of race makes them stay for longer days in custody than criminals of other races will. Discrimination is a social vice that promotes prejudice in the criminal justice structures. If Blacks are denied bail, then they get incarcerated for extended periods than the whites. All offenders should be treated equally without looking at race or skin color when it comes to bail as a way of observing the fourteenth amendment that promotes equality.
Racism is not only limited to the handling of lawbreakers, but it is further seen on how sentences are conducted. The criminal justice system has failed to treat offenders with equality when it comes to punishments; white criminals are favored than their black counterparts. Offenders are sentenced with disparities since African American offenders will get harsh sentences than white offenders for the same crime. The United States advocates for freedom and equality, but that is not the case when it comes to the criminal justice system. African American criminals will tend to serve longer terms than white offenders despite having committed a crime of the same magnitude. Therefore, equality should be promoted to ensure that all offenders despite race are treated equally. Unfair sentences affect societies since there is a perception that offenders are dealt with by race, therefore, implying that the criminal justice structures do not play the role of giving a fair judgment. Therefore, societies will feel misrepresented since the criminal justice systems that are the advocate for equality in sentences are not just since they come up with bias decisions. Statistical data shows that about twenty-five percent of African American males are likely to go to prison despite the Blacks making approximately thirty-one percent of the people living in the United States. Research has indicated that black offenders are more likely to get death penalties than offenders of other races. Law enforcers should, therefore, cease to hand harsh sentences to Blacks but should rather make decisions lacking prejudice. Therefore, the criminal justice system should treat all offenders with equality despite race so as to ensure that prejudice centered on skin color is no longer a social issue.
There is prejudice when it comes to arrests pertaining drugs since blacks are more likely to be incarcerated than whites. Research has shown that both Blacks and whites abuse substances such as alcohol and marijuana at in almost similar quantities. However, when it comes to arrests based on substance abuse, Blacks have higher chances of getting arrested than the Whites due to the stereotypes held by African Americans. The FBI points out that African Americans constitute over twenty-five percent of the drug arrests and further have double chances of being put behind bars when compared to the whites. There is discrimination when it comes to making arrests surrounding drug use despite the fact that both Blacks and Whites abuse substance in almost equal proportions. Drug arrests affect Blacks since they are conducted discriminatively, and the law enforcement agencies should adopt new measures of arrests that promote parity despite race.
Racism has an adverse impact on employment opportunities since white people have higher chances of getting jobs than individuals of color. The United States stands tall as a sovereign nation that advocates for equality of all citizens despite race or skin color. People of color that manage to get jobs tend to be harassed because of the stereotype held against them. Further, people of color tend to do odd jobs hence indicating the existence of racist employees. The government should advocate for equality when it comes to the creation of employment, and it should strive to ensure that all people, despite color are given equal employment opportunities. It is evident that there are names that are race specific hence posing a threat to job seekers. Research has indicated that job applicants with African-American names are less likely to get called by potential employers than the white job searchers. Some people are unlucky when it comes to obtaining jobs but because of their origin despite having attained the job requirements. To evade discrimination, all job seekers should get equal employment opportunities without having to consider their race or skin color. Therefore, employment opportunities should be rooted on academic qualification and experience rather than race. Names that sound white have fifty percent more opportunities of landing jobs than those that sound Black. Further, there are more people of color than whites that are doing odd jobs hence implying that racism is a factor for seekers. Racism impacts societies negatively since there is prejudice when it comes to employment opportunities. All individuals in the community should get equal job chances so as to pave the way for economic development. Giving some individuals preferential treatment by color contributes to the creation of disparities in income distribution. Those individuals that are favored when seeking employment have better chances of advancing financially than those that are discriminated against by potential employers. Discrimination against the Blacks seeking employment explains why the whites control most of the wealth of the United States. Disparities associated with job opportunities explain why some societies are filled with social vices such as violence and prostitution. Therefore, discrimination by race should be abolished to ensure that all Americans have equal employment opportunities and that social vices do not emerge from societies that face prejudice.
All individuals need access to healthcare without any form of discrimination so as to promote their physical and psychological wellbeing. It is expected that patients should be accorded equal attention when in need of medical attention, but this is not the situation. Research has indicated that certain people are given special care because of their race at the expense of other patients. Health workers should treat patients equally without preference, but this does not hold since the Blacks are discriminated against by personnel in health facilities. All people seeking medical attention should get equal treatment by the healthcare personnel without considering their race, age, and gender or skin color. The instance when patients should get preferential treatment is when medical personnel is addressing emergency cases. African Americans face a challenge when it comes to acquiring prescription medicine even if they are legible to obtain it as compared to the whites. Stereotypes exist regarding Blacks that cause them to be discriminated against when seeking medical care. Further, healthcare personnel will interpret patient symptoms depending on the stereotypes they hold hence causing disparities (“Racial/Ethnic Discrimination in Health Care: Impact on Perceived Quality of Care” n.p.). It is best if all patients are treated equally since no individual is better than the other by color or race. Additionally, the Constitution of the US advocates for equity across all sectors without holding prejudices based on age, color, gender or race. Research indicates that some races are not fairly represented in the healthcare profession since ninety percent of the nurses are white. A white dominated healthcare industry indicates that disparities are inevitable and they should be eliminated for the betterment of societies. It is believed that some people are naturally racist, but this is a negative perception that should be avoided to ensure equality is attained in the health sector.
Racial discrimination has taken control of most structures in the United States hence implying that people of color are less fortunate when it comes to accessing social amenities. All people need to be accorded equal academic opportunities but research carried out by state officials indicates that there is racial discrimination in the academic systems. Students attending public institutions in the United States are not treated with equality since favoritism is in the institutions. The academic performance of Black students is affected since they are subjected to prejudice. Research has shown that the most experienced teachers will attend to white students whereas the least experienced tutors deal with African American students. Prejudice in the education systems shows that white students are perceived to be better than black students hence the discrimination when teachers are assigned, students. Different students possess diverse capabilities, but this does not imply that race should separate students. Research has further indicated that more punishment is directed towards Black students than the white ones. Therefore, the severity of the penalty should not be based on race but rather on individual mistakes (“Race, Ethnicity, and Education Policy | Jennifer L. Hochschild” n.p.). Prejudice is further evident in how suspensions and expulsions in public learning institutions are conducted. Data collected by the United States government points indicates how African American students face three times chances of expulsion or suspension than white students. Discrimination in academic institutions is further evident by the population of black students in education institutions intended for the public. Sixteen out of one hundred public school students are of African American decent hence indicating that there is in inequality when admitting students. Therefore, the whites access better education than the blacks due to the prejudice held against them.
Conclusion
Discrimination is a social vice that corrupted numerous systems of the United States hence creating the need to address the issue so as to achieve equality. Naturally, white Americans are perceived to be racist in certain ways, but this does not imply that all white American promote racism. Individuals of African-American origin suffer the wrath of racists despite the constitution advocating for equality in the Fourteenth Amendment. The impacts of racism are profound and revolve around communities crippling activities and promoting enmity among characters. Racism has negatively influenced the criminal justice system that has played a profound role in promoting inequality rather than promoting fairness and equality without looking at race, gender or age. African Americans have higher chances of getting arrested and subsequently get harsh sentences than white offenders. Blacks tend to be incarcerated for extended periods as compared to white perpetrators because they are frequently denied bail. Further, employment opportunities are not fairly awarded since Blacks are less likely to be considered for vacancies because of the stereotypes held against them. Access to social amenities such as health facilities and education centers is also controlled by race thereby placing African Americans at a disadvantage. Discrimination is a social issue influencing many countries, and it should be addressed to promote unity among community members. Racism should be addressed in all institutions to ensure cohesiveness of the American society.

Works Cited
“Black Criminal Stereotypes and Racial Profiling.” Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, ccj.sagepub.com/content/23/3/276.short?rss=1&ssource=mfr.
“Race, Ethnicity, and Education Policy | Jennifer L. Hochschild.” Home | Scholars at Harvard, scholar.harvard.edu/jlhochschild/publications/race-ethnicity-and-education-policy.”Racial/Ethnic Discrimination in Health Care: Impact on Perceived Quality of Care.” PubMed Central (PMC), www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2855001/.