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In fig. 1 (Q4.2), respondents were asked if racial discrimination occurred in their community.
Of the options given,
84.21% of the respondents answered yes to this question (9 said definitely yes, and 7 said probably yes).
Only ONE respondent answered definitely not.
The data gathered from this question suggests that most students on campus do experience, or know of someone who has experienced racial discrimination in their community.
It is interesting to note, despite the small number of respondents, most still said that racial discrimination occurred in their community. It is reasonable to assume that, because our respondents were all students at the College of Coastal Georgia, when referring to racial discrimination in their community, they were referring to campus.
It is also possible the respondents witnessed racial discrimination in their community through social media. Social media is full of racial discrimination whether it is realized or not. Social media holds a lot of stereotypical assumptions about race and is used by dominant groups to gain or hold power.
In fig. 2 (Q4.3), respondents were asked if they had seen different forms of racial discrimination on social media.
The options given were:
- A racially based attack - Prejudice against someone based solely on race -
- A derogatory or disrespectful comment about someone's race -
- A joke about race - A meme making fun of a specific race - A racist post or comment thread -
At least 15 respondents said they had seen each example of discrimination given.
This graph shows that racial discrimination is abundant on social media.
It is played off as a joke and is not seen as a real issue. Thousands of people are on social media every day. They are influenced by what they see - especially the younger generations. When a highly impressionable audience is viewing jokes that devalue the severity of racial discrimination, they grow up thinking that it is okay to act that way.
Having derogatory and discriminatory posts played off as a joke or a meme downplays the seriousness of the situation. Racial discrimination is an issue that a lot of people face on a daily basis and it needs to be discussed with seriousness and maturity.
Making light of racial discrimination undermines the importance of it, not just on social media but in other aspects of society. Medical clinics have shown bias towards certain races and undermined their needs because of stereotypes and misconceptions of those races.
There is a misconstrued belief that African Americans have a higher pain tolerance than other races.
In some clinics, the staff actually believes it.
There have been some instances where African Americans have been prescribed a lower dosage of pain medication and other instances where they haven't been prescribed them at all. (Mende-Siedlecki 863).
In fig. 3 (Q4.4), respondents were asked multiple questions about
racial discrimination in the workplace.
The first question asked if they experienced racial microaggression.
2 said definitely yes - 2 said probably yes - 4 said might or might not - 4 said probably not - 7 said definitely not
The second question asked if they were held back from promotions due to race.
2 said definitely yes - 1 said probably yes - 2 said might or might not - 7 said probably not - 7 said definitely not
The third question asked if they felt racially discriminated against by their boss.
1 said definitely yes - 2 said probably yes - 5 said might or might not- 3 said probably not - 8 said definitely not
The fourth question asked if they felt racially discriminated against by coworkers.
1 said definitely yes - 3 said probably yes - 6 said might or might not - 1 said probably not - 8 said definitely not
The fifth and final question asked if they felt racially discriminated against by customers.
7 said definitely yes - 1 said probably yes - 2 said might or might not - 2 said probably not - 6 said definitely not
This data shows that racial discrimination - especially in the workplace - happens more
than most people realize, and must be considered.
Racial discrimination in the workplace can effect how someone lives their life. When people are racially discriminated against in the workplace it can cause depression and other disorders. This can impede their career mobility.
If someone can't work properly because of people around them, they can't provide for themselves or their families.
In fig. 4 and fig. 5 (Q4.5, Q4.6), respondents were asked about their experience or the experience of someone they know in regards to racial discrimination
on our college campus or in the classroom.
Question 4.5 asked if they or someone they know experienced racial bias from administration or professors.
6 said definitely yes - 4 said probably yes - 3 said might or might not - 1 said probably not - 5 said definitely not
From this data, we can discern that over 50% of our respondents have experienced or know someone who has experienced racial bias from either an administrator or professor.
This shocking data shows just how deep racial discrimination can go. School should be a safe place for students. More than half are saying that their professors and administrators are racially bias towards them. That does not seem to be the case.
Question 4.6 asked if they or someone they know felt threatened on campus because of their race.
3 said definitely yes - 5 said probably yes - 3 said might or might not - 4 said probably not - 4 said definitely not
We can take from this that approximately 42% of respondents either feel or know someone who feels threatened on our college campus.
This may be less than half, however any number of students feeling threatened on campus because of their race is a terrible thing. Some years ago, this result would not have offended or surprised anyone. But, today this result should be much lower - if not 0% - based on the strides we claim to have made regarding racial equality.
In our secondary research, we looked for racial discrimination in education. We found a lot of information on the topic. The data that we collected from our survey - specifically from these two questions - correlates with what we found in our background research.
In “From Bakke to Fisher: African American Students in U.S. Higher Education over Forty Years” by Walter R. Allen, Channel McLewis, Chantal Jones, and Daniel Harris, they explain that there has always been racial bias in the higher education system of America.
Through the Critical Race Theory (CRT) they “explain how race, racism, and power shape African American student trajectories in higher education” (Allen et. al. 42). They called this an anti-blackness framework that has been present in universities for generations. This could be why so many of our respondents experienced racial bias from professors, or felt threatened on campus.
In fig. 6, (Q4.11), respondents were asked what different racially discriminatory acts, if any, had they ever done.
Of respondents who claimed to have done one or more of these things,
- 1 harmed someone because of their race - 4 discriminated against someone because of their race -
- 9 made a racially stereotyped joke -
- 5 crossed the street because someone of a different race was on the same side of the street as they were -
We included this question, not to test the honesty of our respondents, but because we were truly curious if students at CCGA had ever done these things, or if they had done them unknowingly. We are aware that the second part of that is difficult to test for, as if the respondent is unaware that they are doing something, they will not believe that they have done it when asked about it.
We were impressed by the honesty of our respondents, however. To admit to racial discrimination in today's world is difficult. With such a stigma against it, some people could be scared, even anonymously, to admit to being racist.
Despite the honesty, it is concerning to see how many people have made racially stereotyped jokes. We were not surprised, as most of us have likely made a racially stereotyped joke ourselves. We do hope that in the future, this research, or something similar, will continue. And, the numbers that we found will decrease.
In fig. 7, (Q4.12), respondents were asked if they thought racial discrimination could be combatted.
They were given prewritten responses, and had to choose which they most agreed with.
- 1 answered "No, it will never change" - 7 answered "Yes, there are many ways to fight it" -
- 9 answered "There are many ways to fight it, but it will never be eliminated" -
- 1 answered "There are no ways to fight it, and we must accept it" -
From the responses we gathered from this question, we can discern that almost 90% of respondents believe that we can combat racial discrimination.
Even though 2 respondents answered negatively, the vast majority of respondents, believe that there are many ways to fight racial discrimination.
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