How is race and gender represented in the world of education, and how has it changed since the 1490s Essay (Essay Sample)

Student’s Name
Instructor’s Name
Course
Date
LBS Essay 1
Racial and Gender representation are two key societal elements that have grown in the Educational world over the years. Since 1490 the representation of people of color and women in educational institutions has increased enormously. As stated in the book 'Incidents in the life of a slave woman.' Racists propagated discrimination against people of color and women through slavery. While in slavery, the discriminated gender and race were not able to access any education. Thanks to champions of human rights, activists abolished the slave trade. This hover does not mean that society has changed, and discrimination against the minorities died with it. In his article 'The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro', Fredrick Douglass focuses on a speech given at Rochester during the July fourth celebrations of 1852. This article shows how the United States people worked with harmony to fight for their independence from the British. He then goes ahead to ask why the unity has died down, giving rise to incidents of discrimination against people of color, famously known as Negro. He ends the article by explaining what July fourth means to a negro- it reminds them of a day associated with gross injustices and cruelty. The two authors' sentiments show that even if there has notable improvement in discrimination against different racial and gender groups, there is a lot to be done.
A significant factor that has fueled slavery and racial discrimination is hegemony. Domination can be described as the feeling of sovereignty which makes one people group dominate the other. This power can either be material or administrative. This power may lead to either the dominant group's certification or the development of slave figures. Certification is the process that generates a hero out of an ordinary person by praising both their strengths and weaknesses. Slave figure involves archiving images of the torture slaves went through. When a section of the society feels more sovereign than the other, they instill fear in their subordinates, making them imagine themselves as lesser people and their masters as heroes. These factors are widely evident in the history of slavery, as shown in the book 'Incidents in the life of a slave girl.' The masters instill fear in their subjects leading to them seeing their masters as heroes. The slave women were subjected to torture from their masters. These factors have contributed highly to racial discrimination in the education sector. The majority think that they are superior to the minorities hence feel like heroes.
Activists can use the book 'Incidents in the life of a Slave girl' to mirror the beginning of this menace in our society; the effects that an African-American woman went experienced in the slavery era. The book was authored by Harriet Jacobs and published by Thayer and Eldridge. This book contains true-life incidents drawn from the life of the author. The author uses her experiences to demonstrate how cruel the masters were to women slaves. In addition to more labor and torture, the author falls victim to sexual abuse from her masters, leading to pregnancy. These incidences reflect the struggles modern women face in their quest to work their way up in different social positions. Though men also were tortured as slaves, women were more tortured physically, socially, and emotionally. The author talks of a mother forced to leave her children for a week; this is emotional torture. It is sad to note that a modern Society section still views a woman as an abject of men's misuse. The education sector is one of the sectors that have struggled in giving equal representation to women. Some uncivilized communities around the world still refuse to educate the girl child. This discrimination has led to the underrepresentation of the female gender in education matters, and consequently, women being left behind in other Society fields. For society to change its views towards women, it is high time that the community accepts to treat both women and men equally, especially in matters regarding education.
Chapter Eight of the book 'Cultural theory and popular culture.' Written by John Storey and published by Pearson Longman, it tackles racism's ideology and the emergence and gives solutions to eradicate racism. The author starts by explaining that biologically all humans belong to the same race. This argument does not mean that humans are not of different skin colors; instead, their skin color is insignificant during meaningful discussions. It, therefore, means that race is both socially and politically constructed concerning the setting of the society. It also means that racism is not fueled by skin color instead by the fear of your neighbor's uniqueness. Though the ideology of racism was developed way back in time, especially during the ages of slavery, the author believes that the nineteenth century was the climax of it all when the superior whites and the inferior others become even more divided. The number of racist cases in the American education system continues to increase day after the other. Students of color are denied chances in some of the prestigious universities. When accepted in those institutions, students from the White community make them feel as if they do not belong there. This action, in return, may affect the students' reception towards education, as they are mentally disturbed. To end racism, society needs to learn about the differences that make each group unique and learn how to