Institutional Racism and the Effects on the US Military

INSTITUTIONAL RACISM AND THE EFFECTS ON THE US MILITARY
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Institutional Racism and the Effects on the US Military
Introduction
This paper prompts to analyze the use of institutional racism and its effects on the US military as well as its situation both historically and culturally. The paper provides a brief background of the accepted definitions of the element of institutional racism and draws upon three separate cases presented in this paper on institutional racism in a bid to show a variety of ways this vice affects the US military and those utilizing these services. On the other hand, the paper will disclose the manner in which institutional racism is both indexical and reflexive in the US military, with this revealing the fact that institutional racism is rooted deep in a socially accepted understanding of ethnicity and race that are likely to create misunderstandings in the society. Finally, the paper will suggest approaches that the US army would employ in embracing the diversity of different societies, individuals, and sexes in service.
Racism and its Effects in the US Military
According toAntecol& Cobb-Clark (2011), institutional racism encompasses philosophies of new racism in which the order of racism and power relations becomes more subtle and elusive due to their embedment in institutional practices and policies, rather than explicit expressions over biological judgments. In other words, institutional racism is a systematic set of procedures, patterns, practices, and policies that operate within institutions in a bid to consistently penalize, disadvantage or exploit individuals considered to be members of the non-white groups (Washburn& Skitka, 2015). The United States Army is limited in reflecting the true spirit of the American society as a result of racism. The military of the United States has over time discriminate against a variety of American citizens that are vehemently deemed unfit for military service.
The most prominent cases of those categories considered as unfit for service include the African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, homosexuals, and women who have severally been barred from service or allowed in small insignificant numbers or under special conditions. However, the need for the US army in accommodating a wider variety of different groups of individuals in the society in a bid to reflect the actual service of diversity in the society they serve remains essential (Balduset al 2011). The military additionally needs to take consideration of diversity as a positive element and a goal that should be achieved. Several communities have been immensely involved with the U.S military service in as much as their involvement have been yielded racism, with much of this vice expressed through the military institution. An examination of the history of institutional racism towards the African Americans in the armed forces cannot be separated from the overall history of this population in the military.
Historical Roots of Institutional Racism in the Military
From the colonial times, the predominantly Black and Hispanic societies participated in the military to prove to themselves, and more significantly, to the white institutions that the...