Effects of Globalization and Social and Racial Inequalities

 Ashley Martin, Verrazzano Class of 2020, Completed Major in Sociology/Anthropology with a Minor in Communications Journalism

 

For my capstone project, I focused on the ideology of racial democracy in Brazil and highlighted systems of racial inequality in the United States. At first, I was unsure about what to research but after learning about globalization and the changing economic, political, and cultural forces that affect nations, I was intrigued. 

 

Brazil had a plan devised to have their country exist like a utopia, with no racial inequality. Prior to the invasion of America, there was no worldview that separated civilization into distinct races. Racial ideologies later emerged to justify enslavement, colonialism, European expansion, and genocide. Today’s society has become so polarized, where the supremacy and privilege of one group over others is very prevalent, leaving others petrified, discouraged, and hopeless.

As a sociologist, it is my obligation to continue to understand what is causing so much tension within our country in regard to race and institutions that produce inequality for people of color, women, students, or the mentally ill.

In the future, I plan to continue to do research, educate, and inform individuals on different ways they can positively influence their communities. If more people work together to change the way institutions operate, in the future we could have free higher education, free healthcare, actual living wages, or prisons that focus on actual rehabilitation.