Martin Luther King once said that he looked forward to a day when people would not be “judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” . Although we as a society have made great progress since these words were first spoken, injustice persists among minority and majority groups in Western society. Visible minorities, including immigrants, are oppressed by society, leading to inequalities in employment opportunities, education and freedom. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay First and foremost, it stands to reason that everyone deserves to be paid an equal amount for an equal amount of work. However, this is not the case for minority groups in the United States of America. It is a country that is known for proudly proclaiming equal opportunities for all, but forces many minority groups into low-status, low-paying jobs. This leads to oppression because “immigrants therefore have worse jobs than natives but do not consider them as such. » Madeline Zavodny. To an outsider's eye, it would appear that the oppressed are simply too "lazy" or "unwilling" to embrace change and demand higher wages, but as a student of the teachings of Paulo Friere, it is very glaring that the oppressed in this case, the immigrant workers, do not even realize the extent of their oppression because they are dehumanized. This dehumanization leads them to fear their oppressors, the indigenous population, because they are constantly seen as inferior. They therefore accept being condemned to lower paid work and lower status. In fact, they are often grateful to their oppressors for giving them work despite the poor working conditions. This leads to them being exploited, which is a form of dehumanization and ultimately oppression. One study found that female immigrant workers are 24.4% likely to work more unusual hours than their American counterparts. This proves that they are so unfairly grateful for the opportunity to work that they would simply bend to the whims of their bosses for little or no additional compensation. Finally, native-born Americans struggle to overcome alienation. This is evident through their often unnecessarily damaging words and actions. An example of this prejudice comes from the current President of the United States, Donald Trump, who said of immigrants from Mexico that they are "people who have a lot of problems and they bring those problems with us." They bring drugs. They bring crime. They are rapists. And some, I suppose, are good people. Donald Trump. This bias ultimately only leads to increased dehumanization and a greater gap in employment opportunities, as they are not considered equal by society and therefore do not deserve the same employment opportunities. This problem concerns not only immigrant minorities, but also their native-born children. A research article found that “a number of areas in employment policies and practices have been identified as likely to disadvantage ethnic minority graduates”. This oppression also extends to minority groups in education, from elementary school children to adults trying to establish careers. Unfortunately, oppression and racism towards minorities begins very early. This is supported by findings from the US Department of Education which showthat students of color were almost three times more likely to be suspended than their white peers. This early discrimination only sets the stage for misguided rebellion against superiority figures in society such as teachers or even the police, as well as a sense of ostracism among their peers. In fact, sociologist David Ramey found that harsh disciplinary measures against young people, such as suspension or expulsion, meant that they were even more likely to get into trouble with the law as they grew up. This is essentially the “school-to-prison pipeline” that Henri Giroux often speaks of. The situation only gets worse when we consider adult immigrants who are unable to find employment in fields in which they are overqualified. A thesis on “The Non-Recognition or Devaluation of Credentials of Foreign Professional Immigrants in Canada” Emmanuel Dean Osaze (July 2017) examined a study conducted by Basran and Zong among 404 Indians and Chinese and found that only 18 % of them at the time of the study were practicing their own profession in Canada. While only 6% agreed that provincial governments had carried out fair recognition of their foreign credentials. This shows that society would be able to judge a person's worth and abilities based solely on their race and minority status. Not only does this injustice oppress minority groups, but it also affects their freedom to be able to pursue the jobs they want. Freedom and democracy are hallmarks of the Western dream. A society where everyone should, figuratively speaking, and within the limits of the law, be able to do what they want. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. As we have seen before, immigrants in Canada and the United States are oppressed to the point that they do not even have the freedom to work in the same discipline that they have studied all their lives. This ultimately affects their freedom in all aspects of life. First, they struggle to find jobs that can adequately support themselves or their families, often settling for odd jobs with poor hours and pay. Second, to compensate for their low wages, they often have to work many more hours than the average for their field of work. Ultimately, this results in less time and freedom to do what they want and have the right to do. Freedom is also denied to many native-born minorities of color. African Americans are very often victims of racial profiling, aggressive stops and searches, and police brutality. This takes away their right to freedom, because they cannot do even the slightest thing without constantly feeling judged or prejudiced by the police. Additionally, African Americans often have their freedom literally taken away. This happens when they are wrongly convicted of crimes they did not commit, which is 7 times more likely to happen to them than to their white peers. Therefore, due to oppression, most visible minorities do not even enjoy the same freedoms that most native-born white Americans and Canadians think they are entitled to. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our expert writers now. .Get a Custom EssayIn conclusion, visible minorities face a much more difficult time in Western societies due to circumstances beyond their control. They are often oppressed because of their culture, place of origin and.12087.