Physician,Heal Thyself

The Beijing-based China Society for Human Rights Studies released a report on July 26， analyzing the chronic and rampant racial discrimination in the United States and its failure to rectify it. The Deep-Rooted Racial Discrimination in the U.S. Highlights Its Hypocrisy on Human Rights shines a light on discrimination against minorities in employment， politics， the economy， culture and social life， and concludes that it shows the hypocrisy in the U.S.-style advocacy of human rights. This is an abridged version of the report：

According to the 2010 United States Census， the population of the United States was 308 million. Whites formed 72.4 percent of it， including 63.7 percent non-Hispanic whites， who are deemed to be the majority racial group in the U.S.； African Americans were 12.6 percent； Asians 4.8 percent； Native Americans 1.1 percent； other races， 6.2 percent； and mixed races， 2.9 percent.

The minorities numbered 112 million， including white Hispanics and Latino Americans. The European whites fundamentally control the state power and racial discrimination in the U.S. is in essence the discrimination of the European whites against all other racial minorities.

I. Forms of Racial Discrimination

The UN International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination requires all signatory states to prohibit and eliminate racial discrimination in all forms， and to guarantee everyone equality before the law， civil rights， political rights， and economic， social and cultural rights without distinction on the ground of race， color， or national or ethnic origin.

However， the U.S.， a signatory to the convention， has failed to meet the requirement. In the U.S.， racial discrimination is found in every aspect of peoples lives， particularly in law enforcement， the judiciary， the economy and society.

i. Discrimination in law enforcement and the judiciary

Equality before the law is a basic principle in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which was issued by the UN in 1948； it is also recognized in the U.S. political philosophy and legal system. In reality， however， many practices of U.S. law enforcement and the judiciary run counter to this principle， with racial discrimination worsening in certain areas and the basic human rights of racial minorities willfully violated.

One of the most visible of these is the frequent shooting and killing of African Americans by the police in acts of abuse of power. U.S. federal government statistics show that young African American males are 21 times more likely to be shot and killed by police than young white males. For African American males between 15 and 19， the chance of getting shot and killed by police is 31.17 per million， while for white males of the same age group it is 1.47 per million.

According to the Mapping Police Violence research groups website， in 2013， at least 301 African Americans were killed by the police. In recent years， the fi gure was the highest in 2015—351. Last year， it was 260.

African Americans are much more likely to be arrested than any other ethnic group. Statistics from 1，581 police stations showed that African Americans were three times more likely to be arrested than people from other ethnic groups. Data from at least 70 police stations showed that African Americans were 10 times more likely to be arrested than people from other ethnic groups.

The police favor white people in law enforcement. Data from police departments across the country showed that in areas which practice “zero tolerance” in streetlevel law enforcement， police mainly arrested African Americans from poor neighborhoods while turning a blind eye to similar acts in affl uent white neighborhoods.

Also， police use entrapment strategies against minority groups. Of all the anti-narcotic operations by the Bureau of Alcohol， Tobacco， Firearms and Explosives， 91 percent of the suspects detained using entrapment strategies were racial minorities. A report by the American Civil Liberties Union says that marijuana use is roughly equal among blacks and whites， yet blacks are four times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession.

ii. Discrimination in the economic sector

Racial discrimination places minorities at a disadvantaged position in employment， career development， earnings and general economic conditions. In the economic sector it tends to be implicit， but has a decisive impact on the life of minorities.

According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics （BLS） from past years， people of African and Latin American ancestry have a much higher unemployment rate than those of Caucasian ancestry， and the racial differences as manifested in the employment rate have not changed with the changing economic situation. African Americans have an unemployment rate twice as high as whites， and Latinos about 40 percent higher than whites.

Minorities face wage discrimination. According to BLS data from 2010 to 2018， African Americans had average wages about 30 percent lower than white peoples， and Latinos about 40 percent lower.

Racial minorities live in poverty and lack access to social welfare. According to a 2015 report by Cable News Network （CNN）， the income gap between various ethnicities had widened. The wealth possessed by whites was 12 times higher than that of African Americans and nearly 11 times higher than that of Latinos.