Multiculturalism, racialism and the dilemma of the African-American in the twenty-first century

The paper sets out to explore the nature and dynamics of multiculturalism- an ideology that has the potency of integrating and interconnecting the world by the promotion of cultural identity, diversity and equity. The paper argues that decades after the dismantling of the apparatus of legal segregation and subsequent erosion of many of the cultural supports of racial domination in America, racial discrimination has remained a norm and pervasive fact of life which has been demonstrated both in mundane social interactions and in the major institutional contexts. The paper further argues that the birth of multiculturalism in America has done little to circumvent the rising tide of racial inequality and stigma against the African-Americans. The effects of this are more subtle and deeply embedded in the symbolic and expressive life of the American society. A secondary method was used to collect data which included review of journal articles, books, electronically downloaded materials and critical reviews of official documents. Qualitative descriptive analysis was employed to analyze the data.