A Genealogy Of Modern Racism Analysis

There exists in our community a monster, a monster as old as mankind itself. This monster is known by many names; some call it racism, others discrimination but the only thing certain about this monstrosity is that it can be overcome if we all unite to fight against it. Racism is “a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race” (Merriam Webster). Racism has multiple causes ranging from living in a secluded community, to the basic instincts of mankind which likes exemplify the differences found in others not like themselves. Racism can destroy the foundations on which a community is laid upon and can intrude upon the peace and sanction of many of its members. By informing members of the community on the reasons why racism continues to persist, encouraging acceptance and providing further education on how to relieve racial tensions, we can resolve the issue of racism once and for all.

Racism is a socially constructed concept used by multiple groups of people and creates a hierarchy of sorts based purely on the color of a person’s skin or their cultural origins. It has been an idea that has existed since the beginnings of civilization. A more modern iteration of this concept was made prominent in the 16th century as European settlers began to explore different areas of the world, specifically areas in or around Africa. But slavery can be seen back in the 1500s all the way to 1880 and was most likely a leading example of what helped define racism up to the 20th century. In Ali Rattansi’s book, “Racism: A Very Short Introduction” , the author connects how slavery and race are closely tied together. European explorers would ignore the cultures the invaded in order to see these people as nothing more than native groups that were meant to be seen in a subservient role. Slavery would continue to grow across the Atlantic and seen as an institution that created large amounts of wealth for those who could reap the benefits from it. As long as money was being made, slavery persisted and was justified. Race and racism was conceived the way it was because the slave owning system was controlled by European colonizers.

Power is having the capability or qualification to do something or control something. The idea of power is often analyzed in the Truman Show and Animal farm. In the Truman Show, Peter Weir suggests that power can be bad and that people shouldn’t have power

The most important theme in this book was the trials and tribulations of racism because it was woven in every part of the plot, it contributed to the conflict and resolutions, and gave the story a connection to current events, helping the reader’s comprehension.

While coming up with a topic for this paper, one of my questions dealt with war and cultural groups. I will be the first to admit, Racism was the last thing on my mind. The original question being, “How does war affect a Social Culture and how does it stand today?” When I started thinking about Cultures that had been so deeply affected by war, one of the first that came to mind were the Japanese in World War II. Then I recalled what one person had told me of their younger days at college, when they were attending school. Their name will remain anonymous; I do not want to make the victim’s name public as it has a very personal nature.

If one were to drive down any random road in South Carolina today, they might spot a Confederate Flag hanging proudly from a building or a house or even a national monument. The ones who support the display of this flag say that it is more to do with cultural history than racism, however, the history that this flag represents is what motivated Dylann Roof to kill nine innocent people in a South Carolina church in 2015. In this day and age, how did something like the Charleston church shooting massacre occur? This essay will explain how racism, although not as common as it was in the past, still exists today and how this racism is connected to the story of Dylann Roof. Although certain racist laws, such as Jim

Racism goes a long way down the American history. It came as a result of slavery which began in 1619 when African slaves were brought to Jamestown, Virginia, which was an American colony in the North, to help in producing crops such as tobacco. Slavery was then a common practice in all American colonies through the 17th and 18th centuries, where African slaves helped in building the economic foundations of the now American nation. Slavery was then spread to the South in 1793, with the new invention of the cotton gin. About halfway through the 19th century, there was immense westward expansion in America, together with the spreading abolition movement in the North,

Racial discrimination has persisted in American societies from the oppressiveness of servitude to lawful seclusion. Digressing in severity, Americans are presently burdened with the modern manifestation of those years of racial intolerance and prejudice - a new definition of racism. While slavery and lawful segregation, such as Jim Crow Laws, are a thing of the past – by less than a century – racism is still an intrinsic societal problem that has subliminally permeated American culture. A 1947 study to determine the racial preference of “Negro” children exemplified the preference Caucasian and African American children, of all skin pigmentations, had for white baby dolls, which were inherently more beautiful and desirable (Clark and Clark p. 169-78). Variations of this study repeated as late as 2010, show little improvement of this perception that a white baby doll is more desirable and attractive than a colored baby doll (Cooper).

This essay will focus on the film Racism: a History. I picked the film over the other films offered, because it taught me many things about history of the Black Americans. It illustrates how race continues to justify economic misuse and injustices. It shows how people moved from their maternal land, bound in slavery, and killed. This happens when people view others as though they are not human beings.

We live in a society where categorization is introduced to us at an early age: when we go grocery shopping, we find fruits labeled at different prices based of their varying origins; when you are introduced to new people, you’ll run into that person who kicks off the conversation by asking what astrological symbol you are. A random question? Not really, as soon as you respond with a “Gemini” or Capricorn” then you are automatically pigeon-holed into that class of person. “Oh so you’re outgoing, passionate, and an intelligent person? We’d have great compatibility!” For all they know, you’re a polar opposite of that immediate categorization you’ve just been given based off a symbol, or word, or color. While categories don’t physically harm an individual, it has a detrimental impact on the progression of society as a whole. Categories such as race, class, and gender seemed to be placed into rankings, where becomes more dominant than the other. This opens the door for discrimination and inequalities to be utilized by those in a position of privilege.

Today’s society, the United States has an appealing mystery on how racism can progress without racists. The discrimination and exclusion appear to operate during the Post-Civil Rights period of Jim Crow. Inside the book, Racism without Racists: Colorblind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in the United States by Eduardo Bonilla-Silva’s, makes valuable arguments on the tremendous degree of racial inequality within the country that White Americans believe race is no longer important and justifies the apparent contradiction between their acknowledge color blindness with United States color-coded inequality. Color-blind Racism is a label as new formed of racism in American.

Power is having the amount of control a person has over one life as well as other. Power is everything to everyone. Everybody wants power. Power plays a major role in Harper Lee’s “To Kill A Mockingbird”. The setting takes place in Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930’s. There was a rape trial involving a black man, Tom Robinson and a white lady, Mayella Ewell. Because Mayella was white she was powerful enough to end Tom Robinsons life.

After living in a place like Bend Oregon for 18 years I haven’t ever noticed a difference between blacks and whites. Bend has been said to be “one of the whitest places to live”, yet I never viewed a city by its race. Being racist to me meant that it was the whites who had a problem with the blacks and whites didn’t want anything to do with blacks. I hadn’t actually seen racism in action from anyone here. Now, after watching the film Crash and reading the essays “Blinded by the White: Crime, Race and Denial at Columbine High” written by Tim Wise and “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” written by McIntosh, my understanding of race, diversity, and communications have changed.

Power can be defined in many ways. Most simply, it is the ability to get what you want.

As the 2008 presidential election proceeded to break racial barriers in America, many people have come to believe that racism in America no longer exists since we now have a Black president. However, This could not be anything further from the truth. When many people think of racism, they think of blunt discriminatory actions made against people of color. Thoughts of segregation and the Ku Klux Klan probably come to mind when people envision what racism may look like. Since many of this is now considered illegal or less evident in today’s society, many people may believe that racism is no longer a major issue. Racism in today’s society, however, is constructed differently. Robert M. Entman notes that American society has changed from “traditional to modern racism” (206). Modern racism is more complex within our political and social systems. So how does racism still exist you ask? Racism still exists in our society because minorities remain to be the largest group of people who are unemployed, disadvantaged in their ability to obtain a decent education, and misrepresented by the media.