Carol Anderson White Rage Analysis

As a black woman I envisioned a new America in the 1990’s, anger may have been a vital political tool. I was provided new perspectives, new understandings of oppressive conditions that had previously remained unquestioned. I was introduced to my anger through relationships, through individual and collective political consciousness; because the angry black women had been theorized. Attention seemed to have been drawn to the anger of black women; it exposed knowledge that had been buried and speech that had been silenced. Anger was a link to previous suppressed histories, and a revolutionary coalition. I couldn't believe—still can't—how angry I can become, from deep down and way back, it sometimes

In Chapter 4 of his book, which is aptly titled “Postwar Passions”, Daniels chooses to focus on the experiences of African-Americans in the post-WWI era, specifically focusing on race riots that occurred during the “Red Summer” of 1919. (104) There is a long-standing history of racial discord between whites and African-Americans, but the post-WWI years are a unique time. It has been more than fifty years since slavery has been abolished, but it will still take another forty plus years before discrimination on the basis of race is made illegal in America. Industrialization after the turn of the century and blatant racism in the South led to the migration of millions of African-Americans to northern

Lately in the media police brutality has been a very popular topic. Most of the instances reported in the media are of white police officers killing African Americans for seemingly nothing. These reports have strengthened the divide between both races. In “White Rage” by Carol Anderson the issue of police brutality is touched on within the first few words of her essay. Anderson talks about many acts of aggression at the hands of white men, and she seems to really focus on an unarmed African American male who was shot by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. “Black and Blue,” by Garnette Cadogan continues with the struggles of police brutality in America, but also touches on the abuse in his home country of Jamaica. Cadogan

In Black Like Me, John Griffin Howard aims to reveal to white american readers that black people living in southern America face injustices that are incomprehensible to white people and are often caused by them. He does this through striking diction, appealing to Pathos, and a disheartened tone. In Black Like Me, one way that Griffin communicates that black people face injustices that are incomprehensible to white people is through his clear diction. He recalls looking at a white woman and describes the way that she talked to him as that “she spat out”, asking him, “what are you looking at me like that for” (25).

The issue of race has been present in America's history since before slavery, and continues to be an issue in today’s society. The fight for equal rights between African Americans and white Americans is one that is dependent on the involvement of both parties. The two articles that I will be analyzing focus on the topic of white privilege in America and what it means. The everyday genre that I will be discussing is a Huffington Post article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson, and an excerpt from a book written by Francis E. Kendall Ph.D.

The author of the article discusses the hatred that revolves around the concept of equality in America. The author of the news article uses his knowledge of past events, such as slavery, and current issues. The audience of the article is those who don’t understand why the protests and riots in Charlottesville is an issue to many White Nationalist. The articles compare in the sense that they both discuss hatred that has been revolving on the issue, but they differ on what they speak of, as this article speaking of the president and his issues and the other speaks of the people. In conclusion, after many years of fighting against the hatred in society, there is still a lot to be done.

Race Becomes Tomorrow by Gerald M. Sider provides readers with anecdotes of the harsh realities faced by Blacks, Hispanics, and Native Americans in the United States, specifically in North Carolina. Using specific experiences throughout his lifetime, the author describes how race is socially constructed and lived. Sider proceeds to analyze both major historical and present occurrences of inequality. He then reveals new ideas about race and provides lessons on how we can fight for the rights and justice of the oppressed. This book is recommended to undergraduate students as it engages its readers, providing them with an ethnographic view on race and causing them to rethink their perspective towards the social construct.

The Fire This Time, by Jesmyn Ward, describes and explains the struggles that many African Americans face on a daily basis. In her introduction, Ward wants to address the ongoing racial injustices in the United States. Being an African American woman who grew up in the United States, she has dealt first hand with the “limiting, airtight closet” she describes as living in the American South. Jesmyn Ward gives the readers a glimpse of what the book, The Fire This Time, will be about. Touching on the interwoven past and present of African American lives, the many victims of racial injustice in the United States, and the image White people have of African Americans.

White privilege, ignorance, and blindness are not valid reasons for minimizing racial oppression or social injustice. The reach of white privilege is extensive yet rarely recognized by white individuals. Most individuals are not aware of their white privilege or the subtle "accommodations" that are afforded white individuals not shared by African Americans. White privilege affords those of white identity all-inclusive membership privileges that insulate them from the historical, institutionalized rules long-favoring whites at the expense of black oppression. This privileged lens further perpetuates blindness of not seeing the advantages given to those unaffected regardless of status, character, or merit. Stories of “historically invisible sufferers” as they stand in solidarity must be given the platform to give their accounts. An analysis of white privilege reveals blindness to the moral responsibility of the effects of racism: authenticating the need of further exploring white privilege, opening dialogue, increasing awareness, and facilitating change.

harassed by whites and separated by whites, with no way to defend yourself? In the nonfiction text The Port Chicago 50, the memoir brown girl dreaming, and the documentary Into Forgetfulness, whether it be during daily life or at their jobs, African Americans are discriminated against. Every single day of their lives they face mass oppression and mistreatment, for their voices are not heard. Therefore, The Port Chicago 50, brown girl dreaming, and Into Forgetfulness share a common theme due to how each character in the story is discriminated. This theme is the mistreatment and inequality of African Americans. In the twentieth century, in both books, African

The White Race and Its Heroes, by Eldridge Cleaver is extremely unapologetic and captivating. It appears that the movements of the past are similar to the ones sit-ins have been replaced with the Black Lives Matter movement. As of today White Heroes actively practice racialism without the disguise of a hood. Things like this article and the events behind it represent minority grievances a large part of conflict, which always seems to be a controversial matter. I found it interesting that Cleaver explained how many tried to de-escalate conflicts only to be disillusioned by their efforts. I feel that many minorities are still stuck in a subordinate mindset to cope with adversities without further issues or we hide our true feelings as a way to

Growing up in the United States, people are taught to voice their opinions and to stand for their beliefs. The right to voice one’s opinion, no matter how disagreeable, is supposedly one of the reasons Americans can be seen as free and uncensored compared to other nations. In schools, there are many books that are banned due to the content and the author’s intended message. Banned books do not mean the books are filled with vulgar words and messages, at least for the recent list of books banned. Surprisingly, the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling is the number one banned book around the world (ALA.org).

For Lorde (2007 [1984]), anger is a radical necessity for meaningful change, and is also a feeling that she connects deeply with (127). Racism is an entrenched problem, so it is understandable that reactions to it would be equally profound. Similarly, Ahmed (2004) explains that the response of anger to racism can create a sense of urgency in politics (as cited in Slocum, 2009, 20). Put another way, systemic inequalities cannot be resolved through passive means. Additionally, Lorde (2007 [1984]) maintains that when focused anger can be a salient tool of progress and change (127). The objective, then, is to harness anger and to work through it together so that it does not tear women apart from other women (Lorde, 2007 [1984], 129). In this sense, Lorde (2007 [1984]) does not shy away from using anger as a tool in her anti-racism work. Furthermore, the anger felt by people of Colour may be the necessary tool bringing about real

To compare how the two essays “Meaning of a Word” by Gloria Naylor and “White Guilt” by Shelby Steele, I will address what each essay says about stereotypes, anger and racism in three individual sections.

This feeling of rage is manifested from the experience of an overabundance of racism blacks face in their everyday lives. She defends the idea that rage, when correctly directed, can be a starting point for good. It can be a promoter for change. This essay is based on her experience aboard an airline with a close friend and the injustice treatment they receive based on the color of their skin. Her friend had been publicly attacked and accused of taking a first class seat that wasn’t assigned to her, although she was actually sitting in the correct seat. In her essay she states a compelling point, “…I feel that the vast majority of black folks who are subjected daily to forms of racial harassment have accepted this as one of the social conditions of our life in white supremacist patriarchy that we cannot change. This acceptance is a form of complicity.” (hooks, pg 10). She speaks on the complicity of blacks facing oppression and inequality. Killing rage is the creation of fierce anger blacks are felt after repeated instances of everyday racism. It is in this rage that healing can be fueled through love and strength. The incentive for a positive change can also be found through this powerful rage. bell hooks offers an intriguing response to this inequality, she believes that it is necessary to have rage to resist and not be complicit. She states that black activists that want progressive change need to