Color Homelessness Chapter 1 Summary

A socially stratified reality is constructed by the belief that inferiority or superiority is based on an individual’s class, race, and/or gender. In Tim Wise’s film White Like Me, he discusses the widely held preconception that most welfare recipients are undeserving black people. In actuality, most welfare recipients are white, but the media creates this unfair depiction. Far too many black faces are shown in news coverage of poverty that correspond to the actual proportion of poor blacks in the U.S. This kind of interaction and experience strengthen the belief system that black people are inferior to white people, justifying the negativity and prejudice welfare recipients and blacks receive.

The black race has faced many hardships throughout American history. The harsh treatment is apparent through the brutal slavery era, the Civil Rights movement, or even now where sparks of racial separation emerge in urbanized areas of Baltimore, Chicago, and Detroit. Black Americans must do something to defend their right as an equal American. “I Am Not Your Negro” argues that the black race will not thrive unless society stands up against the conventional racism that still appears in modern America. “The Other Wes Moore” argues an inspiring message that proves success is a product of one’s choices instead of one’s environment or expectations.

W.E.B. Du Bois, a prominent African American scholar in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, wrote many significant essays that challenged the dangerous societal view that black Americans weren’t capable of progress. In one of those essays, Strivings of the Negro People, he develops new terminology to discuss the many forces that act upon black Americans in a white dominated society, the most important of which is double-consciousness. The phrase, “double-consciousness”, refers to the division of the African American self into conflicting two facets: one being the American and the other the Negro, ever being forced to look at themselves through the eyes of a racist society.

When I survey the landscape in black America, it does not take long for me to recognize the massive impression of a vehement struggle of a collective group of people to simply keep their head above water. The problem in the black community is that it is where every ill of this nation is felt first. It is the place in which much of the economic devastation is felt and absorbed in order to relieve some of the pressure off of this nation’s more affluent citizens.

In Peggy McIntosh’s article, “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack,” McIntosh embarked to uncover the countless advantages whites tend to have over those of color. By doing so, she validated her credibility to the reader by listing her findings along with research and evidence to supplement her claim. After reflecting on the privileges she found, McIntosh stated, “…whiteness protected me from many kinds of hostility, distress, and violence, which I was being subtly trained to visit in turn upon people of color” (McIntosh, 3). This makes it obvious to the reader that McIntosh’s findings are unjust and should be changed. Unfortunately, most white individuals are currently doing nothing to modify these unfair privileges. McIntosh concludes the article by posing

“The soul was the body that fed the tobacco, and the spirit was the blood that watered the cotton, and these created the first fruits of the American garden” (Coates 104). In Between the World and Me,” and within this quote alone, Ta-Nehisi Coates argued not only the importance of black identity, but also how and why black identity was so deceivingly shaped in response to the dark history behind it. Through Coates’ recollections and fair warnings to his son, the relationship between black identity and “The Dream” becomes clearer. In spite of the “white supremacist” trademark that comes stamped upon “The Dream,” Coates provides impermeable evidence as to why black identity is not only more invested in history than white identity, but more importantly why it is the investment to be made in “The American Dream.”

When white Americans choose to self-educate about systemic racism they can become allies in the fight to dismantle racist structures in our society. Systemic racism is a theory that “takes a look at how individual, structural, and institutional forms of racism intersect, overlap, and create a deep-rooted form of prejudice and discrimination that advantages a cultural group at the expense of others in all institutions of a society - economics, political representation, the criminal justice system, employment, and many others.” (Luther College 2015). This includes discrimination affecting credit, schooling, justice, residential location, etc. It can be eradicated in the next century, but not without white people acknowledging that it is a real issue that cost lives. It is not the duty of the oppressed to make a liberty sales pitch to their oppressors. However, it is the responsibility of those benefiting from the oppression of others to become educated, listen, and use their privilege to combat injustice. Asian, Latino, Black, and First Nations people respectively do not experience white supremacy in the same ways. Throughout this essay I will focus on the systemic racism targeted at Black people, using the term “People of Color”, coined by Black Feminists in the 1970s, abbreviated to PoC, to refer to them.

What can we do better for our country instead of making a mockery towards the blacks who are poorly educated, and have severe economic issues by not providing equal opportunities and not providing schools for them? And could these actions really lead blacks to crime, violence, and laziness? W.E.B Du Bois’ The Souls of Black Folks provides his readers a second – hand experience of what racism and segregation was like during the late eighteen hundred. In addition, he presents major themes such as double – consciousness, the color – line, and most important “the Veil”. The importance of “The Veil” describes the real-life experience of what life is like for an African American living in a nation that is divided up into two race groups and receiving terrible treatments. In Du Bois’ “introduction” he states that the greatest problem that blacks face during the twentieth Century was the color – line. The main reason that the color – line is such a problem during the twentieth Century is because it’s tough for the blacks to achieve

Over the last one hundred and thirty years African Americans have little by little-gained freedom for themselves as slaves and domestic servants. Now as a culture they are legally capable of obtaining jobs and positions in all areas of private and public organizations, (Hayes, A. F., & Preacher, K. J., 2010). This particular ethnic group are known to be instrumental in holding their cultures together through times of constant struggle. They have used rallies, protests, silent marches and received help from volunteer organizations to fight for rights as well as obtain justice in a racist and sexist society. This work explores the troubles African Americans face in Americas society today, through stereotypes and how gender roles as African Americans differ from each other as well as the American population.

By associating the potential existence of racism with consumption, a form of rationalization is that we now live in society that does not recognize and reward race, but merit. In turn, whites do not inherently realize the privileges that they are born with. Peggy McIntosh actually used the terms unearned entitlement and unearned advantage to describe disproportionate lead that whites have over blacks (McIntosh, 103). The fact of the matter is that most white people are in denial that they have been born with unearned entitlements that minorities do not have and according to McIntosh this is because they have been taught not to recognize it. As much as white people have been taught not to recognize that they have been given white privilege, blacks and minorities recognize that they do. Although many believe that the playing field is now level, is apparent that there is an uphill struggle for people of color. But how should one first recognize this struggle?

Introduction: I have learned a multitude of concepts during this quarter that will linger with me for years to come, the two that resonate the most, for me, are classism and racism. Classism and Racism are the two most prominent “ISM’S” due to their relationship and how they intermingle disparities and biases of being poor and a minority. Although I knew of the issues taking place in my own community, I would not allow myself to absorb the magnitude of this travesty. After watching the American winter, the disparities became clearer than I had dreamt.

In light of the assigned readings, it is sensible to share one’s life with the poor because God calls us to do so. God entered into humanity through Jesus to save us from our sins, and thus, willingly entered into our chaos. He shared his life with the poor, became vulnerable, and showed mercy. Therefore, we are called to imitate God by “entering into the chaos of another.” We need to also show mercy towards our neighbors, which “entails an elective suffering for the sake of others” (Kennan, 2017, p. 62). In addition, we need to stand in solidarity with them (Kennan, 2017, p. 63). Embracing the suffering of another is an imitation of God (Kennan, 2017, p. 63). We also need to embrace solidarity with the poor because “it is among the poor that we will discover the good news of the reign of God at work” (Kennan, 2017, p. 63). Sometimes we have no solution to the situation, but nonetheless, we can instruments of God’s love by walking with poor, searching with the poor, and being with the poor (Kennan, 2017, p. 63).

Poverty and inequality exist in every developed culture and often are only patched in order for society to continue upwardly. Poverty and inequality in the United States exists for many reasons; reasons that very from the prospective lens. Interpretive theories in particular ask us to question our reality and its constructs. Interpretive theories require us to looks at the world as a social realm, one that we created and constantly change. Interpretive theories study the relationship between power and the construction of social roles as well as the invisible collection of patterns and habits that make up domination, (Delgado & Stefanic, 2001). Susan Kemp argues that the view of the world is dominated by the experiences of white western

Much of African American literature deals with racism — as a literary record of African American experience. ‘Racialism’, a word we do not often hear in everyday speech, refers to the belief in racial superiority, inferiority, and purity based on the conviction that moral and intellectual characteristics, just like physical characteristics, are biological properties that differentiate the races. ‘Racism’ refers to the unequal power relations that grow from the socio-political domination of one race by another and that result in systematic discriminatory practices (for example, segregation, domination, and persecution). Therefore, although anyone can be a racialist, in order to be a racist — in order to be in a position to segregate, dominate, or persecute — one has to be in a position of power as a member of the politically dominant group, which in America usually means that one has to be ‘White’. In other words, the systematic practice of racism (for example, denying qualified persons of color employment, housing, education, or anything else to which they are entitled) can occur on a regular basis only when those who do it can expect to get away with it. And those who do it can expect to get away with it when the group to which they belong controls most of the positions of power in the political, judicial, and law-enforcement systems.

african americans tolerate to inhabit a disadvantaged locale in the U.S. as factually most communal scientists emphasize the act that present and the vital racism has helped in crafting and perpetuating the disadvantaged locale of african americans, in present years.theories that recognize supplementary explanations have been growing.They have the public think that the origins of black disadvantages are characteristics of black themselves (e.g biological,culture,educational) or a little supplementary predominantly non-racial situation or condition.This paper critically examines a little prominent theories or perspectives that illuminate the departure from racism, including;social class,cognitive ability,lack of work ethic or morality,human capital deficits,spatial mismatch, and relations construction.Though this theories are not exhaustive ,they are all well understand explanations for black disadvantage.despite their so shouted popularity they are all merely weakly and incompletely upheld by empirical research.The logical scrutiny on racial