Race The Power Of An Illusion

There are many ways to perceive what it means to say race is socially constructed while some might say race is biological rather a social construct. “Race is socially constructed” basically is what we perceive as race is one of the first things we notice about each other. Let me get this clear, no matter what anyone thinks, race is not biological but instead it is a social construct. There is no way to measure race but instead an average person on the street thinks that race consists of differences in physical appearance. Every single human walking on the face of this Earth is genetically the same. The documentary, In Race: The Power of an Illusion, shows that for 200 years, scientists compared physical attributes to classify race and found

First and foremost, I'm deeply disturbed by what transpired at the National Policy Institute conference over the weekend. It's rather apropos that we are covering the topic of race at this moment. I'm furious but inspired (now, more than ever) to continue on this journey of justice studies as part of my personal commitment to be an ally for minorities. I wish that every person had the privilege of taking this class, the knowledge we're gaining is one of the most powerful tools we can use to combat the ignorance of white nationalism.

Though slavery is taught throughout ones education, the severeness of it isn’t usually explained how the documentary Africans in America: The Terrible Transformation explains it. Throughout school, students typically don’t examine how the racial prejudice that was associated with slavery was horrific in so many different ways. This documentary allows viewers to be

In the short stories “The Lesson,” by Bambara and “Battle Royal,” by Ralph Ellison, the authors use the idea of race determining the social structure in America where blacks are the socially inferior. In the short story “The Lesson,” by Bambara through fictional characters makes a serious social commentary. In the short story “Battle Royal,” by Ralph Ellison shows weakness and disorder of black identity in the early 1900s through the subjection of his young black narrator to a series of monstrous treatments by white man.

In a film of “Race the Power of an Illusion, Part I The Difference Between Us”, it talked about the differences of races such as skin, eye, hair color. However, in our genetic, the human is not very different than we think but we had a similar genetic code. In the 1950s, the athlete champions were all black, and they were much better than any other. Maybe because of that some people think there are different structure bodies than other races. In this case, I think it could make sense that black people have better body structure than white. However, it is the wrong stereotype about skin color. The skin tone is continuously changing, and the reason why a human has different physical appearances is that of different genes we have. Depends on the

Based on theme two, they reconstructed the myths about whites and blacks. They began to explain the concept of “If they gain, we lose”. There was a concern of the participants having and not having and about sharing privilege but not wanting to give it up (McIntyre, 57). McIntyre explains that there are always exceptions to the rule and it reconstructs the myth of “equal opportunity for all”.

All four pieces were enlightening, but there was one particular piece that really opened my eyes about race and the different reasons that individuals may or may not use the concept to help define who they are. The article by Johnston, Pizzolato and Kanny examined the ways by which individuals may or may not utilize the concept of race to form their sense of identity. It may be self-centered, but I had never really thought that other people might have a different way of thinking of race as part of their identity. I had just assumed that everyone understood race as I understood it; and so that everyone else’s race also was ingrained and played a part of their identity in the way that I believed race played a role in my sense of self. However, as I read the piece and the authors explained the ways by which the participants identified race s playing a role in their identity I was surprised. I

The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross, is a six-part Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) television series that chronicles the African-American experience beginning with the origins of the transatlantic slave trade, journeying to the inauguration of the first African-American president. It recounts the African American history, exploring the African-American people, including the diversity of cultural institutions, political strategies, and the religious and social perspectives they have developed- establishing their own culture, history, and society all while traveling a journey of unimaginable odds. In addition, this series travels through 5 centuries of historical events and struggles, ending with the present- detailing the strides African Americans made towards resiliency, a sense of community, social connections, social networks, social support, and connections of faith.

It shows me that I must succeed not only for me but for my family seeing as only me and my sister was the only ones to make it to college; and for my ancestors who fought for my rights and education. One thing I noticed was how they quoted the “Father of Black History”, Dr. Carter G. Woodson “if a race has no history, if it has no worthwhile tradition, it becomes a negligible factor in the thought of the world, and it stands in danger of being exterminated” (page33), but failed to mention any special traditions that FAMU does like set Fridays and convocation. As I began to tackle this chapter I thought it was just going to be short stories about each president and person whose donated. You can imagine how surprised I was to see how they included other things going on in the world; while each president was in charge. For example, the killing of Trayvon Martin from racial profiling and Michael Brown by a police officer. Which are two things I was alive to experience and I am continuing to experience in modern day. I have learned that being black is more than a color it is a culture and that I must try and work harder to succeed even if I’m at an

The stereotypes in the story, makes it difficult for the readers to conclude the race of each character. People assume that the African American character would be illiterate and uneducated and the white character to be well-educated. During the time period of the story African Americans did not have access to a decent education; making it harder for them to learn just the basics. Whites had access to good education, making it easy to believe the white character is more educated. It is also believed that a person that is well educated will have a better lifestyle when they are older. A well-educated person will have a better job, paying more, and have a better opportunity to afford the means of a luxurious lifestyle. An under educated person will most likely live in poverty, struggle for their basic needs, or live in a declining neighborhood. Behavior is a harder stereo type to use to distinguish a race. Many assume that whites have an entitled attitude toward life. Whites had access to a good education and jobs, they had a “I’m better than you” attitude. On the other hand, many think African Americans were upset because of how easy it was for whites to have better access to the basic necessities such as education and housing.

The PBS series “Race: The Power of an Illusion” effectively works to expose race as a social construct and deconstructs the false notions that race is a biological marker. The series first discusses that all human beings originated from Africa but dispersed about 70,000 years ago to various places in the world. As a result of this migration, people were spread to different locations throughout the world with different environmental conditions that affected their physical traits. It was many years after the migration in which people began to display these new physical traits such as slanted eyes, fair skin, and differing hair textures. While the series notes the physical changes that occurred during the migration it also emphasizes that race while it may seem apparent in skin color and other physical features has no real biological basis.

When he actually did his own assignments, my subject was disturbed by how little African American history was taught, how much the African culture was ignored. “We spent half a semster on World War I and never talked about the black military units! I learned about the black efforts through my parents!”

1: Discuss an example from the video of a sport/event where changing concepts of race and social access have influenced who participates in a sport. Discuss another example (from your own knowledge or news) where economics, social conditions, tradition, or stereotypes have led to disparities in participation in particular sports?

Our nation’s history plays an important role in American society, it sets forth the foundation on which our morals and values are based on as Americans. If we truly are one united nation under God, and our morals and values are based on what history tells us, why is it then that there is so much disparity among the American people. One reason is that our history textbooks and what we are taught by educational leaders only emphasize American Exceptionalism. The history of our nation is not fully disclosed, it omits the nasty and ugly parts. It is time that the U.S. let their skeletons out of the closet, the truth needs to be told no matter how ugly or nasty it is. The period in history known as the Nadir of Race relations, 1890 through the1960’s between whites and blacks is a prime example of American Exceptionalism.

One significant theme that is present throughout the story is the one of unequal rights for African Americans. One instance of social injustice is described in the very