Racism seems to be a cultural crutch that stems from the hatred and backwash of American history, leading us to believe we can still turn a blind eye to how it affects our daily lives in a major way today. But what if we were colorblind? Would this change the way we see ourselves? Whether we know it or not racism and the concept of race itself affects everybody daily. It affects us as a country, as a person, politically, and socially. As Coates makes it very clear that race on its own causes racism, not the other way around causes one to think that things could possibly be a little different. “Americans believe in the reality of ‘race’ as a defined, indubitable feature of the natural world. Racism—the need to ascribe bone-deep features to people …show more content…
Doesn’t that sound appealing? Well of course it does, all around the world people strive for that perfection. Although in every household under this assumption is what you would call “white privileged”. Being the more favored race in America, they have developed this sense of entitlement. In a perfect world, every kid has their dream come true in life, all kids are told to follow dreams. We all wish it were true, but it seems like the dreams favor skin tone. As Coates tells us “The entire narrative of this country argues against the truth of who you are” (99). Some will grow up to achieve things based on the color of their skin while others that are not as fortunate obtain it through blood sweat and tears. Some will end up on the back burner of this country's labor keeping the infrastructure alive. Though it seems we tend to forget even in our racism that this America was built by black slaves. Every stone turned and business sent booming are from the backs of those degraded and beaten. Due to lack of understanding and lack of knowledge from younger generations this seems to stem other problems entirely for the race debate. Road blocks like these attribute to the ever steadily growing gap. The causes for this and reasons to share the wealth of knowledge happens in many …show more content…
The reasons seem to be ever changing but remain an issue all the same. The three most major points that call my attention are no less than common sense. The first being the way you were raised. Experiences good or bad within your family can drastically alter the way you see any race. Every form of social contact through a family member especially around parents can show you whether or not it is ok to judge by skin tone or stereotype. Secondly we have peer pressure, it is always a recurring theme to involve a crowd opinion. It may not always be the right thing to do, but as others opinions start stacking up against yours the need to fit in urging you to say an answer that may not necessarily be your own. Now for the third and final cause we have unfamiliarity, one of the most popular influences in this world. Only a very slim minority of people tend to know their facts one hundred percent before speaking out on a subject or react. For racism that is not the case, our nation is behind the learning curve for knowledge of how we used to run and the people we have living all around us. Coates tries to warn us against all of this, but does not really provide a solution. For that is only going to be found amongst all of us. He urges us to stop looking for the right answer and instead ask the correct questions. Hopefully then will we ever truly get a grip on the war against the
In Chapter 1, Alexander provides a brief history of race and racism in America. For those readers less familiar with the narrative of American history, this tour through slavery, Bacon’s Rebellion, Reconstruction, Jim Crow, Populism, the end of Jim Crow through Board, and the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s is very instructive. Even if this narrative sounds familiar though, what comes next is probably less so. The backlash to the Civil Rights Movement manifested itself in the Southern Strategy and the first construction of stereotypes such as lazy “welfare cheats” and black criminals. “Law and order” rhetoric became a popular way to stoke hostility towards blacks; it was carried out by conservatives to win votes among poor whites.
Racism seems to be a cultural crutch that stems from the hatred and backwash of american history, leading us to believe it still affects us in a major way today. But what if we were colorblind? Would this change the way we see ourselves? Whether we know it or not racism and the concept of race itself affects everybody in day to day life. It affects us as a country, as a person, politically, and socially. As Coates makes it very clear that race on its own causes racism, not the other way around causes one to think that things could possibly be a little different. Including me. Unfortunately the the striking relevance falls onto my family tree as well. My Mother and her twin, my
When discussing race, having the right intention is not nearly enough to ensure progress in racial tensions; as such, only positive, tangible action can be the catalyst for change in race discourse. This general rule can help when looking at the concept of colorblindness as a supposedly well-meaning myth, which realistically only serves to continue racist attitudes and systems. Using a critical lens to determine the harm caused by colorblindness can diminish the impact and eventually eradicate a source of racist microagressions. Patricia Williams explores the inherently harmful idea of colorblindness in her book Seeing a Colorblind Future: The Paradox of Race, through exemplary anecdotal evidence. This paper aims to analyze one such anecdote to fully explain the pervasive and malicious way colorblindness is employed in everyday life.
Racism is a word that sparks a nerve in many individuals today. As hard as it is to believe, racism is still a big factor in what we as a society know as a unified America. Although, it is not as obvious as it was in the past, it still goes on, just in ways that are less noticeable. We ask the question, is the emphasis on a color-blind society an answer to racism. Ward Connerly claims it is a way to stop the segregation and make America a whole as it has been striving to be for the longest. Eduardo Bonilla-Silva believes color-blind racism is the new racial ideology and still brings about racial inequality. As the solution to the question progresses, we ask ourselves, will a
It is evident that no matter how hard we try to avoid it race plays a major role in today’s society. Your race and/or nationality and skin color plays a lot in how you are seen and perceived by the world. The first thing you see when you look at a person is their skin color, which just
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,
Racism is the trend of thought, or way of thinking, which attaches great importance to the notion of the existence of separate human races and superiority of races that are usually associated with inherited physical characteristics or cultural events. Racism is not a scientific theory, but a set of preconceived opinions they value the biological differences between humans, attributing superiority to some according to racial roots. Even in such ethnically diverse country as the United States, racism continues evident against people of different ethnic traits and skin color. According to Steinberg (Steinberg, 1995), racial discrimination has been the most important cause of inequality between whites and blacks in the U.S. Because of that, minorities in American society have been fighting over years for equal rights and respect, starting with the civil rights movement in 1960s. Also, public policies implemented since 1964 in the United States have been instrumental in reducing economic inequality between blacks and whites, such as the affirmative action, a federal program that tries to include minority groups by providing jobs and educational opportunities (Taylor, 1994). From this perspective, does racism still play a dominant role in American values and American society? If so, what are the consequences of this racism that still remain in American society? What is the impact of the Barack Obama presidency on the unending fight against racism in this country?
Racism has been a terrible problem in American society for hundreds of years. Racism issues are not limited to one specific race, but include all races. It is the responsibility of the people of this nation to address racism and learn to accept and embrace each other for our differences, and allow this great nation to become even more united for our sake and the sake of future generations. To eliminate racism it is imperative to know first, where racism started and how it has developed, why it continues to be present in our nation today, and what we must do as a people to overcome this major problem.
Racism has shaped societies since the beginning of time, as far back as the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Even then, people living in the land of Goshen were subjugated to racism because of their differences. From Hitler and the Nazis to the Southern American slave owners, prejudice of one race against another has resulted in atrocities. Racism has shaped the form of our present day societies. Racism will likely never be completely removed from our society it will always exist. However, in an effort to counteract the disease of racism, modern-day societies have drafted and enacted legislation for the sole purpose of ensuring that people treat each other with respect and dignity allowing one another their inalienable right to their
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.
The deep divide between those of different ethnicities root back to America's slavery days. Racism is contagious like it's a flea in the Bubonic plague, an ideology that is nothing more than hate and ignorance. A problem with battling such animosity today is that racism isn’t so blatantly obvious as it once was. It seems as if the only ones that can recognize this evil are the ones that allow themselves to see it. Hence the reason why our society still has a long way to go. We as a people need to recognize our own bigoted views that we have been conditioned to assume that those beliefs are reality. As of consequence, the lack of knowingness of Black life and history by those that are non-color has created a society that lacks understandment
With the recent upheaval in Ferguson, Missouri, racial tensions have taken a center stage role in the daily lives of many Americans. Color-blindness remains the gut response to inequality, but this ignores the fact that heritage makes us inevitably different. Thus, the question, why does society continue to assimilate other races into a color-blind whiteness instead of recognizing and affirming difference?
Prejudice, an all to dominant feature throughout the course of human history, is still plaguing us today in a more inconspicuous fashion. Racism in the United States continues to negatively impact social stability due to media hype, xenophobia, and institutional inconsistencies.
We are taught from the start that the color of our skin will affect the way that we are received into and perceived by society. Necessarily, we react to this in a sort of two-step process. We internalize a notion of a "society" that will see us in a certain way which allows us to anticipate how our actions and existence will be met. This obviously affects how we act. Additionally, we are taught surreptitiously to participate in the project of race. The media that we consume, our parents, schools, churches, sports teams, and others, train us to understand and anticipate how people will act based on the color of their skin. This perpetuates the validity of race as a system of categorization and fracture as its ubiquitous acceptance forecloses upon any opportunities for critique of its blatant stupidity and divisiveness. It is a system of categorization based upon a false hierarchical arrangement that is internalized to some degree by everyone. Simple recurring unjust and prejudice actions such as being followed in a store, or having a women clutch her purse tighter or switch sides of the street only make it more apparent that race and the ideas and false perceptions that are directly correlated with them, are a factor in our overall
America is too big of a country to try to fix the problem with racism all in one. As the people of America, we should take initiatives in fixing the problem within our communities, schools, workplaces, and legal systems. Some individuals are in denial that they have a problem with racism or that racism is a problem. Therefore the first step in fixing the problem with racism is to admit that there is a problem. In my opinion, we should educate those who are racist on the effects of racism, get them to open up about being racist and to talk to those who are affected by racism. Then we could host anti-racism meetings and events within our communities. At the same time educating our youth on racism because they are our future. After removing racism