The Black Imagination By Bell Hooks

Sitting on the porch with her sisters, hooks saw that “next to the white drivers in the front would be the dog and in the back seat the black worker.” This subtle image taught hooks the “interconnectedness of race and class,” and a demeaning message that white people placed animals ahead of African-Americans. Taking the high road, hooks attempted to spark conversation with her white neighbors; however, she was turned down and ridiculed. While trying to be friendly, hooks was told that “they came to this side of town to be rid of lazy blacks.” Time and time again racial and sexist tensions worked against Hooks, but instead of letting injustice get the best of her she made her porch a place of “antiracist resistance.” Hooks’ porch was an oasis in the male/white desert that dried up her life. On hooks’ porch she could experience the peace and joy she had as a child sitting on her porch with her sisters before her father came home. Hooks could have talked back to the white people that mocked her, but instead she chose the high road and conquered race with peace.

The article “The Great White Way” by Debra J. Dickerson attempts to show her readers that “Race is an arbitrary system for establishing hierarchy and privilege” (68) in America. In her article, Dickerson questions how “whiteness” leads America in our culture and society and how all the other races are defined in America. She also explains how history has divided whites from non-whites in America. The intended audience that Dickerson’s essay gravitated towards are political or liberal Americans. In her article “The Great White Way”. Debra J. Dickerson powerfully argues that race is an overall way to establish social classes and who and what get special privileges because of their certain race or skin color. Dickerson argues that “Race is

Jose Antonio Vargas states, “Until we unpack ‘whiteness’ as a social construct…we cannot have a real, more honest conversation about race and racism…In this era of #BlackLivesMatter, at a time when Latinos are the largest minority group and Asians are the fastest growing racial and immigrant group, exploring and questioning ‘white privilege’ is essential” (qtd. in Craven). Having a discussion about what “whiteness” means today and how it came about is so important because in the past, other races have had their worth based off of what “whiteness” was worth. This topic has been avoided because it questions the majority in power and it brings out the

The diversity between Americans has always been evident, and not just by the skin tone or religion, but also by their backgrounds, as well as how their lives are like today. Especially in African Americans and those who wanted to change the ways of religion, and the prejudice against them continues to stick, even today.

The readings we did within the past few months, I connected more with these two articles: The case of reparations by Coates and Race, Wealth, and Equality by Oliver. Throughout the articles, we understand the struggle that black communities face because of the system that’s built to prevent them to succeed in life. As an African American in today’s society it has been difficult to find opportunities in life because of the injustice and discrimination that the particular community is experiencing. However, I will compare the two articles with two outside source I found the New Jim Crow by Alexander, she effectively argues in her book how racism is evolving over time, but Alexander poorly makes the analogy of The New Jim Crow, compare to the

During the Civil Rights Era, many black power movements strived to prevent the New Jim Crow from happening. The black man was being oppressed during segregation and treated like animals. The white supremacy, only visualize African Americans as slaves, people who should not be a part of the United States. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X drove men and women to fight for his or her rights. However, that was not enough to stop the white supremacy from oppressing African Americans. The Civil Rights movement did put an end to public segregation. It did not put not put an end to the laws being made by the government, which is dominated by the white race. In the book, The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander discussed how the Civil Rights and black power movements helped African Americans gain their equal rights, but did not help to gain political power. Mass Incarceration is where the African Americans’ lives end because of the social structure created by the government. Blacks are mostly in the lower class because after the Great Depression, Roosevelt only created laws for whites. This allowed the white community to build and move out the cities into better neighborhoods. Leaving the black community behind. The government placed businesses and built big buildings to keep all the blacks in one place. Base on how the black community was viewed as a race and social status, gives this race a higher chance of being behind bars.

The book, The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander is about the mass incarceration of African Americans in the criminal justice system. It depicts individuals who were arrested on drug crimes. Because these individuals are labeled as criminals, it becomes difficult for them to find work, housing, and public assistance. (Alexander, 2010) The themes in this book include denial and ignorance, racism and violence, and drugs.

In the book, Up from slavery, Booker T. Washington, the former slave who wrote the book on his experiences, spent the majority of his life in the “after emancipation” era. He was a slave only up to the 10th year of his life, and he did not experience the many beatings that many of the older slaves had. He enjoyed learning, and he “fought” his way into college to do so. He had a family, and he was able to live with his mother and siblings, but he never knew his father, who was said to be a white man. When he was freed from slavery, he still experienced the scorn and hardships of the “separate but equal” mind set of those around him.

In this paper, I will be reviewing Robert Jensen’s “The Heart of Whiteness. Confronting Race, Racism, and White privilege”, along with developing a critical analysis of this work. I will be comparing my analysis with the opinions of others that have reviewed this book along with utilizing concepts from James W. Neulieps textbook, Intercultural Communication.

Slavery in Anglo-America, the British West Indies and the United States, endured for hundreds of years. However, as time progressed, economic, and social realities gradually decreased the feasibility of the institution. Examining Michael Craton’s book, Testing the Chains, and other resources, we are able to see that although outright rebellion and violence were sometimes used by slaves, religion, politics, and anti-slavery propaganda, also worked to slacken the chains, leading to complete emancipation. While it would be perverse to say that the slaves freed themselves without help, as there is no doubt that whites played a large role, it is true that the perseverance of the black spirit ultimately resulted in freedom. Therefore, it can be concluded that it is through unrelenting counter-hegemony that the slaves freed themselves.

A major issue in today’s age is the idea of “White America”. Ta-Nehisi Coates brings forth the ideas of white America often throughout his book, Between the World and Me, as well as the struggles he has as a black American. For many years, people have been pushed or pulled to America in hopes of finding the American dream everyone talks about. The dream of coming to America and exploring the new frontier. Eventually, to become wealthy and become an upper class citizen are all factors of achieving the dream. Although, little do they know that the dream is not obtainable by everyone. Coates asserts the American dream revolves around being white. Often times, blacks will begin to “act white” in order to achieve this American dream or achieve

Racism in America silently remains as a pre-eminent reality, even though white America denies the facts. Many white people restrain the importance of race in our society, but like to maintain the power under the false myth of the melting pot. In the short story “Theories and Constructs of Race,” of Rereading America, the authors mention how race is made up socially, culturally, politically, and economically, but many have been forced to change, because of

Frankenberg (1993) describes Whiteness as multidimensional: “First, whiteness is a location of structural advantage, of race privilege. Second, it is a ‘standpoint’ and place from which white people look at ourselves, at others, and at society. Third, ‘whiteness’ refers to a set of cultural practices that are usually unmarked and unnamed”(p. 1). Although Whiteness has intangible systems of oppression, inequality, and unearned advantage that are not necessary seen, heard, or felt; nonetheless, they reproduce and support the idea of White as the ultimate form of racial identity.

The article “The Negro Digs Up His Past’’ by Arthur schomburg on 1925, elaborates more on the struggles of slavery as well as how history tend to be in great need of restoration through mindfully exploring on the past. The article, however started with an interesting sentence which caught my attention, especially when the writer says ‘’The American Negro must remark his past in order to make his future’’ (670). This statement according the writer, explains how slavery took away the great deal freedom from people of African descendant, through emancipation and also increase in diversity. The writer (Arthur Schomburg) however, asserts that “the negro has been throughout the centuries of controversy an active collaborator, and often a pioneer, in the struggle for his own freedom and advancement” (670).

In this paper I will be discussing my reflection of whiteness in society. First I will need to explain what whiteness is in order for one to understand what it is I’m writing about. Whiteness is one of the principles of the construction of racism. It consists of the White racial group of people, their culture, human rights, and compensations that are provided to the white race. Being white is described as being a member of the domineering cluster of people. It creates images of “White pride” and “White power” which encourages deliberate acts of racism. Whiteness is forcefully embraced and defended. “Whiteness is nothing but an expression of race privilege.” (Schaefer, 2010).