The New Jim Crow Summary

Omi and Winant provided an excellent historical context of racial formation, from the being the United States’ social, cultural, political, and economic

How race determined who was in and who was out. As Dickerson states “if race is real and not just a method for the haves to decide who will be have-nots, then all Europeans immigrants, from Ireland a to Greece, would have been “white” the moment they arrived here. Instead, as documented in David Roediger’s excellent Working Towards Whiteness, they were long considered inferior, nearly subhuman, and certainly not white” (69). This shows how race wasn’t about common culture or history but a concept to decide what race is good enough to be consider “white” or better than others. Even though the Europeans where the same race or color of the other people who considered themselves Americans or “white” they were still discriminated for being different and immigrants like everybody else. But soon they realized that identifying them self as being white gave them some sort of hierarchy. It gave them more class compared to the other races. As Debra Dickerson said, “If you were neither black nor Asian nor Hispanic, eventually you could become white, invested with enforceable civil rights and the right to exploit-and hate-nonwhites” (69). Being identify as white gave the power to have privileges that non-whites will never have since they are not the same color. Non- whites are treated unfairly compared to the white people in many ways. Discrimination not only took place between people of different races but

Since the start of time, there has been individuals in society that have been discriminated against based on their religion, culture, race, and sexual orientation. The article “How Did Jews Become White Folks?” by Karen B. Brodkin highlighted the struggles that European immigrants, Jews, and African American faced in the United States pre and post World War two. Brodkin focused in on the idea of “whiteness” in America, and how the word has evolved overtime to include a variety of ethnicities.

We must face the realities of the new caste system and embrace those who are most oppressed by it if we hope to end the new Jim Crow” (Alexander 3). We are given two options, ignore those who have been labeled criminals without justification or we can properly face the realities and support those who are being oppressed. All throughout the years we have ignored our system which is continuously segregating individuals based on race. This strengthens her argument because she argues that in order to end the new Jim Crow we have to ignore those who are labeled criminals and focus on other characteristics rather than how they are labeled in society. Here Michelle Alexander is able to make the reader focus on what is right versus what is wrong. She is able to point out the things we have done that are wrong and what we should do to make it right. Ending mass incarceration is the main goal but she is implying how we can slowly get rid of

The court, rich white males, were now legally allowed to change the definition and meaning of race based on their own personal beliefs; when it was convenient for them, they granted citizenship, but if someone did not fit into their white social ideals they were turned away. The United States vs. Thind case in 1923 stripped all Asians of their citizenship, land, and property and gave it to whites; Asians were seen as unassimilable and placed into internment camps. In 1952, the racial requirement for naturalization was removed, but the social construct of white privilege stayed. Roosevelt, did not help the situation social security was invented, but by excluding farm workers and servants, it only guaranteed protection to upper class, which were white people. This kept minorities in in low paying jobs and kept at the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder. The Federal Housing Administration, furthered the white society, by racializing housing. When white veterans came home they were welcomed with new furnished houses in Levittown, but when black veterans came home they were forced into large public city housing. White communities were kept white to keep real

Well the first chapter was mainly about the original Jim Crow white people discriminating against the blacks. the fact that some black have seen the better life doesn’t mean that the disrespect from the whites are over originally blacks didn’t come enslaved a lot of them were treated as indentured slaves .as time passed whites were calling us savages because of the way we SERVIVED around 1770 the whites degraded from Africa Americans to Negros

Racism was not only present in the work place but also in the homes and neighborhoods of immigrants. This racism served as an aide to the survival of race as people considered it a necessity for minorities to assimilate into a culture. Psychologists felt this was the only way to survive and continued to provide the community with even more fallacies including the idea that blacks did not identify with their colour of their skin and wished to change the color to white. After research was conducted by Johnson and it was found that African Americans were satisfied with their skin color. These individuals tended to steer away from be asscoiated with whites or even blacks. Instead they hoped to establish a new group of brown skinned people avoinding discrimination of being black and avoiding being associated with the cruelness provided by whites. By filling the heads of our population with

However, this fear of covert discrimination in the workforce did not help those already drifting from Jewish ideology and heritage from drifting even further. With the 1950’s nearing its end, education and acceptance in American society was more prevalent on the public’s radar. With those of the first generation still holding to their Jewish identity, many of their children were less motivated and less caring for their Jewish roots. This lack of awareness tainted Jewry of the fifties and climactically corroborated this Jewish emergence and assimilation to surpass throughout the sixties.

Race and ethnicity have been differentially used and deployed to create hierarchies of belonging and exclusion by who were given the most privileges, who were given the most rights, and even who were the better race of whiteness. Frye brings up the debate on Jews’ racial identity. It begins with the normative classification. He briefly insists that the American policy of becoming a citizen at the time was mainly based on whiteness. Jews were treated as “free white persons” who came to the United States through occupying the naturalization law. Over time whiteness has become the group called Caucasian. Races are classified into categories where whiteness is continuously on the higher rung of the ladder while all the other races followed. This

Most headed to the United States, escaping violence and hatred towards them. After arriving to Ellis Island, Jews were eager to become American citizens (Takaki 186). In their hopes of becoming Americans, Jewish parents pushed their children to get an education so that they could find other occupations besides factory work (Takaki 187). As a result, Jewish students “ thirst for knowledge” filled universities (Takaki 187). In 1920, the increasing amounts of Jews in Harvard provoked anti Semitic complaints (Takaki 187). Anti Semitism is “a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews” (“Defining”). Racial descriptions were circulating: “ They are governed by selfishness.” “They do not mix. They destroy the unity of the college” (Takaki 188). The uprising success of Jews in the United States was encouraging anti- Semitism (Takaki 188). In a letter to the Board of Overseers in 1922, President Abbott Lawrence Lowell suggested a quota to limit the enrollment of Jewish students in Harvard (Takaki 188). Also, as second- generation Jews “ became educated and began seeking white- collar employment, they often encountered discrimination” (Takaki 188). High status law firms and quality hospitals turned away Jewish lawyers and doctors. University faculty jobs were also closed to all Jews as well (Takaki 188).

Currently, the Jews are assimilated into American culture because of reforming their religion, embracing their opportunities, moving from “blue to white collar”, and political impacts. The Jews having different beliefs about religion led them to be discriminated against with jobs, housing, and public facilities. When The Protocols of the Elders of Zion was published, it led to massive discrimination for the Jewish people. This publication included lies about Jews wanting to take over the world and destroying Western Civilization. Henry Ford circulated the book in his factory and led to immigrants reading this piece. The immigrants would read the book and develop major stereotypes against the Jews that would lead to more discrimination versus them. Today, Jewish Americans are assimilated into American society through reforming their religion. Reformed Judaism meant that Jews would abandon visible and customary aspects of their life, and not be pointed out as easily. Jewish American would embrace their opportunities by willing to work in unskilled jobs in order to move up to more skilled jobs, they earned citizenship, and would work hard to pursue a higher education. The Jewish people moved from “blue to white collar” because of their strong work ethic, major support in the enclave, and they would chase more schooling. Lastly, the Jews participated in the Students for a Democratic

After World War II the United States of America, the emergence of other minorities with more global scope is observed. This time it was groups demanding recognition and inclusion in society and the country or state in which they lived. It was a struggle for equal rights and end to discrimination. Two of these groups who demanded civil equality within the country in which they lived were African Americans and

The second world war sound the alarm to the American creed because Hitler’s racism forced Americans to hard upon their own racial assumptions. Later, the civil rights revolution provoked new declaration of ethnic identity by the long-resident “new migration” from southern and eastern Europe. And many more scholars begin to convince the mass that groups can structure the rules and goals and procedures of American life instead of individuals. Thus the new theory of multiculturalism came into the highest position.

The social climate for the ethnic minority groups appeared to be positive when the Minorities Treaties was signed after the ending of First World War. The Minorities Treaties of 1919 governed the eligibility for citizenship and granted “citizens belonging to racial, religious, or linguistic minorities certain collective rights” (Engel). These collective rights a guarantee of equal treatment and governmental protection, the right to use their languages for public purposes, and the right to create cultural institutions for their respective groups. Regardless of the Minorities Treaties in 1919, which gave basic rights to the minority groups in the country, the anti-Semitic actions were taken throughout Europe. As the Great Depression emerged,

This social concept of race, not biological, relates to Brodkin’s (1998) introduction that even the grouping of ethnic origins that is considered today as White people