The Power Of An Illusion, California Newsreel And Its Co Director Larry Adelman

“Race as Civic Felony” by Loic Wacquant: In this reading, the US conception of “race” is a direct outcome of the unique status of the United States as a slave holding republic (page 127). While slavery itself has long been abolished, its dynamics were replicated in Jim Crow segregation and later in the urban ghetto. In page 127, The Jim Crow regime reworked the racial boundary between slaves and free into some segregated societies. Despite the he abolition of “statues segregation”, it seems that new ways have been thought to hold minorities from the mainstream society. Another ‘peculiar institution’, born of the adjoining of the hyperghetto with the cerebral system, is reorganizing the social meaning and significance of ‘race’ in agreement with the dictates of the deregulated economy and the post-Keynesian state. In page 128, white people fear and mistrust people of color. They think of black people’s

Race is still an open topic in America and in the world, as it has always implied differentiation, inequalities and division among human beings, and has been the basis for some of the most tragic events in history.

Humans define race by how they conceive and categorize different social realities. Thus, race is often referred to as a social construct. The differences in skin color and facial characteristics have led most of society to classify humans into groups instead of individuals. These constructs affect us all, and they often result in situations where majority racial groups cause undue suffering to those that are part of the minority. The understanding of race as a social construct is best illustrated by the examination of racial issues within our own culture, specifically those that have plagued the history of the United States.

Racial Formation in the United States by Michael Omi and Howard Winant made me readjust my understanding of race by definition and consider it as a new phenomenon. Through, Omi and Winant fulfilled their purpose of providing an account of how concepts of race are created and transformed, how they become the focus of political conflict, and how they shape and permeate both identities and institutions. I always considered race to be physical characteristic by the complexion of ones’ skin tone and the physical attributes, such as bone structure, hair texture, and facial form. I knew race to be a segregating factor, however I never considered the meaning of race as concept or signification of identity that refers to different types of human bodies, to the perceived corporal and phenotypic makers of difference and the meanings and social practices that are ascribed to these differences, in which in turn create the oppressing dominations of racialization, racial profiling, and racism. (p.111). Again connecting themes from the previous readings, my westernized influences are in a direct correlation to how to the idea of how I see race and the template it has set for the rather automatic patterns of inequalities, marginalization, and difference. I never realized how ubiquitous and evolving race is within the United States.

In the world of sociology, the theory of racialization is a widely known and occasionally frustrating topic. However, two sociologists have successfully been able to define and break down the essential information behind this theory. Within their own writing, Michael Omi and Howard Winant (1986) define racial formation as,” the process by which social, economic, and political forces determine the content and importance of racial categories” (Omi and Winant 16). In essence, this theory frames the very meaning of “race” itself. The stereotypes of race are rooted deep within the contexts of history, allowing these concepts to be subject to gradual change over time. In addition to the original standards of racial formations, there have been other writings that parallel very closely to the ideas set forth by Omi and Winant. Richard Wright, Pem D. Buck, and Karen Brodkin are three notable authors that have excellently highlighted the concepts set forth by Omi and Winant.

Noah, a white male expected to be similar to another white male in the group and Mr. Bronson. Two other students, a male and female of African descent, believed they would similar despite their gender differences. When the lab work came back, Mr. Bronson and the students evaluated the results and the students were quite surprised. They discovered those students of African descent had more genetic differences than the rest of the group combined. Supporting the student’s findings

Matthew Frye Jacobson’s Whiteness of a Different Color offers innovative insight into the concept of “race” and the evolution of “whiteness” throughout American history. Jacobson focuses his analysis on the instability of racial identification over time and how race has been created and perceived throughout different stages of history. He states in his introduction that “one of the tasks before the historian is to discover which racial categories are useful to whom at a given moment, and why” (p.9) and while he is successful in some respects, his analysis is somewhat incomplete in providing a full scope of the power relations that created, altered and maintained racial identities in the United States. While Jacobson offers a detailed

Today racial inequality is ongoing whether you are aware of it or not. We have come a long way from segregated seats to public transportation. The issue of race and race relations has really scarred the history of this nation and has been a constant reminder of the horrors people endured as a result of race relations in this country. The ideas from both of the readings explain how black Americans faced hatred and violence because they were viewed as less then. The writings also include how each leader is trying to change the world’s view of

Much of America’s history has been saturated with situations dealing with race and the people associated with them. It is impossible to talk about the founding of America without looking at the invention of race. This is because race was intricately embedded in the foundation of America through the two part process of racialization. Through this a dichotomous race structure was developed and implemented. This was carried out mainly by the U.S. government, which used policies, social arrangements, and institutional patterns (class notes 10-6-10) to further embed race into American society. The government helped to increase white’s superiority. When the government could not do it all publicly they brought in the private sector. The public

One of the most prevalent themes throughout the world’s history is the dispute over race and racial differences. But, there is a problem: the majority of the population doesn’t have a clear understanding of what race is. Race is a socially constructed grouping of people that was created in order for people to differentiate themselves from one another and has many sources of influence. While most people believe race is determined by biological characteristics (hair type, skin color, eye shape, etc.), this is not true. To make things more complicated, there is no cut and dry definition to race. Authors of Race and Ethnicity in Society, Elizabeth Higginbotham and Margret Anderson, claim that there are seven different distinct ways to define race. They begin with the popular belief of biological characteristics, and, as mentioned before, through social construction. They go on to note that race can be formed from an ethnic group, from social class rank, from racial formation by institutions, and also can form from one’s self-definition (Higginbotham & Anderson, 2012, p. 13). All of these ways to define race have been seen throughout our history, and many of them have caused problems for minorities, especially in the United States.

There are approximately 7 billion people in this world. Each person has a unique combination of traits such as skin tone, face shape, body type, eye color, hair color, and other characteristics. These traits vary due to genetics, environmental factors, and much more. An individual 's race is defined by their physical characteristics and how they differ among others. Race is not defined by the way an individual behaves or portrays themselfes; it is based strictly off of their physical traits. Since America was founded, race has played a significant role in the relations of the citizens in this country. For decades, different races have been stereotyped and been prejudice towards one another, without realizing how invalid their judgements are. Specifically, African Americans have been discriminated by caucasians in America since it’s founding. It began by the enslaving of African Americans, and today, the discrimination and inequality is more hidden in society. Although America has made significant progress in overcoming racial inequality in the country, many African Americans are still being subject to hardships that Caucasian Americans do not face, especially in regards to the justice system.

of life. However, a major issue which arises with this increasing diversity is race, a topic which

For many years now the people in power or “whites” have passed laws so that other racial groups are kept at the bottom of the social hierarchy. These racial group that are kept at the bottom become racialized and oppressed therefore they become unequal to the people that are at the top of this hierarchy. The racial groups that are kept at the bottom vary from the Native-Americans to the Mexican-Americans and obviously the African-Americans. In this essay I will be comparing how the racialization process has been similar and different between these racial groups. I will also define race and racialization. Furthermore, I will explain how class, gender, sexuality, and citizenship has impacted the racialization process within these groups.

Racial injustices are what have made America the powerful nation it is today. America was founded on the genocide of Native Americans and built on the backs of African slaves. In modern day America, strides have been made to provide all Americans equal opportunities to ensure assimilation and success in society however there is still significant work to be to ensure equality. In this paper I have researched the anthropological perspectives on race and ethnicity globally. I have also compared and contrasted varying researcher’s works to ensure I have a thorough understanding of this topic

Due to scientist’s interest in human genetic variation, human racial classification became a focus of scientific investigation by evolutionary biologists attempting to categorize individual humans based on presumed patterns of biological difference. Scientists had hoped to classify humans in the same way that they classified other species. These scientists attached hierarchical titles to these categorizations; they claimed that differences in skin color, physiognomy, and geography were associated with scientifically measurable differences in character, aptitude, and temperament (Smedley, 1998). However, studies supporting these claims have been unsound (Gould, 1981). Categorization of humans by racial and ethnic groups continues, as researchers must remain aware of this historical legacy of the science of heredity as the genomic era continues to develop (Bonham et al., 2005).