Intraracial Racism

1979 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The effect of racism

Intraracial Racism

Racism. African-Americans and “Whites”, African-Americans and Hispanics, Asian Americans and “Whites”, Asian Americans and Hispanics. Think of racism, and thoughts of clashes and conflicts between one of these ethnic groups and another predominate. The idea of racism is seldom associated with two groups of the same ethnicity.

However, another type of racism exists, one not necessarily rooted in ethnic differences, but rather on cultural and demographic differences, as well as location and economic status. It is expressed between communities or sectors within a racial group, and works to further partition them. Intraracial racism fragments communities already struggling with interracial racism. Being internal to an ethnic group, this notion is rarely considered by outsiders to the group.

In recent years, I have experienced two examples of internal racism within a racial group. The first one deals directly with my identity as a Puerto Rican. Puerto Ricans living in the Island have a general view of those who have migrated and now live in the United States. In most cases, individuals have moved to the US searching for wider economic opportunities, mainly during the first half of the 20th century, when the Island was shifting from a mainly agricultural to a predominantly industrial economy. Emigrants were looked at as inferior, as they represented the lower end of the economic spectrum. Additionally, most of them did not have a high level of education. Similar to

many immigrant groups nowadays, they were financially hard-hit and could only obtain the lowest jobs when moving to the United States, which in turn led to the formation of a specific type of community. They were constrained to housing in p...

... middle of paper ...

...skin color. In addition to physical traits, this kind of racism can also be class-based, as in the case of Puerto Ricans.

Racism within a racial group is a problem that is not as readily addressed as interracial racism. However, it is a concrete problem that needs to be tackled as much as any other form of racism. Despite this, it remains an issue not thoroughly explored, and consequently not sufficiently dealt with. Maybe it roots in and feeds on racism between racial groups, and one cannot have one without the other.

Works Cited:

Jones, Trina. “Colorism.” Duke Law Magazine. Fall 2000. Volume 18, Number 12. < http://www.law.duke.edu/alumni/magazine/fall2000/colorism.html>

Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. New York, New York: Penguin Books, Ltd. 1970.

PBS Frontline. “A Class Divided.” 1985. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/divided/>

Show More
Related

  • Ronald Kaki's A Different Mirror By Ronald Takaki

    1069 Words  | 3 Pages

    America is a land filled with immigrants coming from different corners of the worlds, all in hopes of finding a better life in the country. However, No one had an easy transition from his or her home country to this foreign land. Not every race thrived the same way—some were luckier than others, while some have faced enormous obstacles in settling down and being part of the American society. Many people have suffered

    Read More

  • Jane Addams and Hull House

    1560 Words  | 4 Pages

    Most immigrants settled near each other’s own nationality and/or original village when in America. They could speak their own language and act as if they were in their own country. Within these neighborhoods, immigrants suffered crowded conditions. These were often called slums, yet they became ghettos when laws, prejudice and community pressure prevented inhabitants from renting elsewhere. Health conditions were terrible in these districts.

    Read More

  • Bread Givers By Anzia Yezierska

    1079 Words  | 3 Pages

    Moving from the unpleasant life in the old country to America is a glorious moment for an immigrant family that is highlighted and told by many personal accounts over the course of history. Many people write about the long boat ride, seeing The Statue of Liberty and the “golden” lined streets of New York City and how it brought them hope and comfort that they too could be successful in American and make it their home. Few authors tend to highlight the social and political developments that they encountered in the new world and how it affected people’s identity and the community that they lived in. Authors from the literature that we read in class highlight these developments in the world around them, more particularly the struggles of assimilating

    Read More

  • Cinco De Mayo And The Mexican Independence Day

    554 Words  | 2 Pages

    The 5th of May is not Mexican Independence Day, but it should be! And Cinco de Mayo is not an American holiday, but it should be. Mexico declared its independence from mother Spain on midnight, the 15th of September, 1810. And it took 11 years before the first Spanish soldiers were told and forced to leave Mexico.

    Read More

  • Microaggressions and Racism

    1742 Words  | 4 Pages

    You may not know any bigots, you think “I don’t hate black people, so I’m not racist”, but you benefit from racism. There are certain privileges and opportunities you have that you do not even realize because you have not been deprived in certain ways. Racism, institutional and otherwise, does not always manifest itself in a way that makes it readily identifiable to onlookers, victims, or perpetrators; it is not always the outward aggression typically associated with being a hate crime. Racial microaggressions are a type of perceived racism. They are more subtle and ambiguous than the more hostile or overt expressions of racism, such as racial discrimination (CITE). Microaggressions are everyday verbal, visual, or environmental hostilities, slights, insults, and invalidations or mistreatment that occurs due to an individual’s race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation etc. (CITE). The concept of racial microaggressions has been around since the 1970s, but much of the current research is rooted in the work of two professors, Jack Dovidio, Ph.D. (Yale University) and Samuel Gaertner, Ph.D. (University of Delaware), and their explanations of aversive racism. Their research has its foundation in the idea that many well-intentioned Whites consciously believe in and profess equality, but unconsciously act in a racist manner, particularly in ambiguous situations (CITE).

    Read More

  • Racism In America

    1597 Words  | 4 Pages

    Racism (n): the prejudice that members of one race are intrinsically superior to members of other race (Wordnet search, 1), a controversial topic in today’s society, a subject that many people try to sweep under the rug, but yet a detrimental problem that has been present in America since the colonial era. Will this dilemma come to a halt? Can all Americans see each other as equals despite their skin color and nationality; and what role has it played in past generations versus today’s generations and how will it affect our future? Has this on going way of thinking gotten better or worse? These are questions raised when many think about the subject; especially members of American ethnic groups and backgrounds, because most have dealt with racial discrimination in their life time.

    Read More

  • The Mexican Revolution

    1250 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Mexican Revolution began November 20th, 1910. It is disputable that it extended up to two decades and seized more than 900,000 lives. This revolution, however, also ended dictatorship in Mexico and restored the rights of farm workers, or peons, and its citizens. Revolutions are often started because a large group of individuals want to see a change. These beings decided to be the change that they wanted to see and risked many things, including their lives. Francisco “Pancho” Villa and Emiliano Zapata are the main revolutionaries remembered. These figures of the revolution took on the responsibility that came with the title. Their main goal was to regain the rights the people deserved. The peons believed that they deserved the land that they labored on. These workers rose up in a vehement conflict against those opposing and oppressing them. The United States was also significantly affected by this war because anybody who did not want to fight left the country and migrated north. While the end of the revolution may be considered to be in the year of 1917 with the draft of a new constitution, the fighting did not culminate until the 1930’s.

    Read More

  • Race: biological or cultural

    1148 Words  | 3 Pages

    Race, in the common understanding, draws upon differences not only of skin color and physical attributes but also of language, nationality, and religion. Race categories are often used as ethnic intensifiers, with the aim of justifying the exploitation of one group by another. Race is an idea that has become so fixed in American society that there is no room for open-mindedness when challenging the idea of racial categories. Over the years there has been a drastic change with the way the term "race" is used by scientists. Essentially, there is a major difference between the biological and sociological views of race.

    Read More

  • Four Stages of Culture Shock Faced By Immigrants

    1688 Words  | 4 Pages

    Kessner, Thomas and Betty Boyd Caroli, “Today’s Immigrants, Their Stories.” Kiniry and Rose 343-346. Print.

    Read More

  • Immigrants Do NOT Increase Crime Rates

    2225 Words  | 5 Pages

    ...in European countries and countries. International Journal of Comparative Sociology, 52, 115-131. http://cos.sagepub.com/libaccess.lib.mcmaster.ca/content/52/1-2/114. Desmond, S. A., & Kubrin, C. E. (2009). THE POWER OF PLACE: Immigrants.

    Read More

  • The Definition Of Racism

    1713 Words  | 4 Pages

    In today’s society the definition of racism and what it entails may vary from person to person and the differences in the definition may be a reflection of alternative perspectives taken on the issue. A lot of the responses to the definition of racism may be based solely on personal experiences including the individual’s interactions with others, how they were raised, and the influences that affected them during their lifetime. With further research it can be discovered that contrary to popular belief, racism is not that simple and cannot simply be described by ones interactions or attitudes towards a specific group of people. Traditional views describe racism as the belief of the superiority of one race above others (Lecture, September 12,

    Read More

  • Racism in America - Past and Present

    2883 Words  | 6 Pages

    Racist and racism are provocative words in American society. To some, they become curse words. They are descriptive words of reality that cannot be denied. Some people believe that race is the primary determinant of human abilities and capacities and behave as if racial differences produce inherent superiorities. People of color are often injured by these judgements and actions whether they are directly or indirectly racist. Just as individuals can act in racist ways, so can institutions. Institutions can be overtly or inherently racist. Institutions can also injure people. The outcome is nonetheless racist, if not intentional (Randall).

    Read More

  • Racism as a Common Problem in the 21st Century

    1427 Words  | 3 Pages

    Racism as a Common Problem in the 21st Century Racism has been a problem since the very first day that two men of different races met in the past. Racism is defined as belief in the superiority of one race over all others. Often racism is a belief that one type of person has better physical attributes, or is more. intelligent. The snares are a lot of fun.

    Read More

  • Iso 9001 Case Study

    977 Words  | 2 Pages

    The ISO 9001 derives from the quality management standards established for military and nuclear power fields. The publication of ISO 9001 provide a general applicable guideline to standardize a wide range of industrial areas, regardless of the type of product. Two typical industry fields will be selected to discuss how the implementation of ISO 9001 in their QMS.

    Read More

  • Racism

    1265 Words  | 3 Pages

    Racism has often played a central role in conflicts between groups of people. Racism is the intentional or unintentional use of power to isolate, separate and exploit others as defined in the Webster dictionary. People generally respond to others differently based on what they know, which may include superficial characteristics often associated with race. This paper will express my opinion of how racism will effect America. I will base information from Webster’s definition of Racism, reading assigned for the course, and some of my own ideas on ways to overcome this obstacle as a nation.

    Read More

More about Intraracial Racism

Open Document