Analysis Of Race: The Power Of An Illusion

Racism is often considered a thing of the past, with its manifestation rarely being acknowledged in the United States today. Race: The Power of an Illusion, is a documentary that addresses the legacy of racism through its significance in the past, and its presence in society today. To understand racism, it is vital to understand the concept of race. Race is a social invention, not a biological truth. This can be observed through the varying classifications of race in different cultures and time periods. For instance, in the United States, race has long been distinguished by skin color. In nineteenth century China, however, race was determined by the amount of body hair an individual had. Someone with a large amount of facial hair, for example,

Created by a white man living in a society that had power to enforce his ideas, this model laid the foundation for racism, or the notion that one race is superior to another (Croteau & Hoynes, 2013). The United States is a racialized society, with racism deeply embedded into its history. The most renowned display of racism in the United States is the enslavement of Africans by white people. This is one of the many instances that highlights the government’s implementation of institutional racism, which has been experienced by people of many different races. In this documentary, American citizenship, the Federal Housing Administration, and real estate appear to be the focal portrayals of institutional racism. For hundreds of years, being white was essential to gaining American citizenship. In 1922, Ozawa, a Japanese businessman attempted to gain citizenship. However, the Supreme Court denied his request, stating that he was scientifically classified as Mongolian, not white. Three months later, a South Asian man, Thind, proved to the Court that he was white because he was scientifically classified as Caucasian, and therefore

For instance, the Asian American population has, on average, the highest level of education and the highest income among all races. Due to this, the racial discrimination this group had to endure throughout history is overlooked. Nevertheless, the manifestation of this inequality can be observed by the Asian communities still present in the United States, such as Chinatown in San Francisco. These communities appeared after white people brutally attacked and killed Asians because they felt the Asians were stealing their jobs and lowering their wages, driving Asians out of cities and forcing them to rely on each other and their own businesses for survival (Croteau & Hoynes, 2013). In addition, since Asians were not considered qualified for American citizenship throughout most of history, they are often still considered foreigners today. Another example of inequality today can be seen through real estate and the wealth gap between whites and minority groups. The Fair Housing Act of 1968 ended the discrimination against non-whites in the housing industry, but racial inequality still remains. When white neighborhoods began to integrate non-whites, white people sold their homes after their realtors instilled the fear of their homes decreasing in value. Realtors bought white homes for less than they were worth, and sold them to non-whites at inflated rates, a process known as “block-busting”.