White supremacy is a system that is used to maintain White dominance and superiority over minorities. Although racism and White Supremacy are not as obvious as it used to be, there has been a new development of racism, which maneuvers as the notions of colorblindness, assimilation, and the model minority. Colorblindness is a racial ideology that diminishes discrimination through not seeing the color of skin. However, this causes racial bias because there is still White privilege in society. In other words, we already adopt a world of Whiteness as it is an unnoticed notion of orientation as it shapes relationships of power, self identity and objects in space. Also, without acknowledging cultures, one is not able to accept unique differences between humankind. Assimilation is the process by which different cultures come to resemble one group. Therefore, assimilation was not made for unity and acceptance, but to force a culture by adapting into a limited perspective. This was a process of forced cultural abandonment of religious or ethnic minority groups in order to establish a larger community. Lastly, the model minority is a group that can achieve a “higher” degree of socioeconomic success than the average minority, this is including income, low criminal rates and stability. This causes separation and conflict between all minority groups because its an act of superiority. Although these concepts are seen to be positive by society, racism and white supremacy transcended into contemporary institutional barriers of prejudice, contributed by factors within our own minority communities such as assimilation, colorblindness, and the model minority.
“Color is something White people deeply desire, but cannot posses.” (Welsing). Dr. Cre...
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...conomically stable than other minorities. Being the highest of the working class is powerful. Whites are known to have superior access to funds, estate, and education than other minority groups. Also, greater workplaces are granted towards Whites. However, along with the concepts of acceptance, we are contradicted with an idea that race involves competition, which then leads to power and power can change the way we view each other. This causes separation and conflict between all minority groups because there is an act of superiority within our own kind. In today’s age, the model minority is looked at in the Asian American Community. For Example, in most Universities, the population is populated with Caucasians and Asians. Because they are on the hierarchy of minorities, they are the closest treated to White, even though all minorities are still considered “inferior.”
Whiteness is a conceived ideology that has existed and been maintained since early history. This ideology has negatively influenced individuals of colour, causing them to receive many unfair benefits and disadvantages. In this essay, I will argue that the three most important overall features of whiteness are; that it is perceived as a normalized and dominant culture, that society considers white individuals as the most superior race and lastly that these individuals are easily granted countless of opportunities and privileges other races simply cannot have or afford. I will also show that through these features, whiteness essentially becomes a form of identity, shaping and maintaining the social institutions. Moreover, I have chosen these
Across the nation, millions of Americans of all races turn on the television or open a newspaper and are bombarded with images of well dressed, articulate, attractive black people advertising different products and representing respected companies. The population of black professionals in all arenas of work has risen to the point where seeing a black physician, attorney, or a college professor are becoming more a common sight. More and more black people are holding positions of respect and authority throughout America today, such as Barack Obama, Colin Powell, Condelezza Rice and many other prominent black executives. As a result of their apparent success, these black people are seen as role models for many Americans, despite their race. However, these groups of black people are exceptions to the rule and consist of only a tiny fraction of all black Americans. These black people in turn actually help to reinforce the inequality of black Americans by allowing Americans of other races to focus on their success. A common thought is, "They made it, why can't you do the same?" The direct and truthful answer to that question is Racism.
In the beginning when Asians came to America, they had started out with nothing, no foundation, and no help. All they could do was work hard to create a better life with their own hands, someday, in hope that they will succeed. Back in the 1800’s, during the gold rush days, Americans were displeased with the amount of Asian immigrants who came and took their jobs. Since then, Asians were able to survive and to achieve a great amount of success in the US. In order to catch up along with the rest of the world, the government created an example for their own people, known as the model minority. The model minority is a stereotype suggests that Asian Americans are “more academically, economically, and socially successful than any other racial minority groups.” (Yoo) In today’s world, Asian Americans are known to be “culturally — even genetically — endowed with the characteristics that enable them to succeed in American society.” (Wu) Model minority refers to a racial minority that serves a good example to be followed and compared for all other race; therefore, Asian Americans are characterized to it as one. If an Asian American is successful and smart, then it must be true about the whole Asian race. It creates false assumptions that every Asian is the same, which can discriminate and stereotype all Asian Americans who doesn’t belong in the category. This creates an unfair and unjust disadvantage and treatment towards Asian Americans who are targeted as one, in other words, it’s a problem that their needs and aids are ignored by society.
Prior to beginning my readings on white racial identity, I did not pay much attention to my white race. If someone had asked me to describe my appearance I would have said short blond hair, blue eyes, average stature, etc. One of the last things I would have noted was the color of my skin. Growing up in overwhelmingly white communities, I never thought to use the color of my skin to differentiate myself from others. Over the course of this dialogue I have learned that my white racial identity is one of the most defining aspects of my appearance in this society. There is a certain level of privilege that I am afforded based solely on the color of my skin. According to Peggy McIntosh, “White privilege is like an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, assurances, tools, maps, guides, codebooks, passports, visas, clothes, compass, emergency gear, and blank checks” (71). All these objects listed by McIntosh are things I have access to and certainly take for granted. Due to a history of non-white racial oppression, which transformed into decades of racial discrimination that still lingers today, the white race has dominated our society in terms of resources and prosperity. The ideas of wealth, higher-level education and ambition to succeed are all traits commonly linked to people of the white race that collectively define privilege. The aspect of privilege can also produce disadvantages for people of the white race as well. In the book Promoting Diversity and Justice, the author D. Goodman notes that people of advantage groups develop a sense of superiority, which will sometimes lead them to wonder if, “their achievements were based on privilege or merit” (107). Along with a diminished sense of accomplishment, the cost ...
Most people are often unaware or misinformed of many situations that affect them in their everyday life. Some of this issues could include the topics that the authors mention – multiculturalism or white privilege. Gates explains that “the debate [on multiculturalism] has been miscast from the beginning [and] it may be worth setting straight” (26). Gates is addressing the opposition to multiculturalism by expressing that the topic that they might have original viewed as negativity, could actually the key to achieving true ethnic diversity. He is stating that if people continue to believe that multiculturalism is just a way to boost the self-esteem of minorities, then it will continue to create a problematic situation where different ethnicities constantly clash because people fear what they do not understand. McIntosh reveals a prime example of this dismissive nature of understanding cultural diversity. She states that she believes that “whites are carefully taught not to recognize white privilege” (1). Gates is able to shed light on McIntosh’s claim because the miscomprehension of cultural diversity and the idea of white privilege are intrinsically tied. If people are not taught to respect other ethnicities and their traditions then it creates this idea that the cultural that is being taught – in this case white – is the dominant one. McIntosh states that this is an unconscious effort and I would have to agree.
While browsing through articles on the internet, I came across many related to the topic of racism. I am beginning to feel as if I am surrounded by stories of racism. From the KKK’s aggressive campaign against immigrants, to the police violence against black people in cites throughout our nation, racism and discrimination continue to be problems. One story stood out to me and continues to make me uncomfortable. Malachi Wilson, a five year-old boy, could not attend his first day of kindergarten in Seminole, Texas. What could he have done to warrant the principal’s rejection? His hair was simply too long.
Racial Prejudice What is a prejudice against? a set of learned beliefs and values that lead a person to be biased against other members of other groups. prejudices are convenient(bequeath,brauchbar,passend) and inaccurate. People are not seen as individuals, biased people label other people as special groups.
While racial prejudice and racism may seem and sound similar, they are different. According to the Oxford Dictionary racism is “the belief that all members of each race possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races” (Racism); whereas, prejudice is a “preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience” (Prejudice). An important difference between racial prejudice and racism is that prejudice is a part of individuals, and racism is a part of a society. Racism is far more powerful than racial prejudice, even though it takes racial prejudice for racism to exist. Racism is where a “racial group has the social power to act on racial prejudice and negatively impact the lives of another racial group” (Harvey & Allard, 2012, p. 72). Racism is far more impacting and damaging than racial prejudice, even though racism cannot exist without some form of racial prejudice being present. An example of racial prejudice would be to assume that African American teenagers tend to be thieves. An individual store owner may have such racial prejudice simply based on an unfounded preconceived opinion. The store owner may be more suspicious of African American teenagers when they shop at his store that that of White teenagers. Racial prejudice can also happen when a person sees a group of African American teenagers, and automatically views them as gangsters and trouble makers simply based on an unfounded preconceived opinion. An extreme example of racism is when African Americans were not treated as equals in many parts of America before and duri...
Temporary inequality exists as a means of “improving” a subordinate to the level of a dominant. After the period of inequality is over, the two view each other as equals. The other form of inequality, permanent inequality, exists solely because of an ascription of inferiority to a subordinate that is inherent and unchangeable. Unlike temporary inequality, there is no possibility of improvement for the subordinate; they are, in the eyes of the dominant, inferior and impossible to “fix.” The dominants, who view themselves naturally superior to the subordinates, begin to take advantage of the subordinates. “Out of the total range of human possibilities, the activities most highly valued in any particular culture will tend to be enclosed within the domain of the dominant group; less valued functions are relegated to the subordinates” (Rothenberg, 112). Moreover, the subordinates, who by this point are under the total control of the dominant group, may begin to internalize the value of the dominants. “[Subordinates’] incapacities are ascribed to innate defects or deficiencies of mind or body…More importantly, subordinates themselves can come to find it difficult to believe in their own ability” (112). This theory of domination and subordination are clearly mirrored in race relations in the United States. Whites, who are the dominant group, make all of the fallacious errors involved in race-based thinking; they are prone to, like Miller describes, hoarding superior roles in society and practicing systematic cruelty towards the subordinates due to their sincere belief that the subordinates are inherently incapable of rising to the level of the dominant. This internalized belief on the part of the dominants, that the subordinates
In the United States and internationally, there is a multitude of indicators that the racial environment is changing. Environmental pollution and racism are connected in more ways than one. The world is unconsciously aware of environmental intolerances, yet continues to expose the poor and minorities to physical hazards. Furthermore, sociologist continue to study “whether racial disparities are largely a function of socioeconomic disparities or whether other factors associated with race are also related to the distribution of environmental hazards” (Mohai and Saha 2007: 345). Many of these factors include economic positions, health disparities, social and political affairs, as well as racial inequalities.
Despite Asian Americans extended history of discrimination in the U.S., on average they have surpassed or reached parity with their white counterparts in multiple socioeconomic indicators such as income, educational attainment, and net worth. Due to this success, Asian Americans have been labeled the “model minority”, attributing their achievements to cultural values such as hard work, devotion to education, and discipline. The model minority argument is an ideological argument framed by cultural racism to discredit the achievements of Asian Americans in the U.S. while simultaneously targeting the cultural values of other minorities in the U.S. This argument is used to reinforce the racial structure in the U.S. by granting fair-skinned Asian
Racism is defined as the belief that one race posses something better or more superior than another race. Racism and Racial Discrimination has been around for 2 Centuries. It started off in medieval times. Often rulers would be Prejudice or would have Racial Assumptions point toward a peasant because of his/her appearance or wealth. From there slavery took over. During MOST of the 19th century, and all of the 20th century, slavery ruled. If you were “colored” a termed used for African American, you were thought of as less than trash. African Americans faced 4 of the 7 most common types of Racial Discrimination. They faced Prejudice, Racial Assumptions, Harassment and Systematic Racism.
Racism and prejudice has been present in almost every civilization and society throughout history. Even though the world has progressed greatly in the last couple of decades, both socially and technologically, racism, hatred and prejudice still exists today, deeply embedded in old-fashioned, narrow-minded traditions and values.
Brown (2003) argues how whiteness is a dominant race (pg.37). The dominant race was white while excluding non-whites from certain class privileges such as the right to have better health care similar to someone of a white ethnic background. It led to emergence of racial formation aim at dividing the white from the black’s base on their racial identity .A person of non-white racial identity is sometimes referred to as “others” meaning he or she does not belong, but of a different racial category {grouping of people base on racial identity and ethnicity}. The grouping of people into different racial categories is reinforcing racism in relation to keeping the white race dominant and powerful over
A social inequality that I would say I’m concerned with would be, racial and ethnic inequality. Racial or ethnic inequality is often established based on characteristics such as skin color and other physical characteristics, or a person’s place of origin or culture. Another meaning of racial inequality would be the advantages and disadvantages that affect different races within the Unites States. Race has become a socially constructed category capable of restricting or enabling social status. Racial inequality can lead to diminished opportunities, which can also lead to cycles of poverty and political problems. With this minority members in a society can result in discriminating actions such as; exclusion, oppression, expulsion, and extermination.