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American Racism Society In Nathan McCall’s “Makes Me Wanna Holler,” he describes the difficulties he must face as a young black boy experiencing the slow, never-ending process of the integration of blacks and whites. Through this process, his autobiography serves as an excellent example of my theory on the formation and definition of racial identity; a theory which is based upon a combination of the claims which Stuart Hall and George Lipsitz present in their essays regarding racial identity. Therefore the definition I have concocted is one in which racial identity consists of an unstable historical process through which one comes to know themselves in relation to an outside group. In this paper I will present Hall and Lipsitz’s arguments, describing how they confirm and support one another, leading to my theory concerning racial identity. I will then show how this theory is clearly exemplified in the story of McCall’s childhood. In Stuart Hall’s “Ethnicity: Identity and Difference,” he claims that identity is a volatile social process through which one comes to see the self. Hall argues that identity is not a thing rather a process “…that happens over time, that is never absolutely stable, that is subject to the play of history, and the play of difference.” These factors are constantly entering the individual in a never-ending cycle, re-establishing and affirming who one is. The “play of difference” contributes to this cycle through what Hall identifies as “the Other,” an outside group used for differentiation. He claims that “only when there is an Other can you know who you are.” The “Other” serves to provide a comparison in order to discover that which one is not; this is differentiation. Identity does not solely rely on the social differentiation of the self – identity is mutually constructed. It does not exist without “the dialogic relationship to the Other.”(Hall, 11) That is, one’s personal narrative of the self must also come into play, relating identity to difference. This personal narrative is attained only because of the important role History plays in tying these factors together. In order for one to relate identity to difference using the dialogical method, he/she must “position [themselves] somewhere in order to say anything at all.” This position is attained through an understanding of history; a history which... ... middle of paper ... ... the *censored* they’d [whites] heaped on blacks all these years,” (McCAll, 216) proving that history is still present. In summary, I have presented a theory for the formation and definition of racial identity, providing an example which proves it true in American Society. Yet, this does not leave me with a sense of satisfaction, rather it leaves me with great disappointment. What does this say for the society we live in; a society which is supposed to be based on the American Creed? My arguments have only proved that we are not truly individuals; the American Creed is not something America lives by. Rather we are identified as groups and not seen on a personal level…a very disturbing realization. Bibliography: Works Cited Berteaux, John, and Gerrald D. Doppelt, ed. Dimensions of Culture 1: Diversity. New York: McGraw-Hill Companies, 1998. Hall, Stuart. “Ethnicity: Identity and Difference.” Berteaux, Doppelt 7-22. Lipzitz, George. “The Possessive Investment in Whiteness: Racialized Social Democracy and the ‘White’ Problem in American Studies.” Berteaux, Doppelt 196-211. McCall, Nathan. “Makes Me Wanna Holler.” Berteaux, Doppelt 215-225.
Identity is 'how you view yourself and your life.'; (p. 12 Knots in a String.) Your identity helps you determine where you think you fit in, in your life. It is 'a rich complexity of images, ideas and associations.';(p. 12 Knots in a String.) It is given that as we go through our lives and encounter different experiences our identity of yourselves and where we belong may change. As this happens we may gain or relinquish new values and from this identity and image our influenced. 'A bad self-image and low self-esteem may form part of identity?but often the cause is not a loss of identity itself so much as a loss of belonging.'; Social psychologists suggest that identity is closely related to our culture. Native people today have been faced with this challenge against their identity as they are increasingly faced with a non-native society. I will prove that the play The Rez Sisters showed this loss of identity and loss of belonging. When a native person leaves the reservation to go and start a new life in a city they are forced to adapt to a lifestyle they are not accustomed to. They do not feel as though they fit in or belong to any particular culture. They are faced with extreme racism and stereotypes from other people in the nonreservational society.
It is commonly thought that one has to struggle in order to be black. Black people tend to have a stronger sense of group identification than any other racial group in the United States. The question is whether or not this is helpful or detrimental to the black population. In “Promoting Black (Social) Identity” Laura Papish criticizes Tommie Shelby’s We Who Are Dark. Shelby argues that the black population’s sense of group identity is vital to furthering their collective political agenda. Shelby believes that best way to make sure that their political ideologies are cohesive is for black individuals to have a “thick conception of black identity” (Papish 2).” Having a thick sense of black identity calls for “ African Americans think of themselves as and act as a ‘nation’ constituted not by physical borders, but by a shared ethnic, cultural, or biological trait that imbues the community with a ‘general will’ and this “ will” typically includes political motives (Papish 2). Papish argues that it not part of the duty of a black person to have any sense of loyalty or solidarity with other African-Americans and that not doing so does not make them any less black than those that choose to have a thick sense of black identity. Those who don’t grow up with a strong black group identity in their lives are just as black and go through some of the same struggles that other black people do. In the video “Black Like Who?” Debbie Reynolds did not have a strong sense of blackness because she was raised in a white neighbor. The other ladies in the short film talk about how they thought that she had a “ real problem with [her] ethnicity like [she] had a problem with the fact that [she] born African-American (Reynolds). This along with the documentary on Lacey Schwartz show that a person’s sense of blackness is very much a product of what others around them define blackness as. However, it is not clear
In The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored, the author James Weldon Johnson, constructs an oppressive and judgmental image of America through the experiences of an unnamed man of mixed ethnic background. The main character remains nameless in an effort to represent the common man as well as to add to the issue of identity. As a mulatto, the ex-colored man struggles with the question of what he is. The book explores the differences between races and the difference in the way a person is treated depending on what color their skin is. Since the ex-colored man was not simply b...
Identity is very important in a person’s life. It can induce pride or shame, provide a community or provide a way to distinguish one’s self from others. But, where does this identity come from? It is easy to assume we are who we are because of who raised us, but this is not the entire case. Andrew Solomon, author of “Far from the Tree” introduced two different forms of identity, vertical and horizontal. He defines vertical identity as the attributes acquired and shared by the people we are raised by and horizontal identity as the attributes different from those who raised us, but are shared and acquired through a peer community. These two types of identities generally do not intersect and, depending on the circumstance, one can greatly impact
Kwame Appiah, author of Racial Identities, explores the complexity between individual and collective identity. Throughout the text, Appiah attempts to define these complicated notions, noting their similarities and differences. He calls upon the ideas of other philosophers and authors to help formulate his own. Essentially, individual and collective identity are very much intertwined. Appiah argues that collective identities are very much related to behavior. There is not one particular way a certain ethnic group acts, but instead “modes of behavior (Appiah 127).” These behavioral acts provide loose norms or models. However, Appiah also notes that it is how individuals essentially make or allow these collective identities to become central
Life on the Color Line is a powerful tale of a young man's struggle to reach adulthood, written by Gregory Howard Williams - one that emphasizes, by daily grapples with personal turmoil, the absurdity of race as a social invention. Williams describes in heart wrenching detail the privations he and his brother endured when they were forced to remove themselves from a life of White privilege in Virginia to one where survival in Muncie, Indiana meant learning quickly the cold hard facts of being Black in skin that appeared to be White. This powerful memoir is a testament to the potential love and determination that can be exhibited despite being on the cusp of a nation's racial conflicts and confusions, one that lifts a young person above crushing social limitations and turns oppression into opportunity.
In both monographs, a separate entity is responsible for shaping a person’s identity. In The War that Made America, the colonists’ conflicting ideologies with the British led them to create a new American identity based off of being different from the British. In Soul by Soul, slave-owners created their own identity from their dominance over their slaves, and slaves created their identity through their responses to enslavement. Both of these monographs demonstrate how an outside source, no matter what it is, can shape a person’s identity. Through these books, the audience learns that their identity is separate from themselves. How a person reacts to a situation, whether it be a war, taxes, or slavery, determines their identity. In the 18th century, colonists created a national identity through their responses to British demands. In the 19th century, slave-owners and slaves produced a personal identity based off of their dependence on one another; slave-owners depended on dominance over slaves, and slaves depended on their agency in face of slavery. In times before the American Revolution to the Civil War, people were united by the fact that they depended on an outside source to determine their uniqueness and their
The growth in the multiracial population in the United States of America since the 1970’s has greatly increased and is continuing to increase. Although the number of biracial and multiracial Americans is relatively small to the total population at 5 million, the multiracial population is growing at a rate of ten times faster than that of the White population (Stuckey 2008). These facts weren’t officially known until the United States government’s verdict to allow individuals to claim multiple races on the 2000 US census. Along with these aspects, the increased exposure of multiracial public figures and celebrities such as Tiger Woods, Halle Berry, and Barack Obama, has caused the focus of public discussion and scholarly attention on multiracial people to increase greatly. Much of this discussion focuses on racial identity. Racial Identity is put to question in censuses and other polls, applications, and in personal meetings. When it comes to answering in these situations I believe most biracial White-Black people internally identify as Black, and describe how both Blacks and Whites see them as Black. I argue that the one-drop rule still shapes racial identity.
Kwame Anthony Appiah, an outstanding writer, voices his opinion on the subject of our culture and racism in his essay, “Racial Identities.” Appiah’s conclusion has a lot of meaning to itself along with a sense of explanation. He says, “So here are my positive proposals: live with fractured identities; engage in identity play; find solidarity, yes, but recognize contingency, and above all, practice irony.” Moreover, these positive proposals are Appiah’s ideas to help guide our lives in a positive way. To live with fractured identities and learn to understand the unpredictable. To engage in identity play and test ourselves to new abilities while learning to testing our identity. Finding
In her book, Difference Matters, Brenda Allen discusses the importance of identity in an individual and in society. She addresses specific factors, from age to social class, that affect society. In her first chapter, more specifically, she talks about these factors as a whole in introducing the why differences matter. She then lays out the issues associated with differences in society. There are misinterpretations and misconceptions that become problematic between the relationship with individuals and society. This chapter is perfect for my topic because it shows that people differ from
Both points serve McIntosh’s objective of making clear that the notion of white privilege is not a myth. Due to the socially constructed and arbitrary nature of ideologies concerning race (a biological, phenotypic/ (physical) expression of human features) the highly immoral and nonsensical practice [whether recognized or not] of white supr...
Being able to identify with a certain group has been an issue that individuals hesitate with daily. Am I Black, are you a girl, what religion do you practice? These are all common questions that society has forced individuals to concentrate on. Should an individual have to pick a side or is it relevant to the human race to identify with any group? One may believe not, but for others having and knowing one’s own identity is important, because it is something that they have been developing their entire life. Along with how their identity influenced their life chances and their self-esteem. This can also affect how society interact with whatever identity an individual chooses to live. Which is why it was important to recognize how identifying
James Marcia’s theory of identity formation was based on Erik Erikson 's “psychosocial stage theory” (Diessner, 2008) identity versus identity confusion. The foundation of which he used to identify, and divide one’s
The issue of identity is of primary importance in the cosmopolitan today’s world characterized by blending of cultures and globalization processes. Identity is a construct: the ways an individual understands what it is to belong to a certain gender, race or culture. As Jonathan Culler says “Literature has not only made identity a theme; It has played a significant role in the construction of the identity of the readers. Literary works encourage identification with characters by showing things from their point of view” (2005: 112). In this regard there is a lot of theoretical debate that concerns the nature of ‘subject’ or ‘self’. The question about the ‘subject’ is ‘what am I?’ and further the question whether the identity of the ‘subject’ ‘something given’ or ‘something constructed’ has
In this paper I will be focusing on Erikson’s Theory mainly about identity versus role confusion. Finding one’s identity is not always an easy task. Everyone at some point in his or her life has had, as Erikson puts it, an identity crisis. Everyone experiences different struggles that can have either a positive or negative impact on their identity. On my path to identity, I have reached identity achievement, which means I have explored and made commitments. I will also be focusing on two articles highlighting a fifth possible outcome regarding identity and looking at identity statuses as developmental trajectories.