Quotations & Lecture Material on Racism

I quoted a couple passages in 240A yesterday which I promised to put on the blog. For those in 240B (at 2:30) I did not get to these quotes yesterday but I will next Tuesday, Oct. 2nd.

The first passage is from an article by Stephen Jay Gould entitled "The Geometer of Race," which is mainly about one of the first race theories developed by Johann Friedrich Blumenbach in 1776. He coined the term "caucasian" to refer to whites and placed them at the top of his hierarchy of races. And his basis for doing this was not what could be considered "hard science" or fact but aesthetic judgment.
"... he identified the people around Mount Causasus as the closest embodiments of the original ideal and proceeded to name the entire European race for its finest representatives."

"But Blumenbach now faced a dilemma. He had already affirmed the mental and moral equality of all peoples. He therefore could not use these conventional criteria of racist ranking to establish degrees of relative departure from the Caucasian ideal. Instead, and however subjective (and even risible) we view the criterion today, Blumenbach chose physical beauty as his guide to ranking. He simply affirmed that Europeans were most beautiful, with Caucasians as the most comely of all. This explains why Blumenbach, ... linked the maximal beauty of the Causasians to the place of human origin. Blumenbach viewed all subsequent variation as departures from the originally created ideal --..."

"Blumenbach's descriptions are pervaded by his subjective sense of relative beauty, presented as though he were discussing an objective and quantifiable property, not subject to doubt or disagreement."

And then from the "Draft Official Statement of 'Race'" from the American Anthropological Association:

"Biophysical diversity has no inherent social meaning except what we humans confer upon it. The concept of "race" is in reality a product of that process. "Race" is a set of culturally created attitudes toward, and beliefs about, human difference developed following the widespread exploration and colonization by Western European powers since the sixteenth century...."Race" was invented as a social mechanism to justify the retention of slavery...."

"As they were constructing this society, white Americans fabricated the cultural/behavioral characteristics associated with each "race," linking superior traits to Europeans and negative and inferior ones to blacks and Indians. Thus arbitrary beliefs about different people were institutionalized and deeply embedded in American thought."

"How people have been accepted and treated within the context of their society and culture has a direct impact on how they perform within that society. The "racial" worldview was invented to assign some groups to perpetual low status while others were permitted access to privilege, power and wealth. The tragedy is that it succeeded all too well in constructing unequal populations. Given what we know about the capacity of normal humans to achieve and function within any culture, we conclude that present-day inequalities between human groups are not consequences of their biological inheritance; rather, these inequalities are products of social, economic, educational and political circumstances."

All of the above passages are very consistent with the video series and points that have been made in class lecture regarding the concept of race.

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Lecture material: Since I did not get as far as I would have liked yesterday (Thurs., Sept. 27), I am going to post some lecture notes below having to do with the Basic Definition of racism:

A. Racism: although I am sure that most people would reject the idea that they are "racist" according to the Basic Definition, this does not mean that racism is dead. Racism today is more subtle than blatant. And racism has perhaps had the most serious consequences when it is unrecognized, yet imbedded, in institutions.

(1) George Frederickson (who was interviewed in the video series) observes in his recent book, Racism: A Short History, that many people were ready to declare racism a thing of the past, especially after the fall of South African apartheid, the last racist regime. As he goes on to comment: "But racism does not require the full and explicit support of the state and law. Nor does it require an ideology centered on the concept of biological inequality. Discrimination by institutions and individuals against those perceived as racially different can long persist and even flourish under the illusion of nonracism, as recent studies of Brazilian race relations have discovered."

(a) In this context he talks about a "cultural racism," such as whites who believe Blacks or Latinos in ghettos are incurably infected by cultural pathologies.

(2) Eduardo Bonilla-Silva (also in the video series) argues that a new kind of racism has developed which he calls "colorblind racism," which sounds like an oxymoron. It appeals to nonracial factors such as economics to explain and even justify existing inequalities between races.

(3) I believe there does exist such a thing as "institutional" racism (also, institutional discrimination) such as in the realm of housing and criminal justice (the Jena 6). That is, racial biases seem to be built into the operation and policies of various institutions even if they are not legally enforced.


That's all for now. Don't forget to post your comment on my "Reflections on the Jena 6" (Sept. 26th post). And don't forget that your first essay is due next Tuesday, Oct. 2nd.

Reflections on the Jena 6 & Blog Activity

Since first hearing and reading about the "Jena 6" incident over a month a half ago, it has always struck me as an open-and-shut case of racism, especially in terms of the operation of our criminal justice system. My first major source of information was the Internet and a couple of websites devoted to a defense of the six black teenagers charged in the case. It seemed incredible that they were initially charged with attempted second degree murder for a schoolyard fight. And the white students who had started everything by hanging nooses from the tree after a black student sat there, not to mention a couple other confrontations initiated by whites, got treated relatively leniently. I selected a YouTube video to show the class which gave a four-minute summation of the incident complete with flashbacks to the KKK and lynchings, Rosa Parks, and Dr. King marching to reinforce the seriousness of the civil rights issues involved. But after seeing this video a few more times and some class discussion about it, I began to question some aspects of it and wondered how objective it had been and whether this was indeed such an open-and-shut case of racism in our criminal justice system.

On Thursday evening (9/20/07), CNN aired a one-hour special entitled, "Judgment at Jena," which reviewed the facts of the case as well as interview the black student who first sat under the tree, the parents of some of the defendants, a couple of white residents and students (although the interviewer acknowledged the difficulty of getting whites to talk about the case), and some of the thousands of protestors who had gathered in Jena. Although I will be the first to admit that TV specials on such incidents often leave much to be desired, and this one left me with some questions, I appreciated the balance and learning more about the case which made me feel a bit manipulated by the YouTube video.

A couple points stand out. First, I learned that one of the defendants, Mychal Bell, had two prior convictions for battery. Whether he was provoked or not by the white student Justin Barker, this record seems to suggest that he had a problem controlling his temper, and given that record the district attorney was somewhat justified charging him with a stiffer offense. Second, the injuries to Justin Barker were apparently more serious, and he was kicked even after he was unconscious. The initial charge was still inappropriate, I believe, but I don't know if I would characterize the incident as a mere schoolyard fight.

I had to agree with the black federal prosecutor who refused to press hate crime charges against the three white students who hung the nooses. It did not seem warranted. And I believe he made the single most insightful comment in the whole program. Near the end, he observed that perhaps the biggest failure in all this was the failure of school officials to use the noose hanging as an educational moment -- to involve black and white students and parents in a dialogue about race and prejudice and to underscore how serious this symbol of nooses hanging was. Rather, they chose to let things slide and merely suspended the white students and let then let the animosity fester on both sides of the racial divide until it exploded in acts of violence.

The few whites who were interviewed generally denied that Jena, Louisiana was a racist place. They also seemed to suggest that there was more integration than was apparent given the fact that for the most part blacks lived on the "other side of the tracks" from whites and they did not seem to mix socially. I believe these few whites fit the description Dr. Bonilla-Silva (blog post #2) gave of whites' attitude toward race these days.

Finally, the lesson I would draw from my reflections above is that when it comes to improving race and ethnic relations and eliminating the last vestiges of racism from our society, we need to approach such incidents with candor and objectivity and not fall into the trap of just picking sides and naively believing that truth and justice is all on one side or the other.

For 3 activity points, I want you to compose and post two paragraphs on the "Jena 6" which should include some comment or criticism on my reflections, as well as stating what you believe is an important lesson to be drawn from this case. You are welcome to refer to other classmates' comments, but be sure that you connect with some aspect of what I have posted above. Also, be sensitive to grammar and clarity of expression. Don't just post some incoherent, stream-of-consciousness blurb. The deadline for this is a week from this Friday, which would be Friday, October 5th.

"Jena 6" & Reflections on Questions

A follow-up to the Jena 6 incident which we discussed during the first week. Mychal Bell's sentencing hearing is coming up tomorrow (Sept. 20th). As you recall, he is facing a maximum of 22 years in prison for a schoolyard fight. Nationwide protests, vigils, etc. are planned. Chelsea Jones in 240A told me yesterday, you can wear black in solidarity with the Jena 6 tomorrow, or check out the latest at changeofcolor.org or just do a search for the Jena 6 to find out the latest. It is hard to imagine any judge handing down such a sentence, but regardless of how stiff or light the sentence is for Mychal Bell and the other defendants in this case, it clearly reveals that racism taints the operation of our criminal justice system in this country.

Regarding our family exercise yesterday, let me say that I was a bit disappointed in general in the questions you came up with. Many of them clearly qualified more as long essay questions rather than short-answer questions. For example, I believe a good short-answer question on part 2 of the video series would be something like: how did Thomas Jefferson justify the existence of African slavery when he stated in the Declaration of Independence that "all men are created equal?"Answer: that based on "a suspicion only" he believed Africans were inferior, not truly men, and so African slavery was ok. You must consider when you make up an open-ended, opinion question, how could I possibly evaluate that? So, when we do something like this again, please be more cognizant of designing a truly short-answer question, for which there is a clear answer that can be given.

Reaction to Comments & Next Tuesday

I've read 11 comments so far and have found them interesting. Some of you need to be more careful with spelling and grammar. Although I do not plan to correct spelling and grammatical errors on your blog entries, I will be making such corrections on your essays and paper and if there are many such errors which get in the way of understanding what you've written I will take points off for that.

Regarding the family activity I gave you yesterday in class, remember I want each family to identify what you consider three significant points from the video we saw. Also, be sure to make up a short answer question based on something in that video, and we will vote on which one of the short answer questions I will include on the midterm exam. This activity is worth 3 points, with a bonus point going to the family that makes up the best short answer question. Also, don't forget to choose a spokesperson for your family.

Lecture Material Catch Up

In order to show the first video presentation yesterday on the issue of racial classification, I had to skip over some lecture material. So, I am going to use my blog post for today to fill in that missing lecture material so I will not have to back-track in class tomorrow. This is material you will be responsible for studying for tests as well as possible in or out-of-class essays. I may do this in the future whenever I get behind in presenting important material in class. You do not have to respond to this, but you are certainly welcome to make comments or ask questions if you want.

A. Concluding remarks on relevance of this course

1. In terms of sensitivity training, I would encourage all of you to try to put yourself in a situation of being a distinct minority. For example, travelling abroad or even closer to home you may experience this by visiting an ethnic enclave such as "Little Havana" in Miami or "Little Saigon" in Orange Co., CA or any predominantly black community; and I believe you will find yourself becoming very conscious of your distinct racial or ethnic identity and very concerned with how you are perceived by those around you just as minorities are when moving in predominantly white environments.

2. Martin Luther King, Jr. was, of course, one of the great proponents of integration, but what he had in mind was more than just kids playing on a playground. He went far beyond that romantic vision conjured in his famous "I Have a Dream" speech to suggest that all groups needed to be integrated into the full economic, political, and cultural life of this society.

a. The sad fact is, however, that racial and ethnic minorities have historically been denied full access to the rights and opportunities this society has to offer, the rights and opportunities to develop as complete human beings.

b. In his last book, Dr. King spoke of all groups being "woven in a single garment of destiny" -- that even though we may not associate with each other all the time, we are all important to the current and future well-being of this society; we should all have the opportunity to contribute. That means EVERYONE, from the lowly janitor to the corporate CEO.


B. Basic Definitions: as I noted in class, we are going to spend some time discussing these definitions and some of the issues pertinent to them.

1. Culture: this is an important concept to grasp in the context of understanding what "multicultural" or "cultural diversity" entail. I purposely selected a broad definition which encompassed material objects, which I believe are important elements of culture along side values, beliefs, customs, etc.

a. Various metaphors have been used to describe American culture. Perhaps the most popular has been "melting pot", which implies a blending or assimilation of various cultures. There is certainly evidence of that, but not all groups' contributions have been blended equally. In fact, as we'll see, when this metaphor was first used it referred only to different white, European groups. More recently, metaphors such as: "salad bowl," "stew," "stir-fry," have come into use. These imply a mixing but also that each group maintains a distinct identity. This is the cultural pluralist ideal, and is usually what is meant by multicultural or cultural diversity.


This basically brings us up to the basic definition of race, which we will take up in the context of the three-part video series we began yesterday, "Race: the power of an illusion."

Dr. Eduardo Bonilla-Silva comment

"Nowadays except for members of white supremacist organizations, few whites in the United States claim to be "racist." Most whites assert that they 'don't see any color, just people'; that although the ugly face of discrimination is still with us, it is no longer the central factor determining minorities' life chances; and, finally, that like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., they aspire to live in a society where 'people are judged by the content of their character, not by the color of their skin.' More poignantly, most whites insist that minorities (especially blacks) are the ones responsible for whatever 'race problem' we have in this country. They publicly denounce blacks for 'playing the race card,' for demanding the maintenance of unnecessary and divisive race-based programs, such as affirmative action, and for crying "racism" whenever they are criticized by whites. Most whites believe that if blacks and other minorities would just stop thinking about the past, work hard, and complain less (particularly about racial discrimination), then Americans of all hues could 'all get along.'"
"But regardless of whites' "sincere fictions," racial considerations shade almost everything in America."
What do you think?

Welcome to the Soc. 240 blog

Dear Race and Ethnic Relations students, I welcome you to this blog to which you should feel free to post comments or questions relevant to our class.