I trust what I had to say yesterday about the relevance of this course on race and ethnic relations got through to you ok. I didn't feel terribly good about my performance, and the lawn mower disruption did not help either. Next time that happens, unless we are watching a video, I think we'll take a break. As promised, I will give you the passage from Dr. Bonilla-Silva's book, Racism Without Racists, (p.1) I believe he articulates well why Whites in particular often do not consider the status of race and ethnic relations that significant or even think about it at all these days. He says:
"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.""
And I forgot to add in class what Dr. Bonilla-Silva went on to say: "But regardless of whites' "sincere fictions," racial considerations shade almost everything in America." He then goes on to list the many socio-economic variables on which blacks lag far behind whites.
FIRST FAMILY ACTIVITY: Over the next two weeks we are going to be seeing a three-part video series entitled, "Race: the power of an illusion." It challenges the whole notion of race and gives an overview of the pernicious effect of race theory and racism in America from our earliest days as a nation. Following the viewing of each part, I want the families to discuss what you saw and identify what you believe were the TWO most important points made in each part, points which you believe everyone should know. Then, have a designated family member post these points as comments on this blog entry (you should rotate the responsibility for this among family members).Please be succinct in stating these points -- no more than a few sentences. At the conclusion of this, each family will have contributed SIX points total. We'll review these in class and I will add my own analysis of this video series. I will use some of the points you come up with as a basis for some questions on the midterm exam.
This activity is worth 6 points.
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Yellow Group says that the two most important things within this part of the movie were:
That there are no genetic markers that “define race”. Instead, there are more differences within a race than comparing the races.
Race is more of a social tool than a genetic tool. We ascribe to race so much despite the fact that we are so similar. Within the movie, Noah had exact matches to people with Icelandic, Balkan, and African DNA.
Red Group:
1)There is no biological basis for race. Not enough time has elapsed for significant genetic diversity to develop within the human species. For race to be unique it would have to have concordance with other genetic traits, which it does not.
2)Even though we have determined that race is empty of any biological meaning, we must still acknowledge its significance as a social and historical concept that has real affects on people’s lives (greatly contributing to the likelihood of where they will live, socioeconomic class, quality of education etc.).
Part 2 of the Video
Yellow Family
1. A quote in the very beginning of the video stated "race is how people assign meaning to how you look." As a family, we feel that this quote illustrates the affect that race has on our culturally biased society.
2. Thomas Jefferson called upon science to show the inferiority between whites and other races. Society used pseudo-sciences to support European superiority.
Black Group-Video 1
The video entitled the difference between us gave us a better perspective of what the difference really is. The two most significant points we believe the video made include:
1. Race is not based on biological differences. Just as the saying says beauty is only skin-deep, so is race.
2. We are all very similar genetically; more so than penguins, that happens to be very similar in looks yet is completely different. Genetics cannot be used to define race.
Red Group: Part 2:
1st point= Indians were allowed to assimilate while blacks were not based on the belief that culture and not race separated the Indians from the whites. This suggests that the white idea of race was merely created to justify slavery.
2nd point= Justifying slavery with race, instead of the true reason of the simple need for labor, allowed for future discrimination even after slavery ended, because it put the idea that blacks truly were below whites into people's minds.
Black Group:
Part 2: The Story We Tell
1) The Declaration of Independence stated "All men are created equal", however if this were true then why were some of these men in bondage and some being dispossessed of their land? One of the main points from this section of the film was that the idea of raced emerged as a justification for these actions. The idea of social class/status/power was a gradual process that emerged from the idea of race.
2) Scientists provided "purely scientific" examples of innate differences in humans. White societies acceptance of these examples illustrated how the power of the ideology of race can change minds. Since Departments of State as well as the Navy, etc. were the first to buy books from the likes of Morton, this ideology became naturalized. This has been exhibited because even years after the abolition of slavery, the rationalization behind it still remains.
YELLOW GROUP
We felt that the fact that in the past, many times one could walk across state lines to become a different race based upon how that state’s legislature felt. In Florida for example one had to be 1/8 African to be considered black, in Virginia it was 1/16, and in Alabama it was any African ancestry.
The re-stratification of whites due to block busting enabled them to be more subsidized by the housing market when compared to blacks and Latinos. Due to this, comparatively, whites held twice as much wealth as blacks due to where they lived (also called their “Savings Bank”).
Red Group (portion 3):
1. It is definitive proof being able to walk across a state line and change your race, as in the case of having to be 1/16 African American in Virginia to be disqualified for citizenship, and 1/8 in Florida, that race is subjective.
2. The presence of caucasions in a particular neighborhood causes the cost of housing to increase, therefor African Americans who are making equal wages are still not as well off due to the equity attained in homes.
Black Group
After our discussion we thought the two points that stuck out to us were: 1) Race was not actually a concrete decision. One interview talked about the fact that as you walked across a border of a state you could lose the label of being white or actually gain more "whiteness." The institutions and policis did not make a uniformed decision but allowed for interpretation as to the race a person was. 2) The next point that stuck out to our group was the talk about the "white exodus." This gave a good insight on the lack of oppurtunity that is commonly discussed in racial debates. As white people left the real estate agents took advantadge of the growing loss of property value. This loss greatly reduced the chances of a higher quality of living and also the ability to better there social standing.
Black Group
After our discussion we thought the two points that stuck out to us were: 1) Race was not actually a concrete decision. One interview talked about the fact that as you walked across a border of a state you could lose the label of being white or actually gain more "whiteness." The institutions and policis did not make a uniformed decision but allowed for interpretation as to the race a person was. 2) The next point that stuck out to our group was the talk about the "white exodus." This gave a good insight on the lack of oppurtunity that is commonly discussed in racial debates. As white people left the real estate agents took advantadge of the growing loss of property value. This loss greatly reduced the chances of a higher quality of living and also the ability to better there social standing.
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