Charles Mills’ The Racial Contract Theses 8, 9 and 10 I. Thesis 8: The Racial Contract tracts the moral/political consciousness of (most) white moral agents (Most controversial chapter) a. A naturalized account (actual) will help to lead to a prescription. Based on a racialized moral psychology (p.93): Whites act racist without even realizing it. b. Much of the chapter is a long explanation of how whites have brutalized nonwhites (pp.98-101). Difference between cynical and realist. c. Discussion of the Jewish Holocaust: It becomes an outright tragedy only when it is European against European. Quotes Hitler on p.106: d. Whites who do not go along with the contract: Mills argues that there is a choice for whites in the racial contract, albeit it a difficult one - p.107. Going along with things makes us all guilty. On the other hand, if we do not go along, it makes us a "race traitor" (p.108). II. Thesis 9: The Racial Contract has always been recognized by nonwhites as the real determinant of (most) white moral/political/practice a. The “invisibility” of the Racial Contract to whites, and its visibility to nonwhites, p.110. b. The Racial Contract norms white and nonwhite persons morally, epistemically, and aesthetically (p.118). Given this, what is required for a nonwhite person? c. First, personal struggle for personhood by overcoming the internalization of the racialized norms (pp.118—119). d. Second, cognitive resistance: thinking against the grain (pp.119-120). e. Third, the somatic aspect of the Racial Contract: a politics of the body ( eg., black is beautiful), p.120. III. Thesis 10: The Racial Contract as a theory is superior to the raceless social contract a. Virtues of the Racial Contract: 1. Race should be at the center of contract theory rather than marginalized (p.
First, I will examine Omi and Winant’s approach. They made a clear distinction between ethnicity and race and only discussed how races are formed. They also define race as a constantly being transformed by political struggle and it is a concept which signifies and symbolizes social conflicts and interests by
Shelby suggests that Jorge Garcia presents an inadequate conception of racism, hence a new, more nuanced concept of racism is necessitated. Garcia contends that “racism is always wrong” and that it is an “individual moral vice” (479). Garcia’s “infection model” explains that an “act is racist insofar as a racist heart infects the conduct of the racist; and an institution is racist insofar as it is rooted in the racist attitudes and the resulting racist-infected actions of its founds and/or current functions” (479). Shelby’s response to this is that an action can be racist even if it is separate from racist intentions. Shelby perceives that Garcia holds the idea that “racist beliefs are a secondary and an inessential feature of racism” since “race-based non-cognitive attitudes are the key ingredient, an...
---. “White Man’s Guilt.” 1995 James Baldwin: Collected Essays. Ed. Toni Morrison. New York: Library of America, 1998: 722-727.
...to the foundation of American Society. We continue to support and maintain these social norms through deliberated and non deliberated ways, forced servitude and the advancement of racial legislation fostered racism in the United States. The most intellectuals of their time, contemplated to the degree of what the New Worlds people were considered to be human. Some Europeans had hope for Natives and possible guidance, but it became evident, that profit and status were more viable entities than any sort of human decency or equality. As minorities began to unify and protest discrimination, legislation was built off of Anglo-Saxon domination and ideologies, only to continue to delay the growth of colored people. Laws like the Chinese Exclusion Act, Separate but Equal, and Jim Crow Laws are just a few examples of such legislation inflicted upon colored groups in America.
Although I am not the same color as you, I have always regarded you as my brothers. Nature formed us with the same spirit, the same reason, the same virtues as whites…Your tyrants will reproach me…indeed, nothing is more common than the maxims of humanity and justice… Reducing a man to slavery…[takes] from the slave not only all forms of property but also the ability to acquire it… (56).
I hope that I have proved that Omi and Winant’s concept of racialization is the closest to the truth. They trace the social concept of race back to its earliest construction during the sixteenth century through the Federal Housing Administration discrimination polices following the Second World War. Like how the game of Monopoly was construction, so is race. The goal of both Monopoly and race is to leave others at the bottom and be the only one top. The courts in our country have upheld race through cases like Plessy v. Ferguson which keeps blacks from becoming white. The system of race in the United States is constructed in a way were whites are dominant and other races are subordinate.
Race is a social construct that has been used to justify the capitalization of slavery. These subtle genetic phenotypic differences have become a very crucial influence on the lives of people because it is fundamentally how they identify with themselves and with others alike. The color of the skin had become somehow synonymously intrinsic with self-worth and acceptance; moreover, dissociation and low self of esteem if views are unfavorable.
states "white males have been silently victimized one by one" (qtd. in Brimelow and Spencer).
In order to understand white normativity, I need to address the meaning of white and the history of white people. A person is white if he or she has no black ancestry anywhere in family history (Zack, 2006). Therefore, the definition points out white purity. White purity resulted from nationalism and biologism becoming a moral, social and civic hereditary virtue (Zack, 2006).
Race has been one of the most outstanding situations in the United States all the way from the 1500s up until now. The concept of race has been socially constructed in a way that is broad and difficult to understand. Social construction can be defined as the set of rules are determined by society’s urges and trends. The rules created by society play a huge role in racialization, as the U.S. creates laws to separate the English or whites from the nonwhites. Europeans, Indigenous People, and Africans were all racialized and victimized due to various reasons. Both the Europeans and Indigenous People were treated differently than African American slaves since they had slightly more freedom and rights, but in many ways they are also treated the same. The social construction of race between the Europeans, Indigenous People, and Africans led to the establishment of how one group is different from the other.
With all of these facts, the author tries to prove that racial differences and privileges appear exaggerated and unrealistic. The privileged and less privileged exist at all levels of society. Duke wants white people to understand that they are in the same position as all other races. The awareness of “white privilege” is only a fallacy that causes feel of guilt without foundation.
...er days perpetuates into the present society. It is important to note that African and White Americans didn’t start from the “same structural position” in terms of wealth. Though blatant racism towards blacks has been minimized, this racism or discrimination sort of changed to favoritism of Whites’ to Whites’; due to this Black Americans continue to stagger behind White in terms of economic success. Dr. Nancy DiTomaso carried out interviews with Whites from different social and political classes, which concluded that inequality in society is prolonged because of White favoritism rather than discrimination. Favoritism in employment among White Americans is an essential factor in maintaining their advantage and access to better paying and more secure jobs in the workforce. Despite racial classes, this favoritism sustains the superiority of Whites’ economic network.
William Apess then asks his mostly white audience to reexamine their Christian values along with their prejudices. His essay acknowledges that unless the discrimination and prejudices that plague the white man over the other races disappear, then there won’t be peace in the Union.
... the “Autobiography of the Imprisoned Peon.” He said, “…we had sold ourselves into slavery-and what could we do about it? The white folks had all the courts, all the guns, all the hounds, all the railroads, all the telegraph wires, all the newspapers, all the money, and nearly all the land-and we had only our ignorance, our poverty and our empty hands” (25). Keep in mind that this doesn’t just apply to whites oppressing other races. This applies to everyone that has control and the people they are discriminating against. With the vision of society being composed of a certain race and class and the determination of making the vision a reality, those who don’t meet the expectations may be forced to pay simply because of who they are or what their social status is.
Troutt, David D. "Unreasonable and the Black Profile." Los Angeles Times. 5 March 2000, p.m6