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The following report gives a critical analysis of Dr. Cornel West’s book, “Race Matters.” In his book, Dr. West, a scholar, theologian, and activist, presents key issues of the day (1990s) primarily relating to race. He wrote “Race Matters” following the Los Angeles riot of 1992 after the acquittal of white police officers involved in the tragic beating of Rodney King. The book was originally published in April 1993 by New York: Vintage Books. This book is comprised of eight separate essays focusing primarily on racial issues relative to current events, the political climate, and market forces. Dr. West’s basic argument is that race matters in all aspects of American culture as well as abroad. He attempts to raise the awareness of his readers (and audiences) about the importance of race as an integral part of American society. In addressing the Los Angeles riot, Dr. West, wrote, “The riot of April 1992 was, neither a race riot, nor a class rebellion, rather, this monumental upheaval was a multiracial, trans-class, and largely male display of justified social rage.” These events were unfortunate, and attempts were made by ‘the powers that be’ to blame them on “the black underclass, the action of criminal hoodlums, or the political revolt of the oppressed urban masses miss the mark.” Instead, Dr. West attributed the cause to: economic decline, cultural decay, and political lethargy in American life. He stated, “Race was the visible catalyst, not the underlying cause.” The above-mentioned essays are: Nihilism in Black America, The Pitfalls of Racial Reasoning, The Crisis of Black Leadership, Demystifying the Black Conservatism, Beyond Affirmative Action: Equality and Identity, On Black-Jewish Relations, Black Sexuality: T... ... middle of paper ... ...elves through white lenses. Malcolm X contended that “the only legitimate response to white supremacy ideology and practice is black self-love and black self-determination free of the tension generated by ‘double-consciousness.’ I concur with Dr. West’s view of Malcolm X and believe if had lived longer he would have effected major changes in the black community. In conclusion, Dr. West did an incredible job in his book. He clearly displayed, not only that race matters, but how and why it matters. It should serve as a reference on key racial issues for all parties dealing with race per se. My question and thesis concerned Dr. West’s ability to enhance my knowledge of how race matters. He did so in a way that I will always remember. I know, through the essays/book, how race impacts my life, others, African American Politics, and American society as a whole.
In the article, “A Letter My Son,” Ta-Nehisi Coates utilizes both ethical and pathetic appeal to address his audience in a personable manner. The purpose of this article is to enlighten the audience, and in particular his son, on what it looks like, feels like, and means to be encompassed in his black body through a series of personal anecdotes and self-reflection on what it means to be black. In comparison, Coates goes a step further and analyzes how a black body moves and is perceived in a world that is centered on whiteness. This is established in the first half of the text when the author states that,“white America’s progress, or rather the progress of those Americans who believe that they are white, was built on looting and violence,”
Consolidated with authentic research, Twilight provides an important examination of the hidden reasons for the Los Angeles riots. A more drawn out chronicled see additionally uncovers the bigger class strains and the gigantic change of ethnic structure of Los Angeles from 1970 to 1990 that added to the atmosphere that could deliver such a huge scale riot.
Racism is against equality, divides unions and promotes stratification. The differences that humans have created between race are some of the causes of America's division. From thousands of years ago, racial injustice has meant oppression for Hispanics, Asians, and blacks primarily. Although racism is not as visible nowadays, it still exists, but it is more subtle, which means that sometimes it is difficult to identify an action that has a discriminatory purpose. In the article “The Great White Way” by Debra J. Dickerson, she presents the impact that race has in America, and emphasizes the real purpose of having the “whiteness” status. Similarly, in the letter to his teenage son called “Between The World And Me” written by Ta-nehisi Coates,
When it all comes down to it, one of the greatest intellectual battles U.S. history was the legendary disagreement between Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois. This intellectual debate sparked the interest of the Northerners as well as the racist whites that occupied the south. This debate was simply about how the blacks, who just gained freedom from slavery, should exist in America with the white majority. Even though Washington and DuBois stood on opposite sides of the fence they both agreed on one thing, that it was a time for a change in the treatment of African Americans. I chose his topic to write about because I strongly agree with both of the men’s ideas but there is some things about their views that I don’t agree with. Their ideas and views are the things that will be addressed in this essay.
Race-thinking: what is it? Isn’t the world past the issue of race? Do races even exist and if so, what does it mean to have a racial identity? Is colorblindness possible and how important is it? These are the questions Paul Taylor addresses in the book “Race: A Philosophical Introduction”. Paul Taylor is a self-proclaimed “radical constructionist” who will maintain that race is very real in our world and in the United States as a whole (p. 80). Taylor takes care to ensure he addresses the real needs concerning racial dynamics in the U.S., referencing historical events, prevailing policy affairs, and even pop culture to explain that everyone capable of forming opinions ought to have some sort of grasp of the concept of race-thinking. As Taylor will analyze, race and race-thinking “has shaped and continues to shape private interactions as well as the largest political choices” (p. 8). In other words, race-thinking encompasses everything we do and every interaction we have. In this paper I will attempt to interpret and expound Taylor’s views and definitions of race, concepts associated with race, and input my own interpretations as they are appropriate.
Ogbar, Jeffrey. Black Power Radical Politics and African American Identity. Baltimore: John Hopkins UP, 2004, 124.
In this book, Marable challenges us to think about the meaning of “race” in America. For instance, he offers his intake on the history of racism since the 17th century and showing us the weird adaptation to every different age in the form of history (Great wells democracy). “The white man's victory soon became complete by fraud, violence, intimidation and murder” (wells). This means, the white race has always been on top due to their cruel violence, intimidation, and murder. Meanwhile, Manning Marable is showing us how power is formed through racism and how racism comes to be when you cruelly take it, or inhumanly enforce it. In fact, it was making a social movement by saying in the history of the white race we have treated other race’s poorly, unfairly, and fairly cruel to obtain all the much
Malcolm shares his dream job with the class and his teacher, Mr. Ostrowski. Mr. Ostrowski told him “Malcolm, one of life’s first needs is for us to be realistic. Don’t misunderstand me, now. We all here like you, you know that. But you’ve got to be realistic about being a nigger.”(Page 38) and this makes Malcolm realize that Mr. Ostrowski has supported and encouraged his peers but not him. The teacher heartened the other students not because they were performing better than Malcolm but because they were white. This event develops the idea of of systemic oppression and racial tensions. Malcolm isn’t allowed to say what he wants to be because of the color of his complexion and because of this event, he comes to adapt the ideal of integration vs separation later in his life.
Growing up in a time where we have seen the different actions by America’s first black President, Barack Obama, I think it is appropriate to look back on the civil rights movement and the role that hundreds played in documenting the events. Accurately researched and intensely condensed, The Race Beat is an extraordinary explanation of one of the most explosive periods in our nation’s history, as told by those who covered it
Cornell West in Race Matters argues that race still matters in America, which is proven through his explanation of nihilism. According to West, the main problem facing the black community is the issue of psychological depression, personal worthlessness and the social despair throughout African Americans. The affects of nihilism play out in Black America by the consequences of living life with the loss of hopelessness, worthless and loveless. The effects of living a life without these moral meanings leave black America with no forthcoming. Race does and still matters in our society because it creates corrupted race division, allows oppression to continue, and exploitation that thrives in the lives of minorities.
Whenever people discuss race relations today and the effect of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s, they remember the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He was and continues to be one of the most i...
Critical Race Theory (CRT) comes from the scholarship of Critical Legal Studies (CLS) which has observed the continuing domination and power of some groups such males and whites over some other groups and it has argued that political and social change was necessary (Taylor, 2009). Derrick A. Bell, an African American, was the first who had tried to establish an agenda in which colonialism, race, and racism would have an important role in intellectual legal...
The reason is that the cause of these riots, the racist malignancy in America, has been too long unattended.” This passage immediately stood out to me because it reminded of the very similar perspective I had received when I was interviewing my interviewee from the Oral History Project. My interviewee had lived during Civil Rights movement and had witnessed the Hough and Glenville riots, while living in East Cleveland Ohio. When I asked him if he could draw a comparison between the riots that happened in Cleveland and some of the more recent years, he answered that, “You can’t hardly separate the two. A riot is a riot. A riot is caused by people’s discontentment.” The racist malignancy in America that Malcolm X indicates Ignited these riots stemmed from (as my interviewee explained) Slavery and the Jim Crow era and the effect it had on. The civil Rights Bill attempted to fix the issue of inequality of right’s but as my interviewee, Malcolm X, and I argued, failed to address the long existing sentiment that Blacks were inherently
In the summer of 1989, legal scholar Richard Delgado adopted Bell and Freeman’s ideology. In doing so, Delgado came together with a group of 30 scholars in Madison, Wisconsin to construct a new paradigm in law. It was at this conference that the name, Critical Race Theory was forged along with the paradigms premier focus, which included creating new radical approaches to race, racism and the American legal system. (Encyclopedia). By the mid 1990’s, Critical Race Theory movement was growing, and its influence was being adopted in the field of education (Decuir & Dixon,
Davis, F. James. (1991). Who is Black?: On Nation’s Definition. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press. (82-122).