Salient Themes: Prejudice And Racism

Salient Themes

One salient theme in this week’s readings focused on how white Americans do not openly acknowledge, or think about, their privileged role in society; yet, continue to benefit from racism in our modern times. Bonilla-Silva (2003) explores how white Americans use frames of color-blind racism in order to “hide the fact [of their] dominance” in society (p. 26). These frames allow white Americans to adhere to the dogma that all races should be given an equal opportunity; yet, they fail to acknowledge how the odds are inherently stacked against certain racial groups. Whites have benefited from centuries of laws, policies, and privileges that have allowed them to succeed. Thus, an “equal opportunity” means little to those racial groups

Zoning laws and self-segregation created multitudes of predominately white communities in America. Numerous white citizens engaged in “white flight” to the suburbs, where they could gain access to superior resources, particularly the schools. Roper-Huliman (2013) states that the “further [you go] in many metropolitan areas, school districts are made up predominately of children of color” (p. 82). Thus, whites have segregated themselves away from other races in order to benefit from superior funded school systems. Meanwhile, the parents of those children of color do not have the funds to move to the suburbs, and are forced to stay in the sub-par educational system of the cities. In addition, there are other consequences that exist from the racialized separation of children. These segregated communities have caused many children to “gr[ow] up in neighborhoods where [they] had limited opportunities to interact with people different from [their] own families” (Tatum, 2013, p. 65). Without interacting with people of other races, many stereotypes, distortions, and prejudices against certain groups are created and maintained (Tatum, 2013). Due to the segregation by institutions and families, these children perpetuate the cycle of racist notions, due to their homogenized

I always believed Chicago was a progressive, liberal town; however, the city’s history is marred with a deep past of racism. Mayor Daley strategically built roadways, such as the Dan Ryan, Stephenson, Eisenhower, and the Kennedy to effectively cut off African American neighborhoods from the rest of the city and its resources. Meanwhile, white communities became grouped together, which perpetuated their access to superior resources. In addition to separating minorities with physical roadblocks, laws and restrictive covenants were put into place that stopped African Americans from buying properties in certain areas. In one instance, two African Americans were driven out of renting an apartment in Mayor Daley’s own neighborhood due to their race. Thus, powerful institutions have given power to perpetuate segregation and racist ideals. These laws are ingrained into our society, leaving little room for minorities to be able to challenge