Benedict’s book addresses race and racism from different angles. Considering that she wrote during the 40’s, amidst World War II and prior to the Civil Rights movement, her book was progressive, since she challenged the social and scientific racist paradigm. She starts by defining the concept of race and explaining the meaning of race. By focusing on the Aryan and Semitic denominations, she argues that equating linguistic families to phenotypical traits is a mistaken way to aim to classify human populations since it falls short in capturing both of these characteristics. She continues by stating that race is an attempt of classifying human populations through physical and visible differences (hair type, skin color, nose shape, etc.). In this …show more content…
chapter, she defends the idea that these phenotypical traits are an inaccurate way to classify humans, since statistical tests show that they differ widely even within the so-called same race. Her next chapter, which is about migration, states that the existence of races/ pure races is nothing but fiction; through a detailed explanation of how migration works and has worked prior to the existence of the homo sapiens she describes how: a) there are no different human species b) human population share traits. The following chapter, on genetics, is where she introduces the correlation between physical anthropology and socio-cultural anthropology, since she explains what can and cannot be inherited, defending the argument that abilities are not included in the realms genetic inheritance. Using as basis the argument of inheritance, she explains that the socio-cultural contexts is what might define someone’s capacity to perform well in standardized tests. She exemplifies with the USA attempts to measure IQ through standardized tests, and places emphasis on the quality of the educational background and the socio-economical context of the examinees, arguing that these are the features that could determine the outcome as opposed to some biological or cognitive trait related to race. In the second part of her book Benedict uses a socio-cultural approach to explain how racism aa a scientific paradigm to justify political stand started. She addresses the pre-white Euro American approach to races, followed by a description of how claims of racial superiority justified expansionism. One of her main arguments s that races are used a justification of conflict, being race itself not a cause of conflict, but an instrument to perpetuate it. She posits a strong critique to De Gobienu’s theory of scientific racism and states how it is scientifically invalid due to its methods that ‘force’ data to construct an argument. After disqualifying on academic grounds one of the adamant defenders of racial inferiority, she defends her thesis that racial prejudice is a way of creating and exacerbating conflict that set their basis on a political goal. Furthermore, she proposes that conflict is the center of racial prejudices, therefore in order to minimize it, the conditions and circumstances that allow for it to happen should be minimized. Brayboy’s article on Tribal Critical Race Theory (TriCriT), starts by explaining the meaning of Critical Race Theory as an emancipation theory/methodology for people who have been imposed a racial category, stating that race is socially constructed; nevertheless, its effects and consequences constrain populations since racial categories are considered ‘natural’.
He defines TriCriT as position that helps resist the colonial oppression perpetuated by White Euro-Americans. He explains the 9 tenets of TriCriT, which state that indigenous knowledge is a different epistemological approach that Native Americans can use as an emancipatory tool for an education perspective that can lead to self-determination. He focuses on the education aspects of TriCriT; arguing that Native youth should be educated with emancipatory methodologies that allow them to overcome the racist constrains that colonization has imposed on them. He challenges the assumption that schooling should bolster competition and individualism, stating that as community-based cultures, teaching through methodologies that emphasize the importance of solidarity linkages can strengthen the community and support the concepts of sovereignty. In Brayboy’s et. al. piece, TriCriT is used to analyze the use of education policies to exacerbate racial inequality. In this article, the authors defend that colorblindness, because of promoting equality instead of equity, is a circular reasoning to justify white supremacy, since it reinforces the dynamics of a racial group performing better than other in school settings. They argue, that despite race being socially constructed, inequalities do not disappear by ignoring the category and propose to address it a shift in education policy, by recognizing students’’ different capacities and using cultural backgrounds and practices to reinforce the students’ abilities. They argue that these dynamics can lead to gain representation in political spheres which in turn would lead to
equity in educational and social settings. Brayboy’s and Brayboy’s et.al pieces, address racism from a socio-political perspective, whereas Benedict’s book aims to act as a handbook to fight racism from biological, historical and social approaches. Despite the historical gap between the texts, they share the underlying argument that race is socially constructed and racism is a tool of oppression and domination against a population by another that aims to justify their superiority. Brayboy’s and Brayboy’s et.al. focus on contemporary issues exemplifying in educational contexts arguing that the white supremacist try to justify their position through a so-called colorblind racism that aims to prove that increase the inequality gaps and defend the idea that the educational achievements of the white population are evidence that they are better qualifies to hold power and at the same time exclude and marginalize populations that do not share their same physical traits and hold their same capitalist/colonialist values. In the hypothetical situation that these authors could discuss with Benedict, she might find that her arguments fall short, and might feel that she missed to go in-depth analyzing the political analysis of racism. Furthermore, she might argue that these contemporary forms of claiming racial superiority that originated as a justification for expansionism and as legitimation of wars, have been perpetuated by anthropology )understood as the political and intellectual basis of public policy) Nevertheless, she might fail to address that these racist policies are a compliment to colonial and capitalist exploitation, since (as Brayboy argues) domination is not only through policy, but needs to be legitimized through divesting people of their own ways of knowledge and forcing them to ‘fit into’ a system excludes their socio-cultural dynamics which denies these populations sovereignty. Foremost, Brayboy’s theory allows us to understand self-determination can be a tool of overcoming racial categories, because it bolsters the idea that difference and its recognition (and mainly political representation) lead to equity.
Through Laws, treaties and proclamations it becomes clear of the transfer of power between Native Americas and colonizing powers within the US and Canada. One significant treaty was Treaty NO. 9 in which Native Americans gave up their aboriginal title and land for money, hunting right, entrance into the christian school system and a Canadian flag presented to the Chief. The treaties described define the cascading effect of how western powers came into control of land at which Native Americans resided in. Specifically converging on the using Native Americans “elites” to influence other Native Americans into adopting western cultural beliefs, overshadowing the diverse Native American cultural practices. The overshadowing and belittling of Native American culture is not only expressed through the several treaties presented to Native Americans across history but also through real life accounts of Native American children adopted into the western school system. This sections places into the prospective the monopolization of Native American land and
Race is a social migrainous issue that many societies are faced because it divides people and brings many negative impact between people such as hatred, heartache, or even bloodshed. Even though race is hard to recognize and rarely happen in American society due to the successful civil rights movements, some people of minority groups are always feel the pressure of the Whites privilege that heavy weigh on their shoulders which hold them back from success, for example, Yosso, the author of Critical Race Counterstories Along the Chicana/ Chicano Educational Pipeline, addresses the educational disadvantage that Chicana/Chicano students are suffered because of race and racism. Yosso’s counterstories have affected people’s
The first part of the text involves the analysis of race theory. Taylor opens the book by taking time to clarify human forms in such a way that simplifies the too-often rudimentary things which distinguish race from other notions. Taylor makes a point to thoroughly explain how philosophy, concerning race, “involves studying the consequences of race-talk, the practices of racial identification for which race-talk provides the resources” (p. 11). In other words, Taylor takes up the task of evaluating the meaning assigned to physical bodies by people. He does so by first answering the c...
Race and ethnicity is a main factor in the way we identify others and ourselves. The real question here is does race/ethnicity still matter in the U.S.? For some groups race is not a factor that affects them greatly and for others it is a constant occurrence in their mind. But how do people of mix race reacts to this concept, do they feel greatly affected by their race? This is the question we will answer throughout the paper. I will first examine the battle of interracial relationship throughout history and explain how the history greatly explains the importance of being multiracial today. This includes the backlash and cruelty towards interracial couple and their multiracial children. Being part of a multiracial group still contains its impact in today’s society; therefore race still remaining to matter to this group in the U.S. People who place themselves in this category are constantly conflicted with more than one cultural backgrounds and often have difficulty to be accepted.
At these boarding schools, Native American children were able to leave their Indian reservations to attend schools that were often run by wealthy white males. These individuals often did not create these schools with the purest of intentions for they often believed that land occupied by Native American Tribes should be taken from them and put to use; it is this belief that brought about the purpose of the boarding schools which was to attempt to bring the Native American community into mainstream society (Bloom, 1996). These boarding schools are described to have been similar to a military institution or a private religious school. The students were to wear uniforms and obey strict rules that included not speaking one’s native tongue but rather only speaking English. Punishments for not obeying such rules often included doing laborious chores or being physically reprimanded (Bloom, 1996). Even with hars...
Spring, Joel H.. Deculturalization and the struggle for equality: a brief history of the education of dominated cultures in the United States. 3rd ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2001. Print.
Inequality became instrumental in privileging white society early in the creation of American society. The white society disadvantaged American Indian by taking their land and established a system of rights fixed in the principle that equality in society depended on the inequality of the Indians. This means that for white society to become privileged they must deprive the American Indians of what was theirs to begin with. Different institutions such as the social institution, political, economical, and education have all been affected by race. Sociologists use Assimilation theory to examine race and institutions. The perceived deficiencies of minority immigrant groups by white society has resulted in a generalized characterization of these different racial groups that is demeaning and reinforces the negative stereotypes towards minorities in the United States. Knowles and Prewitt argue that the cause behind the racial tension is the historical roots of institutional racism, which has prevented the minority from attaining equality. Following structured social inequality in the United States, institutions have consistently denied the minority groups through discrimination in education, employment, health care and medicine, and politics. Some ways that this has been done is the use of Jim Crow Laws. These laws created inequality in the educational institution by conducting the black schools and whited schools separately; whites used different textbooks than blacks and they could not be interchanged, and promoting equality for the races was considered a misdemeanor offense resulting in fines or prison. Because of these institutions, we see that there is an American Ethnic Hierarchy. This is divided into a three tier system: first ...
The United States educational system faces a major challenge in addressing the disenfranchisement of youth due to poverty and racism in the schools. The U.S. Census Bureau, 2006 found that “currently about one-quarter of Blacks, Hispanics, and Native Americans are living in poverty in the U.S. compared to less than 10% of Asian Americans or Whites.” (Hughes et al. 2010, p. 2) Hughes, Newkirk & Stenhjem (2010) identified the stressors children living in poverty faced caused young adolescents to suffer mental and physical health issues which resulted in anxiety, hypertension, fear and depression. Lack of health care, neighborhood crime levels, joblessness, prejudice, and inadequate housing are among the many reasons multi-cultural youth from high poverty backgrounds become disenfranchised from the American school system. Race, racism, and poverty combine to create a triple jeopardy which severely impacts the fulfillment of the need of young adolescents to experience a sense of belonging and cultural competence. Lack of supportive environments both in school, society, work, and family life often prevent students from developing the cultural competence minority students must develop in order to become fully successful. For the purposes of this essay key issues were identified regarding the disenfranchisement of Native American youth, such as systemic prejudice and cultural bias within the school system which resulted in loss of connectedness of Navajo youth to school, teachers, and family. Galliher, Jones, & Dahl (2010) identified cultural connectedness as being the key component necessary in order to reengage the Native American student within the educational environment.
Race, gender, and socioeconomic status are enduring social characteristics that influence life outcomes and children and adolescents cannot control (Murphy, Gaughan, Hume, & Moore, 2010). With the unequal distribution of society’s resources based on race and gender and the negative view of African American males, African American males’ ability to access and complete college is hampered. Although athletics is often viewed as a way to improve one’s life chances, African-American male athletes perform worse academically than any of their peers (Murphy, Gaughan, Hume, & Moore, 2010), which threatens their college completion goals.
Muhammad Ali, a famous boxer, once said, “Hating People because of their color is wrong. And it doesn’t matter which color does the hating. I’s just plain wrong” (Goodreads, 2015). For many centuries, ethnic conflict between the humans have existed immortally due the never changing differences of culture and values, spinning the cycle of war. Fortunately, some have ended however some still remain immortal in the eyes of those who have experience struggle to this date. The lack of awareness of problems in a cultural crisis concerning those who fall victim to a system and society that discriminates and alienates. With assistance of Critical Race Theory, this essay will examine how the role of race with has affected has caused consequences within the lives of marginalized groups within society through the lives and their relationship with those in their communities.
To begin with, “race is a social, political, and economic construct. It is not biological. There is no existence of race in the Western world outside of the practices of colonialism, conquest, and the transatlantic slave trade” (Lecture 1). While the origins of race are centered around distinctions of humans based on presumed physical, ancestral or cultural differences, race is merely a floating signifier and therefore only has meaning, but that we give it (Lecture 1 and 2). This floating signifier has taken on different meanings in the U.S. and Latin America. For example, in the U.S., the one-drop rule is enough to deem someone black. On the other hand, Latin America considers pigmentocracy and uses Mulatto categories based on appearance and color
We live in a society where race is seen as a vital part of our personalities, the lack of racial identity is very often an important factor which prevent people from not having their own identity (Omi & Winant, 1993). Racism is extemely ingrained in our society and it seems ordinary (Delgado & Stefanic, 2000), however, many people denounce the expression of any racist belief as immoral (Miles & Brown, 2003) highlighting the complicated nature of racism. Critical Race Theory tries to shed light on the issue of racism claiming that racism is ingrained in our society both in legal, cultural, and psychological aspects of social life (Tate, 1997). This essay provides us the opportunity to explore this theory and its influence in the field of education. The fisrt chapter is about the origins and the purpose of CRT, the second chapter is an analysis of the methodological tools of CRT, the third chapter highlights the key themes of CRT, the forth chapter provide us some useful information about the racial inequalities in education and the last chapter is about the influence of CRT in education and the way that it helps us to understand some racial inequalities that they take place in the field of education.
In today’s society, it is acknowledgeable to assert that the concepts of race and ethnicity have changed enormously across different countries, cultures, eras, and customs. Even more, they have become less connected and tied with ancestral and familial ties but rather more concerned with superficial physical characteristics. Moreover, a great deal can be discussed the relationship between ethnicity and race. Both race and ethnicity are useful and counterproductive in their ways. To begin, the concept of race is, and its ideas are vital to society because it allows those contemporary nationalist movements which include, racist actions; to become more familiar to members of society. Secondly, it has helped to shape and redefine the meaning of
Racism is based on the belief that one’s culture is superior to that of others, and this racial superiority provides justification for discrimination. Racism begins with categorising by race, and therefore stereotyping particular cultures. A simple definition of prejudice given by St Thomas Aquinas states prejudice as “thinking ill of others without sufficient cause” (1. pg 21). Racism is a major issue in today’s society, affecting a large number of the world’s population and causing political and social turmoil. To evaluate the true meaning, effects and views concerning racism in today’s world, a number of literature sources were researched including novel, films, short stories, poetry, song lyrics, textbooks and magazine articles.
This quote is symbolic of the expressed opinions and ideology of the founding fathers of America. History, especially the history of the American educational system, paints a contradictory portrait. Idealistic visions of equity and cultural integration are constantly bantered about; however, they are rarely implemented and materialized. All men are indeed created equal, but not all men are treated equally. For years, educators and society as a whole have performed a great disservice to minorities in the public school sector. If each student is of equal value, worth, and merit, then each student should have equal access and exposure to culturally reflective learning opportunities. In the past, minorities have had a muted voice because of the attitude of the majority. Maxine Greene summarizes a scene from E.L. Doctorow’s Ragtime, after which she poses questions that many minorities have no doubt asked silently or loud. “Why is he unseen? Why were there no Negroes, no immigrants? More than likely because of the condition of the minds of those in power, minds that bestowed upon many others the same invisibility that Ellison’s narrator encounters” (Greene,1995, p. 159). Multicultural education is needed because it seeks to eradicate “invisibility” and give voice, power, and validation to the contributions and achievements of people with varied hues, backgrounds, and experiences.