Race Relations
“There is a separation of colored people from white people in the United States. That separation is not a disease of colored people. It is a disease of white people” (Einstein, 1946). This quote from Albert Einstein introduces the controversial issue of race relations. Racial discrimination has been going on for centuries. Blacks are seen as the inferior race and have accumulated a negative connotation due to the issue of race relations. Many authors have given different views on race relations through their writings including W. E. B. Dubois in The Propaganda of History, Richard Wright in The Ethics of Living Jim Crow, and Gunnar Myrdal in An American Dilemma.
W.E.B. Dubois was a founding member of the NAACP, the National
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Association for the Advancement of Colored People. In Dubois’ The Propaganda of History a chapter from his book Black Reconstruction in America, he talks about Reconstruction and how the American children were taught false information about Reconstruction. Reconstruction refers to the period after the Civil War when they were rebuilding the United States. Dubois states “White historians have ascribed the faults and failures of Reconstruction to Negro ignorance and corruption. But the Negro insists that it was Negro loyalty and the Negro vote alone that restored the South to the Union” (Dubois, 1935). He documents that it was scholars viewed the involvement of black men in the government was a mistake. Dubois argues that this is false and that Reconstruction was successful and they made many advancements in civil rights. He goes on to claim that history cannot be classified as a science or art because it is “lies agreed upon” and we just use facts to influence and educate newer generations the way that we want (Dubois, 1935). Richard Wright was an African American who lived through the Jim Crow laws. In his writing The Ethics of Living Jim Crow, he documents his life experiences while working for white people. He often mentions he has “Jim Crow education” which refers to his knowledge of how to interact with white people. Wright tells nine different stories, and each is as awful as the last. For example one story talks about how he was beaten for supposedly not calling a man “Mr. Pease” and was forced to leave without telling the boss. Although Dubois was highly educated and gave considerate information into race relations, Wright gave a first-hand experience and showed the horrors of living Jim Crow. He learned “to play that dual role which every Negro must play if he wants to eat and live” (Wright, 1937). Wright had to learn to lie, steal, and dissemble just to get by. Through his autobiography, we can depict what it is like to have no respect and to live in fear. The most unique of the three writings comes from Gunnar Myrdal.
In his writing, An American Dilemma, he studies race in America and gives “primary attention to what goes on in the minds of white Americans” (Myrdal, 1944). It is unique due to his unbiased opinion because he is from Sweden. In his study, he concluded that there is no difference between black and white people. During his study in America he concludes that the “black man’s problem” is essentially the “white man’s problem”. Myrdal also mentions the American Creed multiple times throughout his writing. The American Creed stresses “the value and dignity of the individual human being” (Myrdal, 1944). Furthermore, he claims that The American Creed was violated through the mistreatment of black people. There is a cycle that can be seen by the white’s oppression of the blacks. And Myrdle states that “if America does not turn fascist, the . . . dominant white population will be driven by . . . its desire to decrease the Negro population” (Myrdal, 1944). Furthermore, Myrtle claims that whites need to cure their prejudice or they need to improve the standing of black people. His work was later used in the famous Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court case in 1954. This eventually resulted in federal action to end racial
discrimination. All three authors, through their writings, give different insight into race relations in America. Dubois focused on Reconstruction and civil rights, Wright gave first-hand experiences to show the dangers of living Jim Crow, and Myrdal gave an unbiased view on race relations in America. Although they are speaking on the same topic, you get three different viewpoints. These three viewpoints allow you to make your own decision based on the evidence they present. For centuries to come, these writings could aid us in the development of the race relations issue.
W.E.B. DuBois: Hall of Fame. W.E.B. DuBois was an educator, writer, scholar, civil rights activist, Pan-Africanist, and later in his life a communist, whose life goal was to gain equal rights for all African Americans around the world. DuBois’ writings were mostly forgotten till the late 1960s, because of his involvement in communism and his absence during the civil rights movement in America. Even though his writings were temporarily forgotten because of his tarnished reputation, his legacy has since been restored allowing for his writings to be reprinted becoming a major influence for both academics and activists. DuBois’ accomplishments include his part in the creation of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and his support for the civil rights movement advocating for equal social and economic rights for all African Americans.
While growing up in the midst of a restrictive world, education becomes the rubicon between a guileless soul and adulthood. In the excerpt from W.E.B. Du Bois’ The Souls of Black Folk, Du Bois provides a roadmap for African Americans to discover and understand themselves through the pursuit of knowledge, self-awareness, and authenticity. The excerpt is a significant part of the essay because it also speaks for the modern day pursuit of knowledge, self-awareness, and authenticity, an indispensable path into finding one’s self.
After the Civil War, African Americans encountered great discrimination and suffering. During this era, two influential leaders emerged from different philosophical camps. Brooker T. Washignton of Virginia and William Edward Burghardt Dubois of Massachusetts proposed, different means to improve African Americans’ conditions. These men had a common goal to enrich the black community. However, the methods they advocated to reach these goals significantly differed.
The Influence of Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois on the Writings from the Harlem Renaissance
Du Bois argues in this quote that “basic racial difference between human beings and had suffered not change,” meaning that racism is still a pressing issue. In this quote he essentially asks the questions, why wont the idea of racism die? Du Bois then links the persistence of racism to economic incentives when he states, “and clung to it… the modern African slave trade a tremendous economic structure and eventually the industrial revolution had been based on racial differences.” As illustrated in this quote, the link between economics and racial indifferences is one reason Du Bois offers as an explanation for why racism has been able persist even until today. The perpetuation of racism and racial difference is how society allocates status and wealth, while socialization maintains the idea of racism Du Bois argues
Race has been an issue in North America for many years. Eduardo Bonilla-Silva discusses the new racism in his book, Racism without Racists. Bonilla-Silva classifies the new racial discrimination as color blind racism. Color blind racism is then structured under four frames (26). Color blind racism is believed to have lead to the segregation of the white race from other minorities called white habitus. Color blind racism and white habitus has affected many people, whom don’t even realize that they are, have been or will be affected.
WEB DuBois's Influence on Literature and People. In his work The Souls of Black Folk, web DuBois had described the life and problems that blacks in America are not easy. DuBois had a very different plan in the struggle for black equality and the struggle for the abolishment of racism than other people that wanted a "separate black" nation" and others that just wanted the blacks to stay submissive. DuBois only wanted blacks to work hard to become active parts of American society.
“There must be the position of superior and inferior” was a statement by Lincoln which formed the basis of discrimination towards black Americans as it highlighted the attitudes of white Americans. Although civil rights for black people eventually improved through the years both socially and politically, it was difficult to change the white American view that black people are inferior to white people as the view was always enforce by the favour of having “the superior position assigned to the white race”.
“Simple Justice” was written by Richard Kluger and reviews the history of Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court decision that outlawed segregation, and African America’s century-long struggle for equality under law. It began with the inequities of slavery to freedom bells to the forcing of integration in schools and the roots of laws with affect on African Americans. This story reveals the hate caused the disparagement of African Americans in America over three hundred years. I learned how African Americans were ultimately acknowledged by their simple justice. The American version of the holocaust was presented in the story. In 1954 the different between how segregation and slavery were not in fashion when compared with dishonesty of how educating African American are separate from Caucasian was justified by the various branches of government.
W.E.B. & C.B. Du Bois articulates the true meaning of the problem of the color-line through his vast knowledge of American history and descriptive personal scenarios. Du Bois attempts to explain why the "problem of the Twentieth Century is the problem of the color-line" (Dubois 13). In his essay, Du Bois uses both a rational and an emotional appeal by underlining the facts of racial discrimination through Jim Crow Laws and lynching, and his personal references of childhood memories to demonstrate his perspective of the problems of African Americans. Du Bois effectively reaches his audience by earnestly convincing the people of the North and the South that African Americans are human beings of flesh and blood. They have their own cultures, beliefs, and most importantly, souls.
Racism (n): the prejudice that members of one race are intrinsically superior to members of other race (Wordnet search, 1), a controversial topic in today’s society, a subject that many people try to sweep under the rug, but yet a detrimental problem that has been present in America since the colonial era. Will this dilemma come to a halt? Can all Americans see each other as equals despite their skin color and nationality; and what role has it played in past generations versus today’s generations and how will it affect our future? Has this on going way of thinking gotten better or worse? These are questions raised when many think about the subject; especially members of American ethnic groups and backgrounds, because most have dealt with racial discrimination in their life time.
According to Omi and Winant, the term race can be defined as “a concept which signifies and symbolizes social conflicts and interests by referring to different types of human bodies.” From their framework of racial formation and concept of racial projects, Omi and Winant asserts that race is a matter of social structure and cultural representation that has been intertwined to shape the nature of racism. Racism has been seen since the events of early English colonization of the indigenous people and the racialization of African Americans through slavery, all in which the United States is molded upon as a nation. Thus, this social structure of domination has caused European colonials and American revolutionists to create racialized representations, policies, and structures in order to oppress indigenous and black populations in their respective eras.
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.
Discrimination has always been there between blacks and whites. Since the 1800s where racial issues and differences started flourishing till today, we can still find people of different colors treated unequally. “[R]acial differences are more in the mind than in the genes. Thus we conclude superiority and inferiority associated with racial differences are often socially constructed to satisfy the socio-political agenda of the dominant group”(Heewon Chang,Timothy Dodd;2001;1).
Racism is still a very prominent yet controversial topic in the United States today. Discrimination in the United States dates back to the 1500s when America was first founded. As generations passed, it has become a social norm to believe that darker skin tones are less desirable to society. The foundation of this country was built upon the false impression that Whites were superior to not just blacks, but all other ethnicities. From this, the idea of white privilege was derived and is still prevalent in society today. Those who are victims of discrimination are sometimes not aware of the psychological effect and the overall impact it can have on one’s life. The persistence of racism over generations has been in correlation to adversely affect the mental health of the victims economically, socially and in turn physically.