Race as a Social Construct

Good Afternoon members of the Human Rights Watch today I will discuss the issue of “race”. Common sense would tell us that race is a method of diving people based on physiological aspects such as the color of one’s skin. Many people believe that race is something that is stagnant, never changing and ground in stone. However the notion of race was not created until Slavery was introduced as a means to identify who was a slave and who was not. Prior to this according to the documentary “Race the power of an Illusion” people were distinguished one another as Christian and heathens but not “white” or black”. The documentary also points out that “race is an idea that evolves over time, that it has a history, that it is constructed by a society to further certain political and economic goals”. In other words, race is a social construct which is ever changing to meet the needs of the current racial state. This means that race is not a natural concept but a false one only given meaning when people give it meaning and actively participate in it.

            The affinity for “white” over “black” began during slavery when dark skin became a symbol of slavery and African descent. When slaves were brought over into the Americans there was a need for labor, diving people on the basis of colored ensured that there would always be a cheap and continuous source of labor. 

Brain Storm Assignment 2

Caste mobility------

*Hockey stick-

                The novel Untouchable highlights the denial of upward mobility by showing us that upper caste men do not want lower caste men to own any sort of property. Ownership of valuables such as English products, clothes,  land , etc.,  gave a man value. If that man obtained value then they could no longer say that he is of lower status. This is shown when Bakha receives an almost new hockey stick from an Upper Caste men, Charat Singh, who then tells him that he must hide it and not tell anyone where he got it. Afterwards Bakha meets with upper caste children who have also received hockey sticks from Charact Singh, Bakha states, “The Babu’s sons were the Babu’s sons. He would, of course, give them sticks. That he had given one to him, a sweeper, was an extraordinary favour” (Anand 112)  Bakha realizes that children of upper caste men were expected to have ownership of various valuable items and that he was not.  

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Many people would agree with my claim that the process of Colonization was not only a forceful process but a psychological one. Based on Bakha’s behavior, we learn that he praises the English way of life above his own because he is constantly exposed to the social project of white superiority.    

·         Colonial Hutchinson

·                                                        

When the British came into India they found in play a paradigm that consisted of a strict caste system. As long as the Indian people were divided they could easily pit one group against another, successfully diverting attention away from the real issues. In the novel Untouchable it wasn’t until Ghandi ousted the British government’s attempt to further divide the nation by exempting Untouchables from political bodies did the Indian people understand the caste system was hindering their freedom. Ghandi states “ The British Government sought to pursue a policy of divide and rule in giving to our brethren of the depressed classes separate electorates in the councils that will be created under the new constitution” (Anand 146). In other words the British Government wanted to segregate the Untouchables from the other castes in the new council as a means to continue to divide and conquer them. In this way the British would be able to continue to manipulate the psyche of the Indian people. However diving the people was not the only way that the Bristish psychologically colonized the Indian people.

                Based on Bakha’s behavior, we learn that the youth of the lower caste system place a high value on the English way of life and English material items.  

A common strategy of Colonization is “divide and conquer” and it was very effective.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SCRAP

Cluster Connections

          I find the concept of "clusters" interesting  As a transfer student who has already experienced the freshman gig LaGuardia's cluster approach seems to ease freshman into college life more effectively. It's easier to absorb material when all your classes focus on the same subject just use different approaches. It also makes it easier for students to connect what they have learned in one class to another. I have used material I've learned in a class in a previous semester in a current class but the material was always foggy and watered down. With this cluster the information is fresh and its easier to  quote from class to class. This is great for freshman who may not have connected material from different classes and must do so now. For example:

     

          The first text we read was Tannenbaum's Slave and Citizen. He spoke of the treatment of Slaves in Latin America and about the concept of dark skin color symbolizing slavery. Recently in Anthropology we read several passages on the treatment of slaves post-slavery and it was clear that throughout Latin America those of dark skin presumed to be of African American decent were looked down upon and segregated. In the text Color as a Symbol of Social Status the author specifically states, "The antagonism was not directed against people of color because of color as such, but because their color indicated that they were, or had their origin in, slaves" (Arlene). This means that people of color were not looked down upon because of their skin color but because their skin color symbolized slavery and the salve was the lowest of any social hierarchy sometimes not even considered human. From reading this text it became clear to me that this concept was not exclusive to Tannenbaum (he wasn't so crazy after all) but that it was a paradigm, something people of historically did not question. 

        The one thing I do note about the cluster is the use of the same key terms like race, ethnicity, racial formation and the universal "Race is a social construct", "Race is not real" theme. It's a nice thing to hear but does the rest of the world know that? If anything having these phrases repeated to me has made me aware of my so called "race" and "ethnicity". 

         

         They say ignorance is bliss and I've never been able to agree with it until taking this cluster. My eyes have been opened to so many social issues that in a way make me feel powerless to change. I was happy living in my little paradigm "go to school, get a job, get paid, buy a house" (although my version might have been get a job, struggle through school, maybe get a job?, possibly afford an apartment without roommates?) and now I'm "the fish that realizes its in water" (or something like that). It's an out of body experience.

Twitter Tweets

@Prisonwatchint

http://www.propublica.org/article/are-california-prisons-punishing-inmates-based-on-race

I read an article they posted about how in California they are separating inmates by color in an attempt to reduce gang violence. At a glance this plan might sound good but when you look closer you realize that gangs aren't necessarily organized by race. While its true that some are that doesn't make all gangs strictly based on race. One argument they make is "One state court judge concluded in 2002 that “managing inmates on the basis of ethnicity” was counterproductive, and instead increased hostilities among prisoners." which means that the tactics they are using to reduce gang violoence actually may increase it. By segregating prisoners you are enforcing the idea that they are different and that they should stick to their own kind. This can lead to the belief that on racial group is better than another and in turn increase hate crimes within the prison system.

I am not one to look for news regarding the prison system. But perhaps someone who is concerned about the prison system would find this twitter account useful and find it as an outlet to discuss their concerns and share their own articles etc.

@lobojost

 http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323741004578418682347182750.html?mod=wsj_share_tweet

I was scrolling and saw this article about housing prices. This is something that interests me since I do want to relocate hopefully soon. My issue like many new yorkers is the rising rent prices in the safer and convenient neighborhood. This articles discusses the price of owning a home in the Bronx versus other boroughs like Manhattan or Queens. It also states that more people are moving into the bronx than moving out which is funny to me b/c I am always trying to get my fiance to agree to renting an apartment in the bronx simply because the prices are a bit more reasonable (he doesn't like the idea b/c of the bronxs reputation and how far it is from our family and friends in Queens). I also found that this articles relates to our groups focus of gentrification. It also talks about how lower income families are being "pushed out" and that is our groups interest.

I found that simply b/c this was a topic I was interested in that this Twitter account was useful. However I have yet to feel that Twitter overall is useful to me as individual but I do acknowledge that it has the potential to be.

Anti Islamic Hate Crimes

         The chart provides information in regard to anti-Islamic hate crimes from 1995-2008. Prior to 2001 such hate crimes were considerably much lower than after 2001. From 1995 to 2000 the crimes didn't go over 30 crimes a year. 2001 was the highest year for anti-islamic hate crimes where there were 481 crimes. After 2001 the crimes lowered to about 155 crimes a year. It is much lower than in 2001 but it hasnt gone below pre 2001 numbers. Its obvious that the reason for the large increase in anti-islamic hate crimes was the attack on the twin towers in 2001. Which explains why the crimes were at their highest during that year. This data is important because it signals that many Americans harbour hate towards Islamic people and that after 2001 they are a high risk group for hate crimes. By knowing this information it may be possible to protect these people and attempt to educate the public agaisnt this unreasonable hate. This information may also help understand the tension between race and culture or which races and cultures clash the most.

Akeem's Blog Feedback

            This blog is written in response to Akeem's Blog numero dos in which he claims that he believes the main claim of Tannenbaums Slave and Citizen is the contrast between the treatment of African American Slaves in the northern and southern hemispheres of the Americas. Akeem's agrees with Tannenbaums notion that slaves had rights in Colonial Brazil where as in the United States they were denied even being though of as a human being. He implys that the reason for the mistreatment of slaves was based on skin color. Akeem relates this to his own experience growing up outside of the United States in Guyana, "the country in which I was born, there is still great tension between the people because of skin color, race, and simply areas where you were born and raised" (Qadeer). I can also relate to Akeems claim that in other countries aside from the United States there is still tension between people because of skin color or race. I have witness just how differently African Americans have been treated in the Unites States and I have also witness how people from the same foreign culture treat each other based on skin color. For example my family is Hispanic/Latino/Spanish, the majority of my family from my mothers side is "darker" (tan) while my fathers side of my family is "white" (Spaniard).  Since I resemble my fathers side of the family but I was surrounded by my mothers side of the family I was very fair skinned compared to them and they treated me differently. They felt like since I was fair skinned I would give up my ethic culture more readily than my darker skinned siblings. Whether this was true or not I was considered an outsider who could not understand their culture just as the Anglo-Americans felt the African Americans were outsiders and could not understand their culture. All this prejudice was simply based off of skin tone and not on the character of the person.
           Akeem brought up some valid points and supported Tannenbaums claim through the use of personal experience. I believe he could use this claim perhaps as a closing statement for his paper. It would leave the reading with something memorable and would be interesting.

Mixed Races

        In class we spoke about how Tannenbaum believed that in order for slavery to truly end in the United States the white population had to stop associating dark skin with slavery.  The Anglo-American of the time had the notion that if you had dark skin you were a slave and vice versa, if you were a slave you had dark skin. Even after the civil war and the end of slavery this state of mind continued through out the United States. In the last pages of Slave and Citizen we discovered that Tannenbaum believed that in order for whites to accept blacks people needed to start mixing races. He believed that if races mixed it would create a “new biological type” (a new race). He believed that this new biological type would create “new values and human beauty” (pg120 Slave and Citizen).
Perhaps he envisioned a future where people where no longer either black or white but one mixed race. Back in his time a person of mixed race might have not been so common but in our present time its more of a reality.

        It might be the fact that I grew up in Queens, one of the most diverse communities in the world, but I come across people of different and mixed races quite often. For example one of my teachers in middle school was black and Korean, one of my sister-in-laws in married to a Korean man and have a beautiful Korean-Dominican daughter, I also met plenty of people mixed with black and Hispanic blood or Asian and Hispanic blood or Asian and American blood. Maybe Tannenbaum would have been pleased to know that all these races are now mixing together but this mixing of races doesn't exactly mean that there is eventually going to be one uniform race. However, I like to think that this mixing of races does signify a future where people are more tolerant of other races simply because they themselves are multi-cultural. 

         You don’t necessarily  have to be biologically  a mixture of races to feel that you are multi-cultural you just simply have had to be exposed in one way or another to different races. I believe that Tannenbaum’s notion that slavery will never truely end unless there is mixing of the races is wrong. I think that white Americans will learn to accept other races as a part of the United States if they are simply exposed to other races as children in a positive way. The only way to truly end slavery is to educate our children about other cultures besides our own and teach them to be open minded and accepting of them.