Tatum's Theories Of Racism

White Privilege: Essay 1 White privilege is a systemic issue that has roots in our history as far back as the creators of our country. Searching back, we see our norms and values created into habits that have been woven into how we view and act around specific groups such as African Americans. This essay is going to explain how the average Caucasian individual experiences white privilege on a day to day basis and the solutions to insure that white privilege will stop and true equality can be handed out. This paper views the latter issues through symbolic interactionism, with supporting sub theories such as; labeling theory, looking glass self, and selective perception.

Fahad Albrahim Response 1: Review/Summary: “Whiteness as property” is an article written by Cheryl Harris, in which she addresses the subject of racial identity and property in the United States. Throughout the article, professor Harris attempts to explain how the concept of whiteness was initiated to become a form of racial identity, which evolved into a property widely protected in American law (page 1713). Harris tackles a number of facts that describe the roots of whiteness as property in American history at the expense of minorities such as Black and American natives (page 1709). Additionally, Harris describes how whiteness as property evolved to become seen as a racial privilege in which the whites gained more benefits, whether

At the heart of whiteness studies is the invisibility of whiteness and white privilege (Ahmed, 2004). Whiteness is thought of as the hidden criterion to which every other race is measured against. Through the lens of whiteness, the “other” is seen as deviant (Ahmed, 2004). The invisibility of whiteness, however, is only from the perspective of those who are white (Matthews, 2012). To people who are not white, it is pervasive and blatant.

The story represents the culmination of Wright’s passionate desire to observe and reflect upon the racist world around him. Racism is so insidious that it prevents Richard from interacting normally, even with the whites who do treat him with a semblance of respect or with fellow blacks. For Richard, the true problem of racism is not simply that it exists, but that its roots in American culture are so deep it is doubtful whether these roots can be destroyed without destroying the culture itself. “It might have been that my tardiness in learning to sense white people as "white" people came from the fact that many of my relatives were "white"-looking people. My grandmother, who was white as any "white" person, had never looked "white" to me” (Wright 23).

In this paper, I will be critiquing these articles and films in order to evaluate the purpose of these readings and how they have helped further develop race in America. But most importantly, whether the author has achieved its purpose to inform readers about CRT, whiteness, and racial inequality. First article, I will be analyzing is Critical Race Theory: An Introduction by Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic. Both authors explore Critical Race Theory in detail. As I previously mentioned, CRT is one of the most important developments mainly in the legal studies department.

Omar LAVISH Soc 217 Tim Wise – White Like Me In Tim Wise’s reading, the focus is how discrimination, prejudice and racism is due to the miscommunication between whites and blacks and how for a white man to understand the true evil that is happening would be for him to enter the shoes of a black man. This was mentioned by Wise as he said, “How else except by becoming a negro can a white hope to learn the truth” (Wise, 225). Miscommunication and lack of acknowledgments causes setbacks which in return leads to racism and discrimination and this was shown in “White Like Me” when a white man had to temporarily become black to bring out the truth.

These dividing factors put a bigger strain on the racism in America. The truth is that both African Americans and white Americans have their own advantages and disadvantages in today’s society. The strain between black and white people has been blown out of proportion in the recent years by the races and media. One of the most recent outbreaks that display the tension between

The author uses dichotomous thinking to classify white people as being the dominant party as they enjoy what she terms as "white privilege". She explains the privilege by noting that she was not forced to expose her children to the existence of racism and her certainty that the person-in-charge is often white “I did not have to educate our children to be aware of systemic racism for their own daily physical protection” and, “I can be reasonably sure that if I ask to talk to ‘the person in charge,’ I will be facing a person of my race” (McIntosh 89). Our ability to realize the privileges that we get to enjoy allows us to notice the people who do not get to enjoy such privileges. Learning about privilege becomes vital as it allows human beings to be more considerate of individuals who do not get the same privilege. White privilege, as a form of privilege, often goes unnoticed.

In the essay, “A Genealogy of Modern Racism”, the author Dr. Cornel West discusses racism in depth, while conveying why whites feel this sense of superiority. We learn through his discussion that whites have been forced to treat black harshly due to the knowledge that was given to them about the aesthetics of beauty and civility. This knowledge that was bestowed on the whites in the modern West, taught them that they were superior to all races tat did not emulate the norms of whites. According to Dr. West the very idea that blacks were even human beings is a concept that was a “relatively new discovery of the modern West”, and that equality of beauty, culture, and intellect in blacks remains problematic and controversial in intellectual circles

It is generally a struggle to fit in, to be accepted. It is common to find one hiding behind who others think is correct, as opposed to whom one really is. (TAG) In the short story, “Battle Royal” by Ralph Ellison, (thesis) the concept of racism and its effects on self-identity and self-acceptance is shown throughout the story with the use of structure. By having the views of others forced upon one, it ultimately becomes one’s own beliefs and perception.

Steele begins addressing the issue by saying that “ By making black the color of preference, these mandates have re-burdened society with the very marriage of color and preference( in reverse) that we set out to eradicate.” In essence Shelby states that by allowing blacks to get a free privilege that whites do not have, the same issue that people were attempting to eradicate had just been reversed except this time in favor of African Americans. Shelby further explains that “ In integrated situations where blacks must compete with whites who may be better prepared, these explanations may quickly wear thin and expose the individual to racial as well as personal self doubt.” By using the example of college Shelby shows people that just because something is free does not mean it is beneficial in fact it may have the opposite effect it set out to achieve. At this point the audience has been made aware of a problem on several occasion and at this point in time Shelby begins to elaborate on the issue creating more intricate situations in which the free privilege will affect African Americans in the future.

Race-relation is an ongoing American social problem in need of constants study within the discipline of sociology. There are a variety of ways to analyze race relations. Racism is a piece of each part of our lives. Whether it is on the news or through individual experience, we see prejudice surrounding us. It appears like we have basically acknowledged prejudice as a feature of our lives.

Racism continues to be an issue that causes a great deal of tension in the United States. While some believe that we are living in a post-racial society, others are aware that racism can take different forms in this day and age. In White Bound: Nationalists, Antiracists, and the Shared Meanings of Race, author Matthew Hughey tackles the topic of racism in a unique way. Hughey focuses on how the members of the two groups that he conducted the study on conceptualize their whiteness and how that relates to racism. Hughey spend a little over one year conducting his research for this project.

In the first chapter of Beverly Tatum’s, “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?”, And Other Conversations About Race, the author immediately clarifies that racism is not a thing of the past. People in today’s society are merely raised with racial concepts at such a young age that they do not realize the injustice going on around them. She reinforces her statement by showing an example of a group of preschoolers who were told to draw a picture of a Native American. Most of the children didn’t even know what a Native American was, but after being told to draw an Indian, complied. Recurring elements in all of their drawings were feathers, along with a violent weapon, such as a knife.

Reflection Précis 1, Race and Ethnicity Part I: During the last lecture sessions, Dr. Jendian talked about appreciating diversity, race, ethnicity, and racism. In his lecture, we learned that many people believe that race is something biological. However, the true reality is that race is a social construct and not a biological one. For example, in the documentary Race: The Power of An Illusion, we were able to understand that there are more variations among people in the same “race” than with people from another “race.” However, physical differences, for example, the most obvious skin color, has created prejudices against minority groups.