Causation of Racialization

Kelsey Reeder

BLST 101

                                             

Racialization is the act of instilling a person with a perception of race difference. This growth of racialization is based on the actions of human beings for centuries, particularly during the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. From our knowledge of history, race has never naturally occurred until this act of racialization by the Europeans, forcefully bring several million enslaved Africans into the New World to produce labor for no cost. Europeans used race to recognize who should be a part of the slavery system and to classify who was inferior and superior. Europeans were the ones who constructed slavery based on race, while in African countries Africans enslaved other Africans based on rival tribes and kingdoms to claim supremacy. Around the 1660’s white indentured servants had more privileges than African slaves. White indentured servants were able to finish their time as a, and their child is free, while black slaves were offered the opposite. In the Maryland Act of 1664 enslaved Africans were declared to be enslaved for life, and in the Barbados, slavery was justified because Africans were seen as uncivilized, inferior, and their customs being insufficient. The Europeans branded themselves as being white and pure and Africans being dirty and impious. Plus in 1717, even free blacks were not able to own land in Connecticut. White Europeans immediately separated themselves from the enslaved Africans, displaying which race holds power and authority.

I believe the earlier lessons not only impacted my view on race, but they were a reminder of how the enslaved Africans were looked upon.  They were desensitized, preserved as if they were chattel, and stripped of their identity through seasoning. These early lessons make me wonder what if racialization did not develop within the Europeans and Africans. Would another race be enslaved or would slavery be based on race? I was amazed at the Africans involvement with selling their enslaved Africans to Europeans and how much of slavery was based on business, not taking into consideration of how Africans felt leaving their homeland.

The idea of race persists is due to the ignorance that one may teach to their children, the stereotypes in which people of color are portrayed as, our unlawful justice systems, and much more. In this article, it states,“… “seeing” race is a cognitive process shaped by social context and prevailing social norms.”(Saperstein 2013)  Race is entrenched in humans because it is a big part of history and an issue that was never solved, and probably never will be. The only people who benefit from racism and the division of races is whites of a higher authority including white police officers, and whites in the government. White police officers are never held accountable for murdering Black men and women who are simply complying with their demands. It is shown through this article that “Black people are also more likely to be targeted in experimental decision-to-shoot games, even when they are unarmed.’ (Correll et al. 2002). It helps them to feel as if they are in authority. As a people, we are still segregated are placed in communities and school systems that a built to fail black, and are being killed by the ones who are supposed to serve and protect us. 

Photo by Moise Morancy from http://www.the-coreport.com/does-racism-still-exist-thewounds-of-racism/

I feel as if this photograph speaks for itself. It portrays that even if you are an educated African-American or not, you are still going to be judged by your skin color. Others will not judge  you for your character and that our own country is killing us. 

Works cited

Andres, K. (2016). Source Analysis of 'The Barbados Slave Code of 1661' Retrieved October 03, 2016, from https://medium.com/@kennethandres/source-analysis-of-the-barbados-slave-code-of-1661-3e0f9fd8cabd#.6t7vg9h3r 

Correll, J., Park, B., Judd, C. M., & Wittenbrink, B. (2002). The police officer's dilemma: Using ethnicity to disambiguate potentially threatening individuals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83(6), 1314-1329. doi:10.1037//0022-3514.83.6.1314

Saperstein, A., Penner, A. M., & Kizer, J. M. (2013). The Criminal Justice System and the Racialization of Perceptions. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 651(1), 104-121. doi:10.1177/0002716213503097