Ivelisse Sosa Due:
Oct. 3, 2016
Race and its ideology has been a
foundation that has helped build present-day America. Around the Race had to
establish the identity of each group in American with, African, Indians, and
European. In 18th century America, Africans were chosen suitable for
labor right away since Africa was known for its farms, and cattle-breeders, and
industries. Europeans during the first wave of immigration were French,
Spanish, Dutch, Germans, English, Scots, Scott-Irish, Spanish, and Puritans. As
the United States grew older in age and in land, it also grew with new waves of
immigration. The European race had to be dissected further into where they came
from. Those who came from Africa, their race was labeled as African and not
dissected further.
Slavery had already existed in
Africa before Europeans came to get the help they needed for the vast amount of
labor in America. In Africa, people where enslaved through war or crime. With
more land came more labor, which then lead to more imports of enslaved people to
do the labor. Europeans joined the slaves trades in Africa. As America got
older further, groups mixed between, Indian and European, European and African,
African and Indian. a new race was established and so were new identities. Through
the mixes, it got harder to identify who was a laborer to be enslaved leading
to established laws. Laws that clarified that the color of ones skin would be
the establishing facor of one suitable for enslavement.
Laws enforce to the public, a rule
to be upheld by the community. They create a lifestyle and are created to protect
the community. If a law is passed it is expected that the community adhere to
it. Laws are not easy to remove so America grows older with it solidifying a
culture further that it has created. What happens when one enslaved thus
breaking a law runs away? New laws are then creating molding the culture
further.
America refines its laws further and
further due to either being more specific or in reaction to revolts and war. As
time passes the color of ones skin still identifies one from Africa, an African
who was brought to America for labor. Even as laws get overturned the cultural
norm that the law was already created is still present. It was a norm for so
many years, through many generations, to establish one darker as one suitable
to be enslaved.
The culture that the laws created
took around 300 years of development, to undo and 300 years of development in a
society is going to take time. It will take time, revolts, patience, knowledge
and much more to undo the culture from 18th century America. The
color of ones skin should not lead to initial thought of laborer. Groups mix
and create new races and identities. Each new person born, no matter what group
they identify with still a human nonetheless. All deserve to be treated the
same as another and not have a premature judgment.
Work Cited:
Alyson Cole. (2015). Indiana
Magazine of History, 111(2), 211-213. doi:1. Retrieved from
http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5378/indimagahist.111.2.0211 doi:1
FREY, W. (2015). Diversity
Explosion: How New Racial Demographics are Remaking America. Brookings
Institution Press. Retrieved from
http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7864/j.ctt6wpc40
Omi, M. (2007, January). Rethinking the Language of Race and
Racism. Asian American Law Journal, 8(7),
1-9. Retrieved from
http://scholarship.law.berkeley.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1072&context=aalj
Smeadley, A. (2003). Origin of the Idea of Race. Retrieved
October 01, 2016, from
http://www.pbs.org/race/000_About/002_04-background-02-09.htm
Waves of Immigration. Retrieved October 01, 2016,
from https://www.preceden.com/timelines/29989-waves-of-immigration-in-america
This is organized greatly and I appreciate all the information in it. I'd add "who" the laws we're orginally made to protect and who they are protecting currently.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the feedback. I thought about that too but adding what the laws specifically puts me over the word count criteria. May I can move something around to had at least one law.
ReplyDeleteIvelisse, this is a very great assessment I thought that the organization as well as the spelling and grammar were great. The information you included in the assessment was informative and it was very easy to understand what you were trying to say about the idea of race. I like how you mentioned that laws being enforced in the United States were the reason why race was created and molding the different cultures of Whites and Blacks even further. Also, I liked how you mentioned that laws are the reason for development in the United States. Even three hundred years after slavery laws are still being changed in order to for all races to be treated same fairly, which was not the case during slavery times in the United States.
ReplyDeleteHowever, in terms of the requirements for the assignment, I feel that some of the questions and requirements were not either answered or included. There are some things that could be revised about this assessment such as the title "Race in America", I feel that this a great title, but the words in the title should be altered a little in order to make it a even more unique title. Also, there needs to be at least two in-text links to external websites in the assessment. There also has to be two academic sources from scholarly websites in the assessment that gives in-text citation to the authors as well. In terms of location you should focus on one geographic area in the United States or Caribbean such as Barbados, Maryland, Virginia, or even Barbados to explain the process of racialization and how did that specific geographic area have an impact on the idea of race and its persistance. I feel that in your assessment it was not explained "Why the idea of race exists" as well as its relation and importance to some of the current "contemporary social relations" occurring in the United States. When explaining your opinion I would recommend you to explain more about why the idea of race persisting and you have to mention who has benefited and who currently benefits from dividing people into racial groups. Also, it should be explained through the process of racialization, how did race come to be and how is currently presented in present day time. Overall, I feel like you understood the idea of race and how you used the concept of laws as being your early lessons on impacting the way you view race. Overall great job, and I believed you still did a good job answering the prompt.