REVISION: The Journey of the Process of Racialization from the Seventeenth Century to Present-Day Time

Darrell Vaughn                                                                                                       October 17, 2016

The Journey of the Process of Racialization from the Seventeenth Century to Present-Day Time

The concept of race was expanding from the beginning of the slavery period. But, the birth of racialization began in the United States during the 1660s, and continued to process after that time. It began in Maryland and other states due to Africans being enslaved by European slave owners because of their skin color. Even if they were religious and converted to Christianity they still would not receive freedom. Paul Finkelman states that, “Conversion would help fasten the chains of bondage onto slaves, as generations of ministers taught slaves that obedience to their masters was the equivalent of obedience to God, and that the key to heaven began with proper deference to their earthly status.” (pg. 113). These slave owners lied to the enslaved Blacks by telling them information about Christianity that was not true. They would benefit by keeping more slaves and having more labor; and as a result make sure that the enslaved did not gain freedom.

Race became the main factor behind one being enslaved. Not only did the European whites approve of white superiority over black inferiority, but they also aimed to force these racial beliefs on blacks themselves. I understood race as being different diverse groups of a species composed of a population with structured traits that differentiate from other races. I feel like these early lessons have impacted my view of race because it demonstrated that in white America under slavery, your race identification illustrated how you were treated and where did you rank under the social class system. My view of race is that the racialization category of whichever race one is associated with will determine the lived experiences they will encounter in the United States.

The concept of race has persisted due to many factors over a period of time. Race is organized into different factors such as skin color, hair texture, height, etc. Society must have a racial theory that demonstrates the persistence of racial stratification in a time where racial inequality exists with many different cultures present in the United States. Franklin and Gates Jr. stated that, “Race continues to be a major preoccupation of the people in this country at every level, at every station in life.” (pg. 47). This statement explains that the process of racialization has a long way to go in order for all multicultural races to share the same equality and respect for one another.

The idea of race persisting relates to many contemporary social relations during this present-day time. One related contemporary social relation is the Black Lives Matter activist movement in which Blacks in America have protests about violence and racial inequality in the U.S. The concept of race persists in order to avoid issues such as violence, racial profiling, and police brutality. Whites criticized the Black Lives Matter movement by creating activist groups such as “White Lives Matter” in order to protect whites from anti-white racism in America. In order for fair equality, blacks must protest and speak up for our community especially those that have a higher position such as athletes and musicians. Racism still exists today as it did over three hundred years ago and whites have still managed to benefit from it by having more privileges given to them than any other racial group.

Margulies, J. (2014, August 13). Cop kills unarmed black male [Cartoon] Jimmy Margulies. Retrieved October 17, 2016, from https://www.politicalcartoons.com/cartoon/c62d03a0-357b-4141-81bd-569f246b860c.html 

I found this picture interesting because it symbolizes that black issues are not getting enough attention such as the killing of an unarmed black male by a cop not making the news on television and the woman in the photo paying more attention to the Ebola Virus rather than the killing of an unarmed black male by a cop in the newspaper. This shows that racialization has a long way to go and there is still a large inequality gap between Whites and Blacks just as it was during the beginning of slavery time.

References

Exploring Maryland's Roots: Investigate a Slavery Timeline: Help. (n.d.). Retrieved

October 03, 2016, from

http://mdroots.thinkport.org/interactives/slaverytimeline/help.asp

Finkelman, P. (2012). Slavery in the United States: Persons or Property? Duke

University School of Law. Retrieved fromhttp://scholarship.law.duke.edu/faculty_scholarship/2709.

Franklin, J., & Gates, H. (2001). Race in America: Looking Back, Looking

Forward. Bulletin of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 55(1), 42-49. doi:1. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3824255 doi:1

Sidner, S., & Simon, M. (2015, December 28). The rise of Black Lives Matter: Trying

to break the cycle of violence and silence. Retrieved October 03, 2016, from http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/28/us/black-lives-matter-evolution/