Mariah Cameron
During class we’ve discussed the formation and naturalization of race ideologies in the United States, and have been able to use a global race order to determine if the US is moving toward or away from an improved racial-condition. Michael Omi and Howard Winant define Racialization as “the extension of racial meaning to a previously racially unclassified relationship, social practice or group.” Essentially, it is the creation of stereotypes, understandings and ideologies applied to a specific racial group. Through migration to the new world (voluntary or forced), every people group existing in the United States has experienced some form of racialization in which the the white elite or the 'researchers' in this experiment, use media propaganda, top-down suspicions, and widespread opinions to create race; whereas the general white population, or the control group, are the standard against which difference is measured (Omi and Winant, 2007).
My interest is in black racialization, and the creation of what it means to be black, and the differences amongst whites and blacks. While these meanings can differ, Romany Malco, does an excellent job of breaking down what blackness has meant on both sides, and invites everyone to add to research explained in this video he created on the racialization of Black people in America. Check it out!
During class we’ve discussed the formation and naturalization of race ideologies in the United States, and have been able to use a global race order to determine if the US is moving toward or away from an improved racial-condition. Michael Omi and Howard Winant define Racialization as “the extension of racial meaning to a previously racially unclassified relationship, social practice or group.” Essentially, it is the creation of stereotypes, understandings and ideologies applied to a specific racial group. Through migration to the new world (voluntary or forced), every people group existing in the United States has experienced some form of racialization in which the the white elite or the 'researchers' in this experiment, use media propaganda, top-down suspicions, and widespread opinions to create race; whereas the general white population, or the control group, are the standard against which difference is measured (Omi and Winant, 2007).
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‘Everything’s in vain with this one!’ Postcard. NL, (1932) Collectienr. |
Before taking this class, I had the privilege of knowing that ‘race’ and the differences ascribed to them are non-empirical and do not hold ground in reality. But, the material compounds of one’s race have a real and potent effect on the mindset, and activities of that person. Even within one ethnic group, there can be different races or color variations that are seen in a black-white binary throughout the region; see more.
During this class I’ve been given an even clearer view of race in the northeastern region of the US. Growing up, the narrative was that slavery existed in the South while abolitionists all resided in the North; that after the civil war every enslaved person was free, and in 100 years blacks would receive equal rights with white people and racism is over! That idealized deduction, made it easier not to delve deeper into race relations in America, until a pivotal moment in American history would change my life and my perspective on ‘race’ forever.
When George Zimmerman murdered young Trayvon Martin on February 26th 2012, it surfaced a race conversation that is still 153+ years in the making: has freedom truly come to the black community, or will our existence continue to serve white supremacy?
It is due to political programming that the voices of scholars go unnoticed in the creation of race socially. For a wide-spread belief to be maintained, at the expense of millions of people, there must be some understanding amongst those in power that to maintain control, the benefits must be so rewarding that maintenance becomes a default.
Every system of control depends for its survival on the tangible and intangible benefits that are provided to those who are responsible for the system’s maintenance and administration.
White social beliefs are perpetuated by white folks and black folks. America has entered a ‘post racial’ era whereas one can be phenotypically black, yet they’ve taken on whiteness in some form. ‘Whiteness’ is defined in different ways- it is a performance, that dictates how one thinks and behaves; it can be seen as “a strategic resource ensuring access to more resources”; it is the assumption of owned geographical space (Levine-Rasky, 2016). Whiteness assumes morality, and is absolved of wrongdoing. It has the final say of what is offensive, because only it can be offended. It can still benefit from slavery, and tell blackness (which depends on whiteness for meaning) to get over it. Whiteness has always benefited from dividing racial groups, and always will.
-Michelle Alexander, The New Jim Crow
White social beliefs are perpetuated by white folks and black folks. America has entered a ‘post racial’ era whereas one can be phenotypically black, yet they’ve taken on whiteness in some form. ‘Whiteness’ is defined in different ways- it is a performance, that dictates how one thinks and behaves; it can be seen as “a strategic resource ensuring access to more resources”; it is the assumption of owned geographical space (Levine-Rasky, 2016). Whiteness assumes morality, and is absolved of wrongdoing. It has the final say of what is offensive, because only it can be offended. It can still benefit from slavery, and tell blackness (which depends on whiteness for meaning) to get over it. Whiteness has always benefited from dividing racial groups, and always will.
Work Cited
Alexander, M. (2010). The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. The New Press. Revised Edition. 202
Levine-Rasky, Cynthia (2016). Whiteness Fractured. Abingdon, Oxon, GB: Routledge. ProQuest ebrary. Web. 3.
Omi, Michael; Winant, Howard, eds.,(2007) Racial Formation in the United States (Race, Class, and Gender in the United States), Second Edition, Macmillan, pp. 3-13 of 774.
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