Darrell Vaughn
BLST 101
The concept of race was growing
from the beginning of slavery when enslaved Africans were being sent to the
Caribbean to work for slave owners. 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 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 facts related to Christianity that were not true. They would
benefit by keeping more slaves and having more labor; and as a result making sure
that the enslaved did not receive 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 showed me 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 life experiences and opportunities they will encounter in the United States.
The idea of race persists because
it is organized into different topics 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 U.S. 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 concept of race persisting relates
to contemporary social relations such as the Black
Lives Matter activist movement in which Blacks around the world 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, musicians, and actors. 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 in the United States.
Photo Source: By Jimmy Margulies
Retrieved 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
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/
Hello!
ReplyDeleteThis was great, it was very to the point and detailed. You hit every point the professor asked. I would just try to merge the ideas smoother together. Get the paragraphs to flow with a bridge sentence or something. It keeps the reading smoother. The heading should be rearranged from the written work gridlines. Student name top left, due date top right then title center below. I do like how you gave background information on your picture below.