The Structuring of the Inferior Race by Briah Foster

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The enslavement of Africans in the New World began when the Portuguese began trading with West Africans. The forced migration of the enslaved started in 1619 in Jamestown, Virginia. Africans were brought over to Virginia to aid in the production of cash crops such as tobacco. African slaves were a cheaper and productive labor source than indentured servants (source). The bringing of Africans over created a biracial society. But, in order for the slave holders and owners to keep control, they had to construct a mechanism that would do so. “the Portuguese saw the West Africans' religion and appearance as reasons for their inferiority…. The Portuguese became the main purveyors of the racial ideology upon which both New World colonization and slavery were based”  (Roberts, 929).  The inferiority of the enslaved focused primarily on the color of one's skin. This notion stemmed from the perspective of people of a fairer skin tone than the Africans. The color white has always been associated with pure and innocent, whereas black has been associated with evil and unknown. The superiority of the white race then led to a caste system which would uphold the standards in which the enslaved were treated. The treatment of the enslaved was inhumane; they were viewed as property instead of human beings. They endured violent whippings, starvation and worked from sun up to sundown. The idea of race is a socially constructed tool to create and enforce a hierarchy.

Since reading various readings on the forced migration of enslaved Africans, my understanding of race has changed and has more depth. Before my understanding of race was simply self-identity. When someone asks me, “what am I?” I automatically say black. But I never thought about the idea of race being socially constructed to emphasize differences in skin tone. I’ve realized that race has no true meaning nor does it have any importance. “Most race-crits hold that race is not real and objective but that ideas of race nevertheless exert great social power…. If race is a social construction—something we choose to believe in…. what are the mechanisms of that social construction and what keeps them in place? Social constructionists examine how scripts, narratives, stories, and habits enable society to continue to believe that something important” (Delgado, 503).The word race was given importance to keep an entire group of people inferior. The emphasis on black and white were great enough that for generations we have been using the very tool that was create.

The idea of race persists because we are still dealing with differences in the value of black and white. Black Americans, are still dealing with inhumane treatment from people, who believe they are superior. The association of black as evil and unknown is still present today. For instance, there are more black males incarcerated than any other race. According, to Michelle Alexander a professor and civil rights advocate stated there are more black males incarcerated than were enslaved. The disenfranchisement of black communities reinforce racialization. The comparisons between black and white is what enslavement thrived off it is still showing its dominance centuries later.

References

Roberts, Kevin D. "Race and Colonialism in the Americas." Encyclopedia of Western Colonialism since 1450. Ed. Thomas Benjamin. Vol. 3. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2007. 929-933. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 27 Sept. 2016.

Delgado, Richard, and Jean Stefancic. "Critical Race Theory." New Dictionary of the History of Ideas. Ed. Maryanne Cline Horowitz. Vol. 2. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2005. 501-507. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 27 Sept. 2016.

History.com Staff. "Slavery in America." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2009. Web. 27 Sept. 2016.

CHILDRESS, SARAH. "A System of Racial and Social Control." PBS. PBS, 29 Apr. 2014. Web. 27 Sept. 2016.