Native American and America

America has long held on to the beliefs of its past. Built on slavery and oppression, the United States of America dealt with people of color by enslaving them, segregating them, and now deporting them. While the U.S. is constantly working on ending racism in its borders, there still exists a racial/immigrant problem among the people residing in the country. Furthermore, there is a growing class issue where the top 1% earn the most money with the rest earning very little.

What has America become? Is it a land of opportunity for everyone or is it still a place of institutionalized racism where only white people are granted real power and privilege? Institutionalized racism has existed in the U.S. for centuries. It began in colonial America with the introduction of black, African slaves. White settlers needed a way of keeping black slaves under their control and remove some of the guilt of owning human beings.

So, they ultimately decided to write texts and supporting literature on the notion that black people are inferior to white people. One such example was Hume's essay, "Of National Characteristics" in which he stated the inferiority of negroes to whites. He even went as far as to say negroes were inferior because the possessed no sciences or arts. The opinion of Hume in his essay became 'prescriptive' and adapted by other writers like Kant.

"Kant had extrapolated Hume's comments into an affirmation of a fundamental difference of 'mental capacities' between the black and white races, squarely correlating 'blackness' and 'stupidity'." (Habib 755) To have literature regarded as fact, state that blacks were by nature, inferior to whites, led to the prevalence and expansion of institutionalized racism. The government did not support human rights for blacks. The white people of colonial America did not regard blacks as humans, with some even regarding them as property and animals.

This kind of mentality continued all the way up to the Civil Rights Movement of the late 1960's when the country was segregated and blacks could barely vote. Fortunately, the country has evolved past such social injustices and now blacks are treated as equals under the law. However, because the remnants of institutionalized racism still exist, white privilege remains an issue people of color must contend with.

Furthermore, whites in America are still regarded as the ones with power and status because of the image people from the past have created concerning race. That image is 'white culture'. "By 'white culture' we mean the dominant unquestioned standards of behavior and ways of functioning embodied by the vast majority of institutions in the United States.

But it operates in even more subtle ways, by actually defining what 'normal' is- and likewise." (Gulati-Partee and Potapchuk 27) This means that what is regarded as professional is something that falls under the umbrella of 'white culture'. For example, having neat, straight hair may be considered professional, as well as wearing a business suit. A hijab or dreadlocks may not be seen as professional because it is separate from normal, white culture. White culture being the norm extends to immigrants as well.

Immigrants have experienced continued racism and prejudice with some being mistreated while detained. Trump's platform for presidency hinged on mass deportation of illegal immigrants. Immigration is an issue that the United States must deal with regardless of legality or existing prejudices. With the past of America showing the extent of restrictions placed on immigration, there is a lot left to change to remove such stigma. The stigma comes from the reluctance of the American government to allow immigration from China and other parts of the world.

The Chinese had so many difficulties entering the United States and gaining citizenship, that some Chinese immigrants, with the help of American lawyers, had to challenge the action under haebus corpus. "When Chinese immigrants were detained or denied entry, the CCBA hired American lawyers to aid Chinese plaintiffs in gaining entry by filing writs of habeus corpus.

This legal action challenged the immigration authorities to provide evidence that individuals should be denied entry or to release them." (Jung 34) Such efforts allowed some Chinese to enter the country and eventually similar to the situation blacks had, they were able to gain citizenship. The United States clearly had issues letting people of non-white backgrounds have any rights in the country. Rights are an integral part of existing in society. Whites had rights since the first days of settlement in colonial America.

These rights they awarded themselves when they took the lands from Native Americans and called it their own, fighting bloody battles, and killing off entire tribes. After taking lands belonging to Native Americans, these colonists eventually took the image of the Native American and misappropriated it to suit their needs and extend white hegemony.

Referred to as a tool of social control, cultural appropriation of the Native American race gained hold throughout the United States in the form of mascots, movies, and images that held to one specific instance of 'Indian' acceptable to white culture.

"As a tool of social control, non -- American Indians become adept at misappropriating without conscience or consideration while creating mass confusion as to who is an Indian" (Staurowsky 66) Although many whites have challenged the norm of cultural appropriation, seeking instead to see the entirety of Native American identity versus the singular perspective, the image of the 'Indian' is still deeply ingrained in American culture. Another deeply ingrained image in America is the 'American dream'.

The idea that upward mobility is possible and can be achieved by anyone, regardless of race, age, ethnicity, or gender. Some of that holds true. Many irrespective of all of the above, can become successful in America, but that wasn't always the case. Only a few decades ago, the 'American dream' was achievable by only white people. Going further into the past, the 'American dream' was only achievable by white men.

As basic human rights were granted to women and people of color, it then took on a new meaning for everyone. But it brings up an important issue concerning class. The middle class of the United States is shrinking. "Almost five years after the Great Recession ended, millions of middle class Americans are continue to struggle in the face of a lack of well-paid jobs and rapidly increasing prices for groceries, gasoline." (Aghai 126) What is left s a large working class.