Race: The Power of Illusion

Race: The Power of Illusion

The PBS film Race: The Power of an Illusion addresses the illusory concept of race. In fact, the filmmakers claim was a relatively modern idea that has been evolving over the past four centuries. The idea of race was possibly born in the United States, where dividing people according to their physical characteristics had distinct political and social goals. Thomas Jefferson was in fact the author of two contradictory documents: the Declaration of Independence and the Letter on the State of Virginia. The former promoted equality for all, whereas the latter claimed that blacks were a "race" that was physically and mentally inferior to whites. Race: The Power of an Illusion is relatively thorough and encompasses issues related to race that are eliminated from many other accounts. The film section addressing income disparity as one of the main repercussions of race consciousness is one of the strongest parts of Race: The Power of an Illusion.

Do you think this film adequately and fully explains these differences or is there something else the film failed to consider or address? Why do you feel this way?

The filmmakers do an adequate job of showing why income disparities between blacks and whites persist. Although this section could easily have been expanded into a full-length film of its own, within the context of the overall film this section is thorough. The filmmakers address wealth issues, and discuss income disparities that continue to persist and characterize white and non-white communities in the United States. One of the ways the filmmakers traced income disparity is by showing how black (and Latino) enrollment in schools like University of California at Berkeley is deplorably low. Lack of access to the pathways with which to achieve upward social mobility has created major wealth disparity in the United States.

Were you surprised to find out that the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) deliberately and overtly discriminated against African-Americans?

I was personally not surprised to find out that the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) had denied the opportunity for black families to achieve upward social mobility. Such root causes of the race issue in the United States are difficult to stomach. Political disenfranchisement was another way that African-Americans were systematically excluded from American society.

Should the government do anything NOW to address its past treatment of African-Americans? Considering the historical reality portrayed in the film and the consequences of that reality in the present, what could or should the U.S. government do to address persisting racial inequality in this country? How feasible is this solution? What would have to happen for this solution to occur? Would anyone be negatively affected by your proposed solution?

I believe that the problems that exist now are highly complex, but policy makers could indeed do more to redress past treatment of African-Americans. After all, it was only a few generations ago that the FHA was discriminating against black applicants. Schools are still highly segregated. Race in many ways determines access to social and cultural capital, as well as financial capital. Throughout successive generations, it has been difficult if not downright impossible for the sons and daughters of non-white individuals to achieve social and economic parity with whites. The government could do things like infuse large amounts of money into predominantly poor, black communities. The residents of these communities need to have the opportunity to start their own businesses rather than work for a distant (white-owned) corporation that does not give back to the community. When black communities become more self-sustaining economically, it will be easier for them to improve infrastructure. The results will take time but would be totally feasible and no one would be affected adversely.

In light of the consequences of past racial discrimination on the present, do race-neutral or color-blind policies really make sense or do they just ignore the problem? Does it make sense to continue using affirmative action or do affirmative action programs make things worse? Why do you feel this way?