Sign Up Now
Get instant access to over 1 million+ study documents
OR
Already registered? click here to login
By creating your account, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and student honor code.
Racism Higgins
The Price of Racial Harmony
Almost thirty years after the Civil Rights Act of 1964, race relations in the United States continue to be strained and the dream of racial harmony appears to be as far from reality as it ever was. Many commentators, including Shelby Steele, consider that the cause of these continued difficulties lies in society's determined emphasis upon race and color, rather than upon equality and individualism. The convenient packaging and classification of people into the camps of either black or white perpetuates the divisive conflict of oppressors vs. victims, and innocence vs. power. Although integration and multiculturalism are among the catchwords of the time, the present situation is merely a case of blacks and whites adopting the path of least resistance. To truly achieve equality and cooperation within racial relations, society must make radical changes in the way that it acts and thinks. This will be difficult and painful for many, and the major obstacle to its achievement is the fact that, in the words of Steele, "what both black and white Americans fear are the sacrifices that true racial...
When the subject of race is a topic for discussion or discourse, it is usually to examine and analyze the concept of racism. Furthermore, as claimed by Bell Hooks, any such talk of race usually reinforces traditional ideas of black inferiority, perpetuates a denial of racism, or sustains a conflict mentality in which blacks and whites are depicted as occupying enemy camps (1995). Although the road to improved race relations relies upon communication and understanding, many individuals continue to be extremely reluctant to "talk race" because "it is painful to think long and hard about race and racism in the United States" (Hooks, 1995). Shelby Steele supports this view, and states that race talk among blacks and whites is often unproductive because when such talk occurs, both groups struggle to "maintain power by maintaining their innocence" (Rereading America, 1992). In essence, this fear of discussing racism, and an…
Works Cited
Hooks, B. Killing Rage: Ending Racism. New York: Henry Holt, 1995.
Steele, Shelby. "I'm Black, You're White, Who's Innocent?" Rereading America. Eds. Gary Colombo, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle. 2nd ed. Boston: Bedford, 1992.
People who are guilty of personal attacks on Obama that challenge his birthplace, or equate him with Adolf Hitler, "…have been influenced to a major degree by a belief that he should not be president because he happens to be African-American" (CNN, p. 1). "It's a racist attitude," Carter asserted. And for this paper, it may be more like "modern racism" that does not embrace the "N-word" but does
Although it has often been seen as a production which exploits the racial prejudices of the American society, on the other hand it tries to deal with them and point them out through laughter. The question then arises, "does the charge of prejudice come from the fact that the movie laughs and pokes fun at it instead of excoriating it? Would it have been better if it had dealt
Essentially, those in the lower tiers of the urban socioeconomic hierarchy, rather than having been drawn out of despair, have been thrust to the periphery of America's 'revitalizing' cities. Question 2: One of the most important points raised by the course reading material would be that underscoring a clear proclivity toward urban design and planning in those who would first colonize the new lands. Though massive and ripe with natural resources and incredible frontiers, the new land
In order to increase inequality within my neighborhood, the first step would be to change leadership so that they are more heterogeneous and able to represent every facet of our community. In this way I believe we will be able to respond to the demands of everyone within a community that has a diverse ethnic background. Instead of my neighbors ignoring people of other ethnicities, I would want them
The fact that so many people believed that dependency of any kind was a serious threat to the development of the nation did develop into anti-racist sentiment as race seemed to be the defining character, in soc many situations of the labor force being utilized. One can definitely see this in the development of the early republican party, even though many call the rhetoric demonstrative of the dramatics that
Anti-Miscegenation Laws in the United States In order to understand what an anti-miscegenation law is, it is important to look at the definition of the term miscegenation. This term is derived from two Latin words miscere, which means to mix, and genus, which refers to type, family, or descent (Frederickson, 1971). This term has therefore been used to refer to the mixing of racial groups, ethnicities, and in rare circumstances different