Race and Ethnicity are two things we all carry with us throughout life from birth that we weren’t consulted on, we each received our hands randomly and were promptly thrust into the game of life. Statistics show that these two factors may drastically affect the degree of difficulty associated with living a life we now consider ideal. You may think similarly to me in regards to discrimination based off of factors someone doesn’t have control over it would make every bit of sense to not judge a persons whole character, and hinder their ability to live to their fullest potential based strictly on the things they can’t control.
But yet discrimination based on race and ethnicity seems to be at an all time high as we close out 2018 and sadly may come with life altering consequences. Discrimination based off of ill feelings towards another race or ethnic group is a problem that cannot merely be solved, although a considerable amount of effort has gone into finding the solution to this problem containing it is the only realistic option.
Before Discussing the affects of racial/ethnic discrimination I see it to be paramount that you understand what I’m referring to when I speak on such. I would like to first give you the definition race and ethnicity, and the context in which they will be used in this argument. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines race as first “a family, tribe, people, or nation belonging to the same stock” and then as “a class or kind of people unified by shared interests, habits, or characteristics”. More often than not in the everyday sense most of us would define race more along the lines of the way Dalton Conley sees it.
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The sociologist and Henry Putnam University Professor of Sociology Dalton Conley had this to say in a PBS article questioning the difference between race and ethnicity, “You can identify ethnically as Irish and Polish, but you have to be essentially either black or white. The fundamental difference is that race is socially imposed and hierarchical. There is an inequality built into the system. Furthermore, you have no control over your race; it’s how you’re perceived by others.” I know personally this holds truth. I feel mutual on the statements regarding race being what others see when viewing you, and it not being for you to decide. Ethnicity on the other hand is something that most of the time cannot be determined at first glance.
Two people that both would be looked at and defined as “black” may come from two drastically different ethnic backgrounds. The Merriam-Webster definition defines ethnic as “of or relating to large groups of people classed according to common racial, national, tribal, religious, linguistic, or cultural origin or background” the definition of ethnic alludes to one’s racial background, this is where you begin to see how race and ethnicity will be mostly interchangeable when I speak on racial/ethnic discrimination.
When placed outside of their ethnic/racial comfort zone many people’s natural reaction is to isolate themselves and mask who they are enough to blend in. This is due to the common knowledge that prejudices exist, building tension making those in the environment think that even the wrong tone or phrase may cause a confrontation. In the novel by Ralph Ellison Invisible Man the character Lucius Brockway takes tremendous pride in making known the affects of being a minority an choosing to conform while advertising his “Optic White” paint he said this —“Our white is so white you can paint a chunka coal and you’d have to crack it open with a sledge hammer to prove it wasn’t white clear through.”
This may come off as him referring to the effectiveness of his paint, but to those who connected it to the context the true intentions of his boasting became clear. Viewing the situation from this perspective educes the larger notion that the white paint is a representation of the white controlled infrastructure in America. The strength of the paint being suitable to turn coal white speaks to forcing black men and women to submit to white culture, masking their true feelings in an effort to gain acceptance and tolerance.
Often this conversion is done unintentionally, minority’s usually feel as if their out of place mostly due to differences in culture and feeling isolated. In an article focused on minority’s experiences at elite private schools Judith Ohikuare spoke on her personal experience saying this, “My first few years at Chapin didn’t involve culture shock as much as cultural disillusionment. Everyone was incredibly friendly (almost alarmingly so for my public-school disposition), but I was clearly a novelty. We were all New Yorkers—native ones. I found it hard to understand how such well-traveled people knew so little about their own city.
I had never in my life been touched and asked with such stark curiosity how I got my hair to just ‘stay that way’ or, even years later in high school, what a ‘borough was.’ I usually laughed, but was often as horrified as they were when I’d say that I was going home alone on the train. To them, it seemed callous that my parents would allow me to do so; I thought it was bizarre that many of them needed a babysitter just to travel a few bus stops.” (Ohikuare). I can personally say I’ve felt just as out of my element in school as well as on the job. It’s a really awkward situation to feel as though you must sensor who are to avoid conflict, although situations like these can categorized as self inflicted, still the fact remains that the cause is to contain any further feelings of isolation based off of racial/ethnic differences.
The novel Invisible Man really gives the reader a great look into complexity of identity and how one may allow themselves to be limited by the social expectations and prejudices of others. In the epilogue the narrator went on to speak on the frustration and how it personally caused rebellion within when it came to being defined stating this “And my problem was that I always tried to go in everyone’s way but my own. I have also been called one thing and then another while no one really wished to hear what I called myself. So after years of trying to adopt the opinions of others I finally rebelled. I am an invisible man.” although this the lesser known affect of being ethnically isolated, it’s a very familiar form of self preservation or containment.
Although a solution to completely end discrimination based on Racial/ethnic differences is very unlikely there are ways to better the situation for the oppressed. One of these ways was the focus of the 2016 article published in the Newyorker written by Clint Smith, Smith a former high school teacher recounts the day he witnessed isolated students open up to each other before his eyes he had this to say, “One student stood up in front of the class to read his memoir and said that, every day, coming home from school, he feared that he might find that his parents had disappeared. After that, many students revealed their status, and that of their families, to their classmates for the first time.
The essays told of parents who would not drive for fear that being pulled over for a broken taillight would result in deportation; who had never been on an airplane; who were working jobs for below minimum wage in abhorrent conditions, unable to report their employers for fear of being arrested themselves. It was a remarkable scene, to witness young people collectively shatter one another’s sense of social isolation.” (Smith 2016). The situation that took place in Mr. Smiths’ classroom that day may not be common place but it definitely should be. With so many people feeling isolated for similar things the greatest hope that exists may actually be each other. Many people do attempt to help those feeling isolated, but the problem is that it’s hard to fix a problem you only know from the outside looking in.
More often than not a person will be reluctant to truly express how they feel on such a intimate topic if they feel as though they’re more likely to be judged than understood. If there were ways to connect these people facing similar hardships directly with each other I think the probability of decreasing that feeling of being an outcast faces it’s most favorable odds. Sadly for some strange reason when us minority’s faces problems that may indeed affect our whole community and beyond we tend to shut ourselves off from each other even, again self inflicting the pain.
From my perspective this is due to not wanting to express our weakness, in a society where we’re constantly being attacked the natural reaction for me is to not show where it hurts the most in fear that the knowledge will be used to further inflict pain. With the feeling of not being able to trust many people outside of yourself it’s extremely difficult to build up the courage of associating yourself with people and things that may be completely foreign to you. In fact when placed in a group of unfamiliar people both of similar and different racial/ethnic status most of us would prefer to stick with the people who look and sound like us, even though they are strangers and may only share racial or ethic similarities they offer a crowd to get lost in.
In the 2014 article from the Los Angeles source the topic of ethnic isolation in a multicultural framework is discussed. The author Audrey Tung speaks on her school being multicultural, yet still very isolated with students forming their own racial/ethnic divides she had this to say regarding the topic “At its best, multiculturalism can foster an appreciation for diversity and encourage inter-cultural dialogue. I have enjoyed various events around the city that have succeeded in celebrating this axiom. Notable examples include the Indian Summer Festival, Richmond Night Market and German Christmas Market, all of which attract diverse, prismatic audiences that enthusiastically absorb the ethnic displays, merchandise, performances and cuisines.
At its worst, however, multiculturalism can ironically isolate ethnic communities – counter to the city of Vancouver’s “commitment to diversity and inclusiveness,” outlined on their website. Particularly during my high school years, I felt that the banner of multiculturalism hid immigrants and international students from society at large, rather than catalyzing their integration. I noticed that the sizeable international student population only socialized within their ethnic groups in their native tongues, which were entirely cryptic to my ears.” (Tung 2014). As stated above by Tung and myself Multiculturalism can actually do more for further isolating groups rather than intertwining them. The best form of containment in this situation ideally would result in the different racial and ethnic groups merging with each other on some kind of common ground.
