The issue of race and ethnic classification remains a crucial topic of interest and controversy, especially in the United States. Different minority groups continue to express their outcry over being marginalized based on their ethnicity and skin color. The emergence of such activist groups such as “Black lives matters” indicates how much the society has alienated people because of perceived factors and how the affected groups demand to be treated as people sharing the same civil rights and freedoms as the rest of the United States citizens.
Race lacks any biological characteristics or a definition, which can make it socially acceptable and real. A race is not real and lacks measuring standards (‘Myth of Race, Debunked in 3 Minutes’). However, whenever the term race arises, people tend to define it in terms of an individual’s physical features and skin complexion. Another factor, which brings to mind the term race, is in such an event that one is filling out a form and they are expected to indicate their race. The worst scenario occurs when the society decides to take the issue of skin color a notch higher and subject individual to racism.
Racism discriminates people concerning their skin color, and the unfortunate thing is that some skin tones are considered superior to others. Race emerged through the construction of social order by colonials when they decided to shift the perception of African slaves as people not worthy of any civilization and denied them rights that were available for their masters. As a way to further their agenda and suppress the enslaved Africans, they developed a social order by raising the status of the whites through the allocation of land to further alienate them from the slaves (Race, Ethnicity, and Class 256). However, even after the abolishment of the slave trade and the recognition of African-Americans and other minority groups as citizens of the United States, racism still is a problem of the free world, and the inferior mentality still exists from within and without the affected groups.
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Consider the case of Fenna, the woman from mixed black and white ancestry who chooses to recognize herself with the superior heritage of whites as interviewed by Tyra (‘Preconceived Notions About Race – Tyra (Part 1)’). The fact that we can consider her an African-American based on the ethnic classification does not prevent her from dissociating with the heritage and hampering ill feelings towards those of similar skin color. Another example is the case of hair and how parents go to extra lengths to ensure that their children inherit hair associated with whites and other minority groups rather than the one worn by African-Americans (‘What Is Good Hair? – Tyra (Part 2)’). The scenarios indicate how much of a big issue skin color and physical features are and how willing the people in minority groups are to join those in the superior groups and to possess some if not all of their physical characteristics.
Many advertisements and commercial ideas in the media focus on being “white” which leads to further suppression those of different skin color. Beauty creams and products use the faces of white people and thus lowers the self- esteem of people of color who conceptualize the message to indicate a race towards changing their physical appearance to match that of the white. The video (‘Problem W/ White Beauty Standards | Decoded | MTV News’) indicates how white beauty is used to indicate the cultural ideal to measure beauty standards in society.
These ideas on beauty reinforce racial hierarchies by continuously portraying one skin color as the dominant color amongst the rest. Google searches according to the video extract indicate that results from multiple searches on beauty indicate a higher representation of the whites, which is wrong as it shows how much the message of racial superiority is communicated in the society. Supposing that the search engine results indicated ethnic diversity, it would be beneficial to the people who feel marginalized, and beauty would acquire a better meaning rather than racial classification.
I agree with Dr. Black Hawk (DeBosi) in that as we dig deeper into communities, which are marginalized, you will find that they have in some way accepted their position in the society. This acceptance can be demonstrated by the scenarios of parents feeding negative information to their children concerning certain features such as hair. In addition, the people who have done better in the society end up playing the racial card to their fellow kin as indicated by the case of Dr. Valerie Johnson (DeBosi) who was turned down from a job by a fellow member of the African-American ancestry because of her hair. Thus, a community might find itself complicit to the same treatment that it receives from the society by despising and abandoning their culture (Boswell) to fit in a world that they think is superior.
In her Five tips to being an ally, Chescaleigh describes the term privilege to anyone who might feel inclined to assist the minority groups in fighting for their rights, even though the help does not belong to any of the marginalized groups. The privilege she talks about is not being able to go through some experiences in life based on the fact that one belongs to a group held superior by society. She gives an excellent example that though one might want to offer help to people, it is best first to figure out the rights that one enjoys that those they are providing their support to do not possess.
Similarly, Greenberg offers insight through examples of how the white privilege is a real issue in the society whereby the law is especially strict on African-Americans than on the whites. The community is lenient when white privilege is put to the test; thus, indicating that the culturally constructed order that places the white on top of the racial hierarchy is real. The privilege is a cultural world view since the treatment of the minorities remains the same throughout the land.
Rahman narrates the story of reverse racism humorously to indicate how the white can use stand-up comedy and humor to communicate racism. However, since they do not understand the pain that the minorities went through, going back in time and subjecting them to what the minorities were subjected by the colonial masters would be the only ideal way for the whites to walk in the shoes of the minorities. Therefore, by using humor and empathy, society can be made aware of the effects of racism (‘Aamer Rahman (Fear of a Brown Planet) – Reverse Racism’).
