THE EFFECTS OF RACISM ON FAMILIES OF COLOR
BY STUDENT
It is the
unbecoming truth of our past, our present, and unfortunately as it seems, our
future, that the color of one’s skin will define one’s future. It is not the
person’s actions that are used to judge an individual, rather the actions of
people of similar color and the stereotypes with which they are associated that
define their character. A few days ago, for the first time in American history,
an American women of Indian descent was crowned Miss America. Within a few
hours of her crowning, social networking sites were flooded with racist
comments, calling her a foreigner, an extremist, and a terrorist. This is a
recent example that a person’s identity is still more linked to their skin
color and ethnicity than it is to their personality. I will discuss the effect
of racism on Black families, especially its effect on the daughters and mothers.
As crime
was written into culture and not biology, much of the burden of this crime
shifted to the women of the family. Parents teach their children the values of
respect, friendship, and love. However the lessons parents would teach their
children were to “defend their self-pride and personal respect against racial
insults from old and new Americans” (Muhammad 115). Parents were teaching their
children how to defend their self-worth against peers who were constantly making
them feel as if they did belong to the land they were born in, where they were
living. At the age that little children should be chasing ice cream trucks, black
parents had to accompany their child to school, or they might be attacked by
white boys and not even make it to school (Muhammad, 116). These were the
conditions the children were raised in.
The mothers
of daughters carried another burden. If the mothers worked, they were accused
of not providing, “young children with adequate moral guidance,” and if the
daughters went to work, they would “expos[e] them (the daughters) to the
morally corrup[t]…evil designs of unscrupulous men” (Muhammad 117). With the
rise in unemployment for all immigrants of color, especially Blacks, money was
an issue for almost all Black families and many people accepted whatever means
they could find to earn money. The Mann Act passed shortly after 1910 protected
most white females from job agencies that would send females into lives of
prostitution. Those agencies would not want to risk being shut down because a
white girl was sent to a place where she might live a life of prostitution.
Those agencies faced no such risk for sending a black girl to the same place to
live a life of prostitution (Muhammad 121). In fact, until 1997, there has been
no published evidence of the Mann Act protecting a black female (Muhammad 133).
Such racism led to the cultural degradation of Black families, especially Black women.
Du Bois
once said, “did not we all know that it was blackness that was condemned and
not crime? (Muhammad 141)”. This is a question that has haunted the Black
community for decades. This reasoning is what allowed the conscious of so many people
to mistreat their fellow humans in such a way. The color of one’s skin took
precedence over one’s character. The color black classified these people as
criminals, even if they had not committed crimes. The circumstances these
people face sometimes did create criminals, but it also created people who
fought for what was right. And it is wrong that the wrong actions of certain
people defined an entire race. Society has progressed since that era. Today,
the president of the United States of America is a Black man and Miss America
2014 is a woman of color. However as a society, we still have a long way to go.
The racist comments that arise whenever a person of color achieves a status of
position, is not a part of America’s accepting nature, and while there are many
who support the assimilation of diversity into society, many hold steadfast to
their seemingly outdated beliefs. The day that everyone’s definition of being American
will not depend on the ethnicity of the person but rather if that person was
born here or became a naturalized citizen is the day I will believe that
diversity has assimilated into our society. When someone asks me, “What are
you?” I have always answered that I am Indian. But when I think about it, I
realize that I am by ethnicity Indian, but as an individual, I am American. I
was born and raised in New Jersey and for as long as I can remember, I have
placed my right hand over my heart and pledged my allegiance to the flag of the
United States of America. Similarly, people of different ethnicities identify
as American; that is the beauty of America—the definition of American is not
dependent upon color or ethnicity.
Bibliography:
“Miss America crowns 1st
winner of Indian descent,” CNN.com. Last modified September 17, 2013.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/16/showbiz/miss-america-racist-reactions/index.html
Muhammad, Khalil Gibran. The Condemnation of Blackness:
Race, Crime, and the Making of Modern
Urban America. Cambridge,
Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2011.
The paternal side of this never ending battle of racism is a tough situation. In the urban area where I am from, the majority of parents are single and working 2 or 3 jobs to put food on the table. They are rarely home to be with their children and teach them the ways of self- pride and more importantly self- respect. The parenting is left up to the teachers and administration of schools. Many schools have implemented after school care till late in the evening or have extended school days to keep these children in the care of some adult until their mother or father is home. These are the lucky ones. Some don't have a mother or father who are working to make a life for them. They are left to fend for themselves while enduring the mistrust the rural and suburban community has against the urban kids. It breaks my heart. The human race I believe will someday be blind to color but will never be blind to class.
ReplyDeleteAlso, your definition of an American was lovely.
I really like the way you call to our attention that we often claim our ethnicity before claiming our American heritage. I also feel kind of awkward when people ask me what I am. Mostly I reply Irish because I assume they are asking for my ethnicity. However, I too have pledged allegiance to the American flag since childhood. It's sometimes hard to remember what this means. America is made up of so many different ethnicities, and even if we look like we’re from India or Asia, that doesn’t mean we are. Some of us look like we are from India but we have lived in America our entire lives. Still, we seem shocked when someone of color is raised to a position of status. We forget that we have been a nation that has included people of color for….forever. It’s kind of strange that we still don’t accept this and continue to try and create an inferior population.
ReplyDeleteSydney Manning
You specifically brought up how comments on social networking sites were racist - this makes me curious as to how large a role social networking plays in racism. Would racism be less pertinent if it wasn't so easy to hide behind a fake identity to say whatever you want without repercussion? I, and probably all of you reading this, have witnessed or heard of a case of online racism. I think that online confidence (in regards to being racist) has started to spill out of the internet, giving confidence for people to be racist in public. I think it is very interesting, as I personally have only seen racist comments towards the 2013 Miss America online and have never heard any racist remarks against her in conversation.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree. I think that behind a computer screen and with a fake online identity, many people are unafraid to express their views. And while everyone does have a right to their own opinion, I think the issue becomes whether they have the right information. A lot of racist comments are actually incorrect in form. And in a country with people of so many different ethnicities and people of different socioeconomic statuses, it is important that as a society we all become more aware of the facts before saying something in person, through social media, or any other form, that can hurt the people around us.
ReplyDeleteI definitely enjoyed the flow of this post. I liked how you started with a current issue, supported it with historical facts, and then related it back to your own experience. It really gave it a personal meaning and made it seem more real and not just something on a computer screen. It seems that whatever decision black women made, they were criticized. If they were helping their children then they weren't providing for the family and if they had a job to support the family then they were not guiding their children enough. In your conclusion you state that America is a place where color doesn't define whether you're American or not, but throughout history isn't this idea challenged? While people like to say that America is a melting pot, discrimination, although terrible, is still alive today. It may not be as severe as it was years ago, but it has not gone away entirely.
ReplyDeleteI really liked reading this post. The issue of the criminalization of the blacks reminded me of the film '9500 Liberty' we watched this Tuesday (November 12). Members of the associations formed to reduce the number of undocumented immigrants living in Manassas blamed these immigrants for the 9/11 attacks and portrayed them as terrorists. I was shocked hearing this. Why is it so hard living as one community and just respecting everyone? In a powerful, large and multicultural country as America, it is even more important to show by example. I believe that if you feel like being part of a community, you are a part of that community. Regardless of skin color or where you are from originally. People should start looking to the inside and respecting each other, and stop looking down on people from another race.
ReplyDeleteMerel Hermans
I agree with Rachel that throughout history one's race has often been a determining factor whether one is considered an American or not. However, I don't think that just because we have a history of it, the future can't be different. While racism is far from being entirely eliminated in society, there have been significant advancements for equality. As Merel said, and I agree, that once people learn to look beyond the outer skin color of a person and respect them for who they are, the racism in our society will automatically be reduced. America is a melting pot nation in which I believe that there will be a day when a person will be judged solely based on their individual character and not their skin color or socioeconomic standing.
ReplyDelete