Craniologists, eugenicists, phrenologists, and Social Darwinists, at every educational level, buttressed the belief that blacks were innately intellectually and culturally inferior to whites. Pro-segregation politicians gave eloquent speeches on the great danger of integration: the mongrelization of the white race. Newspaper and magazine writers routinely referred to blacks as niggers, coons, and darkies; and worse, their articles reinforced anti-black stereotypes” (Pilgrim). The system of Jim Crow was reinforced with racial viewpoints and stereotypes: “whites were superior to blacks in all important ways, including but not limited to intelligence, morality, and civilized behavior; sexual relations between blacks and whites would produce a mongrel race which would destroy America; treating blacks as equals would encourage interracial sexual unions; any activity which suggested social equality encouraged interracial sexual relations; if necessary, violence must be used to keep blacks at the bottom of the racial hierarchy” (Pilgrim). “The Jim Crow laws and system of etiquette were
According to Du Bois the prejudices of white people elicit “self-questioning, self-criticism, and lowering of ideals” among black people. The internalization of anti-black sentiment from the outside world thus begins to shape the black American experience. Through the concept double consciousness DuBois becomes better able to explore the social problems he studied in his earlier work “The Philadelphia Negro”. Double consciousness also creates an element of conflict within the black American, as they struggle (often unsuccessfully) to reconcile their identity as a black person and as an American citizen. Dubois cites the example of the black artisan in “The Souls of Black Folk”.
In turn, black pupils felt teachers underestimated their ability and picked on them. Gilborn and Youdell conclude that much of the conflict between white teachers and black pupils stem from the racial stereotypes that teachers hold, rather than the pupil’s actual behaviour. This disadvantages pupils because they are treated differently, which could result in their failure and even exclusion from school. As Jenny Bourne 1994) found that schools tend to see black boys as a threat and label them
Bigger’s actions and thoughts were driven by a fear that was established by psychological and sociological damage. From the beginning of the novel the reader is aware of the relationship between the whites and the blacks. The first scene to show the damaged psychology of Bigger and all African Americans is when Bigger and his black friend Gus act as though they were white. They pretend they are white people in different situations and take turns becoming the “leader”. This scene is crucial in showing how obvious the social fractures are and the damage it has caused to African American sociology.
Brown v. Board of Education In the case Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that it was unconstitutional to have schools for black and white students separately. This decision overturned the previous one of Plessy v. Ferguson which allowed state-sponsored segregation. On May 17, 1954, the unanimous decision stated that “separate educational facilities are inherently unequal”. For more than 60 years the US had been filled with racial segregation. The case of Plessy v. Ferguson just endorsed this even more.
For example, Wright (1992) found that teachers perceived and treated minority ethnic pupils differently from white pupils. Afro-Caribbean boys were often expected to behave badly and they received a disproportionate amount of negative teacher attention. Other sociologists claim that non-school factors such as family structure and home background have a greater impact on the educational achievement of different ethnic groups. Assess the claim that ‘ethnic differences in educational achievement are primarily the result of school factors’ (20 marks) Patterns of ethnic achievement are complex, cross-cut by gender and social class. For example Black, Pakistani and Bangladeshi students do worst compared to Indians and Chinese who do best.
Book Review: Race, Class, and Gender in the United States Leigh Anne Haygood August 10, 2010 Liberty University HSER 509 Dr. Nicole Cross Rothenberg, P. (2010), Race, Class, and Gender in the United States. New York: Worth Publishers. Abstract Rothenberg paints an oppressive picture for women, the financially oppressed and minority members of society. The author presents compelling essays of race, gender and class which examine the social construct of each issue. Race has been defined as the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race.
Racism is generally defined as actions, practices, or beliefs that reflect the racial worldview. Racism involves the belief in racial difference, which acts as a justification for non-equal treatment of members of that race. The term is commonly used negatively and is usually associated with race-based prejudice, violence, dislike, discrimination and oppression; the term can also have varying and contested definitions. Racialism is a related term, sometimes intended to avoid these negative meanings. I do not think that racialism is every going to end because you have got parents that have been raised up being racial and then they teach their children.
Outline the significance of both, ‘secure these rights’ and ‘Brown V board of education (1954)’ and explain which, in your own view, had the greatest impact on the early civil rights movement. (10 marks) This essay will be written about how I view the impact of the ‘Brown V board of education’ and the ‘secure these rights’ events and how they made an impact on American inequality and why I view ‘secure these rights’ as the most impacting event. Firstly, I will look at ‘secure these rights’ this was a report made in 1946 to identify how African American rights were being violated, it was finished in 1947vand it showed how the violation of black rights were damaging the country as the other countries around the world would frown upon this and it made Americas law system look ineffective. So, it stated that the rights of blacks should not be discriminated against as it goes against the ideals of the codified American democracy. So it decided to identify the problems and sort them out some of the problems identified were that even though lynching was illegal in America at this time whites still did it to any blacks they saw fit.
To label someone is to attach a meaning or a definition to them. This is studied by Interactionists. When looking at ethnic differences in achievement, studies show that teacher often see black and Asian pupils as being far from the ‘ideal’ pupil. These negative labels leads to ethnic minority pupils being treated differently, resulting in their low educational performance. Gillborn and Youdell (2000) found that teachers expected black pupils to present more discipline problems and misinterpreted their behaviour as threatening or as a challenge to authority.