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.
I am going to explore the question, ‘Discuss the understanding of race in terms of the slavery debates before abolition. You may focus on the pro-slavery or abolitionist side.’ I believe that how people perceived and understood race was vital to the way that people understood different cultures and how slavery began. People who were pro-slavery and abolitionists had very different understandings on race: people who were pro-slavery thought it was acceptable to have black slaves as black people were not thought to be fully human, whereas abolitionists thought it was wrong to treat other human beings in this way. The understanding of race is a very important topic, as I believe that the way other races were viewed and understood is the root of slavery and is the reason why slavery began. In order to explore the question further, I have researched the background of slavery and why it began.
The inequalities that people of various genders and races experienced and dealt with in the early days of racism is validated through the texts of Oliver Cromwell and Anne McClintock. Through their eyes one is able to grasp the development and methods used in order to understand the historical context of racism and how racial antagonism and racial antipathy influenced the social attitudes of our society. To understand racism, the lack of equal treatment that many encountered in the past, one also needs to understand how race aggression played a pivotal role. In the late 19th Century, some important aspects to ponder were albeit, racial exploitation, assimilation, lynching and marriage restrictions, as well as gender inequality, which ultimately led to the expansion of racial stratification. In conclusion, "making sense of the meaning of race and the character of race relations in American life requires an understanding of capitalism as a social system and it's specific history of this country."
Through numerous examples, Institutional Racism demonstrates how inequality and racial exclusion are embedded within the fabric of American society. There are three key components to institutional racism; Economic privilege, social privilege and psychic reward (Better 2008). I would argue that Institutional racism started in American
It is what perpetuates the ignorant stereotypes that create hatred and oppression. According to Fanon, the physical veil worn by the Algerian woman represents much more than a piece of clothing. The veil is universally seen as a symbol for a barrier. A barrier to communication and to one's interpretations of herself. According to Du Bois, the veil represents the prejudices created by generations of slavery.
At the core of this injustice is white supremacy—the racist ideology that, in the words of sociologist Charles S. Johnson (1941), contrasts “the evil and ugliness of blackness… with the goodness and purity of whiteness” (257). It is this ideology which is used to legitimize and further the oppression of African Americans. Essentially, white supremacy is the motivator of color biased attitudes and behaviors which result in color stratifications in the United States. Colorism is the term widely used for these racist phenomena of biased attitudes and behaviors. It is unquestionably accepted that the African Diaspora of the United States has clearly been disadvantage by slavery and long standing oppression from white supremacy.
Webster’s dictionary defines discrimination as a social, economical, political or legal distinction made between individuals or groups such that one has the power to treat the other unfavorably. Discrimination can also be defined as the act or policy of treating someone differently, setting them apart or denying them rights because they are different from the majority. Discrimination may be based on the grounds of one or more of the differences of nationality, religion, politics, culture, class, sex, age and colour. Discrimination of colour is known as racism. Discrimination and racism are present in all societies worldwide.
Social Issues in the High C: An analytical Revision Social Issues in Reed's “The C Above C Above High C”. As anyone who has read this story could plainly see, the primary social aspect of this story is the racism shown between white people and black people. In the article by Nelson, Jacqueline K.; Dunn, Kevin M.; Paradies, Yin, page 263-264 “Racism can be broadly defined as a phenomenon that maintains or exacerbates avoidable and unfair inequalities in power, resources, or opportunities across racial, ethnic, cultural, or religious groups in society. Racism can be expressed through beliefs (e.g., negative and inaccurate stereotypes), emotions (e.g., fear or hatred), or behaviors/practices (e.g., unfair treatment) (Berman & Paradies, 2010).” In this essay I will show that there is far more to it than just that. This story was set in the 1950’s when social inequality was running rampant through the streets.
The concept of race has always been highly regarded in the study of slavery. Race is defined as the classification of a group of persons related by common descent or heredity. A person could be regarded as a different race by the color of their skin, difference in their cultures or lifestyle, or even region of the world that they are from. Race can be used to separate and divide people which can be seen in the example of slavery. The practice of slavery can be said to use race as a large factor in its enslavement of people.
According to the free dictionary.com, discrimination can be defined as unfair treatment of a person or group on the basis of prejudice. The discrimination in Liberia is something that relates to the socially constructed roles where the woman has limited rights for their family and themselves. Inequality between men and women occurs in Liberian society based on the socially constructed roles who influenced by tradition, culture and being put in law by male-dominant political institution. There are two main aspects is clearly shown the discrimination against women of Liberia. The first point is the law that being applied in Liberia followed by the physical integrity of the women.