Anth 21 Midterm
What are racial projects? How can housing segregation be explained as a racial project? Use three kinds of governmental practice from US history to make your point.
-(*Omi and Winant*)Racial projects refer to the concept of race in terms of social structure and cultural representation which gives the concept of race meaning that ultimately dictates economic, political, and cultural outcomes (importance of racial categories determined by PEC forces) -*Massey and Denton* Housing segregation is explained as a social project that led to the creation of the urban underclass, which led to a boundary between the ghetto and the suburb that is continued to be divided by institutional factors (funding, etc.) *3 kinds of governmental practice* 1)Federal Interstate Highway--used as slum clearance by government to destroy AA communities which further increased segregation (Rothstein) 2)early 20th century school funding: more funding was allocated to schools for African Americans in the south and northeastern regions of Houston while cutting funding from schools on the West side--pushed blacks to live in these areas (separate/farther from whites) 3)*Public Works Adminsitration (1933)--new houses that were built for people to live in had to follow the neighborhood composition rule--if the area is majority white, then new projects would be for whites only (blacks living in white majority area had become displaced)* 4)*redlining*-->FHA denied loans for yellow and red zones which were deemed undesirable and hazardhous (yellow zones lined black neighborhoods and red zones were black and low-income neighborhoods)--further created segregation
Fuentes describes race as a social construct without biological fixity. Use three criteria or evidence he uses to make his argument.
-*the myth that race is based on biological fixity assumes that specific sets of traits that differentiate one race from another based on innate biological roots* --while biological variations do exist, these variations do not permit accurate racial categorization- *looking at information about physiological variation in the context of evolutionary processes demonstrates there's no way to divide humanity into biological units that correspond to categories of black, white, Asian, etc.* Evidence: 1)*immune system--Sickle Cell disease*--most associated with people of Western African descent and therefore used to support "black race"; however, this is a genetic disorder that occurs in many human populations, and is prominent and several populations other than West Africa including Central America, which is not racialized as black 2)*Genetic variation*--DNA comparisons indicate that there is more variation within African populations than variation in populations outside of Africa; therefore, variation does not support the concept of three overlapping races, but rather a single human race that possesses high gene flow and shared African ancestry 3)*Skin color*--skin color is based on the chemical called melanin (which blocks UV radiation) that gives darker color; Therefore, we cannot use skin color to support division into different races, as skin variation varies by regions of lower and higher latitudes (often based on equator)
In what ways are students of color impacted in a negative way because of segregation?
-According to Rooks, schools for white children are far more heavily funded (especially through tax dollars) compared to schools for black children --this lack of funding leads to less teacher salary and ultimately lower quality of education as well as facilities --students score less poorly -Nikole Jones: in terms of housing segregation, students may be forced to travel a long way in order to be able to reach school (ex: girl having to wake up at 5:30 in the morning to catch the bus) --there is also a sense of hostility of a black child entering a school in a white neighborhood- parents make often racist remarks saying that this would lead to an increase in violence, etc. -Even after Brown v Board of Education, segregation was able to still occur in private schools which created a further racial gap in test scores, education rates, etc. -illiteracy rates are higher for black students (38% of 4th graders in South Carolina functionally illiterate)
What is colorblind racism according to Bonilla-Silva? How is it different from individual and structural racism? Explain one of the "styles" used by informants in his study
-Colorblind racism refers to the modern ideology of race, where racism has become more overt. --essentially, racist ideologies have become expressed in non-racist, color-blind terms -colorblind racism is different than individual racism (beliefs and behaviors that one's race is inferior to another) and structural racism (institutional production of racial inequality) --different because this colorblind racism is based on the idea that minority status is based on market dynamics, naturally occurring phenomena, and belief in cultural limitations rather than overt production of inequality -one style of color-blind racism is projection, where, often to relieve guilt, blame is fixed on the other individual --ex: use projection to oppose interracial marriage by saying the parent is selfish for not thinking about how the kid would be mistreated (instead of just saying they don't like black people marrying white people)
What is discourse? What is its relation to power? How was race historically constructed as biological?
-Focault: discourse= system of representation that produces meaning and knowledge, which often comes with consequences; connects with idea of doxa (accepted fact that relates similar to common sense) -relates to power as discourse creates a hierarchy where there are those who create knowledge and those that knowledge is created about--regime of truth -all social practices are influenced by discourse; knowing race is not biological does not eliminate racial discourse - race historically constructed as biological due to this discourse of created knowledge, with many figures such as Linnaeus (father of modern taxonomy) basing human classifications on hearsay and written accounts rather than first-hand studies -*historically* 16th century: inferiority justified by religion, not biology 18th century: categorization based on observable qualities which lead to race and culture being connected 19th: racial discourse--doxa that physical and CULTURAL traits are inherent
Why does Noliwe Rooks argue that the education of black Americans was funded by black people? What is enlightened industrialism?
-She said that this is due to the concept of *Segronomics* --social and economic forces (past and present) that maintain separate school systems that are organized differently depending on race and class of the children -Post-reconstruction: "white tax dollars" not allowed to be used to fund black education, and blacks had to pay double tax for their children to be education; in 1900s, teacher salary and funds for blacks extremely low compared to white schools Englightened Industrialism: "education, industry, and subservience woven together into a cloak of racism" --philanthropist-supported movement where education for black children becomes vocational in that the kid is taught to work and respect superiority; makes education profitable as kids are taught to work in industries under white superiors (rather than teaching them to become doctors, artists, etc.)
Explain how the black body has been racialized through science and medical discourse. Contextualize and comment on the image based on your knowledge of this history.
-discourse= system of representation that creates meaning and knowledge *Morton's Crania Americana and 1840 US Census*--determined that people of coral are morally and intellectually inferior with innate roots; used this to justify white dominance *Racial Hygiene* belief that mixtures of inferior races contaminate superior races (white) which led to push for eugenics (controlled breeding for desirable heritable characteristics) *Doctors such as Bailey* Said people of color are cheap experimental animals (tuskeegee); many people compared to that of apes/orangutans in terms of body proportions, skin color, etc. --eugenics to create people who were "pure"--white *Comment on the image* 1)plays into stereotypes--white woman portrayed as pure and high class with dress, Lebron James (black) portrayed as primal and yelling 2)white people meant for doing jobs such as modeling, blacks used for sports (??) 3)Eugenics comes into play for promoting fitness (not related to blackness though in this particular picture)
What is noncompliance? Why does Mattingly think it is Othering? How does Mattingly think it creates problems for care-providers of color and why do they still risk it?
-noncompliance refers to the characteristics of the patient's parent, rather than the actual patient -noncompliance is a negative label given to parents who may seem opposed or ignorant to what is told by the physician, and gives the impression that the parent may not be well-suited for the care of the child -Mattingly believes the noncompliance label is an othering tactic as this is a (often unrealized) racialized label --creates a hierarchy between the clinician and the patient's parent as this label prevents the professional healthcare provider learning from the parent/patient, even if they know more than the actual provider (the parent/patient is not one of us, the professionals, and they are just the others) --racialized in the sense that parents of color are especially at risk as they can stereotypically be regarded as ghetto --the term is often intertwined with class and race -problem for care-providers of color: as stated earlier, the term is intertwined with people of color--they are more at risk of becoming susceptible to this label --can be further labeled as an abusive parents not fit to take care of the child -still risked because being "non-compliant" can be necessary to be able to help child get the proper care and attention (ex: Adrena who had to risk being combative in order for her daughter to finally be properly checked/diagnosed)
Spivak argues that sometimes communities assume as essentialized identity for political ends--what is this called? Why does Stuart Hall disagree? Choose your side in this argument and support your stance with an illustrative example from the history of black identity formation in the US.
1)This concept is called strategic essentialism--people of color simplify their identities shared by the entire group in order to achieve goals or start a movement -Stuart Hall argues that this is impossible because "blackness" cannot be simplified into one pure form/identity --the idea of blackness is a social construct that changes over time and therefore essentialism cannot account for these changes --minimizes blackness into a single fixed category; takes out cultural, historical, and political context and paints it into one that is biological; believed people would stay within their own created mythical boundaries 2)my opinion: Truly on the fence but if had to choose, would be Strategic Essentialism as I believe it is important to take a common identity to fight against a larger power, but not through violent tactics ex: Black Nationalism--highly racialized (not integrationist movement) that saw white supremacy as the problem; groups such as Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee led powerful roles such as staging sit-ins, marches, promoting black power
Why are African Americans overrepresented in US prison populations according to the documentary, The 13th? Give three reasons.
1)one reason comes from overrepresentation of blacks being painted as criminals in the news/media; created terms such as "Super predators" to scare the public in order to further justify the current justice system 2)War on drugs---drugs were seen as a crime issue rather than a health issue; was used to get the public to associate blacks with dangerous drugs and criminalize them in order to marginalize these communities (traced back to Nixon and Reagan); crack was especially harshly criminalized (compared to cocaine) which was associated with urban black communities 3)1994 Federal Crime Bill---lead to mass incarceration with mass expansion of prison systems and law enforcement to lock up as many people involved with crime/drugs as possible (many of their tactics were often forceful/abusive)