Tanya Maria Golash-Boza: Race and Racisms: A Critical Approach Essay

Paragraph 1- Introduction Paragraph - Thesis: What is your overall argument for this essay? What will you discuss in this essay? What historical background is necessary to set up your paper?

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My overall argument is; that racial discrimination is a form of social class discrimination.

I will discuss how racial discrimination is not inevitable.

To successfully set up my argument, the paper will discuss racial discrimination during the formation of the United States.

Quotes

"In the context of massive overall inequality, it makes no sense to ask questions about the utility of fighting against racism without paying attention to the economic inequalities created by capitalism.... On the other hand, perhaps racism is what permits this massive inequality to exist. Perhaps a world without racist ideologies would inherently be an equal world" (pg 403-4).

Essential questions

The foundations of the American society seem to be built upon racial discrimination. In the absence of racial discrimination, what progress or lack of progress would be present in America.

Paragraph 2 - How has race been used to politically "justify white supremacy."

There have been immigration policies that undermined South American and Chinese immigrants.

The majority of the founding fathers of the nation were slave owners. They built their reputation and wealth from ownership of slave farms.

Quotes

"Wealthy whites valued African Americans for their labor power and thus drew on discourses that referred to their intellectual deficiencies and unique qualifications for hard labor. In contrast, during this period, Native Americans were not seen as a potential labor pool. Instead, whites' primary concern was to appropriate indigenous lands and assimilate Native Americans into white society" (pg 58).

Essential questions

The American political class has been marketing the United States as the land of the free. Is the freedom that America is renowned for is only available to all Americans of different races?

Paragraph 3 - Examples of how the racialization of African Americans was/is social, legally, and historically constructed

The differential maintenance of white and black restaurants during the 1950s and 1940s. An indication that racism is a social construct used to display class difference.

Quotes

"the ability to ignore one's race is classed. Many poor and working-class whites do not share this privilege" (pg 153).

Essential questions

There is an income disparity between white households and black households. At any point, if a certain form of discrimination is implemented targeting, the low-income population. It is obvious the African Americans are going to be the most affected.

Paragraph 4 - Example of how the racialization of Native Americans was/is social, legally, and historically constructed

The displacement of the native Americans during the expansion of the American subcontinent. The resulting treating indicates that racism is a social construct that was used to grab more land from the native Americans.

Quotes

"Wealthy whites valued African Americans for their labor power and thus drew on discourses that referred to their intellectual deficiencies and unique qualifications for hard labor. In contrast, during this period, Native Americans were not seen as a potential labor pool. Instead, whites' primary concern was to appropriate indigenous lands and assimilate Native Americans into white society" (pg 58).

Essential question

Racial discrimination favors certain races over the others. The United States has a history of adopting policies that advocate for supremacy of one race over the other. The main question is whether the nation needed to adopt discriminatory policies for it to prosper.

Paragraph 5 - If the race is socially constructed- what purpose does it serve in the past and also today (other ethnic group's experiences can be added here)?

Racial discrimination is a social construct whose main purpose is to create social class division in the society.

Quotes

"the ability to ignore one's race is classed. Many poor and working-class whites do not share this privilege" (pg 153)

Essential questions

Do the poor white Americans enjoy the same privileges as their white counterparts. The privileges of racial discrimination are only as viable if the person has a certain amount of wealth.

Paragraph 6- Conclusion Paragraph : Get creative do not repeat what you have already said. Why does this topic matter today? What are current examples of racial formation and institutionalized racism?

The topic matters because of the recent events in the United States. The recent elections have left the nation divided along racial lines.

The racial profiling in American airports is an example of institutionalized racism. These acts target people of middle eastern and South American descent.

Essential questions

The country has made considerable progress on the issue of racial discrimination. Recent events, however, indicate that may not be the case. There is a possibility the country could be tracking back to the dark days of racial discrimination.