The two articles read for today both revolved around the concept of alleviating the scars of racism in modern society. Lopez's "The Social Construction of Race" dissects how and why we and our legal system have come to believe that race is present as a given biological fact. She is, in a sense, implying that racial discrimination is inevitable if we view differences between races as genetically based. Lopez argues that race is not in our genes, but is a "social construction." Her four points are:
1) humans rather than abstract social forces produce races
2) races constitute an integral part of a whole social fabric
3) meaning-systems surrounding race change quickly rather than slowly
4) races are constructed relationally, against one another, rather than in isolation
I absolutely love Lopez's allusion to races as being plastics, not rocks. I definitely agree with her assertion that concepts of race are constantly changing, and I would even be willing to say, for the better.
Bell Hooks' "Dreaming Ourselves Dark and Deep: Black Beauty" is, in my opinion, more interesting than Lopez's article. She talks about internalized racism, that is, the desensitization of individuals of minority races to a point where they give in to the distortions of racism and internalize their emotions. She brings up this idea of forming "communities of resistance" from whites. I believe this resistance, combined with the "invention" of images (such as quilts depicting happy black families and black dolls, is critical to the nurturing of a black family. These factors allow a black family to not only internalize racism, but to become immune to it. If black individuals truly believe and nurture the fact that "black is beautiful," I believe, and I hope Lopez believes, that racism and all its depreciativity will slowly but surely become a thing of the past.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
i agree with you that Bell Hooks' "Dreaming Ourselves Dark and Deep: Black Beauty was a more interesting article. I like the talk about internalized racism, however, i think its because of the media that that exists, besides history, in commercials, the whites are usually the richer looking and long straight hair is considered beautiful and well tis easier for white people to have longer hair than it is for black people. but everyone at one point or another in my opinion has felt a type of internal racism
Post a Comment