While reading I noticed how many different shades of Black there were that McKay was able to come up with. It made me think of the racism within the Black race, and the idea that the lighter you are, the better you are. From my own experience, I know that this is still something that some Black people think, and that many feel inferior mostly because of the shade of their skin, not just because they're African American.
So I guess my question is, why do you think that racism exists within races? After dealing with slavery and racism from other races, why would they allow it to continue between themselves?
Recently, in my Southern Lit class, we talked about this same subject. A girl mentioned that during rush week, an African American girl was denied being part of a sorority because she was too light skinned, even though her sister was currently a sister in that sorority. I'm not sure why racism exists within races; it's counter-productive. But I guess there's always something when it comes to skin- way back when it was a symbol of class status; the paler you were, the more likely it was that you held a higher status. But maybe it's a continuation from slavery, a tragic mulatto for instance.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure that any of us in this class are truly qualified to answer such a deep question. But in my limited knowledge I feel that racism among races isn't really any different from any other kind of racism. It is a wicked means of gaining the upper hand over another human being through the use of an arbitrary difference. Flaws exist in all human beings. One would think that a united obstacle such as slavery would bind people together, but in fact it could just as easily divide them. Some of our earlier readings have shown that "whiteness" created a divide among immigrants when coming to America, the same could easily be true among a race.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI think racism is something the world is always going to face. I think it stems from passing judgement on others, to make yourself feel better. And once you begin to pass judgement you begin to classify the person sometimes by the color of their skin. Like Rebecca said fighting for the upper hand through the use of arbitrary difference really rings true to me. I think feeling threatened and in competition with others is a huge reason racism is still an issue today. It's something in us, that we feel the need to be the best or prettiest or smartest. And even if we don't always share that mentality we still are envious of those that we do see as higher class.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the main problem of racism is probably due to pride. The idea that we have to be better than the person next to us, whether we are aware of it or not seems to be presented in our daily life. Even though little bit of pride could be beneficial for a person to strife to be someone great, but, if too much, i think it could cause potential problems, whether it is a racism within a race or racism. One extreme case of racism within a same race would be a Rwanda Genocide that happened in 1994
ReplyDeleteI believe the problem stems from internalizing the viewpoints of a patriarchal society that favors white adult males and the upper class. We see the norms of a society that favors that demographic, and, in attempt to break a social boundary or class, those viewpoints are adopted because of the belief that that is what it takes to achieve or acquire something better. I believe both Katherine and Rebecca hit upon a major point-- that your level of perceived "whiteness" granted you access to better things or a higher status, and therefore ideas of discrimination develop within a race.
ReplyDelete