Born A Crime By Trevor Noah: Consequences Of Racism And Discrimination

Trevor Noah's Born A Crime offers a in depth view of what his life was like growing up in South Africa during the apartheid, where he was literally “born a crime. ” The apartheid law, which is defined by Merriam-Webster as “a former policy of segregation and political and economic discrimination against non-European groups in the Republic of South Africa”, this means that when Noah is born he is already a crime, coming from a white father and black women which was against the law at the time in South Africa.

There are many events that helped shape Noah into the man he turned out to be. One of the events described that stuck out is when he mentions, ““I’d like to go to the B classes” She was confused. “Oh, no, ” she said “I don’t think you want to do that””, and continues on to say “. . . those kids are going to hold you back. You want to be in the smart class”. Trevor Noah made a statement in more ways than one with this statement, he way saying literally that he doesn't care about what is recommended for future success, in addition to this he is sending a message that he will not let someone tell him what to do, as well as showing he prefers to be with people of his “kind” compared to being where he doesn’t fit in. Noah makes many references throughout his book about times that he did not fit in including but not limited to “Where was I supposed to go? Even with so many groups to choose from, I wasn't a natural constituent of any one”. This represents a constant struggle for Noah growing up; being both black and white however having no particular group to fit into. Racism is caused by many things however Aisha Sultan makes the claim that racism is caused by “Fear, competition for resources, power structures that exploit difference as well as the way people are raised”. The causes of racism are many different things however, it is best put the way Sultan described it, “Fear, competition and the way people are raised. ” All of these things can play a major part in how a person views and acts towards racism.

While Sultan makes a good point she interviews Ibram X. Kendi “a historian and author of “Stamped From the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, ” which won the National Book Award for Nonfiction in 2016. He is also the founding director of the Anti-Racist and Policy Center at American University. ” Kendi gives another view on what he believes the cause of racism is; “The root cause of racist thought and policies is self-interest. ” This view on what causes racism could fall under one of the same reasons that Sultan gives-Fear. However it is as different as it is similar, with his reason being self-interest; self-interest is defined by Merriam-Webster as “a concern for one's own advantage and well-being. ” Based off this definition the reader can assume that one of the causes of racism is to give themselves a benefit that is believed to be an advantage, that was previously not possessed by the person acting with racism. The answer for what causes racism will vary from person to person, both of the people above gave different reason on what they believe to be the cause of racism. In addition to Sultan and Kendi, Michael Banton gives another view point on what causes racism; “Racism is presented as historically and geographically specific, and as pathological. ” Banton presents the idea that racism is geographically specific, meaning that where a person is raised will have a significant impact on whether or not a person “grows up” to be a racist, compared to Sultan and Kendi who make the claims that fear and self-interest respectively are the cause of racism. All of these presented ideas are plausible theories on the cause of racism. There are many consequences of racism such as, self-oppression described as “they naturally come to view themselves as less worthy… this can only perpetuate the cycle of oppression. ”

In addition to oppression “It is also common for individuals who consistently deal with racism to become aggressive and resentful. ” The article Racism and its Effects on Society is informing the reader that long term racism can lead the individual to become aggressive and resentful. Clint Smith talks about how “ how you doing some things literally represents and existential threat to your safety while also also trying to convey that it is not their fault. ” This is best described as a consequence of racism because Smith talks about how just because someone is black doing something represents an “existential threat to your safety” while doing the same thing as a white kid would be perceived as normal behavior, however at the same time it is not your fault because you see the white kid doing it so to a kid it seems like they should be able to do the same thing. A prime example of this is when Smith talks about a day where his father sat him down and told him, “The things your friends can get away with whether it be, running around shooting water guns, or throwing things at one another in the dark, hiding behind or climbing a top peoples cars, running through hotel rooms or hotel hallways, screaming and yelling the sort of things many twelve year old boys do. ”

Smith also mentions that his father said “Mentioning that the implications of the decisions you make might be very different for you than they are for your other friends. ” This example is a huge consequence of racism as it prevented Smith from doing things that if a white boy did it, it would be described as “Boys being Boys” whereas if he did it “than it would be judged and treated differently. ” In addition to those detrimental effects another consequence of racism is the stress it can cause an individual, as mentioned in Physiological & Psychological Impact of Racism and Discrimination for African-Americans, “psychological impact of racism and discrimination as it relates to stress. The chronic condition of stress was selected because of its prevalence and impact on health within health disparity population groups (e. g. , people of color), and their high association with many other chronic diseases. ” This talks about how being in a “disparity population group could lead to a higher stress level and other chronic diseases”, which is undoubtedly a consequence of racism.

Overall there are many causes as well as consequences of racism, and each individual person will have a different point of view on the cause of racism or some of the consequences. Some of the best examples of each have been mentioned and gone into detail as well as a brief analysis of Born A Crime.