The Battle of Oppression and Critical Race Theory Essay
Within formal educational institutions, workplaces and society in general, people of colour are constantly experiencing oppression, as far back since the beginning of the colonization of the west. The commitment to social justice has substantially increased when comparing modern times, to the mid 20th century. Society has come a long way to fight racism which exists unconditionally everywhere, in western life. In this work 'The Battle of Oppression and Critical Race Theory Essay' we research the topic of race theory and oppression.
The application of the Critical Race Theory is effective in the education of racial oppression because of the tenants it consists, which describes political struggles for racial justice. Racism has become a way-of-life for individuals of color on a daily basis, which has become a norm which is unacceptable. It has become very common for storytellers which are of color, to describe instances when they are racially profiled. The media and the internet has been a great awareness platform to spread viral videos of innocent people of color experiencing racial oppression, committed by members of the general public, especially law enforcement. A mass audience presence on these stories is crucial in understanding and preventing racial divide in North America today, and diminishing a social concept that’s part of the critical race theory, commonly known as white privilege. The concept of white privilege is oppressive, and most frequently occurs subconsciously. Peggy McIntosh describes the phenomenon of white supremacy, and how it affects people of colour in everyday life using real life examples, such as being able to criticise government policies without being a labelled as a cultural outsider, or if detained by traffic enforcement officer, it was because the color of your skin.
Activists and legal scholars needed a framework to help combat racism, which resulted in the creation of the CRT. A tenant from the Critical Race Theory that is accurate, travels well, and the is broadly understood by the majority of educated people, is white supremacy. Jennifer Hochschild from Princeton University said, “Fish don’t see water, men don’t see patriarchy, and white philosophers don’t see white supremacy”. This quote effectively describes how whites are dominant over people of color, even when they have no intention of being dominant. Admitting to the guilt of white supremacy is not enough to fight the oppression society sees on a daily basis. A proposal that Charles W. Mills brings up in his book “The Racial Contract” is a great stepping stone for white people to initiate reconciliation for their acts of subconscious white supremacist acts. Mills says, “he asks whites not to be guilty, but rather do something much more difficult- understand and take responsibility for a structure which they did not create, but still benefit from”. Mills's book makes interesting points that are important to be aware of in North American western society and should be taken seriously if society wants to win the battle against oppression. White supremacy hurts white people too, not just people of color as well.
As a person of white color, there is only so much that can be said with a personal experience with racism and white supremacy. As mentioned above, there are a couple of points made about white people committing acts of everyday oppression without realizing it, because they are simply used to not facing discriminatory actions. In the process of studying relevant material directly related to this paper, I have realized, as a white person, that there were situations in my past, where I could have spoken up, or changed my course of action, to prevent a racial minority individual from experiencing oppression. For example, I was detained by law enforcement in Paris, because my appearance matched a search description for the police. I happened to have a French – African friend company me through the entirety of that day. The appearance of our clothing was very similar, however, when I was approached by the police, they took very little attention to me and my identity, and proceeded to interrogate my friend of color for an extensive amount of time. After this incident, I was disturbed with the confrontation, but not surprised. I regret for not stepping in and explaining our total innocence and reasoning for being at the location where we were, while being detained. Looking back at this incident today, I know that I have experienced white supremacy first-hand subconsciously because I had not been physically searched by the police officer, but my friend of color has and was a victim to racial profiling. I could have easily questioned the officer why have I not been searched, but my friend was subject to one, and I stayed silent. It is frequent interactions similar to what is mentioned above, that contribute to the racist problems that society has faced for so long. White privilege needs to be acknowledged by white people themselves because it is important for them to realize that they are the problem, even if they never intended to be. White privilege is a collection of action problems in identity and racial politics in these modern times. The term white privilege has become a known and frequently used term in politics today, for the right reasons. It is a term that has built enormous meaning behind it, which contributes to the global fight on racism. It is still a term widely misunderstood, mostly by the perpetrators, the whites themselves. Their subconscious actions and situation outcomes in life have become so normal and easy in day-to-day life, that they fail to recognize their white privilege. The term white privilege has traveled far, is recognized throughout scholars, and is successful in explaining and educating, of the phenomenon.
Throughout history, mankind experienced a different type of social consequence, and scholars today identify an issue called racial capitalism. There is no ideal society, and there never will be. In a perfect society, racial capitalism would not exist. For decades, white institutions and individuals would take advantage of people of color to improve and acquire a hierarchy in society and economically. North American history reveals that non-whites became property and assets, as well as labeling a value to a specific race. In light of this, being white yourself has become a value of its own because non-whites added value to the caucasian woman or man. Racial capitalism cannot continue to trend worldwide, especially in North America, with the US now being the greatest growing economy in the world. Globalization drives the world economy and is a major element that shapes the world today. People of different ethnical backgrounds, with various high skills, can contribute to the advancement and prosperity of the global market, that is, however, only without any sort of social obstacles that prevent them, from doing so. Racial Capitalization is an obstacle for the success of any individual who seeks to make a difference in their lives. The two ideas of racism and capitalism are deeply connected and are a major part of people’s daily lives. The system of racial capitalism does not work in the favour of social and economic equality, and more needs to be done. The wealthy and powerful always seek to richen themselves at the expense of others, especially working-class communities of color. Decades of discriminatory law practices on the housing market kept people of color from purchasing homes in white neighborhoods and prevented people of color from building wealth. The demographics have changed substantially in local communities in the United States and Canada. It is common for people of color to reside in a particular area, that has a negative reputation for living standards. Racial capitalism is part of the problem because it is viewed by the wealthy as an opportunity to richen themselves.
Population distribution should be equal of race and ethnicity in North America, a continent mostly made of immigrants seeking a better life. If society allows to accept the white privilege and white supremacy, and blindly contribute to racial capitalism, it will be hard to teach future generations to recognize these issues with oppression. People of white color have more power than they realize they do, and if they start to acknowledge that, whites can start controlling themselves and their actions to liquidate blind racism, that occurs every day. Society needs to end believing that being white is an advantage, and being non-white is a disadvantage. The color of somebody’s skin should not be an asset for anyone, and success and prosperity are not dependent of the color of your skin, or ethnicity. The Critical Race Theory is a great platform to start identifying in detail the elements of racism that occurs today. It is important to stress that, it is not a popular theory, because of white dominant institutions. The Critical race theory will transform the relationship between race and power, if the very people causing recognize it, and have the will to combat it. The commitment to social justice needs to be fought using knowledge and reconciliation. If the problem is identified, society will take responsibility for. There will never be a perfect society, however, relations will improve, and the liberation of people of color will occur.
Bibliography
- Derrick A. Bell, 'Who's Afraid of Critical Race Theory,' University of Illinois Law Review 1995, no. 4 (1995): 893-910
- Jodi Melamed. 2015. “Racial Capitalism.” Critical Ethnic Studies 1 (1): 76. https://doi.org/10.5749/jcritethnstud.1.1.0076.
- Leong, Nancy. 'RACIAL CAPITALISM.' Harvard Law Review 126, no. 8 (2013): 2151-226. http://www.jstor.org.myaccess.library.utoronto.ca/stable/23415098.
- Melamed, Jodi. 2011. Represent and Destroy : Rationalizing Violence in the New Racial Capitalism. Minneapolis: Univ. Of Minnesota Press.
- Mills, Charles W. 2019. The Racial Contract. Cornell University Press.
- Rudolph, Dana. 2010. “National SEED Project - ‘White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack’ and ’Some Notes for Facilitators.” National SEED Project. 2010. https://nationalseedproject.org/Key-SEED-Texts/white-privilege-unpacking-the-invisible-knapsack.
- Leong, Nancy. 'RACIAL CAPITALISM.' Harvard Law Review 126, no. 8 (2013): 2151-226. http://www.jstor.org.myaccess.library.utoronto.ca/stable/23415098.
- HYPERLINK 'https://nationalseedproject.org/Key-SEED-Texts/white-privilege-unpacking-the-invisible-knapsack'
- https://nationalseedproject.org/Key-SEED-Texts/white-privilege-unpacking-the-invisible-knapsack
- Mills, Charles W.. Racial Contract, Cornell University Press, 1999. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.myaccess.library.utoronto.ca/lib/utoronto/detail.action?docID=3138625.
- Derrick A. Bell, 'Who's Afraid of Critical Race Theory,' University of Illinois Law Review 1995, no. 4 (1995): 893-910
- Jodi Melamed. 'Racial Capitalism.' Critical Ethnic Studies 1, no. 1 (2015): 76-85. doi:10.5749/jcritethnstud.1.1.0076.
