The Definition Of White Person
Abstract
For Hundreds of years race has been used as a tool to determine a persons worth to society. Race was originally used as a biological explanation for something that we now know is a very social issue. While racism has improved over the years it is far from resolved, it has simply taken a more modern form. Racism is intertwined in the very fabric of our society and has formed a daunting task for us to resolve. Structural racism is real and it effects people of color daily.
For Liberty and Justice for Some
It is no secret that the Unites States, and the rest of the world for that matter has had a long history of racial conflict, injustices, and discrimination. Millions of people face discrimination in their everyday lives based off of the color of their skin, the defining factor of race. Society has constructed a social hierarchy based solely on the melanin production of ones skin.
It’s important to understand the difference between racism and prejudice to properly evaluate the possible beginning of the social construct of race and development of structural racism and how it has effect our society. Most historians can date acts of prejudice, the preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience, back to before the middle ages roughly 500-1500 CE. Jewish people were required to identify themselves with large badges, the torture of christian children and alienation of muslims. Racism on the other hand, while similar too prejudice, is different. Racism is defined as the belief that all members of each race possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races.
Racism in the United States can be traced back to as early as the 1400s but became far more prevalent in 1619 when African salves were kidnapped and brought to Virginia and sold to English colonists. Before there were African slaves in the United States there were poor European men and women known as indentured servants. Indentured servants were labors who signed 5 to 7 year contracts offering their labor for food, water, shelter and transportation to Virginia. There soon was a large influx of labors coming to Virginia from Europe. This large increase in indentured servants brought disease and competition. Soon after many indentured servants died due to disease, harsh working conditions, and violence from their masters. The Englishmen now needed to find people to work their fields quickly and turned to African Slaves. African slaves were a cheaper option to indentured servants and didn’t require the same care. This began the surge of slavery in America.
Very soon after the first Africans were brought to Jamestown, Virginia in 1619 the practice of slavery spread throughout the colonies rapidly. Historians estimate that by 1800 there were already 6 to 7 millions slaves working the land through out America. Slaves were found primarily in the southern colonies due to the large need for field labor. The northern colonies didn’t have as high of a need for laborers and began to link slavery to oppression. This lead to the northern states to abolish slavery in the early 1800s but the sever abuse slaves endured was far from over. The South’s economy heavily relied on the production of cotton and tobacco crops produced by slaves. Slavery would continue for 63 more years until President Abraham Lincoln signed the emancipation proclamation in 1863 freeing more than 3 million black slaves. Hundreds of thousands of “free” black men went on to join the Union army to flight in the civil war. In 1865 the 13th amendment was signed officially abolishing slavery only to have it replaced by a series of laws called “black codes” which was created to severely restrict the rights of Blacks in America and require them to continue to be a part of americas labor force.
After slavery was abolished white supremacy and segregation instantaneously took its place. Jim Crow laws, a collection of statues that legally allowed for the segregation of African Americans, began in 1865 directly following the creation of the 13th amendment. Jim Crow laws were extreme and dictated how blacks were allowed to live their everyday lives. Black people were required to use different bathrooms and water fountains than whites, attend different schools, live in different neighborhoods, use different bibles at church that allowed blacks and whites to attend together, and for-bided interracial marriages. In a famous case called Plessy vs Ferguson which occurred in 1892 is an extremely important event that gave “ white people” its definition. Homer Plessy, a Black man, was riding a train when he was told he needed to sit in the section for blacks and move from the white section. Plessy argued that he was white and his constitutional right was being violated. Plessy was still denied his seat. He refused to move and was arrested and convicted. After Plessy’s conviction he went to court and sued John H. Ferguson calming the segregation of the trains violated the 14th amendment. During the hearing the court determined they had no real way of determining a “ white” person from a black person. Regardless, The supreme court ruled against him and found that he was not a white man. The court said in its decision that “if he be a white man, and be assigned to the color coach, he may have his action for damages from the company, for being deprived of his so-called property. If he be a colored man and be so assigned, he has been deprived of no property, since he is not lawfully entitled to the reputation of being a white man.”
Plessy Vs Ferguson was the catalyst for the court to define who and who was not a white person. In 1921 the supreme court determined “A White person has been held to include an Armenian born in Asiatic Turkey, a person of but one-sixteenth Indian blood, and a Syrian, but not to include Afghans, American Indians, Chinese, Filipinos, Hawaiians, Hindus, Japanese, Koreans, negroes; nor does white person include a person having one fourth of African blood, a person in whom Malay blood predominates, a person whose father was a German and whose mother was a Japanese, a person whose father was a white Canadian and whose mother was an Indian woman, or a person whose mother was a Chinese and whose father was the son of a Portuguese father and a Chinese mother.” The definition of a white person was fabricated based not on biological evidence but solely on opinion of the court.
Since the definition of a white man was created in 1921 scientists have struggled to determine what actually makes people of different races different. Stereotypes exist stating that black people are lazy, violence prone, unintelligent, and having unhealthy habits, but there has never been any scientific evidence to prove these stereotypes, only negate them. Scientists were only able to determine that the biological difference in peoples appearance is due to the geography in which their ancestors are from. This difference in appearance specifically skin color, hair color and eye color is based off of a persons melanin production. Melanin is produced by cells called melanocytes. It provides protection again skin damage from the sun, and the melanocytes increase their production of melanin in response to sun exposure. Therefore, people such as blacks who have ancestors from Africa, a continent located close to the earths equator, the location on earth where the suns ray is more intense, have a higher melanin production than someone who’s ancestors lived in a location farther from the equator, such as Europe.
In the modern day we understand far more regarding race than we did in the 18 and 1900s. Scientists now know there is more genetic diversity within the so-called races than between them. An anthropologist by the name of carol Mukhopadhyay states the biological stereotypes we place on specific races are simply not true. “When we turn to the racial category ‘Black’, we find enormous geographic and human variability — Africa has deserts, mountains, oceans, tropical areas, and spans a range of latitudes, some distant from the equator. It has hundreds, if not thousands, of linguistically, culturally, politically, and historically distinct populations. Africa is home to the shortest and the tallest people of the world. Other traits vary significantly, including skin color, facial traits (nose, eye shape), overall body shapes, even the frequency of sickle cell and lactose intolerance.”
In todays society black people and other races such as latino and asian are seen as theoretically equal, but are not always treated as such.These stereotypes developed over hundreds of years of inequality are still ingrained within our society and effect black people today. Structural racism is the most prevalent form of racism in present day United States. Structural racism is defined as “the normalization and legitimization of an array of dynamics – historical, cultural, institutional and interpersonal – that routinely advantage whites while producing cumulative and chronic adverse outcomes for people of color. It is a system of hierarchy and inequity, primarily characterized by white supremacy – the preferential treatment, privilege and power for white people at the expense of Black, Latino, Asian, Pacific Islander, Native American, Arab and other racially oppressed people”
Minorities face structural racism in many different forms. One of the most common ways minorities face discrimination is within in the criminal justice system. Blacks and Latinos are disproportionally effected by the criminal justice system. A study published in 2000 by the National institute of drug abuse reported that white students were seven times more likely to use cocaine or heroine and 8 times more likely to use crack than black students. Yet black men have been admitted to prison at a rate that is thirteen times higher than a white man. It was also found that one in nine black men between the age of 20 and 35 were in prison in 2006.
Minorities are also far more likely to be pulled over while driving. The supreme court helped perpetuate the issue by indicating that it was legal for police officers may use race as a factor in discussion making. During the the United States v Brignoni- ponce the court concluded that the 14th amendment supported using race as a factor to stop motorists based on their race. Data recently released by volusia county in Florida reported that only 5 percent of divers on the road were minorities such as black or latino yet more than 80 percent of traffic stops involved minorities.
Residential segregation is also a very prevalent issues that minorities still face in the United States. Minorities often have limited access to quality education, employment and health care. Minority Schools specifically don’t have the same quality of resources, quality of teachers, and are often in neighborhoods that have high levels of crime and poverty. This segregation in education drastically effects the access and quality of employment opportunities and also facilitates discrimination based off place of residence. A study in 2011 found blacks and U.S. born nations had higher exposure to psychosocial stressors that has residual effects on health. They also had lower access to proper care and lower quality of care when they did receive it.
It’s clear that structural racism is an extremely prevalent and long running history within the United States. It is intertwined with economics, politics, and power. A vision of a better society, a racially just society, needs therefore to take steps too politically reform these systems. This includes education and social reform. We need to redefine how we look at race as a society. The social construction of race can be a matter or life or death for individuals of color. The color of your skin should not determine the quality of heath care or education you receive or the employment opportunities available to you and your family. The longer we perpetuate the negative stereotypes society developed centuries ago the longer we will be constrained as a society. “There comes a time when silence is betrayal. When you know something is wrong, but you don't speak up, you become part of the problem” Martin Luther King Jr.
