Brief for 9/5 – Welcome to The System!

In Racial Formation in the United States From the 1960s to the 1990s, Michael Omi and Howard Winant define race as “a concept which signifies and symbolizes social conflicts & interests by referring to different types of human bodies” (55). I interpreted this as relating to both biology and social functions, but it seemed like later on in the paragraph, they placed more emphasis on the social and historical meanings of race. Personally, I think of race as being a foundationally biological concept, with social components in addition. I wonder how others view race (as a more biological or social concept), and if personal race influences one’s definition.

I thought it was interesting how the concept of race and racism has changed over the past decades. In the “What is Racism?” section of the text, there was an outline of the evolution of racism since the 1960s. In the early 1960s, racism was considered to be prejudiced attitudes or discriminatory practices toward members of a certain racial group. The solution was to overcome such attitudes with tolerance, acceptance, and passing laws that made discrimination illegal. In the later 1960s, racism became a more structural feature of American society, as it was “bred in the bone” (Omi & Winant 69). This resulted in fewer efforts towards overcoming racial barriers. As I read this, I was reminded of today’s society, as few members, especially those in power, seem to actively seek to defeat racism.

I always thought that racism was just so deeply embedded in our society’s structure. America’s history has embedded racism in our schools, workplaces, neighborhoods, etc. It would take a massive deconstruction to simply start over and eliminate racism. However, that would never happen in our democratic state. After reading this text, I believe that if the vision of racism can change for the worse, it can also change for the better (although it would be much more difficult). It starts by imagining and talking about the world we want, as adrienne maree brown states in Emergent Strategy. The evolution of any social structure starts with people who desire change, like Lauren demonstrated in Parable of the Sower. Unfortunately, the steps after that are not as easy to take or even discern.

It is important to examine how race and racism have evolved over the years. By doing so, we will be able to see the factors that have caused its change. This will enable us to identify what needs to be altered in order to end racism. Even though ending racism is an incredibly large goal, we must keep in mind the first step is being educated and having conversations. This is why I believe it is useful to have classes such as The System, so that there is a designated time and place for learning about the people, attitudes, and structures of society.

Suzannah Faulkner says:

September 4, 2018 at 8:08 pm

I also thought that it was interesting how racism has changed overtime. However, from the article it seems as though racism means different things for different people. For instance, the author writes, “whites tend to locate racism in color consciousness and find its absence color blindness. In doing so, they see the affirmation of difference and racial identity among racially defined minority students as racist. Non white students, by contrast, see racism as a system of power, and correspondingly argue that blacks, for example, cannot be racist because they lack power.” Given that, do you think that talking about the world we want would be enough to solve the racism issue if everyone sees the social construct differently?

Kayley Hoffman says:

September 4, 2018 at 9:34 pm

The idea that racism has changed over time also caught my eye because it makes me think about how it interacted with what adrienne maree brown thought of as an impermanent system (18). How did/would the changes in racism change the System, if it could change it at all?

Glyn Hughes says:

September 5, 2018 at 9:15 am

Nice question, Kayley! Short and incisive.

Sabrina Duarte says:

September 4, 2018 at 9:39 pm

As Eden stated, racism is deeply embedded in our society’s structure, but there are current disagreements/ problems in addressing and improving society’s conditions in regards to racism and discrimination, so what do you think is preventing us from being educated and having conversations on the topic of race and racism? Could it be that we get so worried about being wrong in our interpretation of the topic or fear the consequences/ results of (accidentally) insulting someone that we avoid controversial topics like racism, thus never progressing on the issue?

Zixuan Liu says:

September 5, 2018 at 12:08 am

I love how you related back to Emergent Strategy and Parable. As Lauren has said: “Any Change may bear seeds of benefit./Seek them out./Any Change may bear seeds of harm./Beware.” (Butler 116). We do not only have to bring changes to the System, but also shape them for the better.
I think civil rights movements were successful and necessary steps towards racial equality and elimination of racism. But what are our next steps that would practically shape our world for the better? How can we give our society an environment without racism? We need to create our own imagination, even if it is radical.

Phillip Daniel says:

September 5, 2018 at 5:53 am

What exactly do you mean when you say that you think of race as being a foundationally biological concept? Do you believe that there are inherent biological differences that are present between different ethnic groups of people that makes some of those groups inferior or superior to others? Also, I notice that you stated that it would take a massive deconstruction of society’s systemic setup to simply start over and eliminate racism. Do you believe that there are more effective ways to end racism than by trying to fix a broken structure?