Race and Racism

As I reflect on what I have learned about race and racism I cannot help but to remember the images that were in “The Concept of Racism” article. It is sad to see how most Caucasians viewed people of color just a few decades ago. As a matter of fact some still view colored people the same way now. One of the most interesting aspects of racial bigotry is how it can be handed down through generations. We can observe generations that handed racial bigotry down to their offspring and it see how their ideas are not even challenge by their children. This is a perfect example of accepting truth by authority. Once these children come to the stage of being able to think abstractly and analyze their beliefs, values and attitudes they are often faced with making a decision. But this was going on in the 50’s and 60’s but it was more popular to exploit, humiliate and oppress people of color and those Caucasians who advocated for the people of color often met the same fate as the oppressed minority. One of the most important things I learned about race and racism is how to discern the differences of racial bigotry and racism. Understanding this concept changed my perception of racism. The contrasting difference between racism and racial bigotry is that racism is the institutionalization of racial bigotry in government law. This means that individuals who commit murder, hate crimes, harassment, oppression and other such behaviors are justified by the law for their actions. The most powerful statement I have heard about race is that there is no race. This idea was established by man and his has been consistently used as a means to separate or distinguish people. The reality is that we all come from the same place whether we want to accept it or not, this concept is only logical. I also obtained more information on many events that occurred throughout the course of the transformation of this nation. Surely the nation was giving birth and experienced great hardship through the labor pains. There were many lives taken by the demon of racism. I found it shocking how just a simple wolf whistle became the motivation for brutally murdering a young boy, Emmitt Teal. Sometime when I think about how United States elected a black president it makes it difficult to imagine that these monstrosities were going on in this country.