Where the Seeds of Racism Were Planted
The racism we see today stemmed from the roots of imperialism, cultural supremacy and orientalism. Europeans saw themselves as superior to other groups. Britain, Spain, France (and many other European countries) believed they had a right to take over land. To justify taking land from people who already lived there and to cover up their selfish economic desires, they wanted to save the ‘savages’. These ‘white man’s’ burdens’ were living in what they considered a savage and uncivilized state. They believe it was in their best interest to convert these savages into civilized Christian establishments. Although the Europeans believed they were doing good for the people, it ultimately led to the destruction of the culture of Asian, Middle-Eastern, and African countries.
Orientalism describes the patronizing Western attitude towards other cultures especially the Middle East and Asia, in a stereotyped way that is regarded as embodying a colonialist attitude.
Western scholars traveled to Middle-Eastern and Asian countries but they could not understand their culture because it differed from the West. This stemmed from believing that their culture was superior. They couldn’t understand Eastern culture because they refused to put on the shoes of the native people. To simplify the complex cultures of the Middle-East and Asia, stereotypes were formed. They generalized a large group of people, which is carrying an ‘oriental’ attitude. These cultures were romanticized and were made ‘exotic’. While these generalizations seem innocent, it promoted a pathway of the fetishization of cultures.
It is ignorant to say that racism isn’t built into the roots of America. From the second the Europeans step on the ‘New World’ soil, they wanted to get something else to do their work. The colonists tried to enslave the Native Americans but they were extremely vulnerable to disease and refused to work for the colonists. So the colonists killed them. Only 5% of the Native American population remained by the early 1600s. They were seen as inferior, unuseful, and savage. They were seen as foreign on their own land. This forced the colonists to resort to other groups of people, like Africans. Africans were seen as more useful. They already had immunity to diseases and didn’t put up a fight. What began as a few hundred slaves in the early colonial era ended up being 2 million by 1860.
It took over 2 centuries for slavery to become outlawed since the signing of the constitution. The abolitionist movement took a large step forward in achieving legal equality for black people but, were far from being seen as equal to their white brothers. It took another century of fighting for their natural rights for African-Americans (and other minorities like women) to receive legal equality that was supposedly promised to all since the founding of the country.
Do we see a difference in how we treat minorities today? Legally, yes. Women, African-Americans, Asians, Mexicans, etc all have the natural rights declared in the constitution. Slavery, discrimination, segregation, and hate crimes are illegal. But if we step away from the legal documents and acts passed by Congress and look at the American people themselves, there are a few issues. America is still living off it’s racist and xenophobic roots.
Xenophobia, the fear of immigrants, is still extremely prevalent. This irrational fear goes back to the Potato famine in Ireland. Many Irish people came to America in hopes to survive. These Irish immigrants were usually very poor which sparked the stereotype that all immigrants are poor. American doesn’t have a quota on immigrant anymore unlike in the early 1900s the Immigration Act of 1924 anymore (overturned by the Immigration and Nationality Act in 1965) which put a quota on immigrants which favored Western Europeans. Flash forward today, the 49th President of the United States is saying that he will build a wall on the Southern border to protect the U.S. from the dirty criminal immigrants coming to steal jobs. It’s often overlooked that most immigrants coming to America are just seeking better opportunities.
Most de jure (legal) racism has been eliminated from the United States. However, de facto (societal) racism has been swept under the rug by society because it’s an uncomfortable topic to talk about. There are no simple solutions to problems such as modern segregation as it has been ingrained in the historical bigotry of the United States.
Modern segregation arises from the economic situation of a race. The poverty rate of white Americans were 9.9 percent while the poverty rate of African Americans was 27.4 percent. The amount of money people earn dictates their livelihoods. If one lives in poverty, families with children won’t be able to send their children to good schools and as a result, they become segregated from middle-class families.
“The schools that the most disadvantaged black children attend today are segregated because they are located in segregated neighborhoods far distant from truly middle-class neighborhoods. We cannot desegregate schools without desegregating these neighborhoods, and our ability to desegregate the neighborhoods in which segregated schools are located is hobbled by historical ignorance.”- Richard Rothstein
According to the US Department of Justice, for all ages groups (15–24) of black males, had the highest homicide rate out of any other race. America is segregated by economic status stemming from race and privilege. What would have happened if black people were always considered equal? These questions cannot be answered because the past cannot be changed. There are no simple solutions that undo the bigotry that America was built upon. However, if Americans start to acknowledge that racism is still a prevalent problem perhaps true equality can be reached.
