Inequality in a Color-Blind Society
In “Another Kind of Public Education” by Patricia Collins, she focuses on the topic of inequality in society. In the public eye, many people would say that we have progressed a lot, but in reality, we still have a long way to go. In the beginning, Collins talks about being an honorary white and an honorary black. This means a person who is not that race is seen as one within that context. Collins’ mentions, “Blackening typically means being pushed down a social scale of some kind” (42). This correlates to the problem we face today because many jobs that the dominant group does not want, ends up with the minorities and the job then seems like a lower class job. People were brought up in this society to look down on Africans Americans and stereotype them. This takes a toll on a person of color. After all, they are not able to break down their walls at times because people will assume that it is because they are like that. If a white person were to act the way an African American would during certain situations, no one would think anything of it. This brings it to the topic in which “Some whites voluntarily blacken themselves, becoming “honorary” blacks, with varying patterns of prestige and penalty attached to their embrace of blackness” (Collins, 43). They do this to feel as if they are on the same side as them and are fighting for their cause when in reality they are not understanding the full picture. People often want to be seen as the dominant group, but it isn’t until they truly understand their race and background that they are proud of who they are and can stand up for what they believe in.
There is injustice all over the world and it is not hard to point out what problems there are in society. Throughout the media, it is evident that “Racism, instead, is a system of power” (Collins, 44). We use our skin color to categorize where we belong. If a person of color was the leader of the group, people would be surprised. Even when people see a person who is white, we automatically assume that they are of higher class compared to the rest of us. In Brown v. Board of Education, the case challenged the system of power but did not break the social status. The case brought awareness to the dominant community that there was a race restriction, which was a small step to transitioning from all-white schools to have a diverse school. Brown v, Board of Education gave the conclusion that white and African American schools did not have the same equality. From this, the Little Rock Nine came about, where nine African American students went to an all-white school. This transition was difficult because the students were treated poorly by their supposed peers.
Another injustice in the system is that white underprivileged are not recognized. This is difficult for whites that are low in the class system because they do not get the help that they need and are treated poorly. This is not a topic that people focus on because white people are seen as well off and have everything handed to them. The “…rigged system describes how color-blind racism operates within the structural domain of power” (Collins, 57). This also affects anyone that is not able to support themselves in any way. The system especially targets people of color because our society is color-blind. Since we are a color-blind society, one group benefits while the other continually lose out. This group that loses out most often is the people of color and this can be seen in the education system. Standardized tests are seen as equal opportunities for everyone, but in reality, some people may not be able to afford to pay for the test, or they do not understand English well. “If the testing process produces racially disparate effects, we must question how high-stakes tests contribute to racial inequality in seemingly color-blind contexts” (Collins, 62). Tests not only separate a group based on one’s intelligence but also by race because some groups are not able to get the same education based on where they live. This makes it unfair for people of color to strive to do well and get into Ivy Leagues if they do not have the same education as those who have a better school system.
In “The Injustice of This Moment Is Not an ‘Aberration’” by Michelle Alexander, she mentions the parallels and intersection of mass incarceration and the criminalization of immigration and mass deportation. Alexander first focuses on “Everything I knew through experience and study told me that we as a nation did not fully understand the nature of the moment we were in” (2). Knowing that we as a society do not understand what is happening is important because, without that, we would not be able to make a change. Since the majority of us are not able to identify this problem, we have not made the important improvements that we need to better the community. “Despite appearances, our nation remains trapped in a cycle of racial reform, backlash and re-formation of systems of racial and social control” (Alexander, 2). Every time there is a movement to change, something is preventing the motion from continuing. There is a saying where there is one step forward, there will be two steps back. Many people are not open to change which makes it strenuous to complete the goal at hand. When there was the Black Lives Matter Movement, a lot of people did not understand the meaning and some people would say that all lives matter. Understanding the context and reason behind a situation will allow people to support the reformation more.
Alexander’s reading still relates to the problems that we face today because black people are often targeted for criminal situations, while white people can just slide by. “Black people charged with possession of crack in inner cities were still punished far more harshly than white people in possession of powder cocaine in the suburbs” (Alexander, 5). Many police brutalities occur today when people of color are protesting. If white people were to protest, maybe some people will go to jail, but the likelihood of police brutality occurring will below. “… mass incarceration and mass deportation have less to do with crime and immigration than the ways we’ve chosen to respond to those issues when black and brown people are framed as the problem” (Alexander, 6). This is where Collins talks about how we are a color-blind society that comes into the picture because we are not aware of this situation occurring if we are not the ones being targeted.
For the imprisonment population, immigrants were most affected because “Immigrant detention centers were exempted from the phaseout plan for private prisons, which meant that only about a quarter of the population held in private facilities in the United States was affected by the plan” (Alexander, 11). I never heard about this situation until now because it was never brought to my attention. The media does not focus on this, which is why people are unaware of the problems. We also do not expect positive actions or people who are good in our eyes to have a bad result. We only want to see what we want to see.
Collins analyzes the different domains, but the one main one that I can connect to Next Generation Scholar in my perspective is the cultural domain. “A cultural domain of power that manufactures the ideas that justify racial hierarchy” (Collins). This means how people of color are treated or seen differently based on the setting. From the racial hierarchy, people of color in the United States are often put on the bottom and are treated unfairly. “Actions in the cultural domain of power help justify or challenge the social inequalities of color-blind racism by creating ideas that uphold it or aim to change it” (Collins, 69). We must be the ones that create the change so that there wouldn’t be racial inequality. The problem with this is that many people are not aware of the situation and even people of color are sometimes unaware. Education is important because the things that we hear and see will not always be true and there is always another story to it.
Collins points out that, “I rarely get a peek into hotel kitchens, but when I do, the staff members invariably appear to be African American or Latino men” (75). This relates to the kid I tutored at Next Generation Scholar because his mom would go to a person’s house to take care of them and his dad would be working at a catering business. Others often look down on the jobs that minorities take, but in reality, they are the ones that work harder than anyone else and will do what they can just to support their family. When the kid I was tutoring talked about his parents’ jobs, he was proud of them. This is something any child would do when they are younger, but as they grow older and gain more knowledge they learn that not everyone thinks that the job their parents have is as amazing as it seems. Due to the categorizations of jobs and education status, it is hard for a person of color to get promotions. Our society is colorblind and how are we going to change the way we view society?
