Racism, Prejudice, And Systemic Oppression - 1772 Words

Over a century after the emancipation of millions of slaves, and twenty-five years following the declaration that â€Å"separate is not equal,† the case Regents of University of California v. Bakke ruled in favor of affirmative action. Justice Harry Blackmun affirmed in this decision that â€Å"[i]n order to get beyond racism, we must first take account of race. There is no other way.† As one of the most liberal judges on the court at the time, Blackmun tended to rule favorably in regards to expanding the rights of women and minorities. In presenting this opinion, he explains that issues of race must be addressed and considered in order to fix racism, prejudice, and systemic oppression. In regards to affirmative action (among other positive†¦show more content†¦For Justice Blackmun and Cheryl Harris, this means implementing legislation that draws attention to race in the hope of spreading awareness and consideration. Both speak of affirmative action; supporting its function in both establishing opportunities for minorities that were previously denied to them and urging careful consideration of candidates by factors including race. As a result Justice Blackmun perceives this to entitle minorities to special considerations, providing an advantage that would help to close the equality gap between themselves and their white counterparts. Similarly, Harris perceives law as a force that pretends to disregard superficial factors such as race, but in practice discriminates against minorities and their communities. In her piece Whiteness as Property, she argues that despite belief otherwise, the United States law system had essentially no choice but to exclude Blacks and limit their rights. Created by individuals who perceived whiteness as a privilege endowing them with certain entitlements (including supremacy and citizenship), the law segregates those who are white from everyone else. This establishes an â€Å"exclusive club,† whose â€Å"membership [is] closely and grudgingly guarded† (Harris 283). Dependent upon ones’ ability to prove their white purity, the club guarantees protection of exclusive rights and freedoms (Harris 283). In order to counteract the exclusionary functionsShow MoreRelatedReverse Sexism : Reverse Racism And Verse Sexism1308 Words   |  6 Pagesreverse sexism possible? Is r everse racism possible? With a focus on systemic oppression in this essay, I attempt to answer these questions while defending the position that reverse racism and reverse sexism do not exist. I will discuss how reverse oppression – be it reverse racism, or female privilege – cannot exist because the very nature of oppression will not allow for it. I attempt to do this by engaging with Marilyn Frye’s â€Å"birdcage† paradigm of oppression, specifically, her argument that thereRead MoreSonny s Blues By James Baldwin1028 Words   |  5 Pagessociety, the black population of â€Å"Sonny’s Blues† attempt to endure oppression and suffering and survive in an unforgiving land. However, they can thrive here with the hope and salvation provided by the communal center of African American culture: religion. Written after the abolition of slavery, but before the Civil Rights Movement, â€Å"Sonny’s Blues† transpires in an uncertain era, within a culture filled with lingering hate and prejudice. This is the social undercurrent within the story; though the hatredRead MoreRacism Is An Epidemic That Has Occurred Throughout History1206 Words   |  5 PagesRacism is an epidemic that has occurred throughout history. Racism is when patterns of discrimination towards a certain race are established and perceived as normal throughout an entire culture. 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Systemic racism is a theory that â€Å"takes a look at how individual, structural, and institutional forms of racism intersect, overlap, and create a deep-rooted form of prejudice and discrimination that advantages a cultural group at the expense of others in all institutions of a society - economics, political representation, the criminalRead MoreThe Color Line : Mass Media And Systemic Racism1258 Words   |  6 PagesThe problem of the 21st Century is the problem of the color line: Mass Media and Systemic Racism In the Souls Of Black Folk , Du Bois starts his collection by stating that â€Å"the problem of the Twentieth Century is the problem of the color line.† (p. 34 Forethought Du. Bois) Du Bois’s conception of the â€Å"problem of the color line† is an apt diagnosis for the problems about racialized identities of his time and is still applicable for the Twenty-first century. 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Race, Racism, Prejudice and Discrimination Sensoy DiAngelo (2014) define race as a complex socially constructed system of categories of people based on phenotype with boundaries that can change over time. They describe race as† one of the most charged issues in society due to pervasive miseducation, lack of productive language† (p. 97). Racism occurs when one racial group, suchRead MoreSocial Problem Of The 21st Century2060 Words   |  9 Pages Systemic Oppression in America By: Justin The most critical social problem of the 21st century is Capitalism. Capitalism today is what use to be the color line as defined in the early 1900s by W. E. B Du Bois as: the question of the relation of the advanced races of men who happened to be white to the great majority of the undeveloped or half-developed nations of mankind who happen to be yellow, brown or black (Karenga). As Du Bois researched the color line, Capitalism in America is