AFST 302 QUiz Questions

The Foundations of White Fragility

• The United States was founded on the principle of equality for all, yet its history is marked by the genocide of Indigenous populations, the enslavement of Africans, and the denial of voting rights to women until 1920 and Black women until 1965.

• Whiteness, a term coined by Ruth Frankenberg, is a complex concept: It encompasses structural advantages ("location of structural advantage"), a perspective ("standpoint"), and a set of cultural practices often left unacknowledged ("cultural practices").

The Insulation of Whiteness

• While opportunities exist for engaging with issues of racism, such as diversity training, these often avoid direct discussions about racism and white privilege.
• Institutions and society often use racially coded language to perpetuate racist perspectives, reinforcing the illusion that racism is a problem of "them," not "us."

White Fragility as a Response to Challenge

• White people, when confronted with racism, often react with anger, withdrawal, guilt, or cognitive dissonance.
• These responses are viewed as forms of resistance to the challenge of internalized dominance.
• The term "White Fragility" captures this lack of racial stamina, often fueled by social and racial insulation.

Addressing the Misconception of "Reverse Racism"

• The concept of "reverse racism" is debunked. Racism, rooted in history and systemic power imbalances, cannot be said to "flow back and forth" between races.

The Role of Segregation in Inculcating White Fragility

• Segregation is not just physical but also representational and informational, creating a bubble of whiteness that limits exposure to authentic information about racism.
• This insulation reinforces the idea that "good" schools and neighborhoods are coded for "white."
• "White Flight," the exodus of white families from urban areas to suburbs, is an example of this segregation.

The Impacts of Universalism and Individualism on White Fragility

• White people are often taught to view their perspectives as objective and representative of reality, leading to a lack of awareness about Whiteness as an identity.
• This phenomenon prevents them from recognizing the impact of Whiteness on their own lives and experiences.
• The discourse of universalism, which argues for sameness among individuals, reinforces the denial of racial disparities and the advantages of being White.

Origins of Racial Inequality in the U.S.

• The U.S. was founded on the principle of equality for all but its history is marked by systemic injustices.
• The country's foundation was built on genocide of Indigenous populations and theft of their land.
• Enslavement of Africans and their descendants fueled American wealth.
• Women were denied the right to vote until 1920, and Black women were not granted suffrage until 1965.

White Fragility: A Response to Racial Dissonance

• Whiteness is a privileged position with "protective pillows," creating a sense of invulnerability from the realities of racism for white people.
• White people often experience difficulty discussing racism due to emotional discomfort and cognitive dissonance.
• White people may resist confronting racism through anger, withdrawal, guilt, argumentation, and cognitive dissonance.
• "Progressive whites" may claim to be "beyond" racism, avoiding further engagement with the topic.

Defining White Fragility

• White fragility is the lack of racial stamina resulting from racial insulation and internalized dominance.
• It's a defense mechanism that protects the white psyche from acknowledging and addressing the discomfort associated with racial inequality.

Challenging the Notion of "Reverse Racism"

• Racism is not a reversible phenomenon.
• Power dynamics between whites and people of color in the U.S. are historically embedded and favor whites.
• The "reverse racism" argument perpetuates the illusion of racial equality and obscures the realities of systemic power imbalances.

The Significance of Whiteness

• Whiteness shapes individual and collective consciousness, creating a "standpoint" from which white people view themselves and others.
• "Whiteness" is more than an absence of color; it's a cultural practice marked by privilege and systemic advantage.
• Whiteness is a multi-dimensional concept, comprised of structural advantage, standpoint, and cultural practices.

Factors Inculcating White Fragility

• Segregation: White people rarely encounter diverse perspectives due to segregated lives, resulting in a lack of understanding and preparation for critical discussions about racism.
• "Good schools" and "good neighborhoods" are often coded as "white-only" spaces, reinforcing the idea that whiteness is inherently superior.
• Universalism and individualism: White people are taught to perceive their perspectives as objective and universal, leading to a lack of awareness of their own racial privilege.
• Universalism is used to deny the significance of race and the advantages of being white.

Globalization, Migration and Anti-Black Racism

• The prosperity of certain countries is directly linked to the genocide of Indigenous Americans and the enslavement of Africans during the colonial era.
• The plantation system, which involved forced migration, lasted for centuries, from the 1500s to the 1800s, driving globalization.
• The end of plantation slavery coincided with the rise of Western industrialization, fueled by colonial expansion for resources and markets.
• The United States, after plantation slavery, expanded through colonial ventures in Guam, the Philippines, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, and informal dominance in Latin America.
• The US relied on cheap labor from former slaves, European and Asian migrants, and African Americans through the convict leasing system, exacerbating racial inequalities.

The Impacts of Migration and Anti-Immigration Sentiments

• Immigrants in the US faced varying levels of discrimination, with groups like the Irish, Italians, and Chinese facing specific prejudices.
• The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 prohibited Chinese migration, highlighting the pervasive ideology of a "white and Christian" nation.
• Politicians often exploit migration for political gain, fueling anti-immigration sentiment.
• Migration provides skilled and unskilled labor, filling vital roles often rejected by the native population.
• Migration contributes to addressing an aging population and provides a solution to labor shortages.
• Many African immigrants, particularly those with higher education, often face difficulty integrating into the labor market, despite their qualifications.

The Legacy of Slavery and the Need for Change

• Approximately 12 million Africans were enslaved and transported across the Atlantic to work on plantations.
• The exploitation of enslaved Africans enriched the economies of nations like England, France, and the US, contributing to their global economic dominance.
• Suketu Mehta argues that descendants of those who endured slavery should be allowed to live in the countries that benefited from their ancestors' forced labor, advocating for a form of restitution.
• Frantz Fanon, a prominent Black intellectual, emphasized the importance of action over mere knowledge, urging for transformative change to tackle global inequalities.

Immigrants and the Vertical Mosaic

• Globalization has increased the movement of labor across borders, creating both opportunities and challenges for immigrants.
• Canadian-born individuals generally earn more than immigrants, particularly those with university education.
• Recent immigrants often experience lower earnings compared to Canadian-born individuals and those who have resided in Canada for longer periods.
• Immigrants who arrive before their 16th birthday (1.5 generation) tend to experience better economic outcomes compared to their Canadian-born counterparts.
• There has been a decline in the earnings of recent immigrants relative to Canadian-born earners since the 1980s.
• Earning differentials highlight a system of devaluation of immigrant credentials, suggesting educational inequality.

A Critical Assessment of Ethnic/Racial Inequality Research

• Studies on social inequalities based on race and ethnicity often face criticism for overemphasizing racial dimensions while neglecting the multidimensionality of Canadian society.
• The class dimension of social inequalities, including hierarchies within ethnic groups, is frequently overlooked in research.
• The "colour-coded mosaic thesis" faces critique due to the ambiguity of defining "visible minority," "whites," and "racialized groups."
• The thesis overlooks anomalies that contradict its claims, like the experiences of Southern Europeans.

Bringing Class Back In

• Class, along with gender, plays a significant role in explaining earnings differentials within ethnic and racial groups.
• While the "mosaic" dimension of inequality is examined to understand earnings differences among ethnic groups, the "vertical" dimension—examining disparities both within and between groups—is also crucial.
• The intersectionality of class, race/ethnicity, and gender is fundamental to understanding social inequalities in Canada.
• Wright identified three main classes in capitalist societies: bourgeoisie, petty bourgeoisie, and proletariat.
• Class locations within these categories are determined by economic ownership, control over production, and control over labor power.

Evidence of Ethnic Heterogeneity

• Public Use Microdata File on Individuals from the 2006 Census reveals a diverse class composition within ethnic groups.
• No single ethnic group exclusively belongs to one specific class, although patterns of over and underrepresentation exist.
• Significant class heterogeneity exists among and within ethnic groups, contradicting a simple "colour-coded mosaic" model.

Earnings Inequalities among and Within Ethnic Groups

• Substantial differences in earnings exist between different social classes.
• Petty bourgeoisie and proletarians often have after-tax incomes below the average in the 2006 census.
• The overall class/gender/nativity income differentials within ethnic groups are greater than those between them, especially after removing outliers like those with the highest earnings (Jewish-origin respondents) and the lowest earnings (Indigenous-origin respondents).

Summary

• John Porter's concept of the vertical mosaic continues to influence understandings of social inequalities in Canada.
• The "colour-coded vertical mosaic" argument suggests racialized minorities occupy the bottom of the social hierarchy, while non-racialized white Canadians hold the upper positions.
• The devaluation of foreign educational credentials contributes to immigrants' lower earnings.
• The intersectionality of class, race/ethnicity, and gender offers a more accurate understanding of social inequalities in Canada.

Globalization, Migration, and Anti-Black Racism

• Prosperity of certain countries was directly linked to the enslavement of Africans and genocide of Indigenous Americans.
• Plantation System was a 400 year system (1500s-1800's) that fueled economic growth and development of European countries, especially England, France, and the US.
• Capital earned from the plantation system was reinvested in technology and industries to produce more wealth.
• Western industrialization, which occurred in the 19th century, coincided with the end of the Plantation system.
• Western Industrialization saw the expansion of European and American power through colonization to secure access to raw materials and create new markets.
• The US model following slavery, used colonial expansion in Guam, the Philippines, American Samoa, and Puerto Rico to create markets for American goods.
• Colonial expansion also involved migrations via the military, alongside cheap labor from former slaves, migrants from Europe and Asia, and from African-Americans under the Convict Leasing System.
• Immigration to the US was uneven: Some like the Irish and Italians experienced discrimination, while Chinese immigrants were banned by the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.
• Scholars argue that historical colonial stereotypes contributed to discomfort with non-White immigrants in Europe and North America, leading to the creation of a false narrative of the nation as "white and Christian".
• Anti-Immigration Sentiments: Politicians often exploit migration for votes, while migration provides skilled and unskilled labor, addresses aging populations, and often includes individuals with higher education level, particularly those from Africa.
• Suketu Mehta argued that 12 million descendants of Africans who were enslaved and transported to the Americas should be allowed to live in countries that benefitted from their ancestors' forced labor, citing both the potential benefits for descendants and the host countries.
• Frantz Fanon emphasized the imperative to not just understand the world, but to change it.
• Globalization has been linked to increased unevenness in development between countries, leading to a movement of labor across borders.
• Immigrant Employment in Canada: Canadian-born individuals generally earn more than immigrants, with greater disparities among university graduates.
• Earnings of Recent Immigrants: are lower than both Canadian-born individuals and immigrants residing in Canada for over 5 years.
• Immigrants arriving before their 16th birthday (1.5 generation) tend to perform better economically compared to Canadian-born peers.
• Earnings of recent immigrants have steadily declined compared to Canadian-born earners since the 1980s.
• Immigrant status has a negative impact on income, suggesting a devaluation of immigrant credentials, with their education not being fully recognized.
• Concerns about studies of social inequalities based on race and ethnicity include:
• Overemphasis on ethnic/racial dimensions while neglecting other factors in Canadian society
• Often neglecting the class dimension of social inequalities
• Lack of clarity in definitions of "visible minority", "whites" and "racialized groups"
• Overlooking anomalies that contradict the "colour-coded mosaic thesis".
• Focus on Class: Class, alongside gender, accounts for more income disparities within and between ethnic and racial groups than any other factor.
• Vertical Mosaic Dimension: It is important to consider inequalities both among and within ethnic groups.
• Intersections of Inequality: Within each structural category of inequality (ethnicity, gender, or class), the others coexist.
• Capitalist Class Structure: According to Wright (1983), capitalist societies are structured into three classes: bourgeoisie, petty bourgeoisie, and proletariat.
• Class Locations: Three sometimes contradictory class locations exist between the three classes, based on economic ownership of money capital, control of physical means of production, and control of the labor power of others.

Evidence of Ethnic Heterogeneity

• Census Data (2006) revealed that from a class composition perspective, within the proletariat, there is no distinct visible/non-visible ethnic group distinction.
• While there are patterns of over-representation and under-representation, no single ethnic group exclusively occupies a specific class.
• Significant class heterogeneity exists among and within ethnic groups in terms of class composition.

Earnings Inequalities among and within Ethnic Groups

• Significant earnings differences exist across classes.
• Petty bourgeois and proletarians have lower average after-tax incomes than the sample mean in the 2006 census.
• Overall income disparities within ethnic/racialized groups based on class, gender, and nativity are greater than those among such groups, particularly when excluding the highest-earning Jewish-origin respondents and lowest-earning Indigenous-origin respondents.

Summary

• John Porter's "Vertical Mosaic" argument continues to influence understandings of social inequalities in Canada.
• The "colour-coded vertical mosaic" argument suggests racialized minorities are at the bottom of the social hierarchy, while non-racialized white Canadians are at the top.
• The devaluation of foreign educational credentials partially explains the lower earnings of immigrants.
• Intersectional connections between class, race/ethnicity, and gender are crucial for a comprehensive understanding of social inequalities in Canada.

Historical Anti-Black Racism in Education

• Black people in Canada West fought against segregation in the mid-19th century.
• They sought integration and inclusion in common schools.
• Black-owned schools welcomed children of all ethnic backgrounds.

Success of Africentric Schools

• Toronto's Africentric Alternative School has been successful in countering the invisibility of Black perspectives.
• Students consistently outperform provincial averages in reading, writing, and math.

Anti-Black Racism in Education Today

• Black students are treated as inferior and a threat within school settings.
• Their presence is often unwelcome, and their movements are closely monitored.

Streaming and Racial Injustice

• Black students are disproportionately streamed into lower education tracks.
• This is due to individual prejudice and systemic factors, including racial stereotypes held by teachers.
• Black students report experiencing the "silent treatment" and being discouraged from pursuing higher education.

Teacher Expectations and Black Students

• Teachers' low expectations are a major factor in the academic engagement of Black students.
• Black youth report being pressured into vocational training and adult education, and steered away from challenging courses.

The Erasure of Black Childhood

• In the eyes of white society and institutions, Black children are not perceived as "children" but as threats with dangerous abilities beyond their age.
• This perception denies Black children the innocence and vulnerability associated with childhood.
• Black children are often subjected to suffering that is ignored or erased.

Systemic Racism in Education

• Though education is considered a public good and is supposed to be race-neutral, informal practices continue to stream students based on race.
• While poverty impacts students of all backgrounds, Black youth face unique disadvantages due to the association of Blackness with lack of intelligence and inferiority.
• Schools often represent the first encounter with systemic devaluation of Blackness for Black youth.

A Call for Transformation

• Deeper institutional transformations are needed to address systemic racism and societal disinvestment in education.
• An intersectional framework is required to address the specific challenges faced by Black students.

The History of Segregated Schools in Canada West

• Black Canadians in the mid-19th century opposed segregated schools and advocated for integration.
• Numerous petitions were submitted to the Education Department to address the exclusion of Black students from common schools.
• When Black communities established their own schools, they welcomed students of all ethnicities.

Toronto's Africentric Alternative School

• Toronto's Africentric Alternative School was created to address the underrepresentation of Black perspectives and realities in the education system.
• The school has demonstrated remarkable success, surpassing the provincial average in reading, writing, and math on standardized tests.

Anti-Black Racism in Educational Settings

• Black students are often treated as inferior and a threat within educational institutions.
• Many public schools perceive the presence of Black children and youth as unwelcome and undesirable, and their movements are subject to close monitoring and correction.

Streaming and its Impact on Black Students

• Black students are disproportionately streamed into lower education tracks due to individual prejudice and systemic factors.
• Teachers' racial stereotypes play a significant role in the streaming of Black students.
• Black students frequently report that instructors give them the silent treatment or discourage them from pursuing higher education.

Teacher Expectations

• Teachers' expectations have a profound impact on the academic engagement of Black students.
• Black youth in major Canadian cities consistently cite their teachers' low expectations as a major factor in their overall engagement.
• Black students report being pressured into vocational training or adult education, discouraged from pursuing the regular academic track, and steered away from challenging courses.

Black Children as "Not Innocent"

• Black children are often perceived as not innocent and are attributed supernatural, dangerous abilities beyond their age, size, and physical capabilities.
• There is a pervasive lack of recognition of Black children as children within white society and state institutions.
• This perception leads to the erasure or negation of the suffering that Black children experience.

Systemic Racism and Educational Inequalities

• While class plays a role in educational inequalities for all youth, it is crucial to recognize the distinct challenges faced by Black students.
• Systemic barriers related to poverty affect youth of all racial backgrounds, but Black youth encounter unique disadvantages due to long-standing associations linking Blackness to a lack of intelligence and inferiority.
• Despite the perception of education as a "public good" and a race-neutral entity, informal practices within the Canadian school system continue to stream students based on race.

Explore the complexities surrounding the concepts of whiteness and white fragility in the contexts of American history, immigration, and education. This quiz delves into the structural advantages and cultural practices associated with whiteness, while also addressing the societal responses to challenges regarding racism. Test your understanding of these critical issues.