AFST 302 Anti-Black Racism in North America PDF

AFST 302 Anti-Black Racism in North America Dr. Motilola Akinfemisoye-Adejare Department of Anthropology and Archaeology Faculty of Arts Outline Introduction The role of apologies in redressing historical wrongs Ethnicity: Boundaries, Nation states, Culture, Identity and Instituti...

AFST 302 Anti-Black Racism in North America Dr. Motilola Akinfemisoye-Adejare Department of Anthropology and Archaeology Faculty of Arts Outline Introduction The role of apologies in redressing historical wrongs Ethnicity: Boundaries, Nation states, Culture, Identity and Institutions Race: Racism, Racialization, Scientific racism, modern racism, new racism New Racism, Democratic racism and criticisms White Racism and Criticisms Summary What role do apologies pay in redressing racism, inequalities and injustices of the past? Introduction Apologies have been issued by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (and former prime minister Stephen Harper) for past actions by governments and other officials including: Racist treatment of indigenous people, racialized groups and minorities In contrast, former Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau argues that while current governments can regret historical wrongs, it is not their duty to issue apologies or to rewrite history The text argues that apologies are important because they point to how the past impinges on the Ethnicity: Early Sociological Approaches Early sociologists answered questions about who “we” are and how “we” differ from “them” in Eurocentric ways (European society was used as the benchmark by which all societies could be measured) Ancient historians (e.g., Herodotus) also distinguished ethnic groups using criteria such as language, gods, customs, idiosyncrasies, geography and contact with other groups, history, politics, social arrangements and economies Today, sociologists answer questions about ethnicity in terms of the concepts of self and other Ethnicity: Early Sociological Approaches, cont’d The term ethnicity has its roots in the Greek word ethnos and means “people” The collective conscience for Émile Durkheim is a primary source of identity formation. It encompasses: Social solidarity based on “sameness” and preference for “own kind” “Us” versus “Them” feelings, which help set clear boundaries between Self and Other Social practices of inclusion/exclusion, influence group formation, and the production and distribution of scarce valuable resources Ethnicity: Early Sociological Approaches, cont’d According to Max Weber, ethnicity is made up of common descent, tribe, culture, language, religion, and nationality “Ethnic groups” are those human groups that entertain a subjective belief in their common descent because of similarities of physical type or of customs or both, or because of memories of colonization and migration “Race” denotes the common identity of groups based on heredity and endogamous conjugal groups Group boundaries can be used to separate based on perceived differences Ethnicity: Early Sociological Approaches, cont’d Group boundaries can enable monopolistic closure, which allows members of the in-group to have exclusive access to scarce resources Ethnicity and the belief in a “common descent” can eventually give rise to the formation of “nationality” These distinct “nations” may eventually lead to the creation of nation-states Before the Enlightenment and Industrial revolution, large political entities were multi-ethnic and multinational Culture, Ethnicity, and Identity What is culture? Culture: a set of dynamic social processes and practices; it is a collective response of socially constituted individuals to their ever-changing external conditions Culture allows for the transmission and acquisition of ethnic identities. Assimilation: the process by which members of ethnic groups are incorporated into the dominant culture of a society Culture, Ethnicity and Identity, cont’d Ethnic identity can be collective (consensus within the group) or individual (the relationships of individuals to their own ethnic collectivity) Kallen (1995, p. 79): ethnic identity is the outcome of the interrelationship between the diachronic and synchronic dimensions of ethnicity Diachronic dimensions of ethnicity constitute the core of one’s ethnic identity (e.g., ancestry, homeland, etc.) Synchronic dimensions of ethnicity refer to the ways in which an individual or ethnic collectivity is defined, evaluated, and treated by others A Short History of “Race” How many “races” are there? “Race” has historically been defined in terms of physical or genetic characteristics, or as an ascriptive characteristic Prior to the late 19th century, “race” meant lineage and was variously defined in religious and environmental terms European exploration in the 15th century brought them in contact with other people, Others, who seemed different in physical appearance, culture and religion Europeans used these differences as justification for A Short History of “Race”, cont’d Plantation owners used religious explanation of their “superiority”, often making reference to the Bible, to justify the enslavement of Africans Europeans, likewise, classified Indigenous people as “heathen” based on religious differences Their classification as “heathens” meant Indigenous people were not seen as rightful occupants of the land These ideas served as justification for colonial settlement of Indigenous lands A Short History of “Race”, cont’d By the 19th century, historical intersections of colonialism and science shifted the meaning of “race” “Race” began to be used to explain physical, social, moral and intellectual variation among people, and the apparent technological superiority of Europeans European scientists used racial typologies that helped to perpetuate systematic expressions of biologically informed racism (Banton, 1970) In 1850 Knox published The Races of Men focused on “horizontal” differences between discrete people groups “Race” and Scientific Racism Scientific theories that advanced doctrines of racial typologies make certain assumptions: There exists distinct and permanent types of Homo sapiens Physical differences and behaviors are expressions of discrete biological type that is permanent Cultural variation is determined by biological type Biological variations is the origin of conflict between individuals and nations “Races” are differentially endowed such that some are inherently inferior to others Modern Versions of “Race” Science Despite attempts to end race science, racial categorization and racism after the second world war, some scholars have continued the search for biologically based differences among “races” These attempts include attempting to identify “race” difference in intelligence, social behavior, and sexual anatomy and behavior These works are discredited as racist in themselves and for lacking sound scientific bases; they are also criticized for lacking historical and socioeconomic contexts The Human Genome Project The Human Genome Project began in 1987 in an attempt to trace the human genome The project found that humans share as much as 99.9% of genetic material The Haplotype Project seeks to find out the significance of this 0.1 per cent difference Genetic mapping of the human genome has raised questions concerning ethical implications and how the information will be used Equating genetic differences to “race” can have real consequence Racialization and the Social Construction of “Race” “Race” is a socially constructed category for categorizing humans Racialization is a concept that emphasizes the socially constructed nature of “race” as opposed to there being biological differences between people The use of the concept “race” can reify it (treat it as it is real) Individuals and groups, therefore, can be “racialized,” whereby attention is drawn to their “race” as a way to understand and explain interactions and processes, even though “race” is not an objectively measurable aspect of human differences Racism What is racism? “Not safe living near a Black person…” “Black person driving a fancy car must be a…” “So you want to talk about race?” Ijeoma Oluo | So You Want to Talk About Race 21 Racism No single agreed-upon definition of the term Racism occurs in everyday life, at both individual and institutional levels Martin Barker (1981) argued that negative evaluations of racially defined groups were being masked in new, racially neutral language and rearticulated to make them more politically acceptable in public discourse, which he called “new racism” “Old style” racism and discriminations may have been replaced by more subtle forms of racism such as microaggressions 22 Racism, cont’d Microaggression refers to “brief commonplace daily verbal, behavioral and environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory or negative racial, gender, sexual orientation, and religious slights and insults to the target person or group” (Sue, 2010:5) Three distinct but interrelated microaggressions: Microassaults—using an explicitly racial epithet Microinsults– subtle snubs that people experience in their everyday lives Microinvalidations—are incidents that invalidate the feeling that an individual has of certain interaction “Dog-whistle” politics: coded racial appeals by politicians to direct hostilities to minority groups (e.g International New Racism in Britain and France In Britain, the rise of problems in society was argued to be a result of different cultures coming into contact with one another Racism expressed in coded language; anti-immigration agendas In France, arguments were made that immigration would lead to racial and ethnic mixing, which would lead to a loss of cultures (both the culture of origin and culture of settlement) Creation of group boundaries around notions of cultural differences New Racism in the United States Scholars point to the prevalence of Anti-black racism in the US “Symbolic racism” includes language promoting equality and freedom for all, but policies that disadvantage minorities Rodriguez (1999, p. 376) argued that new racism in the U.S. is linked to “nativism” (or fear of “foreignness”) This new racism is made up largely of three anti-foreign fears: (1)Fear of non-English languages; (2)Fear of the abuse of multicultural ideology and affirmative action; and New Racism in Canada What is your perception of racism in Canada? Henry and Tator (2010) argue that in Canada, there is “democratic racism” Democratic racism is “an ideology in which two conflicting sets of values are made congruent to each other. Commitments to democratic principles such as justice, equality, and fairness conflict but coexist with attitudes and behaviours that include negative feelings about minority groups” (Henry & Tator, 2010, pp. 9-10) New Racism in Canada, cont’d Democratic racism is expressed mainly through the discourse of domination, which includes myths, explanations, codes of meaning, and rationalizations (Henry and Tator, 2010:11) Some of the discourses of democratic racism include: Discourse of colour-blindness Discourse of equal opportunity Discourse of blaming the victim Discourse of multiculturalism Critiques of New Racism Some critiques of the concept of new racism include: It attaches simple motivations to complex ideas and discourse It tends to essentialize the category of whiteness and homogenize the category of ethno-racial communities There is no clear dividing line between “old” and “new” versions of racism White Racism: The Only Racism? Racism is often seen as something that is inherent only to white people E.g., Feagin and Vera (1995, p.7) argue that because of the institutional power possessed by white Americans, which often deny people of colour “the dignity, opportunities, freedoms and rewards,” racism cannot be perpetuated at the systemic level by people of colour in the US. They argue that: Minorities are powerless to act on the basis of prejudicial ideas Minorities do not possess any no centuries-old system of racialized subordination and discrimination Critiques of White Racism Critiques of White Racism find it problematic to take the view that racism is the exclusive domain of white people for several reasons, including: This view assumes that all members of minority communities are powerless in the face of an insurmountable white power structure Individuals within minority communities are not uniquely immune to racism or powerless to act on the basis of these beliefs Colorism occurs within both “white society” and racialized groups Summary Ethnicity and “race” are persistent bases for the formation of social groups Ethnicity is usually associated with people’s cultural characteristics while ‘race” is believed to be an irrational way of dividing human populations into groups based on members’ physical characteristics New racism shows that while articulations of racism may have changed, groups continue to be categorized based on “race” and ethnicity Some scholars argue that white racism is the only racism; others contest this way of thinking