A Post-Racial Society Means...

A Post-Racial Society Means...

Many attribute the election of Barrack Obama, currently holding the highest position in America, as a marker of a post-racial society, yet since his 2008 election many individuals such as Donald Trump, Sean Hannity, and Rush Limbaugh question the legitimacy of Obama’s birth certificate, qualifications, and eligibility for presidency. Unfortunately, such suspicion and surveillance is the everyday reality for people of color. American society gradually shifted from overt to more covert and institutionalized forms of racism. Although American society strongly condemns overt and visible forms of racism, reviving and emphasizing the biological difference between racial groups perpetuate the social construct of race.

It is continuously contested that there is more biological diversity between people of different racial groups than within any racial group. However, in the film “Race: The Power of an Illusion, Episode 1,” microbiologist Pilar Ossorio argues that race has no genetic basis and no one characteristic, trait, or gene is a biological marker distinguishing members between or within a so called “race.” Ossorio recognizes human diversity as a product of geography rather than genetic differences between members of different “races.” In fact, there is twice more genetic diversity in penguins and ten times more genetic variation in fruit flies than there is in humans; thus, humans are most similar from most species. Variation within and between populations is best explained as different mechanisms of adaptation responding to environmental pressures. Some populations accumulate certain genes more than others. For instance, the protective effect of the sickle cell trait against malaria is an advantageous genetic adaptation found and passed down in areas where malaria is endemic.

The information presented in this film reinforced my rejection of racial categories. Although my most recent origins trace back to Mexico, I have always had ambivalent feeling towards racial categorization. My ambivalence initially started when I learned about the Spanish colonization of the Americas because I realized how impossible it is to trace my ancestors from thousands of years ago. This new realization provoked questions of who my ancestors were and how I self- identify. From an early age I realized the impossible task of classifying people into racial categories because I was not sure if whether if I should identify as white or not claim a race. Today, I do not state my race because racial categories limit and constrain the human identity. However, I do identify more with my ethnicity or culture. In this case, I self- identify as Latino or Mexican-American. Culturally, I embrace my hyphenated existence because it gives me access to two distinct cultures. After watching this film, I am convinced that the classification of race alienates many individuals because of its political nature. Much of the evidence presented reinforces my notion to challenge superficial identities. Instead I identify more with attributes or values that describe my character. Perpetuating the concept of race only justifies systematic oppression and undermines the principles of equality. A post-racial society means more than just electing a black president, it means more than ending overt forms of racism, and it certainly means more than just forgive and forget. The discussion of race is an ongoing conversation that not only addresses the legacy and consequences, but also fully recognizes the other forms of oppression such as imperialism or poverty that intersects with race and legitimatizes this concept.

 
Racism persists because society is stuck in the same paradigm, in which we organize social, economic, and political relations in hierarchies and still believe this is the most productive and efficient way of living. The notion of hierarchy legitimizes and exacerbates all types of relationships found in everyday life. This logic ignores how segments of populations are exploited while those with power benefit. Power is vested in those who benefit directly and indirectly. Institutions and ideologies also have influence over individuals because they reinforce and perpetuate legacies of unequal power structures. Rather than radically restructuring all social life, these legacies of unequal power persist because they provide an established template for the ongoing negotiation of power. According to Golash-Boza (8), the Spanish Inquisition and the unfair treatment of the Irish by the English were the precursor to the ideologies later used to justify racism. Power relations manifested as religious and moral authority transcended into other arenas in life (Golash-Boza 8). In this case, those who did not practice the same religion or share the same morals and worldviews were considered uncivilized. Thus, these uncivilized people needed to be “saved” or “civilized” by any means necessary. The “uncivilized” were conveniently utilized as source of labor and English colonists accumulated their wealth off the economic exploitation of European indentured servants and African slaves (Golash-Boza 14). Racial division among slaves formed when the slave codes were passed; plantation owners feared being overthrown by the entire slave class (Golash-Boza 17-21). Over time human difference was articulated through racial discourse and the meaning of white became inclusionary and exclusionary to outside members. In this case, those who are classified as white are those who benefit. Racial categories are dynamic because there is a constant struggle for power. Those who have power naturalize this social inequality and therefore the hegemonic establish a legacy of inequality. This naturalization process allows inequality to live in the conscious and unconscious mind. Consequently, it is up to individuals to recognize and challenge this inequality.