Racial Institutionalization
Race and racism may have changed tremendously over historical time, moving from slavery to freedom, and from empire to post-colonialism, but the concept of race and phenotypical differences remained embedded in society and in the minds of people throughout different countries. The racial classification and racial hierarchization of the world was a deeply established sociohistorical fact (Winant 135). The post-world war II break brought to light the long gestation of racial tensions that had accumulated in the modern world over centuries, and made it clear that a social and political change must occur. The process of slow institutional change but no social changes is evident in the United States, South Africa, and Brazil. In the beginning, the dehumanizing and criminalization of blacks throughout history has crippled them socioeconomically and were reinforced by many policies from the governments. These post-colonial countries’ governments transitioned from black suppression from slavery to black suppression in a political sense. The destruction of the worldwide System of
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human Slavery was the point at which race became a proper political issue (Winant 112). With the implementation of laws such as the Jim Crow laws in the United States and the Apartheid legislation in South Africa, the government successfully began a system of dominance over the colored population that still exist today. Greed and white superiority were the driving forces for whites to exploit colored people. Although there has been efforts to impede racism and discrimination throughout history around the world, they still reflect a pattern of racial inequality, injustice and domination that is still evident today. In early 1500s, known as the enlightenment period, people all over the world began to view the world in a different way. Europeans began to use rational reasoning for things in life, rather than assuming it was the works of God. As people began to stray away from the Church’s teachings, science became a source of authority. An important idea that developed during this time was Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection. The idea that natural life and species interactions experience a process of “survival of the fittest”. This idea was manipulated into a social understanding and developed into concept of “Social Darwinism”. White European colonists established their white superiority by scientifically explaining the phenotypical differences between darker skinned people and whites. Racial scientists put white Europeans at the top of the social hierarchy and assumed other non-white races were inferior based on these “scientific” finding. The comparison of skull sizes of different races by racial scientists during this time period led to the idea that blacks and colored people were culturally and socially inept and in need of being “civilized”. With a huge emphasis on skull size, a conclusion was made that the human brain and skull sizes correlate directly to intelligence and the capacity to be civilized (Wade 121). This Scientific racism and social Darwinism intertwined with imperialism and capitalism perpetuated the justification to enslave and to dehumanize people of darker skin complexion by white European colonists. These ideas during the early age colonial period led to the Transatlantic Slave Trade that occurred between the 15th century and the 19th century which was a major cause of the dispersal of Black Africans to countries all around the world, including the United States and Brazil. Africans were forcefully taken from their homes and shipped to different continents to be used as manual labor for the agricultural needs of a nation. As many of as 30 million Africans were taken and sold during this slave trade while millions of other Africans were not fortunate enough to survive the voyages. Each country had their respective struggles with racism, discrimination and segregation. Throughout history we can see how the more things change, the more they remain the same. It was not until the end of the Civil War in 1865 and the ratification of the fourteenth Amendment in the U.S constitution that blacks would have their first brush with freedom. After the Civil War in the United States, millions of slaves were freed from the plantations and land of the whites. This was known as the Reconstruction era and only lead to the reconstruction of black oppression. A national white unity developed which eventually drove the strict segregation system known as the Jim Crow laws. The government established strict segregation laws but emphasized the idea of “separate but equal” by providing blacks and whites the same public commodities. Under the Jim Crow laws, the government would guarantee “separate but equal” protection to all American citizens, but this equality was not true. Although colored people were given the same public commodities, the commodity of the colored people would be much less quality than the white’s. Segregation and Discrimination play a key role in economic inequality because the neighborhoods of the black population were much poorer and less well-serviced meaning the government did not invest as much into the public areas for blacks (Wade 288). This was primarily the issue with education during this time period. Not only were public schools segregated, the public schools in black neighborhoods were poorly funded which led to a worse quality education compared to the education white children would receive. A law enacted prior to the abolition of slavery can be traced to be the source of the majority of white wealth today. The Homestead Act signed into law in 1862 offered white settlers up to 160 acres of public land for a small filing fee. This was detrimental to the black population because since land can be equated to one’s wealth, the white population was given a tremendous financial head start compared to blacks. The Homestead Act led to the distribution of over 80 million acres of public land by 1900 (Primary Documents in American History). By 1934 the National Housing Act was enacted which developed the redlining, the practice of refusing mortgages in specific neighborhoods based on their race or ethnicity. Similar to how Jim Crow laws successfully segregated and discriminated blacks from whites, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) successfully discriminated against ethnic groups of specific neighborhoods by denying financial services such mortgage or business loans which economically crippled these communities for years to come. This residential segregation created the modern day ghettos and poor socioeconomic standings of many blacks in the United States. Blacks were not able to effectively participate politically for almost a century after the promise of the 15th Amendment in 1870 stating that “the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied” (Primary documents in American History) Although blacks were not directly denied from voting, the government made it so blacks had to go through extra steps to vote which were very inconvenient. Poll taxes made it extremely difficult for low income people (blacks) to vote because they could not afford to invest in the poll fees therefore could not vote. Since the educational system failed the black population, many blacks were illiterate and were denied the right to vote because it was assumed blacks could not understand the voting process. Many states only allowed property owners to vote and during this time, little to no blacks owned land so were denied the right to vote. Laws also stated that former prisoners were not allowed to vote. Since blacks were often arrested and given charges for minor offenses, many blacks were not allowed to vote. Black suppression did not come to an end once they were granted freedom from slavery, rather it just took shape into political stand point which allowed for a larger scale dominance over the black population which is still evident today. Ta-Nehisi Coates accurately describes the racial problems in the United States. “America’s problem is not its betrayal of government of the people, but the means which the people acquire their names” (Coates 21). A government reflects the ideologies of the Nation, and as long as there is still the power to define people racially, racism and discrimination will continue to exist. Coates also introduces the idea of “the dream” which is a different perspective of the “American dream”. The Pursuit of happiness and success is different for those of color.
There is no doubt that the government created the socioeconomic standing of the black population in South Africa as well.
New means of exploitation had to be established, especially in the colonies (South Africa) and agricultural hinterlands that had previously depended on slavery (Winant 93). With the implementation of the 1913 Natives Land Act, the government prohibited Native Africans to own land, a form of wealth, which crippled the African population economically and socially because although they were granted their freedom, they were not fully granted equality. The Native Land Act of 1913 sought to eliminate the native subsistence farming forcing them to rely on wage labor for survival (Winant 98). Similar to the land ownership issue in the United States, black South Africans were denied the opportunity to own land which would disadvantage the black population tremendously for years to
come.
Financial oppression and political disenfranchisement has been the tactics of the government to ultimately weaken an ethnic group and to prevent any change. The key method of changing any institutionalized government policy would have to be by voting. Taking this right away from the people would ensure the dominance over them. It was not until 1994 during the fall of Apartheid when the government would allow their first all-race election. The enactment of the Representation of Natives Act in 1936 denied black South Africans the right to vote with the “common voters” and separated them into a category of “native voters”. Similar to the efforts of the United States’ government to disenfranchise blacks by making them go through a strenuous process to vote, the South African government stripped the importance of black voters which led to the white population being the sole enfranchised group. In South Africa, It was not until 1834 when slavery was abolished that Africans would get their first glimpse of their false freedom. For years to come, Africans would experience a strict form of segregation that limited their mobility around the country, and allocated their time to be invested in labor intensive corporations. The black population was controlled and supervised in the mining industry’s closed compounds. Slavery was mimicked by forcing the black workers to spend their leisure time in these poor quality compound housing. Blacks were seen as natural thieves and criminals and were thought to be stealing from the mining compounds so this allowed for extra supervision of the black workers in hopes of increasing company profits. The Kimberley Central Diamond Mining Company would find its downfall not because of the quality of labor, but because of poor excavation sites. In addition, under the pass laws in South Africa, blacks were required to carry documentation that specified their purpose for being in the urban area and which labor force they belonged to. This regulated the black presence in the urban areas and reinforced the segregation that the government intended. Blacks could easily be incarcerated if they failed to provide these document and in most cases blacks were unable to pay the fine to be release, leading to the overcrowding of the local prisons. This created an atmosphere that viewed blacks as criminals. In 1952, the pass laws were abolished, but black oppression and black control were once again repeated with a larger required document known as the reference book. Blacks have always been the recipients of violence and hatred throughout history. The brutality of slavery did not dissipate after its abolishment. In many cases the police force took unnecessary excessive force against the non-violent resistance of the blacks South Africa. During a day of demonstration against the Pass Laws and Reference book laws, South African police forces opened fire onto the crowd of unarmed black protesters. This is known as the Sharpeville Massacre that killed 69 people and injured hundreds more. Violence has been the primary means of controlling a population and is evident in the United States and South Africa with many police brutality cases.
Blacks and colored people in Brazil also experienced economic and social inequality. A parallel can be drawn from the history of slavery in the South Africa and the United states to the history of slavery and racial castes in Brazil. Brazil was one of the main shipment locations during the transatlantic slave trade and can account to a majority of the slaves that were imported from Africa to the Americas. Brazil was in fact one of the last Western world countries to abolish slavery. It was not until 1888 that the Afro-Brazilian population would see their freedom. The economic inequality in Brazil, just like in the United States and South Africa, can be found in the conflict of land ownership. As much as 50 percent of the lad in Brazil is owned by four percent of the population. The trace roots of the Portuguese colonists being the dominant land owners demonstrates the power of exploitation of the indigenous people. The struggle for land equality leads into socioeconomic inequalities which can be seen throughout history. The world has undergone tremendous changes as countries slowly transitioned from slavery to freedom. Racism has definitely become a political battle that is still present today. The racist social structures and racial practices that were established early on in history has been deeply engrained in society and will allow race and ethnicity to always be prevalent. The injustice done to the colored population is slowly being institutionally amended but the ideas of change for these inequality will follow a pattern of false change. As long as people have the power to racially categorize others, there will always be a sense of domination over one another. With respect to the past, there has been much change and hopefully more change for the better will come in the mere future.
human Slavery was the point at which race became a proper political issue (Winant 112). With the implementation of laws such as the Jim Crow laws in the United States and the Apartheid legislation in South Africa, the government successfully began a system of dominance over the colored population that still exist today. Greed and white superiority were the driving forces for whites to exploit colored people. Although there has been efforts to impede racism and discrimination throughout history around the world, they still reflect a pattern of racial inequality, injustice and domination that is still evident today. In early 1500s, known as the enlightenment period, people all over the world began to view the world in a different way. Europeans began to use rational reasoning for things in life, rather than assuming it was the works of God. As people began to stray away from the Church’s teachings, science became a source of authority. An important idea that developed during this time was Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection. The idea that natural life and species interactions experience a process of “survival of the fittest”. This idea was manipulated into a social understanding and developed into concept of “Social Darwinism”. White European colonists established their white superiority by scientifically explaining the phenotypical differences between darker skinned people and whites. Racial scientists put white Europeans at the top of the social hierarchy and assumed other non-white races were inferior based on these “scientific” finding. The comparison of skull sizes of different races by racial scientists during this time period led to the idea that blacks and colored people were culturally and socially inept and in need of being “civilized”. With a huge emphasis on skull size, a conclusion was made that the human brain and skull sizes correlate directly to intelligence and the capacity to be civilized (Wade 121). This Scientific racism and social Darwinism intertwined with imperialism and capitalism perpetuated the justification to enslave and to dehumanize people of darker skin complexion by white European colonists. These ideas during the early age colonial period led to the Transatlantic Slave Trade that occurred between the 15th century and the 19th century which was a major cause of the dispersal of Black Africans to countries all around the world, including the United States and Brazil. Africans were forcefully taken from their homes and shipped to different continents to be used as manual labor for the agricultural needs of a nation. As many of as 30 million Africans were taken and sold during this slave trade while millions of other Africans were not fortunate enough to survive the voyages. Each country had their respective struggles with racism, discrimination and segregation. Throughout history we can see how the more things change, the more they remain the same. It was not until the end of the Civil War in 1865 and the ratification of the fourteenth Amendment in the U.S constitution that blacks would have their first brush with freedom. After the Civil War in the United States, millions of slaves were freed from the plantations and land of the whites. This was known as the Reconstruction era and only lead to the reconstruction of black oppression. A national white unity developed which eventually drove the strict segregation system known as the Jim Crow laws. The government established strict segregation laws but emphasized the idea of “separate but equal” by providing blacks and whites the same public commodities. Under the Jim Crow laws, the government would guarantee “separate but equal” protection to all American citizens, but this equality was not true. Although colored people were given the same public commodities, the commodity of the colored people would be much less quality than the white’s. Segregation and Discrimination play a key role in economic inequality because the neighborhoods of the black population were much poorer and less well-serviced meaning the government did not invest as much into the public areas for blacks (Wade 288). This was primarily the issue with education during this time period. Not only were public schools segregated, the public schools in black neighborhoods were poorly funded which led to a worse quality education compared to the education white children would receive. A law enacted prior to the abolition of slavery can be traced to be the source of the majority of white wealth today. The Homestead Act signed into law in 1862 offered white settlers up to 160 acres of public land for a small filing fee. This was detrimental to the black population because since land can be equated to one’s wealth, the white population was given a tremendous financial head start compared to blacks. The Homestead Act led to the distribution of over 80 million acres of public land by 1900 (Primary Documents in American History). By 1934 the National Housing Act was enacted which developed the redlining, the practice of refusing mortgages in specific neighborhoods based on their race or ethnicity. Similar to how Jim Crow laws successfully segregated and discriminated blacks from whites, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) successfully discriminated against ethnic groups of specific neighborhoods by denying financial services such mortgage or business loans which economically crippled these communities for years to come. This residential segregation created the modern day ghettos and poor socioeconomic standings of many blacks in the United States. Blacks were not able to effectively participate politically for almost a century after the promise of the 15th Amendment in 1870 stating that “the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied” (Primary documents in American History) Although blacks were not directly denied from voting, the government made it so blacks had to go through extra steps to vote which were very inconvenient. Poll taxes made it extremely difficult for low income people (blacks) to vote because they could not afford to invest in the poll fees therefore could not vote. Since the educational system failed the black population, many blacks were illiterate and were denied the right to vote because it was assumed blacks could not understand the voting process. Many states only allowed property owners to vote and during this time, little to no blacks owned land so were denied the right to vote. Laws also stated that former prisoners were not allowed to vote. Since blacks were often arrested and given charges for minor offenses, many blacks were not allowed to vote. Black suppression did not come to an end once they were granted freedom from slavery, rather it just took shape into political stand point which allowed for a larger scale dominance over the black population which is still evident today. Ta-Nehisi Coates accurately describes the racial problems in the United States. “America’s problem is not its betrayal of government of the people, but the means which the people acquire their names” (Coates 21). A government reflects the ideologies of the Nation, and as long as there is still the power to define people racially, racism and discrimination will continue to exist. Coates also introduces the idea of “the dream” which is a different perspective of the “American dream”. The Pursuit of happiness and success is different for those of color.
There is no doubt that the government created the socioeconomic standing of the black population in South Africa as well.
New means of exploitation had to be established, especially in the colonies (South Africa) and agricultural hinterlands that had previously depended on slavery (Winant 93). With the implementation of the 1913 Natives Land Act, the government prohibited Native Africans to own land, a form of wealth, which crippled the African population economically and socially because although they were granted their freedom, they were not fully granted equality. The Native Land Act of 1913 sought to eliminate the native subsistence farming forcing them to rely on wage labor for survival (Winant 98). Similar to the land ownership issue in the United States, black South Africans were denied the opportunity to own land which would disadvantage the black population tremendously for years to
come.
Financial oppression and political disenfranchisement has been the tactics of the government to ultimately weaken an ethnic group and to prevent any change. The key method of changing any institutionalized government policy would have to be by voting. Taking this right away from the people would ensure the dominance over them. It was not until 1994 during the fall of Apartheid when the government would allow their first all-race election. The enactment of the Representation of Natives Act in 1936 denied black South Africans the right to vote with the “common voters” and separated them into a category of “native voters”. Similar to the efforts of the United States’ government to disenfranchise blacks by making them go through a strenuous process to vote, the South African government stripped the importance of black voters which led to the white population being the sole enfranchised group. In South Africa, It was not until 1834 when slavery was abolished that Africans would get their first glimpse of their false freedom. For years to come, Africans would experience a strict form of segregation that limited their mobility around the country, and allocated their time to be invested in labor intensive corporations. The black population was controlled and supervised in the mining industry’s closed compounds. Slavery was mimicked by forcing the black workers to spend their leisure time in these poor quality compound housing. Blacks were seen as natural thieves and criminals and were thought to be stealing from the mining compounds so this allowed for extra supervision of the black workers in hopes of increasing company profits. The Kimberley Central Diamond Mining Company would find its downfall not because of the quality of labor, but because of poor excavation sites. In addition, under the pass laws in South Africa, blacks were required to carry documentation that specified their purpose for being in the urban area and which labor force they belonged to. This regulated the black presence in the urban areas and reinforced the segregation that the government intended. Blacks could easily be incarcerated if they failed to provide these document and in most cases blacks were unable to pay the fine to be release, leading to the overcrowding of the local prisons. This created an atmosphere that viewed blacks as criminals. In 1952, the pass laws were abolished, but black oppression and black control were once again repeated with a larger required document known as the reference book. Blacks have always been the recipients of violence and hatred throughout history. The brutality of slavery did not dissipate after its abolishment. In many cases the police force took unnecessary excessive force against the non-violent resistance of the blacks South Africa. During a day of demonstration against the Pass Laws and Reference book laws, South African police forces opened fire onto the crowd of unarmed black protesters. This is known as the Sharpeville Massacre that killed 69 people and injured hundreds more. Violence has been the primary means of controlling a population and is evident in the United States and South Africa with many police brutality cases.
Blacks and colored people in Brazil also experienced economic and social inequality. A parallel can be drawn from the history of slavery in the South Africa and the United states to the history of slavery and racial castes in Brazil. Brazil was one of the main shipment locations during the transatlantic slave trade and can account to a majority of the slaves that were imported from Africa to the Americas. Brazil was in fact one of the last Western world countries to abolish slavery. It was not until 1888 that the Afro-Brazilian population would see their freedom. The economic inequality in Brazil, just like in the United States and South Africa, can be found in the conflict of land ownership. As much as 50 percent of the lad in Brazil is owned by four percent of the population. The trace roots of the Portuguese colonists being the dominant land owners demonstrates the power of exploitation of the indigenous people. The struggle for land equality leads into socioeconomic inequalities which can be seen throughout history. The world has undergone tremendous changes as countries slowly transitioned from slavery to freedom. Racism has definitely become a political battle that is still present today. The racist social structures and racial practices that were established early on in history has been deeply engrained in society and will allow race and ethnicity to always be prevalent. The injustice done to the colored population is slowly being institutionally amended but the ideas of change for these inequality will follow a pattern of false change. As long as people have the power to racially categorize others, there will always be a sense of domination over one another. With respect to the past, there has been much change and hopefully more change for the better will come in the mere future.