According to the article “My Class Didn’t Trump My Race: Using Oppression to Face
Privilege” by Robin J. DiAngelo, racism is identified to contribute to historical concepts on social and cultural elements, which are found to dominant in almost all societies (Robin 52). From the article, racism and ethnicity is coined under cultural identities and it’s defined as the assertion that certain abilities or characteristics can be accredited to certain people, merely on the basis of their race and ethnicity, and that some racial groups are more superior to others .The current issues of racism have been contributed by historical concepts of structural inequalities, which have been perpetuated by differences among individuals per se, where differences among people have been systematized, thus establishing the building blocks of inequality in the society (Robin 54) .Structural inequalities that have contributed to this contemporary racialized outcome tend to relate to the elements of ethnic discrimination, social segregation in respect to education, housing, transportation, and health care, and legal deprivation which are all based on class ,religion ,race ,and gender discrimination. In most of the cases, racism is taken with a negative note or concept since it demarcates some society members from the rest of the members. For instance, the issues of racism were clearly manifested in the United States of America during the twentieth century. Such racial aspects were common among the white Americans and the black Americans .Despite this, racism publicity which dominated in the United States of America it did not mean that racial aspects were not common in other societies in the world (Robin 56)
The author’s arguments are very credible in that they present an issue that as been tormenting human kind for a very long time. Racism is established as societal issues which as been there since time immemorial. The article is convincing in that the author presents a systematic approaches which shows the chronology of racism and regard that most individuals are in most situations racially comfortable and look ahead to remain so. The article is also convincing in that the author presents the causative factors of racisms and points out what needs to be done to alleviate the social issue (Robin 54). The article is also convincing because the author uses common-sense guidelines and tips to help readers to know how to avoid racial stereotypes and appreciate other people regardless of their origin and skin color.
The author's underlying assumptions in respect to this issue is that racisms is fueled by our ignorance and in most situation people seem to accept it. The author attributes racial prejudice to have emanated from the issue of acculturation and exists due to permanent features which exist between communities in a given society. Unlike acculturation which is based on cultural practices, racial aspects are permanent and cannot be changed. . For instance, the color or the origin of a person cannot be changed (Robin 55).
B).
Questions for class dialogues
What is the significance of racism in the society?
Does one race determine future performance and productivity?
How does race shapes ones life?
What are the major causes of racial oppression?
Can racisms be prevented?
Does one ethnic and race affect employability?
Is ones racism a privilege?
Terms and / or concepts encountered in this reading.
Race – group of people having common ancestry or background
Segregation – the act of separating individuals based on specific characteristics they have such
skin color, age, level of education, sex
Multicultural – consisting of more than one culture.
Discrimination – unfair treatment of an individual based on their age, sexual orientation, education, ethnic affiliation or race
Affirmative Action – policy aimed at averting issues related with discrimination.
Stereotype – standardized belief or assumption about a particular concept held by majority of people.
Culture –a form of identity through which specific individuals are identified and known to belong to
Dominance – supremacy or control over another individual
Work Cited
Robin, DiAngelo.My Class Didn’t Trump My Race: Using Oppression to Face Privilege.
Multicultural Perspectives, 8(1), 52–56.
