Racism is one of the most important topics that children have been taught at schools for a long time now. The reasons for such amount of attention to the issue are reflected in the most recent history of the human kind, when the suppression of one group of people by the other started being justified on the basis of race and misbelief in innate inferiority of these groups to each other. Yet, despite many educational efforts aimed at increasing the race literacy, many people still operate with the surface knowledge about races and racism, which, in turn, can bring harm people affected by the latter. To estimate and improve my own literacy, I took the Race Literacy Quiz on the California Newsreel website, and while undergoing the test, I found out that I too still have lack of knowledge in some questions, as well as misperceptions about the history of racism and the current situation in our society.
My first false assumption was about how the members of different races could be identified. Although I knew that there are no differences in the blood type or genes of all races, I happened to answer that the ancestry could partially help identify the race of the person; however, now only have I been reminded that all people originated from Africa, but also learned that if I attempted at tracing my family back 30 generations, I would be able to learn about one billion of my ancestors (“Race Literacy Quiz”).
The next false assumption that I no longer have is that the idea of supremacy of white people appeared during Indian removal or slavery. However, I found out that due to the equality of all men proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence American people, who advocated slavery, started stating that the racial differences were inherent and gave the right for the white people to oppress the black slaves, who were initially brought to Americas because “unlike the Indians, they were resistant to European diseases; they couldn't easily run away; they were not Christians (and hence unprotected by English law); and they were skilled semi-tropical farmers”, as well as because the first immigrants from Europe rebelled against their servitude (“Race Literacy Quiz”).
While I understood that due to the racial discrimination throughout the history of the United States, the present generations of people of color are currently at a less advantageous socio-economic position compared to the white people, I was not aware about the severity of the situation. I guessed that the net worth of the average white family today was not more than three times as much. I believed that this was the correct answer because of the many steps and actions taken by the government and local communities to ensure equality and non-discrimination for many decades now. However, the quiz revealed that the net worth of the average white family was eight times as much as of the black family, an astonishing number that is explained by the impossibility for the people of color to accumulate and pass down wealth to the next generations in the past, as well as by the difference in home ownership rates and values of homes in different neighborhoods (“Race Literacy Quiz”).
When starting the quiz, I was sure that I would show good results and high level of knowledge about races and racism. However, it is evident that my literacy level was not as high as expected. While learning new information on the topic from the quiz answers, I find it very important that such tests are given to every student and adult in the country, as they might reveal to the people how much we lack the in-depth knowledge of this highly discussed and important topic. All Americans have learned about the condemnation of racism since childhood, but it is the general awareness of the majority of population about the details of the issue that will make a real and notable difference.
References
Race Literacy Quiz. (n.d.). California Newsreel. Retrieved October 24, 2014, from http://www.newsreel.org/guides/race/quiz.htm
