Summary of Cornel West Race Matters.
The concepts of race and ethnicity appeared to be one of the key concepts in quasi-scientific theories and typologies in human communities. In modern sociological theories, race, along with gender, age and physical abilities, creates the core social inequalities. The article provided is divided into two parts. The first chapter is named as ‘The pitfalls of racial reasoning’ and the second one talks about the crisis of black leadership.
Modern human race appearance was formed as a result of a complex historical development of racial groups living in isolation, evolving and disappearing. The processes that are characteristic for the human mind are not fully understood by scientists, although, no doubt, this area is of great interest. People who have in their hands the keys to control another's mind can easily manipulate the public, seeking their own benefit or to sell expensive right of access, extracting from it. In the science of the mind there is the concept of cognitive distortion, which is known as repeating the error of thinking that all people have. Some of these errors are not harmful (and one might even say that it is useful), but many lead to inaccurate judgments and the fact that humans do not think rationally. One knows some of the common pitfalls that gets people through errors of consciousness. One of such pitfall is racial based thinking and stereotyping. “In short, blackness is a political and ethical construct” (West 39). Moreover, the political construct is even more important. However, studies show that at the group level, ethnic conflict is universal. In all countries where there is a variety in the fields of religion, ethnicity or race, it becomes a cause of conflict. For most of the postwar period, sociologists and political scientists have assumed that this is a problem relic that with the development of society will be replaced by competition on the basis of class or profession. Some researchers concluded that ethnicity is based on a common origin and are usually more important than class membership, based on common interests. Hence, the author underlines the importance of prophetic framework. “If most black leaders had adopted a prophetic framework of moral reasoning rather than a narrow framework of racial reasoning, the debate over the Clarence Thomas/ Anita Hill hearings would have proceeded in a quite different manner in black America” (West 44)
What is the reason of the crisis of black leadership? The major characteristic of black leadership is its dedication to the middle class and their diversified basis. “Present day political leaders can be grouped under three types: race effacing managerial leaders, race identifying protest leaders, and race transcending prophetic leaders” (West 59). The author also defines three types of black intellectuals, where some of them are focused on race inequality and the others do not pay that attention to this factor. One could agree that there is no unity between race representatives, which caused the crisis of black leadership.
The connection of Race Matters with Marable, Manning, and Leith Mullings. Let Nobody Turn Us Around
The second article is based on the anthropological issues, associated with ethnicity community. Anthropological racial material has a great importance for the solution of a number of human origin problems of the modern type, and ethno genesis. Since the similarities of different groups on the anthropological features could suggest the genetic proximity of these groups, the anthropological data is a strong argument for the confirmation of an ethno genesis concept than the closeness of language and culture, which can occur as a result of borrowing at a mass movement and cultural contacts. Similarity on anthropological types is the result of close contact involving mixing of heterogeneous groups. This mixing is required to accompany the language and cultural interaction. Anthropological data are required in determining the ethnic strata from which the people were emerged, especially when the nation is formed in the contact zones of large races (North Africa, South and Central Asia, Western Siberia). These race knowledge could be used to refute pseudo-scientific racist concepts and form a correct idea of the differences in the morphological appearance of people. The specificity of the human race lies in the fact that it is characterized by a combination of features not in individuals, but in groups of people living in a particular area, and therefore one of the most important methods of racial analysis is the identification of the geographical distribution of racial characteristics. Moreover, those ethnicities have their common goal, in contrast only with political issue, discussed in the previous article. “The long term goal of black reform was the redefinition of America democracy itself: the elimination of all restrictions to the full participation of African Americans in the larger society” (Marable and Mullings 5). Consequently, it is fair to claim, that political spirit is impossible without ethnicity unity.
Critical reflection paper on the source provided called "'Hopelessness' Leads To Knife Crime". Express.co.uk.
Finally, it is essential to find a concept, which was studied a lot in modern society. For this assignment was chosen a concept of hopelessness. “Many young people felt they were victims of their own circumstances. Youngsters were beset by family and community breakdown, negative peer pressure and an education system which failed to provide many students with the right opportunities” ("'Hopelessness' Leads To Knife Crime"). The latter, in fact, brings a sufficient damage to the society, just like any discrimination. However, if racism is considered to be as group discrimination, the research chosen is based on the personal basis discrimination.
Works Cited
"'Hopelessness' Leads To Knife Crime". Express.co.uk. N.p., 2008. Web. 4 Apr. 2016.
Marable, Manning, and Leith Mullings. Let Nobody Turn Us Around. Lanham: Rowman
& Littlefield, 2000. Print.
West, Cornel. Race Matters. Boston: Beacon Press, 1993. Print.
