Scheid and Vasko’s Article on Racism
According to Scheid and Vasko’s article, white privilege mostly arises while in white universities; here, many students are unaware of their racial identity and they do not know how they fit in their own racial hierarchy. In America, many students assume that their races are superior to others. Hence, they use this to accomplish their racial malpractices.
In white moral innocence, many white students fail to realize that they have racial prejudices, and they unknowingly engage in behaviors that could be seen as racist. This attitude has encouraged them to take racism to a high level through explaining why regardless of the whites good intention, are seemed to benefit from racism. This has empowered the white students to claim innocent after committing racism to maintain their own moral innocence.
Finally, in white racial frame is the unconscious mental frame combining racial stereotypes, narratives and interpretation, images and languages among others. These presumes white superiority, virtual and moral goodness.
Concept of race by W.E.B Du Bois
W.E.B Du Bois claims that his ancestors, both maternal and paternal, had an African origin. Therefore, he carries the African blood like his paternal grandfather. He claims that his grandfather, Alexander Du Bois, married into the colored group and his oldest son allied himself with a Negro clan but four generations removed from Africa. His father married from barghardts clan, which comprised of the blacks. He also argues that Africa, to him, is his mother land as he was born in the century when the wall of race were clear and straight.
This argument is valid as he has first explained about his origin; truly his ancestors had originated from Africa where his great-great grandfather was brought to America from Western Africa coast as a slave.
However, this cannot guarantee that he is an African as many generations have passed; he agrees that he had only one direct connection with the African culture, the melody from his great-grandmother. As the melody was passed from generation to generation its meaning was lost. In my opinion, W.E.B Du Bois would have shown more interest to the African culture and tried to pass it to other Negros in America.
