Compare the discrimination in the US against African-Americans with that against women, homosexuals, Native Americans, Latinos, Asians
The discrimination towards African Americans in the United States has been under the basis of a racial prejudice stemming from decades of slavery. Similarly, discrimination in the United States towards others have stemmed from the idea of minority groups or people in LGBT communities being considered as outsiders. What all these groups have in common is that each have experienced some kind prejudice based on a perceived notion of their inferiority. For example, since the time of Aristotle, women have been considered weaker and less adequate to men, or having less “authority”. From this perceived inferiority justified inequality has been used as rationalization for barring women from rights held by men, such as suffrage, until the early the 1900s. This is the trend for these groups that are considered inferior or that the system views as unfit for integration into their society. Also related to all these groups is how it was action against the system in place that led to an advancement in their rights and liberties.
I agree with your assessment that prejudice stems from notions of inferiority. However, these prejudiced notions are only the tip of the iceberg when talking about discrimination in the United States. Over many years, these prejudices have manifested themselves in structural discrimination against all of these groups. So a black child might face racist insults at school as well as an increased risk of incarceration, as black people are charged more frequently and given longer sentences than white people who commit the same crimes. I think that both types of discrimination constitute Du Bois's inescapable Veil.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I think it's important to note that all of the categories in Professor Chalmers' question overlap. A queer African-American woman will face compounded structural inequalities based on her sexuality, her gender, and her race.