Tuesday, September 2, 2014
How Race is Lived in America - Chapter Two Comment
As I was reading chapter two, I was struck by the way society can alter someone's racial identity. The boys followed in the chapter started out as very close friends in Cuba, paying no mind to the fact that one was black and the other white. As soon as they moved to America, however, they were thrust into separate racial groups and Ruiz in particular, it seemed, felt obligated to behave in ways his group told him were acceptable. He also experienced prejudice for the first time due to this racial group imposed upon him. In my opinion this shows that, at least in this case, race and racial identity are dependent upon the society in question and the norms that society sets up for each group of people.
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OK, this is an OK start, but let's probe a bit deeper with some anthropological insight...In particular, Heather's last sentence represents the beginning of a conversation about race and culture...can we get some additional comments that perhaps :flesh out" this idea a bit more?
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ReplyDeleteWhile I was reading chapter two I was struck by the vastly different experiences that the two friends had once they had immigrated to the US. I was unaware that Cubans separated themselves according to color once here in the United States. While in Cuba racial discrimination is not, I gathered from the reading, as blatant as it can be here. Why then did the young men fall into the trap of racism so easily? All of the racially based distrust, fear and stereotyping that afflicts our nation instantly separated the friends once they reached Miami. Both young men had to find a place of acceptance within their communities and for that to happen they had to learn to navigate in a racially charged culture. I agree with Castro in the belief that National identity is more important (and less harmful) than racial identity only because it narrows the gap between races.
One of the fascinating anthropological issues raised by this chapter is the question of how racial identities and meanings are learned by immigrants when they immigrate to a new country. Anthropologists call the process of learning "how to be" American (or what ever culture) enculturation. Describe the experiences of Joel and Achmed in becoming acculturated to life in America as a black man and a white man.
ReplyDeleteI think that one of the major themes of this chapter is race identity over national identity. As was described, the racial situation in Cuba was intimately tied with revolutionary concepts. To bring up racial issues was to reject the revolution's stated goals (and supposed victories). Racial identity wasn't something people could rally around because it wasn't a recognized aspect of Cuban political culture. As Americans, Joel and Achmed had to contend with American conceptions of race, but also their own ideas about what race is, and how racial divisions fit within the context of other social categories like economics and representative politics. Modern American racism is something they learned as adults rather than as children. It's not enough to reduce things down to white and black, though there is that, but in America, race and nationality become intertwined into micro-racial cultures: African American or Cuban Black, Caucasian or light skinned Cuban (though, the latter has the advantage over both former categories). To the wider American audience, these two groups are respectively homogenized. In the context of this story it is easy to understand how one group sees a bright middle class just over the horizon, while the other finds himself tangled up in what used to be relatively foreign; not just with the traffic stops, but primarily with the feeling of being constantly watched when in the white neighborhoods and shops. As Achmed says regarding their meet-up, it is easier for me to cross the line than it is for him (Joel). This sums up so much of what is going on in this chapter: The differences in opportunities afforded to two people of practically the same national and cultural backgrounds and how their perceptions of each others "ethnic categories" have changed after becoming acculturated into an overtly racial environment.
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