Racial Construction

A few minutes ago, In my sociology class of Race, Gender, Class and Ethnicity; We have talked about this concept of Racial Construction. Most importantly, we watched the California Newsreel's Documentary made possible by PBS titled: Race-The Power of an Illusion.

First let me admit that this video was a slap in the face to me. I always thought that the construction of race was entirely biological, that our similarities as well as differences are entirely genetically based. To learn that geography justifies racial construction more than biology which by the way has nothing to do with racial construction was quite a moment in my life. Although, I would admit that I knew about this economical, social and political manipulations of race ideologies in order for some racial groups to gain social, economic and politic power over other racial groups.

I have also found out that the notion of “White race as normative”, also came from the Nazi's SS idea of being the elites. The pure blood. Those born to rule. The race of the future. That is why up until after the fall of Germany and Hitler by the late 1945, many immigrants who came from Northwestern Europe to the US where still considering themselves superior to all other racial groups.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRg_jD7XNws

At the end of the class, a question came up on the screen; “Considering the readings, do you think it 's possible to move beyond racial division?” Here is my personal opinion on the matter and feel free to disagree. It took over 300 years to build this psychological concept of Eugenic and to erase this concept of one racial group being superior to other racial groups in people's minds it is going to take far more than 300 years to reach that point. Here's an example, I did not know the Benedict XVIth and I happen to meet him on the streets and rob his expensive Egyptian cotton hand made gown. When the cops come, even him as a pope will refer me to the cops as Black male first. Reversely, if he happens to be the one who robs my whatever I have, I will refer him to the cops as a white male first. My point is, race is the first thing we notice about people and it is going to be there. Nevertheless, in order to move beyond racial division, we just need to eliminate all the prejudices. We need to consider people's action as individually based and not representing characteristics of a particular racial group.

Please watch this video...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVhE3Muh3co