Is it possible to be a racist without trying? If one was raised with the idea of
segregation as a normal occurrence among schools and other activities, are they
the ones in the way of a truly united America?
In Bonilla-Silva’s Racism Without
Racists, he explains Naturalization, one of the four central frames of
color-blind racism as: “ [A way] to rationalize whites’ preferences for whites
as significant others” (pg. 37). The
idea does not only stretch to significant others, but can also refer to basic
interaction in daily lives. This frame of
mind essentially states that races like to be with their own kind, because it
is a natural occurrence.
As crazy as
it may seem, if someone had given me that explanation as to why segregation is
so prevalent in America, I would have completely agreed before this class. It seems to me that people would feel more
comfortable around their own kind because they feel safe and secure. I can relate this very closely to my old high
school lunches. There was always one
side of the room with whites and another side with blacks and latinos. The only time anyone from another race would
intermingle was because they were athletes or in some club activity
together. Very rarely did someone go out
of their comfort zone unless they were forced to. Just the intimidation alone shown from all of
these groups is enough to make someone feel uncomfortable and not want to try
to intermingle.
However, it
seems like social status also has a lot to do with racial the natural frame of
color-blind racism. According to Project
Censored, U.S. schools are currently more segregated than they were in the
1950’s. Even in rural areas it is a
problem, with: “73 percent [white
students] attend schools that are 80 to 100 percent white”(pg. 2). With rural areas barely experiencing any race
change throughout their lives, many could believe in this framework of
colorblind racism. Maybe it is just
natural that the minorities would want to be in schools where they feel
comfortable among their peers. If a
mindset like that is easy to believe in a college setting, it might as well be
second nature for high school students to believe the same thing.
According
to an article in the Chicago Reader, the sponsor of the first colored school
that was opened up in Chicago had a school renamed for him that is now 98
percent black. This school was created
by the government to keep blacks separate from whites in their learning
environments in Chicago. Many of the
blacks at this school could have believed that it was natural for them to attend
this school. If it was a school created
for their specific race, then it should be a school that they would want to
attend. No matter how bad crime or gang
violence could have been around the area, blacks may have continued to go to
the school because they still believe it to be their natural place of education
even after the segregation law was changed just as many of the whites in that
area of Chicago may think.
The
Naturalization framework gives whites a way to think that racism and
segregation is ok because it is a natural phenomenon. With this way of thinking it is easy for one
to brush over the fact that all of these races could be working together. Many whites with this idealism may not even
know that what they are thinking is part of racism and a major factor of
segregation. Proving that this is not
natural may be the way to bring someone out of this logic.
Sources:
Chicago Reader - http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/segregated-schools-desegregation-city-suburbs-history-solutions/Content?oid=9992386
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