Sneak Preview History of Racism Edited by Lezlee Hinesmon-Matthews Included in this preview: • Copyright Page • Table of Contents • Excerpt of Chapter 1 For additional information on adopting this book for your class, please contact us at 800.200.3908 x71 or via e-mail at [email protected] Sneak Preview HISTORY OF RACISM Edited by Lezlee Hinesmon-Matthews California State University, Fullerton Copyright © 2010 by Lezlee Hinesmon-Matthews. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted, reproduced, transmitted, or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereaft er invented, includ- ing photocopying, microfi lming, and recording, or in any information retrieval system without the written permission of University Readers, Inc. First published in the United States of America in 2010 by Cognella, a division of University Readers, Inc. Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trade- marks, and are used only for identifi cation and explanation without intent to infringe. 14 13 12 11 10 1 2 3 4 5 Printed in the United States of America ISBN: 978-1-935551-72-0 CONTENTS Preface vii Acknowledgments ix Introduction xi PART 1 KEY TERMS CHAPTER 1 1 Understanding and Conceptualizing Racism Th e Conservation of Races 3 W. E. B. DuBois Racist America: Racist Ideology as a Social Force 13 Joe R. Feagin CHAPTER 2 33 Th eories of Racism Th e Skull Measurer’s Mistake 35 Friedrich Tiedemann CHAPTER 3 41 Whiteness Whiteness as Contingent Hierarchies: Who Counts as White and Why 43 Steve Garner Becoming Hispanic: Mexican Americans and Whiteness 65 Neil Foley CHAPTER 4 77 Institutional Racism Passage to Racism 79 Christopher Bates Doob PART 2 SPECIFIC WAYS THAT RACISM BECOMES MANIFEST CHAPTER 5 97 Individual and Cultural Racism: Th eoretical Framework Asian Americans and the Shift ing Politics of Race: Asian Americans 99 as Victim and Success Stories Rowena Robles Hill, Th omas, and the Use of Racial Stereotype 115 Nell Irvin Painter Individual Racism 125 Joseph Barndt Are Jews White? Or, Th e History of the Nose Job 135 Sander L. Gilman CHAPTER 6 147 Racism and Housing Th e Second Ghetto and the ‘Infi ltration Th eory’ 149 in Urban Real Estate, 1940–1960 Raymond A. Mohl A House Is Not a Home: White Racism and U.S. Housing Practices 161 Joe R. Feagin CHAPTER 7 171 Racism and Education Housing and Education: Th e Inextricable Link 173 Deborah L. McKoy and Jeff rey M. Vincent CHAPTER 8 203 Racism and Employment Th e New Deal 205 John Hope Franklin Th e $40 Million Slave: Th e Dilemma of Wealth Without Control 213 William C. Rhoden CHAPTER 9 219 Racism and Criminal Justice Racial Disparities 221 Renford Reese Capital Punishment as Legal Lynching? 227 Timothy V. Kaufman-Osborn PART 3 STRATEGIES OF ADDRESSING RACISM CHAPTER 10 245 Strategies of Addressing Racism Racism and Feminism 247 bell hooks CHAPTER 11 267 Confronting Racism on a Macro Level Th e Mississippi Civil Rights Movement and Its Legacy 269 Kenneth T. Andrews CHAPTER 12 305 Arenas for Individual and Group Strategies Beyond Affi rmative Action: Equality and Identity 307 Cornel West Getting Along: Renewing America’s Commitment to Racial Justice 311 Melvin Oliver and Th omas Shapiro Appendix 319 Preface By Lezlee Hinesmon-Matthews his anthology about the history of racism in America centers on a provocative Tsubject that requires readers to closely examine a troubling chapter in the book of America’s past. Whether racism exists today in the same manner as it did historically is an open question. For this collection, the main question is whether racism directed towards African Americans, and other marginalized racial groups, can be understood through individual, cultural, and institutional dimensions. Th e text is laid out along these lines with the belief that such a framework is useful and valid. Th is is in contrast to the argument that telling the history of racism must focus solely on a historical peek at key episodes or organizations. Th at is, let the work be a who’s who of notable or infamous people, groups, and activities. Such a collection would highlight the nefarious actions of the slave captors who brought Africans to these shores during the Middle Passage. It would recount the worst attributes of planta- tion overseers who made life nearly unbearable for those of skin with a darker hue. Th e terrorizing reign of the Ku Klux Klan would loom large in stories about black life in post-slavery America. Th e belittling eff ect of second-class status in the Jim Crow South would fi gure prominently in this story as well. Th e centerpiece of this saga would be the church’s role in the civil rights movement, protest marches, boycotts, and Black Panther-led eff orts to resist structural racism. Anti- and pro-affi rmative action policy debates, mandatory bussing skirmishes, reaction to Hurricane Katrina’s devastation, and the racism-tainted rhetoric during the campaign to elect America’s fi rst African American president would round out the organizational structure of such a text. However, I argue that this retelling of the history of racism leaves readers lacking much PREFACE | VII VIII HISTORY OF RACISM in the way of understanding the individual, social, and structural mechanisms that perpetuate racism in American history. Although this book points out notable eras in America’s historic struggle with questions of racial prejudice, discrimination, and bigotry, it is nonetheless primarily organized to present the history of racism as a series of events that are at once unique to their times and yet share common features with episodes that occur at diff erent times. My position is that attitudes, behaviors, and social structures can best be understood when the history of racism is examined on individual, cultural, and institutional levels. Th e advantage of this approach for teaching is that it provides students with an un- paralleled exploration of the ideological premises and historical events associated with racism. ORGANIZATION Th e reader is organized in three parts: (1) key terms and concepts, (2) ways racism becomes manifest, and (3) strategies to address racism. Th e fi rst part gives foundational knowledge, part two provides concrete historical examples, and part three elucidates solutions. Th e end of each reading includes several probing questions designed to prompt students to recall salient points and refl ect upon their meaning. Following the last section is an appendix of fi lm and web resources so that readers may learn more about the topic through multimedia formats and obtain information for further research. Acknowledgments he work was made possible by the supportive team at University Readers. Th e Tteam’s patience, professionalism, and advice helped crystallize my ideas on the subject of the history of racism. Th eir creativity, from book cover design to layout, led me to envision myriad possibilities to extend the anthology’s audience. Special thanks to Tracey Barraza for responding with such enthusiasm to my initial inquiry; to Marissa Waggoner for selling the possibility of partnering with University Readers in such an enticing way; and to Jessica Knott for editing the project, guiding me through the production process, and responding to my queries with thoroughness and tact. I would also like to thank the faculty, staff , and administrators at California State University, Fullerton for encouraging my scholarly interests, as well as for talking and listening to me while I developed my ideas about this book and related anti-racism cur- riculum. Th anks also to the women of color support groups at Cal State Fullerton and San Diego State University for support and encouragement. Special thanks to Armone, for believing in me and debating with me the relative merits of teaching racism from this perspective. And to Adrian for his special place in my heart. —Lezlee Hinesmon-Matthews ACKNOWLEDGMENTS | IX Introduction By Lezlee Hinesmon-Matthews his introduction explains the three parts that comprise this work. Part one Tdeals with key terms and concepts, part two relates to ways that racism is mani- fest, and part three discusses strategies to address racism. Th e reader’s interests may guide emphasis on either section or all of them. Th e purpose of part one is to help the reader understand the common language used to discuss issues of racism. Th e terms may be unfamiliar to the new reader. Th e concepts may be used diff erently in other areas of study. In this way, the reader is sure to have a solid foundation on which to uncover this remarkable history, in both its shame and triumph. In reading 1, DuBois, the preeminent sociologist and scholar, investigates the meaning of race and its implications for African Americans in “Th e Conservation of Races.” Dubois’s analysis presents racial categories and national origins historically associated with them. Beyond a strict interpretation of racial categories as skin deep, DuBois reveals the close association people began to make between concrete notions of skin color and hair texture, to more abstract ideals of nationality, spirituality, and phi- losophy. DuBois then lays out his plan for addressing the pressing social conditions of African Americans in his day largely based on establishing African American-led and -governed institutions. Reading 2, Feagin’s “Racist America: Racist Ideology as a Social Force,” concerns itself with the concept of racist ideology and its reproduction across generations in broader American society. Th is ideology is maintained, Feagin argues, through deeply embedded practices in society’s institutions, including government, education, and employment. Feagin then supports his thesis of the permeation of racist ideology in American institutions by giving examples from a broad sweep of American history dating back to the country’s founding in the 1600s to the present.