Bell Hooks' Call and Response: Racialization and Social Injustice Still Prevalent - Essay Sample

Introduction

Empirical studies have proven that despite many authors, political leaders, and the media publicizing the issue of racialization and social injustices for centuries, the modern generation is still witnessing this vice. In this regard, some people, ethnic groups, and communities continue to suffer from oppression and humiliations or stereotypes because of their affiliation with or originate from a specific group, nation, or ethnicity. Call and Response is a unique source on which Bell Hooks creates Silas House's speech to castigate the traditional call for action and its flaws. From the onset, the narrator tears through the current situation where very minimal people from the oppressed groups respond to call with fading voices as the majority show reluctance. The fight against social injustice is not merely by calling people for action but taking a step, changing attitude, embracing oneness and diversity because human beings are the same beneath the skin.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

There is credible evidence that modern society is ailing from social injustices and racialization. Either limited knowledge or ignorance has continued to obstruct people's ability to identify and shun this vice. The term racialization could emerge in the pattern in which a section of institutional or societal activities thrives without an intention to segregate, yet the outcomes have racial disparities (Hooks, 2014). The 21st-century American criminal justice officials often eliminate race-based literature in their physical operations to create the picture of normalcy. However, when examining the patterns of sentencing, policing, and racial profiling, one would be quick to point out that this system is indeed biased. As a result, Hooks' literature addresses this issue by indirectly presenting various forms of racism, namely interpersonal, internalized, institutional, and structural (Jackson, 2917). Although Kentucky was the home for a diverse population, it had disparities among groups with massive disproportionate magnitudes of poverty, unemployment, especially among the inferior race (Black-Americans). Indeed, social injustice and racialization emerge when one group has a monopoly in all social sectors as another faces negative messages about its intrinsic worth and abilities (Hooks, 2014). There is, therefore, a need for a complete and collaborative transformation to a better society.

Through the narrator, Hooks describe the significant social-cultural issues and challenges associated with injustice and diversity. Here, she explains more about social values, racial integration, prejudices about the region, moving towards an ethical culture, and what needs to change to unite communities. The only approach to improve one's future life is by accepting the past, make a firm decision on the issue of social injustice to better society (Hooks, 2014). In her view, no one can choose the type of nationality to original form or appearance. As a result, she asserts that it is challenging to explain the scenario in which people endorse issues or other people because of race, ethnicity, or nationality.

Hooks further analyze that many people believe that they belong to superior races as compared to others, thus creating a situation where the two groups perceive each other as unequal in all aspects. Basing on House's speech, it merges that injustice and diversity had prevailed in Kentucky from time immemorial to date. In this context, whenever people engage in racially-driven topics, no one bothers to present a decisive argument against it to push for fairness in conversations. However, whenever individual attempts to come up with a positive debate about fostering social justice and embracing diversity, people ignore and isolate such an individual or group (Hooks, 2014). Although Bell's neighborhood had many cases of racial discrimination and sexism, victimized individuals or groups developed immunity against these vices and forged ahead with life. In Hooks' words, folks lived their life "in spite of all types of obstacles and prejudices."

Reviewed literature shows that there is an active link between what is happening in the modern world and the Appalachia experiences regarding social injustices and racial trends. There are some differences among these avenues with how people are willing to take stands and find the audience to help combat racial and social justice (UNDP, 2019). For instance, Silas House's speech emerge due to this situation. Nevertheless, Hooks perceives that people can achieve the objective of developing their communities by accepting the past and learning from its abundance of social values. This episode bases on the fact that the latter helps to mirror "the hatreds that abound in the world which target queer folk and colored folks, thereby seeking the best approaches or dealing with such issues.

The current global trends depict that many people are making decisions on everyday situations or issues that shape society, thereby standing up only for essential matters. According to the article The ten most severe problems in the world, the participants of the 2017 World Economic Forum's Global Shapers Survey clarified that global warming is the most pressing challenge in the world. This situation influenced Thunberg Greta, a 16-year-old child from Sweden, to skip school in 2018, and pressurize lawmakers' action against climate change (Jackson, 2017). Today, Greta Thunberg's bold stand has influenced many other climate change ambassadors, thus following the path of improving the situation in their respective communities. Greta's case, therefore, demonstrates Hooks' suggestion, which requires that one looks at the current society and identifies areas that need transformation for the better tomorrow. At such a point, one could decide to pursue the right channels towards influencing change.

Besides, Hooks perceives that the current society is badly in need of real-time change to help guarantee a better tomorrow. Many of those changes include equality, social values, racial integration, removal of prejudices, and an emphasis on fairness. Such an objective needs preparedness to accept the past and decide against the prevalence of social injustices. Although some people are often ready to demoralize sound efforts, one needs to remain focused on driving this agenda (Hooks, 2014). One may assert that challenges facing society, especially social injustices, in the form of racial prejudice, have no perfect solution. However, doing nothing to stop such vices could only worsen the situation.

Some factors influence people to thrive in racial prejudice, as exemplified by ignorance and lack of social values. The dual is challenging to overcome because they have a strong influence on one's internal perception. People must find inner-courage and reach a turning point in life to take a firm stand (Hooks, 2014). Moreover, people must seek an avenue to explore an audience to help air out such issues. The decision to take a stand means refusing to ignore the problems that affect the community ad society. Hooks argues that people ought to identify a balance between moving ahead and remembering the past and forge ahead in constructing a better society. More so, there is a need for forgiveness and compassion among people regardless of the historical injustices towards establishing togetherness (UNDP, 2019). Knowledgeable groups should also educate the young folks on the significance of justice in the culture to understand what is better for society. This initiative should begin on the vulnerable target groups of such social injustice. Such a situation would allow the community to be an inch closer to the actual equality, which could help the future generations to live happily together.

Conclusion

Conclusively, the current society is continuously suffering from social evils, with some groups dominating and dehumanizing others on the notion that the former groups are superior to others. As a result, the victim groups have faced humiliations and racially-based experiences, both politically and socio-economically. Hooks focus on calling upon the general society to take a bold step and decide to end this race-based debate once and make the world a better place for future generations.

References

Hooks, Bell. (2014). Call and response--taking a stand. Journal of Appalachian Studies, 20(2), 122-123. https://doi-org.proxy-library.ashford.edu/10.5406/jappastud.20.2.0122

Jackson, A. (2017, August 29). The ten most severe problems in the world, according to millennials. Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/world-problems-most-serious-according-to-millennials-2017-8

United Nations Development Program. (2019). Young people and climate change fighting for a stolen future. https://feature.undp.org/fighting-for-a-stolen-future/