Unequal Social Structures & Racism in US: Reactions & Societal Changes - Essay Sample

Introduction

The society perceived social inequity as a by-product of the socio-historic process controlled by the economic, social, and political forces. The book indicates the changes occurring from societal controlled processes making the black individuals appear white by straightening their hair or changing their color. The dark people tried to look pretty by the white standards conforming to societal forces.

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

Save 25%

Social forces shaped the black racial category by creating blue vein societies. The societies developed to maintain correct social standards involved the light individuals creating comb test, door test, pencil test, paper-bag test baring dark individuals form schools, organizations, businesses, and even church (Kendi 121).

Skin Color

The skin complexion marked the part played in the casting call for the movie Straight Outta Compton. The agency called Sandi Alesse ranked the requirements of the extras character types by their skin tone, "GIRLS: …Must have real hair, should be light-skinned. These are African American girls, medium to light skinned" (Kendi 124). The skin color used as a requirement for a movie indicates the illusion of beauty.

Skin bleaching and tanning have been used by individuals to try and cover their actual skin color. The likes of Michael Jackson and rapper Lil` Kim, baseball player Sammy Sosa engaged in skin bleaching to reach the post-racial ideal color of being white (Kendi 124). Tanning is used to cover the paleness of individuals with reports indicating president Trump also tans his skin. Additionally, the survey indicates that tanned skin is more attractive than naturally pale skin and dark skin (Kendi 124).

Arguments

The reading's arguments are astonishing and surprising. The number of effort individuals went through to conform to what the white individuals considered pretty is extreme. Also, the light people went to a lot of extremes to maintain what they perceived the correct social structure developing a stupid test to bar the dark individuals from interacting with them.

The proposition that being an antiracist needs individuals to focus on color lines as much as racial lines understanding that color lines are especially detrimental for individuals with dark complexion is probable (Kendi 115). It indicates that becoming an antiracist requires a feeling of empathy towards individuals of dark color. The inequities between the dark and light races become apparent as the benefits of being the white and bad treatment of being dark are seen.

Conclusion

Furthermore, the notion that dark and white individuals' envy and reject light individuals is plausible. People are barred from being pure white of pure black with the one-drop rule, which means that one drop of black in a person's ancestry makes them black preventing an individual from being white (Kendi 118). Also, with the two drops of white blood employed by dark individuals making them less black, preventing them from pure blackness (Kendi 188). The degree of how much a person is dark of white has been turned into experimentation on their background, making racial groups impure. The idea of racial blood using the rule has been in action for a long time, and it continues to be applied today in contemporary society. However, I find it hard to believe that a Mississipi professor, Charles Carrol, would consider interracial intercourse the most diabolical of all sins. My belief was that intellect was associated with individuals being open to possibilities and a better understanding of society.

Works Cited

Kendi, Ibram X. How to Be an Antiracist. One World/Ballantine, 2019.