劉宣成

Prompt： Discuss social problem related to the discussions we had in class. Explain the means in which this specific problem impacts the society as a whole or segments of society.

The progression of society tends to be linked with higher moral standards. Evolution has changed humanity from barbaric creatures to intelligent beings capable of making ethical decisions. In recent years， the gradual disappearance of Jim Crowism was noticeable as shown by the reduction in explicit racist behaviors??the most convincing sign being Barack Obama??s successful election to become the first African American president.

Obama??s tremendous success undoubtedly inspired many. ?°For non-blacks ??Obamerica?? represented possibilities， and for blacks this was the realization of a dream deferred.?±? His secret to success was the adoption of a more neutral approach of appealing to all races： one recurrent central idea of his speeches was ?°equality regardless of race.?± This stratagem， however， can be problematic as it threatens to reduce the potent social factor??race??to zero， which breeds another genre of neo-racism??colorblind racism.

Colorblind racism can be understood as a minimized and relatively neutralized expression of racism.Contrast examples including： implicit otherization （they are also human like us）， instead of using stereotypical derogatory; suggesting that the cause of unsuccessfulness on lacking hard work， not ?°shaped by god to be inferior.?± Colorblind racism potently yet invisibly influences the American society negatively from caucasian， non-caucasian， to overall societal perspectives.

Caucasians， compared to people of other races， are more prone to colorblind racism that creates a vicious cycle. For Caucasians， specifically， colorblind racism can be understood as an implicit biologization of race， which is a social factor.? Excluding ?°race?± as a potent force diverts Caucasians， unaware of the social meaning of race， to re-direct their reasoning of racial difference towards other factors ¨C except race itself. This ultimately leads to a meritocratic approach for an explanation， as ?°equal opportunities should be distributed evenly regardless of race.?±? This explanation is not wrong. However， the facadeof this approach to rationalize inequality via ?°equal opportunities?± and ?°meritocracy，?± ignores the continuing effects of past and contemporary inequality on the social， economical， and educational statuses that breed discrimination against racial minorities. Colorblind racism brought bycausations creates a vicious circle. The convenience of ignoring ?°race?± worsens the inter-racial gap because without first acknowledging the necessity to improve upon race-related fields little process can be made. This vicious cycle is unfortunate because the gradual erasure of race awareness has led some to contribute to the enlarging racial gap.

People of color suffer from colorblind racism， both physically and mentally. Because ofcolorblind racism， non-caucasianstend to find themselves in hard to convey social implications of discrimination， as well as legacy of past discrimination， which in turn， harms upward mobility for people of color. African Americans， with a 78% among all surveyed， are dissatisfied with their limited rights compared to those of Caucasian??s in 2019. In addition， 59% white adults agree that their race ?°contributed to their career success，?± while 56% black adults considered race having the opposite effect.? Pew Research Center also suggested that people of color are frequently annoyed by latent racism （colorblind racism is one prominent example of latent racism）， racism of milder verbal/behavioral presentation. Unfortunately， the achievement of ?°racial awareness?± requires tremendous effort as the oblique， institutionalized racism cannot be readily perceived by the racial majority with in the US?? caucasians.

Overall， society reaches disequilibria because of colorblind racism. As receptively stated， race is an essential social factor. The social nature of ?°race?± came from its historical backgrounds： discrimination， racial segregation， and the ?°peaceful?± interactions among people of multiple races. In the past， institutions socialized citizens by implying that race should be taken into consideration （for school admissions， jobs， insurance， etc）. The gradual eradications of Jim Crowism does not mean that race stops being one potent factor that influences people??s lives??it simply means that there are fewer violent discriminations based on race in the last decades. In essence， the dysfunction of roles that race plays in society interrupts the social equilibrium by shifting focus to other alternative explanations.

To sum up， colorblind racism has heavily influenced Caucasians. Blinding their eyes to the historical ramifications towards people of color.In effect causing and people of color to beare frequently disappointed by the lack of empathy??a direct result of colorblind racism as race is ignored. Overall， the negative influences succeed throughinsufficient attention to ?°race.?± Under the peaceful facade， the unwillingness to contemplate on how race influences the chances of some people is the key insight to the social problems of colorblind racism.

Reference

Hurwitz， Jon， and Mark Peffley. Perception and Prejudice： Race and Politics in the United States. 1998， pp. 58-99.

Bonilla-Silva， Eduardo， and David Dietrich. "The Sweet Enchantment of Color-Blind Racism in Obamerica." The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 634， no. 1 （2011）， 190-206.doi：10.1177/0002716210389702.

Bonilla-Silva， Eduardo. Racism Without Racists： Color-blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in the United States. Lanham： Rowman& Littlefield， 2010. pp. 3-10.

Bonilla-Silva， Eduardo. ""This is a White Country"1： The Racial Ideology of the Western Nations of the World-System." Sociological Inquiry， vol. 70， no. 2， 2000， pp. 188-214.

Bonilla-Silva， Eduardo. Racism Without Racists： Color-blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in the United States. Lanham： Rowman& Littlefield， 2010.

"Key Findings on Americans？ Views of Race in 2019." Pew Research Center， 9 Apr. 2019， Name： Xuancheng （Bernard） LIU

Age： 17

Grade： Senior

Intending Major：

Government/Political Sciences

Reflection （Chinese）： 整體的論文創(chuàng)作話費時間較少，因為是 reference-based， informative essay， 而非標準化的 Academic journal。在我 Rising Senior 時期參與的 Yale Young Global Scholar 的經(jīng)歷使我對于題材 （colorblind racism） 產(chǎn)生了很大的興趣，因為常?，F(xiàn)代的種族歧視并不是可以通過特定歷史性用語/行為便能判斷出，而是更加的 nuanced。在研究中我更加了解到 intersectionality 在 colorblind racism 中扮演的角色;且人們的 Socio-economic status 和 upward mobility， cultural capital 的積累都對于 racial awareness 有著直接的影響。對于 colorblind racism 的深化理解，是美國種族平等呼吁的一種回應，支持;這也是我研究的原動力。