If You're White, You're American

Race refers to one’s physical attributes such as skin, hair, eye color, etc. In our society, race plays a huge role and highly impacts our daily lives. Society as a whole is constructed to treat individuals with different traits, such as skin color, differently. Despite being in a country known for freedom and granted equality, that is not the case when race comes into play.

In our class, we touched upon many articles, one in particular by Tanya Golash-Boza, ‘“Dropping the Hyphen?” Becoming Latino(a)- American through Racialized Assimilation.” In her article she discusses race and how people in the white society/Americans view it. One thing she highlights is, “Part of being white is being able to ignore the prevalence of racial discrimination in U.S. society” (Golash-Boza 2006). In my sociology classes, I have discuss race and how it impacts our society, one of the biggest factors of it all is how white individuals do not see race as a problem anymore. This truly sparked my attention because race does not faze them whatsoever. The fact that race does not impact their lives like minorities is why they do not see race as an issue or the biases that come along with it. While minorities are being denied jobs and other opportunities based upon their race, whites live the luxury where they do not have to endure any of that.

Another thing she states is, “In this sense, how one becomes American or how one assimilates into American society depends in large part on one’s racial status” (Golash-Boza 2006). In other words, or at least how I interpret it, is that you truly cannot be assimilated into American society unless you are white. Seeing what people go through based on their race and what people see physically is astounding because they are denied so many things in life. Those of color live day to day not knowing just how far they will make it in life all because their race predetermines what they have in store for them. Being in America, you are an American and we all assimilate into the ways of an American at some point of our lives whether we are born in the United States or not. Race does not determine assimilation or “how American you are.” But because we have conformed to society’s beliefs and norms, it is only right to make race play a factor into assimilation.

Race as a whole plays a factor in our society, indeed more than it should. Being granted certain things based on your race is what shapes our society and only guarantees those of lighter color more rights and privileges than those who are of color. It is sad to see and hear what those who are not white have to go through just because their physical attributes do not match what society wants. The day when race does not matter will be the day equality begins. 

http://understandingsociety.blogspot.com/2010/09/race-and-racism.html

http://academic.udayton.edu/health/03access/data.htm