EDF 2085 Reflection #17

Jackie Lawrence
EDF 2085
Reflection Paper #17

Race, first and foremost, is a culturally defined concept. Biologically, we all derive from common ancestry. Genetic research preformed suggests we all stem from the Mitochondrial Eve, one woman who lived 200,000 years ago in Africa. Differences in color of our skin have been blown out of proportion throughout history. There are various types of prejudices that lead to racism; ethnocentrism being at the core and hence the primary factor in the creation of feelings of superiority. All of them are rooted in fear and ignorance. Racial chauvinism is when an individual combines the attitudes and rejective behaviors of prejudice and acts against them. Even in America, we have undergone institutional acts of racism, when government condones acts of prejudice as constitutional. A prime example of this would be slavery in the United States. The 1955 murder of Emmett Till in Money, Mississippi was an inexcusable act preformed in the South, which ultimately spawned the American Civil Rights Movement. Even going back to colonial times in America, Native Americans were treated more than terribly. Forced from their homes, many of them died during the Trail of Tears. And during World War II, Japanese Americans underwent forcible relocation to internment camps after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor. Racial bigotry combines hatred and feelings of superiority towards another group, which was a prime factor in the devastation of the Holocaust in Nazi Germany. Feelings of hatred can lead to indescribably cruel acts of genocide and/or ethnic cleansing. Throughout the world and its history, entire cultures have been wiped out on the basis of hatred. At some point, we need to bring this devastating problem to a standstill. To achieve this, individual beliefs, values, and attitudes must be attacked and changed. Active work must be present, along with awareness and a willingness to undergo transformation. Collectively, we need to make a conscious effort to halt the stereotypes and partial truths that have been handed down from generation to generation within cultures.