False Dichotomies
Dear Matthew Frye Jacobson,
It's become apparent that the singular meaning of "whiteness" we hold in society today was borne not from inclusion to other ethnicities (Jewish, Armenian, etc.) but from exclusion of people of color, particularly black people. This has been illustrated with several examples-- in a 1927 film titled The Jazz Singer, a Jewish man's white identity is only realized after he's put on blackface. This stark contrast to his identity as a Jew places him in the same category as a white person, thus strengthening the black-white dichotomy that continues to dominate narratives about race. Obviously, multiple problems exist within such a dichotomy, not least of which is that other races have started to make a presence in America-- Asian-Americanss, particularly, are placed in an uncomfortable middle ground, where they are both afforded many privileges unavailable to African-Americans, yet they don't hold nearly as much privilege and dominance as white people. The uncertainty about where they belong in such a dichotomy has begun to show concrete social effects, most notably, the lack of Asian-Americans from dialogues and movements regarding police brutality against black people. The culture of silence in Asian-American communities persists, and although it isn't singularly attributable to anything, it is certainly upheld by the notion of such a dichotomy. Asian-Americans aren't as disenfranchised as African-Americans, but they aren't as privileged as white people, putting them in a middle ground where they feel uncomfortable speaking in favor of any side. This, again, shows the fragility of racial structures in American society. They are neither effective nor beneficial to any party except the dominant-- I guess that's why we keep them in place.
-Uma Nagarajan-Swenson
It's become apparent that the singular meaning of "whiteness" we hold in society today was borne not from inclusion to other ethnicities (Jewish, Armenian, etc.) but from exclusion of people of color, particularly black people. This has been illustrated with several examples-- in a 1927 film titled The Jazz Singer, a Jewish man's white identity is only realized after he's put on blackface. This stark contrast to his identity as a Jew places him in the same category as a white person, thus strengthening the black-white dichotomy that continues to dominate narratives about race. Obviously, multiple problems exist within such a dichotomy, not least of which is that other races have started to make a presence in America-- Asian-Americanss, particularly, are placed in an uncomfortable middle ground, where they are both afforded many privileges unavailable to African-Americans, yet they don't hold nearly as much privilege and dominance as white people. The uncertainty about where they belong in such a dichotomy has begun to show concrete social effects, most notably, the lack of Asian-Americans from dialogues and movements regarding police brutality against black people. The culture of silence in Asian-American communities persists, and although it isn't singularly attributable to anything, it is certainly upheld by the notion of such a dichotomy. Asian-Americans aren't as disenfranchised as African-Americans, but they aren't as privileged as white people, putting them in a middle ground where they feel uncomfortable speaking in favor of any side. This, again, shows the fragility of racial structures in American society. They are neither effective nor beneficial to any party except the dominant-- I guess that's why we keep them in place.
-Uma Nagarajan-Swenson
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