Film: Race

Race is a social-political structure that has shaped America since its founding. America in its early days seemed like a place where people could immigrate to achieve their greatest hopes and dreams. But this was only possible if you were defined as white by the government and society. Immigrants felt pressure to fit in in order to be accepted into society to achieve their greatest dreams. But without being white this was impossible. Immigrants lived in neighborhoods that were made of people from their home countries and shared the same values, cultures, and language. In order to gain citizenship and reap the benefits that citizenship offered whiteness was the key. As time continued American became a melting pot of European immigrants because they were considered white those who were not like Asians, Africans Americans, and Latinos could not melt into the pot and be true citizens. Those who thought citizenship on the basis of the color of ones skin should not be the determining factor but the beliefs of the person should be. The court system decided that although science could determine who was white the social understanding for who was white created the definition. To be white was an exclusive class that embodied the definition of being a "true" American. After World War II many feared the integration of neighborhoods that had so long been segregated but the government created things like the Federal Housing Administration to stop this. While whites were moving into the suburbs that offered lower priced housing and special financing, blacks were forced to live in the cities largely in public housing because they could not get approved for the mortgages. Whites were told to believe by real estate companies that if their neighborhoods were integrated the housing values would severely drop. This caused whites to move out as the blacks moved in, transforming the neighborhoods. This caused great structural suffering for all those who were not considered "white" they were left out of receiving all the benefits that the government and society set up to achieve the American Dream. They became second class citizens with little access to the opportunities that were available to whites. Today although we may not have racism in the way we used to the government and society has created a system that makes it nearly impossible for minorities to move out of the grasps of poverty and struggles of the social system to move up and create a better life for their families.