Why Is Success So Strongly Behind The Idea Of Whiteness...

Why is success so strongly tied to the idea of whiteness? As a child in a predominantly white area, many people said I acted white—along with many other black kids. How is it that as a dark skinned black woman I could act the color white? Well, white wasn’t simply referring to color or heritage rather any and all positive attributes a person would ever wish to possess. They saw my knowledge, my intelligence, my solid upbringing, the manner in which I carried myself as white. Furthermore, my positive traits made me worthy of whiteness. It was quiet bothersome that anything positive made me white, ignoring the fact that many black people were like myself and I was not an anomaly. However, the moment I became angry, did something bad or incorrect, they would say â€Å"there’s the black in you.† This thought process isn’t unique to my small town. Unfortunately, many people think like this. The image of blackness has been painted as disgraceful and negat ive, while the image of whiteness is painted as elegant and positive. Society has socially constructed whiteness as the goal for success, by disparaging blackness. The image of blackness is often inaccurately displayed. For example, texts like Conrad’s Heart of Darkness do much harm to the image of the blackness. Conrad portrays Africans as savages and depicts the land that they valued as worthless: â€Å"Land in a swamp, march through the woods, and in some inland post feel the savagery, the utter savagery†¦he has to live in the midstShow MoreRelatedA Brief Note On The American Criminal Justice System Essay2916 Words   |  12 Pages14 Racism in the American Criminal Justice System Mia Hayat Antioch University Abstract This paper discusses the social justice issue of discrimination in the American criminal justice system. It reveals the history behind the integrated racism in the system and its effect on people of color. 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