Purpose

To help you understand how

Institutions shape and create race and how they give different groups vastly unequal opportunities.

Our courts arbitrarily determined who was white and who was not.

Government policies helped create segregated suburbs where only white Americans reaped the full benefit of their whiteness.

Whites benefit from a racist system even though they aren't necessarily racists.

Instructions

1.Visit the Website:

https://fod-infobase-com.mtrproxy.mnpals.net/p_Search.aspx?bc=0&rd=a&q=race%20power%20of%20illusion

2.Watch Episode 3, titled, The House We Live In: Race-The Power of an Illusion (full video)

3.Answer the following questions (**please use each question as a heading**):

1)In the video, the narrator says: "Just because race isn't a biological reality, it does not mean it is not real." What are the implications of being classified as Asian, Black or Latino? Does race affect your life? Why or why not? If so, in what ways?

2)The film shows how government policies have created unfair advantages for whites in the past, resulting in a substantial wealth gap between whites and nonwhites. What examples of disparity do you see in your community today? Will the wealth gap go away if we ignore race?

3)Commenting on the idea that the U.S. is a "melting pot", sociologist Eduardo Bonilla-Silva says that the melting pot never included people of color. Blacks, Chinese, Puerto Ricans, etc. could not melt into the pot. Think about the phrase "melting pot"what does it imply? If this does not appropriately describe the U.S., what phrase would use to describe the relationship between its various peoples?

4)Central to the concept of the American Dream is the notion that anyone who works hard enough will be rewardedthat anyone can "pull themselves up by their bootstraps." How has this been made more difficult for people not defined as white? What is the long-term impact of that denial? What difference does access to financial resources make in terms of your life opportunities?

5) Below, you will find six statements about race. Choose the one that speaks the most to you and elaborate. Why did you choose it?

1.Race is a modern idea. Ancient societies, like the Greeks, did not divide people according to physical differences, but according to religion, status, class or even language.

2.Slavery predates race. Throughout much of human history, societies have enslaved others, often as a result of conquest or debt, but not because of physical characteristics or a belief in natural inferiority. Due to a unique set of historical circumstances, North America has the first slave system where all slaves shared a common appearance and ancestry.

3.Race and freedom were born together. The U.S. was founded on the principle that "All men are created equal," but the country's early economy was based largely on slavery. The new idea of race helped explain why some people could be denied the rights and freedoms that others took for granted.

4.Race justified social inequalities as natural. The "common sense" belief in white superiority justified anti-democratic action and policies like slavery, the extermination of American Indians, the exclusion of Asian immigrants, the taking of Mexican lands, and the institutionalization of racial practices within American government, laws, and society.

5.Race isn't biological, but racism is still real. Race is a powerful social idea that gives people different access to opportunities and resources. The government and social institutions of the United States have created advantages that disproportionately channel wealth, power and resources to white people.

Colorblindness will not end racism. Pretending race doesn't exist is not the same as creating equality