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Sample Student
final answers 2013 (2013 final exam assignment) #1: Research Reports |
LITR 4333
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Dorothy Noyes
What is “White” and Why?
America is a country of immigrants. Unless
you are a direct descendant of the Native Americans, your ancestral history
begins somewhere not located in this country you so proudly claim. Sitting in
this class on immigrant literature, I was profoundly aware that I did not feel a
connection to a homeland other than the United States. That though I knew
objectively I came from Irish-Scottish stock, it was in my identity as simply a
white female, as part of the dominant culture that has been illustrated as being
quite oppressive, that the people around me saw relating to my cultural
heritage. Unlike all the descriptive choices given on the census forms, the box
I check on all of those forms simply reads “White.”
I
find myself curious as to how a group that started off as immigrants themselves,
overwhelmed the native culture and established dominance. What happened that
allowed one group as varied as the European immigrants were and are, to be
transformed into a large, homogeneous group defined as “white?” I want to
connect with texts and with society in a way that reflects my cultural history
in more than just a color, to be able to illustrate to future students that
“white” is much more varied and diverse than we have ever been given reason to
understand.
To answer any of the aforementioned questions, it is
important first to understand what race means to Americans. It can be seen that
though the idea of “race” is not consistent, and can be applied in a number of
different ways. It is essentially a social idea that allows for the
categorization of human beings, namely a system that groups people who have
similar physical features together and gives them names accordingly (Marger,
291). With this definition in hand, it can be seen that most of the people who
have been termed “white” over the last few hundred years have been people whose
ancestors originally came from select parts of Europe. In fact, the term
“Caucasian” comes from the ideas from social and natural scientists about 300
years ago who asserted that the populations of people surrounding the Caucasus
Mountains were “the most beautiful people on Earth” (Gallagher, 138). Through
these historical definitions, it can be seen that though the classification of
race that is in place is mostly arbitrary and invented, it lays the groundwork
as to the establishment of “white.”
Now that we understand roughly the
definition of “race” and who may be considered “white,” what does that mean for
the history of the United States? When examining my questions in relation to
this course, since “white” has become such a blanket term for the majority
racial group in this country, I knew the answers could be found in analyzing
what we have come to know as the “dominant culture.” Starting at the beginning,
I began to see an early trend among the original European settlers that
eventually came to define the white, dominant culture of America: a refusal to
assimilate to those around them. In Of
Plymouth Plantation, William Bradford explains their journey to Holland,
followed by their surprising rejection of their new home, “But that which was
more lamentable, and of all sorrows most heavy to be borne, was that many of
their children, by these occasions and the great licentiousness of youth in that
country, and the manifold temptations of the place, were drawn away by evil
examples into extravagant and dangerous courses” (Bradford 4.4). This excerpt
illustrates that in watching their own children begin the assimilation process,
the Pilgrims denounced the land that had given them refuge and a home. So
unwilling were they to be the group that had to assimilate, that they departed
Holland to make their home in a place where they knew they would have little to
no influencing culture factors: “The place they had thoughts on was some of
those vast and unpeopled countries of America” (Bradford 4.7).
Now, even though the dominant culture now appears to simply
be a large, homogeneous population to those not wishing to look deeper, it has
not always been that way. In fact, upon the immigration of different European
groups of immigrants in the early American years, there was much lineation and
even prejudice amongst the groups of people who are now all termed “Caucasian.”
For example, when the Scots-Irish began immigrating and settling in America it
caused great problems with the Puritan settlers from England whom had previously
begun the establishment of the dominant culture. Though the Scots-Irish
immigrants met many qualifications for being categorized as racially similar,
and they did not need to assimilate to the spoken language of the new dominant
culture, it was in their differences that they were almost completely rejected.
The Scots-Irish were very “clannish” and stuck among themselves on the basis of
their families and religion, thus causing friction with the English Puritan
immigrants (Scots-Irish). In fact, historically, the Scots-Irish barely made the
ultimate cut into being accepted into the mainstream culture. This shows that
though all people of the Caucasian race may look similar, or have some similar
customs or origins, their history is just as varied and rich as any other group.
We say African-American, Asian-American, but when it comes to the dominant
culture, perhaps “Euro-American” would be more appropriate and historically and
culturally sensitive.
Speaking of cultural sensitivity, the following song lyrics
portray a representation of the white, dominant culture as it is seen by a
person quite angry with the system:
“Hello there, I wear blue-jean pants
I own
three dogs and thirteen cats
I keep my children away from rap
I get all my
clothes at The Gap
I've lived in a condo most my life
Every now and then,
I beat my wife
Her name's Linda, my name is Todd
Have you seen my fishing
rod?”
Some may ask, “Why is this important?”
The above lyrics are from a song by the
artist Rucka Rucka Ali titled, “I Don’t Like White People.” This song and its
lyrics are illustrative that though Euro-Americans, or people of the Caucasian
race, have established the dominant culture, and in a lot of ways created many
of the norms to which many minority and immigrant groups feel they are expected
to live, that they are not exempt from racial and ethnic stereotyping. The broad
brush of labeling is evident in this song as the rapper shows us that though
dominant, the Caucasian race is also misunderstood and equally discriminated
against. Some may ask, “Why is this important?” The answer lies in the fact that
not only is it necessary and politically correct to respect our fellow
Americans’ diverse cultural history, but also because
what is “white” has shaped American society, race-relations, and the
dominant culture to which most minority groups and immigrants have based their
own assimilations. Though it can be seen that the Euro-American tradition of
immigration and establishment of dominance is historically important and
relevant, much of society sees only a “white wash” that does not deserve further
examination. Many minority and immigrant groups in this country not only fail to
recognize the inherent diversity of the majority group, but also resent that
group, as well. As Janusz Mucha points out in his book,
Dominant Culture
As a Foreign Culture: Dominant Groups in the Eyes of Minorities,
throughout history there has been an ongoing battle for recognition between
minority groups and the corresponding majority groups around the world. Only in
addressing differences and acknowledging monuments and memories of all cultures,
including the dominant one, can we understand our own history.
In closing, the research I have done to delve into the
intricacies of the dominant culture of which I am a part did not do exactly what
I thought it would. I assumed that I would find a lot of facts that proved how
different and diverse the people termed “white’ were, and how incredible their
journey from immigrant group to dominant culture was. However, what truly sunk
into me through my research and readings is this: everyone, and I do mean
everyone, is deserving of respect and the freedom to identify with whom they are
culturally and historically. White, black, or purple, no one’s history or
identity is inherently more important and only through a clear recognition of
individuality and sense of respect can we as Americans continue to grow in our
identity as just that: Americans.
Works Cited
Bradford, William.
Of Plymouth Plantation. Accessed
through Craig White’s online Course Site
Gallagher, Charles. “Review: The Rise and Fall of the
Caucasian Race: A Political History of Racial Identity”
Marger, Martin. Social Inequality:
Patterns and Processes. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, a Business Unit of The
McGraw-Hill Companies, 2013. Print.
Mucha, Janusz.
Dominant Culture As a Foreign Culture: Dominant Groups in the Eyes of Minorities.
Boulder, Colorado: East European Monographs, 1999. Print.
“Scots-Irish
Immigration” Accessed through Craig White’s online Course Site
