Judy Helfand -- Constructing Whiteness
1.) What's your gut reaction?
I was quite surprised with the revelation that Whiteness was not always so clearly defined. I take it for granted that European meant White, if for no other reason than that Europeans look clearly different from Africans or Asians. Helfan's study of Irish experience, in the context of labor relations, is valuable because it reveals deeper socioeconomic dimensions of racial identity.
2.) How were the Irish were first viewed when they arrived to the U.S. In terms of race and what types of jobs did they have?
The Irish were considered, as were most new European immigrants, not quite white because they were of the same socioeconomic situation as black freedmen and Chinese laborers, often taking the same jobs. The Irish arriving in the early 1800s entered the workforce as laborers, working on the canals and railroad and taking on dangerous work "white workers" wouldn't take. The Irish arriving after 1845 pursued work traditionally performed by free blacks - industrial and service occupations such as longshoring, coachmen, housemaids, waiters in restaurants.
3.) What was the Democratic party's position on immigration and slavery and how did they use the Irish immigrants to support them?
The Democrats were, somewhat paradoxically, both pro-immigration...
New Jim Crow Michelle Alexander's The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness offers a scathing and disturbing portrait of institutionalized racism in the United States. In an article written for the Huffington Post that supplements her book, Alexander states plainly: "There are more African-Americans under correctional control today -- in prison or jail, on probation or parole -- than were enslaved in 1850, a decade before the
Michelle Alexander does not assume full credit for the striking title of her book The New Jim Crow, recounting having seen the slogan on a “bright orange poster” in 1998.[footnoteRef:1] Former ACLU attorney turned law professor, Michelle Alexander had always been aware of the need for justice system reform. Alexander worked headed the ACLU Racial Justice Project but it took that bright orange poster to help her draw the connection
New Jim Crow When considering the introduction and chapter three of Michelle Alexander's book The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, arguably the most important conceptional foundation to remember is the notion of social oppression, and particularly the fact that social oppression can occur with or without the knowledge or intention of the dominant social group. As Hardiman, Jackson, and Griffin note in their contribution to Readings
New Jim Crow Michelle Alexander, the author of The New Jim Crow, is a professor at Union Theological Seminary, a New York Times columnist, and civil rights lawyer and advocate. I believe that the motive she had in writing her book was to explain how Jim Crow still exists in America even though people sometimes choose not to see it. It exists today in hidden and not-so-hidden ways, as it is
eve of MLK Day, Michelle Alexander and Randall Robinson on the Mass Incarceration of Black Americans (13th January, 2012). The show is a discussion between Tran Africa founder Randall Robinson and author Michelle Alexander about the disproportionate number of African-Americans that are represented in American correctional facilities that include prisons, jails, or that are on probation, or on parole. According to both founder and author, there are more African-Americans currently
Racism / Prejudice Anyone that is not aware of the recent protest demonstrations in cities across the United States -- resulting from the killing of unarmed African-Americans by police in Ferguson Missouri and New York City -- are simply not paying attention to the contemporary events. These killings -- and the failure of grand juries in both cities to indict the blameworthy officers -- have stirred the conscious of millions of
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now