According to the unit, the American master narrative limits the American identity. Notably, it associates the identity with the majority, regarding the individuals who do not belong to the latter as second-rate categories. The unit classifies such people as minority groups and highlights that they frequently experience unequal attitudes. This fact makes it reasonable to refer to the majority and the minority as a dominant group and subordinate group, respectively. In particular, black Americans apparently are subordinate to white, as whiteness is associated with a higher social significance. Such an attitude derives from the negative stereotypes that prevent a considerable share of the population from complete integration into society. When prejudice reaches its peak, it evolves into racism, which then embeds all spheres of social life; in other words, it becomes institutional. Notably, in the video “Racial/ethnic prejudice & discrimination,” the expert describes how Americans consider people of color less smart and successful, hence inferior (CrashCourse, n.d.). This illustrates the different attitudes to the black and the white, due to which the former, in particular, may undergo discrimination in educational facilities, as the lecturers believe their intellectual potential to be lower. Furthermore, Bob Butler (n.d.) shares the video that was previously aired by Chicago television station WBBM, which regards a four-year-old black boy as a future criminal. This exemplifies how the media maintain the negative image of black people, hence proving racism in the USA to be institutional. The video “Demographic structure of society – race and ethnicity” provides illustrations as well, highlighting the noticeable race-based disparities in income, life expectancy, and even access to education and health care (Khan Academy, n.d.) This demonstrates that a classical American identity, notably that of an individual who has reached success, presupposes whiteness, as a black person has an incomparably lower chance to improve his or her social status.
References
Butler, B. (n.d.). WBBM criminalizes 4-year old [Video]. YouTube. Web.
CrashCourse. (n.d.). Racial/ethnic prejudice & discrimination [Video]. YouTube.
Khan Academy. (n.d.). Demographic structure of society – race and ethnicity[Video]. YouTube.