This paper aims to inform you about the sociological concept of racism in the memoir read. In the world we live in, the lives of people get surrounded with scars arising from different things. “Men We Reaped” is a memoir regarding scars brought about by the loss of five young men who died because of various social problems; one died of suicide, others due to drugs and accidents. All these lost their lives due to who they were and where they originated; the writer, Ms. Ward, narrates how she experienced bullying since she was the only black lady in her school; she faced rejection and racism. She made observations about racism and masculinity and found out that society is trapped underneath poverty and history. Black men were undervalued in the community except when they were in their homes; they, in turn, devalued those at home, leaving numerous black children being brought up without fathers. A white drunk driver murdered young black men; they were genuinely attached by their identity and residence. The outcome of their lives was programmed by gender, race, and poverty.
Ms. Ward assimilates at a young age how girls are handled differently and the danger of being black from her male relatives. The men could face violence or be detained at any time, and this brought worries in homes. The African-American inhabitants were susceptible to ruined opportunities, poverty, and the absence of chances, and their lives didn’t matter. Racism refers to predisposition or unfairness against somebody due to their race; there is a belief that races are better than others. Racism can be demonstrated through actions, values, attitudes, and guidelines. There are fundamental types of racism individual racism, cultural and institutional racism. Individual racism is a prejudice that exists within people, especially when one has negative thoughts about their culture either knowingly or innocently.
Usually, aboriginals and people of color assume racism resulting in self-hatred, disgust, and disregard for one’s race; signs of individual racism range from skin bleaching to monitoring one’s behavior to resist a typecast. Institutional racism refers to formal and social practices that prolong racial discrimination. Cultural racism reveals beliefs and traditions that encourage the postulation that outcomes of a given culture are superior to those of other customs. It is categorized by fear or hostility toward members of another cultural group. Cultural racism thrives when there is a prevalent reception of stereotypes regarding diverse ethnic groups.
In the memoir, people suffered from institutional racism and cultural racism, although they experienced individual discrimination as well at some point. Society viewed black men as unworthy, and they ended up undervaluing them; Ms. Ward was bullied in school because of her skin color (Ward, 2014). This all resulted from the society of white people considering themselves superior to the black people (Keeble, 2020). The lives of black people in that society did not matter since they were considered less human because of their cultural background; there even no opportunities for them. These kinds of racisms experienced in that society shaped the life of Ms. Ward, and she got to understand that society is background, values, and race atter a great deal.
Race and ethnicity have played a big part in shaping lives and society; the blacks have been hurt due to their race, while ethnicity has been advantageous to the whites. Race and ethnicity have influenced how different cultures think about themselves; some superior, some inferior. The race has wounded the ability of blacks to succeed and has helped the whites to succeed. Ethnicity has made blacks doubt themselves and their ability to be innovative; they take race as dominant to their general identity.
Race and ethnicity made Ms. Ward feel inferior at school, her father leaving home and her friends lost their lives out of effects arising from ethnicity. They became drunkards so that they could forget the problems that resulted from their race. Male relatives to Ms. Ward displayed the danger of being black made, and they were always insecure (Ward, 2014). Race and ethnicity interconnect with other outstanding aspects of societal differences; citizenship policies restrict membership of a particular race to a nation. There is a connection between race and nationality; people are denied opportunities in society because of their ethnicity. Skin color is another dominant social difference experienced in the community, and black people are usually discriminated against and undervalued by whites. People with opposite genders and sexuality are granted different opportunities in society while causing females to look inferior.
Racism in fashioned Ms. Ward to have a wrong perception about gender roles in society, especially among the poor. She experienced resentment from her brothers whenever she asked for help in house chores (Ward, 2014). This made her associate womanhood with working and worry and manhood with anger and hostility. Therefore, we as members of society should fight against racism and embrace the norm of equality for all. We need to take the initiative and teach others the dangers of racial discrimination in people’s lives and encourage them to develop a sense of equality.
Reference
Keeble, A. (2020). Siblings, kinship and allegory in Jesmyn Ward’s fiction and nonfiction. Critique: Studies in Contemporary Fiction, 61(1), 40-51. Web.
Ward, J. (2014). Men we reaped: A memoir. Bloomsbury.