Introduction
Racism is deeply rooted in the history of the United States, provoking numerous severe conflicts, confrontations, and even the prolonged American Civil War. Until now, this problem has taken place in different forms, disturbing the public and attracting the intensified interest of many experts and scholars who strive to examine its causes, effects, and possible solutions. In the book White Privilege, Blakemore provides insight into the core historical forces conditioning the disadvantage of people of color and their impact on all social realms, including private life, politics, education, and media. Thus, this book review aims at describing the most appealing ideas delivered by the author, their implications, and contentious suggestions.
The Most Appealing Ideas
The first interesting thought is related to Blakemore’s criticizing position on the concept of white supremacy, indicating its adverse aftermath. This idea implies the natural superiority of the white race over other ethnical minorities, thereby justifying white privilege and power. White supremacist groups believe that their race should reside in a distinct, whites-only society to prevent white extinction and maintain their peculiar culture. In this regard, the author explains the connection of this ideology with other radical belief systems, such as neo-Nazism, ultra-nationalism, and fascism, that have already shown their atrocious features. Furthermore, the book specifies that white supremacism is guilt at most of the social disturbances in the USA, retarding the comprehensive national development and causing thousands of innocent deaths.
The second thought-provoking idea is linked to education, to which Blakemore gives special attention, regarding it as the essential institution that immensely influences the social atmosphere and related concerns. Despite noticeable achievements in the law field, the author indicates that racism is highly prevalent in many states’ educational entities, especially schools. Specifically, school funding mainly depends on property taxes; that is, schools situated in poor areas, mostly populated by people of color, gain lower financing than those located in higher-income districts. Besides, Blakemore states that as much research demonstrated, in higher education, faculty, especially in private institutions, more favor white men than other categories of enrollees. Finally, the book infers that racially biased education significantly contributes to the formation of specific social, behavioral patterns and disadvantages racial minorities.
The book also contains suggestive insights into other critical fields of human activity, including politics and media. For example, public opinion outlets are inclined to depict white families as prosperous and stable while black families as problematic, dysfunctional, and such that often connected with the criminal world. Moreover, African Americans with lighter skin or more European traits possess a higher opportunity to work in the media space. Concerning politics, many state legislators tend to be less responsive to African-American constituents, and voting behavior is frequently formed by racial conditions. In addition, spokesmen from other minorities are considerably underrepresented in all the states.
The Implications of the Ideas
In the educational regard, the impact of these ideas on my role as an educator is two-folded. Firstly, the book helps me realize that I should pay equal attention to all my students without distinguishing them by race. It is unreasonable to favor white individuals and disregard the needs of the Black, Latino, and the representatives of other ethnical groups since this will result in impaired learning outcomes. The workflow should be stable, creative, and natural, and disadvantaging people of color can totally disrupt this understanding. At the same time, understanding my role while interacting with learners, I also should advocate for the rights of ethical minorities to promote social stability and confident development of the US. I agree that racial concerns and such absurd ideas as white supremacy sever our society by generating various confrontations, turmoil, and tension. Thus, there is an apparent necessity in resolute actions and decisions to avert the emergence of severe social problems.
Challenging Ideas
However, some of the author’s assumptions can be challenged on closer consideration. For instance, Blakemore is inclined to exaggerate the issues he examines, mostly neglecting the recent substantial shifts and attainments in society in terms of racism. It is worth admitting that, currently, the situation is gradually acquiring more favorable and promising character in all fields, and, for instance, Black Americans can be seen more frequently in the media and politics. Educational establishments also realize the need to remedy the problem and even make a real effort to promote equality among all races. Indeed, many concerns still exist, and the overall context is far from ideal, but, definitely, American society needs time to progress in this question.
Conclusion
In summary, the paper has examined the most appealing ideas in the book White Privilege by Blakemore, their implications, as well as controversial suggestions. In particular, the most thought-provoking insight is associated with the author’s criticizing position on the concept of white supremacy, demonstrating its inferiority. Besides, the book concerns the racial issues in all dimensions of the media, politics, and education, including schools and higher institutions. As a result, these ideas will stimulate me to promote equality among students of all races and advocate for their rights. Finally, it is worth noting that Blakemore tends to overstate the overall situation and does not give due credit to the significant conducive changes that happened in the US recently.