Race and Civil Rights

Race as a Social Construct

• The concept of race is portrayed as strange and illogical due to its binary and hierarchical nature.
• Historically, groups like people from the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent, and Sicily didn't fit into the Black/White binary in the American South, causing confusion about their racial identity.

Norms and Systemic Racism

• The idea of "good hair" in African American culture, aspiring to straight hair, is an example of systemic racism perpetuated by beauty standards and products.
• Images of Black people in the 1950s and 1960s versus the 1970s and 1980s (Black Power, Black is Beautiful movement) show a shift from assimilating to White norms to embracing African identity.

White Privilege and Agency

• The civil rights movement began with African Americans but extends to other marginalized groups (gender, sexual identity, class).
• Change requires those with agency (cisgender, straight, upper-middle-class individuals) to allow it.
• White allies are crucial for progress; the story of Schwerner, Chaney, and Goodman illustrates this.
• Missing indigenous women receive less attention compared to missing white women, highlighting racial disparities in media coverage.

Pattern of Resistance and Social Change

• Recognition: Acknowledging the existence of a problem, particularly by those in positions of privilege.
• Organization: Marginalized groups organize to address the issues.
• Agitation and Demonstration: Protests and demonstrations challenge the status quo.
• State Repression: The state uses force (arrests, violence) to suppress the movement.
• Recognition and Litigation: If injustice is widely recognized, changes can be achieved, often through litigation.

Recognizing Humanity

• The movie Sinners illustrates the importance of recognizing the shared humanity of all people, regardless of race, gender, or sexual orientation.
• Frederick Douglass's quote emphasizes the long and difficult struggle for social change.
• Social change has been rapid in recent times, particularly for the LGBTQIA+ community, but it's important to remember that progress is not always linear.
• Power does not concede easily, and there will be resistance to change.
  • Instead of outright demonization, engage respectfully with those holding different viewpoints. Ask them about their reasoning, concerns, exploring the concerns of conservative America regarding transgender bathrooms and athletes.

Historical Context and Jim Crow Laws

• Jim Crow laws encompassed public and private spaces, including miscegenation laws (prohibiting interracial marriage), employment discrimination, and segregation in public spaces.
• Loving v. Virginia (1967) overturned miscegenation laws.
• De jure segregation (by law) vs. de facto segregation (by custom).
• Plessy v. Ferguson established the "separate but equal" doctrine, which was later applied to schools in the Cummings decision (1899).

Resistance and Organizations

• Progressives and organizations like the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), founded by W. E. B. Du Bois, fought against racial inequality.
• CORE (Congress of Racial Equality) was established in 1944 by World War II veterans to challenge racial segregation.
• The modern civil rights movement gained momentum after World War II.

Eugene Bullard

• Eugene Bullard, nicknamed "Black Swallow," was an African American who fought in World War I for France, was highly decorated, and later fought against the Nazis in World War II. His story remains relatively unknown despite his remarkable achievements.

The Green Book

• The Green Book was a travel guide for Black people navigating the Jim Crow South, listing safe places to stay, eat, and get gas.
• Sunset Laws -- some towns the Black individual would die as a result of these laws

The Realities of Segregation

• The separate but equal doctrine was not upheld in practice. Segregated facilities were often unequal in quality.
• Petty indignities and discrimination were common for non-white people.
• Passing as white could offer some protection from discrimination, but multiracial individuals still faced challenges.

Brown v. Board of Education

• Brown v. Board of Education (1954) declared that separate schools are inherently unequal, challenging de jure segregation in education.
• Some states had no laws about segregating by race.
• Racial discrimination existed in other ways (red-lining).