Racial Profiling and Stereotypes

Racial profiling and stereotypes are common threads in Richard Wright's Native Son. Bigger, the main character, is a young black man given an opportunity to be the chauffeur to the rich white family, the Daltons. He often feels very uncomfortable because of the color of his skin and feels that he can never be looked at in the same light as everyone else just because he is black. Jan is a local Communist leader. He is the main suspect in Mary death because of Bigger's made up story and no one doubt it because Communism is bad so Jan must be bad too. Then when the truth comes out and it all makes sense that the poor black boy killed the rich white girl. The only facts that mattered in this story were the color of your skin and your political believes. 

Native Son was written in the late 1930s but Richard Wright's message is still prevalent today. We very often continue to see racial profiling in every day society as it is splattered across the news. One recent event that comes to mind is that of NFL running back Ryan Moats. Was it racial profiling or was it a case of a cop on a power trip? Read the article on my delicious page and come up with your own conclusion. There is also racial profiling in the work place, that is a fact of life. This article argues that racial profiling in work forces is just preferences that are made to accommodate the customer. Is that the truth or is the author just coming up with excuses?

Racial profiling and stereotyping is just about every where. There are definitely numerous cases in which it is entirely unjust and wrong but this blog gives a more realistic view on stereotyping. Is the author's view really that far off from truth? Or is the portrayl of racism by one of our classmates more accurate? 

Many people say that the reason racism is prolonged and occurs is because of the people who are oppressors, in the case of Native Son it is white society. The following quotes would also suggest that point but I say that black society is the one who puts itself down and puts white people on a pedestal. Which side of the argument do these quotes from the novel support? Which side do you agree with?

"He was black and he had been alone in the room where a white girl had been killed: therefore he had killed her. That was what everyone would say, anyhow, no matter what he said."

"To Bigger and his kind, white people were not really people; they were a sort of great natural force, like a stormy sky looming overhead or like a  deep swirling river stretching suddenly at one's feet in the dark."

"They regarded him as a figment of that black world which they feared and were anxious to keep under control."

"I just work. I'm black. I work and I don't bother nobody."

Native Son is an example of racial issues during the 1930s. Richard Wright wrote the novel as his answer to them. Today, there are entire classes on race issues. Go on iTunes and search racial profiling missouri. Listen to the audio lecture by Dr. Karl Kunkel and listen to what he says about the issue. 

No that you are well educated on racial profiling and stereotyping go back to my delicious page. Take the common stereotype quiz and read common stereotype list from Progressive U. As your project you will draw yourself as the stereotype you were classified in as the quiz. Also draw 5 of the common stereotypes from Progressive U.