One More River to Cross and Whites Swim in Racial Preference

Charles Lawrence wrote the article, One More River to Cross. His purpose for writing the article is clearly stated. He says, "It is the thesis of this paper that the Brown decision fostered a way of thinking about segregation that has allowed many judiciary and society at large to deny the reality of race in America, that the recognition of that reality is critical to the framing of any meaningful remedy-judicial or political- and that brown may ultimately be labeled a success only insofar as we are able to make it stand for what it should have stood for in 1954." to break this down a little, he is saying that, despite the views of many people that Brown was intended to do nothing but desegregate the school systems, Brown was far more than that and impacted people on a far greater level, making it a success. He says, "There is little doubt that the psychological impact of Brown was the spark that ignited the spontaneous combustion of boycotts, sit-ins, voter registration, marches, and political organizations that resulted in much significant change for blacks."He is saying that, despite the bad outcomes of Brown, it should still be considered a success because of the place it has brought us now. That it was one big step taken toward desegregation and equality as a whole for blacks.
i enjoyed this article. i had trouble reading it and focusing, however, because it is so cut and dry so i found myself having to read the same paragraphs over a few times but the overall purpose and meaning of the article was interesting and well put together. The format was very clear, like where he listed how segregation functions then went on to describe those "hows" more fully. it was not a article that jumped back and forth between topic to topic but,. instead, flowed fairly well.
The way that he described segregation jumped right off the page for me because it was very strong and made sense. Im not sure why i thought this, maybe i was told it when i was younger or something but i always though that blacks and whites were forced to go to different schools for safety purposes. Because the white children would be cruel to the blacks and the white teachers would treat black children unfairly because the were seen as being of lesser worth than whites. The way that Lawrence describes it makes it more intense, on a higher level then just fairness and people being mean to people. The way that he puts it really shows how government and people in power were pushing for segregation because the people in power were white and theyd like to keep "their people" in power. If everyone was equal, it would be harder to get to the top.He describes segregation as, "an instrument of subordination which used a strict and rigid caste system to clearly define and limit the social, political, and economic mobility of blacks," and he says that the purpose of segregation is, "...to create and maintain a permanent lower class or subcaste defines as race."
Another part of Lawrences article that struck me was when he talks about the court systems refusing to pull the wool from their eyes and see that they, "whites" are being unjust and that it is not only that blacks are being effected by being segregated but that it is wrong for them to be segregated in the first place. By saying that it is the effect that is the issue then they are leaving the door open for other types of segregation, however, if they said the real issue, segregation itself, the problem, for blacks at least, would be lessened. He says, "Instead of taking judicial cognizance of the fact that the manifest purpose of segregation was to designate blacks as inferior, holding such purpose constitutionally impermissible, the court chose to focus upon the effect of school segregation," also, "The courts refusal to recognize and articulate the real nature of segregation in brown and its progeny has fostered an attitude and approach to the elimination of segregation that necessarily be unsuccessful." He also expands on this point by showing that, even if segregation in schools was eliminated, the fact that it is seen everywhere else will make a huge difference i the way that children will feel towards each other. blacks will still feel inferior and whites superior, just now they are put together to feel that insecurity in the schools. How could you focus on learning any better when you are sitting next to a child who, because of their skin color, is seen as better then you, lives a better, easier life than you and probably sees you as crap, unworthy of sitting beside them? Lawrence says, "Once it is understood that the injury results from the existence of the label of inferiority, it becomes clear that the cure must involve the removal of that label. The mere placement of black and white children in the same school does not remove the brand imprinted by years of segregation."
Because of this longstanding feeling of segregation, changing a few little things, like putting children together in the same school will not make much of a difference on its own. Lawrence states the fact that, "many black schools that existed within the segregated school systems of the south were in fact superior to their white counterparts." This shocked mer at first but then i realized that it doesnt matter on the larger scale because no matter what they have, no matter how smart they are, they will still be considered inferior. This is where Lawrences second point comes in, that children are injured by the existence of the system, not just by particular acts.
When firs reading Lawrences statement that, "white Americans deny responsibility for the position of blacks by denying that they have created a system of oppression that will continue ro exist and operate to their benefit until they have destroyed it,"i felt a little threatened and thought, 'im not responsible, i do deny it!' because i, alone, am not responsible but everyone as a whole is. One person will not change racism but many people together can. The way that he stated that quote was strong and threatening so i took it as an attack at me personally but, when reading it over, i feel as though, even though i dont like it, he makes a point.
This entire section of the article actually got o me because i felt that, as a white person, i was being attacked. He talks about how many whites are against affirmative action. He says that, "they argue that blacks should not be granted so-called, "preferential treatment" at the expense of whites who have played no part in denying them their rights. But if the system of racial defamation ad exclusion was designed to perpetuate itself, the right of blacks to equal protection must include the right to the active destruction of that system. And as long as the majority continues to allow that system to exist ( certainly as long as they benefit by its effectiveness), they play an integral part in the denial of the blacks right to equal opportunity." I know im quoting a lot but he also says, "The argument that the constitution is colorblind asks us to believe that society is color blind, that segregation has dies a natural death, and that each individuals success or failure is based upon a meritocratic measure of his or her ability and skills. This version of America is comforting to those who are presently in the best position to reap the benefits of privilege." These two quotes also seamed to push me down with information and then kick me when i was laying there. Knowing that i reap the benefits of society today and knowing that i do have good chances of being successful makes me happy on a normal day because i know that i will be able to raise my children and know that they will go o to lead happy successful lives as well but, in reading this, it made me feel bad fir being privileged, it made me feel like because i am white, i am crap and i am the reason for black peoples lack of privilege. Though it hurt me and made me feel extremely uncomfortable, i am glad that i read it and have to give a hand to Lawrence for writing a piece with suck vigor. My only fear, however, is that, with a piece written like this, many people wont say, i see where you are coming from and your right, whites do need to sacrifice some of their own privilege to allow blacks to be privileged as well to be equal, they will, instead, get angry and not want to do anything, denying with even more force that they have nothing to do with it. In my happiness because of my privilege i realize that i am saying exactly what i mentioned in my second or third paragraph that, "if everyone was equal, it would be harder to get to the top."
The second article, Whites swim in racial preference was an interesting and eye opening piece by Tim Wise (i think.) this piece is so strong and much of that strength has to do with the way in which it is written. it is almost in a poetic format the repeats itself and pushes its meaning into your face. It is hard for me to pull quotes from this text because every sentence is strong and meaningful. He states many facts that are powerful like, "white families have, on average a net worth of 11 times the net worth of black families." I believe that the purpose if his piece is extremely similar to the beliefs of Lawrence. He says, "...it is hardly an exaggeration to say that white America is the biggest collective recipient of racial preference in the history of the cosmos. It has skewed our laws, shaped our public policy and helped create the glaring inequalities with which we still live."
He compares white people to fish, saying that our privilege is water and that water is, "invisible precisely because we cannot imagine life without it." I suppose that this comparison makes sense and i could not imagine what it would feel like to live without privilege and i wouldnt want to. When talking about the University of Michigan, i found out a lot of overwhelming information. At first i was thinking, 'whats the big deal, white people should get points just like black people if they need the help, however knowing that a student could not get more points if thy have already received points for being a minority seams extravagant and obviously unfair. There isnt very much more that i can say about this piece. agree with its reasoning and an shocked by its data. It was well written and proves a very outstanding point that white privilege is being held in place by those in power, ensuring its existence which, in turn will also hold in place that lack of privilage that minorities have by not allowing that to go to the best schools because those spots are reserved for whites and the upper class.