Theory of Discrimination Theoretical Review

analyzed and their „functional‟ role as rationalizations of the superior cast e‟s interests has been stressed. The racial beliefs and the popular theory of „no social equality‟ were found to have a kernel of magical logic, signified by the notion of “blood”. We have been brought to view the caste order as fundamentally a system of disability forced by the whites upon the Negroes, and our discussion of the Negro Problem up to this point has, therefore, been mainly a study of the whites‟ attitude and behavior... The Negro problem is primarily a white man‟s problem. In this part we shall find that the class order within the Negro caste is chiefly a function of the historical caste order in America Myrdal 669. Caste system in America will determine the blood rule. This situation is protected because intermarriage is banned. Both sides, the Blacks and the Whites, keep the purity of their blood heritage. So, crossing caste line is rarely happen. In the American caste order, this can be accomplished only by the deception of the white people with whom the passer comes to associate and by a conspiracy of silence on the part of other Negroes who might know about it Myrdal 682. When someone passes from one caste line to the other or intermarriage, heshe will find difficulties socializing with hisher associates. It is assumed that crossing caste line will make Negroes live in a higher class structure. But, there are some reasons why Negroes still keep their pure blood. Gunnar Myrdal interviewed his Negro friend, a young and gifted college graduate among his Negro friends, about why he preferred not to pass Myrdal 686: First, when passing as a white with some Indian Blood, he could never overcome a slight feeling of strain and nervousness when in company; he would have to make forced explanations concerning his family; and he always felt suspicion around him-probably more suspicion, he remarked, than there actually was. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI Second, b ecause of his teaching position and his “good looks” he is “tops” in the Negro community; while if he were white in a similar job, he would be one among many and far from the social ceiling. Third, because his profession was one in which there are few qualified Negro workers, he got his position more easily as a Negro than he would have as white man. He was aware that he could advance further in the white world, but observed that even a large advance as a white man would carry much less esteem than a correspondingly smaller advance as a Negro. Fourth, social life was so much more pleasant in the higher ranks of the Negro community than in the corresponding ranks of the white community: a Negro had so many more intimate associates; there were so many more social affairs and family entertainments going on in the Negro community-due probably, he observed, to the Negro‟s reaction against segregation in public places.

3. Negro Community after the Slavery

Slavery in the United States started in 1619 when the first Africans arrived. In that year a Dutch vessel landed in Jamestown, and the captain sold 20 blacks to the Virginia settlers Pinkney 1. In the slavery era, slaves were treated as a commodity. The slave received none of the protections of organized society because he was not considered to be a person; rather, he was considered to be property, and only to the extent that a citizen‟s property must be protected could the slave expect society‟s consideration. The slaves were not treated as human beings. This situation formed a new community for the slaves. It could not be avoided that they lost their tradition and culture because of slavery. They lived in a place with black people from other areas. They could not maintain their own culture. They must master English language for the sake of the land lord in ordering them to do something. It was not surprised that there was a mix language within the slave community. Franzier summarizes the impact of slavery on the slaves as follows: The African family system was destroyed, and the slave was separated from his kinsmen and friends. Moreover, in the United States there was little chance that he could reknit the ties of friendship and old associations. If by chance he encountered fellow slaves with whom he could communicate in his native tongue, he was separated from them. From the very beginning he was forced to learn English in order to obey the commands of his white masters. Whatever memories he might have retained of his native land and native customs became meaningless in the New World Pinkney 7. The population of the free blacks increased steadily from the middle of the seventeenth century until emancipation. But, not all black people in the United States were enslaved. The civil war is one of the trigger of free black movements. Pinkney says there are several factors account for the steady increase in the population of free blacks Pinkney 15: firstly, manumission of slaves, which had been practiced since the beginning of slavery, became a major factor in the increase in the free black population; second, children born to free blacks inherited the status of their parents; thirdly, mulatto children born of free black mothers were free; fourth, children of free black and Indian parentage were born free; fifth, mulatto children born to white mothers were free; and sixth, slaves continued to escape to freedom. Although freedom is in hand for some black PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI