Sum Blog One

          Racial Formations by Omi and Winant overall discussed the dimensions and dynamics of the construction of race. Race as an invention of people was conceived to stratify people and recognize more differences between the types. People have and still do try to claim, biologically, that the differences between races are large enough to justify the inequality between them. When in all actuality the differences, in regard to race, are only present in the features or characteristics of the person, not their function. We all start from the exact same place, what determines our differences are the experiences we have as we grow up. What really grabbed me about this reading was coming across the sentence where they discuss the term “passing”, I had to stop and think about that word. I gave it a moment before continuing and realized that was the title of a book that I had read a long time ago by Nella Larson about two sisters in the 1920’s who weren’t 100% black or white but a mixture somewhere in between. One could pass for white but the other fell under the ‘one drop’ rule and assimilated to the black culture of the time. It’s a really good book that ties into our class reading well. The racial etiquettes of the 1920’s between blacks and whites were seemingly polar opposite and it was reflected in the “presentations of self” when looking at the differences between what was acceptable for people who were either black or white. In our society “we utilize race to provide clues about who a person is” (pg. 22) because we group their differences with certain characteristics that we assume to be exclusive to them. This is the basis of many stereotypes that can be seen in everyday life. In the movie “The Jerk” featuring Steve Martin, he plays a white character that grew up in a black family that doesn’t recognize he isn’t blood related but is still acting under characteristics that are supposedly unique to the white race; like enjoying mayonnaise and not having any rhythm.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHB4TzHzi2A