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Anti-Blackness in the United States

Anti-blackness in America has persisted throughout history in various forms. When talking about racism in the U.S. it is painted as a black and white issue without acknowledging that white supremacy ideals are embedded in various cultures and societies. Anti-blackness is perpetuated through different systems such as education, media, social class, and access or lack thereof to different resources. Systemic racism creates the constant impediment of progress by setting up barriers for people of color that otherwise would not be present or evident for those who are white or white passing.

Education

In the education system, race and class often labels the Black community as being a lazy and unintelligent race. There is a theory that people of color are inherently “inferior” and therefore don’t have an advance way of thinking. The “deficit model” correlates a minority students' success with their cultural and racial background, home lifestyle, and family values.

Policing of black bodies

The idea that Black students in low-income communities that receive public education are the problem of society is attributed to the amount of surveillance there is within the schools themselves. Police officers are roaming the halls of underfunded schools and making arrests on accounts that should be handled by school administrators, not the law directly. In wealthier schools, students are granted the protection of a security officer but not monitored or policed the same way as a predominantly Black and Latino high school. White supremacy has ingrained the idea of Blackness being automatically dangerous and needing to be controlled versus whiteness.

School-to-Prison Pipeline The school-to-prison pipeline manifests in low-income communities and underfunded schools. The lack of sufficient resource can be due to inadequate test scores mandatory by state to qualify for state funding. books o counselors o special education o qualified teachers • Zero-Tolerance Policies o minor infractions lead to suspension o no constructive activities or supervision o actions that should be addressed within the school

Violence against the Black body

Incarceration • U.S. holds 25% of the world's incarcerated population • 1 in 9 African American men, 1 in 100 African American women are incarcerated • Children of incarcerated parent(s) are then more likely to be incarcerated • Approximately 300,000 inmates in 1972, the jail population grew to 2 million by the year 2000 • 97% of 125,000 federal inmates have been convicted of non-violent crimes War on drugs • Penalty for powder cocaine is less severe than crack even though it’s just a different form of the same drug (18:1). • Crack cocaine is cheaper and more commonly accessible to poor African Americans, creating the disparities in arrests. Wrongful convictions • Women that are incarcerated have some form of mental illness and have no resources available in prisons. • Lack of resources for childcare- either foster care, adoption, or live with other relative

Industry Benefit

Industry benefit • Free labor o 98% of the entire market for equipment assembly services; 93% of paints and paintbrushes; 92% of stove assembly; 46% of body armor; 36% of home appliances; 30% of headphones/microphones/speakers; and 21% of office furniture • Increased production o between 1980 and 1994, profits went from $392 million to $1.31 billion o no unemployment o inmates earn a minimum of 25 cents an hour o no benefits Military Benefit • Free labor o Inmates produce 100% of all military helmets, ammunition belts, bullet-proof vests, ID tags, shirts, pants, tents, bags, and canteens.

See also

• Audre Lorde
• Black feminism
• Dorothy Roberts
• Internalized racism
• Negrophobia
• Prison–industrial complex
• School-to-prison pipeline

References

1. Louque, Angela, and Helen M. Garcia. "Hispanic American and African American Women Scholars." Race, Gender & Class 7.3 (2000): 35. ProQuest. Web. 23 Nov. 2015.

• Education