The Education of Racial Discrimination in the United States

Though many American citizens view racial discrimination as merely an aspect of American history, racial discrimination continues to play a major role in American society. The idea that racial discrimination ended soon after the era of Martin Luther King, Jr. is clearly inaccurate. Although African Americans obtained many civil rights through the valiant efforts of Martin Luther King Jr. during the 1960’s not all issues were addressed and some concerns remain unattended to in present-day American society. Racial discrimination remains evident in American society and continues to affect the lives of countless American citizens. In order to grasp a full understanding of the causes and effects of racial discrimination in American society, rather than simply an opinion on the matter, one must view the subject of race from the third person perspective. The topic of racial discrimination in America can be observed within numerous productions of educational entertainment. Two movies, in particular, that depict the causes and effects of racial discrimination in the United States are Crash and A Day in Black and White. The Oscar Award winning movie Crash does an excellent job of demonstrating the effect that each ethnic group has on American society; however, the movie covers an extensive amount of ethnicities and does not elaborate on the issue of black and white to the extent that the movie A Day in Black and White does. The movie A Day in Black and White deals strictly with blacks and whites in an educational, yet humorous manner which suggests that race relations can be improved upon. Furthermore, A Day in Black and White explains the incentives and consequences of racial discrimination in extreme detail. Therefore, A Day in Black and White is much more effective at conveying the need to recognize and improve race relations in American society than the movie Crash, which covers a much broader subject area in a graver and more serious manner, suggesting that race relations are permanent and cannot be improved upon in the United States.

One way in which A Day in Black and White recognizes race relations in the United States is through racial identity. A Day in Black and White demonstrates the fact that many American citizens are stereotypical and often prejudge one’s characteristics, interests, intellect, and athletic ability according to skin color. For example, during the movie, Michael explains the fact that basketball is a ‘black sport’, and then begs the question, “How many white players do you see in the N.B.A?” As a result of this concept, some people tend to prejudge a black person as being an exceptional basketball player based strictly on the color of their skin. During the movie, Richard describes another stereotypical situation in which a white person who walks into a store is not suspected to be a thief, whereas a black person is automatically considered to be a suspect. Many people have developed a racial ideology that black people are more prone to commit crimes than white people. The article “Racial Formations” supports this concept of racial ideology by describing that one of the first things a person realizes in another is their race. The article then explains that people often utilize race to provide clues about one’s character, interests, intelligence, and athletic ability (Omi, Winant 12). In other words, by merely glancing at the color of a person’s skin, one often grasps an instant concept of the various traits and abilities of this individual.

Racial discrimination along with racial ideology does not pertain only to the individual, but rather relates to the African American population as a whole. A Day in Black and White illustrates the fact that race prejudice is the result of group position in society rather than the feelings which members of one racial group have toward the members of another racial group (Blumer 11). For example, a white person is unlikely to act prejudiced towards a black person for the reason of dislike; however, a white person would very likely become prejudiced if a group of black people suddenly replaced several white coworkers in the work environment for no apparent reason. In this case, race prejudice is not a result of the white person’s hatred towards blacks, but instead, race prejudice is caused by the struggle for group position within society. This struggle for group position within a society is evident throughout much of A Day in Black and White. One scene, in particular, that depicts this topic is when Michael stresses the fact that he feels his position in society is sometimes threatened by black people. Michael’s situation is an excellent example of how most whites feel intimidated by the presence of blacks in society. For this reason, many laws are created to enable whites to obtain an upper-hand in society over the subordinate race.

A Day in Black and White explains that the concept of race has only been devised as a method of providing the dominant race with unjust benefits over the subordinate race in the social, economic, and political aspects of life. Together, the movie and the article “The Color of Punishment” prove that the root of racial discrimination in the United States is the need for white supremacy within society. Both the movie and the article proceed in proving this statement through the presentation of overwhelming statistics and factual information. The article explains that the use and distribution of crack cocaine is a more serious offense than powder cocaine because it is cheaper and more accessible to black people (Cole 237). For example, the article states that a person who is caught selling five grams of crack cocaine receives the same prison sentence as someone who is caught selling five-hundred grams of powder cocaine (Cole 235). Why should the crack form of cocaine be considered more offensive than the powder form of the drug when it is less expensive? The intentions behind these enforcements are none other than to benefit white people in American society. The fact that whites are less likely than blacks to be caught with possession of crack cocaine is the only incentive behind the consequences for each offense. If the situation was to change, and many whites began to use the crack form of the drug, the United States government would certainly become more lenient toward crack cocaine offenders for the simple reason that the law would then pertain to a large population of white people who are the majority and dominant race in American society (Cole 240). This concept of favoring the white population can be seen through the history of enforcements on marijuana usage and distribution in the United States. At first, when marijuana users were mainly non-white, the penalties on marijuana were extremely cruel and unforgiving; infact, a person’s third offense often resulted in ten to twenty years of imprisonment (Cole 241). During the 1960’s, the usage and sale of marijuana quickly spread to the white upper and middle classes (Cole 241). Since the enforcements on marijuana now affected whites, laws were modified to appease the white population. Likewise, strict enforcements on crack cocaine offenders will not be amended until the use of crack cocaine expands to a larger percentage of the white population. The United States government simply ignores issues that are of great concern to African Americans because they are merely the subordinate race, and therefore, have no authoritative power in American society. Although many African Americans have refuted the enforcements on the use and distribution of crack cocaine, a small percentage of the white population has shown any concern for an amendment; therefore, since white is the dominant race in the United States, there is no pressure on the United States government to revise its ways of political and judicial inequality. A Day in Black and White also portrays the issues of political and judicial inequality in the United States. For example, Michael states that blacks exaggerate discrimination and only want to make whites feel guilty about the issues of the past. His black friend, Richard, then argues that blacks are unfairly treated in all aspects of life. He then states that blacks are unjustly punished for crimes and that blacks receive longer prison sentences than whites. Richard’s statements reflect the judicial inequalities prevalent in American society as a result of racial discrimination towards African Americans.

Racial discrimination towards blacks in the social, economic, political, and judicial aspects of life in the United States is the main cause for many African Americans to change their racial identity. A Day in Black and White depicts the numerous disadvantages of being considered ‘black’ in American society which force a large number of African Americans to attempt to change their racial identity. However, in the United States, the revision of one’s racial identity is an extremely difficult task. According to the article “Racial Formations,” in order to be considered ‘white’ in the United States, one must be of pure white descent. Any other variations of descent are considered non-white, and therefore, inferior. For example, the rule of hypo-descent states that one’s ancestry must consist of less than 1/32 ‘non-white’ blood (Omi, Winant 13). Although many non-white citizens attempt to change their racial identity, white citizens rarely attempt to modify their identity as a result of the numerous inequalities in American society that make it unnecessary for whites to revise their superior identity in the United States. As depicted in A Day in Black and White, some white people may act black, but no white person wants to be black due to the social, economic, political, and judicial disadvantages that come hand in hand with being considered ‘black’ in the United States. Although many issues remain unseen, race prejudice in the United States has gradually become much less of a concern in American society over time and there is some hope in a bright future for African Americans in American society.

A Day in Black and White explains some ways in which the issue of race prejudice in the United States can be cured. First of all, it states that, “Race is a serious thing, only if you let it be.” This message is presented throughout the entire movie by the way that most of the information is demonstrated to the viewer in a humorous way. These forms of comic relief send an influential message to the viewer that race prejudice has greatly recovered over time in American society and that this issue is no longer as serious as it had once been. This statement also shows that race relations can be improved upon if everyone can make a conscious effort not to allow race to be a serious issue. The movie also states that, “We cannot get back at the dead through the living.” In other words, we must move on and forget about the events of the past, and instead, focus on present-day life. A Day in Black and White depicts the fact that although racial discrimination and race prejudice have been and continue to be prevailing elements in American culture, the United States has come further than anyone had once anticipated and can reach its final destination, which is equality for all. America may not be the home of the free and the brave quite yet, but it soon will be if the right steps are taken.

While A Day in Black and White shows several ways in which race prejudice and discrimination can be corrected and does so in a humorous, light-hearted way; the movie Crash portrays the subject of race in a much graver, more serious manner. Granted, Crash is an Oscar Award winning movie that is constructed with far more drama and emotion than A Day in Black and White, which did not even premier in many theatres. However, the movie Crash does not deliver the message of black against white to the extent that it could have because it covers far too many ethnicities to allow the viewer to grasp a full understanding of race relations in the United States. My point is not that A Day in Black and White is a better movie than Crash. If this were the case, then A Day in Black and White would have received an Oscar Award and Crash would have barely made its way into a handful of theatres across the country. Instead, my point is that A Day in Black and White delivers a much more educational message than Crash in terms of race relations between blacks and whites throughout American history and how we, as American citizens, must go about correcting this problem.

A Day in Black and White is not the greatest movie in the world; however, if one is interested in learning a great deal about race relations in the United States while, at the same time, enjoying a taste of humor, it is definitely a movie worth watching. The movie, A Day in Black and White, is much more educational and humorous than the movie Crash. A Day in Black and White utilizes humor to portray the fact that race relations are no longer a serious problem in American society and can be further corrected if the right procedures are followed. Crash, on the other hand, deals with race relations in a much more serious manner that depicts racial discrimination as a subject of permanence which cannot be amended in American society. A Day in Black and White also discusses several extremely important race-related concepts such as racial ideology, racial identity, and racial discrimination in social, economic, political, and judicial aspects of life. A Day in Black and White illustrates race relations in far more detail and also presents the issue of race relations in a much more positive way than does the movie Crash. Therefore, A Day in Black and White is a far more useful movie than Crash in terms of recognizing race relations in the United States.

Works Cited

Blumer, Herbert. “Race Prejudice as a Sense of Group Position.” The Pacific Sociological Review volume 1 (1958): p.3-7.

Cole, David. “The Color of Punishment.” No Equal Justice: Race and Class in the

American Criminal Justice System (1998): p.234-243.

Omi, Michael, and Howard Winant. “Racial Formations.” Racial Formation in the United States volume 2 (1994).

A Day in Black and White. Dir. Desmond Hall. Perf. Harold Perrineau, Antony DeSando,

Carolyn Nerff. DVD. USA, 1999.

Crash. Dir. Paul Haggis. Perf. Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, Matt Dilon, Jennifer Esposito, Keith David. DVD. USA, 2004.