As unfortunate as it is, people are always being categorized and stereotyped based off of their skin color and race. When it comes to interaction (social, economic, political) between different races, especially of those with different skin tones, little consideration is given to personal, individual quality. Immediately, sets of stereotypes take over peoples’ perceptions of others. Let us consider for example, those of dark skin color. Crowder in his article, researched the differences between West Indian blacks and African American blacks. In his article he mentions that socially, the two groups are both considered by society as being “black”; however, they are far from the same. Data and research from Crowder’s article revealed that West Indians are actually at a small advantage over African Americans in terms of residency, economic standing, and other factors. Their heritage is vastly different, and interaction between the two groups is limited. As different as they are, society sees them as the same, being of similar skin color, and this is where we run into a problem. In this aspect, we cannot treat things as black and white. We cannot let something as simple as skin color override our perception of individual personality, skill, and capabilities.
In Rogers’ article, Rogers talks about minority group coalitions between African Americans and non-white Americans, specifically Afro-caribbean Americans. He constantly speaks about the “minority group perspective,” an idea that because minorities share the same afflictions, and political strife, they should find it easy to form alliances. Such an idea however feeds into the black and white perspective. Through the minority group perspective, we’re taking groups of people that differ vastly by religion, race, and culture, and throwing them together into one “minority group.” The idea supposedly raises the question: Why don’t they all get along even though racially, they face the same hardship and alienation from white Americans? Alliances between these minority groups are not going to be so clear cut. As Rogers examined, even Afro-Caribbean Americans and African Americans who have many racial commonalities, find it very hard to come to terms with each other. This is due solely to their cultural differences, and their reluctancies to diffuse. Such is the case for all minorities. Racism and segregation don’t only exist between whites and minorities. Minorities often times berate other minorities, creating another, shall we call “white to minority” relationship. This in turn ruins the chance for any of these minority groups ever coming together.
All of this talk about minority group coalitions and simple categorizing becomes extremely relevant to today’s time. As Sanjek points out, many communities, especially within New York, are demographically approaching a “majority minority” transition. This transition brings about the rise of minorities in neighborhoods, and the decline of what was once considered the majorities. Take into consideration, Elmhurst-Corona, the neighborhood Sanjek frequently uses in his article. The white population of Elmhurst-Corona saw a decline by as much as 80% over the course of several decades. As more and more immigrants pour into New York, neighborhoods fill up with more minorities. Today, we have reached a point where minorities are minorities no longer. At this point, it becomes more important in analyzing the ways many of these different races interact with each other. We have to take down this black and white perception of people of different cultures, and consider a world full of color, where everyone can feel comfortable by the fact that they aren’t being scrutinized for something as simple as skin color. The world has yet to achieve such a goal, however the idea may be able to foster in small neighborhoods and hopefully spread out elsewhere around the world.
