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Holly Langton
Sue Briggs
English 1050
August 3, 2014
Reflection Essay
Discrimination involves one group of peoplesocially, politically, and economically
dominating another group. At the 2011 World Conference against Racism, a delegation from the
American Psychological Association commented that racism serves to "rationalize the hierarchical
domination of one racial or ethnic group over other group(s), and maintain psychological, social,
and material advantages for the dominant group." An analysis of our readings shows that the
dominant groups who engaged in capitalismin the past and the presentare responsible for
many of the evils of racism and discrimination occurring today.
Racism and discrimination has facilitated a tremendous accumulation of profits in the U.S.
business world for centuries. Diana George and John Trimbur, authors of Reading Culture, note in
the section of their book, Living in a Transitional World, From its inception, the United States
has been part of a transnational circulation of people, wealth, and power. And they describe this
transnational system as, a core (the rich nations of the West) and a periphery (the poor and
developing countries), held together by unequal relations of power and asymmetrical flows of
wealth that were installed between the metropolitan centers and their colonies in the age of
imperialism. In other words, those who are more powerful have been taking advantage of those
who are less powerful for a very long time. A century before America declared its independence, it
established racism as a fundamental part of business. George and Trinbur write, slave trade, since

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the early 1600s, was explicitly linked to the fortunes of American merchants and plantation
ownersand, ultimately, the fate of the new nation.
No one can dispute the material advantages gained by the American settlers at expense of
African American slaves. One has to wonder if America would have developed into the economic
powerhouse it has become without slave labor? Its unlikely, especially when you consider slaves
were responsible for the production of all of Americas major consumer goodscoffee, sugar,
cotton, etc.which became the backbone of U.S. world trade. Plus, as Frederick Douglass
recounts from a newspaper article cited in his speech, slave trade itself as a business enterprise
was extremely profitable and, it is carried on in all the large cities in one-half of this confederacy:
and millions are pocketed every year by dealers in this horrid traffic. In several states, this is a
chief source of wealth. This is wealth specifically created through racism and discrimination.
This wealth was fueled by the development of the west and according to George and
Trimburs Colonized and Colonizer, was how the United States built an internal settler empire
based on the annexation of the land and people through purchase, conquest, and dispossession of
native inhabitants This is something that is glossed over in the history books, and glorified in
many movies and on television. One person who bucked this glorification trend is Warren
Neidich. His photographs in Contra Curtis: Early American Cover-Ups show a vastly different
story. They illustrate actors in painfully provoking recreations, the horrifying atrocities committed
against Americas native populations in order to build our American empireall in the name of
the almighty dollar.
When it comes to profits, people are always looking to make a buck. If it happens to be
dependent on the exploitation of others, well, we are very good at rationalizing our actions,
viewingor skewingthem as inherently good. Surely, African slaves and Indians were better
off under a more civilized American citizenry than they were living as savages, right? And what

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about the residents of the impoverished slums that people are touring these days. Arent they
better off because of the exposure the slum tours bring to their plight? Odede points out in
Slumdog Tourism that some advocates say the tourism, promotes social awareness. And its
good money, which helps the local economy. Another rationalization? Slum tourism benefits
those who run the tours more often than the disadvantaged residents who are living far below the
poverty level in the poor communities being toured.
Poverty in the United States affects 46 million people. The number of people living in
poverty is the same as the populations of Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado,
Arizona, Utah, Wyoming, Nevada and Nebraska combined. (Poverty USA). Steven Greenhouse
writes about the plight of the American worker in Worked Over and Overworked. In his article, he
states, Since 1979, hourly earnings for 80 percent of American workers (those in the privatesector, nonsupervisory jobs) have risen by just 1 percent, after inflation Worker productivity,
meanwhile, has climbed 60 percent. All this has been taking place while the economy and
corporate profits has risen. American workers are working harder and getting less. In 2010,
research shows that 27.4% of blacks and 26.6% of Hispanics were poor, compared to 9.9% of
non-Hispanic whites. Poverty rates are highest for families headed by single women, particularly
if they are black or Hispanic. (U.S. Department of Commerce).
The effects of racism on the economic lives of those in minority populations are
indisputable. Each of the readings cited in this reflection approached racism through a different
theme or issue. However, in pointing out how the dominant groups actions affected others, they
all appealed to the emotions of the reader. Without reaching out to readers in this way, the authors
success in creating allies for their arguments is questionable. Without those connections, they
might have failed. Throughout Douglasss speech, he uses sensory details and figurative language
to arouse emotion. We see this in the phrase he used to describe the victims of slave trade, men

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and women reared like swine for the market. Odede takes the readers of Slumdog Tourism
through his argument by cataloging opposing views of the business by linking them to some
ridiculous conclusion. When he mentioned a former schoolmates tourism business, he described
seeing him take a group of tourists into the home of a woman giving birth. In the end, he
questioned what they ended up with after witnessing this woman in painbesides a camera full of
photos. In a discussion from SLCCs Introduction to Reading Contemporary Culture class, a
student named Jennifer Hansen wrote, There are no words to express how sickening this is.
Poverty as entertainment? Taking pictures of a woman in labor? Clearly, this student was
affected emotionally by the article and the image provoked by Odedde. The images produced by
Neidich in Contra Curtis were a direct appeal to emotions. The reproductions illustrated horrific
acts against Native Americans in the settlers quest to establish Imperialism. Even the section
reprinted from Greenhouses book mixed passion with facts and figures by including emotional
accounts of actual middle-class and low-end workers facing various hardships. Tying racism to
emotional situations is a very effective way for writers to get a readers attention and make their
point. Some of the readings were difficult to get through, some of them made you feel disgusted
with various aspects of American life. Others such as, Worked Over and Overworked, just made
you mad at our capitalistic ways and mad that capitalism has taken a front seat to humanity.
Thankfully, the days when you could blatantly discriminateor even abolishpeople
based on race in the quest for financial profits are behind us. Not that these activities dont still
exist, but they dont legally exist. What I found most intriguing throughout the course of this class
is both how far we have come in the pursuit to rid our nation of racism, and yet, how far we still
have to go. Inequity of income in the United States is well documented and supported by many
independent sources. (Ryscavage). One percent of America has forty percent of the entire nations
wealth. And if you look at the figures in the 2009 U.S Census1,037,000 Caucasian men make

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over $250,000 per year, compared to 62,000 African American men and 57,000 Hispanic men.
Obviously, our capitalistic society still favors the dominant group, as our readings clearly inform
us.
This classthrough its readings, discussions and course objectiveshas opened my eyes
in a number of ways. Not only have I learned to think more critically about diversity issues
through weekly discussions and analytical writings, but Ive learned to examine social structures
and discourseslike those discussed in this paper. Ive encountered readings such as Slumdog
Tourism, which completely changed my view about that particular activity. An activity I myself
took part in at one time in my life. Ive also interacted with students in discussions who pointed
out aspects of readings I had not considered. This includes a more accurate view of the deaf
communitywhose language barriers, I now realize, are as much an issue for them as the spoken
languages of other minority groups. As I reflect on my own beliefs and attitudes toward issues of
diversity, I find that having examined these issues has caused me to look at many other situations
with a more discerning view.
The issues minorities encounter are numerous, and among them is the issue that capitalism
and the economic policiesinstilled centuries agofavoring dominant groups are difficult to
change. Most of those who have influence in this area are in the majority group and its obvious
who they protectthemselves and those like them. Capitalistic racism and discrimination is a part
of our history and part of our daily lives even today. Its important that we are able to identify and
address racism because until we do, income inequality will continue. Intertwined with racism is
the well-being of minority groups and unless this issue is resolved, these communitiesand our
society as a wholewill not reach its full potential.

Racism, because it favors color over talent, is bad for business. ~Steven Pinker

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Works Cited
"American Psychological Association, Delegation to the World Conference Against Racism
(WCAR)." American Psychological Association. American Psychological Association,
Jan. 2011. Web. 1 Aug. 2014.
Douglass, Frederick. What to the Slave is the Fourth of July? Reading Culture: Contexts for
Critical Reading and Writing. Diana George and John Trimbur. New York: Longman,
2012. 460-475. Print.
George, Diana, and John Trimbur, eds. "Colonized and Colonizer." Reading Culture: Contexts for
Critical Reading and Writing. 8th ed. New York: Longman, 2001. 498. Print.
---, eds. "Living in a Transitional World." Reading Culture: Contexts for Critical Reading and
Writing. 8th ed. New York: Longman, 2001. 497. Print.
Greenhouse, Steven. Worked Over and Overworked. Ed. Diana George and John Trimbur. 8th Ed.
New York: Longman, 2001. 404-412. Print.
Neidich, Warren. "Contra Curtis: Early American Cover-Ups." Ed. Diana George and John
Trimbur. Reading Culture: Contexts for Critical Reading and Writing. 8th ed. New
York: Longman, 2001. 456-58. Print.
Odede, Kennedy. "Slumdog Tourism." Ed. Diana George and John Trimbur. Reading Culture:
Contexts for Critical Reading and Writing. 8th ed. New York: Longman, 2001. 518519. Print.
"Poverty USA | What Is Poverty? | Where Is the Poverty Line? | Who Is Poor?" Poverty USA: We
Can End It. US Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2012. Web. 03 Aug. 2014.
Ryscavage, Paul. Income Inequality in America: An Analysis of Trends. Armonk, N.Y:ME.
Sharpe, 1999. Print.

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U.S. Department of Commerce. Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United
States: 2009 , Current Population. Rep. U.S. Census Bureau, Sept. 2010. Web. 1 Aug.
2014.

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Works Consulted
"Was Slavery the Engine of American Economic Growth?" The Gilder Lehrman Institute of
American History. The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, 2009. Web. 30 July
2014.