The role of Ethnicity

In our English class, we are currently over half way through the book Poisonwood Bible. This story consists of multiple female perspectives of the family's religious voyage to the Congo. When reading the section written by the youngest of the narrators, Ruth May, I was astounded by her extremely racist and disturbing views of others. On page 51, she states that the hungry native children she sees have swollen bellies because God realizes they are black. She believes that blacks start out white at birth until God realizes they are from the Tribes of Ham, and turn black (she calls it a "curse") (215).She also observes that the troops led by white officers instead of black ones are clearly superior. It really saddens me to see such hurtful comments and racist opinions come from such a young innocent girl, because it shows how negatively impacted her views are being shaped by the Southern culture. Ruth May's mind, at her age, is a clean slate. She simply observes in order to learn. Therefore, Ruth May's thought and reasoning is a reflection of the American South culture. Her racist opinions are formed as a combination of what others around her believe and what she observes. Now, as a result of the racism she is exposed to, she believes in many hurtful and untrue "facts" concerning other races. My frustration led me to ask the question "How do people come to hold racist beliefs?"

The answer: observation and inference. Today, I came across an interesting fact: A Samoan male (either an American Samoan, or a Samoan living in the 50 United States) is anywhere from 40 to 56 times more likely to play in the NFL than a non-Samoan American. This shocking fact justifies race's role in one's life if not racism itself. Why is it that Samoans are generally better football players than other Americans? Why were 82% of the NBA players during the 2008-2009 season black? Why does Jamaica, a population 1/100th the size of the United States, continue to dominate us in the sport of track? Take a look at this article and note the vast differences in race percentages by NFL position. Looking at the statistics and probability, the chances of all the running backs being black and all the kickers being white are less than 1 out ten billion. Whether you want to recognize it or not, the statistics prove that race seem to be a large determining factor in one's life.

This is, I believe, because of culture. It is our culture that emphasizes certain aspects of life. In the Samoan culture, they emphasize brute strength and aggressiveness among the male population. In Jamaica, the sport above all that they emphasize is track. It's important to recognize its not race that defines ones values and tendencies, but the culture from which the race exists. Once we all understand the distinction of race and culture, hurtful racism will be a thing of the past.