The question of race
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The question of race
Omi and Winant’s explanation of race posits that race is a symbol of social interests and conflicts because it insinuates the presence of several kinds of bodies (Omi & Winant, 2014, p. 111). Since moving to the US, both Mr. Ruiz and Mr. Valdés have assumed different social identities, all thanks to their races. Mr. Ruiz is black, and he lives among Miami’s black communities. His entire social life surrounds blackness, including his place of work and dates (Ojito, 2000). He does not shave in white barber shops because he believes they do not understand how black people like their hair.
Mr. Valdés, on the other hand, is white. He, too, lives in a white-secluded neighborhood, only maintaining interactions with fellow whites. Mr. Valdés, like most white people, try as much as possible to avoid black people because whites think they are delinquent (Ojito, 2000). Despite being the best of childhood friends, the two have only interacted on a few occasions, and they have grown socially distant. They see each other as different people, although they both hail from Cuba.
Race defines their social identities in many ways, as Omi & Winant would explain. It limits their social interactions and employment, preventing them from freely mingling like they used to do while they were in Cuba. The race also influences their choice of friends and neighborhoods. Both Ruiz and Valdés maintain color-like friends, which confirms Omi & Winant’s point about race being a symbol of social interests. The race has also ruined their friendship. Despite growing up together, the two friends now only have their memories to keep them together. Race, in this case, has brought about social conflict between the two gentlemen as each one of them tries to draw race-inspired social boundaries.
Cuba has limited racial projects. According to Ojito (2000), Fidel Castro played a massive role in stamping out racism in Cuba. He maintained that nationalism was far greater than one’s skin complexion. Before then, however, racial segregation was stiff. Ruiz misses the racial mixing he grew up in back in his home country. In the US, however, black Cubans learn quickly that one’s skin color is far more important than where one originates. The US has many racial projects upon which race develops. For instance, all-white and all-black neighborhoods are common in America, something that Ruiz admits had never experienced in Cuba. Racial profiling is also present in the US, and it plays a critical role in constructing the whole concept of race. For example, whites have profiled blacks to be delinquents.
References
Ojito, M. (2000). Best of friends, worlds apart. New York Times, 5. https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/national/race/060500ojito-cuba.html
Omi, M., & Winant, H. (2014). Racial Formation in the United States. Routledge.