Page 24 - Microsoft Word - resource book.doc

hite is an artifi cial
construct because the
Wdefi nition of white
changes due to time and geogra-
phy.

• Not everybody has been
considered white at the
same time. Irish, Jews,
Italians for example went
through a process of be-
coming white. This was a
process of assimilation that
required certain cultural
losses in order to gain white
privilege and power.
• Some people who may
have been considered white
where they once lived
(South America for exam-
ple) when they moved to the
U.S. were then considered
latino by white society.
• But just because race and
whiteness are constructed,
doesn’t mean that it doesn’t
fundamentally affect our
world in real ways.

The term

People of For a lar
For a large part of the 19th century, the Irish were not considered white. In the process ge part of the 19th century, the Irish were not considered white. In the process
Color of assimilation, the majority of Irish adopted pro-slavery, anti=black political posi-
tions.

eople of color’ is not a term that refers to a real biological or scientifi c distinction between people. People
of color in the U.S. share the common experience of being targeted and oppressed by racism. Unfortu-
Pnately, one of the ways racism operates is to keep people of color divided. Many people only think about
their specifi c ethnic or racial group when discussing oppression or the need to build political power. By using
the term people of color, we begin to push people to think more broadly. We need to build relationships with
other groups of color. The term people of color has movement-building potential.

12 The Construction of Race & Racism The Construction of Race & Racism 13