Does Race Still Matter?

 There has been recent debate over whether or not Affirmative Action is still a necessary federal policy, and along with this debate the issue of reverse discrimination has resurfaced itself. With the recent election of President Barack Obama to the White House, some of us may be thinking (to ourselves) that everything is getting better with respect to the race thing. This essay compares recent income data changes and significant Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity circumstances as they pertain to White and Black Americans, and it provides one (possible) answer to the question: does race still matter?

According to Professor Oscar Muscariello, “the predilection of race is based on minute differences of the human body … skin pigmentation, hair color, eye color … so minor in consideration of the entire human body. It doesn’t make sense” (Muscariello). When asked the question on whether or not race matters, and given the United States has overcome a color boundary with the election of President Barack Obama, Muscariello is (strangely) reminded of a quote from Benito Mussolini who said, “ʻI do not believe in race; race is only an ideaʼ”. But is his use of Mussolini’s quote (given Italy’s maligning with Nazi Germany) really all that strange?

“In 1933 and 1934, Mussolini had criticized Nazi racial policies and even earlier had condemned anti-Semitism” (Gallo, 98). However, Mussolini “had to eliminate any differences in policies of the two governments” to solidify an alliance with Hitler. Two of the ten points, highlighted in the 1938 publication, Manifesto of the Racial Scientists, significant in separating Mussolini from Nazi Germany and Adolf Hitler’s vision are:

            “1. There are various human races.

              2, The concept of race is purely biological.” (Gallo)

It is ironic that Professor Muscariello chooses to quote Mussolini – often he is associated with the racist concepts idolized by Nazis – when many times people (today) may be easily confused about which people are or are not racists. 

“I don’t believe in race,” said Muscariello, and “I certainly disapprove of racial slurs”. The professor refers to the “sexual, racial, and national origin harassment” that M. Slavin & Sons, fishmongers from Brooklyn, New York, are being sued for by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (Marx). “I believe in opportunity by merit,” said Muscariello, putting aside the behaviors and attitudes of the racist fishmongers. (Muscariello)

According to Rebecca Marx of the Village Voice, “The number of sexual harassment complaints filed by males with the EEOC rose from 11.6 percent in 1997 to 15.9 percent in 2008” (Marx). Perhaps there is a trend with an increase of harassment reports – more minorities are choosing to file reports with law enforcement officials. There is a definite trend – from 1967 to 2008, the average median income of Blacks has increased from $24,377 - $34,345, for Whites from $41,985 - $52,312. (U.S. Census Bureau)

The income estimates reported in the “2009 Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC) of the Current Population Survey (CPS)” indicates that households of each race category and those of Hispanic origin had declines in real median income between 2007 and 2008 (U.S. Census Bureau). The recent “real per capita income [decline] by 3.1 percent for the total population between 2007 and 2008” is influenced (most heavily) by the most recent economic recession. “Per capita income declined by 2.9 percent for non-Hispanic Whites, 3.8 percent for Blacks, and 3.3 percent for Hispanics”. Since 1999, the average per capita income of blacks has remained in mid-$35,000 area – this is impressive, considering the overall effect of 9-11. “In comparison to the respective income peaks before the 2001 recession, 2008 household income was 4.3 percent lower for all races combined (from $52,587 in 1999), 2.7 percent lower for non-Hispanic Whites (from $57,059 in 1999), 7.8 percent lower for Blacks (from $37,093 in 2000), 5.8 percent lower for Asians (from $69,713 in 2000), and 8.6 percent lower for Hispanics (from $41,470 in 2000)” (U.S. Census Bureau).

 Since the application of Affirmative Action on American businesses, there has been debate over the necessity of the law. There are those who question whether the law does more harm than good and whether or not we need Affirmative Action any more, now that income gaps are closing. One big concern from the white working class has been the idea of reverse discrimination. In the United States Supreme Court case United Steel Workers of America v Weber (1979), a class action lawsuit was filed against Kaiser Aluminum Chemical Corp. citing that “white employees had been discriminated against in violation of the provisions of §§ 703(a) and(d) of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that make it unlawful to "discriminate . . . because [p194] of . . . race" in hiring and in the selection of apprentices for training programs” (United Steelworkers). This was a case against reverse discrimination. Justice William Rehnquist “reasoned that as ʻthe evil inherent in discrimination against Negroesʼ is its grounding in an ʻimmutable characteristic, utterly irrelevant to employment decisions,ʼ discrimination is ʻno less evilʼ if it offers preferential treatment to blacks” (Katznelson, 150-151). The white union won the decision of the court, and proved that the idea of reverse discrimination is more than just an idea – it is real.

            Racism exists regardless of what we believe or how tolerant we are of each other. With regard to M. Slavin & Sons and Kaiser, businesses need to be especially cautious when dealing with every employee, regardless of race and/or ethnicity, and laws are not meant to be bent nor broken, even when language used seems justifiable. I tend to agree with Professor Muscariello’s point of view with addendums – there is one identifiable race on earth, the human race, and this concept is mutually exclusive with the superiority of a race or ethnicity. Does race still matter? I believe race does still matter – it matters if you’re a white cop assigned to a low-income, black neighborhood; it matters if you’re an innocent black man at the scene of a crime; it matters if you’re a Hispanic man or woman in a shopping mall with a baggy North Face coat; and it matters when you become a victim – what is the first thing that comes to our minds when we see the face of our assailant?

Works Cited

Gallo, Patrick J.. Enemies: Mussolini and the Antifascists. Xlibris, 2002. Print.

Muscariello, Prof. Oscar. Personal interview. 10 Dec. 2009.

"U.S. Census Bureau table on Income and Earnings Summary Measures by Selected Characteristics: 2007 and 2008." Census.gov. 18 Nov. 2009. Web. 19 Dec. 2009.

"United Steelworkers of America, AFL-CIO-CLC v. Weber (No. 78-432)." law.cornell.edu. law.cornell, n.d. Supreme Court Collection. Web. 19 Dec. 2009.

Katznelson, Ira. When Affirmative Action Was White: An Untold History of Racial Inequality in   Twentieth-Century America. W.W. Norton & Company: New York. Print.

Marx, Rebecca. “Fishmonger M. Slavin & Sons Sued for Sexual and Racial Harrassment." The Village Voice: New York Food Blog, 8 Dec 2009. Web. 19 Dec 2009.