Cornel West’s essay Race
Matters directly speaks on just a few of the many problems that our society
faces—but most specifically the problem of race, and race relations. As West states, “The meaning of the
earthshaking events in Los Angeles is difficult to grasp because most of us
remain trapped in the narrow framework of the dominant liberal and conservative
views of race in America, which with its work-out vocabulary leaves us
intellectually debilitated, morally disempowered, and personally depressed”
(627). I found this to be one of
the more important of West’s statements in Race
Matters, because I think that it strongly connects to our discussion of
Pierre Bourdieu and his idea that, as a society, we remain in our same mental
structures, ignoring what we can do to help society, and instead focusing on
ourselves. West states “most of us
remain trapped…” (627), and this is true.
Confronting such important matters as race relations and racism means
confronting systemic problems—something that I don’t think many people are
willing to do. As West, proving
this point even more, states, “Race was the visible catalyst, not the
underlying cause” (626). So many
people in our society only focus on race, and ignore the fact that race isn’t
the cause—it’s just something to use to hide the blame.
My media example this week is Eddie Murphy’s Saturday Night Live skit “White Like
Me,” because I think it truly exemplifies what West is saying, particularly
when he states, “…We confine discussions about race in America to the
‘problems’ black people pose for whites rather than consider what this way of
viewing black people reveals about us as a nation” (627). In this clip, Murphy becomes “white” and
illustrates this idea that while white people are treated differently by
everyone, black people are looked down upon in society. While this is just an SNL skit, I think it does speak to a
larger social critique which is that while we can ignore that racial problems
still exist, that does not make them go away.
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