Internalized Racism Today

    

Internalized racism is a concept that is still prevalent in today’s society but we do not easily recognize it because it isn’t an idea that is widely known today. The textbook definite of this is the internalization by people of racist attitudes towards members of their own ethnic group, including themselves. We see this on social media apps like Instagram and twitter, however it is used more to make fun of people’s ethnic group in a comical way. For example, some black people have accepted the stereotype, “black people love fried chicken” or “black people can’t swim”, now granted these examples are the lighter ones, but during time periods where segregation was still occurring a lot of the African American community struggled with it.

Many characters in the Song of Solomon experience internalized racism, including…

·    Hagar who is upset with her dark complexion and curly hair. She wants to be light skinned because she thinks Milkman will only love her is she looks like a white woman. She is ashamed of her skin color and feels worthless all because she is surrounded by people who make her feel ugly.

·    All the men at the barbershop who dismiss the horrific event of Emit Till. They focus on the wrong doing of Till and dismisses the fact that he was brutally murdered for a simple cat call. They make fun of him by saying, “He think he in Tom Sawyer land?” (81), and by doing this they are putting the blame on Till more than his killers.

·    Tommy at the barbershop who gives a speech on how African Americans will never be able to have the things white people have or be recognized for something good that they did.

·    Corinthians who makes a joke about how black people can’t swim and how, “Negros don’t like the water,” (35).

·    Lena who says, “There’s no colored people who can afford to have two houses,” (33). By saying this she is accepting the fact that in during her time a black person could not live as comfortably as a white person and why would they need to in her eyes?

·    Milkman who hates the fact that he is black and thinks he is meant to live like a white man. He blames his race on his unhappiness and does everything he can to be more “white”; this makes many of the people around him upset.

On the other hand, Guitar is a character who doesn’t easily accept the “norms” that his people are forced to go through. Instead of ignoring the fact that his friends and family must get used to the way they are being treated, he joins a terrorist organizing called the Seven Days. This internalized racism shown by others has damaged Guitar because he is resorting to murdering innocent people because of how is being treated and forced to act. Even though we may joke about these things on social media, in the end it can go too far and lead people to believe that what they are going through is okay.