C. Wright Mills tells us in The Sociological Imagination that “the promise of sociology is that it gives us the tools to better understand our own experiences by enabling us to see how those experiences -along with our thoughts, dreams, and aspirations- are shaped by the larger historical moment and by our social location (Mills).” Here in the United States of America, race is a key piece of our social location, situating us differently in relation to various institutions and to one another. Race is defined as “a category of humankind that shares certain distinctive physical traits, (Race),” and some races in the US include, but are not limited to, American Indian, African American, Asian, and White. Race has sadly become a defining characteristic in the minds of some when they perceive others, causing assumptions to be made, and decisions are in turn made differently. Here in the US, there is a stigma that being White over any other race will start you off on a better foot than those of other races, and I’ve even been able to see this in my experiences.
Race shaped my world from the day I was born because I was born into a town whose main race was white, with a solid 62% of the population being white. Regardless of the nation one comes from, if he or she enters into a nation where their Race is “inferior” in percentage versus another, there is an inherent barrier placed upon this person. In other words, the other 38% of the population in my hometown will likely face more barriers than myself, in regard to money, living conditions, education, or careers, simply because of the social stigmas in place. All through my schooling career, it was evident that the students who got the best grades were White, and a glance into any ESL classes showed that these ESL students struggled heavily in the normal English-speaking classes. Language barriers were an evident factor prohibiting these students from being able to fully comprehend what was going on in school, which in turn set them back in their education and disallowed them from getting better grades. I even noticed that my class size got smaller as I went through high school, although the students left behind were predominantly those of other races.
With these students being held back, I know a few of them dropped out, while I didn’t see many of my White friends staying behind or dropping out. This goes along with a report from The National Center for Educational Statistics, which stated that in 2007, “the status dropout rate was higher among Hispanics (21 percent) than among Blacks (8 percent), Asians/ Pacific Islanders (G percent), and Whites (5 percent) (Status and Trends).” Being White, and born into a predominantly White, English-speaking area, I didn’t face these same barriers that those of other races faced, and this became even more evident when I got my first job working at a summer camp.
This summer camp was comprised mainly of children coming from affluent White families, with very few children of other races. The costs of enrolling a child in the camp were pretty expensive, so seeing that not many children of other races attended the camp showed signs of these families perhaps making less and not being able to send their children to these camps. The same report cited before states that “in 2007, of those with at least a bachelor’s degree, the median income was $71,000 for White males and $69,000 for Asian males, compared with S55,000 for Black males and $54,000 for Hispanic males (Status and Trends).” The statistics were similar for females as well, so looking at these statistics, it isn’t surprising to see that fewer children of other races were at this camp, because statistics show that they simply cannot afford it as easily as White families. For those families of other races who could afford to send their children to these camps, the financial gap was still evident in the way these children acted. Since the White children came from wealthier families, they were brought up in more disciplined families, where their homes were a little more strict, while those of other races had different customs and cultures back home, differing from the Whites and creating this social gap.
Not only were there differences in race evident in the campers, but they were also noticeably different among employees of the camp. Of all the employees at the camp, maybe a handful of the camp counselors were not White. The starting pay was pretty good and it required that the counselor be able to speak fluent English to be able to deal with all the campers, as they didn’t want there to be a language gap. This came as a huge setback for anyone applying for a job that wasn’t White, as often these children would speak other languages back home and felt more comfortable speaking their native language. To go along with this, the employees were all open with what we were getting paid, and at the time I was receiving a larger paycheck than an African American friend who was my age and had been working there the same amount of time. Also, the cleaning staff of the campus was mainly Hispanic, and my paycheck was larger than theirs as well, regardless of a couple of them being older workers as well.
This is a very notable problem in a lot of places of employment, where White workers receive better wages than those of other races, and although race discrimination is illegal in the hiring of employees, wage differences among workers of different races are not. In fact, 2013 statistics show that a Black man makes 75.1% of the amount a White man makes, while this number is 67.2% for Hispanic men (The Wage Gap). Although I knew this was a prominent controversial point when it came to race, I didn’t think that I would be in a situation where I would experience these differences, especially at such a young age. This was only the start though, as I was able to see a plethora of other differences due to race, especially in my transition into college here at SUNY Oneonta.
Colleges are a prime location to find racial differences, and at first glance of Suny Oneonta’s statistics, I was able to see that the multicultural population is only roughly 18% of the entire campus population. This already goes to show like with most stigmas, that since the majority of the campus is White, any non-White students are already starting off on the wrong foot. Also, although SUNY tuitions are less than most other colleges, it is noticeable that non-White students often face financial difficulties and are offered more scholarships, grants, and federal aid than Whites. For example, my one Hispanic friend is receiving grants for almost all of his tuition and room and board costs, while receiving money from a work-study as well. I have applied for Federal aid and was unable to receive the amount he is receiving, which I have compared with other non-White students as well. Since my Hispanic friend’s family, along with many non-White families had a lower income, they lack the same capabilities to pay for a higher education that White families possess, and thus are reciprocated through these grants and loans. Although this may be looked at as a point where it is beneficial to be non-White, it stems from the same barriers that these non-White families face and has faced in other aspects of life, if it is educationally, physically, or financially.
When it comes down to it, racial differences are going to exist for a long time, not due to assumptions or stigmas people make alone, but also due to the sheer facts that make it much harder for a non-dominant race to succeed. Although being White in the US has allowed me an easier path than others and it may be based on statistics, the same scenario can be said for any foreigner coming into another nation; and these racial differences are in some sense inescapable, although any barrier can be overcome by any person, regardless of race.
