Segregation is not just a thing of the past

by Brittany Jones

In Eduardo Bonilla-Silva’s Racism Without Racist, the first five chapters focus on the phenomena of being “color-blind”, and the issues surrounding the idea itself.  I want to pull from one of the frames of colorblind racism that Bonilla-Silva talked about called naturalization (p. 28) and explain its relationship with another term in the book called White segregation (p.105) and how they correlate with one another.  The two seem to intertwine, almost becoming examples of each other. 

            Naturalization is a frame that is the notion that Whites use to explain racial segregation as something that naturally happens. The idea is that people in general are biologically attracted to one another based on “likeness.”  This frame also supports things like, only living in majority White neighborhoods, minorities living in poverty, Whites only befriending others Whites.  All due to “likeness.”  These things are defended by statements like “minorities do it too!”  Bonilla-Silva interviewed students and one said that blacks and other minorities segregate themselves because they mentally think they are different than one another.  This is a prime example of the ignorance that lies within frames like naturalization.  In an article titled Addressing Inequality through Conflict Resolution in Portland, Oregon..  The author said “Hence, the racial ideology of dominant culture allows whites in America as a culture and as a race who have the (unearned) privilege of “whiteness” to ignore the historically-rooted structures of inequality which continue to shape society today.”  The type of naturalization that Bonilla-Silva speaks of is exactly that, whites are using terms like this to allow the segregation amongst the privileged to become something that isn’t created, but instead just “happens” in turn, also justifying why majority of minorities dwell within underprivileged areas, and live in poorer conditions, is that all due to likeness based on their biological structure? Or is it because they are being systematically segregated into minority communities to maintain a White standard amongst other Whites?

 

          Now White segregation is basically naturalization, but broken down into examples of where it happens. White segregation or isolation is just that, Whites isolating themselves by maintaining and strictly living in majority, if not only, White neighborhoods, only interacting with other Whites while attending school, work, or any social event.  These are all things that segregate White people from minorities, and this form of segregation is, like naturalization, justified by likeness.  The interviewees by Bonilla-Silva that were White all had similar answers that all were based on the idea that all White was the norm.  This type of isolation amongst a race creates views and complexes towards other races because of the unknown, and the continuation of what I think of as a cycle does not allow for growth but continued racism that Whites probably do not even realize actually exist because of the blanket of falling in the “norm.”  In the article A new round of segregation plays out in charter schools by Sarah Butrymowicz she talks about charter schools who have high and majority White students, and how many are saying that this is due to the trend of White parents wanting that racially charged homogenous academic surrounding for their children.  This includes neighborhoods as well.  This is a perfect example of White segregation! Whether intention or not this type of segregation is not new nor does it seem to be going away anytime soon.