In the article “Building a Culture of Solidarity: Racial Discourse, Black Lives Matter, and Indigenous Social Justice,” Ramos provides various suggestions on the creation of effective cultural and racial unity in addressing white supremacy in the American society. Racism remains a major issue in the American society even as various minority groups start activism against acts of oppression by white supremacy. Ramos provides the example of the recent case of Michel Brown, a black man who was shot and killed by the police, and the development of the Black Life Matters (BLM) movement. In this case, non-black racial groups joined the BLM movements in showing solidarity with the black people against racially motivated injustices by the police. Ramos shows that even though the minority groups supported the course for blacks, their approach towards racial justice is less effective because of cultural divisions when addressing white supremacy.
According to Ramos, the white supremacy causes harm to all people of color and in some cases, some minority groups suffer more harms than the blacks. This common suffering justifies the formation of a united front in which all the minorities participate in calling for civil justice as one group. Ramos provides an example of the poor treatment of Latinos in immigration detention centers, where also some indigenous people Latinos are wrongly held and mistreated. Other minority groups mainly support the BLM movement because they tend to focus it in broad terms of “a legal intervention against state-sanctioned violence” (Ramos 5). The aim of these other racial groups is to show that they also condemn racially motivated police operations which affect the rights of the blacks and minorities in general. The broad focus eliminates the cultural or social origin of the BLM movement from the blacks. The problem with this approach is that it leaves the minority racial groups separated despite the fact they are affected by similar issues because of white supremacy in the society.
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Ramos says that “in order to adopt a more nuanced approach to solidarity, we must be able to simultaneously acknowledge our similarities and our differences, our oppressions and our privileges” (Ramos 5). The first step in this achievement is for the affected groups to understand race on the basis of cultural construction. The cultural construction treats race as culture, which makes it difficult for the racial groups to form a united force against white supremacy in the society. Cultural construction leads to stereotyped understanding of racial categories and interracial relations with “hierarchy of racialized oppression” where some groups are coerced to assimilate the Western culture because of their cultural differences with Blacks (Ramos 6). For example, Ramos shows that the rights of Indigenous people, in relation to their sovereignty, are ignored because they are more associated with the dominant racial group than the blacks or Hispanics, the lower racial groups. Also, the fact that the oppression is characterized by racial hierarchy makes it difficult for different minority groups to unite because they advocate for different issues. It is important for members of all the minority racial groups to realize that they are part of a larger group which is affected by a common system of oppression, although the experiences may be different. Another strategy to unite the course of activism against white supremacy is to observe the current relations regarding “a history of exploiting marginalized communities and perpetuating destructive relationships with the environment” (Ramos 7). This strategy means focusing on the system of social relations in the society and how it leaves some people at a disadvantage. The article shows that this approach would help the racial minorities to undermine the cultural stereotypes and at the time foster development of respect in racial and cultural dynamics.
The suggestion by Ramos brings new questions about the integration of all the minority racial and cultural groups against racial injustices. It is clear that there is a hierarchy of racial oppression because the racial groups suffer different forms of oppression by the white supremacy. The case of Michael Brown where the non-Black minority groups joined in demonstrations is unique because police brutality is a common issue among the groups. However, there are other unique issues where the racial discrimination is experienced by a particular group. The fact that some groups are more oppressed than others is a barrier towards equal participation in condemning racial injustices. Regardless of the challenges, Ramos raises important points about the causes of failure by activists to get widespread support against white supremacy. The society does not approach the issue of racial injustice as a form of systematic oppression against the marginalized people and instead uses cultural construction and stereotypes to influence racial relations.
Thus, Ramos provide suggestions about the effective strategy for minority racial groups in raising enough attention against white supremacy. Each of the minority group is affected by white supremacy in a particular way, but the hierarchy of racial oppressions limits public attention into the issue. Some groups have been unable to advocate for their rights against a system of racial marginalization because of cultural constructions and stereotypes. The case of Michael Brown provides an example of how a common view by different racial groups can help in promoting widespread activism against white supremacy. In this case, the BLM movement gained support from non-Black minority racial groups because of the common view that law enforcement system was unfair to the minorities. It is important for the racial groups to approach the issue of white supremacy from the point of systematic oppression against the disadvantaged groups in order to have a shared vision.
- Ramos, Santos. “Building a Culture of Solidarity: Racial Discourse, Black Lives Matter, and Indigenous Social Justice.” Enculturation: A Journal of Rhetoric, Writing, and Culture, 20 April 2016, pp. 1-8.
