Race The Power Of An Illusion Mae Ngai Summary

In the documentary Race: The Power of an Illusion Mae Ngai a historian describes how the United States historically has always been highly racialized. Since the industrialization period immigrants were viewed as lazy and even stupid, american society even separated whites into different categories Europeans like the Italians, Slavs, and Jews were seen as lower class whites. These white newcomers were forced into low paying jobs and slums, while Mexicans, Blacks, and Chinese were labeled as “inferior races’. Biology determined one’s destiny. “Whiteness was the key to citizenship.” In 1790, Congress began to pass laws against immigrants starting with only whites being able to become citizens, have property rights, etc. The documentary also describes how the white race expanded by the 1910, the melting pot of all Europeans, Europeans …show more content…
National Housing Act which granted many affordable homes led to more of a separation between whites and minorities. When Johnson implemented the Fair Housing Act nonwhite families were able to move into white communities but as more black and latinos moved in these areas housing values declined. FHA ratings led to communities with minority groups to be determined as socially and economically unstable and at greater financial risk. In reality the decline in rating was caused by whites moving out of this integrated communities, ‘white flight’ led to those previously white communities to suddenly see a decline in public resources like schools as well as financial services. As whites moved to new suburban communities they took their resources and green rating with them while the black communities were ranked low and determined to be a red area. The occurrence of white flight led to higher racial inequality and a greater wealth gap between whites and minorities, which in the long run led to a great advantage for whites