Harrison began introducing Whiteness as Property by telling her grandmother’s story, which “illustrates the valorization of whiteness as treasured property in a society structured on racial caste” (1713). The way that Harrison names this racial inequality as “Racial Caste” made me think of the casta system in colonial Latin America, where people were organized into a system based on race that controlled every aspect of their lives and socio-economic status. In this system, Black people and Indigenous Peoples were considered lower than White People, and the myth of blood purity arose as racial mixing occurred. I can see many parallels between contemporary racial differences and the colonial caste system, showing the lasting effects of white supremacy ideologies and colonization.
She then illustrates how the concept of whiteness as property originated from slavery, and how Black people were treated as economic assets, as seen in Jefferson’s story and the Johnson v. Butler case. After introducing how slavery began as a relationship between owners and property, she further defines the concept by showing the legal definition of property: “Property is thus said to be a right, not a thing, characterized as metaphysical, not physical” (1725). These rights are enjoyed by white people, and exclusively by white people. These exclusive rights manifest in the racial segregation phenomenon in the Plessy and Brown cases. Through these legal cases, along with anecdotes and personal stories, Harrison has effectively illustrated the effects of whiteness as property in many areas. In this context, although Brown’s case led to the end of tangible racial segregation, Harrison then demonstrates how racial inequalities still manifests in many present-day areas.
Affirmative action is one contemporary example that highlights the lasting phenomenon of racial inequalities. Harrison argues that affirmative action is a principle of equality and challenges the pre-existing privileges that were exclusive to white people. Affirmative action remains a widely discussed topic in higher education, especially after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against racial classification in college admissions. A range of responses were enacted by different colleges—some supported the Supreme Court decision, while a vast majority did not. This leaves room for future legal discussions.
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