Race as a Form of Caste in South Africa and the United States
In the history of human societies, social differentiation has always played a role. For instance, certain people and groups have continued to be assigned specific roles, as well as status within societies based on socio-cultural, physiological, and biological factors. Race and caste have constituted social differentiation are some countries, including South Africa and the United States. The objective of this paper is to explain how race has been a form of caste in South Africa, identify the reasons why racial inequality continues to shape South African society, and determine whether race serves as an element of caste in the United States.
Race as a Form of Caste in South Africa
Race and racial inequality have shaped the history of South Africa for over centaury. The castle and the race have been used in dividing the society in many different ways which unfairly disadvantage certain groups of people of others. In South Africa, the race has been used to classify people in different social status in society. The race groups in South Africa are divided into four categories; natives, colored, white, and the Asians. Over 300 years, South Africa was ruled by the whites (Britain – Dutch) which led to the whites being more politically advantaged. The whites were associated with the ruling class and most of the administrative jobs were given to them. In the 1900s, the British colonies used brutal military repression towards the natives to gain control. The race is carried from one generation to another as the caste, each race upheld to their tradition preferring to keeping and maintaining their cultural and traditional practices. The natives are considered low caste while the white race considered the upper castle (Sivanandan, 2010).
In addition, the race involves beliefs not only the inequalities. Different races hold different beliefs on various subjects. In South Africa, the whites are considered beautiful and desired and most of the time favored compared to the dark-skinned African women who are considered undesired. Despite the praises given to the white women, they are usually subjected to disparaging and stereotypical comments. During the colonial era, people lived in places depending on their race, some people still believe certain races deserve given types of jobs, works, places to stay compared to other races. The beliefs are passed on from generation to generation allowing the race to be a form of caste. The residential facilities for the white race (upper caste) are more equipped with social amenities such as good schools, shopping centers, proper housing, clean water, and good sanitation.
The Reasons Why Racial Inequality Continues to Shape South African Society
The end of apartheid was a crucial milestone for the South African natives as it marked the end of some sort of discrimination, although the effects of the system are still affecting the citizens. South Africa remains unequal in income and opportunities distribution, deeply racialised in both social and the cultural perspectives as a legacy of apartheid. Racial inequality continues to shape the history of South Africa because South Africans continue to view themselves in the racial categories which existed during the apartheid era, the categories have continued even after the apartheid era because of the preservation of the cultural practices which affect their lives daily. The negative views of other races as well as the social words defined by race is a common practice among South Africans.
Despite many efforts to end apartheid completely, there exists little racial amalgamation in residential areas; different races prefer to live together in a certain area. Integration in the residential areas is difficult as it involves migration of people which is costly and also requires the will of the people. Although schools provide a great opportunity in the interracial interaction, racial discrimination is still observed due to the beliefs of the students and the teachers. The white students are believed to be obedient and are not trouble makers as opposed to the African student who is believed to cause trouble.
The government of South Africa has also supported Apartheid to some extent. The government concentrates on building new houses for the township individual leaving the rural undeveloped for black South Africans. The strategy was a geographical stricture of apartheid. Many African are squatters with no title dead as compared to other races which are rarely homeless. The assets as well as the land initially acquired by the white elite during apartheids remained in their hand, therefore, the white elite continues having more resources compared to the black people. Many black youths are unemployed and also lack the capital to start businesses because the wealth is unequally distributed among the races (Amoateng, & Heaton, 2017).
Race as an Element of Caste in the United States
Inequalities in the United States are majorly based on the class, race, or both the class and race. Discrimination against race has taken different forms over the years. A percentage of black people in the United States have been legally expelled from voting, subjected to legalized discrimination in housing, jury service, and public benefits. In many circumstances race has been used to place people into caste, although it’s not a common term used to classify people in the United States. The African American has been placed in the lower caste in most of the times, they have reported discrimination at their workplace due to their lower caste Discrimination also happen at their schools, being sidelined for some projects. The lowest caste is prone to physical assault, emotional abuse, and sexual assault. Caste biases are common also in family settings, some people refuse to marry or get married to a given race due to the caste they belong to. The South Asians who have migrated to the United States have continued with their practice of castle.
There has been a controversy in the views between the African –Americans and other races inequality, in 1994, ‘the bell curve thesis” linked the American inequality to genetic differences (Ma, & Schapira, 2017). The thesis stated that the poor and the African-Americans have lower IQs. Also, big companies in the United States owned by a certain race tend to employ people of a preferred race. For instance, Google, Face book based in the United States hires the majority of South Asians. According to the anthropologist who studies caste in the United States, the South Asians immigrant to the United States earned the title good immigrants because they were from the upper caste.
Conclusion
Race and caste have greatly contributed to society’s differentiation, leading to the distinction between individuals and social groups. The race is seen as an element of caste in South Africa, where individuals are classified based on their color and ethnicity. For instance, the racial groups in South Africa are divided into four categories; natives, colored, white, and the Asians. The existence of racial amalgamation in some residential areas has blocked the efforts to end apartheid completely in South Africa, leading to a continuous rise in racial inequality. In the United State, inequalities are majorly based on the class, race, or both the class and race. The race also operates as an element of caste in the United States. A section of black people in the United States has been legally expelled from voting, subjected to legalized discrimination in housing, jury service, and public benefits.
References
Amoateng, A. Y., & Heaton, T. B. (2017). Families and households in post-apartheid South Africa: Socio-demographic perspectives.
Ma, C., & Schapira, M. (2017). An Analysis of Richard J. Herrnstein and Charles Murray’s The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life. CRC Press.
Sivanandan, A. (2010). Race, class, and caste in South Africa-an open letter to No Sizwe. Race & Class, 22(3), 293-301.