The Law Enforcement Model And Moral Imperatives - 1602 Words

Bell argues that civil rights laws such as Brown have been ineffective in this era of race-neutrality because they are based on a law enforcement model and moral imperatives. He proposes that we â€Å"get real about race† and accept the â€Å"permanence of racism† due to white racial consciousness, white nepotism, and white racial bonding. Similarly Roediger discusses aspects of the permanence of racism in his Wages of Whiteness. First define these four concepts: white racial consciousness, white nepotism, white racial bonding, and wages of whiteness. Then use them to engage the following: Is racism permanent? How does Bell legitimize his arguments? Why have the law enforcement model and moral imperative been ineffective? Finally, use the chapters†¦show more content†¦Furthermore, the researchers divide white racial consciousness into two: achieved and unachieved. A person who has achieved white racial consciousness has explored and developed some sort of bel ief system when it comes to racial issues. Conversely, those with unachieved white racial consciousness have not grasped their own racial identity and its link to other minority groups, which may stem from either intentionally avoiding dialogue surrounding race or depending on family members to form an ideology. In his book Faces at the Bottom of the Well, Bell argues that this relatively loose grasp of white racial identity creates an environment that serves a significant detriment to advancing racial progress in the country, as â€Å"few white people are able to identify with blacks as a group –the essential prerequisite for feeling empathy with, rather than aversion from, blacks’ self-inflicted suffering† (Bell, 4). Another obstacle in eliminating racism, according to sociologist Nancy DiTomaso’s research, is white nepotism, which is the idea that favoritism –not meritocracy—might be why whites are most successful in the employment arena, as they are able to use an expansive network of friends and family to find their jobs and build careers. This contradicts the widely held belief that white people have prospered because they are the most hard working of the racial