In ‘The Hurricane,’ discourses of black inferiority was upheld by powerful institutions such as the legal system, as police officers had the right to arrest and punish black people without significant proof of their conviction. For example, when young Rubin Carter was forced into a police station after being wrongfully accused of harming a white man, the police sergeant had said to the officer, ‘It’s a nigger with a knife. I don’t care how old he is. Take care of him.’ The judge at the hearing had then said to Rubin, ‘I only wish you were old enough, I’d send you to state prison.’ These examples show that societal power reinforces discourses as it persuades people into taking up the dominant position of the discourse. As explained by Robinson and Jones-Diaz (1999), those people who are located outside the dominant discourse, in this case the black people, will frequently ‘experience inequities, diminished power, and little or no support from the dominant culture for their ‘truths’ about the world.’
The socially constructed notion of ‘whiteness’ signifies power and privilege. This discourse began shaping itself since the European colonisation of America. Since it became a ‘truth’ that the white ‘race’ ‘naturally’ had a more exalted destiny than any other ‘race’, non-whites became constantly undermined and alienated both as human beings and as members of society. Therefore, being white becomes the invisible norm in society representing ‘an authoritative, delimited and hierarchical mode of thought’ (Kicheloe & Steinberg, 1997, p. 4). A binary opposite is then discursively formed between whites and non-whites within the contradictory nature of ‘whiteness’ being both a dominant culture and a non-culture. This means that discourses of being white are the opposite of the discourses of being a non-white. For example, the discourse that ‘whiteness’ represents orderliness, rationality, and self-control and ‘non-whiteness’ represents chaos, irrationality, violence and uncivilized behaviour (Kicheloe & Steinberg, 1997, p. 17).
This discourse of white privilege is strongly exposed throughout this film by the means of language. It is the use of language that allow dominant discourses to prevail in society since this is the manner in which knowledge or ‘truth’ is passed on from one person to another. Conversations held between black and white people in the film reveal to us the discourse of white supremacy. For instance, when Rubin Carter arrived at the scene of the crime in his car accompanied by another black man, a white police officer (who had not witnessed the crime), said to Rubin, ‘We’re looking for two negros in a car,’ to which Rubin shrewdly replied, ‘Any two will do?’ This example shows us that white people or white authorities unconsciously assume that only black people are capable of such uncivilised acts. As supported by Kicheloe and Steinberg (1997), ‘In order for ‘whiteness’ to place itself in the privilege seat of rationality and superiority, it would have to construct pervasive portraits of non-whites’ (p. 4) This method therefore, was an approach whereby ‘whiteness’ could sustain and maintain its position of power and privilege over other ‘races.’ Hence, the ideology white meritocracy justified itself in the midst of inequality.
The previous two discourses examined, answers the third discourse that all white people are racists. America’s history of racial discrimination within the construction of its social order explains to me why many people of colour today believe that all white people are racists. This however, this is merely a discourse seeing as it stereotypes all white people into a single category. Another explanation of why this discourse exists today is expressed by Hitchcock (1999), who considers that society itself is racist, giving all white people racial privileges and hence making them racists whether they like it or not. This belief, however, ignores the fact that many white people today are in fact trying to challenge white supremacy. For example, ‘Challenging White Supremacy Workshops’ are conducted in America for white social justice activists who want to work for racial justice and challenge white privilege in all their social justice work (Ponder, 1997). Hence, this discourse that all white people are racists is in fact being challenged in American society today.
In the film, Rubin (Hurricane) Carter takes on the belief that all white people are racists. After spending almost twenty years in state prison, Rubin expresses a feeling of shock and hate when his African American friend introduces him to three white folks who want to help Rubin get out of prison. Rubin says to his African American friend, ‘I don’t want to talk to them, just go.’ However, the three white folks, determined to release Rubin, challenge white supremacy after being threatened by white authorities to stay away from Rubin and leave town. The white woman strongly defies this threat by telling the authorities that she was not going to leave the town until she sees Rubin get set free. The white citizens in the film, for that reason, are directly challenging white supremacy and racial injustice. Hence, the discourse that all white people are racists have been challenged, and the ‘truth’ that Rubin held in relation to this discourse had been deconstructed and reconstructed, leading him to a new and a more equitable way of looking at the world (Robinson & Jones Diaz, 1999).
The issues discussed in this essay have strong implications for educators both in schools and in early childhood environments. Schools are directly involved in the development of ideologies in their students, including racial ideologies. Therefore, schools must be populated with teachers who bring diverse worldviews and experiences that ‘expose, challenge and deconstruct racism rather than tacitly accepting it’ (Sleeter, 1999, p.12). This method of education will serve the interests of diverse population and not just present the racial and social class structure. The position of privilege that many white teachers inhibit and take for granted, which they have constructed over their lifetimes is what most of them use to understand the topic of race, and therefore what they may pass on to their students. Educators of colour on the other hand, ‘are less likely to marginalize minority intellectual discourses’ (Sleeter, 1999, p. 13). As educators of colour are in a less dominant position on the so called ‘illusory hierarchy’ of society, which automatically places ‘whiteness’ at the top of the scale, they will more likely bring life experiences and viewpoints that critique white supremacy than the white teachers.
Being an early childhood educator, I realise that it is important to implicate a variety of strategies within child care centres that embrace cultural diversity. This includes valuing and representing different languages, religions and customs in all areas of the curriculum (Henderson, 1998). For example, in the dramatic play area, clothes and equipment could be set up that represent different cultures, such as, woks, chopsticks, white dolls and coloured dolls, books written in different languages, as well as traditional outfits from a variety of different cultures. Music and songs may also be sung in languages such as Greek, Aboriginal, Italian, Spanish, or whatever languages are represented in the centre. This will also encourage bilingual children to use their home language within the centre. Employing bilingual staff is also useful, as they can communicate their language to other children who speak the same language, thus encouraging them to continue using their home language. Food from a variety of different cultures may also be served to children so that they become aware of the wide range of foods available in the world. These are just some examples early childhood educators may use in their centres. The purpose of implementing such strategies is to help close the gap between the cultures of the community and within early childhood settings. This cultural adaptation will inturn ease the transition of minority children into the dominant culture.
In conclusion, it can be said that ‘race’ and racism is a complex issue that has been historically and culturally constructed over a long period of time. Racial attitudes still prevail in American society today because it has been so heavily engraved in the construction of their history. Now that we know that no ‘race’ is superior to another, the word ‘race’ should be abandoned completely because it is now meaningless. Scientists have found that differences that set us apart are cultural, not racial (Jim, 2002). That is why the word ‘race’ has been place in inverted commas throughout this essay. The idea of white identity in dominance must also be abandoned so that everyone can be more accepting of cultural diversity flourishing in society and acknowledge the hybridity of people today. These issues have a strong impact upon educators, as they must implement appropriate strategies to help students feel comfortable and proud of their own culture when entering into a dominant culture.
Reference List
Henderson, J. (1998). Multicultural and Anti-Racist Teaching. Retrieved April 12, 2003 from the World Wide Web:
Hitchcock, J. (1999). What Kind of White Person Are You? Retrieved April 12, 2003 from the World Wide Web:
Institute of Race Relations. (1982). Patterns of racism. London: Institute of Race Relations.
Jim. (2002). Darwinism is Racist. Retrieved April 12, 2003 from the World Wide Web:
Kicheloe, J.L. & Steinberg, S.R. (1997). Changing Multiculturalism. Buckingham: Open University Press. In: Diversity and Difference: Understanding the ‘Self’ in Socio-cultural Contexts, Book of Readings.
Ponder, M. (1997). Challenging White Supremacy Workshop. Retrieved April 13, 2003 from the World Wide Web:
Robinson, K. & Jones-Diaz, C. (1999). Doing theory with early childhood educators: Understanding difference and diversity in personal and professional contexts. Australian Journal of Early Childhood, Vol. 24, No. 4. December. In: Diversity and Difference: Understanding the ‘Self’ in Socio-cultural Contexts, Book of Readings
Sleeter, C. (1993). How white teachers construct race, In: Diversity and Difference: Families, Languages and Cultures, Book of Readings
