Racialization shifts with the political interests of those in power

Evidence

Racialization is rooted in relationships of power that are institutionalized. Racializing bodies serves those who wield power in society and therefore is constantly changing and mutating based on the interests of those in power. This explains why some groups of people are vilified at one point in time over another. For example, the belief that Syrians are potential terrorists and dangerous to Western nations is perpetuated when the government wants to limit Syrian refugees from entering the United States at a time when millions of Syrians have been forced out of their country due to internal wars and political conflicts. However, as I describe in chapter 1, Syrians were once treated like white ethnics in the United States partially because of their skin tone. — , Selod, Saher - Forever Suspect_…, 86

Racialization is rooted in relationships of power that are institutionalized. Racializing bodies serves those who wield power in society and therefore is constantly changing and mutating based on the interests of those in power. This explains why some groups of people are vilified at one point in time over another. For example, the belief that Syrians are potential terrorists and dangerous to Western nations is perpetuated when the government wants to limit Syrian refugees from entering the United States at a time when millions of Syrians have been forced out of their country due to internal wars and political conflicts. However, as I describe in chapter 1, Syrians were once treated like white ethnics in the United States partially because of their skin tone. Is this current manifestation of their racialization based on physical appearance or visual cues, or are they racialized based on religious and national and ethnic identities? In order to understand how Syrians are racialized currently, racialization cannot be limited to just skin tone or biological differences. While Omi and Winant’s definition of racialization is important and a major contribution to expanding scholarship on race, it is still tied to phenotypes, limiting an analysis of other cultural attributes that also racialize individuals. — Saher Selod, Forever Suspect_ Racialized…, 66

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the chapter’s open question about how a faith gets racialized — here the mechanism is power-interest-driven category shifting. — connects to: Theoretical choices about race determine which political strategies appear valid; Racial categories were imposed retroactively by administrators, literally reclassifying people.; The Villatte affair was racialized as mulatto-versus-black rather than factional competition (+16 more)
• DEFINE: Extends Omi and Winant’s phenotype-bound definition of racialization to include religious and cultural attributes, directly serving the reader’s question of how a faith gets racialized.
• QUESTION: Worth chasing: Syrians once treated as white ethnics — what specific historical cases make this concrete in chapter 1?
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — , Selod, Saher - Forever Suspect_…, 86; Saher Selod, Forever Suspect_ Racialized…, 66
• recurring: this claim recurs 4 times within its source

Broader Connections

• Racialization mutates with the power interests that institutionalize it, not fixed phenotypes. #corroborates (0.90)
• Racial repression shifted form with each change in Black labor exploitation #corroborates (0.80)
• Cultural practices become racialized when they are essentialized as innate to Muslims #exemplifies (0.70) — Saher Selod, Forever Suspect_ Racialized…, 274
• White women’s linguistic erasure of black women served their own political interests #exemplifies (0.60) — bell hooks, Ain’t I a Woman_ Black Women and…, 416
• Racism functions as practices that ascribe and legitimate social positions #expands (0.60)