“The Power of the Illusion” (Part 3)

The film “The Power of the Illusion,” begins by discussing the concept of race. As more and more immigrants came to America, the different races were new and apart from anything they had ever seen before. Skin color became the way whites were classifying others. The color of one’s skin carried along several stereotypes. It was noted in the film that “the United States is the origin of race.” Immigrants came to America to seek economic opportunity and to have a better life for them and their families. Immigrants and minority groups within the United States were forced to work the hardest and most dangerous jobs. Eventually, what was known as “the melting pot” came into the picture. The idea of “the melting pot” was the melting or the assimilation of all white races and making one race, Americans. However, this concept did not include those races of colored skin such as blacks and Asians. “To be white was to gain the full rewards as an American citizen.” This shows that the white race had the ultimate power and authority in American at this time. Other races were not considered to be United States citizens because they were not Caucasian. White men who decided such things always said what whiteness wasn’t and not what it was. Housing discrimination existed among blacks. While they were continuing to immigrate into America, black families were not allowed to live in white neighborhoods. Integration among neighborhoods would lower property values in the area. Because of this, blacks were forced to live in public housing. The Fair Housing Act eliminated segregation among housing and allowed blacks to move into white neighborhoods. Shortly after this act was presented, the idea of “block busting” was developed. “Block busting” happened when black moved into white neighborhoods causing whites to move out of the area turning the original white neighborhood into an all black neighborhood. Whites did not like this and moving out of their homes into new ones hurt the real estate of the area. As whites moved out of their homes, they took their resources with them.

After watching this film, I felt bad that those of other races had such a difficult time in America. They came here for freedom and were not treated fairly. While many of the immigrants shared the same beliefs as whites, their skin color stopped them from pursuing their idea of the American and was always holding them back. Did the races that were accepted into “the melting pot” share the same beliefs as those that were Caucasian? Were beliefs even considered?