“How Jews Became White Folk” by Karen Brodkin Essay

In her book How Jews Became White Folk, Karen Brodkin examines the question of how Jews came to be regarded as White. She does this by first explaining how Jews were racially categorized prior to this time, and how they were considered to be inferior to the white race. Whiteness is and has always relied on continually renegotiated interpretations that has more to do with ones sociable class quite a than skin color. The argument that Brodkin presents is that the call for of whiteness are extended to certain races or ethnic groups at certain times, and that the past experiences of these groups cannot wipe away such indisputable kindly facts.Brodkin believes that the only way to prosperingly assimilate into the United States is by worthy white. What does it mean to be white? The history of the United States distinctly shows changing notions of whiteness to be part of Americas large system of institutional racism. (Brodkin, 1994). Being white has its advantages, just as it has it s downfalls I guess you can say it is a double edge sword. To be accepted into the dominant class one may bedevil to couch part of their identity yet, the rewards for doing this are not what one expects them to be. Yet, what is interesting is how the push of Jews from being categorized from racial other, to not-quite-white, to white shows us how race in the United States has been constructed.She then goes on to insist that after WWII Jews had increasingly profited from the admixture of social policies set up to aid the rising middle class, manage providing them with financial support to pay for their education and loans for houses from the Federal Housing ecesis (Brodkin, 1994). She describes the G.I. Bill as the most massive affirmative action syllabus in American history (Brodkin, 1994). What we need to take into consideration is that these social policies were not extended in the akin proportion to African Americans and Latinos. twain groups were denied loans to buy thei r houses and when they were approved for a loan, they would be approved for lesser amounts consequently restricting them from living amongst whites.While Jews have in fact been successful in assimilating into the white America, others have not been successful. One modeling of this is Latinoimmigrants, not because they dont want to but rather it comes from bad past experiences. They are expected to assimilate, but at the same time they are denied legal status and even worst they display case the change of being deported at any time. In addition, what many snap to understand is the Latinos, especially Mexicans and African Americans have a much various and unique role within the United States, quite different than Jews or Italians will ever have.To begin, those of us with Latino blood in us have a history that in one way or another originates from this land, something that no white person can claim. As a conquered people we will always remain a threat to whites. African Americans on the other hand were brought by force from another celibate only to become slave labor and although their roots are in Africa this is the only land they have ever known. How Jews Became White Folk does an first-class job at making the reader reflect these unique roles that we have had to take with our society, I would have wanted for Brodkin to elaborate a microscopic more on the definition of whiteness. We can only make that finishing on our own.Works CitedKaren, Brodkin (1994). How Jews Became White Folks & What That Says About Race in America. New Brunswick Rutgers University Press.