In W.E.B. DuBois essay, The White World, he believes that cultural superiority consists of four major things. These things are:
- Beauty and health of body,
- Mental clearness and creative genius,
- Spiritual goodness and receptivity, and
- Social adaptability and constructiveness.
In this essay I plan to show how the white majority hold many of these traits and how the minority is slowly, but surely, catching up.
The first of Dubois examples is beauty and health of body; in the white majority there are many people who fill this description. First of all, there are a lot of white athletes who would be considered very healthy. A few years back the majority of athletes were white and the minorities didn’t make up much of the population of sports. But things started to change, and the minorities were starting to move into fields of sports, and showed that they have just as much talent as many of the white players, such as baseball.
Baseball today is still predominantly white, but many players are coming from as far as Japan to play in our major leagues. Some of the best players in baseball and football are black and Porte Rican. I don’t think anyone would disagree that some of basketballs greatest players are in the minority. Some names are instantly recognized if mentioned, such as, Jordan, and O’Neal. With this superior ability to play sports comes a decent amount of prestige and social superiority. As far as beauty goes, there are very few famous black models that are around today and even fewer of other minority groups.
DuBois second example of cultural superiority is mental clearness and creative genius. For this example, I have to say that there have been quite a few minorities that have benefited society with their inventions and literature. This is one of the fields that the white majority has not completely dominated for centuries. Many famous black men such as Frederick Douglass have been around for many a year.
He wrote during the time of slavery when most slaves were not allowed to learn to read. While at this time the majority was coming up with their own forms of literature and artwork. Although there have been many black writers and black inventors, the majority of artists tend to be European and Spanish. This doesnt mean that there were or are no black artists, it just means that very few black artists ever make it as famous as some of the old world painters and sculptors. This would be the only one of Dubois criteria I would remove due to the fact that it doesn’t really apply to the modern world. Most minorities can get social ranking and prestige just as easily through mental clearness and creative genius as can a person from the white majority.
DuBois third example is spiritual goodness and receptivity. In today’s modern world there are many televangelists and famous preachers in the news quite often. Just watching T.V. one may hear of something controversial the Pope may have said or some other authority of religion. But there are other reverends such as rev. Jessie Jackson who may not be exactly one of the holiest reverends around, but he is in the minority, and he is very famous. He will often times promote peace and such to the black communities throughout the United States. A more famous minority preacher is DR. Martin Luther King JR. he stood for complete equality for all minorities and all whites. This is a good example of a member of the minority gaining very high social status by using a controversial subject, but he did it and it worked.
Dubois fourth and final example is social adaptability and constructiveness. In the white majority, people are expected to make more of a difference in the society than a member of the minority. The minority members are expected to be in prison by age eighteen and generally not given much hope for. On the other hand, the white majority is generally more respected for whatever field it is that they work in. The minority is often kept from reaching very high status due to the assumption that they are not intelligent enough to handle any job with prestige or honorability. Although this is changing, it is taking some time. The number of blacks or other minorities holding government jobs is slim to none. Some blacks have made it very high in the government such as General Colon Powell. But I think that a black president is still quite a ways into the future.
After looking at all of Dubois examples of ways to gain cultural superiority it is easy to say that the minorities have been blazing a trail in the society of today. Where in the past something may have been unthinkable, the minorities are making it a reality. The only oppression that minorities face today would be their own self-doubts and racial bias. Anything is possible if you try.
