Kindness In A Multicultural Capitalist Society- Dr Lana J Walton

As we know, there are basically two types of economic systems worldwide- Capitalism and Socialism. Capitalism, the economic system in which most wealth (land, labor, equipment, money) etc., is private property, to be used by its owners to maximize their own gain is what we Americans practice! Socialism, on the other hand, which is community owned, is practiced by some other countries. 

 Am I knocking Capitalism? Absolutely not, and especially since I feed into it also.! All of us Americans feed into it simply because we love the "stuff" - cars, nice clothes, beautiful houses, mega churches, latest technology, beautiful hair/nails/toenails, land ownership, vacations, the best food, top k-12 school, prestigious university, and the power/elite status that comes along with having lots of wealth/money, money, money, money that comes with it! . In fact, very system in America feeds into the freedom of capitalism! Governmental, political, educational, healthcare, religious, banking, housing, criminal justice, and employment systems, all  breathe off the autonomy we have to maximize gain. And, due to our daily competition struggle, it's quite easy for anyone of us to fall into the dog eat dog- may the best man win way of thinking that often comes with wanting to have more and more "stuff". Some of us Americans have literally succumbed to high blood pressure, ulcers, anxiety, backstabbing, murder, and you name it because of the ongoing competition for money and wealth. As human beings, how far have we gone to acquire "stuff"? Most importantly, how far will we go today to acquire all of this "stuff," without hurting other human beings? 

 Concept of Racialized Labor

Karl Marx pointed out that one of the characteristics of every society whether Capitalism or Socialism is production based on a Division of Labor. Private ownership of the means of production, he argued produces a stratification system composed of the dominant group the owners, and the remaining classes, who are below the hierarchical stratification structure. The lower classes fall within  different degrees of exploitation and alienation. Another way of saying it is that this fight for competition leads to structural inequalities based on racial construction wherein the laboring class is taken the advantage of. In America, the laboring class are comprised of mostly people of color, and poor working class which also include poor whites. Surprising, these groups often compete and have a struggle amongst one another. However, the working class group are the ones who hold up the large oak tree. If they are not around to do the work- the entire tree will tumble.

 Besides, competition over money, Karl Marx also said that there is a struggle for leisure. All of us, I am sure, would enjoy taking time off to have peace and quiet, go on a vacation, or just spend the holiday with family and friends. Unfortunately, all Americans may not have this benefit for varying reasons. While some CEO's enjoy the advantage of taking luxurious vacations, others would rather stay at the office developing ways to increase profits. Some laborers, on the other hand, who are able to take days off, may not be able to afford a vacation but they can still at least enjoy a space at home to relax. Other workers do not receive vacation days because of working more than one part time job in order to make ends meet. Meanwhile, worldwide, the struggle for power, money, and maximizing gain is horrific , and especially in underdeveloped countries where the workers are exploited and dehumanized as they try to earn money to survive. Though most of the sweat shops are overseas, in America, workers are still being exploited in Los Angeles and New York, and can only imagine what it's like to have leisure.

Timeline Beginnings of Racialized Labor

Native Americans - A people residing in America prior to colonist or any other group's arrival

.Colonist Arrival - In 1607 the first colony was founded in Jamestown, Virginia. Many of the white colonists came to escape religious persecution.

It is alluded that it was very difficult for colonists to force Native Americans into doing varying labor, especially since they were use to the land, and knew where to go to get away. Therefore, it was necessary to find other means to get the needed work done in order to make profits. African slave trade was the solution.

Africans - First slave ship arrives in Jamestown, Pa. around 1617

 Africans, the only group that did not voluntarily come to America, were singled out for exploitation in colonial America because of the demand for labor in the new world. First slave ship arrived in Jamstown around 1619. Looking different - dark skin - having a foreign status- was a big motivation. The religious view that Africans were heathen and inhuman further justified their racialized labor. They were needed to work agriculture to maximize profits for the owners of plantations. Since they were considered as property, and inhuman, they had no citizenship rights.  In 1790, when the first Congress met in Philadelphia in an attempt to pass a bill of rights to put an end to slave trade, the consequence was the first Fugitive Slave Act that said if slaves escaped to a state that did not participate in slavery, he or she could be free. Later, slavery was still upheld with the Dread vs. Scott case, in which the Superior Court of the U.S. ruled that slavery was protected by the U.S. Constitution and was not illegal. Consequently, the US, engaged in slavery up to 1870, even after the Emancipation Proclamation. This is one of the reasons Juneteenth is celebrated by African Americans today in the US. This was the time when slaves in Texas learned that they were free. In California, however, freed slaves were not even considered for racialized labor. This is because settlers felt that allowing blacks to come to California would be giving power to a lower class people.

First Ellis Island European Immigration station officially openned on January 1, 1892. 700 European immigrants from northerm Europe passed through Ellis Island that day.

The Westcoast California and racialized labor

Native Americans, hobos who were poor white people, Chinese, Filipinos, Mexicans, Japanese, and East Indians were all used for racialized labor in the West - in California, according to McWilliams. All of the field labor was employed under a Padrone Contract, which meant that growers had protection from the government while the workers had no protection. The racialized labor in California came about because the method of trying to produce wheat growing on a large scale in 1880 was unproductive . Wheat growers therefore decided to use whatever labor was available. The only cheap labor then was Indian labor. Hence, farmers used what they termed, “Digger Indians” to do the work. These Indians were seen as the lowest tribe of the human race, with the exception of Africans who were considered not human at all.  Indians were paid only $l.00, and no room and board.

Chinese In California

The Chinese were exploited to work in California beginning in 1870, because of financial problems within the state, which had to do with the rise and fall in world prices, drought, and competition from Russia and Mississippi Valley. California, McWilliams argued,  needed a lot of labor to help expand their fruit and wine production. Chinese were already living in California, and working in the mines. But in order to force them into doing agricultural labor, mining laws were passed that said Chinese must have a special license before being permitted to dig. Since Chinese had no citizenship rights, they could not fight against this statute. Thus , Chinese came to perform 90 % of California’s agricultural labor at that time. 

Japanese

It was the development of sugar beet production in California that led Japanese into agricultural labor, according McWilliams. This new type of industry needed a unique kind of hand labor, and the Japanese were seen as the ones more capable to do this work. Japanese were not allowed to buy land. They attended segregated schools. Their children could not receive adequate education because they were shifted about so much. However, according to McWilliams, the Japanese who remain in agriculture in California today are no longer exploited because they have moved up the ladder to ownership.

East Indians (Rag Heads)

In 1907, 1909, and 1910, East Indian workers, referred to as “Rag Heads”, gradually moved to the great farm valleys of California. For a while they worked the railroad, but soon became an important source of farm labor. Growers, in fact, admitted to employing East Indians not only because they could with stand the intense heat, but also because they were able to handle the tedious task of harvesting crops. According to McWilliams, they were also exploited as an additional racial group to be in competition with other racial groups, thereby lowering wages.

Mexicans

Mexican labor was brought into Imperial Valley in California to relieve the labor situation before World War I, and to head off the immigration law in 1924 that drastically reduced immigrants from Europe. From 1920 to 1930, Mexicans were the largest single class in the agricultural labors in the state. From 1914 to 1930, the large farms used Mexican labor as their main source of cheap labor. However, one of the main sources for labor exploitation in early America, and today, has been the Mexican border. It has been used to bring people in, and send them back. For instance, The Bracero Program contracted Mexican laborers who were imported to the U.S. during WWII for cheap labor force. However, they were returned when they were not needed. Then, in 1965, the program was terminated by the United States. Today, it is said that one of the main reasons Mexicans are forced from their homes in Mexico is because of the United States' continuation in establishing big businesses. It is argued that the only alternative for those who have been displaced is to immigrate to the United States in order to find work to survive, even if they have to illegally or undocumented. 

Filipinos

The last racialized group to be imported into California to labor in agriculture were Filipinos, according to McWilliams. Since this group were nationals, they had a matter of right to enter the continental U.S.  It is suggested that there are thousands of Filipinos living in California today who were brought here to work in the fields years ago. The young single males were shifted about as needed. They worked in a system with a labor contractor who supplied the men at a fee. They were also used, like other racial groups to bring down wage rates.

According to McWilliams, racialized labor towards Chinese, Filipinos, and Japanese were welcome until they wanted their own farms to work. Suddenly, they were beat, shot, and deported. In 1882, the Chinese were not permitted to come to California. Japanese were excluded in the Gentleman’s Agreement in 1907-8.  Up to l965, there was a racial policy on immigration, and only Europeans could come in.

Racialized Labor Today

Today, racialized labor is used in other ways than it was during slavery, migrant labor, and sweatshops in Los Angeles, New York, and underdeveloped countries. It is used to contract labor for temporary workers, sub contracting, as well as independent contracting. For instance, newly trained truckers, plumbers, or maintenance workers must purchase their own tools in order to work. The problem is that many of these workers have been unemployed for months and cannot afford to purchase equipment. When they can't borrow money from family or friends, they often go to Quick Loan places to borrow it where their racial status, again is exploited because it is mostly people of color who utilize these places. This is because in contract labor, capitalists want an available and reliable worker with their own supplies. The idea is to gain money, not spend it.

Debt peonage is not over with either. It is still used on people of color, in particularly, African American males who are fraudulently incarcerated in order to make profits off of them in prison. Almost every business under the sun has their hands in this pot. Unfortunately, our capitalists system continually create new ways of exploiting people of color, and poor people. Often, those of us who feed into capitalism because we all "love stuff" play a role in the exploitation of other people without even realizing it when as consumers we purchase items from many of the stores run by big

SOLUTIONS

So how do we fix the problem of racialized labor of people of color? We don't want to banish capitalism because we all really do like "stuff!". It's difficult to point fingers when we all buy into it in one way or another, even if it does target people of color, and the poor working class. Yes, we can say that preying on people of color, and the poor is immoral. But that depends on whose moral code we go by. One may say, "just go by the Christian Code". However, we can't expect everybody to go by the Christian code considering the diversity of religions in this country. Besides, everybody doesn't believe in the bible. And, what about the people who purport to be Christians but don't like people of color? Therefore, it makes it much easier to discriminate against them in receiving adequate education, health care, housing, employment, fair criminal justice system treatment, etc.

Ok, we say, I've got my own code of ethics. In that case it applies only to your code of ethics. What about the other people who don't share it?

Next, we argue that we want to treat people of color right and not exploit them because it's been a tradition in our family for years, and only right. However, our practice is treating only particular people of color right that our family, friends, or who we know to embrace from watching stereotypic news media.

First, what about treating people of all races right because of the common human needs that we all have such as love, happiness, freedom, peace, creativity, stability, and friendship? In order to pursue and satisfy these needs we must set up moral principles that encourages us to cooperate with one another, and that will free each other from fear of being killed, mutilated, isolated, restricted or imprisoned. This sounds like Pluralist thinking to me wherein we are able to live together, and work for a common good though we come from varying cultures, races and ethnicities, etc. I think this is one way everyone in America can live a peaceful, meaningful life.

A second solution I consider may be a little late for adults but may work for future generations if we start right now. I suggest a curriculum in teaching children 3-12th grades ethical principles that do not conflict with their religion but are humanitarian ethics.

The third solution is to teach students beginning 3-12th about finance, and how to invest. I don't know if the elite Capitalists will appreciate this as it will leave less "little people" on the trunk of the tree holding it up for all of the systems to grow and profit. I clearly remember when in the first grade in Philadelphia public school how parents had to open bank accounts in the students' names in order to start teaching about banking at an early age. I was very proud of my own little bank book. Even after we moved out of the Philadelphia area, I held onto that bank book for years. Since I never withdrew from the book, I always hoped I'd gain interest until my older sister told me that the little money was probably eaten up with charges.

What businesses do you know today that are conducting racialized labor?

What is the class struggle and competition like today?

What role have we personally played in the exploitation of other people in this country, in our communities in the name of wanting "stuff" ?

Are we feeling satisfied since we've gotten all the "stuff" we think we need to help us survive?

Final Word

Whether consulting, teaching Pluralism, Diversity and Inclusion classes, or Race Relations Workshops, in an effort to teach for social and educational justice, it has been my objective and endeavor as well as practice to facilitate an depth historical backdrop of every residing group in America. It starts from leaving their country until the present. Native Americans history, of course, begins in America. This is the focused prior to studying learned behaviors. This helps us to understand that though we have many differences, we also have many commonalities, and we can work it out if we learn to.

McWilliams (2002), (Thiroux 2004)

Dr Lana J Walton, EdD (Educational Leadership for Educational Justice)

MA Counseling/Psychology

BA- Sociology/Psychology (Focus- Critical Race Theory, Race Class Inequality, Ethnic Studies, Urban Studies, Gender, Religious Studies, Civil Rights Movement study)

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