Racial Identity and Appiah

Abstract

In his book, Color Conscious, author Kwuame Anthony Appiah, focuses on race and racial identity. The work explores the American concept of race. It also deconstructs each argument which seeks to define race as it relates to skin color or culture, as well as its impact on individual autonomy. The author moves away from the integration of a definition of race into the construct of individual identities and argues that racism is the driver behind such ideas.

Introduction 

In his book, Color Conscious, author Kwuame Anthony Appiah, focuses on race and identity wrapped in race. While the title would imply to the readers that the author is suggesting that an individual should be conscious of the color of their skin, in fact Appiah’s text argues just the opposite. Instead, Appiah posits just the opposite -- that race and skin color do not create individual identities, at all. He uses his work to explore the American concept of race, and ultimately claims that race is a “challenge to the hope of reason and the spirit of democracy” (Appiah, 1998, p. 181) After reading Appiah’s text, it is clear that Appiah believes that people, and not race, create their identities.

Appiah first explores the role of race in the formation of individual identity. He argues that the concept of race developed in the United States does not adequately explain existing American social distinctions, because the only “race” in the United States is the “human race” (Appiah, 1998, p. 30). By way of example, Appiah highlights the problem with this theory by examining the range of skin tones for Latinos, and the hypothetical children of mixed-race parents (who each look physically different from one another) (Appiah, 1998, p. 33). Appiah challenges the reader to classify these siblings into a particular race and demonstrates that such a definition of race cannot stand (Appiah, 1998, p. 33). He argues that we cannot simply classify individuals into a particular race based on their physical characteristics alone (for example their skin color, or their particular type of hair) (Appiah, 1998, p. 56). In providing examples that disprove the application of this theory, Appiah argues that the definition of race under these scenarios is flawed.

Appiah also seeks to link the definition of race with culture in the text. He notes that racial designations are often used to define groups that share a common and distinct culture, such as African Americans (Appiah, 1998, p. 97). However, Appiah argues that in order to define a race based on the culture of an entire group, society must first ensure that the group-at-large shares a common culture (Appiah, 1998, p. 88). Appiah argues that in order for a group to share a “common culture” we must first prove that the group also shares widely held “beliefs, values, signs and symbols” (Appiah, 1998 p. 84). Further, this “common culture” must be defined using a set of criteria germane to this group alone (Appiah, 1998, p. 88). The evaluator must then apply the criteria to determine whether the “cultural products” that have been associated with the racial groups truly represent a causal link between race and culture (Appiah, 1998, p. 6). However, Appiah contends that the United States is actually a cross-cultural society, where racial groups in the United States do not always share the same beliefs (Appiah, 1998, p. 97). As such, cultural identity cannot necessarily be linked to the concept of racial identity, because the group fails to share an exclusive common culture (Appiah, 1998, p. 97). Appiah further disproves the notion that race should be linked to culture with the review of the homosexual subculture (Appiah, 1998, p. 97). Applying the previously used definition of culture (“common beliefs, values and practices”), the author notes that gay people and straight people may share a common culture (Appiah, 1998, p. 97). In contrast, he argues, that there are countries in the world where gender defines a cultural experience for an individual (such as those countries were women are viewed as inferior), although the members of the particular culture are from the same race (Appiah, 1998, p. 97). This example is proof positive that individuals within the same defined culture do not always share the same experiences. Similar to the previous discussion, in providing examples that disprove the application of the theory that race and culture are connected, Appiah argues that the classification is flawed.

Lastly, Appiah works to define autonomy to refute the claim that societal definitions of race somehow infringe on an individual’s autonomy. The author rejects the popular definitions of autonomy and instead posits that people create their own identities from a “tool kit made available by our culture and society” (Appiah, 1998, p. 94). While that “tool kit” would understandably include “race and race consciousnesses,” Appiah argues that if individuals include these factors as part of their constructed identities, then their identities are influenced by societal expectations of race, instead of the alternative (Appiah, 1998, p. 94). Appiah suggests that this influence would make the identity less genuine, as it would include societal expectations of, for example, what it means to be black (Appiah, 1998, p. 94). Further, the genuineness of the identity would be further tainted by the sector of society which influenced the expectation in the first place. For example, the “scripts” (or expectations) for behaving “black” would be far different if they were written by a white supremacist than they would be if written by a black militant (Appiah, 1998, p. 95). Once again, the author manages to effectively challenge the connection between race and autonomy.

Kwame Anthony Appiah is a well-written author and scholar. As mentioned by David B. Wilkins in Color Conscious (1998), Appiah has been recognized for his focus on issues of African and African-American intellectual history and literary studies, ethics and the philosophy of mind and language (p. 4). As evidenced by a review of Appiah’s early work through to the Color Conscious, Appiah came to focus on the issue of race identity though a general evolution that is typical of many authors. Appiah begins, as it has been said that many authors do, not by proposing ideas of his own, but rather instead with the dismantling of those ideas he finds to be counter-productive (or else simply incorrect). In 1989, Appiah authored the text Necessary Questions: An Introduction to Philosophy. The book is a presentation of philosophical works, which Appiah hoped would encourage readers to continue to read works authored by other philosophers. This book was a recital of information he felt made an important contribution to the field, interspersed with notes and recommendations from the author. In his work Racisms (1990), Appiah dismantles the basic premise of Afrocentrism as being equally fallacious as Eurocentrism. In deconstructing existing theory, Appiah first opened the door for himself as a theorist. In the year leading up to Color Consciousness, Appiah moved on to autobiographical text, through which the reader was able to gain a glimpse into the forces that shaped him as an author. For example, in In My Father's House: Africa in the Philosophy of Culture (1992), Appiah explores what it means to be an African American in the racially-charged society of the early-1990’s, following incidences such as the Rodney King beating. In Cosmopolitan Patriots (1997), Appiah shares personal anecdotes regarding his Ghanian family. Here the reader can clearly see an expansion from the narrower focus of his earlier works, into an expanded view encompassing a worldwide perspective.

Throughout Color Consciousness, Appiah explores a multitude of alternative definitions for race, inevitably tearing them down one by one until the reader is left with the inescapable conclusion that there is truly no such thing as race. At least, there is not a legitimate definition of race presented that should be given any real weight. The author carefully cautions readers to avoid making “racial identities too central in our conceptions of ourselves” (Appiah, 1998, p. 32). While he argues that race has a place in a “world shaped by racism,” he similarly argues that if society truly wants to eradicate racism, we must all co-exist in a world free from racial identities (Appiah, p. 32). While Appiah does not dismiss the reality of racism, he contends that it should not be used to create identity. This ideal reflects back on Appiah’s early works and shows the evaluation of the author into the one that he is today.

References

Appiah, K. (1998). Color Conscious. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Appiah, K. A. (1997). Cosmopolitan patriots. Critical Inquiry, 23(3), 617-639.

Appiah, A. (1992). In my father's house: Africa in the philosophy of culture. New York: Oxford University Press.

Appiah, K. (1989). Necessary Questions: An Introduction to Philosophy. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall College Div.

Appiah, K. A. (1990). Racisms. Also titled Europe upside down: Fallacies of the new Afrocentrism, as included in Grinker, R. R., Lubkemann, S. C., & Steiner, C. B. (2010).

Perspectives on Africa: A Reader in Culture, History, and Representation (2nd ed.; 48-54). West Sussex, United Kingdom: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Annotated Bibliography

Appiah, K. (1998). Color Conscious. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

This book is a review of race and racial identity. The author argues that race and skin color do not create individual identities, at all. Instead, Appiah believes that people, and not race, create their identities.

Appiah, K. A. (1997). Cosmopolitan patriots. Critical Inquiry, 23(3), 617-639.

This book is a personal account of the life of the author, and his experiences as a part of a Ghanian family. Appiah discusses his connection to both his country and his culture, as well as the influences of outside culture and experience.

Appiah, A. (1992). In my father's house: Africa in the philosophy of culture. New York: Oxford University Press.

This book explores what it means to be an African American in the racially-charged society of the early-1990s, following incidences such as the Rodney King beating. It includes personal reflections from the author, as well as a literature review of works from other African American authors. The book is intended to be a review of the African influence on society.

Appiah, K. (1989). Necessary Questions: An Introduction to Philosophy. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall College Div.

The book is a presentation of philosophical works, which Appiah hoped would encourage readers to continue to read works authored by other philosophers.

Appiah, K. A. (1990). Racisms. Also titled Europe upside down: Fallacies of the new

Afrocentrism, as included in Grinker, R. R., Lubkemann, S. C., & Steiner, C. B. (2010).

Perspectives on Africa: A Reader in Culture, History, and Representation (2nd ed.; 4 54). West Sussex, United Kingdom: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

This article explores the basic premise of racialism through a review of Afrocentrism, as compared to Eurocentrism. The work incorporates a philosophical perspective by incorporating theories by Immanuel Kant.