Racial issues and injustices in the United States are examined in both of Oden’s anthologies, “California Politics” and “Rivers of Struggle and Resistance.” The introduction in “California Politics” mainly discusses current political issues and how they have influenced the underrepresented ethnic minorities in California. On the other hand, “Rivers of Struggle and Resistance” focuses on the history of discrimination and oppression that haunt the African American society for several decades. Although both anthologies explores and examine similar themes, the introduction in “Rivers of Struggle and Resistance” related more to Michael Goldfield’s “The Color of Politics” excerpt.
While both of Oden’s anthologies focus on the challenges which the underrepresented have faced in their continuous battle for political, racial, and economic equality, I have chosen to analyze the editor’s introduction in the “Rivers of Struggle and Resistance.” In this introduction, many reputable historical figures’ excerpts were included. For example, Howard Zinn’s seminal book, The
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Goldfield discusses different race theories and how “race consciousness and racism pervade every fiber of our social existence.” He also asserts that the belief that white people are superior to all other races, or white-supremacy, has played a major role in America’s economic system since the early days of American colony. This issue was elaborated more fully through Gary Becker, “[...] employer preferences for white rather than non-white employees are irrational in that they diminish the employer’s potential profits” (8). As a result, the working-class politics is extremely underdeveloped in the United States. Goldfield expressed that a coordinated effort and a sustained class-based labor movement by poor working class whites and non-whites would help eliminate the economic disparity in