Essay on How race is lived in America Best of Friends, Worlds Apart

            The theory of racial formation described by Omi and Winant has been one of the important theories to understand how racial discrimination and categories are formed in society. They believed that racial categories are not something natural to happen, rather they are being created. It means that race is something, which can be considered as a socially constructed identity, where certain labels are given to people with different colors. So, this theory is kept in context to analyze the story of Joel Ruiz and Achmed Valdés, it shows that the social identities of both men have been categorized according to their colors. Both friends migrate to the U.S from Cuba, and they should have got an identity as Cubans, but in reality, things were quite different. Mr. Ruiz was black, whereas Mr. Valdés was a white man from Cuba. So, when they settled in the United States, they were treated as per their colors because their colors were their actual social identity. Mr. Ruiz had to get settled in an area, which was associated with blacks, whereas Mr. Valdés easily got settled in a white neighborhood (Cole, 2019)

            It is quite shocking to see that both men had similar kind of backgrounds, coming from the same country; but when they entered the United States, they have to face a new reality. This transformation of identities was more difficult for Mr. Ruiz to digest because he was not expecting this at all. But when things started to unfold, he quickly realized that race is a major issue here in America, and even he has a great friendship with Mr. Valdés, but they can’t be similar kind of friends, as they used to be back in Cuba. It was not easy for Mr. Ruiz to face this bitter reality, but there was no other option so he had to live with this reality. Both friends still had good feelings for each other, but social reality had kept them distanced from each other. That’s why Mr. Valdés had just visited Ruiz’s neighborhood once in this whole period.

            After analyzing this story in detail, it is evident that race is a socially constructed reality, and social identities are built on these realities. If the life of both friends is analyzed separately, then it is evident that Mr. Valdés had an easy passage in the United States as compared to his friends. He easily settled in a white neighborhood, he was free to do anything, and he also did not have to learn how to behave in the United States. On the other hand, the journey of Mr. Ruiz was so different and difficult. He had no free choices to make like his friends. Especially, he had to learn how to behave in the U.S as a black man. He was not having any kinds of free will to live as a free man. He could feel that there was clear segregation in the society, and he had to live with all of these bitter realities of life as he had no other option (Ojito, 2000)

References of How race is lived in America

Cole, N. L. (2019). What Is Racial Formation Theory? Retrieved April 26, 2020, from https://www.thoughtco.com/racial-formation-3026509

Ojito, M. (2000). Best of Friends, Worlds Apart. Retrieved April 26, 2020, from https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/national/race/060500ojito-cuba.html