BakerBrodkin

“How the Jew Became White Folks” written by Brodkin discusses that when he was growing up the emphasis placed upon people by society was not really on religion and different races within one color such as Jewish whites. He goes on to explain that part of his ethnic heritage was to believe that Jews were smart and the success was due to there work epic. Even though he did agree with these traits the Jewish people portrayed he did not believe that it was all that was to receive credit for many of their success. Brodkin believed that along with the Jews desire to work hard and get a good education they were also able to consummate the removal of very strong social barriers. Euro races is thought of as the European races divided into many different inferior and superior races. This began with the huge waves of immigration from southern and eastern Europe which started in the late nineteenth century. The early beliefs were actually somewhat laughable. Women were asked to stop breeding with other than superior races in hopes of shrinking the population out. Economic crisis and medical problems were blames on the immigrants so the idea of genetic differences became more and more widespread. Brodkin discusses the fact that through the faces of adversity in Columbia his father was able to make a strong and successful man out of himself and his mother did not feel the shame of being who she was and still had a happy life. Both parents always placed an emphasis on good education and hard work to achieve somewhat equality. Up until Brodkin reached adolescents he was still seen as a Jew in everyone’s eyes. He would go to school on the Z block of his area and his neighborhoods were mainly segregated, not just by race as it is now but religion. Once he reached adolescence Brodkin Jews were thought of as white folks, no more mainstream ideas of Jewish as a lower race. After the beginning of World War 2 much of the anti Semitism values and anti European racism lost its respectability. After what was going on it was hard to be a self respecting person while still upholding the values of a genocidal nation who we as Americans were fighting against for unfair treatments. This lead to the ideal that the United States would be a land of real equal opportunity and all people would have the option of becoming middle class. After the war was the largest building of colleges this nation has ever seen. Since colleges up to this point had been seen as only a marker for upper class, with all these GI’s taking advantage of their opportunity given by the government. This transformed America’s class structure once again. Though the GI bill was meant to work fro everyone the African Americans and Women of any race were not being compensated which was still a sign of somewhat underground prejudice.
1) Why were Jews outcast originally?
2) Who decided Jews were not white?
My reaction is not surprise. I knew the Jews were treated unfairly but I thought that it was mainly in Europe and that in America Jews were just as equal as others.