Jessica Vasquez-Tokos, a Sociology professor at the University of Oregon, explores the intricate dynamics of race and belonging in America. She discusses the ramifications of being viewed as a 'problem' and dives into personal narratives that illustrate how racialized identities shape experiences and aspirations. The conversation also highlights the historical context of racial inclusion, focusing on diverse communities like Indigenous, Latino, and Vietnamese Americans. Vasquez-Tokos emphasizes the need for empathy and institutional change to embrace inclusivity and address systemic inequalities.
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insights INSIGHT
Expanding Du Bois' Question
W.E.B. Du Bois' question, "How does it feel to be a problem?" is expanded beyond Black Americans to multiple racial groups.
Race as a social problem is constructed historically and shapes experiences across diverse racial and ethnic groups.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Context Matters in Belonging
Jessica Vasquez-Tokos conducted 70 interviews in Oregon across various racial groups.
Respondents showed context-dependent views on inclusion and exclusion, sometimes challenging the binary assumption.
insights INSIGHT
Challenging National Belonging
Indigenous respondents often reject nation-state belonging, seeking decolonial sovereignty instead.
Asian Americans of conflict-origin nations feel ongoing marginalization as "military racial opponents."
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Burdens of Belonging examines the historical underpinnings of the racial-colonial hierarchy, the influence this hierarchy has on lived experience, and how racialized life experience influences the feelings, perspectives and goals of people of color. The book is based on interviews with people in Oregon from various racial groups, and brings multiple racial groups’ opinions together to weigh in on the ways in which race contours national belonging and affects sense of self, everyday life and wellness, and aspirations for the future. The book highlights the value of inquiring how people from various racial backgrounds perceive their fit in the nation and reveals how race matters to belonging in multifaceted ways. It brings to the fore an analysis of how racial inequality, settler colonialism, and race relations penetrate multiple layers of social life and become etched into bodies and futures.
The Souls of Black Folk
Héctor Arnau
Patricia H. Hinchey
Eugene F. Provenzo
Slingshot Books
Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
W.E.B. Du Bois
Brent Hayes Edwards
Monty
Karl Simrock
Monica M. Elbert
Arnold Rampersad
Shawn Alexander
Prentice Onayemi
Farah Jasmine Griffin
Walter Covell
Published in 1903, 'The Souls of Black Folk' is a foundational text of American literature and sociology. The book explores themes of race, identity, and the quest for equality in an era marked by systemic racism and segregation. Du Bois reflects on the historical context of Emancipation, the double-consciousness of being both Black and American, and the struggles of the Black community. His prophetic remarks and critical insights have been cited as the intellectual framework for the Civil Rights movement and continue to influence contemporary writers.
By Jessica Vasquez-Tokos, Professor of Sociology at the University of Oregon
W.E.B. Du Bois famously pondered a question he felt society was asking of him as a Black man in America: “How does it feel to be a problem?” Jessica Vasquez-Tokos uses this question to examine how communities of color are constructed as “problems,” and the numerous ramifications this has for their life trajectories. Uncovering how various members of racial groups understand and react to what their racial status means for inclusion in, or exclusion from, the nation, Burdens of Belonging examines the historical underpinnings of the racial-colonial hierarchy, the influence this hierarchy has on lived experience, and how racialized life experience influences the feelings, perspectives and goals of people of color. Burdens of Belonging is based on interviews with people in Oregon from various racial groups, and brings multiple racial groups’ opinions together to weigh in on the ways in which race contours national belonging and affects sense of self, everyday life and wellness, and aspirations for the future. This book highlights the value of inquiring how people from various racial backgrounds perceive their fit in the nation and reveals how race matters to belonging in multifaceted ways. Filling a gap in research on the everyday effects of accumulated racial disadvantage, Burdens of Belonging brings to the fore an analysis of how racial inequality, settler colonialism, and race relations penetrate multiple layers of social life and become etched into bodies and futures.
Michael L. Rosino, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Molloy University
New Books in Sociology 