"How Jews Became White Folks"

The thesis of “How Jews Became White Folks,” is the question of whether Jews became white because they became middle-class (by money), or did being incorporated into an expanded version of whiteness make them more able to be of middle-class status?

The author of this article, Karen Brodkin, explains how she grew up as a Jewish girl and went through many changes of status, like her parents have to even a greater extent. Jews were looked at as part of the Euro-ethnic group and were looked down upon until they slowly established themselves as a middle class. It is common for Jews to find a sense of pride in this feat as they became more successful and a smart group of people. She explains that, “Instead of dirty and dangerous races that would destroy American democracy, immigrants became ethnic groups whose children had successfully assimilated into the mainstream and risen to the middle class.” It wasn’t until after World War II that anti-Semitism began to be pushed aside and the “old white and the newly white masses became middle class.” It was also urban renewal that was the other side of the process by which Jewish and other working-class Euro-immigrants became middle class, as they were more able to live in these areas than those of African-American descent who were still being oppressed.

I agree with Brodkin when she argues that not only did the Jewish people “pull themselves up by their own bootstraps,” but they also became of a higher standard because of the federal governments never-ending attempt to oppress African Americans. Since the Jews were white, they slowly became accepted, or at least of a higher class than those who were black. Unlike blacks, Jews could attend college at an easier expense, get the training they needed to hold good jobs, and move into houses in suburban areas that were forbidden to African Americans. Therefore, not only did the determination of the Jews to become middle class get them to that point, but also the help of the government in their attempt to oppress blacks.

I thought this was a commendable article in that it offered a different standpoint on racism and oppression. The author explained how growing up as a Jewish girl affected the person she is and the changes that it made to her everyday life. Instead of explaining the oppressed ways that Jewish people lived throughout the whole piece, she explained how the Jews grew from what they once were perceived as and used their knowledge and well-being to rise to middle class standards, as well as the help of the government. It was a story of success instead of defeat and how, despite the improvements, “Racial inequality seems to maintain itself ‘naturally,’ even after legal segregation ended.”