1

Eliza Christopher

Professor Evin Rodkey

Anthropology 103

6/2/2021

Thoughts On Race and Racism from the Field

Many people don’t think about anthropologists as hands on researchers, instead they picture

them as researchers who analyze data in an office all day. Although part of their work is data

analyzation, fieldwork is one of the most important practices that anthropologists do. Through

fieldwork anthropologists can collect and observe data from a first-person perspective. This

allows them to not only be confident in their observations, but it allows them as the researcher to

focus their research as variables and concepts change. In this paper I will discuss the importance

and practice of ethnographic fieldwork as well as present real-world examples from my own

fieldwork focused on race, racism, and racially driven issues facing our world today.

Ethnographic fieldwork is a set of methods that anthropologists conduct when researching topics

in our society today (Guest 66). The primary focus is to experience other people firsthand

through interviewing, photographing, note taking, and most of all experiencing what the people

themselves experience. A method used for this type of fieldwork is called participant

observation. Participant observation is important because when you experience the daily

activities of the participant you gain a firsthand understanding from their point of view that

simply looking at data cannot show you. To truly understand society, you cannot watch from a

distance nor just observe; you need to be directly involved to truly experience and understand

your observations. Although this hands-on work is important, it is still only a piece of what it
 2

takes to develop understanding. Ethnographic fieldwork was not as common as it is today as it

was in the past. Before anthropologists were really their own profession, fieldwork was done

naturally by just traveling, discovering, and meeting people not of your own culture. Almost

2,500 years ago Greek historians such as Herodotus or explorers such as Marco Polo

documented their travels and exploration encountering other cultures (Guest 68). Over time

anthropologic fieldwork emerged mainly in the late twentieth century however the early

beginnings emerged greatly in the twentieth century. This was due to the large number of

Europeans moving internationally such as merchants and missionaries (Guest 69). With all this

information brought back on different cultures, people were interested in what, how, and why

there were differences. Through fieldwork anthropologists observe and then record both

qualitative and quantitative data. Quantitative data is data that represents measurable details such

as population economic observations, and demographic data. Qualitative data is also valid data

however it cannot be measures as it represents stories told by others, observations, and

interviews. This data is often overlooked by people who are not involved in anthropology. Many

people just analyze the numbers or measurable data they can look at and see instead of the in-

depth observations or accounts that don’t present their worth initially without looking deeper.

This qualitative data collected through ethnographic fieldwork is just as important than the

measurable data because it tells the story not just an overview of a population or part of society.

Following my remarks on what the qualitative and quantitative data mean to researchers, the

perspective of the researcher collecting this data is also important. Observing from the outside

can bring forth completely different data than observing from the inside and vice versa.

Perspective is a very important key to data collection and observation in any field and even more

so in the study of society where different perspectives are necessary. When conducting fieldwork
 3

anthropologists have to frequently view things from different perspectives to see the whole

picture. One approach they take to research is to conduct research from an emic perspective. The

emic perspective is to view the local community from an insider perspective to see how they

view the world (Guest 82). Another approach they take is to conduct research from an etic

perspective. This etic perspective is to research and view the community from an outsider’s

perspective which would be what the anthropologist views.

Using an anthropologic approach to the topic of race and racism I conducted my own research

from both an etic and emic perspective. This research was done to solidify an understanding on

race and racism in America from the perspective of someone who has been frequently the victim

of racism and racial discrimination and the perspective of myself who would be considered an

outside and has not been a victim of racism. In anthropology ethnographic fieldwork is most

successful with a strong connection or amount of trust with the person to get the most accurate

and uncensored answers on a topic. In anthropology holism which is the commitment

anthropology makes to considering culture, biology, history, and language through time is

important to seeing the entire picture (Guest 15). I wanted to make sure in my research I took a

holistic approach to choosing an interviewee in regards to someone who wasn’t too young or too

old, had a different upbringing, and had lived on both side of the economic spectrum. With these

characteristics in mind, I interviewed Amber Richards, a former Muskegon Community College

professor whose academic focus was on African American history and race relations. With

Amber being my fiancés mother and a professor educated on the topic I was able to collect clean

and unbiased information regarding race and racism. I began the interview asking what her first

recollection of encountering race or racism was. She responded by saying she was only in first

grade when she told a boy she liked him a lot and he responded by saying “Gross, you’re black”.
 4

She told me at the time she really had never saw a difference in skin colors and didn’t even

understand why he had said that. She also added that as a young kid from that day forward she

started to associate her skin with being ugly and second class. At this point the boy had

introduced her to her first experience with white skin being hegemonic. Italian philosopher

Antonio Gramsci describes one of the aspects of power being hegemony which is creating an

agreement of power over a population without brute force (Guest 49). Although wrong, the boy

was also a victim of hegemony by being taught the shared system of beliefs that create make

ideas like these normalized. Coupled with this hegemonic influence the boy is also a victim of

ethnocentrism. At such a young age there would be no reason to look down upon another race

unless he was taught or influenced by these ideas in his own culture. At this point in history

racism segregation was still fresh and people around hardly showed any amount of cultural

relativism. I asked Amber how she would describe the cultural environment she grew up in and

her answer was very unique. Amber described her environment as multicultural and multiracial

noting that her mother was white and her father was black so she saw both sides. Amber was

able to observe the traditions, food, and culture from both sides however she wasn’t very

accepted by either. With her mother’s side saying “you’re not white enough” and her father’s

side saying “you’re not dark enough”. In these circumstances you can see that both cultures

although family, still had bias and showed a lack of cultural relativism. They were only able to

make judgements on her white side based on the standards of their own culture instead of making

an unbiased judgement. Amber continued to explain her middle school and high school years

being bullied, assaulted, and treated wrongly for being darker than the main population of her

schools. During this time the level of agency, or ability to go against their own culture’s

normalcies was extremely low. I mentioned a quote from the book Essentials of Cultural
 5

Anthropology: Third Edition to Amber that read “Cultural beliefs and practices are not timeless;

they change and can be changed” (Guest 50). Amber and I both resonated with this and

discussed how so many people around her had no sense of agency and also why she wasn’t

influenced by her own culture’s biases and thoughts on lighter skinned individuals. With this

conversation I was able to come up with the theory that agency is not something that is not

something you’re born with but it is something that you gain through breaking your own cultural

barriers. This was one theory I had however Amber also explained how at the time people who

were nice to her or hung out with her were considered weird and unpopular. This shows how

agency can be gained but lost through ethnocentrism and outside influences. I am aware of the

problem with racial discrimination through my years however when you’re not an active victim

or actively involved with making a change it can sometimes go unnoticed. This was the case for

many people in the past few years with a strong voice coming from movement such as Black

Lives Matter and more criminal cases and situations being brought to the public more

consistently. In the past year the voice that these movement have had has gotten louder following

events such as George Floyd’s death. With these recent events race based movement have not

been the only things influenced however with movements to end police brutality and demand

more training being on the top of the priority list. I asked Amber what she thought about these

recent events and specifically the George Floyd situation to see what she thought about not just

this situation but the key concepts of that the cases exposed themselves. Amber didn’t believe

that Derik Chauvin, who was the police officer charged with George Floyd’s death, was right in

any way. Amber did recognize that rational thinking is important and neither her or I could say it

was race based or intended; we are not the judge nor the jury. However, Amber did say that no

matter what the race was it was not okay and it called a lot of attention towards ending police
 6

brutality and woke up a lot of people on the subject. I believe the movement that these events

have fired up are very different than movements like the civil rights movement. During the civil

rights movement it was very against the cultural norm and the level of agency people had was

very low. The ones in support of ending the civil rights movement even if they believed in it

were at risk of violence. In today’s world you see these movements against racism and police

brutality with a wide variety of different cultures and races involved.

As mentioned in the above section I took time in choosing a subject for this topic. I wanted to

maintain a holistic approach considering all aspects of society to create a larger picture.

Although I come from an etic perspective, being able to interview someone that is an insider on

the topic of race and racism was important in creating an accurate point of view from someone

who was not only educated but a victim of racism themselves. My subject had certain

characteristics that allow other researchers to compare data and observations freely. My subject

was neither rich or poor, she was educated on the topic, and a direct victim involved with the

topic. I am recognizing that variables such as gender, class, and age can also produce different

observations but I believe the data I have provided from my subject can be used to compare data

taken from other diverse individuals in the future. With Amber being my fiancés mother, I was

able to ensure answers that were beneath the surface level with the bond of trust I have with the

subject. My fieldwork on race and racism from a victim’s perspective is a perfect example of the

benefits of fieldwork in anthropology. Not only are you able to examine multiple perspectives

but you are able to understand your research from an emic perspective allowing you to see the

whole picture instead of just what you can observe as an outsider.

 7

Works Cited

Guest, Kenneth. Essentials of Cultural Anthropology: A Toolkit for a Global Age. 3rd ed.,

Norton,2020.