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In the US Census, all Americans can fill in their perceived race and report what race they feel they belong to which is common for those who live and work in the US.
When the presidential election of the last days has been analyzed, it is discussed how the two candidates managed to mobilize different “racial groups” that in Swedish translate directly into racial groups.
It’s hard to imagine a discussion in Sweden about how the Social Democrats triumphed among the Swedish Iraqis, or whether the moderates took the Sami with them after a parliamentary election. The term race is rarely used in Sweden the way it is used in the United States.
– Race and ethnicity are fundamental American experiences. The concept is not controversial and, in general, it is natural to talk about it in those countries that have significant experience in racial and ethnic diversity, says Professor Dag Blanck.
There is a difference between ethnic groups and races in the American language and the concepts are based on a social context, not biology.
– The concept of race has its roots in slavery. It is based on the ethnic groups that came to the United States as a result of involuntary migration, of oppression. Ethnic groups are based on culture and are the ones who immigrated the most voluntarily, such as the Swedes and the Irish. When it comes to race and ethnicity in the United States, it comes from your own experience. If the authorities come in and define such an affiliation, it will be something else entirely, says Dag Blanck.
The breed is described and discussed in American society in a way that can be compared to the discussion about class in Sweden. Class, on the other hand, is a concept Americans are reluctant to speak of as fixed divisions in society, says Dag Blanck.
Dag Blanck, Senior Lecturer in American Studies.
Photo: Mikael Wallerstedt
There are several anti-discrimination laws in the United States that exist to reduce “racial injustice,” racial injustice. A business or university in the United States may not assign quotas directly to people of different perceived ethnicities or races, but they can use what is called “affirmative action,” positive action, and work to increase diversity. This work is generally based on information about how diversity is viewed in society.
– The American anti-discrimination law is quite ambitious when it comes to positive actions based on race and ethnicity. This means that, for example, the employees of a company must reflect the composition of the population, which means that they must know what society is like as a whole. If you see that our company employs 10 percent of African Americans and in this city they represent 30 percent of the population, you will get hard figures on the problem. In Sweden, such registration is not allowed, so we do not have such statistics. For example, we don’t know how many Sami live in Sweden, one of our national minorities, says Dag Blanck.
Sweden, which in 2009 replaced The term race with ethnic origin in discrimination legislation has been criticized several times for this over the years. Among others, the Council of Europe’s Commission against Racism and Intolerance and the UN Committee on Civil and Political Rights have noted that Swedish law can ignore some form of discrimination.
In recent years, injustice based on race has also become increasingly focused in Sweden. Racial profiling and racialization, concepts that describe society’s perception of people as belonging to socially constructed races based on their appearance, have become more common in Sweden. Discussions about whiteness and vulnerability for those who are not perceived as white have also grown and are in many respects similar to discussions that take place on the basis of race in the United States.
– Sweden has been inspired by the Civil Rights Movement and the lives of blacks matter in a way that similar movements probably do not inspire us in other countries. When George Floyd was assassinated and it was a live broadcast from the United States on Swedish morning television. When demonstrations were held in Sweden in support of the issue of black lives, people from the suburbs and vulnerable areas came and said that they recognized themselves in police brutality, says Dag Blanck and continues:
– The United States affects us in many ways, and it is very interesting to consider whether we are also Americanized on this issue and, if so, how it would adapt to Swedish conditions.
Read more:
Bilan Osman: “Sweden lags behind in understanding racism”
Martin Gelin: Black and Hispanic working women won elections for Biden
Read more about the Black lives matter movement in the US and Sweden here
