The American caste system began after the arrival of the first African slaves to Virginia in 1619. Caste is the robust infrastructure that holds each group in place. In the United States, race is the visible agent of the unseen force of caste. The artwork's strength is that the hierarchy can be changed. As we go about our daily lives, caste is the wordless usher in a darkened theatre, the flashlight cast down the aisles, guiding us to our assigned seats for a performance. The hierarchy of caste is not about feelings or morality.
The following passage from Isabel Wilkerson's book "Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents." It is about power: which groups have it and which do not. It is about resources: which caste is seen as worthy of them, and which are not; who gets to acquire and control them, and who does not. It is about respect, authority and assumptions of competence: who is accorded these, and who is not."
Available for purchase: $2,400
