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Michelle Wilbourn
Roberta Wolfson
Writing 2
6 June 2016
WP2
History Has What Psychology Lacks
Racial discrimination is a social issue that has been affection our world for centuries and
is still prominent today. Historians convey racial discrimination by stating the facts of what
happened and analyzing these facts to understand the cause and effect, while psychologists show
their understanding of racial discrimination through tests and studies of the human mind and how
this affects behavior. In history article The Limits of Jim Crow: Race and The Provision of
Water and Sewerage Services in American Cities, historian, Werner Troesken, argues that black
neighborhoods were not receiving adequate water and sewage service, while in psychology
article Percieved Discrimination and Nocturnal Blood Pressure Dipping Among Hispanics: The
Influence of Social Support and Race, psychologist, Carlos Rodriquez, argues that ambulatory
blood pressure (ABP) is related to racism. Although both articles discuss racial discrimination,
both are not adequate to discuss it. In order to see how racial discrimination effects and is
effected, psychologists have to use history to look back into the foundation of racisms roots.
Psychology is also a much more qualitative discipline which is not very helpful when racial
discrimination is a personal subject. Because of the different evidences used under each
discipline, it is clear that a historical approach is more effective at discussing racial
discrimination than a psychological attempt.

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The discipline of history uses historically accurate evidence to discuss different topics
because history is used to educate and needs to be credible to source. In the topic of racial
discrimination it is important for history to be accurately recorded and understood because it is
such a sensitive subject in that many people are still affected by today. It would be offensive and
disrespectful to inaccurately discuss the history of racial discrimination when so many people
were affected so negatively by it. It is also important to accurately discuss this history to teach
younger generations so that they can potentially create a more positive social atmosphere in
which racial discrimination is less of an issue. Troesken utilizes this method and effectively
argues his opinion that black neighborhoods were discriminated from their rights of adequate
water and sewage services with historically accurate evidence such as census reports and data.
Troesken include local census reports from the 1880s because they record both the address and
race of families in the area which makes it easy to locate these families and where they are in
relation to the sewers. Troesken also provides different historical data about what percent of
African Americans had certain rights compared to the percent of whites who had those same
rights during specific years throughout the 1800s and 1900s. This information provides an
understanding that African Americans did actually receive racial injustice when it came to their
rights. It is important to accurately represent these facts because it creates a sense of credibility
for the reader. To read any article containing inaccurate information makes it irrelevant and the
article thus becomes incompetent to argue its topic. But specifically to history, discussing the
sensitive topic of racial discrimination without truly understanding and having accurate
information not only causes the article to become incompetent to justify its topic, but can also
create unnecessary questioning or arguments. Historians understand this and support racial
discrimination with historically accurate evidence to create an effective and strong argument.

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Now, psychology mainly uses tests as evidence, but in order for psychology to have
evidence that is accurate, it depends on history to also be accurate so that it can draw from it.
Rodriquezs version of accuracy to support his argument that ambulatory blood pressure and
racism are related comes from current assessment tests and studies. He sent this test out to
different Spanish races to ask them how they felt about their race, when or if they have
experienced racial discrimination and if they have felt that discrimination towards others. It
would be important to note that Rodriquez tested specifically Spanish races. Psychologists have
to look back into history to place their studies into an appropriate context so that they are not
testing something completely irrelevant. This choice Rodriquez made results from looking back
into history records, or drawing from what his own knowledge in history to know that Spanish
races were racially discriminated. In this case, history is the foundation of his study which
shows that without history, there would be no study. Since this history of the Spanish was
accurate, Rodriquez could then utilize this history and base his psychology study off of this. This
shows that psychologists have to look into history to gain a better understanding and be provided
with the knowledge and information to place their ideas into the appropriate context. Ultimately,
psychology would not be able to discuss racial discrimination without knowing the history
behind it.
History also uses visual evidence whether it be in paintings, maps, or charts to give some
sort of representation. This is an important piece of evidence for history in that it gives a visual
representation of the information and makes historical events seem more accessible rather than
just being something of the past. When discussing racial discrimination it can make racism seem
more personal and real. Maps, covering the span of 30 years in the late 1800s, of the sewage
system in Savannah, Georgia and Memphis, Tennessee, show that many neighborhoods with

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high percentages of African American population did not get sewage until 5-10 years after white
populated neighborhoods (Troesken). Even with the simple use of a map, Troeskens audience
can get a visual of the exact cities, exactly how these homes were positioned, what race resided
in each home, and whether they did or did not receive water utilities. This visual can help the
audience visually follow along for themselves and realize that this event actually did happen.
Troesken also incorporates charts into his article which serve the same purpose to show the
reality of the situation, but also as a clear visual aid to explain the studies he performed and what
relations he found. It is important to have these charts be clear so that the audience accurately
understands the historical information at hand without being misguided. Charts of the total
mortality rates in Savannah and Memphis are of the same time period as the maps of the sewage
system to show the relationship between the two. In one chart it is seen that the total mortality
rate dramatically decreased by 50% within the time that the production of sewage systems went
up (Troesken). In another chart, the total mortality rates are specified to waterborne diseases and
is split into whites and blacks. The chart shows that blacks had about 50% more deaths from
waterborne diseases than whites, but similarly to the previous chart, decreased with the increase
of sewage systems (Troesken). Troesken uses all these pieces of evidence to support his
argument that African Americans were negatively affected because of their race during this time.
This use of evidence helps to clearly support Troesken's representation of racial discrimination as
well as makes the situation seem more accessible. Through the use of visual evidence, history
can create a real and visual experience for the reader.
Although psychology also uses visual evidence, it tends to be hard to follow
because it assumes the reader has background knowledge on certain terminology, and is
quantitative rather than history which is much more qualitative. This is important because racial

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discrimination is more personal in that it effected and effects a lot of people and psychologys
visual evidence lacks this personal aspect. For this specific work, Rodriquez uses visual evidence
by including a couple tables to portray the studies that are being performed. After collecting the
participants final test results he created a score which concluded that 54% fell into average
sleeping patterns at ABP (Rodriquez). Along with this score, he provided a table labeled as
Characteristics of Participants According to PEDQ Score which was categorized to give a
visual representation of how many of the participants fell under each category. First of all, in
order to fully understand this table, one needs to know what ABP means and what a PEDQ score
is. This may cause the reader to be misled because of their lack of knowledge on this
terminology. Also, this table, like tables used in psychology studies, is specific to quantitative
research which is then transformed into useable statistics. This quantitative approach creates a
distance from the reality of racial discrimination in that it is trying to find an explanation for it
with the use of statistics. Racial discrimination is a very personal event, and psychologys visual
evidence cannot effectively discuss it when it is an not a personal discipline. History uses visual
evidence to create a real experience for the reader rather than emotionally unattached facts like
psychology. Therefore, although psychology also uses visual evidence, when discussing racial
discrimination, history is much more effective.
Overall, a psychologic approach is not as effective as a historical one when discussing the
topic of racial discrimination. Psychology ultimately depends on history and its accuracy to gain
an understanding and be better equipped with the information to assess and place current and
future ideas into a context that is appropriate. Psychology is also less personal than history
which, under the topic of racial discrimination, makes it difficult to have as effective visual

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evidence. The evidence specific to history is both accurate and creates a real experience which is
exactly what psychology lacks when it comes to discussing racial discrimination.

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Works Cited
Rodriquez, Carlos Jose Perceived Discrimination and Nocturnal Blood Pressure Diping Among
Hispanics: The Influence of Social Support and Race Psychosomatic Medicine 00.0
(2016): 1-10. Web
Troesken Werner. The Limits of Jim Crow: Race and The Provision of Water and Sewerage
Services in American Cities The Journal of Economic History 62.3 (2002): 734772.

Web.

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