The Enduring Caste System in America: Success, Suppression, and the Shadow of Inequality

IfAmerica is truly the land of opportunity, why do African Americans and Native Americans remain disproportionately excluded from its prosperity? Why does the triumph of a few become a badge of progress, while the oppression of many is overlooked? These questions cut to the heart of a contradiction embedded in America’s foundations. The nation claims equality as its creed, yet it operates on an invisible scaffolding—a caste system deliberately constructed as early as 1619. This system, insidious and adaptive, adjusts to moments of progress without ever truly disappearing.

Many believe success proves the system no longer exists. Individual and group achievements—be it the rise of Frederick Douglass, the cultural brilliance of the Harlem Renaissance, or the Civil Rights Movement’s legislative victories—are often held up as evidence of systemic dissolution. Yet these triumphs, inspiring as they are, do not dismantle the framework of oppression. Instead, they coexist with—and often operate within—a structure designed to suppress. The caste system persists not because of failure on the part of marginalized groups but because it was engineered to endure. The question is not whether progress has been made but whether that progress has dismantled the system—or merely polished its façade.

The Origins of a Deliberate System

To understand the persistence of caste in America, we must return to its origins. In 1661, Virginia lawmakers enshrined the principle of perpetual servitude into law, decreeing, “In the case of enslaved persons, perpetual servitude is hereby established, and their status shall follow the condition of their mother.” This was no accident of history. It was a deliberate act to embed a racial hierarchy, ensuring African Americans remained an inherited underclass. Native Americans were similarly subjugated through land theft, forced removals, and cultural erasure. These measures weren’t mere acts of greed or cruelty—they were strategies to construct a caste system that secured the economic and political dominance of white settlers.

Even America’s architects of liberty embodied this contradiction. Thomas Jefferson, while drafting the Declaration of Independence, mused, “I advance it therefore as a suspicion only, that the blacks… are inferior to the whites in the endowments both of body and mind.” His words reveal the mindset of a society that preached equality while institutionalizing subjugation. By the 20th century, this caste system had evolved into segregation. President Woodrow Wilson, a staunch defender of Jim Crow, asserted in 1910, “Segregation is not a humiliation but a benefit.” These statements expose the continuity of a caste system that justifies itself through pseudo-scientific myths of inferiority and systemic policies of exclusion.

The Paradox of Achievement

The achievements of African Americans and Native Americans are often wielded as proof that the caste system no longer exists. Frederick Douglass, born into slavery, became one of America’s greatest orators. W.E.B. Du Bois, the first African American to earn a doctorate from Harvard, challenged systemic racism with intellectual brilliance. Martin Luther King Jr., whose leadership reshaped the nation’s moral compass, achieved legislative victories that redefined civil rights. Yet Douglass himself warned against mistaking individual success for systemic change. “If there is no struggle, there is no progress,” he declared, reminding us that his victories did not mean the system had been dismantled but were hard-won within its confines.

W.E.B. Du Bois expanded this critique, articulating the “double consciousness” of African Americans: the internal conflict of being both celebrated achievers and perpetual outsiders in a society that refuses full acceptance. Decades later, King asked, “What good is having the right to sit at a lunch counter if you can’t afford to buy a hamburger?” Progress had been made, but the scaffolding of inequality remained intact.

Group achievements offer a similar paradox. The Harlem Renaissance, a cultural explosion that redefined American art and literature, was a Purple moment of creativity born out of systemic oppression. Native American movements like the American Indian Movement (AIM) demonstrated resilience in the face of erasure. Yet collective prosperity has often been met with systemic violence. The destruction of Black Wall Street in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1921 is one of the clearest examples: a thriving Black community was decimated to preserve the hierarchy. Success within the system does not mean the system has been overturned. Rather, it reveals its ability to adapt and retaliate.

Dynamics of Survival and Creativity: Red and Purple

Turner and Killian’s Emergent Norm Theory helps explain how marginalized groups respond to systemic oppression. “Color Association Theory” expands this by exploring the dynamics of Red and Purple.

Red represents aggression and survival—a mode triggered when groups are forced to defend themselves against hostile environments. Systemic scarcity keeps marginalized groups locked in survival mode, a reality reflected in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, where safety and security dominate behavior. Media and policy often exploit this by portraying African Americans and other groups as “aggressive” or “threatening.” These portrayals are not inherent truths but adaptations to systemic deprivation.

Purple, on the other hand, symbolizes creativity and higher-order goals. Groups can move beyond survival to cultural innovation and political negotiation when conditions stabilize. The Harlem Renaissance and AIM’s cultural revitalization exemplify Purple dynamics. Yet the caste system ensures that such moments remain constrained. Even in their creative brilliance, marginalized groups are forced to navigate external forces that limit sustainability.

While these theories are useful in understanding the responses of suppressed groups, they neither explain nor remedy the caste system itself. The dynamics of survival and creativity illuminate the adaptive strategies of the oppressed, but they do not dismantle the systemic scaffolding that forces these adaptations in the first place. Understanding Red and Purple helps us interpret behavior, but true progress requires confronting the structure of oppression that perpetuates the need for these responses.

Intersectionality: Layered Oppressions

The caste system does not operate in isolation—it intersects with other systems of oppression such as gender, class, and sexuality. Black women, for example, face compounded challenges at the intersection of racism and sexism. As Kimberlé Crenshaw's framework of intersectionality demonstrates, these overlapping identities create unique vulnerabilities that are not captured by analyzing race or gender in isolation.

For instance, Black women are overrepresented in low-wage jobs, face higher rates of maternal mortality, and are disproportionately penalized in school systems. Similarly, Native American women suffer from epidemic rates of violence, often at the hands of non-Native perpetrators, with minimal legal recourse. These layered oppressions reveal how the caste system functions differently for individuals based on intersecting identities, creating barriers that are more nuanced and pervasive.

The Global Context: America in Perspective

America’s caste system is not an anomaly but part of a global phenomenon. In India, for example, the caste system operates through religious and cultural traditions that enforce a rigid hierarchy. South Africa’s apartheid regime institutionalized racial stratification in ways that echo Jim Crow. These systems share common mechanisms: they exploit labor, justify inequality through ideology, and preserve power for the dominant group.

Drawing these comparisons highlights the universality of caste-like systems while emphasizing America’s unique manifestation. The U.S. operates under the guise of a meritocracy, masking its caste system with myths of individual success. Understanding caste in a global context underscores the need for solidarity across borders in dismantling systemic oppression.

Capitalism: The Engine of Caste

At its core, America’s caste system is deeply intertwined with its economic structure. Capitalism thrives on inequality, creating a perpetual underclass to provide cheap labor and sustain profit margins. Historically, slavery, sharecropping, and segregation ensured the exploitation of African Americans for economic gain. Today, these dynamics persist in different forms, such as wage gaps, labor exploitation of undocumented immigrants, and the prison-industrial complex.

The caste system and capitalism are mutually reinforcing: one justifies the other. As long as economic systems prioritize profit over equity, the scaffolding of caste will remain intact. Meaningful change requires not only addressing racism but fundamentally rethinking economic priorities to ensure fair distribution of resources and opportunities.

Cultural Narratives: Storytelling and Caste

Media and cultural narratives play a crucial role in perpetuating the caste system. Hollywood often reinforces stereotypes, portraying African Americans as criminals or Native Americans as relics of the past. School curricula sanitize history, celebrating figures like Thomas Jefferson without interrogating their role in upholding systemic oppression.

Counter-narratives, however, are vital tools of resistance. Writers like Toni Morrison and James Baldwin expose the psychological and cultural toll of caste, while Indigenous authors like Louise Erdrich challenge erasure. By reclaiming and reshaping stories, marginalized groups disrupt the myths that sustain caste and offer new visions of identity and liberation.

The Role of Allies: Complicity and Accountability

The caste system persists not only through the actions of the powerful but also through the complicity of those who benefit from it. White working-class Americans, for example, have historically been manipulated into supporting white supremacy, even when it conflicts with their economic interests. Addressing caste requires more than resistance from the oppressed—it demands accountability from those who uphold the system, whether actively or passively.

Allyship involves more than acknowledgment; it requires action. This includes using privilege to challenge inequities, amplifying marginalized voices, and dismantling structures of privilege within one's own community.

Is the Caste System Over?

Modern rhetoric often denies the existence of caste. In 2019, then-President Donald Trump tweeted, “I don’t see color.” This denial reflects a refusal to confront the enduring structures of oppression. Similarly, the refrain “All Lives Matter” in response to calls for racial justice ignores the unique burdens placed on African Americans by systemic racism.

The persistence of the racial wealth gap, voter suppression laws, and disparities in education and healthcare suggest otherwise. As sociologist Gunnar Myrdal observed in 1944, America was “free, white, and twenty-one.” Malcolm X later declared, “You don’t stick a knife in a man’s back nine inches, pull it out six inches, and call that progress.” These statements, decades apart, echo the same truth: the scaffolding of caste remains.

Liberation Beyond Illusion

To dismantle the caste system, America must go beyond celebrating individual achievements or symbolic victories. It requires restructuring systems that perpetuate inequality. This means investing in healthcare, housing, and education to move marginalized groups from survival to creativity. It means rejecting the myth that success within the system equals liberation. Most importantly, it means rebuilding institutions that prioritize equity over hierarchy.

Frederick Douglass reminded us, “Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.” His words remain a call to action. The question is whether we are willing to confront the machine of oppression—not just its overt manifestations but its hidden scaffolding. As James Baldwin warned, “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” The caste system endures because we have yet to fully see it for what it is. Until we do, liberation will remain an illusion, and progress will be nothing more than a brighter coat of paint on the same old scaffolding.