Journal 5: Breakthrough
I am thoroughly disgusted with the reality of my social position, but even more disgusted with the fact that it has taken this long too finally realize and admit to my role, however unintentional, in the perpetuation of racism. How have I lived this long without seeing how my life, my experience, and the opportunities given to me, are all the results of my white skin? How do we say we have come so far, when there is so much left to be done?
Warfield's article on Black history, Jame's letter to a high school teacher, and Clarke's letter to her daughter's principal all embody the desperation that this country needs to feel about our current social situation, their pleading messages of basic human equality bring to my mind
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Like any other language, English has a multitude of assorted dialects, some so different from the "Standard English" commonly spoken in American schools, that it creates conflicts between groups and a rift between the academic achievements of white students, and those students of color. African American students grew up at home speaking a form of English known as Black English. this language, which has a direct link to their cultural identity, is how the children best know how to communicate and therefore should be the manner in which these students are formally tested in reading and writing comprehension, while still learning the standard dialect (Delpit). Both Geneva Smitherman and Lisa Delpit stress the necessity for teachers to be educated in Black language and to hold a positive regard for the language and their students who speak it. The inclusion of other dialect into the curriculum demonstrates to the students that the teachers are taking the inclusion of diverse ethnic groups into the curriculum seriously. As of right now, teachers do not have this positive attitude toward black language, nor do they have it for their students who speak it. They inaccurately evaluate their students on their ability to read and write in Standard English, completely disregarding the fact competence should be measured by the child's ability to read and write in their dominant dialect, rather than in a language that is not natural to them (Delpit.) The sooner this belief is implemented in schools the sooner the achievement gap between white students and students of color can be
Much like many immigrants are ridiculed for speaking broken English. John Baugh (2000) tells of a story from his childhood where he would mock students in his class who did not speak English as a first language. He would repeat what these students said with a mocking tone. As he grew older he began to realize that the way he teased many fellow students because of their broken English, was similar to the way he, and many of his fellow African American community members, were teased (p. 7-8). Baugh (2000) goes on to say that the mocking and false-sense of superiority he felt over the students learning English as a Second language was the same feeling many feel about those who speak Ebonics (p. 10). The reputation of Ebonics being a lower class dialect of Standard English, especially within the academic world, has created an academic disadvantage for many African American students (Baugh, 2000, p. 6). For these students, who are native AAVE speakers, there is no extra ESL or bilingual help to strengthen their Standard English, because Ebonics is not considered a language, but rather a dialect (Baugh, 2000, p. 3). This causes many African American students to never speak Standard English proficiently, and in turn do not read or write at grade
The most important theme in this book was the trials and tribulations of racism because it was woven in every part of the plot, it contributed to the conflict and resolutions, and gave the story a connection to current events, helping the reader’s comprehension.
The Declaration of Independence, created in 1776, states, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” (Thomas Jefferson).” No one should be subjected to being treated as if they are less than anyone. Everyone has different opinions on the issue of whether or not racism exists and if African Americans are treated lesser than any other race. Despite efforts to make everyone equal, I am willing to claim not all minorities are treated equal.
When examining the timeline of slavery in the United States of America, it can seem like
The Explicit Gospel is a true eye opener with life changing implications, a modern day constitution of the Christian faith. This piece of literature adds a valuable Christian perspective with convicting truths that have been overlooked by Christians and many Christian institutions throughout our nation. The principles in this book will compel any American citizen to reevaluate their Christocentric worldview.
If one were to drive down any random road in South Carolina today, they might spot a Confederate Flag hanging proudly from a building or a house or even a national monument. The ones who support the display of this flag say that it is more to do with cultural history than racism, however, the history that this flag represents is what motivated Dylann Roof to kill nine innocent people in a South Carolina church in 2015. In this day and age, how did something like the Charleston church shooting massacre occur? This essay will explain how racism, although not as common as it was in the past, still exists today and how this racism is connected to the story of Dylann Roof. Although certain racist laws, such as Jim
Should The adventures of Huckleberry Finn be banned from schools? In the past century many people have argued whether it should or shouldn’t be. In many perspectives, this book taught people what it was like back then and how it used to be in 1884. Others believe that, the book was full of racial slurs and was just racist in general. The controversy between both sides of this book has had tremendous opinions spoken and has really changed others mind about it but if you really decypher the book it isn’t as racist as people would like to believe.
The society today likes to classify and individual according to their physical physical features, such as: skin color, hair color, hair texture. eye shape, and etc. This practice reflects that the society have a need to put individuals into categories. Social issues surrounding race is the most controversial of all time. Race is defined as a group of people who share similar and distinct physical features. Words associated with race are racial discrimination, racial profiling and racial stereotypes. Racial discrimination is the practice of treating an individual differently because of their race or color. Racial profiling refers to the practice law enforcement officials using an individual 's race, ethnicity, religion, or national origin when looking for suspects of crimes. Racial stereotypes are automatic and exaggerated mental images society holds of a particular group. How prevalent is race when all these terms exists and each has its own definition? Racism is still alive and harming the society of America.
Racism, a controversial topic in contemporary American society, has only been accentuated in recent years due to interracial violence, especially violence portrayed by white police officers on black individuals. This violence has led to even more violence and protests upon the police officers as the protesters, mainly black, feel as if they are being policed unfairly. These protests have ranged from mainly peaceful to full on chaos and violence. One could connect this interracial violence and protests to several different criminological theories, including conflict theory, differential selection and processing hypothesis, and neutralization theory. Likewise, these theories could be combined with an end-to end theoretical integration method in order to strengthen empirical validity.
The focus of this paper is on lack of racial diversity and reverse racism in the workplace. My aim is to design a racial justice professional development program for the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), an agency that I was employed in as a juvenile probation parole specialist (probation officer). The mission and goals of this agency are to provide appropriate services to juveniles who have been placed on probation by juvenile court or are committed to the department. At-risk youths who have not been placed on probation are also served by this agency in an effort to divert them from criminalistics behaviors. In order to accomplish the mission and goals of DJJ, the agency is reliant on the probation officers and other essential
Racism is the trend of thought, or way of thinking, which attaches great importance to the notion of the existence of separate human races and superiority of races that are usually associated with inherited physical characteristics or cultural events. Racism is not a scientific theory, but a set of preconceived opinions they value the biological differences between humans, attributing superiority to some according to racial roots. Even in such ethnically diverse country as the United States, racism continues evident against people of different ethnic traits and skin color. According to Steinberg (Steinberg, 1995), racial discrimination has been the most important cause of inequality between whites and blacks in the U.S. Because of that, minorities in American society have been fighting over years for equal rights and respect, starting with the civil rights movement in 1960s. Also, public policies implemented since 1964 in the United States have been instrumental in reducing economic inequality between blacks and whites, such as the affirmative action, a federal program that tries to include minority groups by providing jobs and educational opportunities (Taylor, 1994). From this perspective, does racism still play a dominant role in American values and American society? If so, what are the consequences of this racism that still remain in American society? What is the impact of the Barack Obama presidency on the unending fight against racism in this country?
After living in a place like Bend Oregon for 18 years I haven’t ever noticed a difference between blacks and whites. Bend has been said to be “one of the whitest places to live”, yet I never viewed a city by its race. Being racist to me meant that it was the whites who had a problem with the blacks and whites didn’t want anything to do with blacks. I hadn’t actually seen racism in action from anyone here. Now, after watching the film Crash and reading the essays “Blinded by the White: Crime, Race and Denial at Columbine High” written by Tim Wise and “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” written by McIntosh, my understanding of race, diversity, and communications have changed.
Society at its very core is destined to change,to be molded by the people that thrive within it. Over time, the values and beliefs of culture and society are grown, fractured and altered. Social issues are abundant in every society, their degree varying as the intensity of bigotry and prejudice do within any given community. Countries like China, Italy, or Japan are very homogeneous in terms of ethnicity, language, and culture. The American public is, on the other hand, often described as a melting pot of disparate cultures, ethnicities, melanin densities, sizes, and beliefs. The country itself was founded on immigration, and so the mingling of different ancestry is something that would only be expected. Bigotry and prejudice were pressing and impassioned issues in the past, but a concerning pattern forms once the fights are over. Once the disadvantaged make a step forward, once they are able to get one hand up on the socioeconomic ladder, the people in power tend to see all the issues that they have faced being solved, when in actuality the issues are deep and complex, unable to be “solved” by any one particular event. Social issues run deeply, and the occurrence of a single victory does not come even remotely close to solving any issue as a whole. Political and social issues often tend to be oversimplified in order to allow the public to check a box on the issue during a voting period. This tactic ends up making
Martin Luther King Jr once said, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but the content of their character.” When people judge others by how they look or their skin color they lose the opportunity to learn from that specific person. Everyone has different personalities and has the ability to do many things. We need to stop racism by making changes within ourselves.
Throughout the years, our views on ‘old fashioned’ racism have gradually changed, and been replaced by a form of prejudice, called ‘modern racism’, which was developed during the 1950s, as a form of racism against African Americans, built on the belief that ‘Blacks’ violate traditional American values (Henry & Sears, 2008).