Country Lovers” and “What It’s Like to Be a Black Girl”

“Being Country” just those two words together come with many discussions, but the book brings another discussion. This book “Being Country” by Bobbie Ann Mason honestly had me thinking and wondering if everybody’s perspective about changes in life is the same. The main outlooks I took from this book was; When your surroundings have changed your identity will also, Sometimes a reflection of the past can help your future, and whoever you are going to be will not change.

In 1999, American author Bobbie Ann Mason wrote the short story “Being Country” to satirize the notion that the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. Mason, who was the main character and narrator of her own story, was very unhappy with her life on the farm, as demonstrated through the discontented, critical tone of her narration. She insisted a countrywoman could only have an impact on the world if she took initiative and questioned her womanly duties.

Every day people make decisions that may have profound effect on their personal and/or professional lives as well as the lives of others. The decision people make have a foundation on their personal, cultural, and perhaps organizational values. When these values are in disagreement, an ethical dilemma occurs.

Since its inception, country music has proven to be? as a powerful outlet to express the view of the contemporary culture. As a result, the lyrical value of such songs provides listeners an insight to the changing climate of social and political ideologies. During the 60’s defined gender roles dominated social lifestyle and was were? mimicked in music. In recent years, a resurgence of idealistic, stereotypical gender-specific roles have cropped up in country songs, creating a subgenre labelled “bro-country.” Jody Rosen of the New York Times first coined the term “bro-country” in order to describe songs that use lyrical tools idealizing dominant, hegemonic gender roles present in culture. Songs such as Tim McGraw’s “How I’ll Always Be,” Luke Bryan’s “Huntin’, Fishin’, Lovin’, Every Day,” Sam Hunt’s “Make you Miss Me,” and Dierks Bently’s “Different for Girls” use the lyrical discourse, under the lens of “bro-country”, to highlight dominant, male gender-specific roles, while simultaneously reinforcing prominent, often negative, views of women.

The prejudice dilemma is exasperated by the distinctive treatment black people receive from the world, consequently strengthening the feeling of mediocrity in the colored community and forming their negative perspectives on whites. As Jablonski noted, associating “skin color with inferiority has been one of the most powerful and destructive intellectual ideas of all time, leading directly to slavery, civil war, and, more recently, segregation and apartheid.” Racial discrimination still causes hardships suffered by many people. Wilkins expresses deep concern regarding racial integration “not only because of the past but also because of the future.” Even though the former segregation laws have been done away

The feeling of not belonging, the feeling of being different, and unique is best stated by Patricia Smith What It’s Like to Be a Black Girl, “first of all, it’s being 9 years old and feeling like you’re not finished, like your edges are wild, like there’s something, everything, wrong” (pg 267 Clugston).

Charlie Pride did it in 1971. Darius Rucker did it in 2009. That’s it. Two black men, spanning thirty-eight years, are the only black artists to win a Country Music Association Award. With country music rooted in bluegrass and rhythm and blues, why aren’t there more black country music stars? When considering the roots of country music, and how closely related country is to blues, bluegrass and honky tonk music, an examination of what happened to all the black musicians seems warranted, no? This paper examines the dearth of black artists in country music and the careers of one of the few black artists who has had commercial success in this genre of music.

Social scientists and organizational psychologist have given additional acknowledgment to the influence of social and cultural issues in organizational system (Carter, 2000, p. 2). This clearly indicates that how these issues affect many fields of society and how important is their resolution. Many key global events of the last decade have captured attention on issues of nationalism and cultural diversities. As Hallinan and Jackson says, “Within the context of the post 9/11 era a complex and arguably contradictory and paradoxical set of conditions, practices and policies have emerged in relation to how we see, represent, understand and acknowledge the diversity of ‘Others’” (2008). In this paper, I have discussed issue of racism which our

The topics “Can You Use that Word in a Sentence,” and Racial Representation is significant throughout the book Long Division written by Kiese Laymon. The characters in this book will have to face racism and learn to defy racial representations, especially during the scene of the quiz contest. Overall, this essay will tackle the importance of language in the book Long Division and analyze the actions of the characters and the emotions they display. This essay will examine the words written and the racism experienced during the period using the two sources and research made to understand the importance of language in racism. Long Division, the book written by Kiese Laymon is an intriguing and gripping novel. It starts off with the main character Citoyen “City” Coldson a fourteen year-old boy; he participates in a nationwide televised quiz contest. However noticing that the contest is extremely racist, his outburst on stage goes viral. Shortly, City moves to live with his grandmother. He’s been given a book, before leaving, titled “Long Division”. The main character of the book has the same name as City yet it is set in 1985. A young girl named Baize Shephard has been missing in City’s new community. Yet, when Baize Shephard appears as a character in City’s strange book, both stories link and converge together. Citoyen “City” Coldson and LaVander Peeler are the only two black participants in the “Can You Use that Word in a Sentence” contest. There were many scenes that

The early 1900s was a very challenging time for Negroes especially young women who developed issues in regards to their identities. Their concerns stemmed from their skin colors. Either they were fair skinned due mixed heritage or just dark skinned. Young African American women experienced issues with racial identity which caused them to be in a constant struggle that prohibits them from loving themselves and the skin they are in. The purpose of this paper is to examine those issues in the context of selected creative literature. I will be discussing the various aspects of them and to aid in my analysis, I will be utilizing the works of Nella Larsen from The Norton Anthology of African American Literature, Jessie Bennett Redmond Fauset,

This essay will interpret the story, “The Wife of His Youth”, through critical lenses and certain literary movements such as regional realism, modernism, and naturalism. The analysis will be based on the contrast in views of the stories purpose and underlying message the author is trying to convey. The modernist literary movement exemplifies the disparity between previous norms and sudden reform on social status and class. This paper will analyze how the symbolism in the story and the political issues during that time period coincide.

Throughout the history of the country, America has been considered a fairly racist union. From the workplaces to the society, as an Asian, I felt there's a strong barrier between white and black people, although I felt a little bit of racial among us. In this essay, I will talk about the major racial issue of this country through out my experiences.

In a perfect world, people would be equal in rights, opportunities, and responsibilities, despite their race or gender. In the world we live in, however, we always face all kinds of neglect based on different attributes. All over the United States, certain people treat others with prejudice because of particular features they possess. Unfortunately, prejudice and discrimination occur even in places which, by definition, should be free of all personal prejudices – specifically, in offices and other business surroundings. This tragedy is called workplace discrimination; not every unfair behavior at work, however, can be assessed as discrimination. Discrimination in the workplace happens when an employee experiences unfair treatment due to their race, gender, age, religion, marital status, national origin, disability or veteran status, or other characteristics. Discrimination is one of the largest issues people face in the workplace and it must be dealt with. The U.S. have laws and regulations on discrimination but it still often occurs. Workplace discrimination appears in hiring, training, promotion, firing, and other institutional or interpersonal treatment. Discrimination sometimes causes an employee to leave or quit the workplace, resign from a position, or in more severe cases, to commit suicide or act violently against the discriminators. Discrimination is one of the largest issues many people face in the workplace.

In those years, racism was a strong and violent issue that not only referred to women but also to minorities such as black people, gays and single mothers. Today people are still struggle with these very issues. Racism in America is proving that this essay is sadly very relevant today and this minorities group reacts in different ways but always similar to Lorde’s description of poetry as a form of creativity as a class issue, thinking that in the 80’s poetry was the most economical way of communication. In recent years there has been an explosion of creativity by minority groups in form of: street-art, rap music, and

Personal values may conflict with ethical decision making if those personal values are different than the organizational norms of the business or institution. Constructing, and maintaining personal ethics in the workplace rests with the individual, and how willing he or she is in assimilating to the evolving cultural dynamic of the corporate world. Many times a person find their personal, cultural and/or organizational ethics conflicting and must reconcile a course of action that will mitigate cognitive dissonance. In order to be a productive member of society, in small groups and globally, one must reconcile these conflicts on a daily basis and continually move forward while maintaining personal integrity and