Koppelman On African American Culture

Everyone is going through a battle that we may not be able to see; however, “American society [is often] unaware or indifferent to the plight of people with disabilities” (Davis, 2013, p. 486). Ableism is one of the most ignored areas of social justice in America. Through my own experiences, I learned that the educational system in particular is not a very knowledgeable, or flexible environment in giving accommodations for students with disabilities. Those who are able-bodied, and do not have invisible disabilities, easily fit the paradigm of an able student in society, i.e., being able to walk to every building, climb stairs to get to class, complete assignments in the allotted time, etc. Our society has socially constructed disability

In the video “Inclusion, belonging, and the disability revolution” (TEDTalks, 2014), speaker Jennie Fenton opens with describing situations where people with disabilities are segregated and excluded from their communities, sent to live together away from society, or even treated as lesser humans. She then proceeds to introduce her family, including her six-year-old daughter that was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Jennie admits to previously having negative or frightened thoughts about having a child with a disability, but with her “seven realizations,” she learned that her daughter was merely on a different path than others, but that no one should ever feel broken or not a whole person (TEDTalks, 2014). After she explains that there are roughly one billion people with a disability throughout the world, Jennie states that she believes in possibility over disability. If a person’s

Douglas C. Baynton argues in his article, “Disability and the Justification of Inequality in American History”, that the concept of disability is culturally constructed and has been paid little to no attention to throughout history. He also argues that the term disability plays an important role in justifying discriminations against minority groups, based on gender, race, and ethnicity. He states that “Disability has functioned historically to justify inequality for disabled people themselves, but it has also done so for women and minority groups. That is, not only has it been considered justifiable to treat disabled people unequally, but the concept of disability has been used to justify discrimination against other groups by attributing disability to them.” (Baynton 94) He used women’s suffrage, African American freedom, and immigration restriction as examples to show how disability played an essential role in illustrating how minorities who were labeled as disabled were treated with discrimination. As they were labeled with disability, discrimination against them became justifiable, which ultimately proves that discrimination against disabled was thought as justifiable and were looked over.

The American culture is define to everyone in their own way. Everyone grows up differently in a particular community that shares the same languages, values, rules, and customs. The American Culture on that is consider to be a “melting pot”, because of all the different cultures that reside inside of it making it so diverse. Race in this country has never been a great topic throughout history. African Americans play a huge role into defining what our culture is as a whole, as well as being a part of racism for the past 250 years.

The Chicano movement is a Civil Rights movement that embodied the identification of Latino Americans in the United States. In the modern day, most people wouldn’t know about the struggle that Latino’s had to endure before being recognized by their diverse nature. However, the Chicano movement, just like the Civil Rights Movement, was a significant part of equality within the United States over the course of the past half a century. The Chicano movement had its roots dating all the way back to when the United States were attempting their Manifest Destiny from which they went to war with Mexico for the land now known as the south west of the United States. Ever since then, the United States had been treating Mexican’s and Mexican American’s without a regard for their existence. While Latino’s are finally beginning to receive recognition for it’s vast diversity, Latino’s nationwide still face the uphill battle against ignorance.

Unspeakable Conversations by Harriet McBryde Johnson is an article about her experience visiting Princeton University to exchange views and challenge Peter Singer, a professor who strongly believes that all disabled people, like herself, are “better off” not been born at all. The article provides an insight into Johnson’s life as a disabled person. She takes the readers on a journey that explores both sides of her own and Singer’s contrasting beliefs. She protests the prevalent stigma and prejudice of disabled people and gives voice to this marginalized community. Johnson challenges stereotypes of disability, uses her a personal experience to better understand the world and help others, and attempts to directly address oppression by arguing against Professor Singer’s theory and assemble a group of diverse and like-minded people for social change.

Edited by several scholars such as Gabriella F. Arredondo, Aída Hurtado, Norma Klahn, Olga Nájera-Ramírez, and Patricia Zanella, this book in particular highlights the development of Chicana identities in the twentieth century by showing “how Chicana feminist writings move discourse beyond binaries and toward intersectionality and hybridity” (Arredondo e.al. 2). What is interesting is how the feminist scholars in this book used different epistemologies and methods in capturing the experiences of the Chicanas which include oral histories, poetry, theatrical performance, painting, dance, music and social science survey. Some of the contributors also combine “analytical tools and cross disciplinary boundaries” (5). The approaches used are very unique as they enables to unravel the Chicana experiences thoroughly and disrupt “the notion of Chicana identity as monolithic and homogeneous” (6). Also, the format of the book which presents articles and then the responses by another activist or scholars offers a very distinct way of presenting critical and provocative analysis. Such format allows the editors to “reaffirm the tensions and creativity of individual and group consciousness that underlie Chicana feminism and scholarship” (Salas 122). From this edited volume, I choose three articles along with their responses. Those articles are Cartohistografía: Continente de una voz/Cartohistography: One Voice’s Continent by Elba Rosario Sánchez (response: Translating Herstory: A Reading

During the late sixties and early seventies, a Mexican - American movement was taking place in the United States, The Chicano movement. This movement takes place because of the Mexican American society 's suppression in the country. Indeed, during the years, 1966 to 1981 was a period where the Mexican American society was looking for equality and justice from the Government of the United States. In fact, they will start to organize their own communities, where the Government will accept their new ideas. David Montejano, “a historian and sociologist, and Professor of Ethnic Studies at the University of California, Berkeley,” wrote about that movement that helps the Mexican - American society being part of the United States. One of his books is Anglos and Mexicans in the Making of Texas, 1836-1986, where he describes the relation that the Anglo and the Mexican American people have in those years. In the same way, he wrote Quixote’s Soldiers: A local history of the Chicano Movement, 1966 - 1981, where he describes the Chicano movement as a way of helping the Mexican American community. By describing the Chicano Movement and the political changes made in San Antonio, Montejano relates the problems of equality and justice, the organization created at that time, and the consequences of this movement.

With this came a patriarchal movement with the anthem “Yo soy Chicano” and an ideology of “Chicano = Machismo”. Women within the Chicano movement were afforded one of three roles: mothers, nuns or whores. They were not allowed self determination. This stemmed from the idea that men were the ones that were rising against oppression, when in fact women “broke their shackles and stabbed the spirit of injustice when confronted in the fields by a shotgun, when bloodied on the streets”, when constructed under the violence of “Anglo/chauvinism or Chicano machismo.” The transition from Chicano to Chicana was in protest of previous marginalization and a step towards representation and manifestation. (I Throw Punches, Chabram,

To understand Chicanos, it is necessary to comprehend their Mexican roots. The Spanish interrupted the evolution of indigenous lifestyles and fashioned a colonial empire that remade the land, people, and culture. Spanish architecture, religion, language, and other institutions and practices were glorified as Indian culture was degraded, but many changes led to a new Mexican culture. New foods, religious beliefs and practices, social customs and cultural traditions arose and evolved. It also left a socio-psychological heritage in which skin color became associated with feelings of inferiority and superiority, with those who have whiter skin being privileged. Whether a person appears to be white or dark, still is significant among Mexicans as well as Chicanos. Could this possibly

Over the course of this semester, I have come to the realization that above all, students with disabilities need to be treated with the respect and dignity that one would give any other child. This is why it is important to talk to and about people that have disabilities with “people first” language (Evans, Civil Rights Final Day, 9.17.16). This stems from the idea that a perceived disability is just one of a person’s many attributes. Students with disabilities are people that have individual abilities, interests, and needs. By using “people first” language, one emphasizes the importance of the individual over their diagnosed disability. According to The Arc, an organization that advocates for people with disabilities, “the language in a society used to refer to persons with disabilities shapes its beliefs and ideas about them” (The Arc, 2016). Using “people first” language not only ensures the person in question knows that they are valued, but it also helps set a precedent for the perception of people with disabilities in one’s environment. It also gives the student the opportunity to define his/herself, instead of being identified solely with their disability (The Arc, 2016).

One of the many similarities about the Mexican American Civil Rights movements and the Chicano Movement in the 60s- 70s is that they fought for what they believed they had a right to have. Many in the 1940’s and in the 1960’s stepped up to show their loyalty to the United States by joining the military and sadly manly lost their lives during World War II and the Vietnam War. They were many Mexican Americans who were stationed in infantry and many dangerous areas during the war. They all fought with courage and fought with heart to accomplish the same goal each soldier had. Even though both the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement and the Chicano Movement seemed to have many similarities, they had many differences. I argue that The Chicano Movement and The Civil Rights Movement are different in many ways because they fought for different motives and wanted a better life for themselves as Mexican Americans in America. They of course had many similarities but took different extremes.

Mexican Americans defined the Chicano/Chicana movement. They took pride in their own identity, and they declared their civil rights. They worked towards improving their financial, social, and political situation. The Chicano/Chicana movement brought light to the injustices that Mexican Americans suffered. The movement brought up the struggle for land grant restoration, rights for Mexican American farmworkers, and access to education and politics.

During the 19th Century, the United States sought to expand westwards and increase their land. Since Mexico stood in the way they did all they could to provoke it and start a war. “The Mexicans fired the first shot. But they had done what the American government wanted” (Zinn 151). What they wanted was California, soon they wanted Texas and then Arizona and New Mexico came along. For a long period of time, probably still today; Mexican-Americans are seen as “an ahistoric people” (Romano 44). An assumption that is completely wrong. Mexican American have been fighting for their rights and equality since they became part of America. In fact, they had two movements conduct by different generations. The Mexican-American Generation between 1930 and 1960; and the Chicano generation between 1945-1960. Although both generations were had the same ancestry, they had different worldview because of their history and the events that were going on in their time. Both Mexican-American generation and Chicano generation similarities and differences help understand the overall Chicano history in the 20th Century.

An individual with intellectual disabilities can face many barriers in not only their academic life, but also their social life. Peter, has faced barriers to his successful inclusion in the classroom. One of the barriers the video mentions is teachers displaying unwillingness to including Peter in their classroom simply because teachers do not accept him or his disability. I believe prejudice is a barrier many people with intellectual disabilities are forced to face at a given point in their lives. I think the prejudice stems from fear and misunderstanding of people who are physically or mentally different. In chapter nine of this week’s readings, it highlights on the importance of individual relationships are between the teacher and the student with a disability. Focusing on a student’s strengths rather than there IQ or weaknesses is essential to their success. “Some teachers focus on her IQ, but that’s not a useful fact. Everything depends on the relationship Rachel and I have with educators, on their skills, and on Rachel’s attitude, behavior, and self-determination.” (Turnbull. p. 187). Another barrier Peter faces is the desperate struggle of wanting his independence, yet still needing outside assistance for things. The loneliness and the inability to properly communicate his emotions are one of the biggest mental barriers Peter has faced. Peter overcame and managed these barriers through