As a result of the white heteropatriarchy prevailing over the United States, each minority American undergoes a unique struggle to establish an individual racial identity. Minorities define themselves in relation to their races based on differentiating qualities such as ethnicity, class, gender and sexuality. Two documentary films that star minority figures and describe how race shaped these figures’ stories are American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs, directed by Grace Lee and O.J.: Made In America, directed by Ezra Edelman. These films differ in their content and structure because the former shares a positive story about a Chinese-American woman’s rise to success as an activist, whereas the latter explains the harrowing background and circumstances that corrupted a successful African-American male athlete. Grace Lee Boggs presents a confounding example of racial identity in that she aligns herself closely with black issues rather than Chinese-American or female causes. The articles “The Chinese Exclusion Example: Race, Immigration, and American Gatekeeping, 1882-1924” by Erika Lee and “When Whiteness Feminizes...: Some Consequences of a Supplementary Logic” by Rey Chow offer historical context surrounding Boggs’s identity by clarifying that Boggs emerged after the height of anti-Asian immigration policies and of white feminist theory. Unlike Grace Lee Boggs’ subconscious distancing from identifying as a Chinese-American woman, O.J. Simpson intentionally
Movies and entertainment outlets speak volumes about the current state of a nation’s culture. Cinematic creations in the United States allow small voices to be heard and controversial issues to be addressed. However, a repetitive and monumental issue continues to be addressed, yet continues to persist in our 21st century culture, racial inequalities. Since the inception of the United States, black men and women alike have been disenfranchised at the hands of the “white man” in America. Instead of continuing the conversation today, the issue is continually silenced referencing the successes and achievements of the Civil Rights Movement in the 20th century. Nonetheless, an unfortunate reality looms upon this great land; racially based systems and structures continue to exist in 2015 the in United States. This paper synthesizes three films focused on racial inequalities in different time periods. Separate but Equal (1991), Selma (2015), and Crash (2005) illustrate how influential the Civil War amendments are, while serving as an uncanny reminder of how the racial prejudices during the 20th century continue to exist in our great nation today. Needless to say our nation has made great strides, but still has a long way to go.
People with healthy biracial identity acknowledges and integrates both parts of their racial heritage in forming identity, which process is influenced by family, community and context, as well as socio-economic status. Empirical articles reviewed in this paper demonstrate that family socialization, recognition of both ethnic and racial heritages and validation of racial identification from community members have beneficial effect in helping biracial individuals to form a healthy racial identity (Mass, 1992; Chong, 2012; Lou et al., 2011). Having higher socio-economic status will encourage biracial individuals to claim a biracial identity (Townsend et al., 2012). Context change might pose threat for psychological well-being for individuals who have not reached an integrated biracial identity (Collins, 2000;
I was always really proud to be from Compton, CA. The rich racial and cultural history of the Hub City has had a major impact on many aspects of my life and is part of my identity. My mother is a Mexican-American, she was born in Tijuana and her family moved to Compton in 1962 when she was five. My dad was born in Colorado and his family settled in Compton in 1961 when he was four. My parents were in the same kindergarten class at Jefferson Elementary school and although they didn’t start dating until they were in their 20’s, they definitely helped each other survive the racial injustices and violence that permeated all facets of their educational experience in Compton
In Streets of Gold: The Myth of the Model Minority by Curtis Chang, he discusses the stereotypes labeled against Asian-Americans and explains how the U.S. Society sees them as the “model minority”. He goes to the core of the “model minority” assumption, and shows the reader how the media heavily influences these ideas. He shows how cultural patterns within the Asian-American society fuel these ideas. Chang uses very interesting ways of presenting evidence by putting quotes within his piece thoughtfully, so that the quotes blend in with the paragraph. The author also has a humorous voice throughout the essay, which connects to the reader with the subject as if it were a one on one
When addressing self-identification, some multiracial or biracial individuals do identify as being two or more races. Some identity as just one, or that they feel closer to a certain racial group. About 69% of Multiracial adults with a black background considered themselves as black/African American (experiences, social interactions that align them within the black community). While Multiracial Asian adults, with a white and Asian background, feel more connected to the white community than to the Asian community. Another group of multiracial individuals, are those that are white and native American, and around 22% say they have a lot in common with the in the US that is native America. And 61% say they have a lot more in common with the whites.
Even though I believe to have a strong cultural diverse upbringing that differs from many of the lifestyles of my white friend, I never experienced any self-depreciation and oppression regarding my culture. I do believe I have undergone cultural development in terms of acculturation, but considering I have never experienced the need to abandon my cultural values, I feel it is appropriate to refer to the white racial identity development model rather than the racial/cultural identity developmental model. As a white female, I have certainly benefitted from white privilege, and it is my responsibility to acknowledge that aspect of my racial identity.
While reading Recitatif, by Toni Morrison, there was racial identity between the main characters Roberta and Twyla. They are both different races. Throughout the story, both characters are increasingly changing. This does not help the readers figure out the race of each girl. They could be either white or black but they have many different traits. In the beginning of the story, it seems like Roberta was a black girl and Twyla was a white girl. There was tension between the two girls. Roberta and Twyla had to share a room together. Twyla felt sick that she must share a room with a girl that’s a different race. In the story, there was some tension towards black people. Twyla’s mom had told her that Roberta’s race never washed their hair and they
Racial identity growth has speedily increased and reshaped during the Harlem Renaissance as some blacks writers were coming to terms with the fact that there some differences among the black community. Two writers created their own personal translation concerning the Negro in the course of these years. In Alain Locke’s essay, The New Negro, he presents the variation of the “new” and “old” Negro. On the other hand Langston Hughes essay, The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain, tells how the Negro artist is not true to him/herself because of acceptance. In the writings “The New Negro” and The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain” racial identity is seen in two contrasting ways among the writers Alain Locke and Langston Hughes.
Michael Omi and Howard Winant’s arguments from “Racial Formations” are about how race is socially constructed and is shown in Caucasia by Danzy Senna. Michael Omi and Howard Winant believe that race is socially constructed in society; therefore, the meaning of race varies within different cultures and societies. According to Omi and Winant, influences such as, media, school, politics, history, family and economy create society’s structure of race. In Caucasia, media, family and school are forces that create race by stating how one should conform to social norms for different racial groups.
After experiencing these materials, how did your understanding of what it means to be "white" change?
The main purpose of the paper was to reflect the changes in the racial identity development during the course of history. The assignment was aimed to achieve several tasks: to analyze the impressions and responses to the interview; to trace back the causes of the negative reactions on some questions; to reflect the story of the Racial Identity Development, as well as elaborate the ways of racism confrontation within and outside oneself.
Who’s next? It seems that the issue about race in American history never reaches an endpoint. The intersection of race, gender, contradiction has been continually crucial to shape the identity of minority American. As early as the first wave of Asian immigrants, Chinese immigrants, arrived in west coast, Asian Americans was haunted by anti-Asian movement and intense hostility. Foreign Miners’ Tax passed in 1852 was a representative of racial campaign between whites and nonwhites. The requirement of monthly three dollars’ tax intentionally crashed the earliest American Dream of Chinese immigrants who expected to lead a better life in the US. Such Anti-Asian movement was eventually ushered into legalized level. California Supreme Court declared in People v. Hall in 1854 that Chinese migrants were not entitled to testify against the white citizens in US court based on the fact that people, other than whites, could never enjoy the same rights as white Americans. Since then, Asian immigrants were subjected to numerous social and legislative initiatives that specifically targeted them on a racial basis. In David Henry Huang’s semiautobiographical play Yellow Face, he mixed his own memory and fiction to depicting an image of Asian American racial identity. In 1990, Hwang led a group of Asian-Americans to protest the casting of a white British actor as a Eurasian character in the musical Miss Saigon. However, later in his own play Face Value, he mistakenly casted a white actor,
Your depiction of the second week’s materials had pinpointed the generalization of African Americans which the same cannot be said for white people due to their racial group membership and lone wolf theory. People of color suffered under collective shaming with most interpretation labeling them as animals to criminals. For instance, your case with peaceful protestors for Michael Brown being of equal position to that of vandalizers, looters, and thugs. This extend to partial advantages received for the duration of the protest against President Trump were rationalized to jokes with a right to do so. Ultimately, this discrepancy proves the obvious differences of racial identity by the very existence of white
Growing up as a military dependent has afforded me the opportunity to interact with people from different racial, socioeconomic, and religious backgrounds. Additionally, living in five different states, six cities, and attending seven schools has enlightened me as to how specific regional differences directly influence a person’s perspective on social, political, gender, and race issues. Moreover, I was raised in racially and culturally diverse family. I am half African-American and half Caucasian.
Quentin Tarantino’s film Jackie Brown, released in 1997, challenges the pervasive stereotyping of not only blacks but specifically black women. Nowhere is the cinematic devaluation of African Americans more evident than in images of black women which, in the history of cinematography, the white ideal for female beauty has overlooked. The portrayal of black women as the racial Extra has been fabricated through many semblances in the history of American film. Film scholars and feminists alike have long been plagued with lament for the negativity and stereotyping that sticks with black women in American cinema. In this paper, I will argue that Jackie Brown highlights and stresses the racial variance of the female African American protagonist,