Jane Elliott: Racial Inequality

I learned some important things from this course that I will allow to stick with me no matter my profession. Diversity is something I will always have to deal with regardless if it is race, gender, or gender orientation. Importantly this course has allowed me to grow as an individual and has shown me that it is okay to learn about other races and their background. Not only has it allowed me to be acceptable of everyone in fact, it has allowed me to be less judgmental amongst others.

Throughout the semester, we have discussed many different social justice issues. One issue that has stuck with me is gender and racial inequality. Gender inequality is very important to me because I was raised by a single mother and surrounded by women all the time. I do not believe that anyone should be payed or treated differently due to their gender. While growing up, I saw that women are capable for doing anything and often times have to work harder than men to prove themselves. Racial inequality is an issues that is important to me because I feel that all individuals should be equal. I think Dr. King’s idea of color blindness, not today’s definition, should be something that we as a society strive for. We need to move past the idea that

Based on the evidence supplied by author Kent Anderson Leslie, slaves in antebellum Georgia did not always live under the oppressive system of chattel labor. According to Leslie, the rules that applied to racial hierarchy were not strictly enforced, especially when it came to propertied and wealthy planters such as David Dickson who chose to raise his mixed-race daughter at home. Amanda Dickson’s experiences during Reconstruction demonstrate that she had much more freedom after slavery was abolished than may have been expected before the Civil War. Amanda Dickson’s experiences and those of her mother in particular do not fit the presumed mold of oppressed slave with no opportunity for a better life.

In the exhibition there was a video playing that discusses racial discrimination and how viola Desmond was treated like she was not a real person. It suggests that her story has changed history, fearless in the face of racism and injustice her story tries to break barriers between black people and white people.

I think that to unlearn racism is something that only society as a whole can do. Only by society striving to solve not only the issue of racism but all isms will we move forward. I think Jane Elliot’s lessons work in that it gives the people who partake firsthand experience. However I don’t think it will ever solve the real issue overall. Society has to take responsibility in solving this issue. The most effective method I believe would be mandatory ostracizing similar to mandatory military service. It would give everyone personal experience in dealing with being the out group. However this would be rather harsh the best method would be something that deals with the issue of mindset confirmation bias and logic. If we could teach everyone about how their minds affect them and that everyone has their own issues would be the best

Johnson, H. B. (2014). The American dream and the power of wealth: Choosing schools and inheriting inequality in the land of opportunity. Routledge.

For centuries and even today, gender inequality and racial prejudice continue to exist. Throughout time these concepts have overlapped and intertwined, each other creating complex interactions and a negative influence upon society. In the 1980s, Kimberle Williams Crenshaw through her article, named Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence Against Women of Color, introduced the term “Intersectionality.” Intersectionality, is the theory of how different types of discriminations interact thus, goes hand in hand with Judith Butler, in her article titled “Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory” which expresses the term “gender acts” and helps decipher a probable cause of the many discriminations faced in contemporary society. Since both gender inequality and racial inequality share a common thread, I believe that what intersectionality represents will help understand Judith Butler’s view on gender classification and the dynamic it’s caused on our social and political formation.

As it talks about racial inequality in chapter 10, the definition of racism is the belief that one race is supreme and all others are innately inferior. White people are actually at the top while the others (the minority groups) are at the bottom. Considering that the laws of the USA revolved around white men in the beginning of this country, it’s not surprising to see how little people are not aware that racism still exists. They claim that it’s the 21st century, slavery happened in the past and it should stay in the past where it belongs. No. We’re going to recognize what white people did to African Americans. We are going to see how white supremacy is ugly and not needed.

In class we have been focusing on the topic of racial and socioeconomic inequalities, and how they are demonstrated in todays society. Both are issues that have improved over the years but are stuck in a pretty bad place right now. We need to become aware of these issues and be willing to make changes to see progress and equality across the United States.

Miss Moore is trying to teach the kids that not everything in life is equal. we could first see this ending paragraph 49 when sugar surprises ms.more and Sylvia by saying that everyone there combined does not eat as much as that toy boat cost. This is unfair and Miss Moore was trying to point it out because even though America was seen as a democracy that actually wasn't. and democracy everything is supposed to be equal but things were far from it at the time where their family being poor and not having special treatment, we're not as well paid as a white man would at the time. Sugar clearly hit the nail on the head by pointing this out but Sylvia makes sure that she stays quiet because I believe that she doesn't want to let Miss Moore have the

In today’s world, the American still has barriers to overcome in the matter of racial equality. Whether it is being passed over for a promotion at the job or being underpaid, some people have to deal with unfair practice that would prevent someone of color or the opposite sex from having equal opportunity at the job. In 2004, Dukes vs. Wal-Mart Stores Incorporation was a civil rights class-action suite that ruled in favor of the women who worked and did not received promotions, pay and certain job assignments. This proves that some corporations ignore the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which protects workers from discrimination based on sex, race, religion or national origin.

I agree with Jane Elliott’s teaching and learning methods. Her way of teaching is unarguably harsh, but the lesson she tries to bring forth is extremely meaningful. The best way to teach and understanding and respect for people who are different is to put them in situations where they will be affected. I recognize that society tries to teach equality through movies, books, and historical events, but these aren’t enough efforts to cease racism and sexism. I thought it was a meaningful experiment for these participants to undergo this for a couple of hours, because they actually felt the same intimidation and fear that colored people feel every single day. The participants definitely left the classroom aware of the struggles non-white people have to

According to theorists Alfred Stepan and Martin Lipset, the United States would be considered less democratic, due to the racial segregation and unequal representation of African Americans during the Civil Rights Movement in 1950s. Progress towards racial equality in America has emerged on the basis of resistance through non-violence. Junius Williams began his lecture by stating that “black slavery first began as a cheap source of labor for Europeans, which later became adopted by most American white elites, who established a Capitalist system based on slavery in the United States. The Founding Fathers believed that the Black race was not yet civilized or capable of assimilating into American society. Therefore, they believed it was their right

Throughout America’s past, racial inequality has been a reoccurring theme in our society. Ever since the Europeans invaded America the white man has been superior compared to all ethnicities. No more than two hundred years ago, African Americans were slaves and only counted as three fifths of a person. Within the past hundred years African Americans have managed to obtain more equality in some situations, but in other cases racial inequality has become worse than it was when segregation took place. The gaps between the quality of education of white and black students receive appears to be growing instead of shrinking. The lack of quality education blacks receive has contributed to significant health differences between

The book, Privilege, Power, and Difference brought awareness to where I stand as a Latina female in the United States. Growing up, I did not like to focus on the differences I experienced or saw others experience. These differences made me feel angry, scared, nervous, confused, and hopeless. Instead of focusing on the unfairness I was a part of I decided to look at it as a challenge, I would prove to myself that I could do whatever I set my mind to. I took every opportunity handed to me and tried to make the best of it, to make myself proud and my family proud. At least that is what I thought at the time, but now that I have had time to reflect on my desire to succeed I know that part of that desire comes from proving to the dominant culture that minorities can succeed.