Jane Elliott's Exercises

Racism throughout time has had a powerful negative force in society. There have been many efforts made to relieve racism. Racism is still present in America, although many people are doing their best to put a stop to racism and its somewhat devastating effects on young black males in society. “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.” (Lee) The negative stereotypes and racial profiling that Americans hand down from generation to generation are damaging not only to the minorities but to those perpetuating them as well. The behaviors that are kept alive because of these negative stereotypes and the behaviors associated with them, create an emotional and social struggle as well as presenting obstacles when receiving an education and employment opportunities.

It is time to take action. Not only in our own lives, but in the lives of the children. There has been attempts, there has been success, and there has been failure. Many people have ways in which they believe will help reduce racism. But which is the right way, the best way? According to Barbara Hacker, author of "Advice for Teachers on Racism and Oneness," it is up to the educators. She believes teachers can make a difference in the lives of his or her students.

I believe the most important lessons that I could learn from this activity and that anyone could learn from this activity is that our mindset on racism can affect an entire race of people. For a good portion of my life I always just assumed, well if you’re in a minority you just have to accept the fact that life is harder, I never thought that something could be done to equalize the playing field. Although, Jane Elliott simply brings awareness to the problem of racism I believe a major aspect that she is fighting for is that we do in fact balance the manner in which we view and deal with people of different races.

Although there are various organizations like Racism Noway, Stand Against Racism and All Together Now, who are working to combat racism in schools and communities. They also aim to prevent racism from being in Australia’s future by educating our next generation on the issue. But despite any of these organisation’s achievements and successes, their efforts only partially reduce racism and not extinguish it. For racism to be extinguished from our country and culture it will take the effort of the whole nation. But this is impossible as racism is so deeply imbedded into our culture, for a revolutionary event like this to happen it will be at the consequence of Australia’s image as there are bound to be disagreements and revolts, suggested by our history. Without any racial reduction, there will be unfortunate outcomes for Australia’s future and culture, because essentially without our multicultural identity Australia is no longer the ‘fair’ nation we sing

Personally, I believe education is the key to combating racism. We must education our peers on our cultures. We must explain that “colorblindness” in society is not what’s best. Only by embracing and recognizing each other differences we will be able to break the social bubbles we live in. I’ve gained a stronger sense of racial awareness through this course. I have the ability to challenge and change other people’s ideologies and understand my own. I know because of my social position have scholarships, financial aide and the values of hard work and education instilled in me by my parents and grandparents. I’m also aware that many people are not able to gain that same access. Because of my racial awareness there is so much more I want to find out about the contributing factors that led to my family’s social position in New Orleans. It is through my racial awareness I plan to beat the system.

Today, becoming culturally aware at an early age will create more conflict in the future regarding racism. Teaching that we all are all different from one another will only do each other harm in the long run. If Americans do teach multiculturism, the minds of younger children would evolve to think it would be awesome to be a certain race and uncool to be another. It is important for students to understand that it is okay to affiliate with different cultures and learn from them. To learn from another is to grow as a person and be successful in life. According to the past, when racism was prominent in society, Americans are actually doing well in becoming more diverse. More people are learning how to work with others and respect others’ ideals.

I have always thought about myself as just a person. After taking this course, I think of myself as a white person. To me, being colorblind and attempting to look at everyone as just a person, were ways I avoided being racist. This course, taught by Dr. Bianca Williams, has enabled me to change my views on racism and race to a move correct outlook. I now understand that it is my duty to be able to acknowledge my race and other identities and the privileges that come with being a white, middle class, heterosexual person. I used to think that interpersonal racism was the main problem in the United States, but after this course realize that institutional racism is the problem. This course, coupled with readings from Devon W. Carbado on his piece titled “Privilege”, Beverly Daniel Tatum’s article titled “Talking about Race, Learning about Racism”, Brittney Cooper’s article on “The Politics of Black Women’s Hair” and Audre Lorde’s article called “The Uses of Anger: Women Responding to Racism”, I have shifted my views on race and racism to a more constructive and correct outlook.

To get rid of racism we should treat others how we want to be treated. Be kind to people is an example. Act blind when judging, so judge them by their personality not skin color. Galatians 3:26-28 “So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Stand up for what you think is right. Step in and say something. Do a peaceful protest. Also you can thank nice people. Another way to stop racism is to make a change. You can teach others not to be racist, promote churches, and set an

Racism has been a terrible problem in American society for hundreds of years. Racism issues are not limited to one specific race, but include all races. It is the responsibility of the people of this nation to address racism and learn to accept and embrace each other for our differences, and allow this great nation to become even more united for our sake and the sake of future generations. To eliminate racism it is imperative to know first, where racism started and how it has developed, why it continues to be present in our nation today, and what we must do as a people to overcome this major problem.

I came into this class not so naïve as some students may have been. I’ve grown up going to public schools, living in a diverse small town, and having interracial relationships in my family. Although I was informed on some forms of racism and the fact that racism does in fact still exist, I didn’t realize it was extensive as it really is. All the readings, videos, and lectures have directly related back to the purpose of the course. As a whole, I feel like this class has grown in knowledge not only about how racism affects people, but how to change and make a difference. This class has informed me a lot more about the unfortunately thriving acts of racism in the United States.

Before I read The New Jim Crow, I thought that all racial issues could be fixed by promoting colorblindness and ensuring we as individuals were not racist. I did not realize the extent of institutionalized racism, and I thought that police bias was limited to the scale of an individual officer, not entire drug wars manufactured to target a specific population. Furthermore, I believed the optimal solution would be to promote high achievement in racial minorities and eliminate racial bias in the job market. In short, I didn’t realize how pervasive racism is in our society and the aggressiveness of the measures that need to be taken.

This would likely be attained through the work of the government. It would not be impossible to pass sweeping legislative changes in an attempt to mend the wounds left on minority races in America, but what of the millions of people who've been influenced and conditioned to hold racist ideals? Perhaps you re-educate two, three, even four at a time, but this clearly isn't adequate. How would one convince all the millions of people in the United States to let go of beliefs they've likely held since childhood in favor of what you preach? One would not, it's

The question remains even though racism continue to a an impact on other people’s lives what,what can we do about it? Well, no one person can do it all or do it alone but we can all help and work collectively to end

Most people seem to think that racism in schools died years ago. This thought could not be more wrong. Racism can be seen in schools now more than it ever has been and it needs to be stopped because it affects the way students learn and their success. The world is full of stories and incidents that have occurred involving discrimination and the effects they have on students.

My belief on the way to end racism is this, I believe that the best way to end racism is to have every person that's racist, to become friends with someone with the race they don't like.