Personal Essay: Western White Family

Family is a basic unit in every society. However, the makeup of a family is more complex to define. There are so many types of families that it is impossible to have one distinct definition in trying to explain how a true family is defined. For example, there are married couples with or without children, single-parent families, and even families headed by gay men or lesbians. These may not have been considered families not too long ago, but now must be recognized because we live in such a diverse society. What I want to focus on is the African-American family, in terms of what they had to go through before, during, and after slavery. As well as, where they are now and where it’s going in the future.

I plan to attend California State University, Long Beach this fall and hope to get my Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing. Volunteering in my community throughout high school has allowed me to meet and help many different people and made me realize how important it is to give back to my community. This has inspired me to continue my education and to open my very own medical clinic

For eighteen years now my parents have influenced me to do my best in academics and extracurricular activities. Both of my parents have gone to college and both have had successful careers. My dad was a highly recognized Police Chief for Waukesha County and is now on the

Many people question, does race affect the depth and strength of a family’s ties? Gerstel and Sarkisian used their essay, “The Color of Family Ties,” to support their opinion that yes; race does have a direct effect on the strength of a family. “We often hear that Black and Latino/a, especially Puerto Rican, families are more disorganized than White families, and that their family ties are weaker, because rates of non-marriage and single parenthood are higher among these minority groups. (Gerstel and Sarkisian p. 1)” The writers continue on to say, “taking this broader perspective on family relations refutes the myth that Blacks and Latinos/as lack strong families… Even if they don’t live together, Blacks and Latinos/as are as likely as Whites – and in some ways more likely – to be supportive family members. (Gerstel and Sarkisian p. 2 and 3)” Although commentators believe that a family should consist of both parents, should only be strongly involved with their nuclear family and need to be more than financially able, I believe family to be more than just that.

It is extremely important for everyone to give back to their communities and I hope I can inspire others to continue their own dreams of being successful. When I become a family physician, I will be able to help many different people and advise them on how to live a healthy life. As one of Jordan’s valedictorians this year, I know how important school is and have always worked diligently to get to where I am today. I am determined and will always continue to push myself to achieve my goals. I never give up and am able to learn from my failures in order to grow and succeed. I have always loved helping others and know that I will continue striving to provide the best care possible wherever I work. I will continue working tirelessly when I am at CSU Long Beach because I know college will be more challenging than high school, but I will not let that stop me from being successful. I am going to try my best to graduate with honors because I know I have the potential in me to accomplish that goal. Family is extremely important to me and I do hope to someday get married and have a family of my own, but I know that can wait until after I accomplish my career

The last few weeks were worse than I could have ever imagined. If I had known what it this job would consist of I might not have taken it in the first place. I sailed to Africa with the crew, expecting to pick up cargo when, to my shock, it turns out we were bringing a more alive supply of 140 young African slaves. Why do people want slaves anyway? I had questioned Mr. Slater with this. “They’re better with agriculture and cattle, ” he had replied. “The Indians are no good… they’re all dead, ahahaha.” I did not have the energy to tell him why his joke was grossly unfunny. He strangely did not recognize even a slight problem with forcing people to work for us, just because they had immunities to our diseases and their government allowed it.

The typical black family has only six percent of the typical white household, and Latinos has eight percent of the typical white household. The median white household had $111,146 in wealth in 2011, $7,113 for the median black household and $8,348 for the median Latino household. This is a huge gap because of the economic disadvantages for people of color. The economic gap means that families of color cannot have the same benefits as white families. With homeownership, about 73% of white peoples own homes, while only 45% of black families and 47% of Latino families own homes. Also white family’s homes are worth more than other families of color. That inequality comes from the 1934 National Housing Act that redlined black neighborhoods, which

Family is an important aspect of society. Keeping a family stable is a hard task and the definition of family has expanded from what it used to be because nuclear families are not the norm nowadays. Throughout history the African-American family has had to face traumatic events such as slavery, the Great Migration, the Harlem Renaissance, and the Civil Rights Movement. The racism, segregation, and discrimination that followed these movements have also played an integral role in developing the black family. It takes diligence, strength, and courage in order to be able to persevere through hardship. Society as a whole has tried to undermine the black family by implementing in them a false identity of inferiority. If there are strong nuclear black families today, that means that powerful people in history have been forced to step up in order to make a difference within their community. From the beginning of the play to the very end, Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun displays the vital theme of family. In the play there are multiple generations within the Younger Family’s household. The different generations come to show how the African-American family has had to evolve over time. A Raisin in the Sun highlighted the difficulties that families have in order to be able to overcome poverty, aspirations, and the society.

A strong family life, faith, and ambition characterize my development. A lot of who I am now can be attributed to the manner in which my parents raised me. I grew up in a devout Mormon household, so from a young age my parents instilled values of love, honesty, and kindness.

Hi, Julie. I had never thought about the white culture. It took me awhile to look at everything as a whole and to point out what I believe is white culture. For example, July 4th, Thanksgiving, hamburgers, hot dogs, baseball, and football. Although I am half Hispanic, my father raised me in a white American culture. Granted part of my personal white culture included traditions from my Irish and English heritage. I began to celebrate my Hispanic heritage in my early 20's.

When we talk about education we focus on those topics that have become near and dear to the hearts of this country: math, science, and whether or not art programs are funded. It's all anyone ever talks about, the calculators and the paintbrushes. But a part of the american education system that does not receive nearly enough emphasis is the social studies and history department. It's almost a null topic for everyone: the kids just need to learn this so they can understand how things work. But no one ever looks closely enough at the material because it is boring. And I agree, white male history is boring. An endless parade of Jean, Jon, and John inventing that new thing and changing the world? Count me out. But in this new era of true multiculturalism I have discovered just how vibrant history can be. School curriculums focus on an endless cycle of white men and then throw in a few white women (suffragettes), one - or two if its an AP class - black men (MLK and Malcolm X), and two black women (Harriet Tubman and Rosa Parks). But those names are probably about .001% of what is discussed in a basic level history course. I'm lucky come from a school district that implemented an ‘ancient cultures’ section of the curriculum where we went over some

Dear Son, I want you to understand this country was built for you not to achieve in life, but you will surpass the limitations society has placed on you. I never want to hear you crying saying “the system is broken” because it’s not broken it was built this way. You will not fall succumb to the stereotypes that White America has proceived black Americans to be, especially young black American men. I know it’s going to be things you don’t understand, and things you go through that’s unjust, but always remember adversity builds character. I will teach you everything I can about surviving and thriving in this world. Somethings you will learn on your own from your on experences and hopefully you learn from my mistakes.

I chose family relationships and focused on the grandmothers African American families. This description focuses on the idea that a majority of African American children share a home with their grandmothers compared to other ethnicities where is the statics of sharing a home with a grandparent is less likely. It also focuses on the benefits and out comes of the family relationship in comparison to other family situations.

Fasting and Feasting is a novel written by Anita Desai that narrates the story of the protagonist, Uma, and her family’s life. The novel is divided in two parts. Part one deals with Uma’s life in India until the tragic death of her cousin Anamika, and part two tells the story of Uma’s brother, Arun, as he spends his summer with the Pattons, a typical American suburban family. Throughout the novel, Desai explores the theme of family life and uses the novel’s two settings, America and India, to compare and contrast the values and customs that constitute each respective culture’s family life. At first glance, American and Indian families are foils of one another because of the relationships between the family members that composed them. As

Matriarchal family: “A matriarchy is a social system organized around the principle of mother-rule in which mothers, or females, are at the top of the power structure” (sociology about, n.d). In a matriarchal family the female would be the dominant leader as opposed to the male, in our society would stand as an representation to the switching of gender roles.