Racism In Bell Hooks

Tannen begins her essay with the description of three different women, marking each of them in their own way and finishing that sequence by explaining that there is nothing to be marked of the men. Throughout the entirety of the essay she explains how society puts pressure on women and that the markings aren 't only on the female appearance but with the names they identify with, and even genetically. In the essay by Bell Hooks, Hooks immediately jumps into the controversy. She states that race and ethnicity “spice up” the norm of culture in today’s society by metaphorically voicing that “eating the Other” establishes power and privilege. In order for the white supremacists to keep order and control they must first exploit the Others, based on Hooks essay racist domination is inevitable and a mutual recognition for racism was required for any form of legitimate interaction without denial and a sense of fantasy.

In “Pedagogy of the Oppressed,” Paulo Freire tells of the complex relationships that contrast narrative versus instructive teachers and compliant versus existentially aware students, in regards to the various methods of instructing and acquiring knowledge. Although this reading is only a particular excerpt from Chapter 2 of Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Freire does an exceptional job by capturing the immense reality of certain educational methods. He explains the “banking” system of teaching, which portrays the teachers as “oppressors” who enforce themselves with an authoritative, commanding position upon the “oppressed” students. By introducing scholars to this “banking” concept of education, the teacher has no regard for the student, inhibiting further questioning and analyses, which only “negates education and knowledge as processes of inquiry.” (Pedagogy) Freire applies negative connotations to help better demonstrate the contents in which these teachers apply towards their students, stressing that this simply is not well defined enough when the time arrives to properly educate the students.

We have all sat through multiple history classes and learned about slavery, segregation, and the Civil War. We have all seen brutal movies and presentations based on racial injustices and the lack of equality. So often, we forget that these issues are still so present in our community. Slavery is illegal in the United States but other forms of racial profiling, insensitivity, and racism continue to be a recurring social barrier. Racism is still very much alive. The United States is “equal” yet somehow segregated. There isn’t quite a quick fix to this problem. Clearly, this has been an ongoing issue and requires major progression in our personal global

Whiteness and racism comes from the oppression, colonization and systems of dominance over black people and their feelings. In this case, an intersectional feminist analysis matters because women who are able bodied, cis-gendered, privileged and white are only being considered whereas bell hooks argue that men, women and trans people who oppressed should be fought for. And Peggy McIntosh adds onto this but a white woman who addresses and recognizes her privilege to help other white individuals understand what they have and blacks do not.

Moreover, “the existing situation in which we find ourselves reinforces deficit thinking and militates against changes that would provide more opportunities for those suffering from educational oppression” (Valencia, 1997, p. 247). Although this statement was made two decades ago, the statement could be used today to describe our current educational situation. This means that even after two decades of research, published literature and changes in society, we are still experiencing some of the same struggles that were discussed when Richard R. Valencia edited The Evolution of Deficit

The idea of racism has evolved and has become less prevalent throughout the last century. Schools and public areas are unsegregated, voting rights, racial slurs being considered as unacceptable behavior etc. American sociologist and race theorist, Howard Winant states that’s “The ensuing approaches increased recognition of racial injustice and inequality, but did not overcome the discriminatory processes” (Winant,2000)Although the United states has come a long way to try to end racism, one cannot ignore the fact that it still exists. It is something that may seem invisible in society, but everybody knows that it still thrives and that it’s racial attitudes affect the way our society functions. One of these invisible forms of

“Racism still occupies the throne of our nation,” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. pronounced just before his assassination. Almost fifty years later, we are still faced with the same unchanged threat that makes the words of Dr. King true. As individuals, communities, and a proud nation we have made an everlasting fingerprint for the children of our future, yet we lack the strength of acknowledgment to alter the course of racial discrimination and conquer prejudice. Has the formation of structural discrimination rooted itself too deeply into our subconscious that hope for rehabilitation seems unattainable? As a nation, we voted a man with a white mother from Kansas and a black father from Kenya as the first multiracial President of the United States. Racism has not been eradicated because of the racial background of President Barrack Obama and we have not accomplished victory because of his African decent because prejudice has been too deeply fixed within our society. Social circumstance and the insinuation of race continue to change over time, precisely because race has become a social construct that serves political ends. The prior and present leaders of our nation organize, generate, and endorse the laws and public policy that ensure racism continues to maintain itself against people of color. Our historically racist foundation, the rising effects of structural discrimination, and the view of modernized racism all actively participate in shaping our structural

In this chapter, bell hooks describes her experience with class privilege in college. Her race and socioeconomic status made her stick out from her classmates, which made her a target for their stares and torments. Her financial situation also made it hard for her to get into a college that she felt comfortable at. Hooks’ struggles ultimately made college hard for her, and left her feeling bitter and troubled about her achievements.

American society likes to believe that race relations in our country are no longer strained. We do not want to hear about the need for affirmative action or about the growing numbers of white supremacist groups. In order to appease our collective conscious, we put aside the disturbing fact that racism is alive and well in the great U.S.A. It hides in the workplace, it subtly shows its ugly face in the media, and it affects the education of minority students nationwide. In the following excerpts from an interview with a middle class African American male, the reader will find strong evidence that race plays a major role in determining the type and quality of education a student receives.

Teachers restrict students from learning subjects that the teacher may not feel is trustworthy to them. Freire states, “The teacher presents himself to his students as their necessary opposite; by considering their ignorance absolute, he justifies his own existence” (217). In this statement, Paulo Freire shapes that in the ‘banking’ concept of education students are viewed as ignorant and incapable of critical thought; therefore, teachers believe it is their responsibility to impose their ideals upon students to help them become capable people. These people will be intelligent enough to complete the jobs placed before them but will not be able to think critically enough to stop any oppression the educational system will one day place on their

In reading bell hooks’ opinion about sexism and misogyny I had to admit to myself that I had no idea what she meant by sexism and misogyny. So, to accurately know what she was referring to, I looked them up on the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. For the word sexism, I found there were two meanings that support hooks’ ideas: 1: prejudice or discrimination based on sex; especially: discrimination against women and 2: behavior, conditions, or attitudes that foster stereotypes of social roles based on sex. The word misogyny, according to Merriam-Webster, is: a hatred of women. With these definitions, I feel that both words with their meanings truly expose what bell hooks is telling us what Americans, and it seems she talks about the black

In Pedagogy of the Oppressed Paulo Freire mentions the teacher-student contradiction. The contradiction is when students are controlled by teachers. The teachers have the authority over the students, which puts the students in a position that lacks freedom to experience their identity as humans. This contradiction exists due to the banking concept of education. Freire states that the banking concept encourages the contradiction between teachers and students. The banking concept rejects students as individuals and sees them as objects. As a result of the rejection as individuals, students are unable to speak or act upon their own

Hooks asserts how stereotypes about African-American women are plagued within the feminist system, as many women of color endure a form of

As hooks is an academic, she worked to reach her position, and she faces a threat because of her refusal to participate in the black self-hatred that is reinforced by white supremacist teachings.

In his landmark work Pedagogy of the Oppressed ,Freire claimed that the pedagogy should positively improve relationships between the teachers and the students, which leads to encouraging the students to participate in the ongoing dialogue. Freire says that often, educators approach students as objects that should be deposited with knowledge, which he calls the banking method. He argues that this way of educating students could discourage their critical thinking. Therefore, having students copying the information from the PowerPoint is a way of disabling critical thinking. Furthermore, Freire believes that the students’ voice should be heard. Education from Freire’s perspective should encourage students to engage in dialogue and to express