Virgin Mary Research Paper

Faith from the heart seems to be lost when a form of idolatry is created to be a God. It is a misconception to worship another god that actually has no connection of miracles or righteousness to a person. As a child, I was a Catholic who believed Virgin Mary was another God, but that changed when I was exposed to evidence which led me to be closer to only God as a Christian.

If a black woman had dark skin she would resemble a man, therefore making her ugly in society’s standards. This pressures black women to constantly be "compatible with the white female standard of beauty" (Ashe 580) in order to be socially accepted in society. Intuitively black women understood that in order to be considered desirable, the less black they had to look. This unfortunate perception of beauty stems from a long pattern of "sociohistorical racial injustices" (Bealer 312) towards darker skinned African Americans. Maria Racine states in her review that since slavery black people who approximated closer to whites were sexually sought after by black slave men and white plantation owners and were considered to live a somewhat "easy coexistence" because of their appearance (Racine 283). Since it’s start, colorism laid the pathway of racial prejudice towards dark skinned individuals. The result of treating dark African Americans as subhuman beings led to the altering of the black psyche by creating a "pervasive hierarchy" of beauty that black woman constantly combated or were forced to accept. (Bealer 312).

As a young child, I lived life colorblind, unable to grasp the concept of race or skin color. Growing up in Florida as the only Asian in my elementary school and never being bullied for being different, I assumed everyone was white, including me. But then came that earth-shattering epiphany: I realized I wasn’t white. I started to notice that not every supermarket sold Pocky or bubble tea and that it’s not common to get money in shiny, red envelopes on New Year’s. I realized that not everyone knew how to use chopsticks, that not everyone ate rice with every meal, and that when some people spoke slowly to me, it’s not because they were trying to articulate, but because they thought I didn’t understand English.

every girl child treasured.” (1.39) 11. Back then, “to be white” was everything to desire. But who would have known, that in a couple years race doesn’t matter.

have inherited” (Race: The Power of an Illusion). For a long time, Black people were informed that

Indeed, ‘colorism’ within racial and ethnic groups is a lot more prevalent than we are prepared to admit. Light-skin preference has been common practice in the black community for generations. Though being black requires us to respect our culture and heritage, it’s difficult not to be influenced by the perception that black women are often not accepted as being intelligent, desirable, and beautiful enough. Also, individuals within the black community have been called ‘Oreo Cookies’ because of the way they speak, where they live, and the people they choose to interact

While growing up, my social-cultural tools were instilled at a very young age. Referred to as a Queen or Princess not just because of its affectionate connotation, but because it is the truth to my heritage going back to Egypt’s royalty times as the broad focus that permutated from the continent of Africa. The teaching of ‘race’ was subliminal applied in my adolescent years when I received black dolls and coloring books with African American girls with curly hair. Understanding that despite the white Walt Disney’s princess on the television that I too was a ‘Princess’ or ‘Queen’, and this was the goal that my mother and father strived to accomplish. My parents did not attempt to colorblind me and I am thankful they did not; it would have

Reason for the mixed of races was the present of European ancestry and West African Slave Ancestry, Dominican society is the cradle of blackness in the Americas. It was the port of entry for the first African slaves, only nine years after Columbus arrived. Blacks and mulattoes make up almost 90 percent of the population. My parents raised following’s Christian beliefs, however as I grow up I was leaving with a temporary with another family member who were catholic therefore I was following the Catholic Church rules half of my

The Color Complex: The Politics of Skin Color Among African Americans is one of the text used. This book was written by Kathy Russell, Midge Wilson, Ronald E. Hall in 1993 to inform readers of the color gap in how lighter skinned people of the black community are treated differently than those of a darker skin tone. It further explains how African Americans have been taught to see themselves based on their skin tone. This book was a valuable resource that it assisted in the understanding of the Black color line; its inception and how it created an environment of self segregation. While this text was helpful, it like many other text had limitations. One limitation was that the text does not present a counter argument to support another point

According to Silverblatt’s book, Modern Inquisitions, “The Spanish… created new social categories of humans-new units of “others”-in the course of institutionalizing their rule.” (2004 p. 192) Silverblatt termed the creation of new categories based on the skin color and parental ancestry racial thinking, a form of thought modernity still has not escaped. Coates’ Between the World and Me states, “Difference in hue and hair is old. But the belief in the preeminence of hue and hair, the notion that these factors can correctly organize a society and that they signify deeper attributes which are indelible-this is the new idea at the heart of these new people who have been brought up hopelessly, tragically, deceitfully, to believe that they are white.” (2015 p. 7) Coates continues by further exploring the dangerous effects of racial thinking, including the limitations of education, protection, and support for a black person. The racial thinking revolution has started numerous movements including the Civil Rights Movement in an attempt to gain equal legal rights and limit institutional racism and movements against over policing. Coates also explores how it has also been used by individuals in attempts to reclaim their own bodies.

Many are unaware of the effects that race has played in their lives over the years. Some may not understand its implications, but are very oblivious to it. Race can influence such things like attitude and behavior. Nowadays being white or black means something more than just a Crayola color. No longer are they just colors, they are races with their own rules and regulations. People of color have been inferior to the white race for centuries. In their own way Zora Neale Hurston shows this concept in her story “How it feels to be Colored Me” as does Richard Wright in his autobiographical sketch “The Ethics of Living Jim Crow”.

The reason I was aware of these color differences was through school where there was kids of all different races. In kindergarten was the first time I interacted with people of a different race, this was because my family was all Caucasian along with all the children that lived within my neighborhood. Even though these children in school were of a different race, I believed all people were equal despite one’s skin color, hair color, or eye color.

Saint Mary Magdalene was a Christian figure depicted either as Jesus’s wife or a prostitute or sometimes even both. The Western Church claims she was a prostitute who was saved by Jesus. The other churches claim she is merely an apostle who followed Jesus. Most can agree she was a believer and a follower but whether she was close to Jesus or not is still being debated. She was indeed a repented whore but she must’ve been much closer to Jesus than what has been told.

Despite that event being terribly dreadful, what my peers said about my mixed heritage in elementary and middle school negatively affected me a whole lot more. Whenever a classmate of mine would ask me about my racial background, I would tell them I have a white father and an Indian

What a sensation was made about the Sensation exhibition in the Brooklyn Museum of Art. The focus of Mayor Giuliani's outcry was the piece "The Holy Virgin Mary" by Chris Ofili. Funny, he didn't give attention to some of the other outrageous works including the pubescent female mannequins studded with erect penises, vaginas, and anuses, fused together in various postures of sexual coupling, or the portrait of a child molester and murder made from what appears like child hand prints or bisected animals in plexiglass tanks full of formaldehyde. Would it ever have made headlines with a different title, like "Afro-lady"? I don't think so. I guess targeting religion gets a little too personal. Giuliani said, "You don't have the right to