When playing on the playground during my early years, race was never on the forefront of my mind. If you were White, Black, Asian, Latino, or bi-racial, it never mattered to me because I never paid attention. My entire elementary education was spent at small, predominantly White, private Christian schools. Being the only Black person in my class from kindergarten to fifth grade had no effect on me until Barack Obama was elected President of the United States in 2008.
As change came to America, change entered my life. To be even more specific, January 20, 2009, the date of Barack Obama’s inauguration was truly the end of my childhood. That was the day where I became aware of race. Not only was I aware of my own race but of those who were around me. Children have the freedom to live their lives without having to face certain realities such as race. Adults on the other hand, have these topics almost constantly thrown into their faces. Never to be ignored. Always in need of being addressed. I knew that race always
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Kids said things such as “He’s a terrorist!”, “We’re all going to die!” and “Barack Obama is going to bomb the country!”. I know these things weren’t said because of mismatched political views because how many political views can a ten year old truly have? They had no idea what they were saying or how powerful their words were; they were probably just repeating whatever they heard their parents say. The real problem my classmates (some of whom I still consider myself to be friends with today) had with Barack Obama was that he was not White. And that is what hurt me the most. It was astonishing to see that the race of a single person could so tremendously rock the world of some fifth graders. What was said bothered me to the point of tears, and I began to cry as I watched what many considered to be a joyous
Rosa Parks once said “Racism is still with us. But it is up to us to prepare our children for what they have to meet, and hopefully, we shall overcome.” Racism is a struggle that, to this day, has continued to be a major issue. The color of someone’s skin alters how a person is perceived by society as a whole. Race is a social construct created by humans to categorize the world. (Sullivan 2) The outlook on racism varies from community to community, family to family, and even person to person. Skin color can alter all aspects of an individual’s life, because unlike inner differences and beliefs, skin color is a physical appearance. Social status, perceptions, roles, occupation are just a few of the characteristics of life which can be affected simply by a person’s physical differences. Not long ago somebody could even be discriminated against and their basic rights and freedoms could be altered based on their appearance. Many people believe that the United States is a colorblind nation or is tolerant of people 's race. Racism may go unnoticed by those who believe that it is a thing of the past, but to the people who are directly impacted by racism, it continues to be play a major role in today’s society.
Growing up in a predominantly white community, I had never thought of the issue of race as a child. My neighbor and I were best friends, and I never thought of myself as different. She had blonde hair; I had black. She had blue eyes; I had dark brown. We loved to play with the same things, thus we were
My pre-adolescent years were spent in a community thick with diversity. My friendships were as diverse as the environment in which I lived. It never struck me that racial and ethnic ideals separated people in society. However, upon moving to a predominately white upper-class community I began to question such racial and ethnic ideas. From my adolescent years through today I began noticing that certain people are viewed differently for reasons relating to race and ethnicity. As a result, the most recent community I grew up in has kept me sheltered from aspects of society. As a product of a community where majorities existed, I found myself unexposed to the full understanding of race and ethnicity. Prior to the class I had never fully dealt with issues of race or ethnicity, as a result I wondered why they would be of any importance in my life.
I am a white woman living in America in the 21st century. Growing up white has made my life fairly easy when it comes to the opportunities I have had to become more successful. For example, I probably have an easier time getting a job, getting into college, or even buying a new car than someone of a different race. Our country doesn’t want to accept it, but it happens all around us. I have also had it easy in that I did not grow up in poverty, in the ghetto, on the streets, etc, as many people of different races have. I grew up in a nice house with my two married parents and four siblings. We were just an average family living the American Dream. I remember going to elementary school and seeing all the kids of races other than white walking to school from the “bad” part of my neighborhood. Most of the white kids never stepped foot in that part of our neighborhood because of a fear. When I think back now,
In the year 2008 the world was a much different place. Before countless racial protests and riots in streets, before NFL players knelt during the National Anthem for what they believed in, and before our president spoke of nonsensical chauvinistic principles on a regular basis, our country appeared to have a greater sense of unification. This unifying bond between the American people was due in part by Barack Obama, whose entire campaign to become president may have been the most difficult struggle for anybody in the lineage of presidential candidates to go through. As part of his strategy to win over voters and soothe the skepticism of whites who may have had any doubting questions, Obama gave this speech on race; a speech which still
In 1964, the Civil Rights Act was enacted by the 88th United States Congress, outlawing any discrimination in the United States. With the Civil Rights Act, and the election America’s first Black president Barack Obama, in 2008, America was gradually becoming a post-racial society after a long history of racism that dates back to the 17th century. History, in conjunction with current events, exposes how America, “the land of the free and the home of the brave” is nowhere near a post-racial society because of white privilege, a broken system, and a new form of slavery; all created by the majority of the United States.
In 2009, the turning point of change happened. This is when the first steps were taken to bring this country in line with what the constitution states “we the people’ occurred. Barack Obama was the first African American to become president.It was a triumph for all people when this happened, but especially for African Americans. According to NPR news article blog , "This is the first time, to me, that it truly represents 'we the people.' Finally, equal rights, not being judged on the color of your skin, but the character — that's what this whole thing means to me" (2008,1). The world at large would now see that anyone could really become president. The “America of we the People” could finally emerge and be
What does “race” mean to you? How does your race affect your life? Are races really so different? You might answer these questions differently after visiting the RACE exhibit at the Museum of Natural Sciences. From understanding skin color to examining how systematic racism impacts minorities today, this exhibit is incredibly inclusive and eye-opening. One of our favorite interactive components was an activity in which you listen to a person talking and try to determine his or her race. It was very interesting because it forces you to face any misconceptions you may have about how a person of a certain race “should” sound. We all performed poorly at identifying the speakers, which caused us to inflect on our own stereotypical thoughts. The
Race is vitally important and completely meaningless. Our society would ideally want to say that racism has decreased, and that we are more diverse and tolerant than we have ever been. Racism is less than it was fifty years ago. Both of these concepts are true, but at the same time race matters more than ever.
Barack Hussein Obama was elected the 44th president of the United States on Tuesday, sweeping away the last racial barrier in American politics with ease as the country chose him as its first black chief executive. The election of Mr. Obama amounted to a national catharsis- a repudiation of a historically unpopular Republican president and his economic and foreign policies, and an embrace of Mr. Obama’s call for a change in the direction and the tone of the country. But it was just as much a strikingly symbolic moment in the evolution of the nation’s fraught racial history, a breakthrough that would have seemed unthinkable just two years ago.
In today’s time, the United States of America have drifted off its course of trying to reach a utopia. Social problems are rising for many people of color and non-color people. The problems have been illuminated in politics, education, employment, and social media. Problems such as discrimination of a certain group of people, and economic hardship are the most common issues. Reflecting back on America’s history, America has had a long history of white versus black ever since the slavery era, which took place during the time of the civil war. Ever since then, the United States have striven and persevere to change its society ethics. But, America is now slowly shifting back to a world where white supremacy and people of color are immensely separated
When speaking about race a lot of people like to claim that we do not need to talk about it and racism is over. That we all “understand” what race is, yet as stated in “What is Race and Why Does It Matter So Much?” scholars can’t seem to agree what race is. Race should matter as it can help shape who we are and create an identity. A few experiences with stereotypes though most think they are anything wrong as it just shows how each member of the race is similar. Race shouldn’t matter when it comes to anything really, especially through school and applying for jobs as how would that be relevant. Yet race is a concept that surrounds everything and yet is supposedly not taking place in anything.
Unwittingly or quite knowingly people have built systems of inequalities around race but people have also built identity, friendships, and college mates around it. Nevertheless, several people I recently interviewed never appeared to be certain when race was a good thing or when it was a bad thing to talk about, which in my mind leaves us all struggling with a particularly intimidating question: When should we talk as if race matters?
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 election of President Obama marks the most noteworthy political accomplishment for African Americans in the United States during the post-civil rights revolution, thus bringing about a change in the country’s social and political landscape that was steeped in racial discrimination since the founding of this great nation. Because social and political conditions are subject to constant change, President Obama’s