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Monday, September 2, 2013
Race in the U.S.A.
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I thought it was interesting in the video on the "big thinkers" page how he talked about the study where they had employers review identical resumes with race being the only difference. He emphasizes that for the moderately qualified resumes, the white candidate was consistently more likely to be chosen. Though, for candidates that were highly qualified, they were more likely to chose the black candidate. He doesn't speak at all on this, but I am curious as to why that is. Anyone have any ideas?
ReplyDeleteAlso, I have one more thought to add to that... From my experience working in offices (and I know every office runs differently and has different policies, so keep in mind that I am just speaking about what I personally have seen) there were very strict policies regarding race in order to ensure that there was not only a certain amount of black people as employees, but that they were being hired and promoted into higher positions as well. In both offices I've worked in, I was in the minority as a white person, yet somehow there was still conflict and investigations to ensure everything was "equal". (Which is almost comical, since the most recent office I was in, and will be referring to from here on out, is 80% black... So, if anyone should be claiming its unequal, it should be the white people! We made up about 10-15% of the office when you include other minorities such as Indian, Asian, etc.) One individual who was black had applied for 4 promotions, none of which he received, and the reality was that his work was poor and he was not meeting expectations. He filed a complaint with HR, claiming that he did not receive the promotion because of his race. An investigation then began... and ended just as quickly, since two of the four positions he applied for were given to black men, and one of the four was given to a black female. But what if the most qualified people had all been white and the person in charge of hiring was looking at qualifications alone? That person could have lost their job because the investigation would have went very differently. There were many incidents along these lines going on in that office, and this caused a lot of stress for managers. They were forced to constantly consider race in everything they did, in fear of investigation. My point being, there is a lot of pressure in some offices to make sure everything is "equal," even if that means hiring a less qualified person. Receiving preferential treatment due to your race is not equality, white or black. Anyway, what lead me into this rant was the thought that maybe that had a small (miniscule) part of why more black people were chosen that were highly qualified as apposed to moderately qualified? The highly qualified black candidate would be more likely to be promoted and that would look good for the office... These are merely my rambling thoughts... I don't know the exact circumstances of the study, and I really don't think that even if this was an issue for those reviewing the resumes in the study, it seems unlikely that it could have had that big of an influence on the results, but it's the only thing that came to mind when questioning it, so I figured it may be worth mentioning. (and to avoid any misinterpretations, I am not trying to dispute the evidence given about the disadvantages black people face in this country. I am also not trying to claim that the certain advantages they may or may not receive could outweigh the disadvantages. Simply raising a point that I feel should also be considered when discussing race.)
DeleteWell, I guess all of this is irrelevant, since I was going off of the wrong material, but I am still completely open to conversation on it. :)
DeleteWhat a rant! lol! But very interesting though.I do feel like racism has become more of a complicated issue as time has gone on and our economy has continued to deteriorate. And does it shock you that there is growing racist tension between Hispanics and blacks especially in cities such as L.A.?
DeleteIt is definitely a very complex issue... And, yes that is kind of shocking to me, but even growing up, my best friend was Cuban and her parents were extremely racist against black people. I thought it was strange at the time, but I have come to learn that a lot of minorities are racist against other minorities and white people as well.
DeleteI've been teaching all day and then out to dinner with the group I'm teaching. Very fun to come back to my hotel room to see all these amazing comments and questions!
DeleteI mean people today would be shocked to learn that slavery was a thriving business in Africa before the Europeans even arrived and they would be even more shocked to find out that it is still going on in Africa today and has never been a bigger institution for profit. I think we should be careful about generalizing who is racist and who isn't because there are many different kinds of racism maintained by many different kinds of people.
Deletethat is very true... there have even been studies done that have shown that many black people are racist against black people... crazy, but true.
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ReplyDeleteI thought it was disgusting that in the "Don't Believe the Hype" powerpoint it stated that African Americans receive 50% more jail time than white people who committed the same crime. This hit extra close to home for me, because last year a coworker of mine got a DUI right after a white coworker of mine. The African American coworker was an older, black man who with tons of kids and grandkids. The white coworker was a 20-something girl with a daughter. When the man was pulled over, he was barely above the legal limit, yet he was frisked, his car was searched (nothing was found), and he was sentenced to jail time, a $1000 fine, suspension of license, 1000 hours of community service, as well as a DUI course. The girl was heavily intoxicated, got a $600 fine, suspension of license and 50 hours of community service. This just shocked me. I could not believe that this was allowed and that people just let it happen. The sad thing is, the man said this happens all the time.
ReplyDeleteThat makes me mad as well. I feel as if everyone should be given the same punishment for the same crime. I have seen it happen on multiple occasions,where the punishment is more severe for one party, even between men and women. Just because someone is black, (or a male) does not mean that they are any more terrible than someone who is white (or a female). It be interesting to see the statistics between white males, white females, black males, and black females to see what kinds of punishments they get when it comes to the same crime.
DeleteI agree. This statistic is particularly horrifying because it shows that our judicial system, a system which professes to establish "equal justice under law," is flawed because of prejudice.
DeleteI completely agree with all of you. I recently was pulled over for speeding on my way home from Milledgeville (-_- oops) and the police officer kindly let me off with a warning. I couldn't help but wonder how differently the situation would've gone if I was a young, black male.
DeleteDefinitely. It all goes back to the unconscious bias that the professor talked about in the video we had to watch. It can make its way into decisions that actively impact people.
DeleteI completely agree, and Leslie makes an interesting point. Our justice system was created to be equal but the human prejudices enter the system and that equality seems to blur or disappear altogether.
DeleteI agree with everything said thus far... Only thing I will add is that I wonder what the statistics are for how many black people had lawyers vs. how many white people had lawyers. I know someone who recently got a DUI and ran into and destroyed public property (totaling his car), and because his mom hired an expensive lawyer, he'll barely have any consequences... which I think is completely wrong... (I was annoyed at him at the time, so I even told him that if he doesn't do jail time that our justice system is a failure. I mean, he could've killed someone!) but having money can save your ass when it comes to legal issues. its really not fair.
DeleteMy question is: How will you all discuss race in your classroom? Will you discuss it?
ReplyDeleteI'm really curious to hear this, because I feel like we're all in different areas and different types of schools, so I think it would be interesting for everyone to come to the same consensus.
When I was in high school, I had an awesome English teacher my junior year. He was black and almost every piece of literature we read had something to do race. Through that, I was able to gain so much insight and learn that race shouldn't be an issue but it still is. I'm wondering as a white female if I could get the same message across. I believe that it IS an issue that needs to be addressed and not swept under the rug. In my area of study, maybe doing a film project that brings to light race and gender issues would be key. Maybe I could get my students to "take a walk in someone else's shoes" for the day and film it. There are many different ways that race can be addressed in a classroom, and I'm hoping that it's an issue that will get addressed.
DeleteI think it is important to discuss race in the classroom. I think that the best way to do it would be to first be sure that all the students are informed about race relations with articles and facts so that as a class we can have a intelligent and informed conversation. I think that with art it would be good to also show students different political art that deals with race and heritage so they can see how these things are dealt with and expressed from an art standpoint.
DeleteRace should definitely be talked about in the classroom. I don't want the Civil Rights Movement to be discussed as a period in the past that solved everything. I would talk about racial issues in a way that does show the progression and how far we've come, but also shows that there is still a long way to go. Perhaps, sharing some of the statistics that were in the PowerPoint would be helpful in showing that awareness. Because the Common Core emphasizes informational texts, I could see myself teaching a unit using informational texts about race relations from past to present.
DeleteI will definitely discuss race in my classroom openly and whenever it is relevant, not just to the material we are studying but also when an event in the world heavily pertaining to race happens as well. I completely agree with Leslie in that race isn't just a topic for a slavery unit or a civil rights unit; it should be discussed in the present world as well, because let's face it, it is still a huge issue.
DeleteRace will be a topic in my class because simply from talking to my ninth graders, they have a lot of misconceptions about French people, I am not sure what their opinions on race are at this point. Their minds are colored (no pun intended) by the media they watch and what their parents say, and what their past teachers have implied. Racial relations are not only a huge part of our American history, but has impacted history and events all over the world (and is happening now with Arab-phobia). I am not sure I would single students out, but encourage them to talk about their opinions so that others may learn.
DeleteI think the best way, and the way I would hope to be able to do it, would be through discussion, mainly just talking to students about what they have experienced and how they are not alone in many respects. It is easy to not address things especially when we aren't even aware they need addressing.
DeleteIn an art classroom, race is not really a topic that would come up... In art history, you discuss art from different cultures, but it doesn't really go much deeper then that. If a student were to bring up race to me, I would be more then happy to discuss it with them, but other then that, there is really no need for race discussion in an art room.
DeleteThe interesting thing I found was the idea of having an unconscious bias. As teachers, we want to believe that we will not be bias towards a student, just because of race. We work so hard to get to a point where we know that it's right to treat everyone the same, but will something beyond our conscious state of mind prevent this from happening? It is up to us as teachers to try to fight back and be conscious of what we do, and how we treat people. We need to be the ones that realize that this "unconscious bias" is out there and needs to be addressed.
ReplyDeleteI thought this was interesting as well. It really takes you through a process of self-reflection. I think we all like to think that we're not at all racist or bias, but are we? This makes you think. Looking at a boy and thinking they have a different level of intelligence than a girl.. this is a bias and I think a lot of us do it unconsciously. After reading this, I think I'll definitely pay more attention to my thoughts. I think knowing that unconscious bias exists is one step towards fixing the issue.
DeleteThere is a student in my third block that really likes talking to me about the most random stuff. The reason I bring that up is because the way he expresses himself is through being curious and asking questions. However, for some students they express themselves differently, in ways that are good and bad; what is important to realize is that students often do not act out with malice, but are just responding the way certain people do. SOme may seem more socially appropriate, but that does not mean the others are bad, in some circumstances.
DeleteThis can be troubling, as sometimes, I'm worried I'll say something stupid/offensive by mistake. Or perhaps something I do will be taken the wrong way. I think it's one of those tricky 'balance' things where it's good to be conscious of things, but not overthink them either.
DeleteSelf-reflection is important, I think, though, in determining unconscious bias... or sometimes, it helps to talk it over with someone you trust for their opinions, as an outside perspective can help, I'd guess.
I think there are various elements that influence race relations, but as teachers we do have some influence, whether small or large. All I can personally do, as an art teacher, is show that I treat all students equally, regardless of race. Will that have a big effect on the racial issues we face as a country? Probably not... But we do what we can.
DeleteMy question is this: how do you think as teachers we can improve race relations? Is it something that needs to start in a classroom or somewhere else?
ReplyDeleteYeah! I think the classroom is a great place to start! I think that starting there is perfect for making students see how we are all equal and capable humans, if they grow up thinking that way they are more likely to behave that way as adults and make changes in the world around them. I think that means treating students equally in respect to the goals and expectations you have for them while recognizing their needs and how to help them learn and be successful... easy? right? haha
DeleteI think the classroom is the most effective way of starting to push race issues out the window. Incorporating material, whether it be reading, studies, statistics, etc., written by all races, ethnicities, genders, etc., is one huge step in the right direction. When children become familiar with the talents and skills of all cultures, they'll begin to see us all more equally.
DeleteHonestly, I think fixing race relations should start at home. If family members are bashing other races constantly in students' home life, I feel like the student will start thinking with the same mindset. How do we get people/adults to start looking past race though? I'm not sure. But in the classroom I think it's so important to teach students how to respect one another! If there is mutual respect in the classroom, then I think it will make discussions on race issues, and other issues, more productive.
DeleteThe most interesting piece of information came from the powerpoint, in which powdered cocaine received less jail time per weight of drug than crack cocaine. I was aware that the War on Drugs was, and still is fairly racist, but the extent to which there is a difference and the stigma attached to each, is astonishing.
ReplyDeleteI was just reading about the war on drugs online!
Deletehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/leo-beletsky/war-on-drugs-spending_b_3367725.html
It seems that there are and always have been a lot of crooked and time wasting things going on with the war on drugs, including racism.
The War on Drugs was a wasteeeee of time sorry love you Nancy Reagan but no (my two cents).
DeleteI found that piece of information to be very disturbing as well. Never knew it had gotten so bad in the white community. I mean the two percentages arn't even close and there is such an emphasis on minorities using and selling drugs.
DeleteCan I just say I never would have thought that certain races use certain drugs? What's the deal with that?! But yes, the fact that jail sentencing for the same drug being so different really bothers me.
DeleteDo you think that race and its impacts should be planned for and talked about in the context of school, or should it be more of a conversation topic, than a topic that is a planned encounter with race?
ReplyDeleteMy answer is yes and yes. Through introducing a unit or a lesson on race, you are giving students a vernacular and vocabulary in which to talk about racial issues on an intellectual level. Sometimes, talking about race is hard because we don't know how to phrase our thoughts or we are worried that our words will be misinterpreted. Establishing a vocabulary is probably a key to being able to study race relations in the classroom.
DeleteI think students might be more open to a conversational topic, especially if there's a good mix of races in the classroom. However, if there are more students of one race, say there's only a few white students, they might feel singled-out and not want to share their opinions in a conversational manner. A planned out unit or lesson might break the barrier easily since there's more structure, allowing all students to participate in the discussion.
DeleteIn the video of President Carter delivering a speech on the 50th anniversary of MLK's March on Washington he quoted someone saying,“Too many people think Martin only freed black people; in truth, he helped to free ALL people.” What do you think about this quote?
ReplyDeleteSide note - I also found this video interesting because in my placement, we talked about MLK on the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington & why his speech & delivery were important, not only to us as people, but to us as writers & orators. I think it sends a powerful message about how strong our words can be. We, too, can bring about change through our words & our actions.
I absolutely loved that quote, Jessica! I think this idea is one of the main reasons why our country is still divided; people think that oppression is merely the problem of the oppressed. This is not true in the least. When we aren't all being treated equally, it is everyone's problem. When children aren't getting the same education as other children, that isn't just the child's problem- that is a problem for our country.
DeleteI know it's not exactly related to race, but I wanted to echo your second idea. Looking back at great speeches like the "I Have a Dream" speech can be amazing as a simply intellectual exercise. We can learn so much both about the speakers and their audiences by examining the rhetoric that they though would be effective.
DeleteWe also talked about MLK's speech in my placement and it was interesting seeing the kids take on what he was saying and whether or not they thought it applied to them today. The quote that you mentioned was one of my favorites from Carter's speech, and I completely agree with it. Whether it was Dr. King's intention or not, and whether everyone wanted to be freed or not, by fighting prejudice of the time Dr. King presented our entire country with a new freedom it had not had before.
DeleteWe talked about the speech and how it related to blacks being treated unfairly. We then turned that into a writing assignment where the students talk about a time they were treated unfairly. I'm enjoying this little assignment because the students are realizing that it's not always a race thing.
DeleteIn reference to the interactive map, I looked up Gray & could see there’s one side of E Clinton Street that is predominantly white (marked by blue dots) & the other side is mostly black (marked by green dots). The areas were separated. I'm not too familiar with the area, but that is interesting that you can search this kind of map for that very specific information.
ReplyDeleteIn addition, I must say that the ENTIRE powerpoint was eye-opening in & of itself. I did not know a lot of those statistics! "Once a neighborhood becomes 8% African American, white residents start moving out. (Whaaat!?!) This phenomenon is called 'tipping' or 'white flight.'" I had never heard of these terms. This is sad. :/
Jessica!! I felt the same way about both the map and the statistic found in the PowerPoint. I just want to know the ideological reason behind this. Is it just racism? Are the people behind these statistics aware of how racist it is to relocate themselves just to remain in a racially homogeneous community? It's sickening, just sickening.
DeleteThe 'white flight' phenomenon made me cringe. I think this has to do with outright racism and also some unconscious bias. I think that some people don't even realize that what they're doing is out of racism. I've heard a great deal of ignorant people from my home town describe moving from their neighborhood because it was "getting bad." What that meant, I always related to violence or drugs, etc. Now, looking back, I realize that isn't what the problem was. These neighborhoods they were moving from were full of great people with steady jobs and well-behaved kids. The fact that the color of your skin can have such a grand effect on people just makes me ill.
DeleteWhile looking at the map, there were so many shocking things I found. If you look at almost every major city, there is a clear divide between black and white areas. It's so crazy to think that this exists. It just adds to the idea of "white flight" even more. That's crazy.
DeleteAnother "white flight" think that is interesting to me is to look at the date various private schools opened. You'll find the vast majority all started in about the same 2-3 year period. Which period was that? Desegregation.
DeleteI found the statistic, which stated that “once a neighborhood becomes 8% African American, white residents start moving out,” surprising and particularly awful. This “white flight” or “tipping,” which was reflected in the map that we explored in the module, causes regions to be segregated and, in turn, causes our schools to be significantly segregated as well. I was just flabbergasted by this statistic because there is no reason for these people to move other than racism and prejudice. I’d love to be able to say that race is no longer a relevant issue, but it blatantly is. This is not my “official” question for the group, but I cannot help but ask, “How does this change?” Because people form prejudice early on, I would say that we as teachers must address racism in our classrooms in order to even try to combat against racism that may be deeply tied to a community.
ReplyDeleteAs wishy washy as it may sound I sometimes feel that the only real solution to these problems is giving it time. We as teachers need to be sure to provide good examples to our students, and we need to make sure that they are not ignorant of the problems. I don't know if we can really do anything beyond that though.
DeleteTime can indeed help, but something interesting to me is that the feminist movement happened more quickly and has been a lot more successful than the civil rights movement. Why?
DeleteRace: sometimes I really do feel like it is the "R-word" because people do not want to talk about it at all. I just wanted to know why that is exactly. Why is it difficult to talk about race? What is a practical and specific way to address it in the classroom?
ReplyDeleteI think that it can be an uncomfortable situation for a lot of people. During the summer, Dr. Alby was talking about how (someone told her) she could teach about social justice & what not & it wouldn't be like an African American teacher trying to "push" his/her opinions on the students because she is white. So, in that particular instance, it could be a way to incorporate these issues in to the classroom. The students could respond in a good way by being like, "wow, my teacher cares about these issues that relate to me" or see it in a more negative way "s(he) doesn't even know what I've been through" mentality. I may just depend on your group of students & how they perceive your attempt at discussing this important topic.
DeleteSide note - Last week, I witnessed my host teacher teaching his students about MLK's March on Washington on the 50th anniversary. It got the attention of the African American students. They were raising their hands & participating & were very familiar with the topic. They all perked because a white guy was teaching them about MLK. However, I did notice that a lot of the Caucasian students weren't as familiar with all that Dr. King had done.
I definitely want to incorporate lessons into my units concerning race (at appropriate times), but I am not sure how to do this without coming across like I have "an agenda," you know? I need to ponder this a bit more.
I think the main reason is we are afraid of the repercussions. People, on a whole, seem to respond in so many different ways, because of the controversy around such a hot-button topic. It is easy avoid race and all that comes with it, but that doesn't really help anything. Ultimately, I believe that race is hard to talk about because it actively represents a difference between people. Cultures have been drifting apart, and so the nature of those cultures differs, sometimes a lot, from other ones. It is that notion that makes it hard. "Wow, it seems like we are really different." In reality, not so much.
DeleteI think Ethics classes or something like a "Social Issues" class should be taught at lower grade levels. I think imparting some social wisdom is possibly more important than an extra science class. Not poo pooing any Academia, but producing students who are actually aware of other people's feelings and plights is of high importance. My host teacher, Mr. Monell, described the situation of a hispanic student who along with her family was deported back to Mexico. Students in student's class actively laughed and joked about it.
ReplyDeleteAlso: http://www.thenation.com/article/170413/stopped-and-frisked-being-fking-mutt-video#axzz2e2URpscc
This is a short vid-doc regarding the Stop and Frisk program in New York. It's interesting.
I can't believe they laughed about that! That is terrible. :( With that said, I definitely can see your stance on "social issues" classes being taught earlier on. It's something that people, not just kids need to be aware of.
DeleteI think a "social issues" class would benefit kids exponentially, especially with a good teacher. The problem now is that we ignore all of these issues in lower grades to "protect" kids, when all we're really doing is putting blinders on them. We need to show them, at an early age, the bad part of the world and then show them how they can go about fixing it.
DeleteThanks for the link to the stop and frisk video. I tried to find a good video on that, but couldn't find one that I felt explained the issue well.
DeleteStudents joked about her being deported?? NOT okay! It is super dangerous down there--so many things could go wrong there. To go with that, I saw an interesting French film about an African immigrant who was going to med school in France, and one day he was hanging out with his girldfriend, who is French, and she tries to steal a car while he tries to talk her out of it. They get caught and she gets out of it, but he gets deported and executed in his home country. He did not even do anything but try and make the world a better place. I agree that we need to teach ethics and diversity in lower levels because these issues need to be concrete for people, which most people do not grasp until later in life.
DeleteI was particularly disturbed by the information in the powerpoint that reflected that the media has so much influence on peoples opinions of other races, particularly those who they don't interact with on a daily basis. People see negative things in the news and then associate those bad things with the race. It makes me wonder, if they do associate with people of that race, lets say black people, because they are often profiled in the news for crimes, how to they justify the fact that the people they DO interact with aren't criminals? Do they recognize that the negative snapshot doesn't represent an entire race? If not, what does that say about how they really feel about their black peers?
ReplyDeleteThis is a good point! Also, one of the statistics showed that 49% of newspaper staffs in the United States do not include African Americans. If this is the case, imagine how biased these papers can become. And to think that some people are getting their "worldly knowledge" from these papers... it really is awful.
DeleteSpeaking from a geek's perspective, I noticed that some 'fans' of comics, shows, etc. have a very strange racist-"but I'm not racist" view when it comes to diversity in some things. Some see diversity as being preachy even though it's not and refuse to even give it a chance, decrying it (welcome to the internet!) before they even see it.
DeleteSometimes, the predominately white executives and whoever also ruin chances for diversity, stating that people "don't want to see ______" or that it won't be popular, ruining some chances very early on. It's very troubling.
It's crazy that in the comic daily show piece the two groups of white and black people had such different views on racism. My question is: How, as teachers, can we bring the reality of racism into the classroom and give students understanding about it's effects? Is that our responsibility?
ReplyDeleteIt is an interesting thought as to whether it is our responsibility to bring up racism and its effects. I have always thought that my class would discuss when it is relevant to what we are studying, but most of the time that would be in reference to something in the past and not how it is affecting our present and future generations. I definitely think that this is something that needs to be discussed but to what extent or how deep?
DeleteI think the first way we can incorporate this idea into the classroom is to let the kids know that there is still a racial divide in the United States. I think in many classes right now, the kids are learning how Martin Luther King fought for justice for African Americans and how much we have progressed, but are the teachers pushing the point that we still have a long way to go? This would be something interesting to watch on MLK Day (before it, since they don't have school.)
DeleteI think some people sadly know all too well about racism, as they encounter it more frequently. I think it should flow organically, but can definitely be discussed in a classroom. In terms of English, perhaps a story that deals with racism on some level which can then branch out to more discussions in regards to current events and history.
DeleteI loved the inclusion of "The Daily Show" segment and how it showed how distinctly different the white panel and the black panel viewed race discussions. Do you think that this is common (i.e. not just the panels used for the show)?
ReplyDeleteI can give some anecdotal viewpoints after some responses, but wanted to know how you all see the difference between races on race.
I think this is more common than not, that's why it's classified as a "comic" segment. It wouldn't be "funny" if there weren't some truth to it.
DeleteAlso, I think this gave me a lot to think about as well. So many times I feel like I am clumped in with being "white" because I have light colored skin. I've had people tell me, "Oh, you're not Asian, you're white" or "you're Americanized." However, there are other times when I definitely feel like being a minority is more evident & sets me apart. What about you, Noel? What instances have you encountered since you, too, are South Korean. #represent #asianinvasion :)
That's true, Jess! I'm often placed in the 'white' group as well, since my parents are white and I don't have any 'non-American' mannerisms, to my knowledge. On the other hand, I have been picked on for being Asian by both black and white people.
DeleteOne thing I found interesting, was at my former place of employment, the ladies in my department were all black and the majority of them (or the vocal ones) seemed adamant that racism *only* is against black people and that bias against other races were either less important or something else, but it wasn't 'racism.' I found that to be quite odd.
Racism is not just against black people. When I started elementary school (in a predominantly white school), I was picked on by older white boys. They would always do the "eye pulling down thing" to make fun of my slanted eyes. How original! NOT. Others would pretend to speak in "Chinese" to me. I would also get, "Are you from the communist or non-communist part of Korea (assuming they knew there was a difference between China & Korea)? For the most part, they would assume all Asians were from one country. It was pretty terrible at times, especially as a kindergartener. Fortunately, that area is way more diverse now!
DeleteSo, I said all that to say this -- I believe racism DOES happen to other races because I've experienced it first hand.
Oh, I have too. Most of those very same things. Which is why I found the ladies' adamant viewpoints so odd. But then, some of them weren't the most open-minded of people.
DeleteMy general statement is gonna be pretty short... But the whole thing in the PowerPoint about rap lyrics surprised me. The mainstream rap that is popular today (I know the PowerPoint is old) seems to not have the anti-violence/drug messages. If anyone can point me in the direction of the rap lyrics that don't focus on anything like that, let me know! I think that type of rap music would be beneficial when teaching poetry/spoken word.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koVHN6eO4Xg
Deletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mEx9FtuN0k
I don't know if these links will work. You can copy and paste them but they are both T.I. his raps are usually inspirational and uplifting. They talk about how you should be grateful for what you have and turn away from all the crap that keeps people in the streets.
I really like T.I. lol
Thanks girl! :)
DeleteAfter looking at the map for a couple minutes, I noticed that while white people seemed to be more spread out, black people or hispanic people tended to be in more clustered groups. The map was making my computer sad, so I couldn't explore it as much as I would have liked, but did you all notice that as well? I think it was more apparent to me in Eatonton and Greensboro, but Milledgeville seemed more mixed. I'll see if it'll work better in a bit and try to look some more.
ReplyDeleteI got the map to be a bit more cooperative and discovered that Savannah and Athens were much the same way, what with the races generally being somewhat separated in clusters. Did anyone discover any major areas that were much more integrated and mixed?
DeleteMy question is similar to Emily's. To what extent to we discuss race in a classroom? In my 7th grade class we discussed MLK's famous speech and have been talking about fairness and equality. Is that enough, or should we be talking more about race specifically?
ReplyDeleteI think you should dive a little deeper than those. I understand teaching the concept of fairness, but that's sort of impractical in my eyes. It sounds harsh but maybe teaching them how unfair reality is. You can even ask for examples of unfairness in their school.
DeleteStatement: In the slideshow it mentions the Dogon (sp?) people who apparently knew about Saturn and Jupiter very early in their history. I did some cursory research into this claim and found that it is of highly dubious origin and is almost definitely false. I wonder how to feel about false (or at least poorly researched) information being presented as fact to prove a point.
ReplyDeleteI thought that it was interesting that, on the map, around Atlanta there was a massive area that was slightly mixed and then a section that was completely blue (whites). Do you guys think that this has anything to do with the idea of "white flight" or is this just something normal for a big city?
ReplyDeleteI think that it has everything to do with 'white flight.' Of course, I'm no expert, so I can't say for sure, but I definitely think it is a factor. I'd really like to see a map from 10 years ago to see the differences.
DeleteYes I do. I have friends that are from Peach Tree City ( I know you are as well and you are my friend too! lol) but when I went to visit them I noticed that there were no blacks or at least there weren't any around the areas they took me to when I visited. Then one of my friends told me that PTC was founded because the "rich whites" didn't want to live among the blacks. Have you ever heard this about PTC? It could just be something his parents told him. I just thought it was an interesting comment.
DeleteI also thought it was interesting that there is a pocket of Asians around Rowell, mixed in between the white chunk and the black chunk. I wonder if they are a part of the "whites" and if they are part of the flight?
DeleteChelsea, I heard that once about Peachtree City but never really thought about the validity of it until now. It is interesting that this "white flight" idea would push a whole community out of the city. And as you said there are very few blacks in Peachtree City, hmmm this is really interesting....
DeleteQuestion: While so many social injustices still exist, it sometimes feels like we haven't made any progress at all. How can we be happy about what society is doing right while still trying to fix the things it is doing wrong?
ReplyDeleteI think the truly progressive beautiful things in our society are many, but they seem to always happen on a small scale, never a large on (government, education, etc).
DeleteThough it was the first slide in the slide show, I thought the fact that 45% of all news papers in America did not have any black employees was disturbing. It makes me wonder why news papers are that way, and since they are does that add any sort of bias to their production of the news? Sorry this turned into both a thought and a question.
ReplyDeleteI think it definitely adds bias to the production of news. It may not always be conscious bias, but I think the bias is still there. In news production, writers are supposed to be completely objective and report on all perspectives, (or so we were taught in Journalism). I think it is a bit more difficult to have all perspectives when you are alienating a specific race from your paper.
DeleteYes, I think it definitely adds a bias to the news. News is delivered with bias and subjectively everyday anyway, so why add to that fact by excluding an entire race from the newsroom? It doesn’t make sense.
DeleteYour comment made me think of the lack of diversity on TV and especially on News Channels. How many black anchors are there on national news? Many threads of this discussion reminds me of Peggy McIntosh’s article “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack.” It’s a very eye-opening article about race.
Maybe there are so few black journalists because all they ever see in the news is negativity towards their race. As a white female, would you want a job where you are always shown in a negative fashion? I feel though that instead of avoiding getting jobs in the journalism field, they should join in and try to change the way news runs. Having more blacks in the field of journalism could end news bias towards blacks.
DeleteInteresting tidbit: Not interesting but probably one of the most disturbing things I read = "white flight" is the phenomena in which once a neighborhood reaches a black population of 8%, whites begin to move out of the area. Could NOT believe this! Learning about this made me very sad.
ReplyDeleteQuestion: What would you say to a student who adamantly believes that "white privilege" doesn't exist? Or to those who say, "We have a black president, so racism isn't an issue anymore in the US!" ? (As if racism in America was magically mended the second Obama was elected into office -_-)
I would tell the student who thinks racism doesn't exist to google President Obama and read some of the blog comments and posts about it. People can be evil and malicious and though we did take a small step towards progression in race issues, we definitely didn't leap.
DeleteThe white flight thing is ad, but very true. The neighborhood I lived in in Macon had a few black families move in within the span of one year... and then ALL of the white families' houses went up for sale. Same thing about most of downtown Macon, really. 40 years ago, downtown Macon was just rich white people.
DeleteAll of these modules make me think about how assholey people are.
As to your question: Those two quotes are filed under "things dumb white people say." I've heard people say being a white male is like doing life on "easy mode". And like the girl in the video, I don't have to walk around wondering how I'm going to be profiled today. I don't have to worry about whether I will be treated or paid fairly because of my gender. That's something I cannot ever really understand how it feels. But that doesn't mean that I'm going to ignore it as a problem.
I mentioned this in another comment, but I think one resource to use would be Peggy McIntosh's article "Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack."
Deletehttp://www.amptoons.com/blog/files/mcintosh.html
I think it's interesting that we all gravitated toward the statistic about housing. My question about this phenomenon is whether or not you think that "white flight" is something that they are consciously aware of or is it part of that unconscious bias? I just don't want to admit that human beings can be that awful and racist, I guess.
The best response o someone who doesn't believe in white privilege is probably to just have some facts at hand to share with them.
DeleteI wonder if the movement of blacks is something many white people would cite for leaving an area. Or if it's so subconscious they don't know they are doing it.
DeleteI found it ridiculous that:
ReplyDeleteNearly all portrayals of blacks on television are comic. And most blacks on T.V. are either very wealthy or very poor. Where are the role models for middle class professionals?
I never really thought about it but this is so true. Bernie Mac, Martin Lawrence, and plenty more black actors are portrayed as "funny" instead of being in dramatic roles or romantic roles. There of course were the shows like The Cosby show and My wife and kids that showed the family side of things but even in the Cosby show, Bill Cosby was a doctor, not just a middle class worker. Why aren't there more examples of the middle class black family? I think this is crazy.
So true! I never thought about it! This sort of goes with this, but I read an article of an interview of a middle school black boy talking about The Lion King and how it is always an all-black cast on Broadway. To white people, we do not notice it, but to black people, it is a symbol of accomplishment, that they are equal and have the rights to be leaders on stage and off! The performing arts and media are outlets that take advantage of stereotypes, and I often find that media on the television plays off that stereotype to its advantage, while performing arts on stage look for ways to make a "statement" or a "difference."
DeleteI actually thought the Cosby show was very good at portraying a black middle income family that promotes values for other families, regardless of color, across the nation. I've always been a big fan of listening to Cosby talk on issues such as racism and how deep and complicated it is becoming.
DeleteI never really thought about this, either Rachel. It is very disturbing that television portrays black men as either extremely wealthy (doctor, lawyer, etc.) or as damn-near, if not, homeless. Even looking at the shows that I watch regularly (Grey's Anatomy, Scandal.. chick shows) this is the case. Then I started to figure in what shows had middle-class, everyday black men and the only one that I could think of was New Girl... COMEDY. This really isn't something I had ever noticed. I guess I've just been "breathing" it in. But we have to stop and think, somewhere in our subconscious, is this why we have a racial divide?
DeleteI, too, found this crazy! My Wife and Kids is the only show that came to mind that portrays what seems to be a middle class black family. And in most shows that are focused on white families, black characters are typically minor roles. Very sad to think about.
DeleteSabrina--you are right--I had not even thought about the New Girl--how weird!
Deletehttp://miami.media.indypgh.org/uploads/2005/10/aaaa.jpg
ReplyDeleteThis is a perfect example of the way the media is biased towards minorities. During the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, black people "loot" a store, while white people "find food."
That is so RUDE! Seriously, the wording of such things & the fact that it can draw such negativity toward one group of people is beyond me. Did you find that example in Delpit's book, Chels? If not, definitely look ahead to page 12! Wording is everything! "...the racism 'smog' that we breathe so often masks unexamined belief systems." (Delpit, 14)
DeleteI had never seen this. I think that this is probably the worst thing I've seen in a while.
DeleteWow.... That's ridiculous! Relates to Whitney's post about the first slide, where 45% of all US newspapers have no African Americans on their staff. Easier to "get away" with using derogatory language when there's no one to defend those who are basically being slandered.
DeleteInteresting. Well, then again, journalism has lost a lot of credibility in my opinion lately.
DeleteIndeed. Very misleading and outright insulting. But, I generally side with Ben on this. It really says something when a great deal of people rely on comedy shows for news over actual news networks...
DeleteYep--I saw this somewhere--it blew my mind and it's incredibly sad. I wonder if the journalists knew what they were doing.
DeleteSimilarly, sports announcers/color commentators will describe black athletes as "athletically gifted" while white athletes are "hard workers"
DeleteThe statistic about "Once a neighborhood becomes 8% African American, white residents start moving out. This phenomenon is called “tipping” or “white flight.” didn't really shock me because I have seen it first hand. That doesn't mean that it doesn't disgust me beyond belief but I have seen it happen. I grew up in a neighborhood on the edge of my town and it was an all white neighborhood for years and then when I was in high school two new houses were built and one family moved to a new town. The two new houses were bought by two black families and then the Vice Principal from my high school moved into the house of the family that moved. I remember my grandparents talking about how "The blacks" were going to take over the neighborhood. I never really paid much attention to it because I thought it was ridiculous that they thought that way. But about 6 months later, 3 other families in the neighborhood moved to different neighborhoods in town.
ReplyDeleteMy question is, why do you think this happens? Do you think the families feel threatened? Have any of you experienced something like this?
I haven't ever experienced something like this and it is so hard for me to imagine! I know this sounds funny but seriously, MOVING IS HARD WORK. It would take a WHOLE LOT for me to decide it was necessary to move, especially if I had a family. I would think that logically, even if they had doubts about a new family, they would take the time to introduce themselves and get a feel for the family. Hopefully in most cases this would prove to them that they are (if they are) a normal non-threatening family. To me this is evidence of strong prejudices still existing.
DeleteI think this idea of white flight could easily be linked back to how the media portrays blacks. If you are constantly being bombarded with the idea that all blacks are criminals or druggies or whatever, your mind only will focus on the negatives. This just creates more racism. I think fixing the problem with the media would be a great start in trying to eliminate the idea that blacks moving into an area only causes trouble.
DeleteThat's a great way to think about it, Jenni! And so true! We've got to start narrowing the race barrier until it's no longer existent, rather than broadening it.
DeleteIt's interesting that we have these stereotypes of black kids being in "trouble" and into drugs when actually 70% of the drug using population is white!
ReplyDeleteI also want to bring up racism and stereotypes against Latino and Asian students. There are NO Asian students in my placement (that I have seen) and ONE hispanic student, who is well known by all the teachers because he "refuses to learn English" and "cannot understand it when a black person is talking." He made a 30% on a quiz in SPANISH class because the quiz was in English. The Spanish teacher dropped the grade (because how is that fair to have a native speaker fail..) It's interesting, because everyone sort of expects him to fail: I heard a story about a teacher that doesn't try with him because she doesn't speak spanish....how is this okay?! But anyway this ties into race relations because it seems that we have come a long way with white/black race relations, but we still have these unconcsious notions about race. In one of my classes, these white kids keep saying it's "racist" if they say something they don't like, and the black students are starting to get offended. Is this disrupting their psyche, or what do you think? How do we as educators handle that?
Granted, some things kids (& people in general) say are in fact racist. However, that is a word that shouldn't be thrown around every time someone disagrees with you, but it isn't something to take lightly either. Just the other day, two of my students (they were the same race, both black) were making comments to one another that sounded racist toward black people. Had a white student said that to one of the black students, it would have unleashed a huge argument &/or confrontation. These two black students were just joking around, but I took it seriously & made them apologize to one another. The fact that other white students were in earshot of this conversation & they overheard the things that were being said may have made them feel like they could get away with it, when in fact, it is somewhat of a double standard. The playfulness of it would have been misconstrued had a white student said the very same thing to the black student. I think as an educator, we need to approach these situations with care. It is definitely something to be addressed in the classroom.
DeleteAlso, I was reading in Delpit about a teacher who "never assumed there was a child who could not learn." (Delpit, 45) The fact that one of his teachers doesn't even try with him because she doesn't speak Spanish is really sad. There have to be ways for her to get through to him. Of course, it would take more time to plan lessons that meet his needs & more work on her part. Her job is to teach, which is why she is considered a teacher? Hmm...
Interesting Information: The Power Point claims that 60 percent of rap music goes against doing drugs and other taboo acts that black people are believed to actively take part in. I'm not completely sure that I believe that. Let me put it this way, if the number is 60 percent then it must not be as popular as the other 40 percent of rap music that does talk positively about doing drugs, mistreating women, drinking under age, and killing other black people because it is fun. During my high school years, my younger brother and his friends were very much into rap music and since I drove them to school often, I had the pleasure of listening to the lyrics and no matter what new artist they would bring up, the subject matter was always the same.
ReplyDeleteMy point with all of this is, I believe that pop culture and Hollywood have contributed significantly to the negative stereotypes of black people. When white people hear those negative rap lyrics or watch a black actor who acts out those negative stereotypes, they generalize that all black people are like that. It always makes me happy when one sees a prominent black figure, such as Darius Rucker, going out and making music that is not negative stereo typically in any way. He is definitely one of my favorite musicians/ figures of all time.
I'm generally an optimist. I want to have an easy answer. I want to have something nice to say, something uplifting. I want to say we can fix the issue. But I don't see it.
ReplyDeleteThere are people who simply can't be reached, who can't be persuaded. You have to delete the conscious bias. You have to rewire your brain to not allow unconscious bias. You have to teach students about PEOPLE not races, or gender, or orientations. We are all just people, each one different. Some of us happen to be black, some of us happen to be gay, some of us happen to be blonde, some of us happen to be religious, some of us happen to be mathematical, some of us happen to be left-handed, some of us happen to be coffee drinkers. These are all just characteristics. A characteristic defines a trait. A trait does not define an entire person. This needs to be common knowledge.
Well said. Maybe this is why we don't talk about the "R word." Because we think of it as this big issue that needs to be fixed when we should really be fixing ourselves and each other. Race isn't the issue, people are the issue. This was very insightful!
DeleteBOTH these comments are very insightful, I feel more intelligent for knowing the two of you! I think that we can HELP fix the issue. Clearly what you do in your classroom isn't going to change the world, but it's worthy start. I think that approaching race in your classroom with your students in the way that you described is the key. Not just doing it yourself, but explaining the things you're doing to the kids. They are impressionable and I think that being a figure that they respect and giving them this knowledge about the world will make a difference! Build a community, Dawson!
DeleteThose are awesome thoughts. Grouping or classifying people based on things is an 'easy out' all too often. Everyone's different, but people forget or just don't care sometimes. It is important to talk about figures and characters in the class as people and always remind students to see them and each other as individuals.
DeleteI agree with all these thoughts. Perhaps instead of looking at the big things in a classroom, we should teach the students to take small actions and be aware of the big picture so maybe it won't seem quite so overwhelming...
We often hear people tell younger folk, us included, that we are too idealistic. Perhaps true, but a lack of idealism hurts you more than a lack of pragmatism. It is important to hang on to these beliefs. They can really make a difference.
DeleteHere is a question: do ya'll believe that the main reason people turn away from issues such as racism is because the people who may speak out about it the most come off as being too whiney or complaining too much? It's one thing to say what is wrong, but many people do crave an answer for what needs to be done. So what do ya'll think?
ReplyDeleteSometimes I think that may be the case, or they may be perceived as a 'troll' as they likely know it's a controversial subject. Additionally, I think people worry that it can be easy to twist one's words around or just misspeak and risk offending many people, so they feel it's not worth the risk.
DeleteI agree, I think part of the reason it can be difficult to talk about it is because I'm scared I will say something that will be misconstrued, ESPECIALLY as a white person, I think it's easy to offend others because they see you as coming from a place of privilege. That is why I think it's important to have a conversation after you have informed students and given them information to chew on, so they can see where you are coming from and why you believe the things you do.
DeleteIn the classroom, I think it's best to simply facilitate. Let students do a lot of the discussion and controversial stuff!
DeleteInteresting tidbit: In Jones County, the 9th grade Academy building is the old black school from when it was segregated, and the Jones Board of Education building was the white school. The 9th Grade Academy seems a little run down in comparison to the other building, and it seems it was not taken care of really well. Also, it is off in a neighborhood while the other building is out in the middle of Gray. I tried to figure out if there is a large black population where the 9th Grade Academy is today, but it seems that most are white in that neighborhood. It's interesting that it never would have crossed my mind that the buildings where schools were segregated are still standing and that students go there today (not segregated, but still!)
ReplyDelete