For the duration of this class I have learned that my reactions to ethnic studies is one where I am on the inside looking out. Not because I am African American but that I have learned to interact with so many different cultures over the years that I have adjusted to the fact that the problems that reside within our country are due to lack of knowledge and understanding.
I find myself to be very lucky to have parents who are from American and Africa because I have a different perspective on how ethnic studies are taught. When people talk about their families and how they carry on traditional I am able to relate to them and I find it hard to understand how people do not want to connect with heir heritage outside of America. I find my ethnicity and my family history to rewarding because I benefit from it in more ways that one. No only can I depend on my family within the states we also have people in other countries who are always willing to help and give us perspective on our issues. The variation in cultures allows me to be more empathetic to other cultures who feel outcasted in American society. Being that my father has experienced being oppressed and fought for freedom back in Africa he is able to relates to people flee to America for refuge in order to find a chance and opportunity. I have begun to appreciate the variety of cultures that America has to offer and I think that more people should do so.
Based on my culture and environment I have come to realized that I have a special lifestyle in regards to how many family functions around the community and how we are perceived to other African Americans. Being that I am the daughter of a first generation immigrant from Ghana, I find my perspective on culture and race to be diverse. Based on my families background and willingness to be educated in race I believe that my family is more accepting to other cultures than most families who live in my neighborhood. We find it easy to tell where a person's family originated by name, accent, and dialogue. We are careful not to offend anyone when we talk about race because we understand what it is like to marginalized and singled out. At the same time my mother's side of the family aren't as accepting, this is not to say that they are racist but their thought perception of culture is distorted. They are diverse in the ideal that they are not ambiguous to the other culture s and have no problem talking to other races; they have experienced racism and discrimination first hand in America verses my father's family. Being that my ancestors on my mother s side are so scattered in organization, I found it easier to choose my father for the family project. It did however spark my interest in my mother's family and I was able to trace my history back for my grandmother. Surprisingly records and files in the census archives traced her race to be Philippine, Irish and African American. Her father was a salve owner in New Orleans Louisiana and to this day no one knows her full history. After receiving the knowledge of this I realized how much my grandmother never bothered with the issue of race. Never once did she speak about difference and similarities and what it mean to be "black" she simply lived her life and was courteous to everyone she met. As a result I made a pact as a mother to raised my daughter to be as diverse as possible. I do want my child to experience the same complex issues of racism as I have. Currently I try to have my family introduce her to traditions and the language of my father’s company at an early age so that she will understand that she ahs a colorful background to be proud of. In conclusion I believe that if more people would take classes such as this and immerse themselves in the problem and research and investigate what other people notice and live with everyday America would have a different perspective on race. Race isn't the easiest subject in my opinion and in fact is the hardest thing to talk about and understand without questioning your own basis of your own ideals. I have learned that I base my success and morals on my culture taught by may family, being an African America woman, and a single mother. I think that overtime people and educational institutions will get better at tackling the issue of race and making sure more children are taught diversity and not the bias history that in present in books now.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Monday, June 22, 2009
FIGHT THE POWER
Over the years nonviolent and more aggressive activist groups have been battling over whose tactics where more effective. Each group had a solution to address the main problems within racism; the lynching, sexual violence, and abuse. The common ground that they were able to reach was based on the fact that none of the groups wanted for blacks to be taken for granted. They wanted to be heard and they wanted equality but in different forms.
Lynching is a crime that involves beating someone or a group of people, in relations to racism blacks were beaten in this manner due to the color of their skin. For non-violent groups such as Martin Luther King Jr. he addressed this issue with the tactic of do nothing and show your kindness and the people will see how cruel they can be. For Martin Luther king Jr he saw the non violence approaches to simplistic but strong because it showed that blacks did nothing to deserve the mistreatment. By not being violent with the oppressors King showed how outrageous it was to hurt someone for wanting to sit in the front of the bus or to want to enter the store through the main entrance and not on the side. On the contrary to the more aggressive groups such the black panthers, this type of violence against blacks was cause for immediate action. Instead of allowing for the beating to occur the black panthers prided themselves with the knowledge of their rights and utilized that knowledge to combat their actions for fighting against the brutality. In regards to lynching, the black panthers voiced that it wouldn’t be possible to hurt a black man who defends himself. Instead of allowing them to beat you they voiced that you fight back and within good reason defend what belongs to you. Instead of waiting on the whites to give them equal freedom the black panthers advocated blacks to start their own businesses and school therefore they can provide for themselves without depending on their white counterparts.
Sexual violence was one of the things that not only hurt the black community it scorned the image of the black man being the aggressive male in society. No longer could whites justify chastising a black man for looking or being polite to a white woman, when they were violating black women. Although this practice of violation to black women has always occurred during the time of civil rights the abuse of black women was performed but silent. Black women were afraid to speak up about the issue for they feared for their lives as well as their families. Stockey Carmichael was an advocate for non violence but it was more so for the evolved more younger crowd of Martin Luther King Jr. No longer did they stand on the side and allow for whites to abuse them they were ready to fight with the law on their side. Coinciding with the sexual violence among black women groups like Carmichael aligned themselves with lawyers and high officials to make sure that the men of these crimes were bought to justice and they understood that no crime was acceptable regardless of race. The more aggressive groups such as the black panthers also armed themselves with the law but in a more attacking form. In stead of using the “white mans’” law to justify what was done wrong to them retaliation was a better result. Just as they would beat/kill a black man for looking at a white woman the same type of violence would occur with these white men. In their eyes their actions were justify because if the white man can did to them why can’t they do the same thing.
Sexual violence in general during there civil right times was uncommon because everyone was focused on the main goal of blacks being equal. Many felt that the sexual violence was something that should have been after the civil rights fight because they didn’t want to take away from the fight. There are women from both side of activist who felt that because these fights were mainly headed by men this is why black women voices were not heard as strong during the movement. Black women were not taken as seriously as men but they were forced to perform the same jobs and work along the same battle lines as these men but received little to no credit. This is where both parties lacked in practice and were not able to address fully because of their main goal.
Abuse among blacks was the most common and important thing to the two parties. The abuse could range from verbal to physical and the parties both agreed that it was wrong and something should be done about it. King based his initial fight on the abuse of blacks in transportation. The fact that whites abused their power and forces black to sit in the back of stand for whites was wrong. And this was when King’s ideal were the most important because it gave the blacks a chance to understand what it meant to take a stand as a community and not just individually. King was able to unite the blacks and start the process of fighting for change. The more aggressive parties took King’s perspective and related it to the view s of the younger generations. Being that they did not grow up during slavery they didn’t understand the older generations rationale for being non compliant with the whites when they were abused. The young generations fought back and demanded answers as to why things were the way they were. The more aggressive parties felt that the abuse was due to the fact the blacks allowed themselves to be subjected to the treatment. Aggressive leaders such as Malcolm X clashed with King’s ideals because they were relevant with the times. In Malcolm X’s ideals blacks owed the white man nothing and if anything the whites should want for the blacks to be around in society. Many turned to Malcolm X because he was an advocate for change “by any means necessary”. This meant that if someone had to walk into a store and demand service they had every right to. In regards to abuse Malcolm felt that if a white man was willing to hurt you, that you had the right to hurt them back. He advocated that instead of fighting to be equal in the white man’s territory, black should create their own replicas so that they could provide for themselves and not depend on the white men for anything. He thought it was useless trying to be civil and plead with the whites to be let into their land on their terms when blacks could do the same thing on their own.
Groups such as Malcolm X’s didn’t agree with the interactivity among the whites. He felt as if leaders such as King were suggesting that blacks work towards blending in with the whites instead of being their own entity. Groups such as King’s felt as if groups like Malcolm’s were missing the purpose of the civil rights movement and felt as if they were downgrading and erasing their errors for equal rights because it was performed in white facilities. Both parties have made great strides in the improvement of equalization among blacks. Although their tactics and ideal were different they each were able to effect the fight in positive was. The more aggressive parties were able to set up schools and programs within the black community while the less aggressive parties were able to find aid and support from whites. I think that because there was a combination of the two that more things were accomplished in their time periods. They were able to cover more ground and had a higher level of success in various areas because they didn’t follow the same tactics. Think if blacks today were able to understand the different formats of fighting racism they would be able to understand how it effects not only their family but the community as well and the
Lynching is a crime that involves beating someone or a group of people, in relations to racism blacks were beaten in this manner due to the color of their skin. For non-violent groups such as Martin Luther King Jr. he addressed this issue with the tactic of do nothing and show your kindness and the people will see how cruel they can be. For Martin Luther king Jr he saw the non violence approaches to simplistic but strong because it showed that blacks did nothing to deserve the mistreatment. By not being violent with the oppressors King showed how outrageous it was to hurt someone for wanting to sit in the front of the bus or to want to enter the store through the main entrance and not on the side. On the contrary to the more aggressive groups such the black panthers, this type of violence against blacks was cause for immediate action. Instead of allowing for the beating to occur the black panthers prided themselves with the knowledge of their rights and utilized that knowledge to combat their actions for fighting against the brutality. In regards to lynching, the black panthers voiced that it wouldn’t be possible to hurt a black man who defends himself. Instead of allowing them to beat you they voiced that you fight back and within good reason defend what belongs to you. Instead of waiting on the whites to give them equal freedom the black panthers advocated blacks to start their own businesses and school therefore they can provide for themselves without depending on their white counterparts.
Sexual violence was one of the things that not only hurt the black community it scorned the image of the black man being the aggressive male in society. No longer could whites justify chastising a black man for looking or being polite to a white woman, when they were violating black women. Although this practice of violation to black women has always occurred during the time of civil rights the abuse of black women was performed but silent. Black women were afraid to speak up about the issue for they feared for their lives as well as their families. Stockey Carmichael was an advocate for non violence but it was more so for the evolved more younger crowd of Martin Luther King Jr. No longer did they stand on the side and allow for whites to abuse them they were ready to fight with the law on their side. Coinciding with the sexual violence among black women groups like Carmichael aligned themselves with lawyers and high officials to make sure that the men of these crimes were bought to justice and they understood that no crime was acceptable regardless of race. The more aggressive groups such as the black panthers also armed themselves with the law but in a more attacking form. In stead of using the “white mans’” law to justify what was done wrong to them retaliation was a better result. Just as they would beat/kill a black man for looking at a white woman the same type of violence would occur with these white men. In their eyes their actions were justify because if the white man can did to them why can’t they do the same thing.
Sexual violence in general during there civil right times was uncommon because everyone was focused on the main goal of blacks being equal. Many felt that the sexual violence was something that should have been after the civil rights fight because they didn’t want to take away from the fight. There are women from both side of activist who felt that because these fights were mainly headed by men this is why black women voices were not heard as strong during the movement. Black women were not taken as seriously as men but they were forced to perform the same jobs and work along the same battle lines as these men but received little to no credit. This is where both parties lacked in practice and were not able to address fully because of their main goal.
Abuse among blacks was the most common and important thing to the two parties. The abuse could range from verbal to physical and the parties both agreed that it was wrong and something should be done about it. King based his initial fight on the abuse of blacks in transportation. The fact that whites abused their power and forces black to sit in the back of stand for whites was wrong. And this was when King’s ideal were the most important because it gave the blacks a chance to understand what it meant to take a stand as a community and not just individually. King was able to unite the blacks and start the process of fighting for change. The more aggressive parties took King’s perspective and related it to the view s of the younger generations. Being that they did not grow up during slavery they didn’t understand the older generations rationale for being non compliant with the whites when they were abused. The young generations fought back and demanded answers as to why things were the way they were. The more aggressive parties felt that the abuse was due to the fact the blacks allowed themselves to be subjected to the treatment. Aggressive leaders such as Malcolm X clashed with King’s ideals because they were relevant with the times. In Malcolm X’s ideals blacks owed the white man nothing and if anything the whites should want for the blacks to be around in society. Many turned to Malcolm X because he was an advocate for change “by any means necessary”. This meant that if someone had to walk into a store and demand service they had every right to. In regards to abuse Malcolm felt that if a white man was willing to hurt you, that you had the right to hurt them back. He advocated that instead of fighting to be equal in the white man’s territory, black should create their own replicas so that they could provide for themselves and not depend on the white men for anything. He thought it was useless trying to be civil and plead with the whites to be let into their land on their terms when blacks could do the same thing on their own.
Groups such as Malcolm X’s didn’t agree with the interactivity among the whites. He felt as if leaders such as King were suggesting that blacks work towards blending in with the whites instead of being their own entity. Groups such as King’s felt as if groups like Malcolm’s were missing the purpose of the civil rights movement and felt as if they were downgrading and erasing their errors for equal rights because it was performed in white facilities. Both parties have made great strides in the improvement of equalization among blacks. Although their tactics and ideal were different they each were able to effect the fight in positive was. The more aggressive parties were able to set up schools and programs within the black community while the less aggressive parties were able to find aid and support from whites. I think that because there was a combination of the two that more things were accomplished in their time periods. They were able to cover more ground and had a higher level of success in various areas because they didn’t follow the same tactics. Think if blacks today were able to understand the different formats of fighting racism they would be able to understand how it effects not only their family but the community as well and the
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Blog # 3 Mexican and Jewish Immgrants
The Jewish and Mexican immigration to America was based on hardships and conquered by unity. Although the two cultures came to America to escape oppression and find better opportunities for their family, they never forgot where they came from. Both cultures found outlets to maintain their cultures and uplift their communities.
For the Jewish immigrants life in Russia was full of violence and suppression. Constant surveillance and persecution for their beliefs caused the Jewish immigrants to look for an escape. America to the Jewish was a land of opportunity where they could be comfortable in their culture and exist within society and give their family the best. The Mexican immigrants experienced issues with politics and availability of jobs. For Mexican immigrants America was where jobs were readily available and they could own their own land without the government selling it from under them.
For the two cultures their pilgrimage to America was enduring and tough. The Jewish immigrants came over in high volumes from ships that were once used to transport cattle. Boarding the boat was chaotic since everyone was trying to escape the persecution in Russia. The charge to board was usually raising and saved by the Jewish and sometimes given to the children so they could travel and better themselves. In comparison the Mexican immigrants lived a lot closer to America and were only a border away. Many traveled in large groups packed in cars and in the back of trucks.
The jobs available for the two cultures were based on their demographics. Since the Jewish immigrants landed in New York many settled there within the lower East Coast in areas called “ghettos”. At that time the many Jewish immigrants that came over to America were uneducated and had little to no training skills, many resorted to selling goods within the community and others joined the labor market mainly the garment industry. The Mexican immigrants prior to coming to America had land and many were able to do agriculture, therefore upon arrival the jobs that they were qualified were in the farm labor. Both suffered horrible work conditions in both areas while working long hours with little pay. The Jewish immigrants worked in factories under hazardous conditions such as no ventilation, high room temperatures, and little to no breaks. The Mexicans were placed on the bottom of the ranking in farm labor. They also received little to no breaks, worked from sun up to sun down. In addition both cultures received no benefits. Education wise the Jewish were persecuted and degraded in colleges and universities. Although they excelled in education others felt that they were overpopulating the institutions and needed to be controlled.
In reference the cultures were successful in maintaining their ties with their heritage. The Jewish immigrants created community based towns and villages within the lower east coast. They united themselves with in the schools, temples and stores. They created areas such as the café, public bath and meeting in the park as ways of both recreation and community involvement. The Mexican culture created El barrio, towns and villages that were centered about Mexican culture. It was there that they were able to maintain and celebrate their holidays and cultures from Mexico.
Although both cultures experienced immigration, labor discrimination, and prejudice in education they were able to remain loyal to their heritage. I believe that this is important to US history because it shows how many of the various companies, cities and communities were first created and how they evolved. By understanding the hardships that they had to face one is able to understand their perspective on issues such as politics, religion and education. This has made me realized that people of different cultures although they come from different places and experienced hardships of various kinds they are very similar, the only differences were their demographic and the steps they went through to maintain their practice. The main thing that matters is that they were able to unify themselves and didn’t assimilate and eliminate their culture
For the Jewish immigrants life in Russia was full of violence and suppression. Constant surveillance and persecution for their beliefs caused the Jewish immigrants to look for an escape. America to the Jewish was a land of opportunity where they could be comfortable in their culture and exist within society and give their family the best. The Mexican immigrants experienced issues with politics and availability of jobs. For Mexican immigrants America was where jobs were readily available and they could own their own land without the government selling it from under them.
For the two cultures their pilgrimage to America was enduring and tough. The Jewish immigrants came over in high volumes from ships that were once used to transport cattle. Boarding the boat was chaotic since everyone was trying to escape the persecution in Russia. The charge to board was usually raising and saved by the Jewish and sometimes given to the children so they could travel and better themselves. In comparison the Mexican immigrants lived a lot closer to America and were only a border away. Many traveled in large groups packed in cars and in the back of trucks.
The jobs available for the two cultures were based on their demographics. Since the Jewish immigrants landed in New York many settled there within the lower East Coast in areas called “ghettos”. At that time the many Jewish immigrants that came over to America were uneducated and had little to no training skills, many resorted to selling goods within the community and others joined the labor market mainly the garment industry. The Mexican immigrants prior to coming to America had land and many were able to do agriculture, therefore upon arrival the jobs that they were qualified were in the farm labor. Both suffered horrible work conditions in both areas while working long hours with little pay. The Jewish immigrants worked in factories under hazardous conditions such as no ventilation, high room temperatures, and little to no breaks. The Mexicans were placed on the bottom of the ranking in farm labor. They also received little to no breaks, worked from sun up to sun down. In addition both cultures received no benefits. Education wise the Jewish were persecuted and degraded in colleges and universities. Although they excelled in education others felt that they were overpopulating the institutions and needed to be controlled.
In reference the cultures were successful in maintaining their ties with their heritage. The Jewish immigrants created community based towns and villages within the lower east coast. They united themselves with in the schools, temples and stores. They created areas such as the café, public bath and meeting in the park as ways of both recreation and community involvement. The Mexican culture created El barrio, towns and villages that were centered about Mexican culture. It was there that they were able to maintain and celebrate their holidays and cultures from Mexico.
Although both cultures experienced immigration, labor discrimination, and prejudice in education they were able to remain loyal to their heritage. I believe that this is important to US history because it shows how many of the various companies, cities and communities were first created and how they evolved. By understanding the hardships that they had to face one is able to understand their perspective on issues such as politics, religion and education. This has made me realized that people of different cultures although they come from different places and experienced hardships of various kinds they are very similar, the only differences were their demographic and the steps they went through to maintain their practice. The main thing that matters is that they were able to unify themselves and didn’t assimilate and eliminate their culture
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