Who are we?
Throughout history people think skin color is what makes us who we are. According to the film" Race the power of illusion, episode one". Pilar Ossorio states that "There's as much or more diversity and genetic difference within any racial groups". Ossorio did an experiment with lighter skin and darker skin students taking samples of there MTDNA to compare it to see who is more likely to be closely related. Many students thought the skin color will make them more related but the results were the opposite of what the kids thought. They thought the students would be more similar to others that shared the same race but the facts were students from different races had more genetic similarities. "The effort must be made to understand race as an unstable and "decentered" complex of social meanings constantly being transformed by political struggle".(Omi and Winant) Pg.92. Many people use race as a way to separate everyone into different worlds. Race is what makes everyone who they are, it is a way they determine where they fit in today's world. In the video one of the kids were asked if he liked being white and he said yes because it gives him power. Even for him to mention how he felt about his color shows they way kids are raised to think that way. Then is separated because of the color of there skin. If he is white and feels lucky to have white skin how would a black kid feel? hanging around white kids that think they are lucky to be white may make him feel unlucky.
I identify myself as African American. I always find myself in situations where people say I "act white" whatever that means. I am always told you talk like a white girl, you dance like a white girl. If your father is light skinned why are you dark skinned? Sometimes I wonder if people think I was handed a color book at birth and choose my color and how I want to act. I always feel bad because why do I have to act like someone other then myself. According to race and racism by Tanya Maria Golash-Boza " Within schools, white students are given preferential treatment" pg. 32. But in black and Latino schools we are usually handed the short end of the stick. People may think maybe she talk like that because she wants to be treated different. But why can't I just be acting like Davida. By telling someone they are acting white is like saying you are acting better then you should be acting. But my question is why can't I act like myself and still sound educated if that is what they mean by "acting white".
I'm black and I'm Proud!
In today's society everyone wants to bleach there skin to be lighter, light skin represents beauty. It represent innocents A black male is more likely to get stopped then a white male. It is more common for black men to be in jail because they are "Dangerous". "We see it in the criminal justice system, where blacks and Latinos are several times more likely to go to prison than whites". Is that because they are perfect and do not commit any crimes? Making decisions towards a person because of there skin color can make them change the views of themselves. It is happening everyday around us.
Golash-Boza, Tanya Maria. 2016. Race and Racisms: A critical Approach Brief edition. New York, NY. Oxford University, press.
Omi, M., & Winant, H. (1994). Racial
formation in the United States: From the 1960s to the 1990s (3RD ed.). New
York: Routledge.H. (2016, June 27).
RACE: The Power
Of An Illusion - Episode 1: The Difference Between Us (PBS Documentary).
Retrieved September 20, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7_YHur3G9g
Hi! This is Ataya, we're in the same group. Sorry that my name is different and it may have been confusing to find me!
ReplyDeleteOverall I think that you point was really well articulated and I found it interesting that the white student in the film also made those comments about his whiteness. It's almost as if whiteness is a sort of prize and you win the lottery when you are born as a white male. I thought the example about how the test results showed up difference clearly shows the scientific construction of race, but I think you ca n expound a little but more on this point by talking a little bout the racial formations around race, and how science in general has never been neutral and the birth of race. Also there are a lot of examples on how blackness in measured in the u.s, and how that differes in other counties that I think you can use to shed light on how you think of your identity and what it means "to act white" I definitely struggle with the same thing when working my way through my identity as a black person who has been educated through a white institution. But I think that a good way to work through the knots of identity is to ask what does it mean to sound and act white when dealing with the meaning and assumptions assigned to race? In terms of the fullness of it all, don't forget to add outside sources outside of the class readings and sourced pictures!
ReplyDeleteyes I thought I was doing something wrong I could not find you or Jacet williams. Thank you for the feedback.
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