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I wish I was snow Cause then I could fly I wouldn’t go slow And I would go high A snowflake is free To do what it will And dances for me Though it brings a soft chill .The “Hyphen-Nation” videos about Roy, Armando, Wendy and Ayman feel like they all share something in common. They were not allowed to be “American” or in other words, they were not allowed to be what race they wanted to be. Roy talks about his dreams when he was younger, he wanted to be the American picture of “success”, to be tall and working in wall street, making lots of money. Roy talks about when his friends talked to him about where he was from he always told them he was American, but since his parents are Mexican his friends told him he was Mexican. Roy then felt like he was denied his identity as an American even though he was born in America, afterwards he tried to embrace his Mexican heritage, his identity as a Mexican. Roy then flew to Mexico but in his head he always told himself he never wanted to be a tourist, because that's what his family told him, that he was just going to be another tourist. When Roy got to Mexico his family would always ask him if he could eat this, or can you carry leña (firewood) because to them he wasn't Mexican he was American, but in America he wasn't American he was Mexican. It was like his mom said “ni de aqui, ni de alla” not from here and not from there. Armando also talks about how he is being othered because he is MexicanAmerican, he talks about how the hyphen was forced on Mexican-American because of modern geo-politcal borders. Armando’s fathers family is indigenous to the American south west, so his blood is from the original Americans, so he is American. Just because he had Mexican blood he was beaten by the police when he and his white friends were doing donuts in a parking lot, but the problem is that Armando’s friends were never touched by the police, meanwhile Amando was beaten by the cops because he had Mexican blood. From the information that was just given you can see that even though Armando had American indigenous blood, that did not matter, he wasn't white or skin and he had Mexican blood, so apparently now its okay to beat people who do not fit in the “American” stereotype. This is not okay, the so-called “Americans'' are actually foreigners, they came from England and what we do to the actual Americans. We took their lands, killed their people, and “relocated” them to other areas. Let's also acknowledge that America is made up of immigrants, there is a reason why America is called “The Melting Pot'' but now we are trying to discriminate against the same people that made this country special. The written interview, “Students from Central High School” from the book “Tell Me Who You Are” shares that Central High is not segregated but it's also not integrated. It also talks about how in AP classes, (advanced placement classes) there are only 4 black kids and the rest are white kids in a 30 student class, even though the school is made up of 55 percent black students. It may not seem like much but this makes it seem like teachers don't have high expectations for Black students. Morgan who is a Black student in an AP class says, “There's a stigma that Black people are not going to do well,and you can kind of feel it when you walk into a room. I feel like I have to prove myself, like I have to work harder to be better than the White people in my class just to be considered on par with them.” This makes me think that teachers don't have high expectations for black students, they maybe see them as inferior to white students. This would demoralize black students and it might make them give up on school, when you have no support in school it makes everything extremely hard, it takes a lot of mental fortitude to power through low expectations and keep going even when no one believes in you. An anti-racist to me is a person who fights againts racism and actively seeks out to end racism. There are also two other types of people, segregationist and assimilationist, the segregationist wants to keep racism alive, they believe in the divide of races, meanwhile assimilationists want to close the divide of racism and they want to end racism. The race that I identify with is Brown, I also think about my race more often than before, mostly because I have Mexican blood but I was born in America now this may seem like an easy answer but for me it’s not that simple. I think this unit definitely made me think about race way more often than before mostly because now I have to be careful about what I say, I feel like living in Mexico it was kind of behind on the time and they don't really care that much about racial justice or feelings. So I kind of came here with that mindset and I really only until a few years ago I realised that I needed to be careful about what I say. This would definitely be something that should be teached next year because it has most definitely helped me, it has helped me be more careful and it has allowed me to have a new perspective on life, and I feel like it will help other students that will go onto this class next year and it will also give them a new outlook on life.
Part 1: written reflection Source: growing up black conversation with white people on race - stage 1 and 3 The “Growing Up Black” video from the New York Times showed Black kids to Black adults explaining how they grew up as a Black person. They have experienced racism and implicit bias no matter their ages. The kids explain how White kids would go out of their way to ignore them and to come close to them. The video “Conversation With White People On Race” where people from the New York Times go around interviewing White people asking what their opinion on race is. More than half of the adults said that talking about race made them feel uncomfortable and didn't want to talk about it. They didn't want to talk about it because they didn't want to “bring up the past or slip up and say the wrong thing”. One word that kept coming up in both videos was implicit bias. In the video about “Growing Up Black” they referred to Implicit bias when a young Black boy and White girl were walking home and came up to this group of Black kids and once the little girl saw them she immediately said “let's cross the street I don't wanna go near them” this is Implicit bias because she assumes that they are dangerous or scary. Implicit bias is when you look at someone and immediately assume that they are dangerous or act out just the way that they look. When people look at people that dont look like them or don't speak the same language as them a lot of stereotypes get placed and people start to assume things about those people. Another word that came up in both videos was race. Race is when you get divided up into groups on how they appear to other people. In the video about asking White people about race, they didn't feel comfortable talking about race because they were scared, they would say something wrong or even offend some people. One guy in the video said “he doesn't talk about race because he doesn't want to offend someone on what he'd say.” One girl said that she might be racist but she doesn't think she is or believe she is but she doesn't like talking about race. Another girl said that she doesn't like to see racism that “we” made. I feel like people dont want to talk about race because they want to be anti-racist. Anti-racist is to oppose racism and promotes racial tolerance. But if you don't talk about race and educate kids on race they won't understand what race is and might slip up and say something racist. While I was watching the video about Growing Up Black it was very sad that people have to experience racism all through their life because they don't fall into the box that includes (smart,rich,white males). It breaks my heart that people would go out of their way to bypass someone that doesn't look like them. And that Black people couldn't wear clothes or accessories that they like because they look like their “gang affiliated”. I really appreciated learning about race during this unit because it taught how people of any other race other than white are treated. I was never really taught about race when I was younger so I appreciate that we learned about it this year. I've never really thought about race like this. It really makes me think about how others are getting treated, not just me. I also really liked learning about race and racial slurs so if I hear someone say anything racist I can correct and educate them on what they said wrong. So thank you a lot for teaching me about race, I highly recommend teaching this to other students.
Jade Nelson 12/2/2020 The first video I chose was, Hyphen-Nation Michaela’s video Michaela is an African American. Michaela was in kindergarten and she had big blond hair. At the beginning of the video she was explaining one of the first times she was told she was different. She was at her friend's house who was from a white family. Michaela went there before and the mom of the girl found out that Michaela was from an African American family and she was told she wasn't welcome to come to her house again. Michaela was stereotyped by her friend's mom. Being stereotyped is when someone has an image in their head of you because of your race or gender. When she got older people questioned if she was Black, they told her that she had a loophole, but she didn't want to be white because she was proud to be an African American.I chose the hyphen nation video about Michaela because I thought it was the most interesting out of all of the them. The second video I chose to watch was “A Conversation on Growing up Black”.This video is about a bunch of kids all different ages explaining their experiences with racism and how they feel about their experiences. The first time I watched this video it was really interesting learning about their experiences and I chose it because it helped me understand things more. They were all judged because of their race. Race is a group of individuals who share a common culture, this word connects to the videos I chose because Michaela is a different race than her friend and has been treated differently because of her race. This word connects to “A Conversation on Growing up Black” video because all of the people were judged because of their race or ethnicity. The last video I chose was “Racial Microaggression Comments: That Sting.” This video told me what a microaggression is and the effect they can have on people. A microaggression can be a statement or action that is indirect or subtle. It's a dicrimination against certain races and ethnicities and sometimes people don't mean to or realise there doing it. I thought the microaggression video stood out to me because I didn't know what it was before i watched it and i think it's really important to know what they are and realize the effect they can have on people. In the video “A Conversation on Growing up Black” some of the kids were told that they are to Black and they should change. The kids that were told these things said that they were hurt when this was said to them. I can't relate to anyone in the videos because i'm not african american and I don't have to deal with anything like they do. My experience contrasts theirs because I will never have to deal with or experience anything that they go through everyday. I do have privilege because I’m white and because of that I'll never have to deal with any racism like African Americans do but it's really important to confront this problem and resolve them because it's not fair and we need to stand up for what's right. Privilege is an advantage or an immunity granted to a certain race.When I watched Michaelas video I felt really bad that she wasnt aloud to see her friend because she was black and I love that she is proud to be African American and she isn't afraid to stand up for what's right. I definitely feel like this unit needs to happen because it's important for everyone to know about these things, I think this unit should be offered next year. This unit is very important because maybe it will change people's way of thinking and I know more about this topic after doing this unit than I did before. Being anti-racist is fighting against racism and seeing everbody as equal no matter their race or ethnicity. When we read the book Stamped: Racism, AntiRacism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi. I learned a lot of new vocabulary, two of the words being assimilationist and segregationist. If you are an assimilationist you support racial or cultural integration. A word that came up a lot was segregationist, if you're a segregationist you disagree with integration and support enforced separation between different racial groups.
In the Hyphen-Nation video titled Ayman by New York Times, Ayman explains that his parents are from Sudan, but he was born and raised in America. Ayman states that he is treated as an outsider in Sudan and even more so in America despite being born and raised in America. He shares one of his experiences with us, in which he was on his way back to America from visiting his family in Sudan while going through security in the airport the a security guard stopped him and put him in a different line to go through extra security measures for no apparent reason. Ayman Exclaims that America is for the rich white men and not for anyone else. The vocab that fits with Ayman’s experience is... Stereotypes: Stereotyping someone is judging someone based on what similar other people have done or like. It was pretty obvious that the airport security stereotyped him because he is going into America and is not white that he may be a terrorist. Race: A word made up to justify racism, that now means where you come from / your genes. It ties in with Ayman because the airport security either subconsciously or consciously targeted him for his race. Dominant culture: The culture that has more power over other cultures. He was neither the dominant culture in America or Sudan. Privilege: The rights people are given at birth by their race, religion, sexuilty and wealth. Ayman was less privileged than the others. I picked this video because I have been on more planes than the average person (I think) and so I felt I can really show how our experiences are different and how they are similar, if they are. My experience defers to his experience as in I have never been forced to go through extra security or anything like that, But my experience normally consists of going through security pretty fast and unbothered, at least for racist or biased reasons there is only the few forgot the soda was in my carry-on bag. Or the person who gets real confused by anything and then everyone else also gets confused as to why he is confused. I know stuff like this happens all the time, I don’t think it should, but maybe that's what changed. Maybe it changed my view on what I can do to help, no what I should do to help. Aside from going to one blm protest I don’t know what I can do to help. Yes, I liked this unit, I knew about a good amount of Racism related topics from over hearing my mom and sister discuss that it is not fair. So I like the whole spreading awareness too and I think you should teach the next 8th graders it as well
In the video titled “A Conversation About Growing up Black”, it features several young Black boys of different ages and backgrounds. They talk about how they’ve been singled out and treated differently by people around them because of their race. Some examples include a teacher telling their Black student to take off their sweatband from their wrist because “..it looks gang affiliated.” There’s a similar theme in the “Tell Me Who You Are” interview book by Winona Guo and Priya Vulchi about a Black man named Ronnie. In his interview, he tells the story about how his father was arrested for a crime that he didn’t commit but since he is Black, he was still punished for the crime. These two interviews show that due to someone being a POC, they will be judged and treated unfairly by society. I believe that in the video “A Conversation About Growing up Black”, they were marginalized because of their race. All of the boys in the video are Black and because of that, they have been treated as if they are lesser than their white peers. These boys feel as though they need to take certain precautions and take actions that non-POC would never have to think about doing. With Ronnie’s case, I think his dad was shown prejudice because he is Black. When Ronnie’s father was arrested, the reason was because he fit the description of a light-skinned male that stole a cellphone. The witness even said that the robber could have been White but his dad was still arrested and charged. I believe this happened because of the systemic racism that is built into the justice system and the stereotype that Black people are more likely to commit crime. This proves that white people have privilege over Black people and POC because our society was built to benefit white people which is not only terrible, but is a very hard thing to stop/reverse. I believe the first step to try and end racism is to begin with being anti-racist. There is a significant difference when it comes to being “not racist” and anti-racist. Being not racist basically means that someone doesn’t do or say anything racist/they don’t have prejudice against POC. This simply is not enough because if people like this turn a blind eye to racism, it will continue. We need people to be anti-racist so that they can fight against racism and educate others on how to help which eventually will end racism. For example, when a white person says that they’re not racist, that may sound good, but in reality they are wasting their privilege. When I say this I mean white people have white privilege and because of that, it’s easier for them to voice their opinion and be heard by others. This is relevant because if white people would fight against racism, more people may listen to what they’re saying and join them. It’s also relevant because it helps POC whose voices may not be heard or taken into consideration. Most people don’t know what an assimilationist or a segregationist is or what the difference is between them. They are similar in the way where they believe that POC are oppressed because they have done something wrong. The difference is that an assimilationist thinks that these minorities can change for the better to become equal whereas a segregationist believes that POC cannot change and will never be equal to white people. An example of an assimilationist is if a person believes the stereotype that Black people are lazy but believes that if they change, that they can be equal to others. A segregationist would believe the stereotype but they would think that Black people couldn’t change or ever be equal. Both views are racist and wrong and I believe it’s important that people see why. After seeing the video and reading the interview I was upset, angry and I still am. It’s extremely sad that POC are mistreated and judged all because of their skin color, something they are born with and can’t change. It makes me that much more motivated to fight against racism and educate people about it. With me being white, I have never had to experience what these people deal with everyday and some people don’t even know it’s still happening or they just turn a blind eye to it. I think it’s extremely important that people wake up and acknowledge that racism is still a thing, or else we will never be able to end it. Everyone is equal but we CANNOT say ‘all lives matter’ until Black lives and all other oppressed groups are seen as equal. Vocabulary Definitions: Marginalized: “To be on the outside of the imaginary box of the dominant culture and treated as if you are insignificant and inferior. Marginalization is the purposeful disempowerment of folx that denies access to resources and power.” Race: “A socially constructed term that divides folx up based on their skin color and physical characteristics; it is not based on scientific fact and is not grounded in genetics.” Prejudice: “Preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience”
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