In connection with my observations about the indirect role that law can play in overcoming prejudice, I quoted the following passage from Martin Luther King, Jr., which appears in his first book, Stride Toward Freedom:
"Government action is not the whole answer to the present crisis, but it is an important partial answer. Morals cannot be legislated, but behavior can be regulated. The law cannot make an employer love me, but it can keep him from refusing to hire me because of the color of my skin. We must depend on religion and education to alter the errors of the heart and mind; but meanwhile it is an immoral act to compel a man to accept injustice until another man's heart is set straight. As the experience of several northern states has shown, antidiscrimination laws can provide powerful sanctions against this kind of immorality."
"Moreover, the law itself is a form of education."
REMINDERS: First, continue reading in Dr. Tatum's book. Again, I hope to be able to get as far as the end of Part II (p. 90) by next Thursday. Second, the families got a start on making up midterm exam questions. The questions are to be short-answer, and in that context let me rule out either True-False or Multiple Choice questions. I will NOT accept either T-F or multiple-choice questions. We will try to wrap up that exercise next Tuesday and the questions should be submitted by next Wednesday.
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Black Family Questions:
1) In Booker T. Washington’s Atlanta Compromise Speech, what is the symbolism of the fist and fingers in relation to race?
-The fingers separated are not as useful, but when together in a fist, they can combat prejudice. Cooperative action, working towards a common goal together, may be more beneficial than competing for separate goals individually.
2) Dr. Bonilla-Silva wrote a book titled Racism Without Racists. By the definition he wrote, what is colorblind racism?
-Racism is not based by notions of inherent biological factors but cultural factors, economic status and cultural practices.
3) Define the racial identity development theory according to Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum.
-The affects a child’s race has on his or her development into adolescence and adulthood.
Yellow Group:
1.Name and explain 2 of the 4 places that racism stems from according to the lecture.
Authority figures
These people directly influence our views on life
Speeches
Interactions with minorities
Media
It is everywhere, thus it has a huge impact upon our lives
How minorities are portrayed in films, fiction, etc
It will not create prejudice, but will reinforce it Negative Experiences
Reinforce prejudices
Can create a “bad taste” that then becomes reinforced
Discrimination
Past discrimination builds the foundation of future discrimination
2. Briefly explain what the paradoxical assertion, "Race is an illusion and yet profoundly real," mean.
Biologically, race is an illusion that many people believe even though it is not scientifically supported. However, the social consequences of the construction of race are the true reality. We
use race to make assumptions about behaviors and goals of other people. So, biologically race means nothing unless we assign it social meanings.
3.What is the overall importance of the institution of “reverse discrimination” in racially prejudiced societies, like the United States, and how is it justified?
The importance of “reverse discrimination” is the underlying actions of whites providing increased opportunities for persons of other ethnic groups in order to further contact amongst racial groups in order to establish institutional, educational, and hopefully social equality in all social realms. Without vast majority white support this institution would never have been installed and the social divide seen previously throughout America’s culture would lack a means of seeking a society defined by the valor of one’s character, as opposed to the color of one’s skin. The majority decision to establish such an institution as Affirmative Action, by whites in both public and private sectors underscores a desire to further contact among ethnic groups in order to dismiss any notions that any one race is inherently better than another. Diversifying educational institutes to provide contact among different ethnic groups is a movement that aims to instill these ideas in younger generations in order to create interracial connectivity, rather than diversity based on superficial prejudices in regard to the traits we attribute to certain “races.” “Reverse Discrimination” is justified because of the long-term socio-economic and institutional injustices brought upon other ethnic groups due to inexplicable racial prejudices that have deprived these persons of opportunities to further themselves in those venues.
Red Group Questions
Q:Why does Tatum say white and black parents are reluctant to talk to their children about rascism?
A: They are afraid that they will create problems where perhaps none exist and make “colorblind”children unnecessarily color conscious (xvi)
Q: What analogy does Tatum utilize to explain the pervasiveness of prejudice in our society?
A: the smog or smog-breathers analogy
Q: Name 3 out of the 4 ways of overcoming prejudice
A: contact, cooperative action, empathy, law
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