Below are the results of our first family exercise. As I noted in class, I did some editing, but I kept it to a minimum. I included all the families from both sections of this course.
Part I: the difference between us
BLUE FAMILY: (1) Race is a social and historical construct. Black, white, and brown are simply skin colors but we attach meanings and social expectations to them. Despite superficial differences, we are all the same.
(2) Biology is used to describe social differences. However, there are no genetic markers in one race that are not in another race. Genetically, we are the most similar of any species.
RED FAMILY: (1) There is more genetic diversity among members of the same race than there is genetic diversity between members of different races.
(2) Race, as determined by (superficial) differences in skin color, does not determine one's athletic ability or other traits such as intellect.
GREEN FAMILY: (1) The perception of race will continue to change as we evolve. People are always being criticized and judged by their color or the way they present themselves. The idea of who is white and who is black will continue to change. The idea of race is very flexible and will take on different meanings as time goes on because it is a perception that we as humans make.
(2) Differences between human's genetics came through migration not because of race. Humans originated from east Africa and spread from there. As they migrated racial mixing was going on.
YELLOW FAMILY: (1) There is no evidence of racial differences in biology or genetics.
(2) Biology is used as an excuse for racial differences -- to justify or explain obvious social inequality.
BLACK FAMILY: (1) The eugenics debate, says that we are not very different genetically; in fact there is more genetic diversity within a race than between different races.
(2) Race is defined by the power of illusion and that race does not define intellectual superiority, athletic dominance, or any other concept or misperception that are stereotypically viewed as race defining.
Part II: the story we tell
RED FAMILY: (1) Thomas Jefferson wrote "all men are created equal," yet he owned over 200 slaves. He wrote texts claiming African Americans are inferior physically and mentally, yet he had mixed children and used their "inferior physicality" for labor.
(2) The whites believed Native Americans were closer related to themselves. That being said, they believed that they could eradicate the "savage" within them and make them more civilized.
BLUE FAMILY: (1) Racial theory used to naturalize ideas of power between the races; science used as a justification for some types of people lower than others.
(2) It would have been different if we said that we need these people for their labor and we have the power to enforce that, but we said there's something about these people that rationalizes their being slaves. Therefore, once slavery is gone, the rationality for slavery is still there.
GREEN FAMILY: (1) Before race started to emerge into American society as a defining factor into one's character, one's status and charachter were defined by their religion and/or wealth. But as slaves were brought over to America in the shiploads, Americans needed a scientific answer to why blacks were inferior. Groups of philosophers, scientists, and even politicians decided slavery was justified in that Africans were not just of another race but a different species entirely, different from Americans, to be put on display at events such as the "World's Fair." When scientific books "proving" that blacks were inferior were made accessible to the less knowledgeable public, why wouldn't they believe the new literature? It was coming from "qualified scientists."
(2) These books on race could explain to some extent why racism became so prevalent. Educated whites so persistently proved blacks were inferior that in effect after the Civil War, when blacks were freed, the rationale for slavery still lingered.
BLACK FAMILY: (1) Originally, other factors such as Christianity and status were more important than race, but race became the defining factor of status. Race is how people defined meaning to how people looked.
(2) The process of defining race is constantly changing based on public opinion. The more power the white race gained the more inferior other races were seen and treated.
YELLOW FAMILY: (1) In the beginning (early colonies) people were separated by religion and wealth rather than by skin color and physical features. It was faith and morally based instead of physically based until they realized they could use Negro slaves as cheap labor. Race is constructed by a society to further certain economic and political pulls(?) (I believe you meant, goals).
(2) "All men are created equal." It is central to America's foundation yet we had slaves and mistreated the Indians and Mexicans, and what allowed us to do this was creating a story of race which placed these groups in an inferior status.
Part III: the house we live in
RED FAMILY: (1) The Supreme Court contradicted itself when it denied the naturalization of a Japanese man due to science, then in turn denied a Hindu man due to social reasons.
(2) Fair Housing was not really fair. The government used home value as a reason not to involve minorities. Even after the Fair Housing Act there was segregation.
GREEN FAMILY: (1) Want to be a "colorblind" society and be able to overlook skin color. The video mentioned how we don't want to see color, we want to see people.
(2) The unequal treatment in housing developments. Came up with fair housing for all. This included non-whites, but when non-whites moved into the Roosevelt neighborhood the white people began to leave and this caused the neighborhood to decline.
BLUE FAMILY: (1) Institutions, as well as legal and political authority, reinforced segregation between the races. Such institutions were the Housing Authority, National Appraisal, Urban Renewal.
(2) Another main issue in this section of the documentary was the emphasis placed on races other than black and white as being "in between races."
BLACK FAMILY: Laws and practices that affect opportunities define race, not physical characteristics of the individuals.
(2) Segregation according to housing was very significant. Houses depreciated when colored people bought them or when white people moved out. Laws defined the levels of poverty and federal aid but these were only available to white people and no one else.
YELLOW FAMILY: (1) The court had to make decisions on who was white and who was not. Virginia law defined a black person with one-sixteenth African ancestry. Alabama said if you have one drop of black ancestry you are black. You could literally walk from state to state and change from black to white. What does this mean? It means race was CLEARLY a political illusion.
(2) When the housing market adopted the innovation of housing at the end of World War II, it reinforced the racial divide because they made it impossible for minorities to purchase the homes that were offered and made the neighborhoods they lived in receive a lower rating. This triggered the creation of suburbs and solidified the idea that any race that was not considered white was inferior. To get beyond racism we must first acknowledge it.
______________________________
That's it. I tried to be faithful to what was submitted, warts and all. We will be doing something with these points in the future, but I need to give some more thought to what that will be.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Friday, September 11, 2009
Follow-Up to Comments on the Relevance of this Course & Description of First Family Activity
FOLLOW-UP ON COMMENTS ON THE RELEVANCE OF THIS COURSE
I'd like to finish my presentation on the relevance of this course here, so we can get on with the BASIC DEFINITIONS and seeing the video series, "Race: the power of an illusion," next Tuesday (9/15).
What I was trying to say about why the "dominant white majority," generally speaking, does not appreciate the relevance of a course in race and ethnic relations is captured very well in a passage from a book I used in this class a few years ago, "Racism Without Racists," by Dr. Eduardo Bonilla-Silva. He said:
"Nowadays, except for members of white supremacist organizations, few whites in the United States claim to be 'racist.' Most whites assert that they 'don't see any color, just people;' that although the ugly face of discrimination is still with us, it is no longer the central factor determining minorities' life chances; and, finally, like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., they aspire to live in a society where 'people are judged by the content of their character, not by the color of their skin.' More poignantly, most whites insist that minorities (especially blacks) are the ones responsible for whatever 'race problem' we have in this country. They publicly denounce blacks for 'playing the race card,' for demanding the maintenance of unnecessary and divisive race-based programs, such as affirmative action, and for crying 'racism' whenever they are criticized by whites. Most whites believe that if blacks and other minorities would just stop thinking about the past, work hard, and complain less (particularly about racial discrimination), then Americans of all hues could 'all get along.'"
And Dr. Bonilla-Silva went on to say: "But regardless of whites' 'sincere fictions,' racial considerations shade almost everything in America." and he goes on to list many socio-economic variables on which blacks lag far behind whites.
Let me also add the following:
(1) In terms of sensitivity training, I would encourage all of you to try to put yourself in a situation of being a distinct racial or ethnic minority. You can experience something of this when you travel abroad, or even here in America in ethnic enclaves such as "Little Havana" in Miami, Harlem in NYC, an Indian reservation, any Chinatown, or "Little Saigon" in Orange Co., California. You'll find, I believe, that you become much more conscious of your racial and ethnic identity (that you are white, or American), concerned with how you are regarded by others.
(2) Martin Luther King, Jr., one of the great proponents of integration, stressed that American society needed to be integrated not only at the level of kids playing together, holding hands (an image he invokes in his famous "I Have a Dream" speech), but he also went far beyond this romantic vision to suggest that we need to integrate all groups and individuals into the full economic, political, and cultural life of this society.
(a) The sad fact is, however, that racial and ethnic minorities have arbitrarily been denied full access to the rights and opportunities this society has to offer, the rights and opportunities necessary to develop as complete human beings.
(b) In his last book, Dr. King spoke of all groups being "woven in a single garment of destiny," -- that even though we may not associate with each other all the time, we are all important to the current and future well-being of this society, that we should all have an opportunity to contribute. That means ALL of us, from the lowly janitor or sanitation worker to the teacher, doctor, or CEO, etc.
(Which is why one of the great tragedies of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath was the sense of being neglected, forgotten among the many (mainly blacks) left behind in New Orleans.)
PLEASE INSERT THE ABOVE IN YOUR NOTES WHERE I LEFT OFF ON THURSDAY. This brings us to where I hoped to be, a consideration of those basic definitions and viewing of "Race: the power of an illusion."
FIRST FAMILY ACTIVITY: Over the next two weeks, we are going to be seeing a three-part video series entitled, "Race: the power of an illusion." It challenges the whole notion of race and gives a great overview of the pernicious effects of race theory and racism in America from our earliest days as a nation. Following the viewing of each part, I want each of the families to discuss what you saw and identify what you believe were the TWO most important points made in each part, points you believe everyone should know and appreciate. I am sure there will be many more than two points that you believe are important, but you will have to come to some agreement on just TWO. Then, have a designated family member post these points as COMMENTS on this blog entry (and you should rotate the responsibility for this among your family members). Please be succinct in stating these points -- no more than a few sentences. At the conclusion of this, each family will have contributed a total of SIX points. We'll review these in class and I will add my own analysis of the video series. Finally, I will use some of the points you come up with as a basis for some questions on the midterm exam. This activity is worth 6 points, and you have to participate to earn these points.
That's all for now. Don't forget to post your comment on the first individual exercise by next Wednesday, and we'll see you Tuesday (9/15).
I'd like to finish my presentation on the relevance of this course here, so we can get on with the BASIC DEFINITIONS and seeing the video series, "Race: the power of an illusion," next Tuesday (9/15).
What I was trying to say about why the "dominant white majority," generally speaking, does not appreciate the relevance of a course in race and ethnic relations is captured very well in a passage from a book I used in this class a few years ago, "Racism Without Racists," by Dr. Eduardo Bonilla-Silva. He said:
"Nowadays, except for members of white supremacist organizations, few whites in the United States claim to be 'racist.' Most whites assert that they 'don't see any color, just people;' that although the ugly face of discrimination is still with us, it is no longer the central factor determining minorities' life chances; and, finally, like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., they aspire to live in a society where 'people are judged by the content of their character, not by the color of their skin.' More poignantly, most whites insist that minorities (especially blacks) are the ones responsible for whatever 'race problem' we have in this country. They publicly denounce blacks for 'playing the race card,' for demanding the maintenance of unnecessary and divisive race-based programs, such as affirmative action, and for crying 'racism' whenever they are criticized by whites. Most whites believe that if blacks and other minorities would just stop thinking about the past, work hard, and complain less (particularly about racial discrimination), then Americans of all hues could 'all get along.'"
And Dr. Bonilla-Silva went on to say: "But regardless of whites' 'sincere fictions,' racial considerations shade almost everything in America." and he goes on to list many socio-economic variables on which blacks lag far behind whites.
Let me also add the following:
(1) In terms of sensitivity training, I would encourage all of you to try to put yourself in a situation of being a distinct racial or ethnic minority. You can experience something of this when you travel abroad, or even here in America in ethnic enclaves such as "Little Havana" in Miami, Harlem in NYC, an Indian reservation, any Chinatown, or "Little Saigon" in Orange Co., California. You'll find, I believe, that you become much more conscious of your racial and ethnic identity (that you are white, or American), concerned with how you are regarded by others.
(2) Martin Luther King, Jr., one of the great proponents of integration, stressed that American society needed to be integrated not only at the level of kids playing together, holding hands (an image he invokes in his famous "I Have a Dream" speech), but he also went far beyond this romantic vision to suggest that we need to integrate all groups and individuals into the full economic, political, and cultural life of this society.
(a) The sad fact is, however, that racial and ethnic minorities have arbitrarily been denied full access to the rights and opportunities this society has to offer, the rights and opportunities necessary to develop as complete human beings.
(b) In his last book, Dr. King spoke of all groups being "woven in a single garment of destiny," -- that even though we may not associate with each other all the time, we are all important to the current and future well-being of this society, that we should all have an opportunity to contribute. That means ALL of us, from the lowly janitor or sanitation worker to the teacher, doctor, or CEO, etc.
(Which is why one of the great tragedies of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath was the sense of being neglected, forgotten among the many (mainly blacks) left behind in New Orleans.)
PLEASE INSERT THE ABOVE IN YOUR NOTES WHERE I LEFT OFF ON THURSDAY. This brings us to where I hoped to be, a consideration of those basic definitions and viewing of "Race: the power of an illusion."
FIRST FAMILY ACTIVITY: Over the next two weeks, we are going to be seeing a three-part video series entitled, "Race: the power of an illusion." It challenges the whole notion of race and gives a great overview of the pernicious effects of race theory and racism in America from our earliest days as a nation. Following the viewing of each part, I want each of the families to discuss what you saw and identify what you believe were the TWO most important points made in each part, points you believe everyone should know and appreciate. I am sure there will be many more than two points that you believe are important, but you will have to come to some agreement on just TWO. Then, have a designated family member post these points as COMMENTS on this blog entry (and you should rotate the responsibility for this among your family members). Please be succinct in stating these points -- no more than a few sentences. At the conclusion of this, each family will have contributed a total of SIX points. We'll review these in class and I will add my own analysis of the video series. Finally, I will use some of the points you come up with as a basis for some questions on the midterm exam. This activity is worth 6 points, and you have to participate to earn these points.
That's all for now. Don't forget to post your comment on the first individual exercise by next Wednesday, and we'll see you Tuesday (9/15).
Monday, September 7, 2009
Welcome to Soc. 240 Blog for Fall '09 & First Exercise
Welcome to this blog for Sociology 240: Race and Ethnic Relations for the Fall '09. Let me fill you in on what we will be using this blog for this semester:
(1) First, let me note that two classes will be accessing this blog, sections A & B, so if you encounter unfamiliar names submitting material, this is why. It would be helpful to me that in submitting material you indicate whether you are in section A or B.
(2) This blog is intended to give you another outlet for comments, discussion, questions. In addition, I will be posting individual and "family" (or group) exercises from time to time for which you can earn activities points, such as the first exercise you see described at the bottom of this post. One family activity we will be doing prior to the midterm and final exams will be making up exam questions in which you will be called upon to contribute questions for both the midterm and final exams.
(3) This blog will also be used for occasional extra credit opportunities such as posting some brief reflections on an outside lecture or film you may attend that is relevant to this class.
(4) I may also use this blog to post lecture notes or comments relevant to what we covered in class, especially if I get behind in class. But do NOT expect me to do this all the time.
(5) THIS BLOG WILL BE THE MAIN VEHICLE I'LL USE TO CARRY ON CLASS IN THE EVENT THAT I COME DOWN WITH THE SWINE FLU.
(6) Finally, I will usually remind you in class if I have posted something on the blog, but it would still be a good idea to check it a couple times a week regardless.
FIRST INDIVIDUAL EXERCISE:
In a couple paragraphs, I want you to state your view of the argument offered by a number of commentators that with the election of our first black president, this country has entered a "post-racial era." In addition to expressing what you think about this argument, I want you to cite an example or piece of evidence which supports your position.
This exercise is worth 5 points and is to be posted NO LATER THAN NEXT WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 16TH.
(1) First, let me note that two classes will be accessing this blog, sections A & B, so if you encounter unfamiliar names submitting material, this is why. It would be helpful to me that in submitting material you indicate whether you are in section A or B.
(2) This blog is intended to give you another outlet for comments, discussion, questions. In addition, I will be posting individual and "family" (or group) exercises from time to time for which you can earn activities points, such as the first exercise you see described at the bottom of this post. One family activity we will be doing prior to the midterm and final exams will be making up exam questions in which you will be called upon to contribute questions for both the midterm and final exams.
(3) This blog will also be used for occasional extra credit opportunities such as posting some brief reflections on an outside lecture or film you may attend that is relevant to this class.
(4) I may also use this blog to post lecture notes or comments relevant to what we covered in class, especially if I get behind in class. But do NOT expect me to do this all the time.
(5) THIS BLOG WILL BE THE MAIN VEHICLE I'LL USE TO CARRY ON CLASS IN THE EVENT THAT I COME DOWN WITH THE SWINE FLU.
(6) Finally, I will usually remind you in class if I have posted something on the blog, but it would still be a good idea to check it a couple times a week regardless.
FIRST INDIVIDUAL EXERCISE:
In a couple paragraphs, I want you to state your view of the argument offered by a number of commentators that with the election of our first black president, this country has entered a "post-racial era." In addition to expressing what you think about this argument, I want you to cite an example or piece of evidence which supports your position.
This exercise is worth 5 points and is to be posted NO LATER THAN NEXT WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 16TH.
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