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).
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3 comments:
The black family discussed that the eugenics debate and race defined by society as our two most important facts from the movie. Our first point, 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. Our second point that we talked about amongst our group was that of race. We said that 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.
The red family's topics of interest/relevance are as follows:
1. Race is purely a human invention. No valid scientific studies show that people of two separate races are different from each other.
2. People who are from a concentrated area of people of the same race actually have more genetic diversity within their community than between another "race".
3. Sickle Cell Anemia is not just an African American disease. The disease is an adaption manifested to deter Malaria. Sickle Cell is evident in many Mediterranean countries as well.
4. Race has nothing to do with certain "color defined" characteristics. For example, the ability to run fast or jump high is not a black only trait. African Americans have no extra muscle that allows enhanced performance. Also race is not a factor in intellect or comprehension skills.
yellow family's two main points of the movie:
There is no evidence of racial difference in biology or genetics.
Biology is used as an excuse for racial differences for the sake of social inequality.
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