As you all should know by now, I am requiring attendance at Dr. Peter Caster's lecture on "Prisons, Race, and Masculinity" on Tuesday (11/1) evening at 7PM in the Olin Theater. Because of this event we will not have class this Thursday. In addition to attending, I want each of you to respond to Dr. Caster's talk on this blog. What I am looking for is a one or two paragraph comment in which you address the following: (1) what you thought of the lecture as a whole.
(2) what did you believe was the most relevant part of the lecture for our class and why.
(3) any point or idea or argument you disagreed with and why.
So, make sure to come with something to jot down a few notes.
This exercise is worth 3 activity points.
PLEASE POST YOUR COMMENTS NO LATER THAN THURSDAY, NOV. 3RD.
****FOR THOSE WHO CANNOT MAKE THE LECTURE DUE TO A CONFLICT, I WANT YOU TO WRITE A RESPONSE IN WHICH YOU REFLECT ON WHAT YOUR CLASSMATES HAVE WRITTEN. SPECIFICALLY, I WANT EACH OF YOU SINGLE OUT WHICH RESPONSE TO EACH OF THOSE THREE TOPICS ABOVE YOU FELT WAS BEST OR YOU LEARNED MOST FROM, AND TELL WHY. NOTE: YOU MAY PICK RESPONSES FROM MORE THAN ONE OF YOUR CLASSMATES. TO EARN THE SAME 3 ACTIVITY POINTS, PLEASE POST YOUR FOLLOW-UP COMMENTS NO LATER THAN MONDAY, NOV. 7TH.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Friday, October 28, 2011
Reminders & Emily's Research on the Black-White Wealth Gap and Resegregation of Education
REMINDERS:
1. I should have your midterm exams back next Tuesday (11/1), and we will go over them in class.
2. Remember that we WILL have class on Tuesday, but there will be NO CLASS on Thursday (11/3). I am giving you Thursday off in compensation for your attendance at the talk by Dr. Peter Caster on TUESDAY (11/1) EVENING AT 7PM IN THE OLIN THEATER.
3. Regarding Dr. Caster's talk, I will post on the blog next Monday a question I'd like you to respond to briefly following his talk.
4. You should plan to wrap up your reading of Dr. Tatum's book next week. As you know, the description of essay II, which I handed out just before the midterm exam yesterday, asks you to comment on something from the last chapter of her book. That essay is due next week FRIDAY (11/4).
5. We are going to make a quick transition to our next book, "The New Jim Crow," by Michelle Alexander. I am considering a family exercise in connection with reading and discussing that book. I'll probably announce something on that next Tuesday. But we will begin talking about "The New Jim Crow" on Tuesday, Nov. 8th.
EMILY'S RESEARCH ON THE BLACK-WHITE WEALTH GAP & SCHOOL RESEGREGATION
Below are the points that Emily brought out in class last Tuesday (10/25).
BLACK-WHITE WEALTH GAP (Remember that this longstanding gap can be traced back to discriminatory housing policies, especially during the suburban housing boom after World War II, among other factors, of course.)
2011 (recent reports) Indicated that White households have 20x more wealth on average than the typical Black family. Also, White households had 18x more than the average Hispanic family. In 1984, White families had 12x more wealth than the average Black family. SO, THE GAP HAS INCREASED IN THE LAST 25 YEARS.
2009 Some specific figures: White -- $113,149; Black -- $5,677; Hispanic -- $6,325 (assets minus debts or net wealth)
SCHOOL RESEGREGATION (I believe these points came from one of the primary sources Dr. Tatum cites in her book: Charles Clotfelter's "After Brown: The Rise and Retreat of School Desegregation" (2004), which is in our library.)
**In 2002, more than 1 in 6 African American children attended a school that was 99-100% minority.
**One possible reason -- charter schools, which white students attend more than minority students.
**Goldsboro High School in Wayne Co., NC. -- 80% of the students are poor, 99% are African American. This is in a town and school district which is 50/50 Black-White. The other five high schools are majority White and without poverty. The NAACP filed a complaint with the school district in Dec. 2010.
**Problem is that different schools receive different funding and supplies (as you also saw in those tables I handed out in class on major cities in the Northeast and Midwest). Non-white students are more likely to be taught by inexperienced teachers. This problem would not exist if classrooms were more racially integrated.
How resegregation came to be:
** White aversion to interracial contact (let me add here, as I believe Emily alluded to in her presentation, that the big fear here is interracial sexual relations. Despite more acceptance of interracial relationships in general, there still is substantial resistance to interracial dating and marriage.)
**Multiple escape routes open to parents wishing to reduce the level of interracial contact in their children's schools: many schools to choose from such as charter or private schools.
**Willingness of state officials (and, I assume, local officials) to minimize interracial contact: building new schools in predominantly White areas; adjusting school attendance boundaries; easiness for Whites to transfer from racially changing schools.
**Hypothesis being that Whites seek to avoid racially mixed schools (which I assume Clotfelter found substantial support for).
Finally, for anyone interested in exploring this further, I would recommend that you check out Jonathan Kozol's book, "Shame of the Nation: The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America" (2005).
1. I should have your midterm exams back next Tuesday (11/1), and we will go over them in class.
2. Remember that we WILL have class on Tuesday, but there will be NO CLASS on Thursday (11/3). I am giving you Thursday off in compensation for your attendance at the talk by Dr. Peter Caster on TUESDAY (11/1) EVENING AT 7PM IN THE OLIN THEATER.
3. Regarding Dr. Caster's talk, I will post on the blog next Monday a question I'd like you to respond to briefly following his talk.
4. You should plan to wrap up your reading of Dr. Tatum's book next week. As you know, the description of essay II, which I handed out just before the midterm exam yesterday, asks you to comment on something from the last chapter of her book. That essay is due next week FRIDAY (11/4).
5. We are going to make a quick transition to our next book, "The New Jim Crow," by Michelle Alexander. I am considering a family exercise in connection with reading and discussing that book. I'll probably announce something on that next Tuesday. But we will begin talking about "The New Jim Crow" on Tuesday, Nov. 8th.
EMILY'S RESEARCH ON THE BLACK-WHITE WEALTH GAP & SCHOOL RESEGREGATION
Below are the points that Emily brought out in class last Tuesday (10/25).
BLACK-WHITE WEALTH GAP (Remember that this longstanding gap can be traced back to discriminatory housing policies, especially during the suburban housing boom after World War II, among other factors, of course.)
2011 (recent reports) Indicated that White households have 20x more wealth on average than the typical Black family. Also, White households had 18x more than the average Hispanic family. In 1984, White families had 12x more wealth than the average Black family. SO, THE GAP HAS INCREASED IN THE LAST 25 YEARS.
2009 Some specific figures: White -- $113,149; Black -- $5,677; Hispanic -- $6,325 (assets minus debts or net wealth)
SCHOOL RESEGREGATION (I believe these points came from one of the primary sources Dr. Tatum cites in her book: Charles Clotfelter's "After Brown: The Rise and Retreat of School Desegregation" (2004), which is in our library.)
**In 2002, more than 1 in 6 African American children attended a school that was 99-100% minority.
**One possible reason -- charter schools, which white students attend more than minority students.
**Goldsboro High School in Wayne Co., NC. -- 80% of the students are poor, 99% are African American. This is in a town and school district which is 50/50 Black-White. The other five high schools are majority White and without poverty. The NAACP filed a complaint with the school district in Dec. 2010.
**Problem is that different schools receive different funding and supplies (as you also saw in those tables I handed out in class on major cities in the Northeast and Midwest). Non-white students are more likely to be taught by inexperienced teachers. This problem would not exist if classrooms were more racially integrated.
How resegregation came to be:
** White aversion to interracial contact (let me add here, as I believe Emily alluded to in her presentation, that the big fear here is interracial sexual relations. Despite more acceptance of interracial relationships in general, there still is substantial resistance to interracial dating and marriage.)
**Multiple escape routes open to parents wishing to reduce the level of interracial contact in their children's schools: many schools to choose from such as charter or private schools.
**Willingness of state officials (and, I assume, local officials) to minimize interracial contact: building new schools in predominantly White areas; adjusting school attendance boundaries; easiness for Whites to transfer from racially changing schools.
**Hypothesis being that Whites seek to avoid racially mixed schools (which I assume Clotfelter found substantial support for).
Finally, for anyone interested in exploring this further, I would recommend that you check out Jonathan Kozol's book, "Shame of the Nation: The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America" (2005).
Monday, October 24, 2011
Family Questions for Midterm Exam
Below are the questions I accepted from the ones submitted by each family. Overall, I believe the Orange family did the best job and earned a bonus point. And when we do this again in preparation for the final exam, let me remind you all, especially the Blue family, that I WILL NOT ACCEPT INDIVIDUAL SUBMISSIONS. PART OF THE PURPOSE OF THIS ACTIVITY IS TO HAVE YOU DECIDE AS A GROUP WHAT THE BEST QUESTIONS WOULD BE AND THEN SUBMIT THEM AS A GROUP, OR FAMILY. Finally, you will note that I did some editing of some questions and answers.
GREEN FAMILY (Jared, Jessi, Lucy, Nygia, Jack) earns 5 activity points.
1. Which group has benefited most from affirmative action? (1)
ANSWER: women
2. What is "colorblind racism?" (1)
ANSWER: Colorblind racism is a form of racism in which minorities' status is explained or rationalized on the basis of nonracial factors such as market forces (economics) or cultural factors.
3. Is race real? (2)
ANSWER: Biologically speaking, race is NOT real, but it IS real socially.
ORANGE FAMILY (T.J., Emily, Brianna, Ethan, Shelby) earns 5 points, plus 1 bonus point.
1. The Eugenics movement, which emerged in the U.S. in the early 20th century and was based on the idea of white superiority, also influenced what world leader who developed a genocidal program based on these ideas? (1)
ANSWER: Adolf Hitler
2. What aspect of the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair was featured at the end of Part 2 of the video series and what was its significance? (2)
ANSWER: The fair had people from different ethnic backgrounds displayed in their "natural habitats," so white Americans who attended could see how these people were "inferior" to them.
3. How was housing discrimination against minorities in the United States both institutionalized and condoned by the federal government? (3)
ANSWER: The FHA (Federal Housing Administration), as well as private lenders, pioneered the practice of "red lining" in which predominantly black neighborhoods were judged to be bad risks for mortgage lending, which led to inevitable decline and decreasing home values in these areas. Furthermore, through "restrictive covenants," which were legal obligations imposed by the seller of a house often NOT to allow minority individuals to buy or lease a property, many neighborhoods were kept legally segregated.
4. What is the basic difference between PREJUDICE and DISCRIMINTION? (1)
ANSWER: Prejudice involves ATTITUDES, whereas discrimination involves ACTIONS.
BLUE FAMILY (Jarell, Julisa, Kristal, Mimi, Mary Katherine, Amelia) earns 5 points.
1. Why won't CONTACT alone eliminate prejudice? (1)
ANSWER: Because if it is UNEQUAL STATUS CONTACT, in which one group is clearly dominant, that may only serve to reinforce prejudice, as was clearly the case during slavery.
2. What has been the effect of housing discrimination, which was widely and legally practiced during the suburban housing boom right after World War II, on education today? (2)
ANSWER: It has contributed to the so-called "RESEGREGATION" of public education today because neighborhood housing and schools tend to be segregated today due in large part to this past housing discrimination.
3. What was the name of the operation in which both legal and illegal Mexican immigrants were deported from the U.S. because we no longer needed their labor after World War II? (1)
ANSWER: Operation Wetback
_____________________________
That's it. Remember, these questions WILL be on the midterm this Thursday, Oct. 27th.
GREEN FAMILY (Jared, Jessi, Lucy, Nygia, Jack) earns 5 activity points.
1. Which group has benefited most from affirmative action? (1)
ANSWER: women
2. What is "colorblind racism?" (1)
ANSWER: Colorblind racism is a form of racism in which minorities' status is explained or rationalized on the basis of nonracial factors such as market forces (economics) or cultural factors.
3. Is race real? (2)
ANSWER: Biologically speaking, race is NOT real, but it IS real socially.
ORANGE FAMILY (T.J., Emily, Brianna, Ethan, Shelby) earns 5 points, plus 1 bonus point.
1. The Eugenics movement, which emerged in the U.S. in the early 20th century and was based on the idea of white superiority, also influenced what world leader who developed a genocidal program based on these ideas? (1)
ANSWER: Adolf Hitler
2. What aspect of the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair was featured at the end of Part 2 of the video series and what was its significance? (2)
ANSWER: The fair had people from different ethnic backgrounds displayed in their "natural habitats," so white Americans who attended could see how these people were "inferior" to them.
3. How was housing discrimination against minorities in the United States both institutionalized and condoned by the federal government? (3)
ANSWER: The FHA (Federal Housing Administration), as well as private lenders, pioneered the practice of "red lining" in which predominantly black neighborhoods were judged to be bad risks for mortgage lending, which led to inevitable decline and decreasing home values in these areas. Furthermore, through "restrictive covenants," which were legal obligations imposed by the seller of a house often NOT to allow minority individuals to buy or lease a property, many neighborhoods were kept legally segregated.
4. What is the basic difference between PREJUDICE and DISCRIMINTION? (1)
ANSWER: Prejudice involves ATTITUDES, whereas discrimination involves ACTIONS.
BLUE FAMILY (Jarell, Julisa, Kristal, Mimi, Mary Katherine, Amelia) earns 5 points.
1. Why won't CONTACT alone eliminate prejudice? (1)
ANSWER: Because if it is UNEQUAL STATUS CONTACT, in which one group is clearly dominant, that may only serve to reinforce prejudice, as was clearly the case during slavery.
2. What has been the effect of housing discrimination, which was widely and legally practiced during the suburban housing boom right after World War II, on education today? (2)
ANSWER: It has contributed to the so-called "RESEGREGATION" of public education today because neighborhood housing and schools tend to be segregated today due in large part to this past housing discrimination.
3. What was the name of the operation in which both legal and illegal Mexican immigrants were deported from the U.S. because we no longer needed their labor after World War II? (1)
ANSWER: Operation Wetback
_____________________________
That's it. Remember, these questions WILL be on the midterm this Thursday, Oct. 27th.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
King quote; "Reverse" Discrimination & Family Activity: Making Up Questions for the Midterm Exam
KING QUOTE: The following is the passage from Dr. King's book, "Stride Toward Freedom," which I quoted in class in connection with discussing the law as an indirect way to overcome prejudice.
"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."
"REVERSE" DISCRIMINATION (Since I got off on a few tangents talking about this, let me clarify my remarks on this questionable term.)
1. The definition of discrimination raises a question about the validity of the term "reverse" discrimination. The fact is, minorities by definition, do not wield that kind of power over the dominant group, unless many in the dominant group are won over to their cause.
a.) For example, affirmative action programs were adopted by majority white male decision-makers in government as well as in business, which continue to be areas dominated by white males. So, to call affirmative action an example of reverse discrimination is really a misnomer, because white males were largely responsible for putting these programs in place.
b.) And to suggest that affirmative action is on a par with discrimination in the past is a gross distortion of history. Clearly, there have been some problems with some affirmative action programs and some whites have been unfairly denied opportunities, but it is not as thorough-going as past discrimination which was often enforced by law. (NOTE: I neglected to make this point in class lecture.)
c.) Finally, on an individual level, I can understand where someone may feel that they were unfairly denied a position or promotion because of race, but in a broader sense I do not think the term reverse discrimination is legitimate.
FAMILY ACTIVITY: MAKING UP QUESTIONS FOR THE MIDTERM EXAM
As I announced in class, we are going to have our midterm exam on THURSDAY, OCT. 27TH. In preparation for that I want the families to make up some questions which I will consider for inclusion on this exam. More specifically, I want each of the families to make up FIVE short-answer questions from any material we have covered in class, on the blog, in xerox handouts, or through Chapter 2 in "Can We Talk About Race?" (which is a far as we should get before the midterm exam). By short-answer I mean direct questions that can be answered in a word, sentence, or a couple sentences at most. For example, I might ask you to briefly explain how race can be an illusion and yet profoundly real, which would be a 2-point question that could be answered in a couple sentences. Fill-in-the-blank questions are also acceptable. And you can make up multiple-point questions of 2, 3, or 4 points. Types of questions I will NOT accept are: True-False questions or multiple-choice questions. One way of thinking about this assignment is to put yourselves in my shoes: if you were teaching this course and presenting this material, what do you believe students ought to know?
As I mentioned in class this morning, you are certainly welcome to get together with your family on Thursday (10/13) even though I will not be there. But I will give you time in class next week to brainstorm questions with your family members. Once you decide on your five questions, I want a representative from each family to submit your questions (AND ANSWERS) to me in writing or via email NO LATER THAN 3PM THURSDAY, OCT. 20TH. I will read over your submissions and try to accept at least three questions from each family. You will earn a bonus point for each additional question I accept (so, if I accept all five, you will earn 2 bonus points, and you will have the added benefit of knowing more of the test). I WILL THEN POST THE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS I ACCEPTED ON THIS BLOG NO LATER THAN MONDAY, THE 24TH, SO YOU WILL HAVE THEM TO STUDY FOR THE MIDTERM, WHICH, AGAIN, WILL BE ON THURSDAY, THE 27TH. Finally, this exercise is worth 5 activity points, and you have to participate to earn those points.
That's all for now. See you next week and continue reading in "Can We Talk About Race?"
"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."
"REVERSE" DISCRIMINATION (Since I got off on a few tangents talking about this, let me clarify my remarks on this questionable term.)
1. The definition of discrimination raises a question about the validity of the term "reverse" discrimination. The fact is, minorities by definition, do not wield that kind of power over the dominant group, unless many in the dominant group are won over to their cause.
a.) For example, affirmative action programs were adopted by majority white male decision-makers in government as well as in business, which continue to be areas dominated by white males. So, to call affirmative action an example of reverse discrimination is really a misnomer, because white males were largely responsible for putting these programs in place.
b.) And to suggest that affirmative action is on a par with discrimination in the past is a gross distortion of history. Clearly, there have been some problems with some affirmative action programs and some whites have been unfairly denied opportunities, but it is not as thorough-going as past discrimination which was often enforced by law. (NOTE: I neglected to make this point in class lecture.)
c.) Finally, on an individual level, I can understand where someone may feel that they were unfairly denied a position or promotion because of race, but in a broader sense I do not think the term reverse discrimination is legitimate.
FAMILY ACTIVITY: MAKING UP QUESTIONS FOR THE MIDTERM EXAM
As I announced in class, we are going to have our midterm exam on THURSDAY, OCT. 27TH. In preparation for that I want the families to make up some questions which I will consider for inclusion on this exam. More specifically, I want each of the families to make up FIVE short-answer questions from any material we have covered in class, on the blog, in xerox handouts, or through Chapter 2 in "Can We Talk About Race?" (which is a far as we should get before the midterm exam). By short-answer I mean direct questions that can be answered in a word, sentence, or a couple sentences at most. For example, I might ask you to briefly explain how race can be an illusion and yet profoundly real, which would be a 2-point question that could be answered in a couple sentences. Fill-in-the-blank questions are also acceptable. And you can make up multiple-point questions of 2, 3, or 4 points. Types of questions I will NOT accept are: True-False questions or multiple-choice questions. One way of thinking about this assignment is to put yourselves in my shoes: if you were teaching this course and presenting this material, what do you believe students ought to know?
As I mentioned in class this morning, you are certainly welcome to get together with your family on Thursday (10/13) even though I will not be there. But I will give you time in class next week to brainstorm questions with your family members. Once you decide on your five questions, I want a representative from each family to submit your questions (AND ANSWERS) to me in writing or via email NO LATER THAN 3PM THURSDAY, OCT. 20TH. I will read over your submissions and try to accept at least three questions from each family. You will earn a bonus point for each additional question I accept (so, if I accept all five, you will earn 2 bonus points, and you will have the added benefit of knowing more of the test). I WILL THEN POST THE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS I ACCEPTED ON THIS BLOG NO LATER THAN MONDAY, THE 24TH, SO YOU WILL HAVE THEM TO STUDY FOR THE MIDTERM, WHICH, AGAIN, WILL BE ON THURSDAY, THE 27TH. Finally, this exercise is worth 5 activity points, and you have to participate to earn those points.
That's all for now. See you next week and continue reading in "Can We Talk About Race?"
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