Cluster Final
Abolitionist statements
By Fredrick Douglass, helps us understand abolitionist cause through counter discourse. Reverse binary logic: flesh monger/martyr, cannibal/Christian, white:black
Kang, Jerry. "Thinking Through Internment: 12/7 and 9/11." (2001/2002)
Addresses similarities between 9/11 and Pearl Harbor. We say we would never repeat internment but take away rights of Arab Americans. He said we cannot take the first step because then there's no avoiding same path. Emphasizes that it's just retaliation and racial profiling. Only similar facial features tie American citizens to the terrorists. Wants us to learn from mistakes of past
Brunner, Borgna. "Affirmative Action History." (2006)
Affirmative action has been by critiqued and praised. Whites saw reverse discrimination and free rides. Affirmative action was begun as a temporary remedy to level the playing field for all Americans. In 1978, the Bakke case was where Allan Bakke, a white male, was rejected from a school that accepted less qualified applicants. The Supreme Court outlawed inflexible quota systems in affirmative action but upheld the legality of it. Conservatives saw affirmative action as a way for minorities to get a free ride on American systems. Liberals pointed out that Europeans had it easy but blacks had 245 years of slavery, 100 years of legalized discrimination, and only 30 years of equality to build on. Of course, there were shades of grey in some cases, like in the Wygant case where white employees were laid off but not black ones, and in Alabama where promotions were refused to blacks. The Supreme Court is often divided on affirmative action rulings and they focus on individual cases as opposed to affirmative action as a whole.
Thornton, John "The Process of Enslavement and the Slave Trade"
Africa was supplying slaves before Europeans or Americans bought them, Africa's elite developed slavery as social hierarchy, political or commercial power, and wars. When Europeans wanted slaves, leaders just sold the slaves they already had. This enslavement of same skin color is due to extreme differences among regions of Africa n this article, Thornton discusses the existence of the slave trade in Africa as well as the process in which enslavement occurred. He focuses on three main topics: how warfare affected the slave trade, how the slaves were utilized (domestic or exported), and the affect of European technology on the slave trade. Concerning warfare, Thornton discusses the economic model (where wars were fought simply to acquire slaves) and the political model (where there were actual reasons to fight and slaves were just a plus for the winner). At this time period, slaves were a source of wealth and power; this could be considered a cause and/or effect of political fragmentation. Slaves were used domestically to increase the personal wealth of a person/state and exported according to demand. The introduction of European weapons played a role in African warfare, but were not a decisive factor in their success and therefore did not directly influence the slave trade, although it did facilitate its rapid growth.
Umemoto, Karen. "'On Strike!' San Francisco State College Strike 1968-69: The Role of Asian American Students." (1989)
African American, Asian American, Chicano, LAtino, and Native American students wanted ehtnic studies and open admissions under slogan of self-determination. Wanted to embrace their multi-cultural identies rather than squash their heriatge. Self determination: take pride in heritage and identity. Strike produced an awareness of racial harmony.. Shows how MLK and Civil Rights movement, as well as Anti-war omvement helped start the Asian American movement. In 1968, students at San Francisco State College went on strike with demands for education more relevant and accessible to non-White communities (much like the walk outs in East LA). The ICSA, PACE, AAPA, and other organizations along with Chinatown residents got together for this movement and picketed dinners, partook in sit-ins, and held meetings to strategize. Eventually, the strike helped establish the first school of ethnic studies in the nation.
Walzer, Michael. "What Does It Mean to Be an 'American'?" (1990)
America is completely unique, cannot be compared with others, unfinished society. America seal says "from many to one". Hyphenated citizens exemplify mixture of America. There will always be many never one, which is what makes America great. People who live in the United States typically refer to themselves as Americans, even though anyone who lives in Canada or Latin America is considered an American as well. It is therefore not easy to come to a conclusion about who lives in the country. This country is not commonly recognized as a mother or fatherland because it is a country made up of immigrants who are natives of another country. Their children have their roots elsewhere as well. Not many have to same background, but what brings them together is that these groups of people have come together to make up the country. In order to be considered a good American citizen, it is likely that immigrants give up their multiple identities and commit to the American way. By becoming a hyphenated American, immigrants are able to become American and commit, while still keeping their old identities. In a way, this can be seen as a compromise. It can be difficult when traveling however, especially when one is trying to share their culture. The idea of hyphenation is not common in other countries, so it can be difficult to explain who one is to others. An American is not well defined, being that it is such a complex term. Main Argument: Defining what it means to be American can be a difficult task because the United States is a country made up of immigrants who are typically loyal to other countries due to their roots being elsewhere. Being a hyphenated American is a compromise between being a good citizen while remaining loyal to their motherland. When traveling this concept might become confusing and hard to uphold however.
Emerson, Robert M. "Creating Excerpt-Commentary Units"
An analytic commentary should contain: Analytic point à descriptive excerpt à orienting information à commentary grounded in the details of the excerpt. Author tell readers what they want them to see by considering questions such as o What are the implications of the events or talk recounted in the excerpt? o What nuances can be teased and explored? o What import does this have for the analytic issues addressed in the paper?
Kelley, Robin. "Kickin' Reality, Kickin' Ballistics: 'Gangsta Rap' and Postindustrial Los Angeles." (1994)
Analyzes gangsta rap and its criminalization of black youth. Rap offers and opportunity for blacks to explain the institutional racism that they have faced, explains the ghettos as a war zone, how they are racialized as criminals, create a counter narrative of life. Instead of helping rappers portray the discrimination of black youth and their hardships, rap reinforces the notion that blacks are indeed criminals.
Cole, David. "Ethnic Profiling"
Argues that pinning all terrorism on middle easterners is same as US using Japanese as proxy for WWII suspicion. Muslims have been raced as foreign, disloyal terrorists. Using this to interview, register, deport and detain arab nationals. he article centers on racial profiling and the effects 9/11 had on what people thought about racial profiling. Cole states that racial profiling became very common after 9/11 especially towards people who were Arab or Muslim or simply appeared to be Middle Eastern. Polls demonstrated that before 9/11 80% of Americans were against racial profiling; however after 9/11 60% of Americans were in favor of ethnic profiling. Data showed that not only the public was using racial profiling, but authorities as well.
Lee, Jennifer and Frank D. Bean, "Intermarriage and Multiracial Identification: The Asian American Experience and Implications for Changing Color Lines"
Asians marry whites to gain white privilege and distance themselves from their foreigner status. Intermarriage has increased since the 1967 Loving v. Commonwealth of Virginia case which overturned state laws prohibiting interracial marriage and sex. Intermarriage decreases social distance between groups, declines racial prejudice, and changes racial boundaries. In addition, interracial marriage has been increasing due to the multiracial movement. This movement allowed individuals to identify on the U.S. census as "multiracial." The argument was that forcing monoracial identity denies the existence of interracial marriages, but moreover, is ultimately discriminatory. Black Americans experience multiracial identification differently than Asians and Latinos because of their unique history in which the "one-drop rule" was enforced. This rule declared that "all persons with any trace of black ancestry were labeled as racially black." In terms of geographical representation, multiracial individuals are predominately present in areas with large immigrant flow. 40 percent of all those who reported a multiracial identification reside in the West.
Stevenson, Brenda E. "Latasha Harlins, Soon Ja Du, and Joyce Karlin: A Case Study of Multicultural Female Violence and Justice on the Urban Frontier." (2004)
Author tries to explore how the different experiences of the women involved inthe case, abased on class, race, and generational affiliations related to their standing in society and their treatment during the trial. Each woman is a different ethnicity and socioeconomic status and lets us make comparisons to the relation of these women in larger society. Latasha was black and lower class, and viewed differently than soon ja du, a compassionate asian mother was seen. Soon Ja Du had a lot to live for so Karlins was sympathetic. Results in loss of justice for LAtasha. The goal of this author is to explore, "where women of various class, racial/ethnic, and generational affiliations stand in relation to each other and in relation to the larger society—underscoring the conflicting and complementary nature incumbent in, and in spite of, female diversity in contemporary urban society." In other words, women have differing structures within the female gender that cause an unequal separation of power and privilege. The author plans to explore this using the Latasha Harlins Case because the case involves an underprivileged black female teenager, a working class Asian immigrant mother, and a privileged white female judge. Each women is a different ethnicity and socioeconomic status which allows the author to make direct comparisons to the relation of these three women to the larger society. Main Argument: This passage aims to further explain the distribution of power and socioeconomic status among different races/ethnicities. At the same time it focuses on specifically the female gender as another factor that plays into the dynamics of status. In this case, woman are considered below men in social status, therefore, by being a black lower class women, Latasha Harlins is considered to have the lowest socioeconomic status and faces the most difficulty in life in regards to racialization, stereotyping, and success.
Whites say I must be on easy street
Black woman discussing how people treated her like she didn't deserve everything she earned.
Asing, Norman. "To His Excellency Governor Bigler, 1852."
Chinese are not a threat to California, nor to the US. Asing states that the Chinese have to come to the California and have migrated in such high numbers for the same reason many other groups do. Chinese should not be looked down on because many of them come to work and are as educated as many Americans. The writer separates Chinese from blacks or Indians, argues that he is a nationalized citizen and very patriotic. Few to none Chinese Americans apply for federal aid. Asian Americans have an upstanding character history. Asing informs Bigler that his opinion has made the public prejudice towards the Chinese community, even though that may have not been his intention. He also makes reference to the time in which the US was still under England's power and states that everything he has said goes against the beliefs that the US holds and was founded on.
Jost, Kenneth. "Affirmative Action." (2004)
Discusses two cases against University of Michigan's affirmative action program that joined and were argued by Supreme Court. Sandra Day O'Connor wrote opinion in5-4 decision that the law school was okay because it had a goal of achieving a diverse student body but that the college's admission system was unconstitutional because it gave minority candidates a fixed numerical bonus. Most universities want to increase racial diversity and will use affirmative action-type policies regardless of state/federal decisions.
Said, Edward W. "Islam As News." (1981).
Division between oriental and the west, back to Islam vs Christianity. Islam tied to primitivity and backwardness so we treat it with fear and hostile behavior. Use of word Islam to describe both religion and country is ignorant
Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. (1845)
Douglass had revelation after resisting owner who was trying to whip him. It was liberating and after that he shows confidence and optimism. Talks about douglass and his determination to run away. Discusses the brutal beatings he witnessed. Equated gaining knowledge with gaining freedom. Thought that would help him help others.
Bankston, Carl L. and Danielle Antoinette Hidalgo. "The Waves of War." (2007)
Due to U.S intervention/military involvement in Southeast Asian countries, there was a large population of Asians who migrated to the U.S as workers, wives, refugees. In general, those from the Philippines and Thailand were educated and held white-collar jobs, while Vietnamese, Cambodian, Lao, and Thai American were not as educated and didn't speak English as well. However there were many barriers and blocked opportunities for Asian groups upon arrival. The majority of the Asian Americans who populated the United States during the beginning of the 21st century came from the Philippines, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand. The Pensionado Act gave Filipinos the funding to go to school in the U.S. Because the U.S needed Filipinos for their labor, their numbers grew, but after the Tydings-McDuffie Act, they were seen as aliens. During WWII they were able to immigrate once again due to the large number of soldiers that married Filipinas and the demand for medical workers.
Pascoe, Peggy "Miscegenation Law, Court Cases, and Ideologies of 'Race'"
During 1920s racialism challenged by emerging theories that put a split between biology and culture. Boils down to: eradication of racism requires complete colorblindness. Peggy Pascoe offers insight into the early 20th century miscegenation laws, which plagues the country for many years. She address the miscegenation laws as being very logically inconsistent because it is difficult to really define how we view race. She states that even though many people believe that they are able to classify people into certain races they are unable to define what race is. This article mainly focuses on the issues with the miscegenation laws and how scientific racists attempted to use biological characteristics to create racial hierarchies. In many of the court cases presented, lawyers did not try and refute the miscegenation laws as unconstitutional but they tried prove that the racial classification of the client was incorrect. This is where the cases got blurry and it was up to the judges' discretion to come up with a decision. Many of the times the judges contradicted each other in their reasoning for each the verdicts they came to. Lawyers and judges focused on the persons' genealogy, appearance, claims to identity, or "blood" to classify them into a race. Soon a group of social scientists rose to fight against the claims of scientific racists that race was merely biological; this group argued that differences in humans were not biological but cultural. This group was later called the culturalists. Although their arguments belittled the idea of race being strictly biological, their arguments often contradicted each other. Soon lawyers started using them in cases as experts because the culturalist often had knowledge in biology and a social science. Unfortunately, many of these culturalists were of not much help in the court because of their reluctance to answer questions directly, and so many judges dismissed their claims. Not far after, many scientist advocating race as biological formed an alliance of their own, which are now known as the eugenicists. Eugenicists believed in white supremacy and did want any mixture of any kind between the "white" and "colored" races. The modernist racial ideology was another element which was soon added to the mix. The modernist racial ideology was to basically be "color blind" and not to take into account race at all. This ideology was later supported by the Perez v. Lippold case which showed that micegenation laws violated the 14th Amendment, which gave equal protection under the law to everyone. Soon many other cases arose claiming the same problem and then the Supreme court ordered the various miscegenation laws unconstitutional.
Horton, John. "From Nativism to Ethnic and Interethnic Politics." (1995)
Empowerment of minorities and immigrants and decline of anglodominance in Montery park council. Process of organizing and voting for ethnic representation helped. By the late 1970s, Monterey Park became a regional springboard for a new type of suburban and middle class Chinese immigration. The article analyzed the election of the city council and explored the transformation from nativism to interethnic politics. Judy Chu, who introduced a new political tendency that combined Asian representation and managed growth within a framework of diversity, was elected to the city council. Hatch was removed from the stage as a pro-business majority replaced a slow-growth majority. Former supporters of Hatch questioned his leadership and his anti-immigrant policies. Samuel Kiang spoke of quality and managed development, collected more money than any other candidate and won the election. Main Argument: The electoral result depended on both ethnic and interethnic voting patterns. It pointed to a transition from a period of tension between established residents and newcomers, white minorities and nonwhite majorities, toward greater accommodation and harmony.
Burn, Baby, Burn." (1992)
Explains the atmosphere that led to the riots:one where the schools sucked and inner city kids gave up on school, family, and life. "devastating spiral of failure that awaits average disadvantaged child". Before Watts rebellion, such social stratification built up an environment that caused the riots. Cyclical nature of poverty and hopelessness. Rioters wanted payback for a lifetime of abuse, of neglect, of the dual justice in the system, of the lack of respect for everybody, of not following through on programs and promises that could've brought something better. Bad bus systems meant no access to jobs. Thousands of national guard members came to dispel the disturbance. 34 dead 183 million in damage.
Waters, Mary. "Appendix: Notes of Methodology."(1999)
Expresses her method for when she planned and executed ethnography study. Black men unfairly stereotyped as violent. People don't want to recognize that social hierarchies and stereotypes exist but new to analyze them to understand world.
DuBois, W. E. B. "The Forethought" and "Of Our Spiritual Strivings."
Feels separated from white society. Wants book to explore pain of other races outside of society, hidden. Minorities are beneath a veil. Dubois challenges identity of negro man. Talks about how negro is battling two identities, American and negro. If surrounded by discrimination you'll start to believe that you're inferior. "Leaving, then, the world of the white man, I have stopped within the Veil, raising it that you may view faintly its deeper recesses,the meaning of its religion, the passion of its human sorrow, and the struggle of its greater souls. All this I have ended with a tale twice told but seldom written." The author is expressing his separation from the socalled white society and how he has opened his mind to the surrounding world that is somewhat hidden. He expresses that his book will explore the sorrow and pain of the other races that are not viewed. Also, he mentions that he now sees himself as the same flesh and bone as those that are within the veil. We can only assume that those within the veil are the mistreated minorities. c) This supports the ideal of white hierarchy that usually clouds the struggles of minority groups. Professor Sawyer explains in his week 5 lecture that this type of oppression towards minorities causes a distrust in the governmental power and less sense of nationalism from minorities that believe that aren't welcome. America was built off of different races and minorities, therefore, there should be no place for racism within her borders.
O'Connor, Anne-Marie. "Not Only Natalee Is Missing." (2005
Media focuses only on disapearances of attractive white women, while there are many more black and latino women who go missing, but national media pays them no attention. Its not a conscious decision, but huge discrepancy. News officials say its because an involved family knows how to use the media and thats when the story gets attention. However, a few cases of people with media connections who could not get media attention for black family members. Go for cases that attract tabloid audiences, and people want to see what happens in lives of rich people. Scholars argue that there is a damsel in distress archetype and others blame lack of newsroom diversity. Missing men also very much ignored in media. News networks beginning to become aware of this issue.
Douglass, Frederick "Oration, Delivered in Corinthian Hall, Rochester (1852)
Fred Doug. Talks about how perspectives towards laws, government, and authority, change over time. (Ex. England and American colonies). Gave this on Fourth of July, says slavery goes against the ideals America was founded upon. "The Fugitive Slave Act" orders all citizens to participate in/perpetuate slavery though it openly celebrates liberty and justice. · Captured slaves have essentially no say in the courtroom, which should not be expected in America—a nation that prides itself on democratic ideals. · The Constitution omits the words "slavery," so the institution is not ordained or mandated, as some politicians would suggest. · In Britain, a country that also combated slavery, their churches supported the abolitionist movement. In America, however, an allegedly "Christian" country upholds slavery, as if it were a divine calling.
James, C. L. R. The Black Jacobins: Toussaint L'Ouverture and the San Domingo Revolution. (1963)
French and British fought a lot in 18th century. When San Domingo became huge trade center for French, Britain urged slave trade abolition to hurt French. Resulted in San Domingo revolution and creation if Haiti. C. L. R. James examines the slave trade in Santo Domingo and the revolution that was sparked by both the French Revolution and Toussaint L'Ouverture. Santo Domingo had a huge presence in the world market due to the success of their colonies and the slaves who worked on them. Production was so great that exported materials usually numbered in the hundreds of millions. Other nations, Britain in particular, grew envious of the wealth of the colonies and began to advocate the abolition of slavery. In addition to British instigating, a revolutionary caused by the French Revolution began to spread throughout the island and to its slaves. As time passed revolts become more and more frequent. There was one thing that kept the revolts from being completely successful, and that was the lack of a strong leader. Eventually a leader was found in the form of 45 year old Toussaint L'Ouverture. He far surpassed the average slave in both mind and body. He gained experience in administration, authority, and intercourse through his post as steward of livestock. Through reading he was able to maneuver expertly between local parties in Santo Domingo and international forces. All of this aided L'Ouverture in his quest to free the slaves in Santo Domingo. Main Argument: The success of Santo Domingo as a colony, as well as its close ties with the French Revolution, and L'Ouverture's own prowess made the revolution of the slaves possible.
Hooks, Bell. "Gangsta Culture - Sexism and Misogyny." (1994)
Gangsta rap is not created in isolation within a segregated black world but is the cultural crossing of black youth culture with values, attitudes, and concerns of white majority. Sexist, misogynist, patriarchal ways of thinking are glorified in gansta rap and are a reflection of the prevailing values of our white supremacist capitalist patriarchy. Shows how it is a perpetuating system where white young male audience forces black rappers to talk about violence and sexism in order to make money.
Jacobs, Harriet Ann "Incidents in the life of a Slave Girl"
Harriet Jacobs talking about how slave girls go through so much psychological pain white women wouldn't understand. Appeals to women readers' emotional side and desire for purity to gain sympathy. Talks about sexual harassment Jacobs writes about the life of Linda Brent, a young slave girl, and her family who were promised freedom from slavery but were instead given away to another family and that is where Linda Brent faced the most terrifying time of her life. Linda was put through many hardships because she was psychologically tortured by her master Dr. Flint and she feared him and her mistress because she was a very jealous woman. Throughout her time in her in that house she feared for her life because her master would threaten her and her mistress would not believe nor consul her. There was no one she could look for help other than her Aunt Martha. Soon she meets a man, Mr. Sands, who really comforts her and she eventually has two of his children. Dr. Flint gets mad over this and forces Linda Brent to work in a plantation, where she had to work long hours doing hard work. Eventually she decides to run away and hide within a small little room where she could only stay in one position the whole time. She was cramped and very tired of her arrangements and the only solace she received was through a peep hole where she would watch her children play. After a long time living in the crammed quarters, Linda decides to escape the North and reunites with her daughter. Dr. Flint continues his hunt until he puts up Benny and Ellen (Linda's kids) for sale but eventually everything works out and Linda moves to England to care for her employer's daughter. They eventually return to Boston but are then hounded by Dr. Flint's daughter, Emily, who wants to claim Linda once again. Linda goes into hiding once again but her employers pay the Flint family so that they won't take Linda back. Linda gets mad over being sold all over again but remains ever grateful to her employers, the Bruce family, for giving her the freedom she always wanted.
Stanley, Hayami, Nisei Son: His Diary, Letters, and Story from an American Concentration Camp to Battlefield
He was a us citizen sent to internment camps. Describes their experience. They were loyal and patriotic. They felt no ties to Japan but Americans considered them enemies. Left them in limbo with no country to be a part of. was kept in an internment camp during WWII. There is an introduction describing the background resulting in the internment of the Japanese. The introduction talks about how Hayami lived a typical life with his family in San Gabriel, CA. It explains the executive order that President Roosevelt issued after the bombing at Pearl Harbor, ordering the Army the right to declare a "military zone" along the West Coast, and giving them the power to remove whomever they wished from those areas. The order did not mention Japanese Americans. Japanese and Americans of Japanese descent were forced to evacuate and kept in internment camps. Stanley was a student at UC Berkeley at the time. He talks about how he goes to Sunday school, watched a football game and issues such as whether or not "they" will let his sister go to college. He talks about missing home, and how different and ill-equipped his new school is. He also talks about keeping in touch with the outside world through the radio and read the newspaper. Patriotism is also mentioned, emphasizing how the Nisei felt American but were treated as Japanese and thus enemies. He also talks about the divide between Issei, Kibei and Nisei. Argument: His diary concludes by pointing out how the Nisei had little to do with Japan, that they considered it as a foreign country populated with people which they do not feel any kinship for.
Kochiyama, Yuri. "Then Came the War." (1991)
Her dad was taken into internment then her whole family, she had never experienced racism until she entered job market. After horrible experience of camps could not get a job except for in Asian communities. Many Japanese American women married out of their race
California Foreign Miners Tax, April 13, 1850."
Only native or natural born citizens can mine in California without a license. So 20$ tax on non-native citizens. Gives unfair advantage. Binary logic implies natives are better than non natives. The act first targeted Mexican miners and then focused on the Chinese until it was declared unconstitutional in 1870. It was the first of many laws "aimed at the Chinese as racial and economic competitors". If miners didn't register, a Sheriff would physically prevent them until they obtained a license. If they sought to mine elsewhere after already getting caught without a license, they would be arrested with a misdemeanor charge and imprisoned for three months or less with a fine of no more than $1,000.
Immigration Policy in the United States. (2006)
Immigration policy tries to reunite families, bring in workers with specific skills, provide refuge for people suffering from persecution, and increase diversity by letting in countries with historically low rates of immigration. Intentions straightforward but effects unpredictable. Some policies less open minded, like illegal immigration reform act of 1996, more border control less gov help to immigrants. U.S. Policy provides two paths for lawful admission of noncitizens known as "aliens," one path as immigrants through which they get granted status of lawful permanent residents (LRPs) given a green card; one as nonimmigrants which is only temporary. The second path is for those given residency for a specific purpose in a limited time such as tourism, diplomatic missions, study, and temporary work. For nonimmigrants to become naturalized, they must apply for permanent residence. Unauthorized aliens maybe be removed from the US formally (can include fines, prison, or prohibits their future reentry) or voluntarily removal. First immigration law enacted in 1875, as immigrants increased after WWI, a quota system was enacted. Quota Law assigned each nationality a quota based on representation in US census. This was abolished and replaced with a categorical preference system. In response to concerns on illegal aliens, border enforcement and social serviced for immigrants increased. Permanent admission to the US prioritized by the following: family reunification, workers in needed labors, refugees and asylum, provide US with diversity.
King, Jr., Martin Luther. "Letter From the Birmingham Jail." (1964)
MLK speaking, hes disapointed with white moderate: they are more of an obstacle than KKK because theyare more devoted to order than to justice.They think time will solve things and agree with civil rights goals but not the methods. He wants everyone to take action, not just wait for things to happen. Indecisiveness leads to nothing being done
Malcolm X. "The Ballot or the Bullet"
Malcom X: Black community needs to work together to make their votes count, not let their ballots be used to hurt them. They need to use ballots maturely, protect own constitutional rights by any means necessary: even if it means violence. Speaking at a Cleveland symposium, Black Nationalist and Human Rights Activist, Malcolm X, stresses the importance of voting as it pertains to blacks. Not only does he urge blacks to reassess their tendencies by attacking the Democratic Party and its divisions (Democrats vs. Dixiecrats), he also criticizes whites for their gerrymandering, postponing, and denying of black votes. Thus, he poses an ultimatum, the ballot or the bullet. In simpler terms, he asserts the following: If blacks cannot exercise their guaranteed voting rights, or exercise them in a wiser manner (the ballot), then the Civil Rights Movement will resort to belligerent and violent methods (the bullet) to influence the government. In addition, Malcolm X also blueprints the way in which blacks can improve their conditions/cause. First and foremost, he calls for blacks to shift this discrimination issue from a domestic, civil rights issue to an international "Human Rights" issue, where there are allies waiting to support them. He, then, offers insight into the political, social, and economic agendas of Black Nationalism—which involves blacks controlling their community politics, rejuvenating the moral character of said community, and operating the stores within. B. Argument In order to avoid a violent confrontation, blacks need to be given their guaranteed voting rights without them being gerrymandered, filibustered, delayed, or simply denied by whites. Once this is made possible, it is up to blacks to be smart and educated with the potent "ballot." C. Evidence · Although Blacks politically have the Democrats first on their list, the Democrats reciprocate the favor by putting them "last." They control both Houses of Congress; yet still manage to stall on Civil Rights Legislation. · Malcolm X claims the whites redraw the district lines when blacks become too influential in said district. Proves his point that black votes are unjustly interfered with to minimize their influence. · The United Nations has a "charter of human rights," in which Blacks could implicate the US for outright violation of their God-given rights.
Novick, Michael. "Police Killings and the Media: A Tale of Three Killings"
Medias report police killings but not the facts, Police burtality is systematic but media gives it no attention. MEdia misrepresents and distorts police killings, undermining the important and makes the victim seem like the bad guy while the policeman was just doing their job. Tyisha Miller, Ricardo Clos, and Margaret Laverne MIthcell are all used as examples of how the media reports police killings: all three were portrayed as violent and dangerous, making reader side with police.Does not explain true context of killings. IN many cases do not even report police brutality or killings. he article by Novick, "Police Killings and the Media: A Tale of Three Killings," focuses on the deaths of Tyisha Miller, Ricardo Clos, and Margaret L. Mitchell. Tyisha Miller was a young black woman who was shot by 4 riverside cops 11 times, Clos was a mentally distressed Mexican male who was shot 38 times by LA Sherriff's deputies and Margaret L. Mitchell was a homeless black woman in her 50s killed by the LAPD. Novick states that in each killing the media portrayed the police as if they were merely doing their job, thus justifying the killing making it seem as if the victims were responsible for their own death. The media did this by attributing qualities that had a negative connotation to the victims and by only taking the testimony from the dept. and not the witnesses of the killings. Novick concluded that the media is misleading and often has a bias and tends to favor whites over minority groups. Main Argument: Novick's main argument is that the media plays a vital role in how the community perceives reality due to the coverage the media decides to provide the public with. He argues that the media fails in "their responsibility to the truth and to their communities" but carry out their responsibilities to their corporate owners and superiors and that is why people should go out and get informed themselves to create their own news.
The People, Respondent, v. George W. Hall, Appellant, 1854."
No Indian or negro can testify as a witness in court. Chinese were included as "nonwhites". Wanted to remove white Americans from corruptive influences of lower races and class. George Hall murdered someone, and a Chinese man witnessed the murder. In 1854, the CA Supreme Court ruled that no Chinese person could testify against a white person in a CA court. Quotes "The evident intention of the Act of 1850 was to throw around the citizen a protection of life and property, which could only be secured by removing him above the corrupting influences of degraded castes..." (20). Degraded castes = anyone not white. AKA Blacks, Mulattos, Indians, Asians
A Changing Mosaic (1992)
Note from the author of Twilight, Smith stresses that many different groups of people were affected by the riots, and not just one voice could capture true character of los angeles. Wants to stimulate dialogue between the racial groups effected by riots so that city of LA can move forward together. Riots happened in America redefining the civil rights movement. During the time of the Watts riots, police brutality was at its zenith. "You didn't have to be a Panther to distrust the police" shows everyone was afraid of and knew of the corruption with the police system. Following the Watts riots, there was a rise and fall in hope from the black community, first with the election of LA's first black mayor Bradley who previously lost, then with the decline of factories that gave jobs to so many blacks and Latinos hope dwindled. Economic problems affected all in South Los Angeles. Soon gang violence was very prominent in South LA while white neighborhoods were angry about busing which forced public schools to integrate. Whites were angry their children were put in danger. New Latino immigration also became prominent during this time along with other immigrants. With the influx, LA faced public services (health and education) faced many hardships. With Ronald Reagan as President, the country witnessed a widening gap between wealthy and poor. Gang violence and cocaine surged once again the 1980s. These events following the Watts riots would lead to the 1992 LA riots. B. Argument The 1992 riots were caused primarily by the after effects of the Watts riots. America was still divided in two nations, one black and one white. With increased police brutality, economic disparity, and the large influx of immigrants with little economic improvement, residents of South LA would eventually riot once again.
The Eyes on the Prize: Civil Rights Reader. (1991)
Passage 1: Allan Bakke felt that to consider race was discrimination on those who worked very hard yet were rejected for being the wrong color. He feels that this purpose of diversifying the population is against what the Constitution states where everyone is created equal. That is Allan Bakke's main argument, that allowing schools to consider race not only perpetuates pre existing stereotypes of minorities, but also goes against the Constitution. Allowing less qualified students into medical school is unfair because they are automatically given an advantage over whites.It is a matter of diversity versus the Constitution. Court decided that you cannot have a percentage or quota but you can look at race as a part of it, but to give someone a place based on race is discrimination. Passage 2: From this passage it is clear what Justice Marshall's position was concerning affirmative action.He argued that the hundreds of years of discrimination against Negroes was more than enough justification for the help provided by affirmative action. Justice Marshall also believed that the Civil War Amendments and Civil Rights Acts sought to accomplish what had already been done for the White race and that affirmative action would finally help achieve that goal. It is important to remember that in UC Vs. Allan Bakke, affirmative action was in part affirmed and in part reversed. The Supreme Court upheld the ability to consider race in college admission processes; Justice Marshall agreed with this decision. However the Supreme Court also ruled that affirmative action could not be used to help victims of social discrimination because it imposed disadvantages upon persons who bear no responsibility for the harms these victims are thought to have suffered. Passage 3: She discusses the assumptions that are associated with blacks and affirmative action. White people usually assume that blacks only get into universities because of this institution and therefore are not qualified. They then believe that they are losing jobs and spots in universities to less qualified black people. White people even question the qualifications of the professors. She addresses how being a black female adds another layer to these assumptions because now they have to things going for them for affirmative action their sex and race. At the end of the article, she states that affirmative action has, in fact, been beneficial because it has opened doors for qualified people that were previously closed. It used to be that white females taught at white female colleges. Black males taught at black male colleges, and so on. However, affirmative action opened the door for males and females and whites and blacks to diversify.
Cole, David. "Patriot and Enemy: Redefining Terrorism." (2003)
Patriot Act: acts by foreigners are treated differently than acts committed by citizens. Makes foreigners deportable for small things like association and easily incarcerated. Denied all constitutional rights. Shows how US responds to foreign threats in time of fear The PATRIOT ACT was a clear example of how authorities racially profiled Muslims and Arabs because although it wasn't directly towards Arabs and Muslims it was written so that it would apply to everyone in that category. The Patriot Act was signed by Bush and it contained a lot of double standards which "denied foreign nationals basic rights of political association, press speech, due process and privacy." The paranoia and hysteria was so great that as a result there was something called guilt by association, which automatically made people who were affiliated or believed to be affiliated with terrorism of some sort, subjected to possible arrest . There were also acts that were passed that allowed authorities to spy and incarcerate suspects and these laws were constantly used to spy on Arabs and Muslims.
Collins, Patricia Hill. "Toward a New Vision: Race, Class, and Gender as Categories of Analysis and Connection."
People are not just victims or just oppressors, most of us lay in a grey area. Wants to abolish this binary notion of black and white or good and evil. It is hard to see yourself as an oppressor when you are a victim but we all need to recognize that their is a problem that each of us contribute to, and the only way to fix the problem is to realize that it exists. In her introduction, Collins proposes that we need to re-conceptualize what oppression entails through the distinct, yet coalescing categories of race, class, and gender. Furthermore, she suggests "that we examine our different experiences within the more fundamental relationship of damnation and subordination. She contends that the named categories as "additive analyses of oppression" need to be approached through dichotomous thinking and ranking these dichotomous variations. Collins then continues to divide oppression into three dimensions: institutional (instanced by a chain of command on the slave plantations), symbolic (exemplified by "Aggressive Black and Hispanic men [being seen] as dangerous, not powerful, and often penalized when they exhibit any of the allegedly 'masculine' characteristics"), and individual (intended to describe our innate bias). To transcend the barriers created by our experiences with race, class, and gender oppression to attain social change, Collins proposes that we recognize differences in power privilege, know the true forces behind coalitions (e.g. uniting against a common enemy), and build empathy for individuals and groups different from ourselves.
Massey, Douglass S. "Racial Formation in Theory and Practice: The Case of Mexicans in the United States." Race Soc Probl. (March 2009)
Process of racialization with Mexicans makes them more exploitable and expendable. Labeled as dehumanized and vulnerable. Now at or below level of blacks. Perception of Mexicans changes with respect to economy. Creation of border control created new category of immigrant. This article by Massey talks about how Hispanic immigrants are being negatively portrayed by public opinion, making the Hispanic immigrants look like a threat for the American public. If Hispanics (not just immigrants) are surrounded by constant derogatory statements, then there will come a certain point in time where these statements will gain a measure of truth for Hispanics.
Freiberg, Peter. "Integration Quota Faces Court Challenge." (1984)
Quotas to promote integration in housing markets violates federal civil rights laws and state housing law. Summary Civil rights groups—NAACP, Columbia University's Fair Housing Clinic, and the Open Housing Center—filed suit against Starrett City's quota which violates federal civil rights laws as well as state housing law. Starrett city is composed of 64% white and 36% nonwhite in its' 6,000 families. Starrett opened in 1974 with a quota to retain an integrated community 70/30-white/nonwhite mix. Starrett's argues that the quota is meant to promote integration, and if the quota were to be eradicated, then the project would end up primarily black, because "white flight" would occur, and therefore end up as another segregated community. Due to the established quota, groups such as blacks have to wait longer for an apartment. Betty Hoeber, director of the Open Housing Center, says the argument would be different if there were also established quotas in projects similar to Starrett City that are overwhelmingly white, but "they've never lifted a finger to set any quota there."
Smedley, Audrey and B. D. Smedley. "Changing Perspectives on Human Variation in Science." (2012)
Race is not biology it doesn't come from genetics. Due to differences in adaptations. Socially constructef
Smith, Sandra Susan. "Explaining Persistent Black Joblessness."
Rather than institutional factors, it's the experience of blacks trying to get jobs that is discouraging and has largest impact. Smith follows the story of 36 year old high school dropout and convicted felon Anthony Redmond's search for a job. She gives his background noting that he has made great efforts to find a job but cannot seem to do so. She studies the process men use to find work, as well as the reasons Anthony attributes to his unemployment, fragments in his logic, as well as her study that aims to prove and further Anthony's points. Anthony attributes his unemployment to employer discrimination, deindustrialization, and cultural deficiency. Employer discrimination is applied towards convicts and black workers that are perceived to be distracted by familial obligations, less obedient, less competent and less productive. Another problem that Redmond faces is his lack of access to a car, let alone a driver's license which results in his inability to reach the suburbs - where the higher paying jobs are found. Additionally, black workers lack human capital such as education that will help them find better jobs. Smith argues that the change in urban economies resulted in black joblessness because jobs shifted in location and focus. Lastly, Anthony talks about cultural deficiency, and how that his crisis is a result of his values being incompatible with those of mainstream society. Smith critiques Anthony's observations and notices that the black poor understand their joblessness as their failure in uplifting themselves. She also claims that Anthony failed to mention that a cause of black joblessness was the lack of networking - the reluctance of low wage laborers to seek assistance in each other. Smith's study interviewed low income participants who were both job-seekers and job-holders to understand the steps these people took in acquiring jobs for themselves or influencing employers to hire others. Her study supported Anthony's views and concluded that distrust between job-seekers and job-holders was pervasive and negatively affected their decisions to cooperate during the job searching process. Argument: The interpersonal relations between job-seekers and job-holders are characterized by distrust that deters cooperation between the two. Employers are not looking to assist their relations by claiming that job-seekers are unmotivated, irresponsible, and needy. Job0seekers are reluctant to seek assistance or accept it in order to maintain their dignity.
Truth, Sojourner. "Ain't I a Woman?" (1851)
She is upset that people treat white women like delicate beings in need of special treatment but as a black woman she's treated poorly. Deserves same respect that white women receive. Wants all women, regardless of race to achieve same respect men receive.
Carter, Prudence. "Introduction - Minding the Gap: Race, Ethnicity, Achievement, and Cultural Meaning"
She refutes the oppositional culture component of cultural-ecological theory that minority students do not perform well because "they avoid the burden of acting white. Points out its fallacies/lack of evidence, and instead asserts that blacks do not avoid "acting white." Rather, they are simply acting Black, Spanish, etc. Talks about cultural capital that students gain through experiences, and that there is a dominant white culture and a minority's native culture. People fall under three categories: the cultural mainstreamer, the cultural straddler, and the noncompliant believer. The cultural mainstreamer embraces the dominant white culture at the risk of being rejected by members of the same racial group. Cultural straddlers strategically alternate between white and native culture. Nonconforming believer, who believes education is the vehicle for upward mobility, but challenge the dominant culture that is intact. (Cultural straddlers tend to best in school, followed by cultural mainstreamers, then by nonconforming believers.) Class and gender also important to school success.
Angel Island Poetry, 1910
Shows how badly Chinese were treated at Angel Island. Put through harsh conditions until they were deemed true American citizens. Deprived of their rights and treated like intruders. There are two poems. The first initially describes the suffering of those on Angel Island, but then speaks of how remembrance of this suffering will allow him to be successful by staying humble. The second also begins by describing the awful setting, but then discusses the flaws of America. It takes on a perspective many students don't see as Americans. The author equates us to "barbarians" with no justice or morals.
Brunner, Borgna. "Affirmative Action History." (2006)
Shows split vote of promoting diversity but having reverse discrimination. Created in 1965 by President Johnson. Created as a temporary remedy that would end once there was a level playing field for all Americans. Backlash came with angry white men arguing about reverse discrimination. Resented "free rides" and argued that Jews and Asians, who had also suffered, had managed to overcome the barriers without aid. Liberals argued that Jim Crow laws and slavery were much more recent and long lasting then other discrimination. Supreme Court split, focusing on aspects of it and never addressing it as a whole, until 2003 U of Michicagn held up affirmative action in higher education due to the compelling interest in obtaining educational benefits that flow from a diverse student body, but could not use point or quota system. Sandra O'Connor wrote for majority. Not allowed as means to redress past oppression and injustice.
Zhou, Min and J.V. Gatewood. "Transforming Asian America: Globalization and Contemporary Immigration to the United States."
Since American Asian November there has been vibrant multi-ethnic culture emerging as native born Asian Americans try to reclaim identity. Hybrid, unique from mainstream America and from immigrants. Each generation faces a different experience. Hard to feel fully connected with US so some Asians try to embrace native roots. The United States repealed Asian Exclusion Acts such as the Chinese Exclusion Act at the end World War II. After the Vietnam War, labor-market projection showed an acute shortage of engineering and medical personnel. In response, U.S. started importing skilled foreign labor. Large waves of international immigration began to hit America. The Asian American population started to diversify during the 1970s both in terms of national origins and socioeconomic status. The geographic settlement patterns of Asian immigrants were also diverse. Their geographic concentration led to the formation of ethnic enclaves such as Chinatowns. Later on, Asian American population dispersed throughout the United States. The confusion of identity and cultural assimilation had been a central problem to Asian Americans. Immigrants are deemed "outsiders," and they tend to cope with their alienation from the immigrant perspective. As a result, Asian immigrants retreated into their own ethnic communities. In the wake of the Asian American Movement, young Asian Americans began to confront their identity issues. Assimilationism may still be a social or moral imperative imposed on immigrants by the dominant culture, but it may not necessarily be the imperative toward which all immigrant groups and their succeeding generations are striving. Main Argument: The perception of Asian Americans as "foreigners" has imposed and perpetuated the "otherness" on the group. The notion of symbolic ethnicity does not always apply well to Asian Americans or to other racial minority groups. The "melting pot" does not whole-heartedly embrace non-European immigrants.
Higham, John. "Closing the Gates." (1963)
Talks about consequences of "nativists" wanting to turn America into national homogeneity. Want to regulate number of immigrants and they took it upon themselves to make new immigrants assimilate. U.S. was racist against Asians and Southern and Eastern Europeans (Jews, Italians, Slavs, and Greeks), while favoring Northern and Western Europeans during the early 1900's. U.S. immigration and the state of the economy go hand-in-hand. When times are bad, immigration policy becomes tough. When times are good, immigration policy loosens up. There was a feeling of American nationality and superiority. Immigrants were seen as a threat during wartime. The laws that were set to exclude S/W Europeans and Asians are the foundation of our immigration law. Summary and Quotes From the 1880's up until WWI, U.S. citizens either wanted a "general qualitative, quantitative, or unrestricted European immigration" (301). Then WWI came and the U.S. stopped believing in unrestricted immigration; instead, a newfound demand for "national unity and homogeneity" became popular, and many people began to think that excessive immigration weakens this national unity because they say that "immigration might overtax the natural processes of assimilation" (302). However, after WWI, businessmen found manpower shortage and hoped for a revival of heavy immigration to "beat down an inflated wage scale and curb the increased power of the unions" (303). The Commercial and Financial Chronicle "looked about for a middle ground that would satisfy business needs but also ensure racial preservation" (303). In the summer of 1919, the American Federation of Labor (AFL) proposed a bill to stop immigration for at least 2 years, and the House Committee on Immigration passed it. The AFL feared that there might be great unemployment and wage reductions in the postwar era, and that immigrants would become an economic threat. They also believed that "immigration had exceeded the nation's capacity to unify and Americanize" (305). However, the bill was not pressed because the country witnessed a mounting exodus of foreigners in 1919. The House Committee on Immigration also found that more people were concerned about the Red Scare and deportation at Ellis Island than about exclusion. In 1920-1921, the feeling of anti-Semitism was present as a "postwar wave of persecution in central and eastern Europe was bringing the U.S. 119,000 Jews," whom America saw as "filthy" and "unassimilable" (309). The Dillingham Commission introduced the temporary Emergency Quota Act, which did the following: kept existing arrangements which excluded most Asiatic immigration, kept the unrestricted movement of Canadian and Latin American labor, but CHANGED immigration laws by limiting European immigration to 3% of the number of foreign born of each nationality present in the U.S. (310). This law is the turning-point in American immigration policy because it imposed the 1st numerical limits on European immigration and established a nationality quota system based on the pre-existing composition of the American population. In 1922, they reduced the quota from 3% to 2% changed the census base from 1910 to 1890, when new immigration was much smaller. Then in 1923, the depression lifted and workers became scarce, so the U.S. added 2% to the quota. The industrial boom and mechanization accelerated quickly. In 1924 Congress passed a discriminatory immigration law that restricted the immigration of Southern and Eastern Europeans, called the National Origins Act. Nativists were happy. In 1924 and 1925, the Ku Klux Klan fell apart. The economic boom of 1923 to 1929 restrained nativism. Calvin Coolidge became president and the "time had come for a moral holiday" and the country went back to the spirit of the early 1880's again. All in all, "the old belief in America as a promised land for all who yearn for freedom had lost its operative significance" (330). "The principles then adopted remain the foundation of our immigration law" (301).
Gonzalez, Juan. "Speak Spanish, You're in America!" (2000)
Talks about how affirmative action has resulted in reverse discrimination, provides unfair advantage. Gonzalez explains the controversial topic of having English as the United States' official language, who advocates for it and what their arguments are. He gives instances in history where English was not the most common language in the U.S. He explains the Anglo effort to forcefully "Americanize" different races and cultures and how it was actually counterintuitive. He tries to explain the linkage between language and culture and the different ways that these cultures are represented. Main Argument: Gonzalez argues that the advocates for English Only don't understand that forcefully removing a person's culture and language does not work in the way that they think it will work. He then provides instances in which Anglos and minorities banded together to create art with Latin or African influences which worked better than the forceful removal of their language and culture.
The struggle for survival: working in Los Angeles
There were many oppositions for work for Guatemalan and salvadoran immigrants but it was poorly paid, and hard work. In day labor, street vending, garment industry,
Lipstiz, George. "The Possessive Investment in Whiteness: Racialized Social Democracy and the 'White' Problem in American Studies."
Unmarked category against which difference is constructed. Whiteness originated through slavery and segregation and immigration restriction, conquest, and colonialism. There's still systematic racism. Talks about how whites feel like they shouldn't have to owe anything to blacks Published in September of 1995, this article looks back on the oppression of African Americans during the late 1900s. The topic of this text is to reveal the discrimination and imbalance among whites and blacks. The question that the article tries to answer is why we are still unequal today and what has caused the discrimination of minority races. The thesis is: "Although cross-ethnic identification and pan-ethnic antiracism in culture, politics, and economics have often interrupted and resisted racialized white supremacist notions of American identity, from colonial days to the present, successful political coalitions serving dominant interests have often relied on exclusionary concepts of whiteness to fuse unity among otherwise antagonistic individuals and groups".
The Confessions of Nat Turner. (1831)
This is a transcription of Nat Turner's confession. It has a preface in front of it, which makes Nat Turner seem like a merciless killer and serves as a "warning" of how slaves think, and justification for why we need to keep them enslaved, to protect society. Describes Turner's systematic murder of white people, men, women, and children. Even killed the white people who had been kind to him. Said God told him to do it. The way it is written is biased because it is framed to make all slaves seem violent and unreasonable. Describes it as completely unprovoked, while everything was calm and peaceful on the surface, this "fanatic" was scheming an indiscriminate massacre.
Massey, Douglas S. "Five Myths About Immigration: Common Misconceptions Underlying US Border-Enforcement Policy." (2005)
US tries to restrict immigration by increasing cost-benefit of immigrating so people won't try to come illegally. Since 1986 immigration reform and control act. US policies based on myth. Immigrants not attracted by generous public services, higher wages, or lack of development in home country. Central argument " This mismanagement of relations with our neighbors in the Western Hemisphere] stems from serious misconceptions about the causes of immigration and the motivations of migrants, which have led to policies that not only fail to control and regulate immigration, but which actually produce outcomes diametrically opposed to our own interest as a nation and directly opposite stated policy objectives." B. Summary a) Myth 1. Migration is Cause by Lack of Economic Development in Migrants' Home Countries i. People emigrate of the U.S., because the economic development in their home countries gives them a push to come. Communities that are more developed tend to have more people emigrating. ii. International migrants usually originate from developing and growing nations instead of the world's poorest nations. iii. Mexico is actually not poor by global standards. b) Myth 2. Migration is Caused by Rapid Population Growth in Migrants' Home Countries i. "There is no significant association between natural population increase and emigration." c) Myth 3. Migrants Move Mainly in Response to Difference in Wages i. There is a mild correlation, but simply wage differential is "neither necessary nor sufficient for migration to occur". ii. People migrate to overcome failed or missing markets at home. (Ex: Mexicans migrate because there is no well developed market in Mexico for insurance, capital and credit.) iii. "The probability of migration is related more to variation in real interest rates" (the degree of access to capital and credit). d) Myth 4. Migrants Are Attracted to the United States by General Public Benefits i. Both legal and illegal immigrants barely use public benefits while still paying taxes. ii. A study found that "the greater the potential benefit, the less likely the migration". e) Myth 5. Most Immigrants Intend to Settle Permanently in the United States i. Mexican immigrants come to fix their problems at home. They send money back home and eventually return home to enjoy their earnings. ii. Mexicans actually come to the U.S. for a short time span and then go back to Mexico.
Chan, Sucheng. "Race, Ethnic Culture, and Gender in the Construction of Identities among Second-Generation Chinese Americans, 1880s to 1930s." (1998)
Used to be that there were way more foreign born Chinese people in the US but now way more American born citizens of Chinese descent, because wasn't until recently that women began coming over, and now that women are here they are having babies. US born children often effect the socialization of their parents. Because they often are socialized by parents then receive acculturation in the US they effect their parents. Learn English faster, and therefore become mediators between the two cultures. When they see how ignorant or helpless their parents are in theis new world they start to distance themselves from native culture, or question parental authority. Receive new sets of values in American schools,
Saxton, Alexander. "The Labor Force in California." (1974)
Vertical structure based on language and culture. Exploitation of cheap labor in high priced labor market. Chinese came to America in structured groups organized by six companies separated by race and culture/language
Katznelson, Ira. "Preface: Du Bois's Paradox." (2005)
Wants to present understandings to alter misconceptions and the converstation about affirmative action. Thinks affirmative action helps fix harms from public policies of 193-s and 1940s and compesnate for chronic dispossession that afflicts blacks in America. Affirmative action should be more than effort to help a few super smart kids get into higher jobs and educational institutions, but rather help black community as a whole. Thinks affirmative action has a narrow scope and that it should help the larger percentage. During President FDR's New Deal, there was a lot of achievement, yet many of the new reforms didn't help African Americans who faced many hardships. FDR's New Deal was for exclusively white. Blacks continued to face disadvantages like systematically being denied education. This reform allowed for a middle class to be formed and grow, yet those who gained middle class status were mainly whites. This widened the gap between whites and blacks. Affirmative Action was then seen as a way to remedy past injustices that blacks faced. It would take a further look into history, broaden the understanding of those issue, and help understand when, why, and how history should account for policies today. It has typically been a subject that not many consider, but Affirmative Action used to be white, when considering the New Deal. Telling the story of when Affirmative Action was white is key, since it commonly goes unheard of. Main Argument: Affirmative Action used to be white during FDR's New Deal, being that many new reforms were created to help whites during WWII, creating a middle class. Opportunities were given to them that would widen the gap between whites and blacks. might be in masseys look atcourse reader: (In this article, DuBois challenges the identity of the Negro man. He talks about how the Negro is battling two identities within America, "One [the Negro] ever feels his two-ness-an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warning ideals in one dark body..." (DuBois 615). DuBois goes on to explain how the Negro man is struggling with merging his two identities and being able to live a life of freedom by keeping his African identity and encompassing the new American identity as well. DuBois also talks about heavy discrimination the Negro experiences, stating that "...facing of so vast a prejudice cold not but bring the inevitable...lowering of ideals which...breed in an atmosphere of...hate" (DuBois 618). This statement reflects that when surrounded by constant discrimination, the Negro man will start to believe the discriminations while being enveloped in a veil of hate against himself.)
Waters, Mary C. "Immigrants and American Race Relations" (1999)
West Indians are model minority against African Americans and ones race in the Us will shape the way society perceives you. Immigrant West Indians will be more successful than their offspring because they aren't grouped with African Americans. Within the issue of immigrations the top concerns are economic and the American identity. Within the topic of American identity, the concept of assimilation is discussion. Some question if new immigrants will be able and willing to love America as the "old" immigrant did, whether assimilation will come easily or never, and if never then some question if America will become so heterogeneous that "the idea of America will not survive." The second concern is whether new immigrants will be able to survive economically or rather become a welfare burden on America, as critics of current immigration argue. This is brought forward because new immigrants of color will have a more difficult time because of continued racial discrimination. In earlier periods of time, becoming American included learning the language , voting and completely adopting the American culture. Conservatives use West Indians in comparison to Blacks because they were able to triumph over racial discrimination and thus viewed as a model minority. Waters, however, seeing the instance with West Indians as an example of the destruction that white prejudice and discrimination produce. She continues to explain a defense mechanism she believes is used by blacks in response to such racism. Blacks detach themselves from the overall American "culture" and therefore start viewing matters such as speaking standard English and doing well in school as "oppositional" to their own redefined cultural core. She establishes that there exists a correlation between race, poverty and criminality that is the cause for white to see Blacks as a problem and as "others" rather than "self." She concludes by describing Blacks problem of "self definition" in which the Black identity as failures is so engrained that is becomes unchanging. This is perpetuated because the image of a Black person is defined by their "dark skin, kinky hair" that does not allow them to self identify as anything other than black. Main Argument: "Culture and vulgar" racism between blacks and white in America is preventing the complete integration of both groups. New immigrants of color are endangered in accepting the color line, or division, set by the relationship between blacks and white and thus perpetuating the delay of their assimilation and success in America.
Schlesinger, Jr., Arthur. "E Pluribus Unum?" (1992)
Western ideals being challenged as attack on American identity. Cultural hegemony of founding if America. Country was founded by whites but set up to encompass variety of people. The different cultures shape the American way of life. A single society cannot exist because nation is always changing. the common American identity, its misconceptions, attackers, and what it really is. Arthur Schlesinger Jr. discusses the attempts of ethnocentric separatists to strip European history and its ideals from the American identity and portray America as monocultural. Schlesinger Jr. makes the point that that point of view undermines all aspects of American culture and ideals. Without Europe America wouldn't exist in any sense: physically, ideologically, and culturally. There is no conspiracy to contribute all history to Europe at the detriment of ethnicities in America and around the world. The current American identity is very unique and has nothing to do with who the "credit" for a nation belongs to.
Zhou, Min "Are Asian Americans Becoming 'White?'"
White is a label that is related to privelege not biology. Nonwhite groups like IRish and Jews gained whiteness by gaining status and wealth, so nonwhites want to become whites as a mark of and tool for material success. Often means distancing oneself from other people of color or disowning your ethnicity. Asian Americans would never classify themselves as such, coined in late 1960s, would say specific country like Korean, Chinese, etc. Pan Asianism is a political ideology of American born and educated middle class, and most asian immigrants do not agree with it. She argues that model minority stereotype reinforces myth that US does not have racism and that people who are not successful are lazy or made poor choices. Having model minorities labels asians as perpetual foreigners . Second generation asians more conscious of disadvantages of being non-white than their parents were, when children grow up in white suburban communities. Although Asians may be seen as "white" because of their success in American society, they will never be seen as so because of their skin color. Asians are not a homogenous group; many different ethnicities make up "Asians" and their differences in culture as well as past conflicts "create obstacles to fostering a cohesive pan-Asian solidarity." Asians in America are considered the model-minority, but this status may increase tensions between minority groups and impedes Asians from obtaining this idea of whiteness. It also creates a stereotype with harsher expectations from their families and society. This perpetuates the idea of the "forever foreigner" in which Asians can never be fully accepted into American society simply because they look foreign. Main Argument: Asian Americans may fit the mold of "whiteness" equated to American society's idea of success, but based on looks and stereotypes, they are still a minority who will have to face some sort of discrimination. As "white" as Asian Americans may seem, they will always be unequal in the eyes of society.
Feagin, Joe R. and Melvin P. Sikes. "The Continuing Significance of Race." (1994)
White people dominate black people in almost every major area of society. Rationalized by belief that groups abilities, values, and culture linked to skin color. Whites deny racism, this due to lack of understanding/experience. Limiting group social economic and political motility keeps institutionalized racism alive
Hill, Robert."Who are More Prejudice, WASPS or White Ethnics?" (1975)
White protestants more likely to have unfavorable racial attitudes than white ethnics. be, probably because white ethnics have been scape goats for many anti-black activities spearheaded by white protestants. White protestants often hold higher levels of education and are more financially stable than white ethnics, so people percieve white ethnics to be more racist. The article begins with a retelling of the events in 1974 where black children were met with hostility and attack from white ethnics in Irish South Boston section, as they were being bused to majority white schools for the sake of integration. In the past, clashes between white ethnics and blacks produced race riots, specifically in the North. The most violent one was in New York, 1863 in which working class Irish "ransacked, looted and burned" the homes of African Americans. This sort of tension and conflict continued over to the Civil Rights years. Through a survey it was concluded that white protestants, however, where more likely to oppose school integration when compared to white ethnics; however, even through countless studies proving that true, white ethnics are still believed to be more racist than white protestants. This projection of white protestants comes from them being thought more educated and thus more liberal on racial issues. Main Argument: "Special caution should be exercised in the future before snap judgments are made about the "racism" of white ethnics and the "liberalism" of white protestants" because as studies show, when surveyed, white protestants are more opposed to school integration and are more likely to agree with racist statements than white ethnics.
Zavella, Patricia. "Reflections on Diversity Among Chicanas." (1991)
Women with dark skin or indigenous features recieve poor treatment from society. Cihicano communities internalize this devaluation and so las gueras are appreciated and las prieta are admonished. Impossible for mexican women to totally blend in and achieve whiteness, so US citizens are often mistaken for illegals and deported. No coherent Chicano cultural heritage, there are different values, norms, customs, and cultures that America socialized all Chicanos into. Based on generation, people have very different experiences and thus culture. In entertainment only light skinnned chicano woman are represented.
Planter Statement" 1831
Written by white attorney, introduces nat turners confession, which puts a biased spin on it. Explains the violent actions of the rebellion, how the slaves had no mercy and were cruel and soul less. The Governor of Virginia at this time in 1831, John Floyd, gave a physical description of Nat Turner and announced a reward of $500 for his capture. The description was a short list of very straightforward and concise characteristics. From the statement the reader knew he was between the ages of 30 and 35, somewhere around 5'7", and weighed about 150 lbs. Many of the descriptors were stereotypical features of African Americans such as "broad shoulders, large flat nose, large eyes, broad flat feet, rather knock kneed".
n
n
Keeping it real school success prob not
prob not Besides typical factors for minority school struggles, also attributes "acting black" "acting white" and "acting spanish" as having major social implications and effecting academic performance
Weed, Perry. "Components of the White Ethnic Movement." (1973)
statistical overview of different components of white ethnics: There are more than 40 million white ethnics, living in North east in large cities, mostly catholic, and common in blue collar occupations. White ethnics are becoming a distinct minority and are alienated, forgotten, troubled, disillusioned, frustrated, and angry
Anderson, Carol. "Nonviolent Direct Action: 1955-1965." (2003)
two methods of non violent direct action: bus boycotts of 1950s and sit ins of 1960s. The time between this was crucial for providing resources for emerging civil rights movement. During this time, active local movement centers were formed in southern black communities. Main course to end segregation was through civil disobedience. 1959 members of SCLC, CORE, and FOR entered segregated restaurant and sat down and ate: wanted to set public examples before first massive sit in movement. The Greensboro sit-in was not the first sit-in during the Civil Rights Movement, it was simply the first to gain huge international attention. There were earlier sit-ins throughout the 1950s and across the nation that laid the groundwork for the rest Civil Rights Movement. It was the primary goal of nonviolent direct action to integrate all elements of social life. It was determined that sit-ins were the most effective method to achieve integration.