Race, Class, Gender Midterm #1

Describe Patricia Hill Collin's four tenets of feminist epistemology (knowledge).

1. Alternative epistemologies or knowledges are built upon lived experience not an objectified object. Social science argues that group life must be removed from the particulars and concerns of the subjects being studied and this is what Collin's goes against. 2. Dialogue is used rather than adversarial debate in social science. The use of personal pronouns is increased and authors are central and present to the text. 3. Knowledge is built around ethics and caring. All knowledge is full of values and should be tested by the presence of empathy and compassion. Thoughts and feeling can not be separated. 4. Black feminist knowledge requires personal accountability. The assessment of knowledge requires an assessment of beliefs, things assumed to be true.

What are the various forms of violence against Black women?

1. Gun violence 2. Violence associated with the drug trade 3. Gang violence 4. Interpersonal violence 5. Sexual or dating violence 6. Violence in schools 7. Police violence

The call for reparations has two components

1. Idea that the descendants of slavery should be compensated for the economic exploitation of their ancestors. o Advocates insist that the U.S. became rich by exploiting black men and women for several hundred years under slavery. o Blacks were then again exploited during the era of Jim Crow legal segregation. o Currently, no financial compensation has ever been provided. o When John F. Kennedy introduced Affirmative Action in 1961, one of its goals was to compensate black people for many centuries of exploitation. But no mainstream universities or politicians support affirmative action today in order to compensate for slavery. This is why the reparations movement has mobilized. 2. End racial bias in universities, schools, and the media. Make education more accurate and more accurate, inclusive, and more comprehensive. o Advocates insist that knowledge produced and dispersed about slavery and its legacies is supposed to be objective and impartial. But instead, it is subjective and partial. o As a result, black people's minds have been colonized. They have been made to question their own humanity, dignity, and ability. o Non-black people have also had their minds colonized. They believe what they read and hear about black people in schools, universities, and the media. o Advocates argue that knowledge production throughout universities musts become more inclusive, more comprehensive, and open to multiple perspectives. o Some also want an apology from politicians and from the president. They would also like to see the establishment of museums and monuments to memorialize slavery, to celebrate its legal abolition, and to commiserate the victims and survivors of slavery. There are already tons of monuments that celebrate the lives of slave owners. o The financial aspect of repatriations is what agitates most people. But if we put this aside, reparations provide important insights into the lives of past and present black people.

What are the different kinds of feminism?

1. Moderate or liberal feminism 2. Marxist feminism 3. Radical feminism

There are two Schools of Thought to Explain Inequality

1. Racial Realists = they focus on individual efforts and prefer not to talk about groups. They downplay the role of institutions and the legacy of history. They argue that people are rich or successful or have wealth because of the efforts they make as individuals. They also insist that the U.S. has always rewarded harm working people to get to the very top. 2. Critical Theorists = they focus on collective white privilege, racial discrimination, and the legacy of past racism in creating obstacles for black people. They argue whites are richer because of historical legal discrimination, current networking, and indirect racism. These two schools of thought start from very different assumptions, arrive at different conclusions, and argue in favor of different policies.

What are racial projects? How does it function?

A racial project is an interpretation, representation, or explanation of racial dynamics and an effort to reorganize and redistribute resources along precise racial lines. A key component to racial projects is the use code words. Sociologist Andrew Barlow argues that the increased focus on individual responsibility by politicians and public commentators when it comes to success and failure is also a racial project. His reasoning is that this emphasis ignores the systematic ways institutions like education, employment, housing, and policing discriminate against blacks and other minorities. Another example of a racial project is the criminal justice system in the United States and Michelle Alexander mentions it in her book The New Jim Crow. She explains that minorities are often jailed for minor offenses, labeled as criminals, and then discriminated against when it comes to housing, education, public benefits, and jobs. Another example of a racial project is the War on drugs that is described by Michelle Alexander. It was launched by President Regan who claimed it was needed to respond to the crack cocaine epidemic in the inner cities. But, it was started before this epidemic even really started. The media though portrayed it as a real problem and showed "crack babies, crack whores, and crack dealers" constantly. As a result, racial biases in policing, legal proceedings, and sentencing, occurred and resulted in the vast over representation of black and Latino men in U.S. prisons. This racial project is colorblind and represents race as unimportant in society, and suggests that those in prison rightfully belong there. This makes us think that black and Latino men are more prone to criminality than are white men. This was done as a form of social control, to control Blacks in the same ways that Jim Crow operated.

What, according to Jones, are the main aspects of violence against Black women in the inner city?

African American women living in inner city neighborhoods experience gun violence, sexual assault, gang violence, violence caused by the drug trade, relational violence, harassment by the police, and violence at school. The majority of these acts are committed by men. Nikki Jones points out that this largely has to do with the fact that men are expected to demonstrate their masculinity. This is often done by showing off physical strength and dominance over women by hitting or slapping them. Women react to this in a variety of different ways including fighting back, avoiding the source of the violence, or calling the police. However, the police are rarely called because most people do not trust law enforcement. There is a second form of violence Black women face and it is from other Black women. Jones states that it is caused by how young girls view their social worlds. They operate believing in the code of the street which emphasizes the importance of reputation, respect, and retaliation. Girls need the respect of others and if it is not given, fights occur between other girls and boys. If young women fight enough, they become known as 'girl fighters' or ghetto girls. To maintain this reputation and to protect themselves from violence, they frequently start fights and abuse or harass others. Other young women who choose not to fight develop reputations as 'good girls.' These girls avoid conflict by avoiding certain social situations and isolate themselves from close friendships. Those who are labeled good girls usually have lighter skin. This has to do with the fact that a skin color hierarchy exists in the U.S. and lighter skin individuals are seen as more attractive and intelligent. They are also afforded a special status within society and are thought to be above darker skinned people. Because of this, fighters often start conflicts with these good girls out of jealousy. For example, Jones states in her book that a girl named Kailee was targeted by other fighter girls because she herself was a good girl that had special status within the community. Since she was considered pretty, other girls specifically attacked her looks. Girls made fun of her hair saying that it was too long and that her blemish free face had a mustache. Jones also states that arrogance can cause fights. This does sometimes have to do with the skin color hierarchy, but it could also be caused by clashing personalities, attractive clothing, or school achievement. A third reason for fights is disrespect or perceived disrespect. A fourth reason is some girls just like to fight. Some girls like to fight girls that they think are weak or shy. Jones notes that violence is never completely eliminated even with women using these strategies. This has to do with the fact that there are underlying causes of violence that still exist. This includes ideas about masculinity and femininity, crime, and poverty.

What key societal obstacles confront women? How are production and reproduction mutually reinforced?

An aspect to gender is the gender division of labor. This is the allocation of work roles to men and women based on socially fitting gender role expectations. Historically in the U.S. and Europe, men have worked in the realm of production meaning that their careers (which are high status) take place in the public sector and they are paid for their labor. These public spaces are also regulated and governed by laws and rules. Women on the other hand were assigned to the realm of reproduction. This included being responsible for cooking, cleaning, childcare, and emotional labor. Unlike the realm of production, the realm of reproduction is private, unpaid, low status, and there are no standard laws or rules. This labor is done out of love, dedication, or duty.[2] Today, women are now found in the workplace and in politics and the majority of workers in the U.S. are women. However, things are not as good as they seem. Most part-time workers are still women, they are concentrated in lower-paying roles and jobs, are paid less compared to men doing the same jobs, and are still expected to take primary responsibility for the realm of reproduction. This once again includes cooking, cleaning, raising kids, and taking care of elderly and ill family members. Even if women work full time (which is strongly discouraged), this is still expected. As a result, women have a much harder time obtaining high paying and top careers because these jobs often require long work weeks, extensive traveling, and flexible hours when there isn't sufficient childcare. This makes it much easier for men to take these jobs. So because of the social expectation that women will take care of the home, men obtain the best jobs within the realm of production.[3] Besides economic obstacles, there are also several other difficulties women have to overcome. One is poverty. Women are more likely to be part time workers, unemployed, on welfare, and to live without having health benefits. Another is sexual stereotypes. Women are objectified and represented in highly sexualized ways in the media, on TV, in advertising, movies, and in porn. Women also often live with threats of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse from strangers, boyfriends, and husbands. ***This can be seen in Niki Jones' book Between Good and Ghetto where she interviews a mother from a poor neighborhood who describes a fight her daughter got into. "Neka was seriously injured when a young boy kicked her in the stomach and into a trash can. She could not eat for two days after the incident."[4] In another example from Jones book, a woman named Amber. She has a young son with a man named Marvin and he hit her, punched her, hit her head against a wall, and choked her. The abuse usually stemmed from some kind of argument. When he punched her, they were arguing about the fact that MArvin cheated on her.

Describe the importance of race and ethnicity.

At the start of the 21st century, given how race and ethnicity have been intertwined, and given the increasing levels of international migration, it is important to identify when one set of factors is more important than the other in the day-to-day lives of people. Historically, the concept of race has been used far more commonly than the concept of ethnicity to explain their experiences. But, this has changed in recent decades. Now ethnicity and culture are given more attention than biology. In other words, there has emerged a New Racism that places emphasis on ethnic difference. Overall, and give the complexities of current contemporary U.S., the differences between race and ethnicity are not hard and fast. There are many complexities and exceptions in the real world. Especially in the present time given the high levels of international migration and the increasing diversity in the United States in the contemporary age of globalization.

Introduction to the word reparations

Definition: Something done or given to correct a mistake that has been caused, the act of making amends. • Debates about reparations are more common today than ever before. They are taking place in the U.S., the Caribbean, England, France, the Netherlands, and Spain. • People that hear the word reparations jump to strong minded conclusions without thinking about the questions and issues, the evidence of the nuances of the topic. Words associated with the word reparations include racism, affirmative action, feminism, Muslims, abortion, and gay marriage.

Dominate and alternate views of racism.

Dominant view - racism exists when there is clear evidence of individual prejudice and deliberate discrimination. Alternative view - racism exists when white privilege, white habitus and color blind advocacy maintains structural inequality. o Both structural and color-blind racism, as concepts, emphasize the ways in which the racism of the past has shaped racial inequality today. o Whites have a clear advantage over Blacks in terms of wealth, income, jobs, housing and education.

Explain the old definition of racism.

Explicit racist intention is expressed by individuals or institutions. But, this is no longer the best way to understand how racism operates today in the U.S. It is the process of redefinition of political interests and identities, through a process of recombination of familiar ideas and values in hitherto unrecognized ways.

Explain the consequences of violence.

For Kids: It affects children's growth and development (bed-wetting, nightmares), can cause post-traumatic stress disorder, and create physical ailments like allergies, asthma, gastrointestinal problems, headaches, and the flu. For Women: physical ailments, mental health issues, more likely to engage in high risk behavior (unsafe sex, drug use especially while pregnant), greater risk of suicide, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Women that experience violence as children may also perpetrate violence against their own kids.

Is ethnicity real?

In practice, race and ethnicity often overlap. For example, Jews and Asians are often described as both ethnic groups, with distinctive religions, language, family values and foods, and as racial groups. They both have also been referred to as a distinct races historically in the U.S. Racial stereotypes emerge from these categories. Ex: Asians are better at math. Jews are cheap and hoard their money. What makes these stereotypes racist is the fact that these differences are seen as natural, they occur by nature. African Americans may also be conceived of in racial and ethnic terms: African Americans are a different color, with a different body shape, but they also have their own religious traditions, foods, and music, and many speak a different type of English.

Define Income

Income = Money received each week. This includes wages and salaries, rental income, and other resources. • Unlike wealth, income is typically expended each month for indispensable needs like rent, mortgage, food, clothes, entertainment, and daily travel. • Finance magazines and advisors recommend that people place 3-6 months' salary in the bank in case of an emergency, but most of us can't do this because daily expenses eat up most of our income. This is especially true during this time of economic recession. • This all means that income is used to survive and to pay daily expenses. • Those without wealth can't afford private school, college, or to provide their children with homes, trust funds, or weddings. This means that their opportunities to compete with those with wealth are far more limited.

How do institutional problems and cultural complexities impede the success of young Black people?

Institutional problems can be defined as laws or policies created by a society or organization that result in challenges for a specific group of people. Examples of institutional obstacles for African Americans include lack of wealth or income, high rates of unemployment, lack of access to training, limited occupational experiences educational inequality, violence, police harassment and brutality, increased militarization of police departments, massive over-representation in arrests, and institutional racism. How exactly these problems affect black youth depends on their class, position, agenda, cultural style of living, cultural background, and the region and city where they live. For example, the problems facing black youth in Boston and New York are different from those in Miami and Atlanta. Black boys and girls, black young men and women often respond differently to the problems that they face or they are treated differently with different outcomes. Another thing that impedes the success of young black people is cultural complexity. Culture itself makes up a particular group or society's way of living and includes their beliefs, customs, arts, knowledge, language, kinship, attitudes, and meanings. Because it is so multifaceted, it can be difficult to understand a culture that is not our own. This is why generalizations are often made about other cultures. African Americans for example are seen as possessing many negative cultural attributes. Black youth specifically are identified as lacking work ethic, self-discipline, and as failing to work hard in schools and colleges. There are also accusations of egoism, selfishness, cultural behavior that glorifies violence and crime as ways to succeed in life, a code of the street that demands masculine behavior and unfailing demand for respect, misogyny, a culture that emphasizes manhood and fathering kids even outside marriage, a culture that rewards all mothering (teenagers included) with respect and admiration with an elevated status, and a culture that sends mixed messages about the appropriate behavior of girls. These problematic attitudes and behaviors can become worse when young black men end up in prison because they are seen as possessing these undesirable characteristics. This can then increase violence amongst boys and young men and increase violence or the threat of violence by boys against girls. As a result, the success of black people is hindered.[3] ***A second example of cultural complexity harming the success of African Americans can be seen in Nikki Jones' book Between Good and Ghetto: She describes how "good girls" are treated with a special status by teachers, community members, peers, and other adults because they closely resemble expectations of femininity. "Ghetto girls" on the other hand fight regularly and are looked at as having less desirable traits that appear masculine. Because they are felt that they have a lower status, these fighters provoke and harass good girls out of jealousy. However, this actually reinforces the superior position of the good girls in the racial hierarchy because the ghettos girls are the ones who start fights. Because nothing is ever resolved, fights are constant and it becomes difficult to focus on achievement.[4] ***Orlando Patterson also mentions cultural complexity. He writes that there exists a "triplici discrimine" (triple crisis) affecting black — "not only are they suffering from structural disconnection and the continued barriers of racial segregation and discrimination... but their situation is compounded further by the cultural effects of their disconnection from the institutions of work and school." Patterson finds that disconnected (not working and not in school) black youth are less accepting of mainstream values, tend to view others as unimportant, more cynical, more pessimistic, and have low expectations of their quality of life. For example. they have lower trust in governmental institutions and are less likely to expect to be employed full time, graduate college, or survive young adulthood. In other words, disconnected black youth are also more culturally divergent, and these divergent cultures promote a series of mental blockades that make success much more difficult because they are in direct conflict with mainstream's expectations. It's important to note that this sense of cultural divergence shouldn't be framed as a "culture of poverty," for that implies blame on victimized black youth, but rather, as the cyclical product of historic discrimination, failed reparations, and internally reinforced behavioral patterns. These cycles make black youth already undesired by mainstream society, but they also create dangerous cultures that promote further alienation and pessimism.

How does intersectionality shape violence against and between Black women and how do they respond to violence?

Intersectionality is defined as the numerous ways that race and gender intermix to affect the lives of black women.[1] When it comes to violence, Kimberle Crenshaw states that male violence against Black women is "frequently the product of intersecting patterns of racism and sexism". What helps to perpetuate these racist and sexist ideas of black women is the media. African American women are frequently presented in a limited range of negative roles. ***For example, they are portrayed as either tragic mulattoes, amazons, mammies, maids/servants, prostitutes, drug addicts, or drag queens. This is actually considered a form of violence called symbolic violence. These images are considered "violent" because they grossly misrepresent Black women and convey highly limited and stereotypical roles that cause black women and kids embarrassment and offense. A specific example of race and gender intersecting is the fact that when Black women are sexually assaulted, they are less likely to be believed because of how the media portrays them. Women are already scrutinized for rape allegations, but being Black compounds this. In addition to symbolic violence, African American women also experience various forms of physical violence. This includes gun violence, violence associated with the drug trade, gang violence, interpersonal violence, sexual or dating violence, harassment by the police, and violence at school. Most often these acts are committed by men (including black men) who are either strangers, intimate partners, or family members. Because many black women live in poor neighborhoods, they are also murdered at a rated more than 2.5 times higher than white women. This violence arises from a range of causes, but stems from the expectation that men should be masculine and demonstrate strength and dominance in their relationships with women. Most often violence occurs when women verbally respond to men or slap them which questions their masculinity. Women respond to this violence in a variety of ways. Some fight back, some avoid the source of the violence, and some involve the police. Nikki Jones points out though that police are rarely involved because there is a lack of trust in law enforcement since they usually offer little assistance.[3] Contacting authorities can also go against the rules of some neighborhoods as well. No matter which strategy is employed though, violence is still a threat and is never completely removed. This has to do with the fact that the underlying factors of violence which intersect both gender and race remain. This includes persistent poverty, unemployment, crime, drugs, and masculine codes of conduct.[4] Another form of violence Black women face is violence committed by other black women. This is most often seen in young girls. Nikki Jones explains that this is caused by skin color, arrogance, and disrespect. In the U.S. today, a skin color hierarchy exists where light skin is viewed as attractive and dark skin is looked at as undesirable. This hierarchy also shapes Blacks' attitudes towards each other. Lighter skinned girls sometimes act arrogant and demean other women because they are seen as special and feminine within the community. Darker skinned girls become jealous and view this as disrespectful so they often start fights. The ironic thing about this though is that these light skinned good girls and fighter girls act this way in order to prevent violence from happening to them. Fighters obtain a reputation as being tough and mean so people will stay away from them and good girls adopt strategies to avoid conflict most of the time.[5] ***Example of skin color causing fights: Jones states that a girl named Kailee was targeted by other fighter girls because she herself is a good girl that has special status in the community. since she is considered pretty, they attack her looks. Girls made fun of her hair saying that it was too long and that her blemish free face had a mustache. ***Patterson explains another way women cope with violence. Black women are often burdened with having to create identities based on mainstream, often erroneous ideas perpetuated by Rap or media in general. Patterson states "Victim-blaming ideologies are present across forms of sexuality and sexual violence, with young women judged harshly for appearing sexually available, enjoying male sexual attention, having sex outside committed relationships, and having multiple sexual partners"

Define and explain radical feminism.

It focuses mostly on male domination and patriarchy in all societies, past and present: agriculture, industrial, capitalist, socialist, and communist. Patriarchy = a system of social organization of family, social roles and practices, laws, social institutions (education, politics, workplace) that favor male authority and power. Patriarchy explains why men get the best education, jobs and powerful political roles while not doing very much domestic labor. They argue that male domination is an ideology and form of social organization that exists independent of any specific economic or political structure. They argue that we must focus on the nature and role of patriarchy if we are to achieve gender equality rather than focusing on whether society is capitalist, socialist, or communist.

Define and explain Marxist feminism.

Marxist feminism: highlights the family and its role in reproduction and production in a capitalist society. They believe that the family is where gender discrimination occurs. Men exploit and even oppress women and children in terms of labor as well as rights. -They also highlight how family works as a social unit whose primary goal is to create healthy and productive workers. The nuclear family in particular has the responsibility to feed, clothe, educate, and protect kids. -Marxist feminists emphasize how women's domestic labor is worth billions of dollars, but it's not included as part of the nation's wealth. Without the long hours that millions of women spend in the home, the economic productivity of men in the workplace would not be achieved. -They also argue that gender equality and discrimination are central to capitalism. Only the end of capitalism will significantly reduce sexism and gender equality.

Explain the new definition of racism.

New Racism: This concept was developed by Omi and Winant (1986, 1994, 2014). They argue that racism has changed in its form, operations, and strategies. But, the intention is not always to discriminate. • Michelle Alexander agrees that new racism exists and argues that prisons operate as a new racist system. She states that society today can legally discriminate against former prisoners in ways that it used to be legal to discriminate against black people. Given that so many former prisoners are black, this is Defacto Racial Discrimination in everything but name. Omi and Winant describe how culture is the emphasis of new racism rather than biology. This includes stereotypes about black declining family structure (too many single parent families, not enough fathers), not speaking proper English, no moral values (sexism and hostility to women in hip hop videos), and lack of work ethic (black students don't study hard enough). Black people are no longer accused of being biologically inferior, but culturally deficient. Key elements of new racism: New language, new vocabulary, new discourse. CODEWORDS = Code words are words or phrases that do not mention race, but they are color-coded.

What is the nature and extent of racial inequality today?

Racial inequality can be defined as a disparity in opportunity and treatment that occurs as a result of someone's race.[1] A group historically affected by racial inequality is African Americans. In the past, discrimination was accomplished through slavery and Jim Crow segregation laws. Although both were abolished, the racial social hierarchy has very much remained the same today. According to Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow, African Americans continue to be subjected to "legalized discrimination in employment, housing, education, public benefits, and jury service, just as their parents, grandparents, and great grandparents once were". The way this is accomplished is through mass incarceration. Once a person is convicted of a crime, they are racially segregated into poor black neighborhoods, are no longer eligible to vote, cannot obtain food stamps or public benefits, and do not have access to educational opportunities. It also becomes very difficult to obtain permanent employment. This is extremely problematic since African Americans make up a large proportion of the prison population. In some states for example, Alexander states that "black men have been admitted to prison on drug charges at rates of 20-50 times greater than those of white men". Because of this high incarceration rate for drug offenses, African Americans are often stereotyped as "crack whores, crack dealers, and crack babies" (Lecture 4). Another lasting effect of slavery and the Jim Crow laws is income inequality. After these institutions ended, African Americans were never given any kind of compensation. This was a real problem since these systems had already disadvantaged them economically. As a result, escaping poverty became extremely difficult and this disadvantage was passed on to future generations. One of the main issues with having a low income is that accumulating wealth is impossible. Without wealth, parents can't afford to send their kids to private schools or colleges, buy nice homes, or leave their children and grandchildren trust funds. This all means that kids are less likely to graduate college, get a good paying job, or have economic stability so the cycle of low income and poverty then continues to the next generation. We know this is still a problem today because as of 2015, 35% of total U.S. black population (13 million) was in poverty. Black women experience the most income inequality as well as violence. Nikki Jones describes this in her book. Girls have to adopt specific strategies for surviving in these inner city neighborhoods. They either become good girls or girl fighters. Most often lighter skinned girls become good girls since they are considered pretty and intelligent. Darker girls often become fighters because they can't pass off as a good girl.

How does racial privilege and racial projects function?

Racial projects and white privilege exist and function mainly because they both aren't seen as discriminatory towards African Americans or minorities. When it comes to racial projects, most people have a hard time recognizing that they actually do negatively affect blacks and minorities so they aren't thought of as promoting inequality. As for white privilege, most whites would say that it isn't racism because their notion of racism is based off of individual intention or old racism. Unfortunately, they don't see how institutions can also promote racism and discrimination.

Define and explain racialization

Racialization: Defined by Sociologists Michael Omi and Howard Winant as a historically specific process in which racial meaning is attributed to people, ideologies, or institutions that were not previously defined in racial terms. • In Europe before colonialism, Europeans did not interact with each other in racial terms. They interacted as ethnic groups such as the English, the French, and the Germans or as Christians. • Race wasn't a concept that was used in Africa either. People interacted with each other as ethnic groups that had distinct families, tribes, a common language, or religion. • During colonialism, the idea of race was increasingly used to describe and explain physical and cultural differences. • So, racialization refers to the process by which Africans, Native Americans, and Asians were defined by Europeans as distinctive races. During this process, Europeans increasingly defined themselves as the white race. This all happened over the course of several hundred years. • The concept of racialization is used to explain the changing roles of different factors and their influence on beliefs about race. From the role of religion for example, who is a heathen and who is uncivilized? Compared with who is Christian and civilized? Other roles include the role of science (biology and genetics), the role of economics (profits from slavery, legal segregation, exploitation of ghetto communities), and the role of politics and government (for example the authority to decide who is free or enslaved, who is a citizen or non-citizen).

Race in the U.S. Today

Today in the US., equality is getting better. There are women who have a real shot at winning the presidency, Steph Curry is a famous basketball player that is looked up to, and Barack Obama is the current president. Because of this, many people believe that America has become Post-Racial, that race no longer plays a role in shaping people's lives.

What causes men to be violent against Black women?

Violence arises from a range of causes, but all of this violence reflects the physical difference in strength between men and women. And much of the violence reveals the expectation that men should be masculine and demonstrate strength and dominance in their relationships, in particular their relationships with women. Men often threaten women or are violence towards them when arguments arise and women are passive. Men slap them, push them, or punch them. They do this because women cross a line by verbally responding to the man or by slapping them. o Women who "cross the line" of social rules include those that issue verbal and physical challenges to men. This can lead to arguments and a violent cycle of abusive that can be sparked by infidelity or a lack of financial support. o Men get rejected this leads to violence. o Some men try to lure women into drug use and prostitution. This causes violence involving male strangers and creates difficulties for women who find themselves alone with strange men who threaten them. o For a variety of reasons, women often stay in abusive relationships

A paradox Black people face.

• There are more middle class and elite black people in the U.S. than any other western nation. • Also black music, from hip hop to jazz, is the most popular around the nation and around the world. However, poor blacks in the U.S. are amongst the poorest in the world even though sections of hip hop promote values of selfishness, egoism, and misogyny. • This paradox reflects the potential and the challenges that confront black people.

Explain the link between men and violence against Black women.

-All men can threaten or commit violence against Black women. -Black men frequently threaten and commit violence against Black women. -Violence can be experienced by family members or intimate partner and police misconduct. -Black women experience higher rates of domestic violence than white women, higher rates of murder, and more violence and guns. • As early as the year 2000, African Americans accounted for almost 33% of the intimate partner homicides in the U.S. these rates have continued and have gotten worse in some cities into the 21st century. • Black women murdered in the U.S. are murdered at a rated more than 2.5 times higher than white women. • Black women are murdered by men most often by a gun and almost always by someone they know

How wealthy are the super wealthy?

-Bill Gates earns 79 billion. In 2008, he earned 45 billion. This shows how wealth can accululate over the years. -Warren Buffet makes 66 billion -Mark Zuckerberg earns 35 billion -Members of the Walton family earn 30 billion each -1 million people in the U.S. are worth 5 million or more. -11 million people are worth at least 1 million. -Most of these millionaires are white. -Income distribution is also highly concentrated. The top 1% of the population earns 20% of total U.S. income. The top 10% earn 50% of total U.S. income.

How do race and gender intersect?

-In the past and at present, white women achieve success (like working in high powered and professional jobs) with the support of Black women's labor - as cooks, cleaners and nannies. -This creates obstacles for black women. -White women often complain about gender discrimination, but don't consider gendered racial discrimination. -Problems women face are caused by sexism in the workplace, society, choices women make, the circumstances in which they find themselves, and a long established gender division of labor.

Does race exist?

.o No! Throughout the 19th century anthropologists and sociologists challenged the notion that race was a biological category, that people could be divided according to their physical features. o Now with advanced studies in the field of genetics we know that there are no discrete or mutually exclusive races. o In fact, human populations of so-called "races" reveal as many biological differences WITHIN their populations as between them. o Today the majority of scientists and geneticists agree that biological "races" do not exist. o There are significant physical differences across human populations but these differences do not correspond to races. o Despite the scientific community's rejection of the idea of races, most people still believe that races exist because they are not trained biologists and their views are not shaped by science. o people believe in race because it has to do with economic, political, or religious beliefs. Some of these views are also shaped by past beliefs, many of which have not entirely disappeared. These ideas are continually circulated through the media, films, TV, etc.

So if masculine and feminine behavior is learned why does it occur? Why do men and women do what they do?

1. Because men benefit from enjoying access to top paying and high status jobs. So, this restricts women to low paying and low status jobs. 2. It's also so men can make important political and military decisions. 3. In addition, men don't want to be responsible for work done in the home. All of this has to do with power and privilege, things men have that women don't.

Explain the two components of the gender division of labor.

1. Productive Labor - Men work in the public realm and careers. o Work that has monetary remuneration, or monetary value. o This work has great value, because development is also measured in terms of economic growth. o Often women's productive work is treated as the monetary returns of this work are collected by a male member of their family. 2. Reproductive labor - Women work in the private realm, that is the home. o It includes all that work revolving around the creation and maintenance of life. o Work that has no apparent economic returns. o It not only includes giving birth to babies, but also taking care of the baby by feeding, clothing, etc. and taking care of the needs and demands of an extended family.

What are the 5 arguments feminist scholars use to argue that women are the oppressed majority despite the focus on racial minorities?

1. There is still gender inequality in the realms of productions and reproduction. Women receive less pay for the same work as men and they receive no pay for domestic labor even though it requires at least 4-6 hours or more per day every day. 2. Women are over represented and concentrated in poverty; this is called the Feminization of Poverty. Women are more likely to be part time workers, unemployed, on welfare, and without having health benefits. 3. Women have far more responsibility for childcare. Single parent families are led by women, there is a high proportion of kids living in poverty, and they have a major responsibility to look after elderly or ill family members. This is called Emotional Labor. 4. Unlike men, women face sexual stereotypes and the threat of violence. Women are objectified and represented in highly sexualized ways in the media, on T.V., in advertising, and in movies. Porn also objectifies and degrades women. What makes this worse is that the value of the porn and sex trade business has expended massively since the rise of the internet. Poor and women of color are overwhelmingly involved in these industries. 5. Women often live with threats of physical and sexual violence from strangers, boyfriends, and husbands that beat and rape their partners. Women also experience hostile language, stereotypes, and images in school or in the workplace that can lead to actual violence or physical abuse. There are links between violence and sexual objectification seen in porn, prostitution, sex tourism, and sex trafficking. Feminists also argue that women are expected to choose between a career or a family life. Social pressure is for them to choose family because when women work full time, the family suffers and kids are abandoned. Men do not have to make this choice. When they work full time (which is expected) there is no discussion of the effects on the family.

Conclusions about Black girls and violence.

1. Violence or the threat of violence is ever present for young Black women. How girls respond to that violence varies with each girl. 2. Common strategies: girl fights or good girls -develop to help girls adjust to the immediate realities of their situation. 3. Neither strategy completely protects them from violence. 4. The consequences can include injury or prison. 5. Weather good or ghetto, some of these girls succeed. But frequently they fail

What are the implications of Collin's Black feminist thought?

1. We can see that there is a tension between common challenges and diverse experiences. Diverse response are prompted by intersectionality, the unique matrix of social location--race, class, gender, sexual identity, religion, and nationality, that crisscrosses forms of oppression. These responses show that there is no homogeneous Black woman's stand point. 2. Understanding these diverse issues allows for the creations of safe spaces, social spaces where Black women speak freely. Safe spaces include women's relationships with family and friends (which can occur in places like Black churches and organizations) and self expression mediums like poetry and writing. These spaces allow for self-definition and empowerment. 3. Black feminist thought allows for the struggle of self-identity to take place within an ongoing dialogue between group knowledge and experience.

Explain and define black feminism.

Black Feminism = a social, intellectual, and political movement that analyzes the interlocking systems of exploitation and oppression based on race, gender, and class. • Black feminists have developed a body of thought, ideas, concepts, theories, and evidence to describe and explain the obstacles confronting black women and to indicated some of the ways in which they may be overcome. • They insist that the black women's experience cannot be generalized from the experiences of white women alone. Instead, there is a need to explore gender experiences as they intersect with other aspects of stratification such as race, ethnicity, class, nationality, and religion. • Sociologist Patricia Hill Collins defines black feminism as "an intellectual tradition developed by black women to address the multiplicity of their experiences in the U.S. and elsewhere". A central feature for Collins is oppositional knowledge. This includes knowledge that is oppositional to the knowledge produced by men because men's knowledge is primarily for their own benefit. It also includes knowledge that is oppositional to the racism knowledge has been produced by whites, and knowledge that is oppositional to the limits of white feminist thought.

Explain the paradox Black girls face that's described in Nikki Jones' book between god and ghetto.

Black girls face a paradox. "Adolescent girls who live in distressed inner-city neighborhoods have no manhood to defend. Yet... they do have many reasons to be as preoccupied with protecting themselves from threats of violence". Jones explores how African American girls must confront violence on a daily basis in urban ghettos. Her book is a multi-year ethnography of inner city neighborhood in Philadelphia, PA She has found that female black lives are shaped by the drug trade, the distrust of social institutions, and exposure to violent conditions. Violence takes many forms and can come from relationships with boys and men, men they know, acquaintances, and encounters with strangers. They face the threat and the potential of sexual attack. These girls either become girl fighters or good girls in response to this violence. Both responses - of girl fighters and good girls - create contradictions for the girls involved. The contradictions arise because of prevailing gender codes, gender roles and gender expectations. Girls face a "gendered dilemma". The violent circumstances in which these girls live mean they must fight like boys to protect themselves. But they are also expected to observe appropriate feminine behavior and must act like girls (that is, not fight) if they are to be respected. These contradictions create constant anguish and pain for the girls. However, they also show underlying strength because they can take care of themselves. ***For example, A girl named Kailee who was known as a good girl adopted the strategy of situational avoidance. She tried to avoid the girl who wanted to hurt her by going home directly after school and avoiding the girl as much as possible, but the girl was persistent. She eventually did fight back, but was able to keep her status as a good girl because she only fought back when she had reached her limit. If she hadn't, she would have been labeled as a weak and would have become a target. If she continues to fight though, she will lose this status. Determining that limit of fighting too much or too little wears on these girls.

List several concrete ways to overcome the cultural complexities preventing the success of young Black people.

Cultural Complexities: 1. To change how masculinity and femininity are portrayed. Girls are expected to conform to mainstream ideas of femininity, but they also have to protect themselves from the violence of the street. Boys are expected to act tough, to not show emotion, and to act cool. The problem with these identities is that it forces girls and boys to act ways that might not actually reflect who they are. It also distracts them form their studies. We need to make it ok for kids to be who they actually are. This might make boys and girls to be more interested in school and make it easier for them to succeed. 2. To change how mainstream culture portrays Black men and women. Men are portrayed as violent, lazy, not caring about their children, as drug lords, gangsters, pimps, and criminals. Women are portrayed as welfare cheats, drug addicts, being promiscuous, as gold diggers, single mothers, as having attitudes, and as ghetto (not conforming to accepted forms of femininity). Gangster Rap perpetuates these stereotypes. It is extremely misogynistic and Black rappers describe raping and abusing Black women. 2 Live Crew for example rapped in their songs "bust your pus*y then break your backbone" and It'll tear the pus*y open cause some satisfaction, dick's so powerful she'll kneel and break". Instead, we need to portray Black men and women positively by showing more Black lead characters on TV shows and showing successful role models. We need to show Black kids that they are intelligent and that they have potential. This will help their self-esteem and curb violence because it will no longer be in the media. 3. To create a sense of community. Many families live in deep isolation in order to avoid street violence and judgement due to family members serving time in prison. Support groups could be created to help deal with these issues and could let people talk openly with each other. This could help to ease psychological issues like depression and hopelessness and take strain off of family and spouse relationships.

Define and explain feminism

Feminism = a label and a theoretical analysis. It's a buzzword with a negative connotation. This includes portraying negative stereotypes against women in the media, portraying women as exaggerating problems, and making women look like man-haters. When it comes to the feminist analysis, this has to do with content and concepts and arguments of social analysis. • Feminism broadly focuses on women's experiences, rights, and opportunities. It focuses on the institutional obstacles confronting women including laws, ideologies, practices, and behavior. It also involves the analysis of gender and the gender division of labor (reproduction and production). Feminism also identifies a set of goals and objectives such as equal opportunities for boys and girls, equal pay for men and women, childcare facilities, maternity leave, and women in powerful roles. Many feminists also call for men to share equally in domestic labor. • Feminists have articulated their ideas, arguments, and goals in a variety of ways including making public statements, using magazines, newspapers, and books. Key examples can be found in the 19th century where feminists mobilized to secure the vote for women. Public attention towards feminism grew in the 1960's and 70's especially at universities and colleges. • Important milestones for women: 19th amendment passed in 1920 (suffrage), equal pay act of 1963, The Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Roe vs Wade decision in 1973 (access to abortion), and the pregnancy discrimination act of 1978.

Where does the division of labor come from?

Here is the history of where the division of labor comes from. Before the dawn of agriculture, humans were living in hunter gather societies that were very egalitarian. There was a sexual division of labor where men typically hunted large game and women gathered plants, but these tasks were seen as equally valuable. This had to do with the fact that child care was collective and no gender was solely responsible for the domestic sphere. As a result of this structure, men and women were fairly equal in all aspects of society. However, this changed after the introduction of agriculture because the division of labor was altered. Men became responsible for growing and harvesting crops, using farm machinery, and raising animals. In contrast, women cooked and preserved food, took care of children and family members, and cleaned. Since men brought in all of the income for the family, their roles became more important compared to women and they gained status and power. This then resulted in the economic and social inequality that we recognize today.

Who is racist?

In the past it was easy to identify racists. They were self-proclaimed, and often proud of their beliefs! This includes: 1. Plantation owners and overseers 2. Scientists of biological racism 3. Ku Klux Klan members 4. Governor George Wallace (Alabama) and other politicians that advocated racial supremacy in public. 5. Whole governments! 6. State governments in the North and South 7. The U.S. federal government Today it is not so obvious, they are not so explicit in public anymore. Scientists have disproved biological racism, federal and state laws forbid racial discrimination, and organizations abound that promote equality and diversity. Racism today is typically explained as the work of extremist groups and organizations. Or as the work of psychologically unstable people, the rotten apples in the police force, or as the results of unconscious behavior.

Explain Triple Oppression.

In the past, the problems facing black women were often called Triple Oppression. This meant that while white women were double oppressed by gender and class, black women faced oppression because of gender, class, and race. Today, it is more common to use the concept of intersectionality to describe the multiple obstacles confronting black women in the U.S. because double and triple oppression implies that you can add each category on after the other. But the concept of intersectionality insists that they all need to be examined in their simultaneous interactions.

List several concrete ways to overcome the institutional problems and cultural complexities preventing the success of young Black people.

Institutional Problems: 1. Reparations. Money from reparations will help to ease poverty, issues of housing, and the issue of not having enough money to go college. This will all help to push more Blacks into the middle class and give children a chance at upward mobility into the upper class ending segregation. Blacks will also finally get an apology for slavery, Jim Crow, and mass incarceration which may ease and heal racial tensions. 2. Job Training. This will give Blacks the skills necessary to apply for jobs that they currently do not qualify for, jobs that pay a higher salary and do not necessarily need college degrees. This will also help to push Blacks out of poverty and into the middle class. Examples of jobs include electrician, auto mechanic, plumber, construction worker, nurse, dental hygienist, or a paralegal. Employment will also help to curb the drug trade within inner cities as well as violence and to end segregation. 3. We end the War on drugs. Blacks and other minorities have become a target because they were most often arrested for drug offenses. As a result, discrimination in policing, legislation, and sentencing is what caused the over representation of blacks in American prisons. Examples of discrimination include police racially profiling suspects, pulling over African Americans for a traffic violation in the hopes of finding drugs, the three strikes law, and making sentences for drug offenses extremely long even though they are non-violent offenses. Ending this will prevent the destruction of families and the systematic discrimination ex-prisoners face outside of jail.

Why is intersectionality important?

Intersectionality highlights that the socially prescribed categories of male and female and black and white are not as simple as they seem. These categories do not exist independent of one another. They are inseparable from one another. This becomes clear if you think about how poor black women as a group compare against white men as a group. Black women in the U.S. today are over represented in poverty while white men are over represented among the rich and powerful. But what about rich black women and poor white men? This kind of comparison raises other questions. Rich black women and poor white men have fundamental different experiences than rich white women and poor black men. Thinking about these examples brings out some of the intersections of race, class, and gender.

In thinking about intersectionality and the racial division of gender, how do legal, economic, and social inequality relate to one another?

Intersectionality is the various ways in which race and gender interact to shape the multiple dimensions of black women's experiences when it comes to employment, domestic violence, sexual abuse, politics, family, globalization, and the state. It emphasizes that the social categories of male and female and black and white are not as simple as they seem. The racial division of gender refers to the experiences of men and women when it comes to employment. It is also closely tied with race. White women for example mainly arrived in America as free people and filled social roles and jobs regarded as appropriate for white women. But, this depended to a large extend on their class position. If they were wealthy, they usually stayed at home looking after the family. If they were poor or working class, they usually ended up on plantation in the south or in factories and homes in the north. Black women on the other hand had a very different experience compared to this. Most arrived as captives stolen from Africa and the Caribbean who were brought to the U.S. as slaves. On plantations, they worked in the field alongside men and inside the homes as domestic laborers. A very small number were able to escape slavery and secured legal freedom where they worked in various roles, but mostly as domestic laborers. After slavery ended, they continued to work in a range of subordinate roles as field, domestic, or factory workers. Like black men, they were still constrained and subordinated by another 100 years of state supported legal racial discrimination. Even today, African Americans tend to work the same kinds of low paying jobs they did hundreds of years ago. When thinking about intersectionality and the racial division of gender it becomes clear that legal, economic, and social inequality relate to each other because they all have to do with race and gender. If we think about race, inequality is obvious to see when examining the lives of African Americans and other minorities because they continue to endure systematic discrimination. This has left many of them in poverty, with little or no access to education, and either unemployed or with low paying jobs. In addition to this, they also face legal discrimination, racism, and negative stereotypes. As for gender, men and women are also affected by legal, economic, and social inequalities differently. When examining the experiences of black males and females for example, they are quite dissimilar. Michelle Alexander points out that black men are over represented in the prison population and make up the majority of inmates charged with drug offenses.[3] This then results in specific male African American discrimination in housing, voting, employment, and public benefits. Black females on the other hand face sexual assault and sexual violence much more often because of social inequality.

How can we argue that white privilege exists when there are so many whites in poverty?

It is true that the absolute number of white in poverty is higher than blacks, but this doesn't take into account total population of blacks and whites. Also, 1. During slavery (1619-1865) all whites were presumed to be free and all blacks were presumed to be enslaved and legally defined as property. The state, the judiciary, the police, all systematically discriminated against blacks legally, officially, and in practice. Those that were free had to leave the south or carry papers signed by a white guardian to prove that they actually were free. Various U.S. governments provided land and resources to the white population, especially men. 2. Since slavery ended in the 1860's, whites of all classes have systematically discriminated against blacks and minorities in housing and education. They also opposed integrated neighborhoods and real estate agencies refused to sell houses to blacks in those neighborhoods. When whites left large cities in large numbers ("White Flight"), the federal government also provided funds to build highways to enable them to drive in and out of the cities where the best jobs were located. 3. During this entire time, working class and middle class white men always kept the best skilled and highly paid jobs for themselves that were secure and had pensions. This was achieved by systematic discrimination by trade unions who usually only wanted members to apply for jobs (only whites were members). 4. Because of these historical practices whites, now live in segregated neighborhoods, enjoy the best positions and skilled and middle class jobs, and enjoy seniority in these jobs. Many blacks earn less than whites for doing the same jobs. This all means that white racial privilege doesn't automatically guarantee that all whites will succeed. There has always actually been widespread inequality among whites. Bu the relative privilege enjoyed by whites as a group compared to blacks means that it's far easier for whites to access the best education, the best housing, and the best jobs. What this also means is that there are some individuals, groups, or organizations motivated by racism—deliberate and intentional. There are those who are not and express support for equality of opportunity, but because of how racism worked in the past, these groups still benefit from white racial privilege. Overall, this analysis has strong policy implications for how to achieve racial equality—implications that we will discuss later.

Explain Collins' Matrix of Domination.

It refers to the overall organization of power within a society. A matrix has an arrangement of intersecting systems of oppression which is organized thorough 4 domains of power. 1. Structural: Social structures including law, polity, religion, and the economy. They set up the structural parameters that organize power relations. 2. Disciplinary: bureaucratic organizations that control and organize human behavior though routinization, rationalization, and surveillance. 3. Interpersonal: influences everyday life. It's made up of the relationships we maintain as well as the different interactions that make up our daily life. 4. Hegemonic: It legitimizes oppression and links the structural, disciplinary, and interpersonal domains. It is made up of the language we use, the images we respond to, the values we hold, and the ideas we entertain.

How do Black girls respond to violence?

Jones argues that girls organize their social worlds and personal battles around these three fundamental elements of the code of the street: Reputation, respect and retaliation. This results in personal battles at school, fights with boyfriends and baby-fathers, sexual assaults, robberies, drive-bys, etc. Some young women develop reputations as 'girl fighters' or ghetto girls in order to survive and protect themselves. They do not shy away from conflict, they frequently start fights, they cultivate a reputation for being mean and tough, and they frequently engage in verbal abuse or harassment of others. They do this because they believe that this is the best way or only way to survive in an urban context. Other young women develop reputations as 'good girls.' These girls avoid conflict and antagonism in two ways. 1. Situational Avoidance: they avoid social settings that pose threats to their well-being and situations in which conflicts may arise. 2. Relational Isolation: they isolate themselves from close friendships because ties of loyalty can lead to fights.

How does each feminist theory view equality?

Moderate feminists: Focus on legal and political equality. This means that men and women have the same rights before the law and includes the right to vote and the right to hold political office (number of voters and elected officials should be equal between men and women; women are still significantly underrepresented in politics). -They also highlight economic equality. Men and women should be equally successful in securing high quality education, equally distributed across top occupations, and should be paid equally for the same work. -Currently, there is no economic gender equality in the U.S. Women earn lower median incomes, are underrepresented in top jobs, and are over represented in low paying jobs. -Both legal/political and economic equality relate to the world of politics and the world of work. In other words, they relate to the public realm. Marxist and Radical feminists: they support the demands for legal and economic equality, but they are far more likely to highlight Social Equality (combination of equality in the public and private realms). -Public Social Equality = men and women should be treated equally in public. This includes dress, social ventures, social activities, sports, etc. this has mostly been achieved. -Private Equality = equality in the home. Women still have primary responsibility for domestic labor, the household, and for child care. This doesn't change for women working full time, women work "seconds shifts" in the home when they get off of work.

Define and explain moderate or liberal feminism

Moderate or liberal feminism: most common type and the most supported by men and women. They want gender equality within existing economic, political, and social structures of American society. -More specifically, they want to end sexist discrimination in the workplace, they want equal opportunity for girls and women in education, employment, and politics, better and more affordable childcare, more women in politics and top jobs, more protection from violence, and less sexual objectification in the media. -In general, they do not critique foundations of American society. There is no focus for example on the nature of capitalism or the role of global economics and politics except when there are concrete or immediate ways that affect women negatively (injustice and brutality). -There is little or no mention of patriarchy and they tend not to highlight the domestic realm of production except for the general encouragement that men share more responsibility at home.

What are the Most Important Aspects of the Racialization Process?

Most analysts identify: 1. Biology -It was important during the 18th and 19th centuries because scientists claim that the world was divided naturally into distinctive races. When biological explanations were not enough, a greater focus was put of social factors. 2. Religion -First social factor focused on. For example, most plantation owners under slavery argued that blacks were an inferior race descended from the children of Ham as explained in the bible and therefore destined to do manual labor and subservient work. -This was closely tied to the idea that amongst Christians that Africans were heathens that needed to be brought to Christianity and civilization. -In this context, plantation owners instructed the enslaved that they must obey their masters, do hard work, be humble, and wait for their rewards in the kingdom of heaven. This was all designed to persuade and force black people to produce maximum profit. 3. Economics -Historian Eric Williams wrote a book called Capitalism and Slavery where he argued that slavery was developed for mainly economic reasons, not religion. Racism as an ideology followed slavery rather than coming before it. -Williams argues that it was not the color of the laborer or the cost of the labor that led to slavery. The primary goal of planters was economic profit and the best way to achieve profit was to obtain cheap and docile labor. -Plantation owners first enslaved Native Americans, but this was Native American land and they found ways to escape. They also died from European diseases at very high rates. So, plantation owners brought other servile working class whites under contracts from Europe. This was called Indentured Servitude. But, they often also ran away and could not be enslaved like black people. In each case, poor whites and natives couldn't be fully controlled. So millions of Africans were kidnapped because they couldn't easily escape and could be enslaved for life. -Williams continues to argue that the ideology of racism developed after slavery as a justification for enslaving Africans and exploiting them economically. So racism was the consequence of slavery. Slavery wasn't born out of racism. 4. Class -Blacks were placed at the bottom of the social hierarchy while whites were placed at the top and had the most power. These factors are all still relevant in the 21st century.

Who is affected by violence?

Most incidents involve poor or working class women in inner city areas. But middle class and wealthy Black women can also be victims of violence! This includes domestic violence, sexual violence, and crime. Money and wealth offer no guarantee of safety from violence for women. For example, in 2009 Rihanna was physically beaten by her then boyfriend Chris Brown several times. Violence is through much more common in poor rather than wealth areas.

Explain the history of the skin color hierarchy that is present within the U.S.

One cause of violence is jealously over color. The long history of color distinctions in the Black community reaches back to slavery. 'Mulattoes' or 'mixed-race' slaves often received preferential treatment, were able to gain legal freedom, and rise in the social hierarchy. Whites encouraged these distinctions and encouraged conflict between mulattoes and Black to keep this social order intact. Mulattoes also generally rejected black people. When slavery ended, higher proportions of mixed race people were legally free, were more likely to be able to read and write, and they were able to gain greater access to political and economic power, throughout the 20th century. Some outstanding mixed race people challenged these patterns and were more likely to place emphasis on what Black people shared in common, regardless of color differences. For example, Booker T. Washington, Mary Church Terrell, W E B Dubois and Malcolm X.

What is race?

Race is the idea that humans are divided into categories based on biological, physical characteristics. Your race cannot change. You are either born Black, white, Asian, etc. This notion of an individual's unchanging race is closely tied to the ideology of racism. Racism says that some races are superior to other races.

What are white privilege? How does it function?

Racial Privilege refers to a race's capacity to make unequal claims to scarce resources based upon their racial label. Examples of these scarce resources include jobs, education, freedom, citizenship, political power, housing, and prestige. In the United States, white people are the ones who benefit from racial privilege even if they oppose racism. This privilege is seen where whites dominate employment, education, and housing. This power then allows them to dictate what the rules for success are and an emphasis is always placed on individual excellence and success. The reason for this is to draw the focus away from systematic barriers that affect black achievement. However, we all know that this is not how the system actually works. Colleges are densely populated by whites compared to blacks and the best jobs are based on educational credentials from these institutions. On top of all of this, whites also have social ties and networks that allow them to gain access to those better schools, training programs, and jobs. Most whites would say this is not racism, because their notion of racism is based off of individual intentional racism. But, Barlow still argues that whites benefit substantially from white privilege.[3] One specific example of this privilege is being able to live in a safe neighborhood. As noted by Nikki Jones, many blacks and minorities do not have this privilege and "witness or directly encounter gun violence associated with drug dealer disputes, threats of interpersonal violence, or sexual and dating violence".[4] In other words, whites live their lives and enjoy the benefits of white racial privilege without even thinking about it.

Define and explain racial privilege.

Racial Privilege: refers to people's capacity to make unequal claims to scarce resources because of their racial designation. Ex: freedom, citizenship, jobs, political power, housing, education, and prestige. Not all whites are racist and even those that oppose racism, enjoy racial privilege. Sociologist Andrew Barlow argues one of the most striking features of racism in the United States today is that whites can defend racial privileges without the explicit use of racist ideology. White racial privilege occurs where whites occupy and dominate employment, education, and housing, often in segregated communities. It also occurs where they decide the rules and regulations for success. o These rules always place an emphasis on individual merit and individual success. In this way, they ignore systematic barriers to such success that can confront black people based on where they live for example (poverty and segregated neighborhoods). o But, individual merit is not how the system actually works. School and university education is Angelocentric and the best jobs are based on educational credentials from these top institutions. o On top of this is a system of social ties and social networks in which white people help their family members gain access to the best schools, the best training programs, and access to the best jobs. They also help them gain promotion once employed. Most whites would say this is not racism, because their notion of racism is based off of individual intentional racism. But, Barlow still argues that whites benefit substantially from white privilege. In other words, whites live their lives and enjoy the benefits of white racial privilege without even thinking about it. Examples of racial privilege: Whites do not have are not systematically arrested and placed in jail as described by Michelle Alexander, white culture is not given negative attributes like Black culture is (Orlando Patterson), and white women do not need to adopt strategies for surviving violent neighborhoods (Nikki Jones). Whites also have generally have a good relationship with the police and believe they are there to protect them. Black people in contrast fear the police and do not think they are about protecting them.

Define and explain racial projects.

Racial Projects: The concept was introduced by Michael Omi and Howard Winant in 1994. A racial project is an interpretation, representation, or explanation of racial dynamics and an effort to reorganize and redistribute resources along particular racial lines. The idea of racial projects implies deliberate intention by people who are racist or who are motivated by racial reasons, stereotypes, or other hostility. • The concept of racial projects highlights the motivations of groups who find the idea of race a useful organizing tool. A key dimension to racial projects is code words (have a racial meaning understood by everyone). Not all of them though refer to black people. One example of a code word like this is illegal immigration (undocumented Mexicans), terrorists (Muslims), street gangs (blacks and Latinos). • Sociologist Andrew Barlow argues that the abolition of affirmative action was and is a racial project designed to maintain white privilege. Proposition 209 is what ended affirmative action in the 1990's in California. • There is also an increased focus on individual responsibility by politicians and public commentators. They claim people succeed or fail on the basis of their own efforts. Barlow says this is also a racial project because these commentators do not want to address the systematic ways in which organizations of institutions like education, employment, housing, and policing discriminate against blacks and other minorities. • Several analysts also call prisons racial projects. Sociologist Loic Wacquant says prisons are one of the many racial projects specifically designed by the U.S. state to control black people from the moment they were forced into this country.

Define and explain structural Racism.

Structural Racism: Also known as color-blind racism. Racism that has been built into social systems over the last few hundred years. But, intentions are not always to discriminate. Ex: Ferguson city - policy of using parking tickets to increase revenues, focus mainly on Black residents. Or cities that deny bail to poor and to Black people. Another example is the price of college education. Because tuition costs at least 15,000 dollars a year, many Black families can not afford to give their kids an education. This puts them at a disadvantage for earning a good income and acquiring wealth. Colorblind racism refers to the view expressed by white people. That the status of blacks and other minorities is due to "market dynamics, naturally occurring phenomena, and blacks' imputed cultural limitations." Sociologist Andrew Barlow argues that with regard to racism, the intentions of individuals are no longer important. Racism no longer primarily operated through individual intentions. The U.S. has built up racial segregation and inequality over several hundred years which has affected who gets the best education, jobs, and housing. So whites no longer have to be intentionally racist anymore in order to benefit from structural racism. They can actually express opinions against racism and still benefit. • Ex: large scale institutions, massive administrative structures that treat all people in a standardized way, and large suburbs where exclusive housing and jobs are located. All of these institutions were built during the long period of legal segregation in the U.S that continued through the 1960's. • Using abstract and impersonal criteria effectively discriminates against blacks because past discrimination has denied them access to education, jobs, and suburban residential areas. They have tried to catch up, but this was made more difficult from the 2008 recession. • SO, treating everyone the same continues racial inequality.

The Feminization of Poverty

The Feminization of Poverty = that women (and children) are over concentrated in poverty as compared with men. • Women that are single parent families - widows, divorcees, those never married - are even more concentrated in poverty. This means that women (and children) are over concentrated in poverty as compared with men. More than half of poor children lived in families headed by women in 2010. • Women also only earn 78 cents of every dollar a man earns. • They are over-represented in low paying and part-time jobs and over-concentrated in 'women's jobs' - like secretaries, nurses, elementary school teachers, maids, nannies and cleaners. This means women are less likely to occupy high level jobs or hold political office. In 2015, 104 women in congress out of over 530 congress people. • Women also often need higher qualifications and experience compared to men in fields where they are underrepresented. This includes specific jobs like doctors, professors, attorneys, top military commanders, judges, chief executive offices, chief financial officers, and college chancellors. • When women do work, they face enormous childcare costs. In 2016, the average cost of childcare was 11,500 per year.

Explain the challenges Blacks face.

The challenges African Americans face can be divided into two categories. 1. Institutional obstacles: lack of wealth or income, employment, educational inequality, violence, police, prisons, institutional racism. 2. Intricacies of Culture Blacks face dramatic inequality in wealth and income, educational disadvantages, lack of access to training, unemployment, highly limited occupational experiences, extensive drug and alcohol addiction, inter-community violence, widespread police brutality and harassment, increased militarization of police departments, and massive over representation in arrests and in prisons. The U.S. is also still racially segregated. Segregation means overcrowding, environmental pollution, and lack of resources and role models. Not all blacks face all of these obstacles and other races can face some of these challenges, but African Americans face so many of these that it can become overwhelming. This is what's called Concentration Affects or the concentration of many social and economic problems in one geographical area, usually the inner city. How these problems affect black youth depends on their class, position, their agenda, their cultural style of living, their cultural background, and the region and city where they live. For example, the problems facing black youth in Boston and New York are different from those in Miami and Atlanta. The context and neighborhood can be central to outcomes. Black boys and girls, black young men and women often respond differently to the problems that they face or they are treated differently with different outcomes. Orlando Patterson describes several class positions of black youth that confront different problems including middle class and working class youth in inner cities, as well as youth disconnected from society or living in deep poverty. He also describes different cultural styles including those that are mainstream and those that follow a hip hop national identity.

What is ethnicity?

The concept of ethnicity refers to social and cultural attributes, such as: 1. Language 2. Religion 3. Dress 4. Food 5. Music 6. Beliefs about one's origins (geographic origins, religious origins, etc.). 7. The social and cultural boundaries between groups. For example: when people think of Italians they usually think of Catholicism, Italian food, and the closeness of Italian families; or when people think of the Irish, they usually think of their distinct Irish accent, Catholicism and the importance of kinship. Or when we think of Mexicans, we think of Catholicism, the Spanish language, Burritos, Enchiladas, and Meriachi bands. The idea of ethnicity has existed since the mass arrival of Europeans who came from a range of countries across Europe. So it is common to refer to Italians, Germans, the Irish, and the English as distinct ethnic groups.

What is the different between (old) racism and the new racism?

The concept of race was created in the 1500's during the time of European migration, expansion, and colonization. Europeans came into contact with large numbers of people of varying colors, regions, and religions. In order to explain the visual differences between themselves and the natives, they came up with the idea of race and people were biological classified into different "types" or "races". Scientists measured skulls and other physical features. They concluded that whites were the most superior race in terms of mental and intellectual abilities while blacks were the most inferior. This all suggested that the world was naturally divided into races, it was organized in a hierarchy of the superior/inferior, race determined culture, and that race was absolute. As a result of all of this, explicit racist intention was expressed by individuals and institutions that is easily recognizable. Another word for this is old racism. An example of old racism can be found in Sandew Hira's book 20 Questions and Answers about Reparations for colonialism. She quotes a famous philosopher named David Hume that lived in the 1700's. He claimed that Blacks and all other races were to naturally inferior to whites. Today, old racism has become less common and new racism has taken its place. New racism is defined as racism that has changed in its form, operations, and strategies. Culture is the emphasis of new racism as opposed to biology. This includes stereotypes about black people like the declining family structure, not speaking proper English, having no moral values, and lacking work ethic. Although Black people are no longer being accused of being biologically inferior, they are instead being judged as culturally insufficient. One important component of this new racism is the use of code words. Code words are words or phrases that do not mention race directly, but race is vital to the meaning of these words. Examples of code words include law and order (code word for criminal), drug dealers (code for black drug dealers), and street gangs (code for Latino and Black gangs). An example of new racism can be seen in Nikki Jones' book Between Good and Ghetto. She states that girls who create a public persona as a tough or violent girl, risk evaluation by peers, adults, and outsiders as street or ghetto". Jones goes on to explain that ghetto is a code word for ignorant, stupid, or morally deficient.

Why is the distinction between old and new racism important?

The distinction between old and new racism is important because most people define racism by the old definition. This means people only recognize racism when there is clear evidence of individual prejudice and deliberate discrimination. The problem with this is that new racism is often ignored because it isn't as obvious and can be difficult to see. White people then retain their white privilege and white habitus while blacks are segregated to poor neighborhoods and remain disadvantaged when it comes to education, housing, and jobs. If we can see the distinction between old and new racism as a country, then it will become apparent that racism is a product of structural inequality created by white habitus, white privilege, and colorblind policies. Only then will it be possible to works towards racial equality.

Is the U.S. Post-Racial?

The dominant view of the public and of politicians is that the U.S. are post-racial. That race does not play a major role in shaping the lives of Americans. That race should not be a racial or policy consideration in American society. Advocates of this view believe that individuals succeed or fail on their own individual actions. So they want no discussion of race or policy or politics. The reason this has become the prominent view is because the U.S. has elected a black president. But there is considerable evidence to contradict and challenge this view. This includes evidence from the past like slavery and legal segregation and in the present including racism, racial inequality, and police treatment and violence. This debate has to do with questions of facts and questions of definition. For example, what exactly constitutes racism? How does racism function? How does gender shape the lives of men and women? How does race and gender intersect?

The History of slavery in the U.S.

The international slave trade lasted for about 200 years, starting in the 1600's. Over 800,000 Africans were kidnapped, transported, and landed in the United States. The domestic slave trade lasted for another 57 years after this and involved the sale of almost 2 million black people. Economic wealth and political power across the south was largely based on ownership of enslaved property. By the 1860's, almost 4 million enslaved African Americans produced cotton, tobacco, sugar, and rice to enrich their white owners. More than 7 million whites in the south profited directly from this ownership. When slavery was abolished, black people received no apology, no compensation, and no equality. Legal racial segregation lasted for another 100 years. It was during this time that blacks continued to be systematically exploited and politically dominated. All of these actions were created and enforced by the U.S. governments using the military, policing, and legal systems. For centuries universities have downplayed the violence and brutality of slavery and its economic exploitation. It is also downplayed that slavery was introduced to institute this economic exploitation and political domination. Instead, the so called achievements of southern culture and society was highlighted. Black slaves were portrayed as happy, faithful to their owners, and as benefiting from civilization and Christianity. Black scholars were also denied by these universities the right to deny and produce knowledge that challenged these views. This production of biased knowledge still exists today.

How do the debates on reparations link the past and present experiences of African Americans?

The word reparations in relation to African Americans is commonly defined as "something that is done or given as a way of correcting a mistake that you have made or a bad situation that you have caused; the act of making amends, offering expiation, or giving satisfaction for a wrong or injury". The main way the debate on reparations links the past and present experiences of African Americans is that it highlights the fact that racial discrimination existed then and continues to exist now. This is why the desire for reparations typically has two components: descendants of slavery should be compensated for the economic exploitation of their ancestors and racial bias in universities, schools, and the media should end. Education should be more accurate inclusive, and more comprehensive. A second way past and present experiences of African Americans is linked is the fact that there continues to be strong objection to changing the status quo. What is meant by this is that just like there was considerable opposition to ending slavery and Jim crow legal segregation, there is also a push to deny reparations to African Americans today. What agitates most people about this topic is the financial aspect because many believe that the money will come out of their paychecks. However, the real fear is that reparations may help to push many black people out of poverty and subsequently place poor whites to the bottom of the social hierarchy.

What are the causes of violence between Black women?

There are a range of issues that lead to conflict and violence between women. 1. Color plays a role in conflict between Black women. According to the 'skin color hierarchy' in the US today: Light skin is good, attractive and desirable. Dark skin is bad, unattractive and undesirable. o This hierarchy shapes whites' attitudes towards Blacks and Blacks' attitudes towards each other. Jones calls this hierarchy a dehumanizing and divisive element in Black life. o Jones says that the hierarchy creates limits on the quality of life of Black girls. Girls with light skin act as if they are better than girls with dark skin or are judged as acting that way. Lighter skinned girls typically acted arrogant, demeaning to other women and girls, and self-important. Fights develop as a result and this can lead to serious violence like facial disfigurement. 2. A second reason for conflict is arrogance. Arrogance and accusations of arrogance: Sometimes involves girls with light skin who think or act as if they are better than other girls. Sometimes this is the case, but personality or other characteristics deemed to be desirable or attractive like clothes, school achievement, or self-important attitudes can spark conflict. 3. A third reason is disrespect or perceived disrespect. When some girls act or speak in a way that is deemed inappropriate or disrespectful it can lead to violence. 4. A fourth reason is some girls just like to fight. Violence sometimes occurs because girls that frequently fight threaten other girls that they think are weak or passive. Sometimes girls start fights on behalf of their friends.

Why are reparations needed?

This is according to Ta-Nehisi Coates, senior editor of the Atlantic. 1. The United States has oppressed black people through slavery, lynching, sharecropping, legislation, redlining (housing discrimination), harsh treatment by police, and higher levels of incarceration. So this means that reparations isn't about what white people owe black people, it is what the United States owes black people. 2. Action of the United States has created an unfair gap for African Americans. They have been oppressed and this has caused limited opportunities for them compared to white people. Just because policies have been corrected, this hasn't fixed this gap. 3. If the U.S. government refuses to recognize the moral and practical damage it has caused (wealth gap, increased incarceration rates for blacks, achievement gap, racism, treated with a double standard-a different social standard), it will fail to live up to its own ideals (liberty, freedom, democracy, equality). 4. Reparations will help to ease racism and end white supremacy. This is also taking steps toward more equality and less discrimination for blacks.

Define Wealth

Wealth = Assets. This includes property, stocks and shares, and other resources like jewelry or art for example. Wealth is accumulated and passed down over generations. • Large numbers of wealthy people in the U.S. have inherited their money. Rare exceptions include recent computer and technology billionaires. • The main difference between wealth and income is that wealth is used to get ahead, succeed, and is typically used to create more wealth. • Wealth also protects people in times of economic crisis. It is often used for paying for private schools and colleges, buying children homes and weddings, and providing children and grandchildren with savings accounts and trust funds. Examples of Wealthy Americans include Bill Gates, Larry Ellison, Elon Musk, The Waltons, and Warren Buffet.

Define and explain white habitus.

White Habitus: Barlow describes it as a social space or a social cocoon that whites live in, work in, enjoy leisure in, and don't even think about. These places include homes, schools, sports facilities, clubs, restaurants, and social events. It also includes who you marry because most marriages in the U.S. involve white people marrying each other. Barlow argues that the white habitus results from the creation of mass institutions in the U.S. including large corporations, mass public institutions of higher education, large scale government agencies, mass transportation, and federally funded highways. For example, the new suburbs that exist today were created by and for white people only with funding from the federal government and systematic discrimination to prevent black people from moving there. Because these suburbs exist, there is no need to intentionally discriminate against black people. The social and spatial organization of institutions perpetuates the racial segregation that was created in the past. Another example of white habitus is a social club that requires yearly membership to be apart of. The Yellowstone club in Montana for example requires new members to pay 250,000 to join, and 20,000 a year to maintain membership. You also have to own a home in the local area which costs millions of dollars. Since white have the best jobs and have an easier time obtaining wealth, they make up the majority of people in the U.S. who are millionaires. So this club is probably made up of all whites and can be considered a white habitus. Most whites would say the white habitus is not racist. Why should they not be allowed to go to the schools, the jobs, or play the sports that they want? Or choose who they marry? Bonilla-Silva and Barlow would argue that white habitus isn't racist in intention. But, it does maintain racial segregation and preserves white racial privilege. Some white though are aware that they are living in a white habitus and want to keep it that way. We still aren't sure if this white habitus was created completely unintentional or partially intentional.

What are the similarities and differences of the three feminist types?

o All three sets of feminists agree on ending sexist discrimination in the workplace and in politics. But, Marxist and radical feminists push for a far greater interrogation of underlying issues than moderate feminists. o In other words, they are far more likely to raise questions about the nature of democracy, capitalism, and about how political and economic organization outside the home is dependent on the exploitation of women's labor inside the home. o So the major difference between moderate and Marxist and radical feminists is that both Marxist and radical feminists focus on underlying issues of society. o Feminists disagree on the most important issues whether in the public realm of work and politics or in the private realm of the home. o Feminists also disagree on the kinds of policies that are needed to achieve genuine equality.

Explain the gender division of labor.

o Gender division of labor = the allocation of appropriate and desired work roles to men and women based on socially appropriate gender roles expectations. This definition challenges the notion that biology determines social roles. It also describes and explains how work is defined and allocated to men and women. o Historically in the U.S., Europe, and the West, men work in the realm of production. This means paid work and careers in public spaces. These careers are also high status. This work is called Productive Labor. Women were allocated to the realm of reproduction which includes having kids and reproducing the home, cooking, cleaning, childcare, and emotional labor. This realm is private, unpaid, low status, and called Domestic Labor. o Public spaces = regulated and governed by laws, rules, and regulations, paid. o Private spaces = no standard laws or rules, no pay, it's a "labor of love". It's done out of love, dedication, or duty. o Today, women are now found in the workplace and in politics. The majority of workers in the U.S. right now is actually women. Expectations have also changed and most families expect that both parents will work. But, things are not as good as they seem. Most part-time workers are still women, women are concentrated in lower-paying roles and jobs, and they are still expected to work in the home. Women have a primary responsibility for domestic labor including cooking, cleaning, and looking after kids. This is still expected even if women work full time and is called the Double Shift. Most women also work in jobs that are considered female jobs. This includes teachers, teachers assistants, maids, nurses, secretaries, administrative assistants, waitresses, receptionists, book keepers, and home and health aides. Women take these jobs because they allow them to still take care of them domestic sphere. As a result, women are under represented in STEM and other better paying careers.

Where did the idea of race come from?

o It was not until the 1500s, during European migration, expansion, and colonization that the concept of race took hold. This occurred because Europeans came into contact with great numbers of people of different colors, regions, and religions. They used race as a way to explain the differences between themselves and people that they met and often conquered. -With the development of the sciences came the biological classification of people into different "types" or "races". This is called Scientific racism/biological racism which has four elements. 1. World is naturally divided into races 2. Organized in hierarchy of superior/inferior 3. Race determines culture 4. Race is immutable In the late 1700s Johan Friedrich Blumenbach (German physiologist and anthropologist) claimed that there were five races: 1. Caucasian (white) 2. Mongolian (yellow) 3. Malayan (brown) 4. Ethiopian (black) 5. American (red). Blumenbach, and other scientists during the 1800s, would measure skulls and other physical features to make definitive scientific claims. For example, they argued that Black people have smaller brains than white people, and therefore they are inferior in terms of mental and intellectual abilities. Authors like Blumenbach and Nott are now called scientific racists since their work was supposedly based on scientific research. They were also all likely white, male, and protestant. They all also believed that whites were superior, this is called Ethnocentrism or the belief that your group is naturally superior. .

How does race and gender affect income and wealth?

o Like all social issues, wealth and income are gendered. This means that the distribution of wealth and income is shaped fundamentally be gender. However, it is difficult to determine women's wealth because many are married and their wealth is often hidden. o In general, women tend to have less income and wealth compared to men. They are also underrepresented in top jobs and over represented in part time and low paying jobs. There are though several who are millionaires and even billionaires. o wealthy whites are also far wealthier than wealthy blacks. Wealthy whites on average have 10 times more wealth compared to wealthy blacks and earn it through inheritance that has been passed on for many generations. Wealthy blacks on the other hand earn their wealthy through work and have acquired it this generation. o Poor black people are also far poorer than poor white people. They have also experienced poverty for far longer compared to whites as well. Families headed by black women are even poorer. o Since most black people lack wealth and high incomes, they are not in a strong position to transfer wealth or money to their children. Black children have to deal with cultural and institutional obstacles without drawing on wealth or finances or powerful networks that provide success to education, training, or jobs.

Explain the differences between race and ethnicity.

o Race emphasizes biological and physical characteristics as well as mental and intellectual abilities. -Historically, it is a concept that has been imposed on populations rather than embraced by them. -Race is also thought of as unchangeable and highlights the concept of Hierarchy (some races are supposedly better or superior to others). -The concept of race best helps us to understand the history of Africans and African Americans in the U.S. o Ethnicity emphasizes cultural and social characteristics. -It has historically been embraced by groups themselves. For Example, proud to be Italian. -It is also a concept that highlights the possibility for change. You can change your religion, language, food, etc. -Ethnicity also does not necessarily imply a hierarchy either. There's no reason why one language or food would be better than another. -The concept of ethnicity best helps us to understand the history of Italians, or the Polish, or Irish immigrants in the U.S.

Define and explain symbolic violence.

o Symbolic Violence: refers to hostile and caricatured representations of Black women and girls in the media. o The media presents Black women in limited range of negative roles. This includes tragic mulattoes, amazons, mammies, maids/servants, prostitutes, drug addicts, and Black drag queens. ***A specific example is Aunt Jemima breakfast food company. The name Aunt Jemima came from one of the founders who watched a minstrel show (a popular stage entertainment featuring songs, dances, and comic dialogue in highly conventionalized patterns, usually performed by white actors in blackface) that featured a skit with a Southern mammy (black nursemaid or nanny in charge of white children). The titles "Mr." and "Mrs." were deemed unsuitable for Blacks, this is why she was called Aunt Jemima. The same is true for Uncle Ben's rice, he was portrayed as a domestic servant. ***Another example is a KFC commercial I saw several years ago. A white man was sitting in a crowd of black people who were dancing. He thought this was awkward because he was being ignored so he offered the people around him fried chicken. After he did this everyone was happy and he said that pleasing this crowd was "too easy". This plays off of the stereotypes that Black people love fried chicken and that Blacks are easy to please because they are simple. o These images are "violent" because they grossly misrepresent Black women and convey highly limited and stereotypical roles that cause black women and kids embarrassment and offense. Given prevalent racial segregation in U.S., this is critical because many non-Black people get their ideas about Black women from these images.

Define Code words.

words or phrases that do not mention race, but they are color-coded. o Most Americans understand that race is central to the meaning of these words. This includes words like Law and order (code word for criminal); Inner city; urban youth, drug dealers (black drug dealers), family breakdown (single parent black families) welfare dependence (black women); irresponsible mothers, special privileges; reverse racism (affirmative action), and affirmative Action. o These code words are very often used by politicians, especially those on the right. They are also used by the white American public at large, T.V. presenters, and policymakers. Ex: popular news commenter Glenn Beck has called president Obama a racist several times and claims that he doesn't like white people. However, he hasn't provided evidence to support these statements. He has also called affirmative action racist, but never defined racism. So, he calls for color blind approaches to public policy. o Code word comments have also been used by Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, Ben Stein, and Rush Limbaugh. Donald Trump also often uses the code words law and order when he talks about stopping crime. He stated that a wall around the U.S. border would restore law and order to America. What he really means though is this wall will prevent crimes for occurring by keeping criminals out of the U.S.

why is culture important? Why is apart of mainstream culture?

• As shaped by history and circumstance, culture in general reflects a community's way of life, its way of living, its belief system, and the methods a community finds to solve the problems that it faces. Culture includes language, religion, family, community, psychological well-being, ethics, and respect. • Cultural behavior shapes relations between parents and kids, boys and girls, and girls and boys themselves in complex and intricate ways. Mainstream culture has a direct impact on black culture and much of black culture is mainstream. • Mainstream culture includes individual freedom, educational attainment, respect, for law and order, responsibility for family, obligations to work and vote, long and entrenched gender division of labor (including a racialized division of gender), gender ideologies about the most appropriate roles for boys and girls, a long and entrenched history of legal and institutional racism, and a legacy of stereotypes of black people in media and politics.

What is the history of black feminism?

• Black feminism has a long tradition of political activism in the United States and this goes back to the period of slavery. But legal, social, and political inequality prevented a large body of writing from emerging. When slavery ended, more writing emerged as black women who had long been activists made more and more contributions in the form of essays, memoirs, poems, novels, and increasingly academic texts. This work grew throughout the 20th century and exploded in large volume during and after the civil rights movement and the women's movement of the 50's, 60's, and 70's. During this period, works by Alice Walker, Angela Davis, June Jordan, Barbra Christian, Ntozake Shange, and Michelle Wallace were published. • One of the first issues emphasized by black feminists was racism in the white woman's movement. They didn't understand their own racism and only had a superficial understanding or race, color, and black history. • Black feminists also pointed out that white men's success in work and politics was achieved with the support and exploitation of white wives. White class rich woman who succeed in careers and politics do so based on the support and exploitation of black women and other women of color who work for them as cooks, servants, maids, and nannies. • Black feminists also highlighted class differences among black women. That black women who are doctors, lawyers, and professors face different kinds of problems than black women who live in poverty or have low paying jobs. • They also emphasize issues of color difference and light skin privilege within the black community.

Define Gender and Gender Ideology.

• Gender = the social roles assigned by society to boys and girls, and men and women. Instead of focusing of the biological categories of male and female, gender instead highlights the social dimensions about what is regarded as appropriate masculine and feminine behavior. This has to do with how boys and girls, and men and women are supposed to behave, dress, interact, talk, and where they are supposed to work. Gender Ideology = the appropriate roles for men and women in different social spaces and institutions including home, school, work, politics, and war. Social institutions convey information about these roles such as family, political institutions, companies, schools, religious institutions, and television and media. Some of this also involves laws about what men and women can and can't do. Here is an example of laws seen in the institution of the household. In the home and family, boys and girls follow different expectations. Boys learn to be strong (emotionally and physically), stand up for themselves, to show an interest in sports, and aspire to top careers and jobs. Girls learn to be sensitive, emotional, and to aspire to motherhood. Here is a specific example. One of my friends named Chris had two older sisters. When they were growing up, his sisters had to go straight home after school, could never have boys over to the house, and had an early curfew of 9pm. In contrast, Chris was allowed to go anywhere after school, could have girls over to the house, and never had a curfew. The reason he was treated differently was because he was taught to be strong and to take care of himself. girls on the other hand are not taught this so his parents thought they needed more supervision.

What does the media leave out about black culture?

• In the media and in the popular imagination, something about black life and culture is missing it's the profound and widespread collective identity and mutual support found in black families and churches. It's a fact that black people are a highly religious and pious community. Church and community offer encouragement and motivation as well as comfort and support in times of need. They also instill self-esteem and pride in ways that the broader society completely fails to do. Young blacks continue to benefit from these energies across the entire nation.

List a major difference between sex and gender. Explain why this difference matters.

• One major difference between sex and gender is that sex is something that is presumed to be something that you cannot change while gender roles can be more easily changed because they are socially allocated and are not "natural", universal, or inevitable. For example, men can learn to do housework, to clean, and to take care of kids while women can learn how to run companies and how to be political leaders. Why does this matter? Because biology determines social roles presently and historically. o Men take on leadership roles and provide for the family. For example, they are political and military leaders, run nations and states, direct large companies, are soldiers fighting in war, and are leaders in science, medicine, and law. They are also police officers and firefighters. o Historically in the U.S., women are found working in the home as wives and mothers. Their responsibilities include childcare, cooking, cleaning, keeping the house, and looking after all of the family members. If they went into the workplace, this was seen as an economic necessity. They were and continue to work as nurses, teachers, assistants, and secretaries.

Complexities of 21st racism

• Racism in the U.S. today is a complex and overlapping blend of old and new ideas, and old and new practices that are connected in various ways to contemporary thinking about race. • This includes Institutional and individual, Direct and indirect, New racism; racial projects; white habitus, Race and gender. • One difference between the past and the present is that it used to be easy to identify who was racist.

Define Sex.

• Sex = the biological distinctions between boys and girls, and men and women. Sex differences are presumed to be natural and unchanging. You are born with them and they stay with you your entire life. They also determine your mental and physical abilities. Men are said to be naturally intelligent, rational, independent, bigger, stronger, faster, and more aggressive. Women are thought to be naturally motherly, to have maternal instincts, creative, to be more collective rather than individualistic, and emotional and empathetic.

The Racial Feminization of Poverty

• The Feminization of Poverty is also racialized. Poor white women face problems of poverty and gender stereotypes while poor Black women and other women of color face problems of poverty, gender stereotypes and racism (including racial prejudice and discrimination). So, Black women are not only subjected to poverty and sexist stereotypes but also racist stereotypes. • Men generally have low expectations of women's abilities in general, but expectations are even lower for women of color. • The most common stereotype is that black women are welfare queens and don't work. But, in fact a higher proportion of Black women with children work as compared to women in other racial and ethnic groups. • black women also have more children compared to other groups and more of them are the head of the household. This means they face more economic obstacles and cannot provide the same kinds of resources for their children to do well in school, go to college, and access jobs. • Overall, black women experience the highest rate of poverty. in addition, today, black kids are 4 times more likely than whites to live in poverty.

Explain black culture.

• The cultural dimensions of the black community share much in common with those in other communities, including the majority white population. Black culture interacts with and is shaped by mainstream culture. And mainstream culture is shaped by black culture. • The specifics of black culture are manifested in unique ways, sometimes in fundamentally different ways than the mainstream. Black culture includes a long tradition of resistance to racism, but these mainstream cultural values maintain and shape black culture in complex and intricate ways. • Black youth culture, particularly in music, style, and sport is extremely popular in the U.S. and across the world. For example, the hip hop industry is a multi-billion-dollar business and attracts millions of followers, the majority of them are not black. Black sports superstars, musicians, and celebrities are also heroes. And black styles of communication and dress are embraced and imitated. The originality and creativity found in this music motivates black youth

What is the goal of black feminist thought?

• The goal of black feminist thought is to create a more expansive and more inclusive body of knowledge. One that takes into account all of the intersections of inequality in order to describe them, analyze them, tackle them, and reduce them. • It's important to realize that black feminism is not just a set of writers or a single set of ideas. It can be moderate, Marxist or radical. Some writers emphasize equality in the workplace and the need for affordable childcare, but don't criticize American capitalism or patriarchy. Others highlight the ways in which capitalism continues to exploit families. Others focus on the nature of gender and race equality across the globe (sex trafficking, sex tourism)

What are some coping mechanisms for dealing with violence?

• What do Black women do about threat and/or actual violence from men? Some fight back, some engage in avoidance, some involve police. • Jones says police involvement is infrequent because there is a lack of trust of police and they offer little help/assistance. This is viewed by community as unacceptable. • Overall, women are not successful in eliminating violence. They usually remain in situations where they must continually use coping and/or avoidance strategies. This is because the underlying factors of violence remain present: poverty, unemployment, crime, drugs, and masculine codes of conduct. • Factors condusive to violence include poverty, unemployment, crime and drugs, masculine codes of conducts and a high incidence of male violence.

Explain the violence that occurs between Black women.

• While most violence experienced by Black women happens at the hands of men, some violence occurs between Black women. • However most of this violence is missed in the media and in academic research. • Most of this violence arises because the women share a situation of: poverty, unemployment, desperation, and general inner city violence. • There is also a 'code of the street'. This is a set of cultural values and social expectations about appropriate social behavior. This code conveys to women - and men - that they must demand and expect respect from one another. They must also retaliate with verbal or physical abuse if they are not given that respect.

Explain the historic roles of black and white women.

• White women mainly arrived in American mainly as free people for example. They went on to fill social roles and jobs regarded as appropriate for white women. This depended to a large extend on their class position. If they were wealthy, they usually stayed at home looking after the family. If they were poor or working class, they usually ended up on plantation in the south or in factories and homes in the north. • Black women had a very different experience. Most arrived as captives stolen from Africa and the Caribbean who were brought to the U.S. as slaves. On plantations, they worked in the field alongside men and inside the homes as domestic laborers. A very small number were able to escape slavery and secured legal freedom where they worked in various roles, but mostly as domestic laborers. After slavery ended, black women continued to work in a range of subordinate roles as field, domestic, or factory workers. Like black men, they were still constrained and subordinated by another 100 years of state supported legal racial discrimination. •These historical roles were not accidental, they were shaped, influenced, and maybe determined by race and gender. Race and gender led to the persistent exploitation of black women's labor and economic activity. What this means is that gender and the gender of labor does not apply equally to black and white women. The socially expected roles for black women have always been different from those for white women.

Define and explain Intersectionality.

•Intersectionality = According to legal scholar Kimberly Crenshaw, it is the various ways in which race and gender interact to shape the multiple dimensions of black women's employment experiences. She also adds that the intersection of racism and sexism factors into black women's lives in ways that cannot be captured wholly by looking separately at the race or gender dimensions of these experiences. She applies the concept to domestic violence, sexual abuse, rape, politics, and the state. Intersectionality works to shape black women's experiences of politics, employment, domestic violence, and even sexual abuse and rape. It also highlights the ways in which black women have been excluded from analysis of gender and the division of labor. This concept also helps us to compare the experiences of black men with black women and those of black women with white women in order to reveal what is common and what is different. Crenshaw gives and example of intersectionality. Many Black women who are assaulted are also poor, underemployed, lack job skills, and have to take care of their kids. These burdens are from class and gender oppression. Women of other races and classes face different obstacles. Mexican Immigrant women for example face deportation, many do not speak English, and have limited contact with the world outside of their immediate family. Patricia Hill Collins argues that intersectionality can be applied to a various range of realms including politics, work, prison, family, and to globalization and its impact on the U.S. Sociologist Nikki Jones applies this concept to the violence that men perpetrate against black women. She also considers it a relationship to the violence that some black women perpetrate against one another.

What are the main cultural problems associated with black culture?

•The main cultural problems identified with black youth include lack of a work ethic, self-discipline, and failure to work hard in schools and colleges. There are also accusations of egoism, selfishness, cultural behavior that glorifies violence and crime as ways to succeed in life, a code of the street that demands masculine behavior and unfailing demand for respect, misogyny, a culture that emphasizes manhood and fathering kids even outside marriage, a culture that rewards mothering with respect and admiration with an elevated status even if you're a teenage mother, and a culture that sends mixed messages about the appropriate behavior of girls. Some authors remind us that these problematic attitudes and behaviors can become exacerbated when young black men end up in prison. They carry over into the community when they are released from prison. This can increase violence amongst boys and young men and increase violence or the threat of violence by boys against girls.