Entry 1
I am nervous and excited for this class. I want to know and understand the systemic oppression people of color face, but I am afraid, and embarrassed, that I know so little in the first place. The only background I have for this course is that I live in America and I read The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander. She argues mass incarceration is the new Jim Crow. Alexander’s book was so shocking to me that I just wanted to know more, like what the social implication are of this type of oppression. No one wants to believe someone they know or are someone they are taught to emulate (i.e. police men) could ignore the dignity of human beings based on their race, but it happens. I hope that in reading more works by people or color, and taking …show more content…
We all understand slavery is wrong, but that is not our problem today. Our problem is this hidden system of oppression. I know I will never experience it, I do not have to worry about going out and being shot and killed by police for no apparent reason, but I hope to learn about the victims of these situations and how this regime operated in their lives and death and what language to use to approach discussion about these issues.
Entry 2 The Say Her Name report has affected me more than other pieces we have read. Page after page and story after story of women’s lives being taken for no reason made the report so hard to read. Many times I was overtaken by sadness for these women, where would they be today, what would they be doing? So many lives have been taken, and not talked about. I did not know most of these women’s names before reading this report. I feel awful that I didn’t. It was …show more content…
One day in the car, my mom and I started talking about race issues. I cannot even remember how the conversation started; I just know I did not want it to happen. She expressed the age-old opinion that some black people are just lazy – “How else would you act if the government gave you everything for free.” It was hard not to open the door and throw her out of the car. I could not believe a woman I thought was so smart had said something so wrong. We got into a conversation about it, where I tried to explain why her statement was incorrect and she tried to explain what she had meant. I think we eventually started to agree and she understood what I was meaning to say, but once we got home we let it go. I do not know if the best option is to let these little instances of racism go, but I did, honestly it was easier. I noticed that when I was talking to her, I was using examples from the readings and videos I am doing for this class. I am glad that I had these examples, because I think it made the already sticky conversation easier to understand for both of us. But, I am noticing that I am more hyper aware of instances of racial microaggressions (as I said in an earlier entry). Now, everyone’s racist comments make my skin crawl – especially when they are family. I shouldn’t say, its so hard for me, because other people have it worse, but I don’t know how to talk to my family about racial issues when
I am nervous and excited for this class. I want to know and understand the systemic oppression people of color face, but I am afraid, and embarrassed, that I know so little in the first place. The only background I have for this course is that I live in America and I read The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander. She argues mass incarceration is the new Jim Crow. Alexander’s book was so shocking to me that I just wanted to know more, like what the social implication are of this type of oppression. No one wants to believe someone they know or are someone they are taught to emulate (i.e. police men) could ignore the dignity of human beings based on their race, but it happens. I hope that in reading more works by people or color, and taking …show more content…
We all understand slavery is wrong, but that is not our problem today. Our problem is this hidden system of oppression. I know I will never experience it, I do not have to worry about going out and being shot and killed by police for no apparent reason, but I hope to learn about the victims of these situations and how this regime operated in their lives and death and what language to use to approach discussion about these issues.
Entry 2 The Say Her Name report has affected me more than other pieces we have read. Page after page and story after story of women’s lives being taken for no reason made the report so hard to read. Many times I was overtaken by sadness for these women, where would they be today, what would they be doing? So many lives have been taken, and not talked about. I did not know most of these women’s names before reading this report. I feel awful that I didn’t. It was …show more content…
One day in the car, my mom and I started talking about race issues. I cannot even remember how the conversation started; I just know I did not want it to happen. She expressed the age-old opinion that some black people are just lazy – “How else would you act if the government gave you everything for free.” It was hard not to open the door and throw her out of the car. I could not believe a woman I thought was so smart had said something so wrong. We got into a conversation about it, where I tried to explain why her statement was incorrect and she tried to explain what she had meant. I think we eventually started to agree and she understood what I was meaning to say, but once we got home we let it go. I do not know if the best option is to let these little instances of racism go, but I did, honestly it was easier. I noticed that when I was talking to her, I was using examples from the readings and videos I am doing for this class. I am glad that I had these examples, because I think it made the already sticky conversation easier to understand for both of us. But, I am noticing that I am more hyper aware of instances of racial microaggressions (as I said in an earlier entry). Now, everyone’s racist comments make my skin crawl – especially when they are family. I shouldn’t say, its so hard for me, because other people have it worse, but I don’t know how to talk to my family about racial issues when