Week 1: Introduction to Course

9/22/2014

Welcome to Poli 15

WEEK 1 READINGS
On Education – bell hooks
Family Values, Race, Feminism and Public Policy – TWILA L. PERRY (Santa Clara University)
The Essential Social Fact of Race.
"Exploring the Depths of White Racist Socialization," Tim Wise

Name and describe four keys themes from one of the short clips above. In your description of the four themes use two quotes, or paraphrase ideas, from one of the readings listed above.

End your blog post with a critical thinking question. This question will guide the responses you get from other students. Be respectful, kind, and focused towards learning.

Requirements for BLOG POSTS

You must write 250 words each post (due Thursday @ Midnight), Responses to two other students 50 words each (due Sunday @ midnight)
Students must post during the week the blog is assigned or it will not be graded.

81 Comments

Gordon Wang

9/24/2014 03:53:26 pm

Video: The Unequal Opportunity Race
Article: On Education – Bell Hooks

The four themes I have selected from the video for this post are privilege, discrimination, poor schooling and gender inequality.

Privilege in regards to social distinctions is the access to and availability of various services and opportunities that other people do not due thing such as race, gender, lineage, etc.

Discrimination can be described as social pressures designed to block specific people or groups of people from certain things based on preconceived notions about those people.

The video mentions poor schooling as a barrier in the "unequal opportunity race". Bell Hooks reflects in her article that "the knowledge they were supposed to soak up bore no relation to how they lived or behaved. ‘Bussed to white schools’, [she] recalls, ‘we soon learned that obedience, and not zealous will to learn, was what was expected of us’. Too much eagerness to learn she regarded as something that could easily be seen as a threat to white authority".

Near the end of the race in the video, the video demonstrated how in addition to the racial divides, there existed also a divide between genders (specifically white male and female in the video). Hooks comments on how this divide in the black community was socially reinforced within itself: "She drew attention to the extent to which ‘the dominant white patriarchy and black male patriarchy conveyed to black women the message that to cast a vote in favour of social equality of the sexes i.e. women’s liberation, was to cast a vote against black liberation’".

Critical Thinking Question:
At the end of the Unequal Opportunity Race video it says "affirmative action helps level the playing field". Do you believe the concept of affirmative action truly helps society move forward in issues of social/racial equality or does it merely mask and exacerbate the issue?

aemal dastagirzada

9/25/2014 08:06:49 am

I do believe that the concept of affirmative action helps society move forward, leveling the playing field is very important to making the "wrong" right. However, few societies want to be responsible for their wrong doings, they take pride in what they have done right but choose to ignore the modern day problems that take root in our past history. Like the subjection of minorities in education. The challenges that were set previously against minorities and the blunt discrimination of minorities are ample reason to support affirmative action. Modern day stats should not be ignored, it is clear that our poor communities have failing schools and our rich communities probably have more money to know what to do it. The low percentage of graduate from high school and transfer to college is not acceptable in our poor communities; the disproportionate number of students in colleges across America is a good indicator of who is getting a fair chance and who is left behind. I was at Cupertino city hall recently and the city manager told me that they have surplus money from the apple campus project and don't know what to do with this money, mean while East Palo Alto schools don't have the basic essential for their students, what is wrong with this picture? The exacerbating issue is a mere propaganda used by the opponents of affirmative action, these individuals are the same people who would love to have you work for free if legally possible, so they understand the power of legislative and they use it for their benefits.

Dylan SanFilippo\

9/25/2014 09:16:07 am

I do believe that affirmative action helps. Specifically it helps the underprivileged to realize the potential that they already have. Everyone has skills and potential, but only the few understand how to utilize it. If someone was brought up under a household that told them that they were useless, then that person would be more likely to think that they had less to offer than someone who was always taught that they had great potential, and should pursue their passion.
In closing, no one could ever get “too much” encouragement to strive for a good thing.

Nelson Chuang

9/25/2014 10:56:36 am

Affirmative action is a scapegoat for elites to demonstrate their understanding and willingness to help those perceived as less fortunate. It does not help society move forward in regards to racial equality because it allows those less qualified to enter institutions solely based on their racial background, not their competence.

Niloufar Pirkhezri

9/27/2014 05:10:06 pm

When you mention privilege as a topic, it is a grey area for the times that we live in now, it would make sense if we were just getting out of the days when being a "privileged" individual was something to wear as a chip on your shoulder. But we live in the 21st century were there are so many types of programs out there to help support those that are under privileged, programs that are funded by the government and private investors that want to to help everyone in their community. So in reality it comes down to the individual to make that choice to use those programs to help themselves to a better life. Plus, with all of the ways to even find out about these almost unlimited programs, TV,newspapers, magazines, person to person, and the biggest one of them all, the world wide web. In the end being privileged is not so special now a days.

Laura Pino-Flores

9/28/2014 12:07:03 pm

I believe the concept of affirmative action does help society move forward in issues of social/racial equality. Race continues to be a big issue in this country, and there are still people who are not accustomed to racial diversity in their communities despite the high number of people from other races living in the United States. Affirmative action brings in other races to the work force and schools and levels out the playing field by giving minorities a chance to prove themselves and brings in more diversity into these places.

Cody

9/28/2014 03:59:57 pm

I definitely feel that in regards to helping people get higher educations and job opportunities affirmative action is helping make a difference. On the other hand I don't think it is really solving anything since is just a law put in place that employers have to obey. It's not helping us change how we think or go about treating others. Though I think affirmative action isn't a absolute solution, I do feel it has helped.

shannon caset

9/28/2014 04:48:52 pm

Affirmative action in concert with many other programs can be effective. Like any effort to change long standing policies Affirmative action is useless with education and training

shannon caset

9/28/2014 04:48:52 pm

Affirmative action in concert with many other programs can be effective. Like any effort to change long standing policies Affirmative action is useless with education and training

So Chun Kiu Ryan

9/25/2014 07:43:11 am

Video: “The Unequal Opportunity Race”
Article: "Exploring the Depths of White Racist Socialization," Tim Wise

Themes:
1. Wealth Disparities
Wealth Disparities refers to the uneven economic distribution among people of different groups (e.g. race, countries). Especially in developed countries like United States and China, It has always been a critical concern that when the majority of wealth, income belongs to extremely small proportion of people, it can seriously affect quality of life of middle to low income class. Wealth disparities can be caused by various economic, political and social factors such as underpaid low skilled labors, unemployment, heritance, racial discrimination…etc.

2. Racial Profiling
Racial profiling is an act of racism when enforcement mainly or even wholly based on the race or ethnicity of the person to decide whether he/she has violated the law. Racism is closely related to racial profiling. For example, like Time Wise said in the article, “Fact is ‘nigger’ still this the first word on most white people’s mind when they see a black man being taken off to jail on the evening news.” Racial profiling happens when a suspect is related to this kind of prejudice against certain skin colors or ethnics in enforcement’s mind. In fact, it unfairly increases the possibility of certain group of people of getting into jail. Additionally, it wastes taxes and resources on many people who are actually uninvolved in crimes.

3. Discrimination
Discrimination can be described as treating somebody differently or even badly hinged on preconceptions such as skin color, gender, ethnics…etc. It also involves social status and social meaning to some community: said Tim Wise, “In so many ways that’s all whiteness ever meant, and all it needed to mean for those of European descent. To be white, at least you are above them”. It perfectly states the social meaning of racial discrimination to white community.

4. Standardized Tests
Common standardized tests in United States like SAT, ACT… are tests designed in a consistent, professional pattern that indicate students’ knowledge in certain area or subject (e.g. Maths, English). It is usually nationally or even internationally accepted. Like SAT, it is a required evidence for students’ academic performance in universities’ admissions. However, some people argue that standardized tests don’t truly reflect true academic potential of some students but adversely eliminate the opportunities they deserve.

Critical Thinking Question:
Video Clip " The Unequal Opportunity Race" mentions numbers of disadvantages of coloured people suffer in life, such as discrimination, shortened lifespan..etc, while white people enjoy life full of privilege. But, to what extent, do you think that coloured people only live at disadvantages in their life? or they also have their own advantages?

Dylan SanFilippo

9/25/2014 03:09:58 pm

It seems to me that many of the black people have embraced their stereotypes in a way. A former black teacher of mine had a personal saying of his own, and that saying was, “Own your stereotype!” I can’t even think of any single people group that is more successful in the drug trafficking business than the blacks. There are thousands of brilliant entrepreneurial individuals managing the trafficking of certain goods throughout America. The false belief that blacks are below the rest of society has opened up a whole new market for the black society to fill, and they seem to be filling it quite well. All this success however goes undocumented and unappreciated. Blacks as a race in America actually average more money than the statistics say they do because drug lords don’t document their earnings or report them to the IRS, and with all the money they earn from their hard work, they are free to buy whatever they want, and live happier, more comfortable lives!

Laura Pino-Flores

9/28/2014 12:37:44 pm

I do not think colored people ever really have advantages. When it comes to the professional world they are highly disadvantaged because of attached stereotypes and discrimination. Colored people for the most part have to work extra hard to accomplish what caucasians accomplish. Colored people face many hardships that caucasians would never even think of because it is a privilege they have. Yes colored people have overcome many things such as slavery and the civil rights movement but I do not think overcoming these things were a privilege.

jennifer

9/28/2014 05:09:09 pm

I think what your question hits at is the intersectionality of a persons lived reality. a person of color is not just defined by this one identity but occupies other identities at the same time, and they will benefit from those identities and be disadvantaged within them. A person is not just black and therefore disadvantaged rather their socioeconomic status can play a bigger role in the manner they experience themselves then their race.
But it is important to keep in mind that a person of color can be hurt by “good stereotypes” or privileges, as example is the Model Minority Myth: that severely hurts the asian community and silences their struggle. While it can be considered a privilege to be perceived as a culturally outgoing and intelligent race (that is not white) it masks the underlying subservient nature of it that caters to white privilege.
Also, it is important to not victimize oneself, in the article Silva says that race is real weither we want it or not and thats true, the external world will attribute us with a race and treat us accordingly, there is no way around it. Yet when we close our minds to the greater picture of systematic privileges and penalties that we all live in we miss that its not just about nonwhite people fighting for white privilege rather its about making sure that ones privilege not come at the cost of ones/anothers disadvantages as well.

Dylan SanFilippo

9/25/2014 08:54:37 am

Contrary to what some would consider to be a popular belief that blacks are not hard working, but lazy, there have been people who see that black people are not only able, but actually willing to work.

“Consider the youngsters employed in the urban crack trade. They are hardly shiftless and lazy leisure seekers... Their commitment to the work ethic is incredible; they endure miserable working conditions, including long hours, exposure to the elements, beatings and shootings, mandatory abstinence from drugs and low pay relative to their superiors. . . ‘They spurn the injunctions of parents, police, teachers and other authorities, but they embrace the entrepreneurial and consumption cultures of mainstream America’.”1 (Twila L. Perry.) If this statement proving that black people are hard-workers is true, then why is so much of the black population either on welfare or unemployed?

In “The Racial Gap in America,” Signe-Mary McKernan tells how the 1white population in America has earned more than their black neighbors, and this has affected the black population. 2The black American population is believed to not have the same asset-building opportunities as whites. 3She even states that “they are less likely to own homes or retirement accounts.” As seen in “The Unequal Opportunity Race,” 4there has been poor schooling in the segregated black schools, which would lead to a tangible lack of qualification among the black population as a whole for high-paying jobs which lead to 5underemployment. This underemployment coupled with unfair laws such as some “welfare rules [that] denied aid to a mother who was associating with a man, especially if the man lived in her home”2 (Perry) tore apart families, and forced many black men out of their homes. With no male role model, no wonder many black children and teenagers are working for the illegal drug system. Furthermore, this phenomenon has made those black people into stronger, harder workers, as told by Perry.

Now that the black culture has endured all this toil shaping them into the workers that they are today, do you think that they are ready to enter the work-force as equals with the white population?

Aemal Dastagirzada

9/25/2014 09:26:22 am

Dylan the simple answer is propaganda, the brain washing of our communities and the lack of us understanding each other brings about these kinds of misconception about other members of the community. like you said, black people are some of the hardest working people in here, the challenges they face on daily basis and overcoming them is amazing, their entrepreneurial spirit is unmatched, however, the constant beat down from larger population has taken its toll. again systematic discrimination is the source of these problems. every weapon has been used against the black communities, weapon, drugs etc. as a famous black activist once said, "crack did what 300 years of slavery couldn't do, undermine the family values of black communities with intention of destroying it." I truly believe that most communities wouldn't be able to survive the blows that black communities has taken but still standing.

Nelson Chuang

9/25/2014 11:23:03 am

Although I agree with the racial gap in America and how it has created tremendous hardship for many people of color, I would have to disagree that people of color are ready to enter the work-force as equal as the caucasian population solely based on their hardships. I understand hardships can condition someone physically and definitely mentally but when it comes down to work-force, their fields of expertise are mismatched. Needing to drug deal or rob others to make ends meet creates an extremely hostile working environment with constant fears of authority and guilt while having a white-collar job may have complications with authority with little or no guilt conditions makes the comparison invalid due to mismatching of occupations.

I will agree that America has come a lot closer to closing that gap of inequality compared to four scores and seven years ago but we are still a long ways away from equality.

Niloufar Pirkhezri

9/27/2014 06:17:35 pm

The "Work-Force" is not a being that decides what individual fits here or there. It is not about being equal with another race. In my opinion the video presentation was not about "blacks", "whites", or even "brown" or the way people are being treated in the work-force, or schooling. In the end we live in a modern day an age, were it is up to that individual person to take advantage of those opportunities around them (government help,outside aid...etc). You can not say that anyone out there does not have a choice to better their own life. In the end everyone has a choice. The one thing holding many people back is that they do not know they have choices as an individual. To answer your question, There is not an answer. The question is irrelevant in many way's, unless your question is purely based on the few black individuals that are dealing drugs on the streets to survive. When you do that, then you are basing your facts that a black individual who has learned to exploit the weakness of another to their own benefit (selling a product and making a profit). Then yes those few black individuals that are drug dealers can compete in this work-force that is only "blacks and whites" . But your asking if the black community as a whole is ready to be equal with the "white" population then your question has a flaw and any answer will be the wrong answer.

Jason Do

9/28/2014 03:53:06 pm

The question you are asking does not make sense. African Americans have always been equals to the white population. Every human is equal to another, with some exceptions, when it comes to ability to do work. If you take a black person and a white person and train them both equally to, let's say, wash dishes, you will almost certainly get the same amount of work from both of them. The color of your skin does not determine how able bodied you are. black people do not have to endure hardships and toils to better themselves and reach the same level as white people. The problem lies in unequal opportunities for people of color due to discrimination. If one person receives less training for a job than another, wouldn't you expect the first to perform poorly?

Caitlyn Nurnberg

9/25/2014 09:12:03 am

Video: The Unequal Opportunity Race
Article: Family Values, Race, Feminism, and Public Policy – Twila L. Perry

The four themes I have chosen fro the video are gender inequality, racial profiling, unemployment, and privilege.

Gender inequality is the unequal treatment of a person based on their gender. This bias generally stems from differences in socially constructed gender roles. Near the end of the video, although the white woman is seen to be keeping up with the white man she still comes in second. We live in a patriarchal society, where men generally have the advantage over women, as Twila L. Perry states in her article, in regards to single mothers, “In challenging the centrality of men to the family, single motherhood challenges a fundamental and long standing social pattern: the control of men over women.”

In the video racial profiling is shown as the black women having to undergo a drug test while the white male and female continued on. Racial profiling is described as the use of an individual’s race or ethnicity, by law enforcement personnel as a key factor in whether or not to engage in enforcement, such as stop and searches or arrests.

High unemployment rates were a prominent theme in the video, because unemployment leads to many socioeconomic problems in a person’s future. Our society assumes minorities have such high unemployment rates because of their lack of desire to work when generally speaking that isn’t the case. As Perry concludes, “The reality is that there are simply not enough jobs for all of the people who want to work…many scholars have noted that the stability of our capitalist society requires the existence of a certain amount of unemployment. Because of racism, the pool of unemployed remains disproportionally black.”

Privileges, or white privileges, are societal privileges that benefit Caucasian people beyond what is generally the experience of non-Caucasian people who are in the same political, social, and/or economic circumstances.

Critical thinking question: In her article Twila L. Perry states, “[In American society] a situation is often redefined as a problem or given more attention as a problem, when it affects white people.” Other than her example of single mothers on welfare, what are some examples of this? And why does this “phenomenon”, as she states, occur only in American society?

Aemal Dastagirzada

9/25/2014 09:12:46 am

Video: Unequal Opportunity Race
Article: Exploring the Depth of White Racism
Themes
Structural discrimination or systematic discrimination is the root of modern day problems facing minority communities. As Martin Luther King said “morality cannot be legislated but behavior can be regulated. Judicial decrees may not change the heart, but they can restrain the heartless.” We have to first stop the systematic discrimination in form of economic which the modern day equivalent of racial discrimination.

Wealth passed on from generation to generation, privileges. The race is unequal because of head start giving to white population through which they have accumulated massive wealth, never mind the fact of slavery which the south’s wealth was build upon. The contradiction is that the white populations now don’t want to grant others even remotely the same opportunity, matter of fact; they are trying very hard to not give others their fair share. This makes affirmative action very important because if these people were willing participant, there would be no need for affirmative action.

Schools to prison pipeline; again we see a systematic problem with handling of our youth in different cities and counties. White effluent neighborhoods have all kinds of rehab programs for juvenile offenders while poor communities are the source of mega jails across America. Minority youths get gunned downed while white youths get talked down. You will find plenty of minorities with these oppressive police department, which indicates again the systematic problem, if you’re not part of the system then you are outsiders. Police departments that investigate themselves are likely to be like a gang with no public oversight.

White pride in doing well in a corrupt economic system plus taking minimum responsibility; there lays the biggest issue facing us today. The denial of being a racist and subsequent distancing from the issue allows us to remove ourselves from the problem, in another word if I “don’t have a racist bone in my body” then it is not our problem. In “exploring the depth of racism in America” Tim Wise puts it very nicely to his fellow white audience.

“Those persons called “white” have a particular obligation to fight racism because it is our problem, created in its modern form by us, for the purpose of commanding power over resources and opportunities at the expense of people of color.”

Unfortunately, as we see the fight against affirmative action confers that not enough people are taking the responsibility to do their part in eradicating racism.

The critical questions are; what can white Americans do in order to eradicate racism? Do we need to challenge systematic racism or individual racism? Do we try to force anti racist laws or do we do our part when faced with a decision like renting an apartment to minorities, or hiring a black person? Is changing of the heart possible without change in legislative?

Aemal Dastagirzada

9/25/2014 09:31:29 am

I wanted to share a quote from Rumi with you guys.

Yesterday I was clever, I wanted to change the world.
today I am wise, I want to change myself.

Hakwoo Kim

9/26/2014 04:26:10 am

Hi Aemal! I do think that we need to challenge both systematic racism individual racism. I'm not white, but if white people try to understand what hardships minorities go through and acknowledge their privilege, even that would make a difference. A lot of conflict, I believe, come from denial and refusal to acknowledge others, rather than fully listening and understanding others.

To eliminate any form of discrimination, I believe we really need changes in heart, but I don't think the current society and environment we are surrounded by encourage that, making it very hard for us to do so. Like the quote you used of MLK, although laws cannot change our heart, it is necessary to have those laws that will compensate minority groups disadvantages, that are caused by our unconscious prejudice and not yet fully mature consciousness.

However, I do believe that we need to eliminate discrimination and malfunction of this society ultimately by working toward a system that would ensure all people's freedom and liberty to become fully human, and this, I believe, should be upon our general consensus on what it means to be fully human.

I love your last question! I do think it's possible to change heart without change in legislative. What we should question, in my opinion, is rather if it is possible to change the structure without change in heart. I believe that structure is just to help us achieve our ideal.

Shilpa Krishna

9/25/2014 10:16:01 am

Video: The Racial Wealth Gap in America
Article: The Essential Social Fact of Race by Eduardo Bonilla-Silva

The video discussing The Racial Wealth Gap in America brought forth several key themes. Four of these very discussed themes, which were relatable to the article The Essential Social Fact of Race by Eduardo Bonilla-Silva included:
1) Asset building opportunities are not the same for racially diverse people.
2) Unequal policies are promoted in societies.
3) Prosperities amongst residents and citizens of the United States are not equal.
4) Wealth disparities are passed from one generation to the next.

The central idea presented through the course of the video was that opportunities are unequal for Blacks and Hispanics while wealth lies in those very opportunities. As presented in Silva’s article, “Race is a real and central social vessel of group affiliation and life in the modern world” (p.899). This exhibits that opportunities are unbalanced in this nation because people are being labeled based on their skin complexion. If skin color were not a factor, people would not be able to distinguish people from various ethnic backgrounds. Considering for a moment that skin color was not a factor, ethnically diverse citizens in America would not be delimited from being able to prosper. Silva added, “Race operates “as a shuttle between socially constructed meaning and practices, between subjective and lived, material reality”(p.901). It does not come as much of surprise that people prefer to be with a group of individuals they look most like, however, that is not necessarily acceptable. Taking away privileges from those whom are already under privileged is simply not ethical. It is not rational that people of color are working themselves to such extremes to still be living with the bare minimum. American society has proposed great barriers disallowing racially distinct people from gaining wealth and thriving. This in turn leads to latter generations having the basic mindset that they can not flourish in this money hungry country because they weren’t “born with the natural right.”

It is 2014, till this day, the racial wealth gap is still sharply growing for many people with a white complexion. Why is it that in this day and age people of color are still being discriminated against? American history has come a long way, yet inhumane policies are still imposed upon people with varying skin colors. What is currently promoting present day segregation in elementary schools? Why are children learning from such an early age that being of a lighter complexion allows them to be more privileged and deserve more than their fellow ethnically diverse peers?

Judy Chen

9/26/2014 05:54:47 pm

I think that a huge part of why racism still exists current day is largely due to social construct. Back when racism was even more prominent, any individual who was constantly exposed to an environment where the people they interacted with were racist would subconsciously be taking in all these subliminal messages, whether they personally felt that way or not, which was exemplified in Tim Wise's article about his grandmother. Racism and stereotyping are passed down from generations, which is why unfortunately, even today in 2014, it still continues to impact society in such a negative and significant way.

Jeana Lindsley

9/28/2014 02:17:06 pm

I think one reason why racism still exists is because many people don’t realize thier actions and beliefs are racist. Many people have deeply rooted beliefs, it’s just how they were raised. Just because we change policy doesn’t mean we change beliefs. To help improve this situation the older generations with extreamly deep rooted beliefs need to die off and we need to start teaching children from a young age that racism is wrong and discredit racial stereotypes. That way those children will grow up and teach those same ideas to thier children, so on and so on, essentially weeding out those to stubborn accept change.

jennifer melgarjeo

9/28/2014 06:07:18 pm

Shilpa Krishna, I thought your interpretation of the article by Bonilla-Silva was on point.
Furthermore, you are right, we have come a long way in addressing discriminatory racial matters. Yet it is not that there is odd circumstances where inhumane policies are still in place or segregation occurs rather we live in a system that allows/encourages for these policies to take place. In other words it is not individuals that are racist rather its a system that perpetuates racism through privileges and penalties. As long as white privileges is the direct result of poc’s disadvantage we can not move forward in combating white supremacy.
As the article states race is real wheither we internalize it or not, going a step forward, the purpose of race, exist to stratify groups in order to place them on a hierarchy. Until race becomes something that does not separate us neither should it be something that penalizes us.
Therefore rather then perceiving the inhumane policies as lingering racist sentimentalities they are the direct result of the workings of a culture of white supremacy, and within this status quo we are allowed certain gains, (ei. a black president, abolition of slavery etc.) enough to quiet the masses but not enough to dismantle the hierarchy.

Niloufar Pirkhezri

9/25/2014 10:26:36 am

Video: The unequal opportunity race
Articles: Family Values, race, feminism, and public policy
The Essential Social fact of race

The four themes I have selected from this video to discuss are connections, offender profiling, social construction, and shortened life span.

Connections in our society as we all know are very important. As shown in the video, not having connections can slow you down in life or even not show you a lot of opportunities you might have had. In our day and age now if you don't come from a "wealthy white family" opportunities such as scholarships and jobs are less available to you because of your class.

Happening for generations is offender profiling. The stereotype that black woman are popping out babies to collect money from the government and not raising there kids with the same values that mothers not on welfare would teach there kids a very good example of offender profiling. Twila Perry states in her article "Racism is implicated in a number of ways in the family values debate. The term "family values," linked as it often is with welfare and single motherhood, easily becomes a code word for race underclass," have. There is an implication that black families, especially those headed by single mothers, do not share the values of the rest of society and do not pass on to their children the kinds of values that most Americans believe are important."

A very important theme in the video i saw was social construction. Society has categorized each and every one of us depending on what gender, race and class we are. Race, class and gender don't really mean anything. They only mean something because society gives them a meaning. In Tim Wise's article "Exploring the Depths of White Racist Socialization" he states "Like a growing number of social scientists, I contend that although race is not an essential category (no social category is essential) and in fact is highly malleable and histori- cally-bounded (as all social categories are), it is nonetheless a central principle of social organization. Furthermore,I argue that race is a "social fact" similar to class and gender. Accordingly, race is a real and central social vessel of group affiliation and life in the modern world."

The last theme that stuck out to me in the article was shortened life span. Because of growing up in different neighborhoods, housing segregation, underemployment, poor schooling, and discrimination low income houses have a shortened life span. Health care being a huge factor in this epidemic that they can not afford to provide their families with health care and there fore more likely to pass due to not being able to afford medication.

Critical thinking question: In Tim Wise's article I referred to his quote that basically states that society categorizes people by there race, gender, class etc. And if society is trying to change that, then isn't it so simple to change if each and every one of us can just change the way we view people and stop putting them into categories?

Gordon Wang

9/27/2014 03:45:34 pm

Is it really that easy for people to simply stop categorizing people though? Social and cultural segregation can clearly be seen in almost every aspect of American life. How can people be expected to simply not see things like race and gender when every aspect of their lives emphasizes these aspects whether intentionally or not. Although this seems like a bit of a bleak outlook, all I'm trying to say it's not as easy as simply saying ok everyone let's be colorblind now and fixing society in this manner.

Vanessa Fernandez

9/28/2014 05:39:21 am

Wouldn't it be nice if people just saw each other as people and not for their stereotypes? Unfortunately not everyone has caught on to this mentality and I think it has a lot to do with our generation gap. Many older generations who grew up in a very different world have a hard time grasping these "new" ways of thinking. I'm hoping, that as new generations replace these old ones were able to move forward as a society and improve how we view/treat people.

Dominic Allred

9/28/2014 06:30:29 am

It is not that easy. To merely change the way people the think about race, class, gender, etc. would be to change how our brain works. Our brain is made to put things into categories (or boxes) so it is easier to refer to something and react to things faster. However, we can work towards changing media perceptions of race, class, gender, etc to change our understanding of these categories. The way media presents these topics to us, causes us to think in racist, sexist, and classicist manner. Most of us will have to consciously make our understanding of race, class, and gender change and work towards making our reactions to each a subconscious action.

Karla O'Connor

9/28/2014 01:20:24 pm

Tim Wise's quote that you have stated is really important to think about. Race is not an essential category, but when race becomes a social reality; this astonishes me. All it takes is a group of people with ingrained values toward a certain group, and with this can create meaning, mostly stereotypical and ignorant resulting in discrimination. Because society has learned to categorize people, in order to deconstruct this kind of mentality is to deconstruct historical and social factors that come with it. It is not easy to change someone's thoughts once they have been given misinformation from the media, sometimes cultural or traditional values, and external factors that misinterpret race. In order to stop categorizing people, we must first look at historically bounded issues, and dig deep into these roots of the problem and start there.

Veronica Romo

9/25/2014 12:19:04 pm

the theme White Socialization is clearly outlined by Time Wise who describes his righteous and fair fighting grandmother
as she begins to deteriorate from Alzheimer's disease. His grandmother would eventually forget how to clothe or feed herself
yet one thing remained intact, and that was the vicious prejudices which were subliminally instilled throughout her life. Wise said
that these racist remarks towards the black nurses said nothing about the woman his grandmother once was since she was no longer
in her correct state of mind, however it said everything about the country which she was raised in. "Those nurses knew and so do I
why my grandmother could no longer fight. For the rest of us, there is no similar excuse available." (3.Wise)

Inequality in the criminal justice system is completely obvious by the makeup of our jails and prisons. In the video we learn that
whites makeup between 60 and 70% of the population then then comes Hispanics, then blacks, then other etc. however the prison
population is dominantly Black, then Hispanic, then Asian, then white. It seems that the only way there can be such an opposite population
in incarceration is due to racial profiling and, inequality. one of the videos mentions the theme "school to prison pipeline" this is
has become a common term to describe the inevitable effects of poor school, poorly funded education systems, poverty, and discrimination.
lower classed youth with fewer opportunities and less education tend to make desperate or poor decisions resulting in jail and/or
broken homes. it seems that by criminalizing immigration and drug cases, law enforcement focuses mainly on the punishment or confinement
poor underprivileged people or immigrants seeking opportunity. my question is: by decriminalizing immigration as well as drug offenders, and
instead offer rehabilitation in order to keep these people from returning, and therefore allowing law enforcement to focus on more important or violent crimes.
would this then begin to level out the inequalities within the justice system?

Judy Chen

9/25/2014 12:20:57 pm

Video: The Unequal Opportunities Race
Articles: Bell Hooks, Tim Wise, Family Values

One of the main themes discussed in the “Unequal Opportunities Race” video was racial profiling, which is essentially the concept of judgment or assumed presumptions initially placed on a person based on their race. This topic was also touched upon in Tim Wise’s article where he ties in racial profiling with social construction, which was another major theme brought up in the video. Regarding racial profiling, Tim Wise brought up and anecdote about his grandmother who was a huge anti-racism activist. However, on her death bed with Alzheimer’s disease, when she could no longer function properly both mentally and physically, she recognized a colored nurse and labeled her with the “n” word. This goes to show that no matter how strongly you can personally feel and truly believe about a certain topic, social construction can lay a powerful influence upon individuals and subconsciously ingrain thinking mannerisms into their minds. Growing up in such a racist family has taken a toll on Wise’s grandmother in ways that she didn’t even know where possible.
Poor schooling was another important theme discussed in the video, and it was also mentioned in Bell Hook’s article. Schooling systems with prestige seem to only be established in communities where there is a clear white dominance when it comes to population, even in present day. However, in Bell Hook’s article, her opinion moves beyond schooling segregation and goes in depth into the practices that schooling institutions practice. She noticed an immediate difference in how knowledge was being taught to students and how teachers communicated with their students as soon as she began to attend an integrated school. Schools in black communities may not necessarily get as much funding or resources as white privileged schools but it’s the information being absorbed that really matters to students, and in Bell Hook’s case, students within integrated schools had a poorer education in comparison to segregated schools.
Wealth was one other significant theme brought up in the video, as well as the Family Values article. Many families and individuals of color are put of welfare since they cannot make enough income to support themselves or their families. Yet the reason that they can’t is because society does not create or give them to opportunities they deserve to receive and better education in order to become more qualified for a particular job. And even if they were lucky enough to receive these opportunities and academic credentials, they still face the daily challenge of racial profiling when they apply for internships or job positions. America blames people of color for taking advantage of the welfare system when society’s racial judgments and discrimination was what put them there in the first place. Not only that, but a majority of people on welfare support in America aren’t even people of color, but our society as a whole has already made a mental habit to assume that any individual or family on welfare should not be white.
A lot of trouble we see with discrimination today deals with higher figures of authority, particularly in business, judging individuals based of their race regardless of their qualifications for a specific job. But seeing as our generation is much more open-minded and accepting of all people no matter what their ethnic background it, how much would racial discrimination decrease when our current generation replaces the upper as leaders? Surely (and hopefully) any generation that follows suit will be more if not just as open-minded as we are. Is it possible that we will no longer see a huge significant difference in the way people are treated as generations go on because we’re continuously being enlightened on the topic?

So Chun Kiu Ryan

9/27/2014 06:12:10 am

I do see the possibility of race equality in the future. One of the reasons why racism was so prominent is that people in the past were uneducated about racism. They hence failed to recognize racism, denied the harm racism brings and even refused to change its dreadful condition. They thought that being racist is a socially,morally acceptable behaviour.
In modern society, thanks to the effort by our activists, many people are now aware of the problem of racism. Many of us now indeed acknowledge the existence of racism and are committed to fight for race equality. "Healing" of education offers us a chance to have a clearer vision of the whole situation of racism and remove some biased preconception against races, ethnics. Due to sufficient knowledge of racism, much more people are open-minded and be righteous about it. Although it might take a long time, at least we can see there is progress of race equality in our society. I am deeply convinced that one day racism wouldn't exist anymore in our society.

Gordon Wang

9/27/2014 04:05:48 pm

Although perhaps as a whole generations are becoming more and more colorblind (arguable), you do have to consider the idea of the old boys club though as mentioned in the un-equality race video. Despite the general increase in awareness and acceptance of social issues, various positions of power and authority are typically replaced by people of similar thoughts and opinions that are hard to influence indirectly (private sector for example).

veronica romo

9/28/2014 11:29:36 am

optimistically, I would like to think that this generation of ours which will eventually come into power will be the start of some important social changes which to most of us seem long over-due. however, realistically I wonder if because California, especially in the bay area we are so much more diverse and accepting than many other societies, we may be giving ourselves false hope by expecting others world-wide to share these same radical beliefs. I believe the battle has just begun and we have the power to be the initiators and then hopefully enough of the other states especially in the south, will follow suit not for the sole purpose of power but because it is righteous.

Caitlyn Nurnberg

9/28/2014 02:59:35 pm

Although it seems that younger generation is much more open minded that the previous ones, I think you have to think about the people in positions of power, and that the people who will most likely succeed them are going to be like them in thought and appearance. Hopefully we will break more barriers in time, especially when our generation and the one after us replaces the current people in power.

Karla O'Connor

9/25/2014 01:25:19 pm

Video: the Unequal Opportunity Race
Article: “The Essential Social Fact of Race”
Four themes: Wealth disparities, discrimination, school to prison pipeline, standardized testing/ poor schooling.

Race is a social construct; as Bonila-Silva has stated in ”The Essential Social Fact of Race;” it is permeable and can change over time. This is evident amongst the African-American community. With the history of African-Americans and slavery, this country has culturally and politically deprived them of their rights as humans, and due to these historical and social factors, there are wealth disparities amongst their population today, as well as, racial inequality. Bonila-Silva expresses “...all human constructions are historically contingent, after we construct them as sources of human classification and division, real hierarchical relations of opposition emerge” (Silva-901). Race becomes a reality once somebody puts meaning to it, and these racial oppositions emerges once people start putting a certain racial group into a category, creating this status of inferiority against the “dominant” society. This is how racial discrimination and hierarchies are created.
In the Unequal Opportunity Race video, it shows how African-Americans fall behind in education due to standardized tests and poor schooling. This results in the school to prison pipeline, which gives them no choice, and instead they are forced into “failing” out of the educational system. It is an unfortunate cycle that keeps repeating itself, giving a majority of black teens no option to succeed in this society. This also leads to negative stereotypes amongst their racial group. To what extent can we as a community do about these issues? Can funding public schools more be an option, will that create the changes black teens in poor communities need to succeed in this society?

So Chun Kiu Ryan

9/27/2014 06:49:04 am

Funding public schools is undoubtedly one of solutions to better schooling. It provides more opportunities for students and hence make them more capable to succeed and get out of the vicious cycle. However, in my opinion, as part of community, eliminating discrimination at schools should be our first mission that it is the root reason of poor schooling. Bell Hook mentioned in the article that "black" is expected not to learn. Black people learning is seen as challenging white’s authority. With such discriminating mindset, teachers can still be unwilling to teach and educate black students the right knowledge and attitude even the school has unlimited resources. Students would still be suffering from poor schooling. We have to ensure colored students would receive decent education quality first in order to end this cycle. Financial resources couldn’t help the problem alone.

Caitlyn Nurnberg

9/28/2014 03:05:12 pm

Better funding for public schools would without a doubt help students achieve more academically. Unfortunately the money that goes into public schools is based on the taxes paid in the neighborhood or city the school resides in. The domino effect would then occur if taxes were raised in these areas, therefore sending more moneys to the schools, and benefiting everyone involved, but the problem would be people not wanting their taxes raised and resistance to paying more money in general.

Jason Do

9/28/2014 03:43:35 pm

While more funding to public schools would certainly be an important and necessary step in the right direction towards helping minorities succeed, it alone would not be enough. Racial inequality is a long standing and complex issue ingrained in our society over centuries and as such would require an equally complex and major solution. Change will not happen over night, and it will take a combination of many different actions and policies to even begin creating any noticeable change, but education is a good start.

Dominic Allred

9/25/2014 01:34:33 pm

In the Racial Inequality in the Criminal Justice video the general idea is that there is an unequal representation of minority groups in the prison population in relation to the population of those minority groups in the US. A simple fact can put this in perspective as stated in the video; one in four young black males will be incarcerated. In addition more statistics in the video reveals that 64% of the US population is white while the prison population representation is only 31% compared to the Blacks making up on 14% of the US population and Hispanics making up 16% of the US populations, while the prison population is 36% Black and 24% Hispanic. There is clearly and overrepresentation of minority groups in the prison population. The reason for this is that the enforcement of laws and the prosecution process does not happen equally and racial inequality in the justice system is ignored because most people are not affected by it. The article “Exploring the Depths of White Racist Socialization” by Tim Wise explores some of the concepts related to why the prison population has an overrepresentation of minority groups. Wise states, “No one is innocent. No one is unaffected by the daily socialization to which we are all subjected specifically with regard to the way we are taught to think about persons of color in this society: their behaviors, lifestyles, intelligence, beauty, and so on.”. This quote by Wise forces white-America and the general population to realizes that we are product of generations of racial socialization and that it is okay for the prison population to over represent minorities. We have been made to believe that certain races act certain ways (the typical black men are criminal’s mindset) and because of that it is appropriate for those people to be treated differently (in relation to unequal enforcement of laws). A startling yet very true thing Wise says is, “Fact is “nigger” is still the first word on most white people’s minds when they see a black man being taken off to jail on the evening news.” This comes back to the mindset that Black individuals in the US are assumed to be criminals and that is why there is overrepresentation of Black people in the prison population. From the perspective Wise is writing from he is talking about Black people; this not to say that his concepts are not applicable to the other minorities that are overrepresented in the prison population.

What is needed for us to change our generational beliefs and stereotypes about race and ethnicity to reduce the over representation of minorities in the US prison population?

veronica romo

9/28/2014 02:11:39 pm

i believe in order to change our generational beliefs and stereotypes we must push for further education on the subject. it's ridiculous that we are not faced with these brutal inequalities surrounding us until we reach a college level. education is key to overcoming the oppression minorities are faced with. also, to help reduce the over-all population of minorities in prison, i believe that decriminalizing immigration laws (since we're all immigrants) and minor drug offenses would help to eliminate some of the prejudices associated with police officers and racial profiling. instead offering rehabilitation options and information on becoming a citizen would tremendously reduce some of the over-crowding within our prisons.

Jason Do

9/25/2014 02:16:36 pm

Four key themes I picked up while watching the video about Racial Inequality in the Criminal Justice system are racial inequality, public perception, unequal enforcement of the law, and political incentives for representation.

Certainly it is obvious that there is racial inequality in the criminal justice system. Whites make up 64% of the US population but only 31% of the prison population. On the other hand, African Americans are only 14% of society, but 36% of the population, and Hispanics are 16% of the population while being 24% of the people in prison. One can argue that some people are more likely to commit crimes than others but intuitively, these numbers don't make sense and suggest something deeper is going on.

Public perception is also a key theme because it is human nature to ignore what one can't see. Only about 0.5% of the US population is incarcerated, a miniscule amount that heavily downplays the significance of racial inequality in prison. Just because the majority doesn't experience the problem doesn't mean it doesn't exist, yet this issue dramatically slows attempts at finding solutions.

Unequal enforcement of the law is one of the key causes of racial inequality in jails. Though legislation is written to be technically colorblind, the things that the legislation deal with affect various groups differently. Some groups are more likely to use drugs, for example, than others due to factors such as education and economic status, leaving them with the disadvantage of being more likely to be arrested.

Political incentives for representatives are another key cause in that minority groups have less access to representation in politics. Politicians have incentives to serve their constituents, but if a majority group(Caucasians for example) has a problem and a minority group has a problem (African Americans, for example), the majority's problem will most likely be addressed first since the politician has more incentive to serve the majority, while the minority's problem will be addressed later, if at all.

Solutions to these issues will not be easily found, but bell hooks has a few ideas on where to start. Hooks states that she tries to, "acknowledge her authority in a way that no one acquires the ... power ... of domination." She also says that, "this domination is not restricted to the teacher/student relationship but where there is diversity ... particularly around the issues of race and gender and sexual practice." I believe that recognizing the capability of one's authority to dominate other people and working to prevent said domination is an important step forward. Hooks also comments on, "the power and the effect of television on the American public." The impact the media has on the minds of people is huge and must be controlled. Everything from how a group is portrayed or what is covered on the news causes tiny pushes and pulls on how people think, especially the younger generation. If we do not acknowledge the profound effects of the media, we cannot correct the racial inequality reinforced by what's on our television screens.

These are but just a few of the issues currently plaguing our world. It makes one wonder if there is any hope at all that racism and inequality can ever be wiped out or if it is just a fundamental element of human nature.

Sharon Serper

9/25/2014 02:23:03 pm

In the video, “The Unequal Opportunity Race,” privilege, underemployment, lack of opportunity and racial profiling are central themes. These ideas relate closely to the article entitled, "Family Values, Race, Feminism, and Public Policy" by Twila L. Perry.

The video focuses on the first of these themes immediately, giving the white contestants the privilege of starting to run while the two black racers are left waiting for their chance. The white contestants continue as the younger male recurrently receives money from the other. The privilege of having money is handed to him, putting him exceedingly ahead of his competitors who are still waiting at the starting line.

Secondly, the video emphasizes the significance of underemployment as a structural issue regarding race. Underemployment directly leads to financial instability, which often forces an individual to face a number of additional drawbacks. In Twila L. Perry’s article, “Family Values, Race, Feminism, and Public Policy,” she discusses this theme and its affects on these individuals. Perry explains, “...The persistence of racism often leaves black families subject to many of the same pressures they were forced to cope with in slavery. Race-based economic injustice...has had a widespread effect on employment opportunities and a disproportionate effect on black men, preventing many of them from being able to earn a living sufficient to support a family,” (Perry). Clearly, underemployment leads to troubling conditions which have a direct impact on many people and their families.

The lack of opportunity which many black people face is extremely important to recognize. The video portrays this theme clearly when we see the black female runner approaching a sign labeled “rest area.” Unfortunately, she is unable to take advantage of the resting place because as she moves towards it, the gates close in front of her. In her article, Perry expresses, “...Because of racism, blacks have less of an opportunity to live their lives in accordance with the mainstream ideal” (Perry). The lack of opportunities presented makes it increasingly difficult to succeed in areas which the (privileged) white individuals could easily thrive in.

Racial profiling is a theme in the video as well. A huge cause of unequal opportunities is predispositions associated with race. The video demonstrates how these judgements are made unfairly and invalidly.

Critical thinking question:
Twila L. Perry’s article focuses on family values in relation to race in modern day society. To what extent can the government’s regulations influence our expectations regarding family values in the United States today?

Brandon Morin link

9/25/2014 02:27:22 pm

Video: The Unequal Opportunity Race
Article:The Essential Social Fact of Race.

The Unequal Opportunity Race has portrayed the very real history of the United States of America and beyond. It shows the struggles that minorities have had to face in their attempts at success and showed the ease of which the privileged white race has gained truckloads of success. While watching the video i noticed four different themes that seemed dominant; challenge, discrimination, privilege, and inequality.
Challenges in life can be very different for different people. They can make some people stronger, some weaker. They can make people sit and make excuses, while others will overcome them and gain from the adversity. Life is about choices and how you respond to challenges will determine where you end up down the road. Everyone has a story to tell; some stories longer and harder than others, however I believe that challenge creates opportunity and the video clearly challenges the viewer to take action.
Discrimination is judgement and prejudice taking action. I believe it's our second nature and a social norm. Even the individuals that yell for social change discriminate. The things an individual goes through in life can shape or alter the way they interact or view things from products to people. For some it's an intentional decision and for some it can simply be a subconscious defense mechanism. In the article I listed above it stated,"Even though Brazilian racial hegemony involves negating the significance of race, black and white Brazilians make subjective distinctions along racial lines, as reflected in all kinds of social interactions such as marriage and hiring decisions, friendships, housing choices, and cultural representations." We see the same behaviors in American society and the same holds true for most if not all of the world.
Privilege is an unearned free pass in situations and/or life. White privilege is a great example of a free pass and the craziest thing about white privilege is that most of the privileges afforded to white people aren't even noticed by them. Not being harassed by the police is an example of the unnoticed privilege afforded to most white people and to them it's just whats expected, no big deal. However, when you look at the racial profiling and undeserved attention and discrimination other races deal with its a huge privilege and that's just a brief example. Life is not fair and the privileges that are handed out to different cultures are jut as unfair.
The theme of inequality was very dominant in the film as I'm sure it was intended. The whole point is to evoke thought and action and I definitely think the filmmakers were successful. Even the way one views the video can be unequal. Depending on your racial affiliation you may watch the video with pride or with gratitude, while some may watch it with disgust and frustration. Imagine how vastly different we all see things through the various perceptions we have!

How do we as a society get to the place of being able to drop selfishness for selflessness and care more about empathizing with other races and cultures for the purpose of global racial equality when it may not be to everyone's personal benefit?

Tiffany Le

9/25/2014 02:41:59 pm

Video/Article: The Racial Wealth Gap in America/Family Values

Four themes present in the wealth gap video are:
1. Unequal opportunities for people of different races
2. Unequal distribution of wealth among different races
3. Wealth passed on from generation to generation
4. Unfair policies that place some people at a disadvantage to build assets

Unemployment levels vary among different races with African Americans having the highest rate of unemployment. Unfortunately, there aren't enough jobs for the growing population of the United States, and the jobs that are available to African Americans are jobs in the low-wage industries. In addition, these jobs often do not offer benefits. As stated in the article “Family Values”, “Many marginalized people in this society work at the only kinds of jobs that are available to them: jobs that are temporary, low-paying, off-the-books or illegal.” A large portion of the wealth in the country is distributed to the people who already make or have more than enough money to last a lifetime. Thus, lower income families struggle to maintain a good quality of life with the little money that is distributed to the other 95% of society, and the costs of goods, services, including education continue to rise limiting the opportunities for people with limited wealth. Without assets or retirement savings, passive income won’t be earned. People with little income lose out on the opportunity to earn more money when costly emergency situations arise. Wealthy parents have the means to leave their children money that could set up the children for success in the future. If lower income families have fewer job opportunities and little savings, then the amount of money that will pass on to the next generation will be minimal. Sadly, society looks down on people who don't have high-paying jobs, but an ongoing cycle prevails and causes people to chase dollar bills that are just out of reach.

What are some possible solutions, policy-wise or not, to close the wealth gap in the United States?

Shilpa Krishna

9/28/2014 07:27:46 am

I personally think any possible solutions that can be implemented to close the wealth gap in the United States must begin with not allowing racial and political inequality to become more established. By this I mean that racial and political inequality should not empower decisions. Not having valid reasoning behind segregating people of color and allowing society to ignore the fact that many deserving people aren’t being treated right is unjust and must be put to an end. Before any thing else can occur, people must come to the simple realization that the policies in this nation are not equally distributed amongst the various classes of individuals.

Alexander Salah

9/25/2014 02:52:21 pm

The racial wealth gap in America. (clip) 4 themes

1. “Racial wealth gap”- there has always been a wealth gap between whites and all other races. Up until the 1860s and 1870s, the African American race has been enslaved and forced to work in hash environments that were physically and mentally damaging. In the year 1790, the total African population in America was at its highest, 19.3%. Out of the 19.3%, 92% were enslaved. This was detrimental to the black race and as a result, they were not able to fully recover by the time slavery ended. Before people realized that race was just the color of your skin due to environmental placement, having darker skin was looked at as being lower class or not a full human, (chattel slavery). It was a common misconception that was being fueled by ignorance and lack of knowledge.

2. “World’s misconception of the American Dream.” This remains out of reach to most Americans, not because the lack of opportunity in this country, but because the social status that they were born into. Its almost like a cast system in which is it very difficult to move up from one social class to another because of your previous generations endeavors.

3. “Lower barriers to building assets.” The barriers between rich and poor have grown exceedingly throughout the past. In order to create a fair and idealistic world where low to middle class people can do well and earn more for financial stability; we have to break down the social and economical barrier that separates the rich from the poor. In order to do this, I think our government should stop spending billions of dollars encouraging the richest 5% of our population to build their assets to an already high ratio, they should put the money into the parts of our economy where we need it such as the lower to middle class.

4. “Wealth disparities are passed from generation to generation.” The problem with the wealth gap in America does not only lie with race, but with inheritance as well. Families with money and power tend to stay rich and powerful due to past generations working hard and doing fairly well. This money is passed on from generation to generation creating the “cast system” I mentioned above.

Two quotes from reading.

“During slavery, the idea of what constitutes a family was manipulated through race to serve the slave masters' economic interests.”(Perry, II) what drove down the African American race was not slavery, but the people behind slavery. Family values were crushed due to slave owners raping, abusing, and impregnating slave women. The children bore to the women were slave-owner’s sons and daughters but by ideals of the owners, the children were cast into slavery like their mothers. Most grew up with no father figure in their lives so strong family values were harder to manage then most.

“Without question, convincing white folks—particularly liberals who insist every other friend they have is black—that they too have internalized racist beliefs, even of a most vicious kind, proves the most difficult in the work I do.”(Wise, pg.1) no matter who you are, you have had a racist thought about a different race then you at some point in time. These days’ people of all colors are very ethnocentric, causing racial tensions among different groups of people. We have to learn to see past the color of people’s skins in order to change our societal views. We pick up habits and stereotypical thoughts about different races throughout our childhood and it carries on into adulthood.

How long do you guys think (if ever possible) it would take to break out of this stereotypical thought process we grow up having of race and how we view other people? and how we would go about doing it?

Jeana Lindsley

9/28/2014 02:45:44 pm

Time wise, it will definitly something more like generations to get a majority to break out of the stereotypyical thought process. Currently, it is almost instinctual for us. Even for those who are socially aware of issues such as racial profiling, will find themselves subconciously judging others. I think it will take generations and generations of teaching children to be openminded concerning preconcieved stereotypes and then hopefully we as a nation will see some change. It is a shame that our generation will not be around to see such change and I can only hope that my grandchildren will be able to grow up in a nation without racial stereotypes.

Dakota

9/25/2014 03:02:22 pm

Racial Inequality in the Criminal Justice System
“Exploring the Depths of White Racist Socialization” Tim Wise
“The Essential Social Fact of Race” Eduardo Bonilla Silva

Visually Stereotyping: This is a very broad issue as it can be attached to more than one thing. The color of your skin, the clothes you wear and how you choose to wear them, as well as accessories you choose to sport (tattoos, piercings, hairstyle etc.) can make you more likely to be treated unfairly by the Criminal Justice System. This is all rooted deep into the society we live in. For example, in American society, someone whom is Black or Hispanic or someone who has tattoos is more likely to be viewed as a thug or criminal than your “average” white citizen.

Wealth: This, in my opinion, is the biggest problem within the Criminal Justice Program. Having more money or power gives you a better chance at avoiding prison/jail time. The ability to sign the best lawyers and being able to employ them as long as you need is a huge advantage. Money supplies the power these days.

Racial Profiling: Young Black men are more likely to go to jail than get married or go to college. Blacks only represent fourteen percent of the US population yet a whopping 36% of the prison population which is the highest for any race. This can’t be just a coincidence because it’s just too high a percentage for that to be the reason. A persons race does not represent how “bad” a person is. I think this proves that the Criminal Justice System treats each person differently in regards to their race whether they think they do or not. “Fact is, “nigger” is still the first word on most white people’s minds when they see a black man being taken off to jail on the evening news.” (Exploring the Depths of White Racist Socialization.) Why is this even a thought? If our society wasn’t racist we would not attach such a negative word to someone we don’t even know.

Unemployment/Poverty: This isn’t a theme directly discussed in the video but more of a behind the scenes message and I believe it has a lot to do with prison rates. Blacks and Hispanics both have the highest unemployment rates in the US paired with the highest rate of incarceration per 100 people. In general, unemployed or poor people will be more inclined to commit crimes like theft and really have no way to afford any representation in court. Another aspect of this is that in American culture, if there were two people with the same credentials applying for a job, the white citizen would be more likely to get the job meaning it is not necessarily their (the minorities) fault they are unemployed. In the “Essential Social Fact of Race” Silva states that racial stratification is hierarchal and that the group at the top enjoys the most social, psychological, economic, and political advantages. This is something that applies to race as well as wealth.

What do you think is the biggest problem within the Criminal Justice System and why?

Alexander Salah

9/26/2014 11:35:00 am

I think the biggest problem with the criminal justice system is harsh and unrealistic sentencing for minor crimes, courtesy of the courts. Due to exceeding societal pressures, it’s no surprise that the United States has the largest percentage of its general population incarcerated. If we changed our system of sentencing to something that moderately resembled the European systems, then our jails would be less populated. This is a utopian ideal due to the fact that the prison system is a business that is very profitable to the state and private corporations.

cody caropepe

9/28/2014 08:06:31 am

The way wealth can effect how you are treated is a huge problem. I think if we had to fix one of the many problems we are facing in our criminal justice system this would be the one I would focus on the most. if people with money don't learn to take responsibility for their actions then we are going to continue in a huge never ending spiral. although there are many different problems that need to be brought to attention, this is one that stood out the most.

Brandon Morin

9/28/2014 01:33:08 pm

I think the word justice needs to be taken out of the current title of the system that decides the fates for so many people who become incarcerated. The biggest problem in my opinion is that the "Justice System" doesn't seek justice. We're supposed to be innocent until proven guilty, however the reality is most of the time you're guilty until proven innocent. Election years and conviction rates are viewed more important than seeking justice. Corners get cut and in many cases there are doubts surrounding cases but that is too often overlooked and true justice is not sought. Fifty words or fifteen hundred words aren't enough to really answer this question. Money, votes, politics, conviction rates, and winning elections are what matter to the people that run the so called "justice system" and in my eyes that is a huge conflict of interest and justice is not the end result.

Tiffany Le

9/28/2014 03:10:42 pm

The most problematic issue in the criminal justice system is that cops use their power not to serve and protect the people, but to keep people in line. In fact, many police officers feel as if they're above the law, and that they can hurt innocent people without being held accountable for their actions. No one should be immune from the laws that our country supposedly upholds.

Nicole Cheng

9/25/2014 03:39:08 pm

Video: Racial Inequality in the Criminal Justice System
Article: “The Essential Social Fact of Race”, Eduardo Bonilla-Silva

The video “Racial Inequality in the Criminal Justice System” describes the criminal population and it’s perverse nature, underscoring themes like unequal opportunity, wealth gap, unequal enforcement, and disproportionate representation.

{ 1 : unequal opportunity }
Unequal opportunity is a phenomena in which disparities between groups of people procure different opportunities. Class, gender, sexual and racial differences are not appreciated for the (very necessary) variety, but rather categorized and placed in a hierarchy of value. Individuals have been socialized to attach meanings to each group because of stigmatized portrayals in media, education, and social interaction; these biases spill over into how groups interact with one another, and the opportunities which follow; they are pervasive and exist both conspicuously and subtly.

{ 2 : wealth gap}
The wealth gap is the difference in spending power between two different groups. The gap’s vastness, or lack of, ties back to the socially acknowledged hierarchy; an example with race: groups ascribed as superior receive social, political, economical, and psychological advantages over that ascribed as inferior. The distance in social merit accumulates and affirms the hierarchy: the wealthy grow in power and influence because their status is culturally revered.

{ 3 : policy - unequal enforcement }
Unequal enforcement is the biased execution of policies towards different social groups. Each category is malleable, but more importantly, historically-bound. Previous conceptions and practices mar policy creation as well as enforcement because stigma catalyzes bias and treatment thereafter. A clean example of this is found in the US’s criminal population and incarceration process.

{ 4 : disproportionate representation }
Disproportionate representation can be seen as the difference in percentages: the percentage of representation in the criminal system, political system, educational system, and so on. Representational variations exist because of the inherent diversity of circumstance; for example, drug policies which were intended to be color blind cannot because of the different costs and benefits that present for different groups.

Critical Thinking Question:
These themes seem to have a basis in hierarchy, which implicitly accentuate the dynamics of power and value. How might an individual reclaim power and contribute to the change of these inequalities?

Also, also, I found this article on wealth addiction to be helpful in understanding the wealthy, with all of its stigmas : http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/19/opinion/sunday/for-the-love-of-money.html?_r=0

Laura Pino-Flores

9/25/2014 03:47:42 pm

Video: The Unequal Opportunity Race
Reading: The Essential Social Fact of Race by Eduardo Bonilla-Silva & Bell Hooks on education

One of the themes from the video was discrimination. This video talked about racial discrimination which is when unjust treatment occurs because of your race. Discrimination can also happen in other areas such as sex and age.

The video also talked about privilege. In this country Caucasians are the ones that have had privileges over the other races. This theme also went along with what Bonilla-Silva wrote in his article about racial stratification being hierarchical making the race which is in the superior position have advantages over the others. In the United States it is known that Caucasians have been placed at the top of this hierarchy making the other races less superior to them and causing Caucasians to have privileges over the others.

Another theme mentioned in the video was racial profiling, which is when race is used to make generalizations about a person. Police have been known to use racial profiling when doing “random” searches or when seeking suspected criminals.

Poor schooling was also a themed mentioned in the video. Poor schooling is when schools do not succeed in educating students. Bell Hooks talked about her own experience in schools. In her first school filled with black teachers, the teachers were critical about having their students be intellectual thinkers, while at her white school teachers were simply dumping information into the students without much thought.

People often speak about how Caucasians have privileges over others from different races, but there is still a hierarchy within the other races. What is it that makes different races (besides Caucasian) have more privilege than others?

Alexander Salah

9/26/2014 11:44:16 am

I’m not sure if I fully understand your question but ill give it a try. I think what makes different races besides whites have more privilege than others is the societal pressures that are put on that race to perform adequately. I am middle eastern and there is a lot of pressure in my family for my cousins and siblings to all grow up to become engineers, lawyers, or doctors, and if we fail to do so then we are not good enough by the standards of our own group. (Ethnocentric) Its not that different races have more privilege then others, but the people pushing them to succeed and do well.

Sharon Serper

9/28/2014 06:23:11 am

I agree with Alexander. Many immigrant families come to the United States hoping to create a better life for their children, and push their kids to excel in school and other areas. The family values and expectations create a precedent for the younger members of the family, often forcing them to work hard towards succeeding and being able to provide privileges for their own children. Moreover, I personally don’t see the distinctions between the “different races” you are talking about too clearly. Of course there are stereotypes and associations made, but the privilege gap isn’t always completely defined.

Cody caropepe

9/25/2014 04:20:08 pm

(Exploring the depths of white rasict socialization ) Tim wise.
The unequal opportunity race. Video

There are four themes that have stood out to me during this weeks readings;The socialization of racism, wealth gap, opportunity , and racial profiling.

The first theme I noticed through the readings was social racism in white Americans. At first after reading this I felt like this was a stupid thing to suggest, that rvery white person would automatically think racistlly In certain situations. Then I realized that almost everyone I know , regardless of what their ethnic background is , knows how to be racist towards every kind of race. Most of it is meant to come off as harmless joking but the fact is we are all taught at a young age how to be racist. "Fact is "Niger" is the first word on white peoples minds when they see a black man being taken off to jail"( Tim wise). Now that I think about it how often are people using racial slurs while telling story's about people in another race. We all need to except that this is still just as racist as saying these slurs directly to people. Tim wises said,"then once we're all through feeling bad for being sucker punched by racial conditioning we can all learn to forgive our selves". I feel this could be the next step towards confronting racism in our country.

Another theme was wealth, this one was one that hit home for me. With money comes great power and no responsibility, or at least that's how it is in this country. If you have money you can slip and slide through the rules that everyone else in this country follow. For example if someone with no money gets I trouble and hurts someone in the process, jail is a no brainer. Yet if you have money your options are not limited to jail, you have many other outlets to snake your way out of trouble. This is is not only applied to the prison system but living in general. The cost of living is so much in our nation and without money it is a constant struggle to survive.

Which brings me to the next theme opportunity. For most white people opportunity is all around them. Yet this is not only applied to white people any one who has a mass amount of money has more oppurtunity then anyone else below them. I have seen this first hand, I am always thought of as " oh your white so you have money right", when in fact my family works hard to keep up and going. I can't afford vacations to exotic places cuz we have to be smart about money placement. I have to take the long route in life cuz opportunities rarely shoe up

After reading and watching these video clips have you had any realizations or eye openings? Have you connected to any of the theme in these reading?

Dakota

9/28/2014 06:55:44 am

I think it's crazy how unequal we are as a society. Certain groups of people suffer so much degradation based on how we "think" they are. Judging people as "groups" is wrong. After all, we are all individuals and should be treated as such instead of simply saying "these people do this, they do that."

Vanessa Fernandez

9/25/2014 04:21:11 pm

Video: The Racial Wealth Gap in America
Article:Family values, Race, Feminism, and public policy
Themes:
1.Wealth disparities- also known as wealth inequality is the gap between the rich and the poor. To understand this we must know there is a difference between income and wealth. Income is the process of attaining money over time/having a specific rate while wealth are assets that you own. Wealth disparities are passed down from generation to generation, which leads me to my next theme.

2.Asset building opportunity- a strategy to attain tangible assets which include homes, businesses, investments. Black and hispanic families are 5x less likely than white families to inherit these types of assets. A lot of this has to do with migration. If your parents or grandparents moved to the United states from a different country in order to attain a better life, almost all of them came with very little to begin with. Those families have had very little opportunity to build up their wealth, unlike some white families who have lived here for generations and generations and sometimes born into their wealth.

3.Economic opportunity: a chance to improve financial conditions. I bring this theme up because in the article I read that some people believe welfare is not temporary but leads to generations of dependency. Although this may or may not be true in some situations, I believe there is a way to approach this concern. Some people on welfare are single mothers who can not fend for themselves and their children. Some are people who have recently lost a job, or someone who works full time but does not earn a decent amount of money. Instead of focusing on the permanent state of welfare, we should be thinking about ways to improve these people's economic opportunity. We should be providing guidance for people who need jobs. Workshops that open up opportunites to attaining skills that lead to a better job, day care for mothers who need to work but can not afford to pay a babysitter . Wealth should not equal to opportunity and this is one way to change that.

4. Racial wealth gap- the video states that hispanic and blacks net worth has only grown a small portion compared to whites, and this racial wealth gap is only growing. "To many Americans this prosperity remains out of reach''. If we live in a country that claims to value diversity why are we still struggling to have the same opportunities because of race. Statistics show that white families are most likely to live a life of wealth. Not all white families are well off and not all hispanic/black families are struggling but how do we make sure that race has no effect on success and everyone is exposed to the same opportunities?

Judy Chen

9/26/2014 05:15:33 pm

Regarding your discussion question, I feel like the only hope our generation currently has in terms of eliminating unequal opportunities between people of and not off color is to believe that future generations may become more open minded. At this point, all generations above our own are so caught in their habitual ways of thinking when it comes to race, like the "status quo" of the United States we talked about during the last class discussion. People who have a position of power in modern day American society are all unfortunately so set with subconscious racism due to their social construct. If our generation remains open minded and equality advocating, we can hope that the next upcoming generation will have the same mannerism and mentality, and with that hopefully racism can truly diminish overtime.

Karla

9/28/2014 02:18:14 pm

I really like your response because you are hopeful of the upcoming generation. We as citizens are responsible in advocating open mindedness toward ourselves and others, especially if we are going to have kids. The household and family values are what kids are exposed to, as well as the educational system and outside forces, therefore it is imperative that we teach the next generation about these key issues in society and how to deal with them. I truly believe that racism can diminish slowly, as long as teachers, the community, and citizens come together in thinking more critically and to get people more involved toward these societal issues.

Tiffany Le

9/28/2014 03:08:29 pm

First, we need to address the white supremacy issue in America. Even though laws that support segregation aren't around now, the idea that white people are the better race is ingrained in American culture. Then, we need to understand that everybody is a human being like you and me. We also need to consider that people come from different backgrounds (ex: cultures, regions of the world), so it is highly suggested to learn or gain a general understanding about different cultures. We also need to teach our children the value of treating people the way you would want to be treated, so the next generation will be more acceptable of diversity. Mind you, we might not see this during our lifetime, but change begins within you.

Jeana Lindsley

9/25/2014 04:30:01 pm

Video: Racial Inequality in the Criminal Justice System

The racial composition of the prison population is very different than the population as a whole. Less than 0.05% of Americans are in state and federal prisons. We think of this as a very small number, however when U.S. prison population is examined by race, we find that minorities are highly overrepresented. While less than 1 in 100 Americans are in jail, the ratio is closer to 1 in 4 for young black men.

These ratios are unfair and unequal. While we may not realize it, public perception plays a key role in how racial inequality is dealt with. Many people claim to be advocates for equality in America but easily overlook racial inequality in the criminal justice system because it doesn’t affect the majority. People assume that because they are not affected, the problem is nonexistent – a mindset that is extremely detrimental in the quest for equality.

Professor Daniel D’Amico argues that while the causes of this trend are complicated and multi-causal, part of the blame should be placed of the U.S. Criminal Justice System. This can be broken down into the ways police enforce the law and the way legislation is written and prosecuted. D’Amico claims that these police officers, legislatures, and prosecutors are trying to be fair however their judgment is clouded by previously established stereotypes and flat out racism. For a system that claims to “ensure fair and impartial administration of justice”, statistics show this to be untrue.

The disproportionate targeting of black americans and other minorities by police ultimately leads to their undermining faith in the justice system altogether, leaving only some people feeing free to participate in the political process. Americans who were incarcerated are 22 percent less likely to vote, not including the millions barred after felony convictions. Now given the unnaturally high rate of black incarceration, this directly opposes the ability for black communities to elect leaders willing to fight for racial inequality, leaving them stuck in a metaphoric hole with no way out.

Critical Thinking: What steps can we take as individuals and as a nation to begin to change the overrepresentation of minorities in state and federal prisons?

Shannon Casey

9/25/2014 04:48:59 pm

‘Radical changes might be necessary and preferable to the status quo-‘
That is the last line from the video on Racial Inequality in the Justice System. The institutionalized racism built into the criminal justice system are easy to trace, yet those in power continue to be distracted with corporations greed. Prisons are a primary part of the economy in small town America. From supplying food to transportation, lodging for the visitors to building houses and schools for the all the employees it takes, all the commodities that are required to run a prison mean jobs for people. The reality that a young man of color has a much higher chance of going to jail than getting married. The status quo in this case means injustice.

As long as the economy remains bad in the middle states and the fear of poverty and loss of jobs continues to be threatened we cannot get out of this negative feedback loop.

In the WISE essay he says ‘Without question, convincing white folks—particularly liberals who insist every other friend they have is black—that they too have internalized racist beliefs, even of a most vicious kind, proves the most difficult in the work I do.’

In conversations with progressives or liberals, pointing out the school to prison pipeline, or the criminalization of workers coming to the US for a better life by making the undocumented, the responses are almost always assumptions of exaggeration or dismissed as conspiracy theories.

‘Our guilt is worthless, although far from meaningless. ‘

Q: How can each of us remain aware of our privilege in ways that call attention to and demand attention to and work toward an end to inequality?

Dakota

9/28/2014 07:03:28 am

People need to know that we are more privileged than most. There is likely always going to be someone with a tougher life path and less options. For example, going to school to receive an education is a privilege that many overlook. Countless people throughout the world (including the US) either can't afford school or aren't able to for various reasons.

Shilpa Krishna

9/28/2014 07:33:45 am

Individuals can remain aware of their privilege by looking at the basic things that they have in abundance and in better quality compared to others whom are less fortunate. I think that everyone should engage in some type of social service in their communities and volunteer in places where they can view a large group of “different” people. Being able to recognize that there are much less fortunate people in this world is the greatest thing one can do. It will not only allow them to remain aware of their privilege, but it will also promote a sense of awareness to be grateful within them.

Sharon Serper

9/28/2014 12:10:17 pm

Ultimately, I don’t think inequality between the privileged and less privileged will ever end. There will always be people with more power, and money, therefore more control and privilege. On a smaller scale, we can work towards we can be made more aware of our privileges by doing community service. This is a way each of us can become engaged in our communities and work towards recognizing the privileges which set us apart from others.

Brandon Morin

9/28/2014 01:23:28 pm

I think a big key is to embrace who we are as individuals regardless of what group we fall into and remain grateful for what we have and the opportunities we are afforded even if we fall into a less fortunate category. We need to be aware of our surroundings and open our minds so that we can be empathetic to the people around us. We need to take responsibility for our actions and think about what we do in our day to day lives understanding that we are living in the real world and there can be repercussions for not remaining aware of the way we carry ourselves and the way we interact with the individuals around us.

Procrastinator (Alejandro Soria)

9/25/2014 05:12:17 pm

Video: Structural Discrimination: The Unequal Opportunity Race
Articles: Family Values, Race, Feminism and Public Policy – TWILA L. PERRY
"Exploring the Depths of White Racist Socialization," Tim Wise

Discrimination:
I looked up the official definition of “discrimination”: The context in which we are using it refers to the unfair treatment of others based on race, religion, origin, sexuality, etc. The second definition is: recognition and understanding of the difference between one thing and another. The second definition stuck with me more so that the first. Recognizing that there is a difference between things seems to be the root of the problem. We discriminate against things that are different… But how deeply are these feelings rooted? Are we born to recognize difference…? Is this something we’ve learned? If it is learned, can we un-learn the thought process and behavior?
Discrimination is an uncomfortable topic of discussion. It’s easy to say that it doesn’t really exist. Some of us would be better suited to not discuss the topic at all. I have a hard time discussing the issue because for years I believed racism, sexism, ageism, discrimination based on sexual orientation was something that defined past generations. But I realize now that those generational issues and outlooks may have been passed down. And just maybe, the reason it’s difficult to address is because we might have to look at ourselves and determine if we discriminate and address that issue first… Before we address society.

Wealth Disparity:
By no means am I an economist. I have a very poor understanding of our economy and have a very limited insight into Capitalism. But I have some insight into the importance of labor, as a member of this sect.
Let’s go back in time… And allow me to oversimplify this process… A great number of particular people worked in this country for free. And a number of people benefited from the use of free labor. If this process happened for generations, can we imagine what it might look like in 100 years. 200 years…?
What if a similar process was happening socially? Politically? How would these laborers be looked at socially? Would they be represented politically?

Racial Profiling:
Have you ever stereotyped members of a particular religion? Ever generalize based on someone’s sexual orientation…? Have you ever used a stereotype as a compliment? I am guilty of it… But there are stages, correct? I might be thinking of some of these things. I might have even said something. But at what point do we start acting on it? And if we were in a position of power, could you guarantee that these feelings and thoughts wouldn’t come out?

“…the work white folks must do, individually and collectively to overcome with is always beneath the surface…” (Wise)

Underemployment
“Some proponents of family values rhetoric may see the potential for a situation they would deem entirely unacceptable: working everyday, at jobs that are increasingly stressful and insecure, to support a black “underclass” of able-bodied people who do not work. This is a very bizarre and ironic twist in a nation with a history of black slavery.” (Perry)

jennifer melgarejo

9/25/2014 08:28:10 pm

Article: The Essential Social Fact of Race- Eduardo Bonilla-Silva
Videoclip: The Racial Wealth Gap in America
Cycle of Poverty
To put this into perspective: NPR aired an interview between a hispanic kid having a conversation with his mother about how she had to make sacrifices to scrape by and his education was the cost. In turn his opportunities at upward mobility through education are being sacrificed and instead the burden of wealth disparity is passed on from mother to son.
The ramifications of this is that if people of color are the targets of these economic practices then racism is a key player; to the credit of Eduardo Bonilla Silva in the article “The Essential Social Fact of Race” who argues that race is a real social construct

institutionalized racism
The lack of fair policies to allow for upward mobility and increased barriers to building assets for people of color propagates racism at an economic level. It is hard to make the distinction between where racism ends and classism begins because if people of color are targeted then it creates a whole socioeconomic class that is majority poc, therefore people of color will be poor because they are people of color. In relation to Bonilla-SIlva article
”after race based structures emerge, definite socially existing races arise” /
“races are the effect of racial practices of opposition at the economic, political, social and ideological levels”
When banks discriminating against poc on home loans and government monetarily compensates those already rich, it reinforces racism on an institutional level, now a person living in this system will be attributed a race wither they are consenting or even conscious of race. And hispanics and blacks are indeed a race marked by poverty. Which in turn propagates a self fulfilling prophecy where race is real because our institutions make it real, furthermore
“membership in a category will correspond directly to experienced group boundaries or social identities”
Ones membership in a race is not a matter of personal choice, the boundaries of economic mobility faced by hispanics and blacks is affected by their perceived race.

Value of Labor
The american dream has become the poster child for american capitalism. The attainability of an improved living standard through hard work leave out the black and hispanic narratives. Living from day to day these narratives depict hard working americans who are not rewarded with opportunities, instead the labor of lower class jobs is valued on a different scale then higher class jobs. Those who already have will gain more whilst those who do not have, will be exploited for their labor. Can we breach a wealth gap when labor is not valued to its true worth? How are we to discriminate the value on labor?

Question?
The intersectionality of the racial wealth gap puts in context how race and class overlap. Where is the line drawn between where classism begins and racism ends? and what is the necessity in doing so since an individuals lived reality does no such thing?

Dominic Allred

9/28/2014 06:12:07 am

As you stated in the first sentence of your critical question "race and class overlap" showing that a line cannot be drawn between the two. Classicism relies on racism in our capitalist economy; as a country the white-elitists have relied on the labor of minority groups to gain wealth and continue to do so. This leads to the racist nature of a capitalist economy (along with numerous tax loop holes, and tax write offs that are not attainable by minorities or people of lower socioeconomic standing) because there has to be people who do the work for minimal pay; the working poor (classicism). To change the current state of inequality and inequity caused by classicism and racism there has to be a redistribution of wealth creating more opportunities for people of a lower classes. Also a change in the tax code the prevents big businesses from being treated like a person and eliminates loop holes in addition to reconsidering what a write off really is. Lastly taxes should be used to improve communities instead of giving subsidies to big businesses.

Hakwoo Kim

9/25/2014 11:07:37 pm

Systematic disenfranchisement.
Systematic disenfranchisement is a phenomenon where the system of our society makes it harder for certain groups to obtain power and gain access to more resources. For example, the article “Family, Values, Race, Feminism and Public Policy” discusses how single mothers of black on welfare programs are negatively considered in our society, constantly putting down. However, the environment many black people are in often times pushes women to be in this situation of single parenting and economic hardship. Like the case of black women, many aspects of our society praise certain groups while depriving others.

Poor schooling.
In current society, education is a big deciding factor of how much resources one can have as it provides more opportunities to access them; the better the quality of the education, the more access one can have. However, this relationship between the level of education and access to more resources can work the other way around; the more resources you have, the better education you can pursue. The funding of public schooling comes largely from taxes, and the wealthiness of residences can determine the quality of schools in the neighborhood, so the rich areas tend to have more quality education, and people in the low-income areas have more chances to have poor schooling. Bell hooks efforts to solve literacy among black women also partially reflect this poor schooling issue. She understands that the the lack of skills in reading, writing, and critical thinking can exclude them from political decisions and movements, and these skills are usually the ones taught in our schools. From then on, it is possible to say that poor schooling is a problem as it can exclude some groups of people by insufficiently providing necessary skills to have access to economic and political resources and power.

Housing segregation.
Some neighborhoods tend to be more expensive than other neighborhoods to live, and this attracts certain people to certain neighborhoods. Low-income people obviously are forced to live in a less-expensive area, and this creates separation where rich people live in a wealthy areas and poors live in a poor areas. However, as the minority groups take large portions in low-income earners, poor areas are usually filled with these groups, creating seemingly unintentional segregation between races.

Racial inequality in criminal justice system.
Racial inequality in criminal justice system describes how different racial groups are put in a high chances of incarceration by the unequal law enforcement created by the political and bureaucratic structure. Many marginalized groups are pushed to do some illegal activities, by their harsh conditions of environments, economic needs. However, if the law enforcement on these activities gets stricter by the legislative decisions, the chances for those groups to get arrested goes up. The problem here is that not all the groups are represented equally in that political decision making process. As political decisions on law enforcement do not fairly reflect all groups, there is racial inequality in criminal justice system.

-> critical thinking question:
Systematic disenfranchisement and structural discrimination seems to occur in many different areas. When a person feel disenfranchisement, there’s many factors that contribute to that, interacting in a seemingly very complicated way. I believe this is intersectionality. Then, what would be an efficient way, or is it possible, to solve systematic disenfranchisement, addressing not only one particular mean of disenfranchisement but most of them.

Nelson Chuang

9/26/2014 04:35:00 pm

Four Themes: Discrimination, racial profiling, wealth disparity, and shortened lifespan

Discrimination is the act of treating a person differently based on their appearance, not their actions. For example, someone can discriminate against a Latino by visually looking and saying a Latino does not work as hard as a Caucasian man. Twila L. Perry greatly demonstrated examples of discrimination amongst African Americans during slavery as well as our current world today in her book, Familly Values, Race, Feminism and Public Policy. She states that specific government policies that spread over a century targeted the breakup of black families. For example, “until the late 1960's, "man-in-the-house" welfare rules denied aid to a mother who was associating with a man, especially if the man lived in her home” (Perry). Until recently, black families have a better opportunity with equality under the law, but racism is a constant factor that create pressures similar to those during slavery.

Racial profiling is assuming an outcome based on ethnic background. For example, one can argue that a cop may be racial profiling an African American if they stop and frisk them solely based on the color of their skin.

Wealth disparity is an unequal distribution of income among individuals in a population. Many argue that the average Caucasian’s salary is higher than that of someone who is of color. A way of diminishing that wealth disparity would be to inform individuals on the importance of education and the power that comes with knowledge. Not only is it a priceless source of power but also as Bell Hooks greatly stated, “Educating is always a vocation rooted in hopefulness.” It opens doorways to unlimited possibilities.

Shortened lifespan is a common reference to someone who has fewer years to live compared to the average life span. Most commonly seen with neighborhoods of low-income families.

Critical Thinking Question: Besides organizations that already attempt to promote awareness of ethnic cultures and the importance of understanding historical backgrounds, what are we as an individual able to do to help decrease the widespread racism constantly creating obstacles for the already down and under?

Nicole Cheng

9/28/2014 03:35:35 pm

I feel like it starts with self; while you can't always control the environment, your actions are always your choice; individuals can help decrease racism by not contributing to it-- To be mindful of the issues relative to each culture, and your own; to see how socialized pressures are influencing you, and if those actions are aligned with the person you want to be. There are so many societal pressures telling you how to be. But when people love themselves, the need to focus on self, overcompensate-- or act insincere to themselves dissipate, allowing focus on others.
I really believe that education (and not just institutionalized education) is the cornerstone to change. Because it presents the possibility of seeing different perspectives and molding identity. It is the bread and butter to creativity and ability.

It sounds really abstract.. but maybe an action to start with would be to regard each person as human beings-- leaving all other adjectives (gender, age, race, appearance, etc) elsewhere. Just human beings with a story, history, wounds, and dreams.

Vanessa Fernandez

9/28/2014 05:09:02 am

I think that everyone who is taking this class has already taken an important step towards eliminating racism. A majority of people are not aware or exposed to the current events going on in the world. This may be caused by a lack of interest or socialization. The media plays a big part of this lack of knowledge as well. How many news reports are telling the whole story? Exactly how much of the truth has been filtered out in effort to keep things under control? We need to go beyond what we hear in the news and inform ourselves about the real racism that is happening around us today.

Nicole Cheng

9/28/2014 11:26:14 am

♥♥ I agree~ I feel like the first step to resolving problems is to understand it's roots, symptoms, and it's existence.
But I feel like I have a hard time knowing enough; I don't know where to start, or how to approach the problem?
How do you guys maneuver media and society to see more?

shannon casey

9/28/2014 02:07:39 pm

I'm curious what news sources classmates are using to find information that is the least tainted by corporation media and best journalistic quality?

Bojana Cvijic

12/2/2014 05:36:23 pm

Video: the unequal opportunity race
Article: on education- bell hooks

The video that depicts the unequal opportunity race is a great introduction to the class because it talks about everything that we will (have) touched on, it talks about the unfair treatment POC face in this country because of the systematic oppression they face everyday in terms of employment, housing, schooling, wealth disparity, etc. It also touches on the discrimination they will face all the time in their lives and how that'll affect the way they live physically and mentally.

This system of white supremacy has to be dismantled, and I think classes like these are great tools for education and discussions on how someone could go about dismantling and fighting the system in many ways.

That leads me to the bell hooks article, "On Education" it talks about hooks' experience as a student and how she had a voracious appetite to learn, the article leads on to hooks talking about why education is not only an important tool to have but that it is a tool of freedom. That as an educator it's important to share and add into the growth of the students; spiritually, mentally, etc. That education is an amazing way for people to learn about the world and everything going on in it.