Final Assessment Paper
Jaylon A Bryant
Anti-Racism, Privilege in America, Social Hierarchy, education of culture, and Adversity for colored people in America
Dr. Neal
Winter 2018
Jaylon Bryant
Dr. Neal
Ethnicity, Race, and Culture
14 December 2018
Final Assessment Paper
This course introduces young minds to new ways of looking at different cultures and ethnic groups. The theme is to get rid of racism by eliminating stereotypes, prejudice thoughts, and racist beliefs. I plan to explore how to eliminate racism. Realistically, America will never be wiped off all racism, however, the progress we can make as society is potentially great.
Films in this course since day one initially opened my eyes to new ways at not looking at myself, but looking at others. The film, “Power of an Illusion” teaches the we are all similar in different ways genetically. The black students assumed their genetic make up is the same as the other black students. The white kids think that their makeup is going to be similar the other white kids, and the other ethnic groups assume the same patterns. However, it the opposite. We learn that color of pigment has to factor in similar genetic make up. Black kids and white kids have similar genetic codes, and Asian and Mexicans have similar codes. This was the first time in my eighteen years that I learned that race isn’t truly about colors. It also introduced white privilege in America and the privilege and advantage white people have over ethnic groups. The next film that changed my perspective was “White Like Me”. This film provided a fact that changed my perspective. White Americans were asked if there was a racial discrimination for people of color. Only six percent of white people thought that there was a problem for people of color. This introduced White denial. Tim Wise believes white denial is prevailing in each generation. He talks about white people not understanding black truth. Another film I was able to analyze was “The Strange Demise of Jim Crow”. This film taught me the U.S. legal system was corrupt and prejudiced. Jim Crow laws gave an uncanny amount of division in America. These laws gentrified areas forcing African Americans to live in poor communities and not having opportunities to get out of the situation. Many of the schools were not giving proper education and curriculum to the African American students. This gave these citizens an unfair advantage in society. This was all rooted in white supremacy. This law gave white people a law to make them feel more comfortable and safe, this made them feel so much more dominant that black people.
A lot of these films show how America made their best effort to make America purely white dominant. The next film gives a deep reflection on inequality for not only ethnic groups in America, but immigrant entrepreneurs. The film “Painted Nails”, shows the unhealthy work conditions that these immigrants have to face and the harsh treatment from the citizens in America. This film displays the obvious advantage American citizens have. The education we receive, the work opportunities we are given, and the language barrier we do not have to face to make money for our families in America. These films overall teach the disadvantage and long history of stereotypes, racist rooted beliefs, and disadvantages ethnic groups face. As an anti-racism advocate, we must strive to make America a fair and equal country filled with opportunities for all cultures and colors.
Articles in this course are always a well educated read that dive into the truth of society. “Race and Ethnicity” by Sergio Romero teaches how to understand race in America. It also teaches the truth of definition about ethnicity. Romero also gives numbers of African Americans showing the percentages of graduates compared to White Americans. It is very sad and unsatisfying but it the reality of America. This course taught me how to define race. The article “Defining Race” by Howard F. Taylor teaches about race not only is falsely educated as a biological category, but he goes in depth of race as a social class and prestige rank. Taylor compares Brazil and America in terms of color. America sees color as black and white. However, Brazil has over 143 colors used in the population. This course has taught me that color is given way too much relevance in America. We focus so much on what color we are in America but to be honest, race is the culture you are born into. Partial credit is given to media in America by promoting their own agendas against ethnic groups and promoting division. Teun A. van Dijk writes about this exact topic in “Media, Racism and Monitoring”. Mr. Dijk goes to elaborate when stating, “They control access to most valuable social resources, including the symbolic research of public discourse in general and that of the media in particular. This means, first, that they make most crucial decisions (beginning those on immigration and employment) that affect the lives of immigrants and minorities. Second, they regulate access to the news, including the portrayal of minorities. If such portrayals are negative, this is not merely a passive reflection of widespread prejudices of the population at large, but the result of explicit discursive practices of the media elites, usually in collusion with the political, corporate, and social elites”. Portrayal is everything in America. A common question asked in this course was, “are you proud of the way your ethnic group is represented in America?”. Time and time again, my answer always was no. Kassia E. Kulazewicz from St. Catherine University takes a new perspective in “ Racism and the media: A Textual Analysis”. Her data looks into the media’s portrayal of African American men by asking how they are portrayed in the media, but more specifically, shooting victims. She calculated in the strength of attitude, the impact on opinions, and prior exposure to information. To quote her, she says “media educates people, with or without credible knowledge”. People are allowed to push their own agenda without any credible information. Media outlets are given too much power to give out biased, prejudice, and opinionated news.
The conceptual understanding of race, ethnicity, and culture was truly something I couldn’t understand until this course. I took part in segregation. In high school, I was always with the black people just because I felt more comfortable. I had a lot of ethnic friends but not too many white people. This class definitely opened up a new way at looking at history. “Race Relations In Flux: From Civil Rights to Black lives Matter” By Dr. Fitzgerald truly showed me the types of social movements that can be constructive in society. There are resistance movements, reform movements, revolutionary movements, and expressive movements. This PowerPoint showed me how much chance would occur, and who it would truly change. The goal of social movements is success in change. I learned these past months that change is required. Change might feel uncomfortable for some, but that’s the only way we can change the condition of society. We must break the inequalities that are set and have been for ages. “Instructional Inequalities” teaches the whiteness in education. The dropout rates in America all show obvious disparity in ethnic groups to white people. White people lead this country. They have been on top of the social hierarchy for ages. Cases after cases, white advantages have taken place in schooling as well. It is blatant throughout this course of the white advantages and tactics they use in America. “Race in the Cultural Imagination” shows how media manipulates the image of ethnic groups through film, television, and video games. User-generated content can really put an image of any race in the minds of youth. This creates stereotypes and prejudice which we all deal with on a daily basis. We must reconsider the stereotypes we have inside our imagination and begin to give people chances without and predetermined bias. The last PowerPoint that was mind opening was “Recognizing Race and Ethnicity Power, Privilege, and Inequality”. Being half white, I was able to look at a side of my family and see if this PowerPoint was true. It explained the social construction of whiteness and cultural belief systems support white privilege and shows how white privilege is institutionalized. White privilege is a side of racism and we pretend it doesn’t exist. White people do not want to acknowledge it because it is a gift. It is something that benefits them so why would they want to acknowledge there is a problem? It truly would benefit White people and ethnic groups if we got rid of white privilege. It would be a happier society, with fair opportunities and would inspire all colors because the country would be fair.
What surprised me the most was the single individuals that changed my life. It is astonishing to think that one person can change the life of millions. Being biracial, I was so excited to learn and immerse into history. The material changed how I look at all ethnic groups. I decided to get rid of all stereotypes and prejudice and meet all types of people. This course inspired me to build new relationships. I learned about history of race, but I also learned how to productively work to get rid of racism.
Ethno-Cultural Identity
Jaylon Bryant
Dr. Neal
14 December 2018
Ethno-Cultural Paper
I am an African American male living in the Bay Area. I grew up not wanting to be black. I grew up around a lot of white people and I wanted to be white. It wasn’t until an older age I appreciated being black. I am proud to be a part of the minority. I do not like the current state of how we are treated. But I plan to be a part of change in America. I am eighteen years old trying to get my degree while playing basketball.
The biggest part of my identity is brother. I have to be great for my sister. I have to do my absolute best and succeed to inspire her to achieve any dream she wants. I cannot give up on anything I want. Everything that is in my life and that defines me, I am proud of. I want to make mark in this world and this course inspired me and educated me. I am proud to be able to share the words and truth I have learned in this course.
Being biracial, I am able to see both sides of the hierarchy. I genuinely do not like being around my white family because I feel as if I do not belong. However, sometimes when I’m with my black family, I feel as if I am not black enough. The race stereotypical checklist is toxic and sets certain unneeded expectations. It makes people feel like they must talk a certain way, act a certain way, and dress a certain way. This course shows to break barriers and be yourself. It teaches not to be okay with what is stereotyped. It is key to be yourself and love who you are, because being like everyone else creates stereotypes.