There was a lot we didn't get to last week with regard to the articles we read about race and racism. We had a pretty good discussion about the Tatum article--especially the metaphor of the moving walkway, and how we all get pulled toward the racism that permeates society unless we take steps to actively move against it (by being anti-racist). Still, we didn't even touch on the Baldwin or Cashin pieces, and while we'll try to give them some time next week, I thought I'd post a couple questions here to see if they generate any discussion.
Baldwin wrote "A Talk to Teachers" in 1963. He writes of the miseducation of Black children in schools, and of a society that professes equality for all but that in reality is hostile to African Americans. "A black child," he writes, "looking at the world around him, though he cannot know quite what to make of it, is aware that there is a reason why his mother works so hard, why his father is always on edge....And it isn't long--in fact it begins when he is in school--before he discovers the shape of his oppression."
How relevant or outdated is Baldwin's commentary on America's racial landscape? Do you think his critique and his advice to teachers still resonate today, and if so, how? If not, why not?
Sheryll Cashin, writing over 40 years after Baldwin and a year after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, says that while much has changed for African Americans since the Civil Rights movement, vast inequities persist--particularly in racially isolated inner cities. Cashin says that while many White people have no problem relating to African Americans on an individual level, they fear Black people in large numbers--especially "the Black ghetto." Do you agree with this assessment, and if so, what are the implications for urban schools?
If neither of these questons interests you, see recent posts (below) by Dakota, Trish, and Dave, and Katie's response to my "More on whites and racism" post.
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8 comments:
In response to the second question...
I think fear of a group still exists quite a bit. I once was driving through Chicago, down Cicero, and I made a comment to the person in the car with me about one of the police cameras at the intersection. My comment was something like "I wonder how many people actually run this light?"
The other person commented back saying the camera was there not for the drivers but for all of "the black drug-dealers." They went on to explain to me that the neighborhood nearby was a black neighborhood and that the police needed to keep an eye on them.
It’s human nature to fear a large group. This is one reason we naturally assemble to make a change. It is not justifiable though to condescend a group because they are just that...a group.
In response to the Baldwin article:
I think that Baldwin's comments about the reacial landscape in America is still relevant. We don't necessarily all see it, but many things are still prevelant. When he spoke of the government and the people on the top of page 226, there are things done to Negro children that go "unnoticed" or are not broadcasted or cause public uproar. I think this still rings true, and an example would be the mistreatment or punishing with no cause of Negro (black, African American) children/teens/adults because of the sheer fact of race. These mistreatments are not broadcast, in order to avoid uproar. But also, would there be uproar? I don't know.
Baldwin stated, "No American has the right to allow the present government to say, when Negro children are being bombed and hosed and shot and beaten all over the Deep South, that there is nothing we can do about it." This is telling us that we cannot as a society sit back and let these things happen, but in truth, we do let them happen and allow them to slip under the rug. We need to stop that!
Greg pulled a good quote from the article, which I agree with, I think as a society we do form rivets of race, and there is nothing for some races to feel but oppressed. But on the other hand, I think Baldwin's bold point in this article is that we really need to speak out against things like this and allow children to build their conscience and be strong. If children, and adults, start to do this then there may be chance for change. I think as educators we need to encourage children to question things and to build there own thoughts. I do not believe this would be easy by any means! It scares me to want to be the one to stand out and let children build their own thoughts, but at the same time it is my belief that we all need to do so. I mean, children need to still follow rules and such, but as far as being oppressed or treated unfairly, these are the things that they need to stand up against.
And the last quote I will pull into this comment, is when Baldwin stated, "I would teach him that he doesn't have to be bound by the expendiencies of any given administration, any given policy, any given morality; that he has the right and the necessity to examine everything."--This goes along with things that I believe need to be done to make people more aware that they do have a voice and need to actively use it to see any change in current issues.
One factor I think that we really need to look at is that of accepting, understanding, and moving on. At the end of this if you feel I am out of line or misguided please say so for I am not one that cannot or will not listen to opinions of others.
Accepting: We know what has happened in the past to minorities and there is no way of going back to that time and make changes. We need to accept the past for what it is and learn not to repeat the wrongs that have been done to people and races.
Understanding: We have to understand what the effects from past actions have done to people and races. Knowledge is the key to being educated and education is the key to creating a difference. The more we understand, the more we can do to improve and actually contribute to making a difference.
Moving on: I think that this is the hardest part of the process. We can not move forward when we won't let go of the past. I am not trying to suggest that we forget about it or act like it did not happen, rather like when a relationship goes bad and you move on. Many of the events that occurred in the United State's history were done by people that have long since passed. I am not oblivious to the fact that people still suffer from disadvantages and people still create disadvantages towards others, but that we need to look at ways to change the present and not use the past as the scapegoat.
I am a firm believer that there needs to be a change and that the people that are in power to make the changes are generally the ones that benefit from the current system. We need to take a look into places where we can make changes as with our votes, the people that we put into office are going to be the strongest voices that we can create. What are other ways or suggestions that you would have to try to turn things around and create opportunity for those who have been and are disadvantaged?
Just to add my initial response to the metaphore of the moving sidewalk...
"Since when does not having "power" make a person powerless in their own life. A person is powerful enough to make anychange they want becasue it will begin with them. And people, who are willing, will follow their model of change. BUT, only if they, themselves are willing to change."
And here is a quote to intrigue the mind...
"We have learned that power is a positive force if it is used for positive purposes."- Elizabeth Dole
But, have we learned that it is in fact used for positive purposes?
When we talked about the moving sidewalk in class it definitely opened my eyes because I never thought of racism that way. Reading this article I almost felt bad to be white because of all the things that were stated in the article. But I also realized the hardships that all races can go through and that I will more than likely never experience.
I really liked what lilheathbar talked about when it came to having power. Just because you do not have power it does not mean that you are powerless when it comes to things such as racism. To me when someone takes a stand and goes the other way on the moving sidewalk, they just gained power by doing that.
When Baldwin talks about a black child looking around him and not knowing what to make of the world with his mom and dad in bad situations it made me realize that these children are going to grow up to be some of the strongest people because they are dealing with things that some people older than them will never have to experience. They will be better people because they will have the chance to learn and become a stronger person from these situations.
I personally agree with Cashin that whites fear the black ghettos and blacks in large numbers. And to be completely honest I don't blame them, because the only images and stories they hear of the black ghettos are bad things. Murders per capita, drug dealers and prostitutes. Like Cashin states in her article, coverage of Hurricane Katrina was focused on the robbers that were black. Many black artist focus on ghettos they lived in and the bad things that happened to them while they were there. Since whites fear blacks in large numbers when the population of blacks increase the whites tend to move elsewhere. As the black population increase in Chicago's suburbs the gentirfication solves that issues by moving the wealthy whites back to the cities.
As people think times have changed, somehow they still seem the same. I think Baldwin’s commentary on America’s racial landscape is still very much relevant over forty years later. The problem with our society is that people are so easily ready to accept that times have changed and racism and race related struggles are no longer an issue. If you ask me this is the very source of the problem. How can we work toward a solution if many believe there is no problem? In several classes, I have had future educators say that racism no longer exists. If this ignorance is not addressed soon, then we will be still discussing the same problem in another forty years. Another misconception is that a change in law or policy reverses history. For example, for many years in the United States, segregation in education and communities was legally sanctioned. Years after these laws were declared unconstitutional, neighborhood and schools are still segregated. This is the same as spilling juice on the carpet and letting it sit for long period of time. When you finally do decide to clean it up, the stain is partially removed. But there will always be the mark that is left behind. I am not undermining the progress through history, but it is going too far to say that these issues are no longer a problem. These inequalities are transferred from generation to generation.
Unfortunately, there were several problems stated that were facing children of color then that are very much present in children’s lives today. It would be quite simple to find a child who is facing the same turmoil of trying to make sense of the world around them. Baldwin’s advice could definitely be taken in today’s society as well. For example he states “I would suggest to him that popular culture – represented, for example, on television and in comic books and in movies – based on fantasies created by very ill people, and he must be aware that these are fantasies that have nothing to do with reality.” Media prescribes dominant ideologies for the masses to mindlessly subscribe to. Teachers indeed need to encourage consciousness of this issue and several of the others Baldwin suggested.
"As the black population increase in Chicago's suburbs the gentirfication solves that issues by moving the wealthy whites back to the cities." rrlega
I want to agree with this statement but I fear that the whole movement of wealthy whites into the city and the migration of minorities into the suburbs in it self does not help to solve the fear black ghettos or black neighborhoods. Moving people doesn't help to lessen people's opinion of that race but if anything endorses it. Opinions aren't only based on location but perception, especially with the view broadcasted by the media. Having to change the city so drastically to attract white people only perpetuates the stereotype that the city is now "minority space" and it has to be changed to attract the majority.
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