The Struggle Is Real

Being a person of color in American society is no small task, especially in white America. Oftentimes many white individuals will see a person of color automatically assuming the worst about that individual. This reason is because of the unjust prejudice white Americans have grown to learn at a young age; that they now take with them into their adult lives. One of our class readings notes: “Despite social norms and legal sanctions against racial …

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Your Manager Took A Page Out of a Slave-owner’s Book

After the disruption of labor brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic crisis that we are currently experiencing, Americans are, possibly, finally realizing the intense negative effects that harsh American capitalist business practices have on them. Many Americans are opting to work from home instead of working in the office from 9-5 because they feel that they can excel in their work and have a better overall well-being from the comfort of their …

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The Dismantle of Affirmative Action: Racist or Not?

In June of 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States effectively ended affirmative action in college admissions. The Supreme Court ruled that affirmative action violated the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, the equal protection clause. Their claim was that using race in admissions gives an advantage to people of color to get into institutions. This ties into the color-blind ideology where people often say “I don’t see color.” By practicing this ideology they are …

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Is the Internet Racist?

When I first read this title I would think: “Yes! people on the internet are racist”. Or it may make you think “yes, I saw news articles that favor implicit racism or white supremacy.” With the access to the internet available for most people in Western society, it is almost obvious that part of the internet shares racist and white supremacist ideologies. But I am questioning if search engines themselves are racist. The algorithms of …

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Let’s Be Biased Together

I am biased. You are, too. Let’s accept it. Bias is an ingrained part of human nature. We all have preconceived notions, stereotypes, and biases that influence our thoughts, actions, and interactions with the world around us. However, the way our brains navigate the world and interact with every social environment we’re in, we NEED to have biases and generalizations. Our brains need to have shortcuts so they can function efficiently, and we don’t have …

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Dismantling White Spaces: POC’s Impact on Alpha Chi Omega

Alpha Chi Omega, one of the four active sororities at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA has recently undergone a pivotal transformation – a transformation from a historically white organization to an increasingly diverse and inclusive space. In the week of 9/18/2023, Alpha Chi Omega (AXO) extended bids (an invitation to join the organization) to 18 new members. Out of the 18, ten of the women are people of color. Before the bids were extended, during …

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Learning Limits

Being from the Bronx, I grew up under the notion that the majority of people went to either public or charter schools and that the very select few, AKA rich white people, had gone to boarding or private schools. The notion of going to a private school and dorming was something that I thought would only be accessible to me through TV, namely Zoey 101, which is a popular show that takes place while the …

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Hold Your Applause

White people don’t deserve to be congratulated for doing the bare minimum. When a white person aims to be anti-racist the first thing they do is expect those of minority groups to hold their hand while they mess up. They are not your parent, your therapist, or your teacher. The checking-in glance to people of color when you want to make sure you said the right thing, the anxiety of not being “politically correct” is …

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Cultural Appropriation: “It’s Just………”

Culture is defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as the “customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group.” Culture does not belong to just one person, it belongs to a group of people. I guess because culture is shared there is some confusion as to who gets to do what. There is a very thin line between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation which creates a lot of issues. I once …

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Healthcare and the COVID-19 Pandemic

The rates at which minorities are being affected by the COVID-19 pandemic are disproportional to those of white people. Healthcare has always been an area in which black families have been systemically neglected with the proper resources to remain healthy: a right that should be given to everyone. Even though it might feel a little distant to those who aren’t directly affected by the virus individually or by the poor health of a relative or …

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White Kids: Let’s be Antiracist

White parents, you all really need to step up… If we want to better our society in opposition to issues of racial injustice and inequality, we must begin at a young age. As White parents, you must really talk to your children before these ingrained, societal beliefs corrupt their brains in believing they have privilege due to the color of their skin. White children need to speak out, become educated, and appreciative of other races, …

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Stop Normalizing Black-Crime Association

Something that has especially stuck out to me over the past few weeks has been the ideas presented in an article we read by Jennifer L. Eberhardt on ?Enduring Racial Associations African Americans, Crime, and Animal Imagery?. Within this article, she discusses the stereotypes associated with Black people in relation to crime. She also discusses how there are many factors that influence this, such as the stereotype of blacks as being hostile, dangerous, or criminals, …

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