I was born in a land littered with Confederate flags. Each flag you drive past holds generations worth of harmful stereotypes about Black Americans. Even if you aren’t from South Carolina, like me, stereotypes are constantly around us. They are found through our thoughts, conversations with others, information from the media, etc. Once we understand that a stereotype exists, what do we do with them? Do we let them control our thoughts and interactions? And …
Throughout United States history people are continuing to believe things that are not true. Not only are they not true, but they are disgusting and horrible. People who believe in stereotypes which are attitudes and beliefs, usually they are prejudiced which are ill feelings towards people. Which is also related to discrimination which is behaviors against people. These stereotypes are not true, they are racist. In the readings we learned that people who joke about …
My first American history lesson started with the Crash Course series on YouTube in the summer of 2017, about two months before I came to the States. My “teacher” was a white woman from Texas whose name I failed to remember, who seemed nice and honestly was the spitting image of white Americans in media products I had consumed. She taught me everything from “checks and balances,” “electoral college,” and the Constitution to using “bathroom” …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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, …
In “Whiteness in the Psychological Imagination” Dr. Jonathan Lassiter, a Psychology professor, wrote about whiteness in academia and its effects on students of color. There were many aspects of this piece that resonated with me, but none so more than when Dr. Lassiter referenced a conversation he had with a Black female classmate named Natasha. This conversation led Natasha to tears after Dr. Lassiter asked her how she was doing, and it was this moment …
Our education system and schooling curriculum lacks transparent information regarding the country’s racial history and lacks the general knowledge of how to have race talk. Some teachers, who should be educating and pushing the barrier, still frequently ignore race talk or are visibly uncomfortable when racism is discussed. These classroom dynamics are crucial, and teachers and educators set the tone. Teachers need to be able to preach inclusivity, create a positive and productive classroom dynamic, …
Children of color are at a high risk of being negatively impacted by implicit prejudices and biases. The way that people manifest their prejudiced beliefs can be dangerous to children’s ability to learn and be successful outside of the classroom. In a study done by Goff et al. (2014), children of color were much more likely to be perceived as older than they actually were. Young boys of color are then treated as older when …
I recently met a police officer two years older than me. I started talking to him and having friendly conversation before learning that he was a cop. Naturally, upon finding out about his career, I asked him his thoughts on the current Black Lives Matter movement and police brutality. His response was “Yea, it’s a shame that it was a few bad cops. I work with hispanic people and stuff. I’m definitely not racist.” This …