Are We Beginning to Chip Away at Mass Incarceration? An Example from New York State

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Last week, our class discussed mass incarceration, the system by which a vastly disproportionate amount of people of color are imprisoned for the use or distribution of illegal drugs. The situation is quite bleak; the system has been escalating for the past few decades and has wreaked havoc among communities of lower class people of color. Nevertheless, there may in fact be a ray of light at the end of the tunnel. Throughout the country, …

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Spending privilege

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Recently I was on imgfav and saw a picture that was asking why doing something like calling a white person worthless is mean, but saying it to a black person is racism. I think people forget that racism is about power. It is about a majority oppressing a minority. It’s hard to remember sometimes because it’s easier to see oppression than privilege. This is why people who try to fight racism often end up in …

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A Sobering Experience

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WARNING: extremely offensive, racist language is used while quoting someone else (as well as cursing) A few weeks ago, I was hanging out with a few friends and acquaintances – we were talking, laughing, and having a generally good time.  We were sitting in a circle of various couches and chairs surrounding a coffee table.  Then, someone at the party (let’s call this person J) got a text from another friend saying that a third …

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Do Expectations Affect Athletes’ Performance?

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Someone who plays a sport and his constantly toted as the star player on their team always tends to perform at a higher level than the other players on the team.  This is probably largely due to talent, but I feel as though being told “we’re counting on you” and “you are our best player” can create a self – fulfilling prophecy with that person, helping them perform better.  If that player were to go …

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Institutional Racism on college campuses: I, too, am Harvard

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  http://www.buzzfeed.com/alisonvingiano/21-black-harvard-students-share-their-experiences-through-a The article above was introduced to me recently by one of my friends. While I was going to write about something different this week, this article captured me. Entitled “I, too, am Harvard” you see a preview of a photo project from 21 students of color who attend Harvard university. Each is holding a black dry erase board which dons a common phrase that they often hear and has in some way effected …

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Paul Ryan and Cultural Racism

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Paul Ryan has recently been lambasted for his comments on inner city poverty and Black culture. While many in the media and blogosphere have picked up on his racism, I found his comments to be particularly illustrative of colorblind ideology. I pulled this quote from ThinkProgress: “House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) previewed his upcoming legislative proposals for reforming America’s poverty programs during an appearance on Bill Bennett’s Morning in America Wednesday, hinting that he would focus …

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Nick Cannon…in Whiteface?

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A few days ago, I came across this article about Nick Cannon in Whiteface on the website Jezebel. At first, I wasn’t even sure that it was Nick Cannon. Then, I kind of hoped that it was some weird joke or botched Photoshop job. Neither turned out to be true. Turns out, it’s a promotion Cannon was doing to promote his new album: “White People Party Music”. Apparently, his White alter ego is named Connor Smallnut, which …

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I’m not racist but…

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http://thoughtcatalog.com/anonymous/2014/01/im-not-racist-im-just-not-attracted-to-black-men/ This a link to an article written by a white gay man explaining why on his Grindr profile he has selected the options “white whites only”. In this article he uses a lot of color blind rhetoric. He talks about how he has black gay friends as proof that he isn’t racist. The article goes on to talk about how he hears his black and Latino friends talk about how the even in the gay …

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Planet of the Apes or the Obamas?

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Recently in the opinions section of a Belgian Newspaper, one article, said to have been submitted from Russian President Vladimir Putin, shows the Obamas depicted as apes. On the picture it says, “First Black President, starts selling weed.” I thought this was a really interesting thing to bring up because it related to the Eberhardt studies that we looked at in class relating Blacks to Apes. Many people make the implicit association of blacks to apes …

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Color-Blind Education

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Lately, I have been thinking a lot about color-blind ideology and how it affects our school systems. It is interesting to think about the fact that some educators endorse this color-blind ideology and can not see the potential negative effects it has on children. When I think back to my experience as a child, I try to remember how my elementary schools teachers approached students of color. Unfortunately, it is not something that I can …

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Jane Elliot – Your Thoughts?

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Here is the link to Jane Elliot conducting one of her Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes prejudice education workshops. Do you think Jane Elliot went too far, or did she teach the students a valuable lesson using this method? (http://www.upworthy.com/i-never-thought-id-want-to-high-five-a-teacher-for-yelling-at-a-student-but-i-was-wrong)  

“Wholesome Families”

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Earlier today, a friend of mine posted a link to a commercial made by Honey Maid that features several different families goofing around while sentimental music played in the background. What made this commercial stand out to so many people was the purposeful use of diverse types of families: there’s an interracial family, a family that features a tattooed, “punk rock” looking father, a single dad, and a gay couple. The marketing slogan for the …

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