One of the leading causes of death for young black men, is police brutality. Young black men in their mid to late 20’s have about a 1 in 1000 chance of being killed by police (source needed). For many of them they are murdered while they are unarmed and are committing no crime. However, we can see time and time again white mass shooters being taken alive in the most difficult of circumstances. Yet while …
With a title as grandiose as that, it is easy to predict reactions from those who do not want their beloved franchise besmirched. As someone who has loved the franchise since I was a toddler, it was difficult to come to terms with some of the more problematic issues that take place within the ‘first’ Star Wars movie. Opening one’s mind to see the bias or prejudice attitudes taken by a series is a hard …
I have worked in the service industry doing everything from bussing to serving to bartending for years and the one thing that has followed me to every establishment I have worked in is explicit racism. In recent years more attention and media coverage has been given to the issues black people face as consumers in America. Instances such as two black men being arrested in a Starbucks or the singer SZA being followed around by …
I find myself always being the one asking the loaded questions about racism. I always want answers to the big questions and it’s something that doesn’t really have a straightforward answer. For so long, before I decided to educate myself, the questions I would ask would be about how to end racism. Because there was no clear cut answer, I just figured there was no way to end racism because there were too many racists …
Kung-Fu, kickboxing, karate, boxing, wrestling, kickboxing, judo, and jiu-jitsu. All of these incredibly diverse and unique fighting styles can be referred to under the wide umbrella term of combat sports. Many see these niche forms of exercise as ‘violent catharsis’ that turn people into ‘bullies’, however this could not be further than the truth. An underlying message across all of these differing combat sports is the fundamental rule of respect. Whatever hate or anger someone …
Painting is about the world that we live in. Black men live in the world. My choice is to include them. This is my way of saying yes to us. -Kehinde Wiley I think that an interesting way to examine racism and its various permutations within the U.S., is to look at art created by Black American artists. In my experience, more museums have begun to feature exhibits by black artists and many of these …
As the academic semester comes to an end, in my contemporary racism class we have been discussing and connecting various concepts to develop our understanding of the role of modern racism and its consequences to marginalized identity groups in the United States. We discussed how, under the influence of mainstream media, we tend to focus on individuals who exhibit old-fashioned, overt acts of racism and the obvious, direct consequences to people of color. This leads …
When it comes to the school system, there are many white teachers who stray away from talking about race in the classroom. The dynamics of the classroom matter so much more than people may originally anticipate. Students need to feel comfortable when it comes to someone who is instructing them. Not only are teachers someone that students see often, but they are available to talk to about other topics if needed. When it comes to …
The Dangerous Belief that White People are Under Attack (2017), by Dr. Clara Wilkins, reminds me of a conversation that I had with my extended family a few years ago. My aunt, (and old, white, wealthy, surprisingly liberal woman) was talking about how her alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania was using affirmative action when looking at applications. My aunt was expressing her frustration about how white students are now being “discriminated against” because students …
It isn’t a secret that white people often actively avoid the topics of race and racism. One of the biggest tools at white people’s disposal is their privilege (which ironically they rarely recognize they have). Another powerful tool that white people use is called white fragility. White fragility is a product of the white dominated environments that whites live in. These environments give white people the assumption that they should always be “racially comfortable.” A …
This weekend, I went to Boston with my family. It was an extremely cold day, but I still loved exploring the city and the history it had to offer. There are a great number of street performers in this city, and we stopped for one of them-a group of men were performing a dance routine, and, at the end, they would flip over the hunched backs of four grown men standing next to each other. …
Dr. Jonathan Lassiter, a professor at Muhlenberg College, expresses in one of his works “Whiteness in the Psychological Imagination” how the psychological narratives of people of color is left out of most studies, but particularly in psychological research. He addresses how whiteness is so ingrained in society that even when one is asked to imagine a “person”, a white person is what first appears in their mind. He explains how white is synonymous for person …