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The new economic uprising of African Americans is like the ideas of transcendentalism extended. That they believe in their ability and have the will that has allowed the group as a whole to make things possible and give itself opportunity. Breaking socioeconomic boundaries creates a new frontier and helps answer the essential question. Culture wants to be pulled in the current of a cycle it can only move forward or in a different direction with work and changes like these. It's a slow climb, but the little push helps move the circular trend of culture sideways by inventing new norms. Societal trends remind me of the stock market’s growth then degradation in unpredictable instances that are often caused by unpredictable events, a shooting of an African American child or Hurricane Katrina. The more oppressed African Americans were socially and economically the harder the fight, so the stronger they fought for education. Education enables the hope that one day they could get in a place of power and influence to show the world who they really are as people past a veil of stereotypes. More than that, simply lead good lives, every man's right. It is passive resistance but it is the smartest. If hope and optimism stay alive their will always be a way to fight the good fight. The little things people do over time to progress a moment will add up given patience. By finding the channels to succeed it is shown poor is not a state defined by race. The wonder is if positive change such as economic growth for African Americans is sustainable. We see in politics that the pendulum shifts dramatically right after a far swing left (liberal and conservative), and only time can tell if the change can sustain through the growing, politically driven, hostility the world is engulfed in.

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Brazil: Discrimination Based on Race and Gender

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Brazil: Discrimination Based on Race and Gender

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Discrimination against women and black people in labor market is not new, or rare, but extends all over the world and together they make up the most marginalized groups. From this stand points it make sense as why it is said that black women are the mules of the world in the book. Being black and being a women gives them a disadvantage in the workplace and at home. Employment practices in many ways operate under a new spoils system of race and gender, preferring white males over anything despite aptitude or education. Everything with racism and gender equality is coining old terms as new again, like black face. A resurgence of the old has come back cyclically. New spoils system, new black face, and more repeated and evolved prejudice, and because it is thought to be mostly eradicated it is harder to stop. However, in the other less mainstem contries (minority and third world) racism is still largely thriving. The labor gap exists between men and women, and in a racial aspect, so its inequality is hard to hide. This continuous gap leads to people and they family staying in the same socioeconomic class. The poor stay poor at no fault of their own and again we can see the residency of a thought that poor is a state. When Eugenics was popularized this was the belief and people were sterilized to prevent future generation of inevitably being poor (among other sterilization reasons). The countries that suffer from this racism now, including Brazil, see their cultural diversity as an asset. But it is the hidden prejudice, the subconscious the goes unchecked, the posses most of the danger in these society and to our modern world. The more it is hidden and ignored the harder it is to extinguish, and the more the flame of hate can grow, the gap can widen, and the lines of race grow more distinct.

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Blackface: A cultural history of a racist art form

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Blackface: A cultural history of a racist art form

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Envy, fascination, desire, and fear can all be associated with the historic interpretation of African American people. Black face was an “art” that keep down the minority and entertained the majority. Black people were depicted as lazy, lieing, and buffoonish. Blackface helped inforced and establish long lasting stereotypes. Notice though how these stereotypes have morphed from mockery to envy with modern black face. In the past people felt safe with black face and how it made fun of African Americans, fun derived from fear and hate, and a sense of betterment with security in you place in life. It is always easier to keep people down then lift them up. This demeaning display keeps the hierarchy even if it is subconscious. Black actors participated to (to make it in show business), and entertain the rich. It is like the phrase make the big man happy or don't bite the hand that feeds you. For more or less it helped sustain the class divide, and actually strengthened the mindset of those who held prejudice. It is easy to overlook blackface as a root of racism, deny its existence because it looks bad in the history books, but any thing that is suppressed will comeback with a vengeance and a power that cannot be overlooked in the modern world. It is a cycle, the more people ignore or deny history the bigger it will come back to haunt us. Understanding the way people act doesn’t change anything, but the reason behind actions, the why is what is shocking. This new blackface is not reverse racism, but a manifested form of prejudice that is just as hateful, but harder to storp. In order to chart new frontier the old must be accepted, so then the new can be flushed into society. That is change.

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People starting from a young age only know a few things: what they are told, what they experience, and what they see. Children are impressionable. People who grow up racist are not born racist but taught to be, and different environments can foster different opinions. Chimamanda Adichie found her stories at the will of what she experience of the European, and believed the only stories could be of people colored like them. This is much like, what I imagined, Mrs.Turner to have experienced. Seeing the glory and representation of white people to the point of idealization and longing to the point of looking down at part of her own race heritage. Experience and diversity of literature can be eye opening to the world, even if your world is small of just beginning. This truth can be learned from dystopian societies found in Fahrenheit 451 that discuss and society without the virtues of literature. However, you can take steps to experience the world in many ways, but you may not always appreciate what is found.

There can often be one story when venture into the world, a single narrative about a mass group. There are many stories about the dangerous African American, or about the native Africans who are poor and uneducated to the modern world. These negative and harsh genalizers are never used to describe mass white people, the stereotype basic white girl, does not have nearly as many racial or social connotations. This single story speaks a lot for how society isn’t enlightened. Media has a way of skewing the modern perception, so that is is centered around the story of the majority that helps get across their message. It reminds me of the saying, “there is always a little truth in the best lies or else no one would believe them.” If something happens once, or is said to, it can be believed forever, especially when the voice of the accused is so easily silence. Stories have power, which is why through the ages people want to hide some of the ones we prefer to forget, despite the benefit for our culture to remember them. The sad things that happened to people for not reason, injustice, racism, war. It is a curious dynamic that people would rather take the fictional to be real; the story of the exotic and primitive African American, in place of learning any truth that would require discovery and discussion.

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The Real Racism Exposed by Hurricane Katrina

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The Real Racism Exposed by Hurricane Katrina

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In Their Eyes Were Watching God, a change of scenery ment the next step in Janie’s journey. The storm the brought around the change in her story was very revealing to her relationship. In real life, big catastrophes, like that hurricanes, have this quality as well, and have the effect to bring about change, good or bad, and often wake people up. The storm Janie experiences revealed a lot, in the way of love and the strength of her relationship, community dynamics, and  race relations. Hurricane Katrina was noted, however, to bring out hate, and the presence of racism. racism causes delays in society and in relief efforts. racism came in the form of hyperbole, fear, stereotypes, and lies. People like to jump on the bandwagon of hate when it suits them, the world follows this selfish trend, and it is used as an excuse to not, not help, not see the wrong, and not change. To at long last justify ones hate. It is easy to hate and hard to love, and rumors as seen in Katrina, life, and in Their Eyes were Watching God are easy to spread and hard to dull. People often can’t believe what they haven’t experienced and combined with racism are wary to trust. It was said that if Katrina had happened in a white community reactions would have been quicker to help in response, a key example in white privilege. However, this also shows that it doesn't matter the severity of what happened on who it happened to, like Janie's trial the people did not care about the crime only the accused. These frightened imaginations have lead to more then one case throughout the years, from the Scottsboro Boys to Modern day police shooting against unarmed African Americans. History likes to find itself in a loop with these instances. Culture improves to a point that some forget we still need to fight for final change against the resurgence of past ideals that prevent a break into the modern age.

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Why I, as a Black Man, Attend KKK Rallies

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Why I, as a Black Man, Attend KKK Rallies

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For many it is human nature to solve problems by fighting, ignorance, or passive hatred. But the large yelling match the becomes humanity, and the shows of dominance solve nothing, but a slow devolution in humanity and morality. For centuries black people were the lowest on the totem pole, and in Their Eyes Were Watching God this fact is very clear. Janie was pushed around in her early relationships and the abuse helped serve the theme that black women were, and are, the mules of the world. Nanny knew this, a former slave, rapped, and threatened, Leafy knew this, rapped and put inside herself away. It is hard to make love not war when people are so consumed by their own security. There is a popular saying among parents that is meant to ease children in the face of fear when confronting an animal, “they are just as afraid of you as you are of them.” This is what I would identify as the root of this endless shouting match, fear, one of the most powerful emotions next to pride, that often work hand and had to sustain this dynamic. A lot of things may change with a little bit of humility. Janie saw this fear when she was shut down by Logan and Joe, and when Nanny forced her into her first marriage fearing for her future. And, as seen by Janie's Journey we can only evolve as people when you move further from fear and into our own. The KKK, as seen by Mr. Davis, can be brought down with a little understanding, and taking the time to prove someone wrong by first showing them who you are. This is shown in the instance of Mr.Davis, who collects robes of ex-KKK affiliates. We are missing a few things in life love, understanding, and humility, that the tools for empathy. And would do a lot to dispense the fear surrounding the race issue.

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The bird dares to claim sky. This claiming of a sky in the poem in a metaphor for trying to attain one's freedom, which I would associate with the horizon metaphor in Their Eyes Were Watching God. It is a common dream among people, betterment and freedom, but the question is who can achieve it. The sky is so far away and the horizon is always fading (opportunity, friendships). In history the attainment of one's dreams and potential has been especially hard for women and those of African American decent. In the book, we see Janie’s journey as a black women, and the struggles she faced in her relationships to find her own happiness and her voice. This discovering and wanting is much like the song of the bird in the poem.

In the end of the book, the cloak of the horizon/the sky Janie wears is proof of her accomplishment. Janie suffered from suppression in her first two relationships, and lacked the freedom to express herself and find her substance in life. When put away at the will of other people’s hate one “sings” for freedom (even within themselves). The poem “I too sing America” illustrates how the struggle in finding ones place in the world made more difficult by societal circumstances (segregation and prejudice/racism). However, the larger the suppression can also mean the greater the push back. Even if you clip someone's wings it does not remove the urge to fly. The bird in this poem is caged, and unable to do the things it dreams of, so in turn it sings of freedom, release, and the future it always looks towards. There is power in voice, and one match can start a fire in other. Janie’s story is inspiring and moves Phoebe to almost disbelieve and makes Phoebe realize she wants the same things for herself. People want to have the option to explore the unknown, but are often too scared to pursuit something foreign. It can sometimes take an outside force to jumpstart action, like many historic and modern African American civil rights movements. In history and struggle it is very true that we stand on the shoulder of giants and on the graves of those before you (those who could not fulfill their own song by fought so others could).

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Too Many Americans Think Patriotism Means Racism and Xenophobia

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Too Many Americans Think Patriotism Means Racism and Xenophobia

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The United States has a long History of isolationism when it comes to world conflicts, despite its “global leader” reputation, and it has a long history of nativism despite its “melting pot” benedictions. The age of bending cultures is, however, in jeopardy when love of country becomes manic pride that shuns all foreigners on its borders. The refugees seeking political asylum, the growing wait for a visa, and limits on immigration have contributed to growing radical nationalism in the United States. One of the first perceived foreign peoples to come American were the Africans, who were used as slaves, a free labor, and treated as property. This fostered the dynamic of racism. There is a saying, that when you hold on to something too tight is will just fall faster through you hands, like sand. People have begun holding too tightly to their idea of what America was actually founded on, and it's true ideals have begun to slip through the cracks. It is mis-directed hate and fear, or boredom, or reactionary tradition that leads people to instances of retaliation against a group of people they see as outsiders, foreigners, “the problem”.

This misplaced hate/fear manifests in Their Eyes Were Watching God when Janie is worried about Tea Cake and Nunkie, when Mrs.Turner projects her own wanting for the white lifestyle on the what she though were the faults in black people, and when Tea Cake hits Janie to show his dominance after Janie's conversations with Mrs.Turner. This misplacing of emotions is just a diversion to the separation in our country. Mrs.Turner blames black people for her own exclusion in society instead of the real wrongdoers, while in modern day racists take their own insecurities and fears out on black people with acts of violence on the community .This brings into question who and what the Constitution protects: simply freedom. A declaration of freedom quickly becomes an excuse for exclusion; we satisfy the majority so easily that the voices of the minority is silenced by those in a position of power. However, given a platform to speak, like Janie, an ocean of resistance comes forth. Soon, this build up of emotion leads to a burst in the dam, a perforation to our walls. One event can change anything, begin and end journeys, but eventually the back and forth will cease; it is the nature of the pendulum to come to rest in the center. The minority, dignity stripped, trust divided, and left to itself, has a way to flourish and grow into its own. The nation may shrivel until there is no sand left to hold and a new age will rise. The path to the horizon was paved by dreamer, like Janie and today’s immigrants, their noble dreams will sustain and advance our country.

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Prejudice even if perceived positive by others is still a hindrance and insult to the race in question. The spotlight of racism in the modern world has shifted to many other minority groups such as Latinos and Asians. We see the same types of prejudice repeat itself in generalizations and assumptions to hate crimes growing. Other social minority groups are also at a disadvantage such as people that are gay or of a certain religion. This is not news, it is just presented more. In the workplace we see the struggles economically but also socially because of the one level connotation people associate with certain races. Inturn, people of all ethnicities learn to play the game and work the system that is set up for them by the majority leaders of society, which are still mostly white males. Sometimes the more accepted a topic seems the more pockets of push back appear. There is a necessity for assimilation to function in a society if you are other then the majority, you have to adhere to the expectations placed, prove yourself above (with struggle), or go unnoticed, blend. This resistance is manifested in whatever ways a group can, but the controversy (for either either group) is often discussed in economic terms and the stereotypes: the Asians are smart, Mexicans are dangerous, and African Americans are dumb. The frontier of economic improvement in a marginalized society seem bleak and skewed for the minority. You can't be anything except what people expect. Even if the stereotypes play in you favor the stigma surrounding anything for can lead to social pratfalls that would destroy anyone's attempt at authenticity or normalcy by projecting one's fear, prejudice, or confusion on to others that is created by the “unknown”.

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In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Mrs.Turner had an obsession with the white image and blamed her own skin color and those of her race from being separate from the society she idealized. However, we see very few white people in the book, for in Janie’s world and journey one is irrelevant to the other. There is an unspoken separation, but not a lack of awareness to those who suffer at the conceptions and privileges of others. In the book, we only see one example of strong racism, and that is when the dead are being buried and only the white people get coffins. A courtesy is extended to white people. For someone who has these privileges everyday, it seems like nothing until the worlds of black and white are put in contrast, then it sticks out. For many years one could never walk the line between white and black, the one drop rule (one drop of black blood meant a person was considered from that race). For Janie and Mrs.Turner, this was true, but they embodied opposite sides of a mixed-race identity. Perception is everything. White privilege is when a white person has greater access to power and resources than people of color would have in the same situation. Clarifying what white privilege is does nothing to help those who are at its mercy. From Their Eyes Were Watching God to the modern society, awareness is key, if Janie didn’t realize what she wanted in the first place she could never find it, and if people don’t face the existence and practices of white privilege, the cycle will continue. Some of the things that build character can be bouts of inequality, but they also tear a person down first, and some, like Janie’s mother, or the victims of police brutality, or the slave who had had enough and burned down the mansion, do not get back up again. This is what created the Civil Rights movement in the United States: not the privilege, but the lack of equal privilege.

Opportunities are hard to trust and rare and it was the mission of many to create a world better for the next generation. That was Nanny’s hope for Janie, after Nanny’s years of slavery and what happened to Leafy, and Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King Jr. The greats. Silence in the face of injustice is the same as committing the crime. To become educated to these injustices is the first step, but just as racism is prejudice enacted, it is hoped that enlightenment enacted and spread with bring change. The time when Janie was the most happy was when she had fewer material possessions, in “The Muck”, and she found family and a community united together. Race did bring privilege but it did not bring happiness. Mrs.Turner idealizing what she could never be only bought her sorrow. Instead, like Janie we must strive for our best future, and equality, but not adopting the attitude of those who created the gap in the first place.