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This poem by Maya Angelou represents oppressed groups in society. The bird that is stuck in his cage symbolizes racial minorities that are trapped within the boundaries that society creates around them. In the article What is White Privilege, Really? white privilege is described as a social concept that limits the opportunities of black people and expands them for white people. This is the cage.
The caged bird that has his "wings clipped" and "feet tied" are the black people that are unable to experience the freedom that white people do due to the white privilege that they undoubtedly have. The bird inside the cage is prevented from reaching the worms, the sky, the trees, and the streams that the free bird can; all he can do is sing of freedom. This represents how black people who are limited by white privilege and other racial limitations in society can use their voice to enact change.

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Maya Angelou, "Caged Bird" from Shaker, Why Don't You Sing? Copyright © 1983 by Maya Angelou. Used by permission of Random House, an imprint and division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved.

Source: The Complete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou (Random House Inc., 1994)

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Caged Bird by Maya Angelou | Poetry Foundation

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Modern Family is an ABC show that has been running for almost a decade. It follows the lives of the Pritchett families, all struggling with "modern" family problems. The show has been watched and supported by Americans for a long time, but recently it has been criticized for promoting sexist ideas. Many examples of underlying sexism can be found in the show, involving the portrayal of women as sex figures only valued for their bodies and as the disrespected "nag" of the family. Popular shows like this that encourage gender stereotypes put in the minds of their watchers that these kinds of ideas are acceptable. They are promoting sexism. How is society supposed to overcome inequality and recognize how "resilient and striking" women are, when it is constantly exposed to sexist ideas associated with comical, positive attitudes? It cannot. Sexism is not a punch line; it's real, it's dangerous, and it's going to keep progressing unless we stop romanticizing it and start fighting it.

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The views expressed herein are those of the author and not necessarily those of The New Agenda.
I can't believe it took this recent article from Alternet for me to see the sexism in ABC's Modern Family. Perhaps gender stereotypes are so engrained in network television that I've come to passively accept them. Or, perhaps at the end of a long day I'd rather sit and absorb my sitcoms rather than critical analyze them. But, after some frantic re-watching of favorite episodes I realized Modern Family doesrely on antiquated gender stereotypes for many of its jokes, particularly in the characters of Claire Dunphy & Gloria Delgado-Pritchett. Both occupy long held character tropes on network TV.

As Claire, the matriarch of the more traditional Dunphy family "tries to rein in her clownish husband Phil and keep the kids in check, their defiance and outlandish errors are met with viewer laughs. Meanwhile, Claire is characterized as a nag for trying to maintain normalcy" (Alternet). Claire could be any number of mothers featured on network TV throughout the years-the stable rock anchoring her family's whims. Yet - she is never respected; her family teases her constantly. "After a poll in the local paper pronounced her 'angry and unlikeable,' her family forced her to practice her debating skills in front of them so they could mercilessly point out her every angry and unlikeable tic."

It is painful to watch Claire for me, because I am reminded of how I treated my mother growing up. My hardworking and dedicated mother's efforts to keep our family together where only meet with scorn from me-gosh, my mom was so uncool. Or, worse, my mom was so unfun. I never saw, until many years later, how society pushes women into fulfilling the role of nurturer and practical parent and then ridicules them for "nagging" while attempting to execute this role. Modern Family, rather than explore a fresh dynamic in a traditional family, gets its laughs at the expense of women who spend their lives being mocked while cleaning up after their family's adventures.

Gloria, on the other hand, is tokenized in a very different way. Alternet explores one reason: "Viewers are supposed to laugh at her inability to assimilate into American culture as she consistently mispronounces words ('ultimatum" is "old tomato') and attempts to retain aspects of her culture." Haha, Gloria can't grasp our far superior ways of doing things, so funny. Using cultural oppression to get a laugh is pretty low for any TV show. But, with Gloria we get a bonus dose of sexism as Gloria is a hottie and we can never forget it. Comments about her looks - including those by Claire's husband frequent and inappropriate obsession with her beauty are frequent fodder in the show. One episode revolves entirely around her being too vain to wear reading glasses. And while everyone around her encourages her to wear them to the point she agrees, Gloria is never seen wearing them in subsequent episodes. Body acceptance is only ok if it lasts for five minutes and doesn't interfere with your role as the MILF of the show. Can I please have a female character with slightly more depth than her curves and mispronunciations?

In addition, Gloria's looks create competition between the women on the show. Claire and her daughter at separate times voice dissatisfaction over their bodies in comparison to Gloria's. Claire also endures her husband's obsession with Gloria's body - reinforcing the perception that women are in constant competition for the limited commodity of male affirmation. Another reminder that women must have our looks validated by men in order to be fulfilled.

Perhaps the most dangerous part of Modern Family's underlying sexism is that I, and probably many, don't even see it. I've watched the show YEARS and enjoyed every minute. What lessons are we unknowingly absorbing every week about marital relations, body images or cultural appreciation? But it's FUNNY, other viewers may argue. It's what drives our ratings, the networks may say. It's true. Modern Family is incredibly popular-it draws over 10 million viewers per episode and has been nominated for numerous Golden Globes (meaning its casual sexism is permeating across the country at an alarming rate). But, as we enter an age where network comedies can thrive featuring same sex couples, stay at home dads and female executives, dynamics and characters that would have meant show suicide decades ago, don't you think it's time we explored female characters beyond underappreciated housewife and sexpot? I really don't think that's too much to ask.

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Surprising Sexism in ABC's Modern Family

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The views expressed herein are those of the author and not necessarily those of The New Agenda. I can't believe it took this recent article from Alternet for me to see the sexism in ABC's Modern Family. Perhaps gender stereotypes are so engrained in network television that I've come to passively accept them.

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All-Girls Education Without Feminist Vision

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All-Girls Education Without Feminist Vision

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One would think that an all-girls school would be an empowering place for young girls to learn and discover the importance of women's rights. However, at an all-girls school that Angie Young attended for her high school years, nothing was further from the truth. The school she attended never uttered the word "feminism." In fact, there was no emphasis on the student body being girls whatsoever. There wasn't even an emphasis on them being teenagers- they were left to struggle through the problems of their adolescence alone. Without proper support and encouragement given to them when they were young, many girls at Angie's school were lead down a path that turned them into exactly what they thought they were capable of being: "the country club wives of America." As in Jamaica Kincaid's Girl, the girls at Angie's school were not given the guidance they needed.
Like the girl in the story, the girls where steered towards society's ideal future for them. They were controlled, pressured, and diminished. If girls are to become successful women who are granted the same respect as men, they need to be taught at a young age that this is possible. Girls must be made aware of their potential and encouraged to pursue it.

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The feelings of community and belonging are what help people  overcome adversity. Feeling like the people around you understand you and support you is what gets you through your own problems. Similarly, when people come together and acknowledge each others' capabilities, society is able to progress as a whole. But somehow today, many people still fail to recognize the power women hold. After reading "Women in science a small but growing minority" and "Insidious oppression: all-girls education without feminist vision", it is clear that society fails to both accept and harness the strength and "resiliency" of women. As Rupi Kaur writes, the only way society-both men and women- can move forward, is if we recognize the power that every individual posseses.

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For a long time, women have been viewed as less skilled at math and science than men. This sexist stereotype has lead to a significant imbalance of men and women in science and technology fields, as this article, "Women in science a small but growing minority", discusses: "[women] constitute 16 percent of all scientists and engineers employed in the United States." This staggering statistic is mind blowing to me- how can women in science still be such an overwhelming minority? Although their numbers are rising and progress is being made, there is still a lot of work to do concerning the attitudes people hold about women and how their abilities in general compare to men's. In Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, Janie is subject to many limitations in her life because she is a woman. She is mistreated by her second husband Joe especially, when he forces her to talk, dress, and act conservatively. She is subject to societal restrictions as well, when the townspeople around her doubt her abilities and criticize her every life choice. Unequal opportunities for women, as shown in this article discussing the lack of women in science and technology fields, is still a very present problem in today's world.

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In this TED talk by Chimamanda Adichie, the danger of a single story is addressed. She discusses both how common and how dangerous it truly is to base your opinion of a place off of one story or one piece of information you have about it. This limited knowledge creates generalizations, stereotypes, and overall false judgments. Even if these consequences are unintended, they are harmful. Ignorance is not bliss in this situation; it is extremely important to educate yourself thoroughly about places that you will be exposed to in any way, whether it's visiting the places or interacting with people from them. This talk that Chimamanda gives is structured to support the ideas it contains. By telling her own stories from her home country Nigeria, her home continent Africa, her time in college in the United States, and her time traveling to other parts of the world, Chimamanda builds a strong case for her point that a single story is dangerous. As she gives the audience more and more information about the experiences of her life and her background, she makes clear the power that stories hold. She tells of the complexity of African life that not many westerners understand, the ignorance of her well-meaning roommate in college who immediately pitied her because of where she came from, and how she realized that she herself had in fact taken part in the reliance on one story, relating to Mexican immigrants. She learned that Mexicans are not just immigrants trying desperately to get into the United States to sell drugs and steal jobs- they are real people with real culture, religion, language, and so much more. She communicates her message effectively that we must expand our knowledge of foreign places to fully understand and respect them throughout the talk.

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Please [contact us](https://www.ted.com/contact) and let us know what happened.

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This article describes what has happened in America since the 9/11 attacks. Ever since the Muslim terrorist organization al-Qaeda attacked the twin towers on September 11th, 2001, many Americans have had a contorted view of South Asians, Muslims, Sikhs, Hindus, and Arabs. From prejudice from the American public to official executive actions from President Trump like the Muslim Travel Ban, patriotism has come to be linked with racism. Many Americans believe that because a group of radical Islamic terrorists were responsible for the 9/11 attacks that all Muslims are terrorists that hate the United States. Of course, this is just not true. As Chimamanda Adichie discusses in her TED talk, it is very dangerous to base one's opinion of a place or group of people based on limited information. For most Americans, the only thing they know about Muslims is that a group of them attacked their country. To truly understand Muslims, Americans must educate themselves about their culture, religion, language, and much more.

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After the attacks of September 11, 2001, patriotism took on many masks and many faces. For some it meant planting flags in their front yards and cherishing the rights we enjoy in this country. For others it took on a flawed and dangerous form. Violence against South Asian, Muslim, Sikh, Hindu, and Arab Americans skyrocketed in the weeks and months after 9/11. New government policies painted our communities with suspicion and guilt. The notion that patriotism and racism are synonymous was used against us after 9/11, and the horror has lasted 16 years, flowing and ebbing under Presidents Bush and Obama. That notion has only increased in fury under the Trump administration.

I was in New York on 9/11, working downtown not too far from the attacks. In the days that followed I feared for my safety for the first time in my life: not from planes nose-diving from the sky, but from assaults on the subway or on the street. These fears were not misplaced. The first shots fired after the attacks were on September 15 in Mesa, Arizona, when Balbir Singh Sodhi, a Sikh gas station owner, was killed by Frank Silva Roque, a racist gunman who wanted to "go out and shoot some towel-heads." During his arrest Roque screamed, "I am a patriot! I stand for America all the way!" This is how he pledged allegiance to our flag.

Our communities experienced many ensuing acts of hate. In the first week after 9/11, 645 bias incidents nationwide were reported by media organizations. In the months that followed, our houses of worship were surveilled by the NYPD and other law-enforcement agencies, our rights were violated and our dignity stripped at airports, and our children were bullied in school and harassed on the Internet. Government policies such as the Patriot Act and the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System were implemented, the latter of which opened cases against 83,000 Muslims entering or living in the United States. The result of this vast ethnic profiling? Zero terrorism-related convictions.

Meanwhile, the body count in our communities has mounted. In 2012, a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, was attacked by a gunman who killed six people and wounded four others before taking his own life. In 2015, three young Arab students in North Carolina were murdered in their homes by their white-supremacist neighbor. In 2016, a Lebanese-American man was shot and killed on his own porch by a racist neighbor who had a documented history of anti-Arab hate. Related Article

In 2017, our communities are facing hate violence at levels that rival the aftermath of 9/11. The Trump administration-which is now implementing policies that mirror his bigoted rhetoric on the campaign trail-continues to roll out anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant policies that embolden hate groups to attack our communities. President Trump has test-fired several versions of the "Muslim ban," rescinded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, and strongly supported the RAISE Act that seeks to slash immigration by 50 percent in a decade, as well as implementing other destructive policies. Since the presidential election, South Asian Americans Leading Together has documented over 150 incidents of violence against those who identify or are perceived as Muslim, Sikh, Hindu, South Asian, Middle Eastern, or Arab American, already surpassing totals from the year leading up to the 2016 election. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, anti-Muslim hate groups grew by 197 percent in 2016, and, according to the FBI, anti-Muslim hate crimes increased by 67 percent in 2015.

In February two Indian-Americans were shot by a gunman screaming, "Get out of my country." Days later a Sikh man was shot on his driveway in Washington State by an assailant screaming, "Go back to your country." In August a Minnesota mosque was firebombed in what the governor rightly declared an "act of terrorism." In May, Jeremy Joseph Christian, a known white supremacist, harassed a Muslim passenger on a commuter train in Portland. When three men tried to intervene, Christian stabbed two of them to death. Reminiscent of Roque's racism in 2001, Christian proclaimed at his arraignment, "You call it terrorism; I call it patriotism!"

After these attacks, the president remains silent. His silence is a clear signal to the Roques and the Christians of the world that white supremacy and Islamophobia are not only admirable, they are patriotic.

Our communities know that the highest form of patriotism is dissent: We have lived it for 16 years. We've spoken out when we've seen injustice, and we've crowded airports to protest an unlawful "Muslim ban." We've stood united with those from all faiths, colors, and backgrounds, against racism and division in Charlottesville, Boston, Berkeley, and beyond. We've stared down ACT for America-the nation's largest anti-Muslim hate group-and forced them to cancel nationwide Islamophobic rallies originally scheduled for September 9.

The toxic patriotism that hate groups have practiced for 16 years has brought our diverse communities together, anchored in a patriotism of love, not fear. This September 11, I will remember that this is the true patriotism-working with our communities to protect each other, and in doing so, to form a more perfect union.

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Too Many Americans Think Patriotism Means Racism and Xenophobia

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After the attacks of September 11, 2001, patriotism took on many masks and many faces. For some it meant planting flags in their front yards and cherishing the rights we enjoy in this country. For others it took on a flawed and dangerous form.

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This short story by Jamaica Kincaid tells of the demands given to a young girl as she grows up. There is advice, in a way, but mostly it is teaching the girl to become a "lady"": a woman who society does not perceive as "the slut [they are] so bent on becoming." The girl is told how to do many things, from how to smile at someone she doesn't like, to how to sweep a whole house, to how to iron her father's khaki shorts. She is also told not to squat to play marbles because she is not a boy. This idea that girls are taught to act differently from boys starting at a young age is the foundation for unequal treatment and opportunities between men and women in society. In Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, a woman named Janie's story is told through three of her marriages. In each, she learns something different about equality, love, and the power that she holds within herself. Like the girl described in Kincaid's writing, Janie is taught by her grandmother, Nanny, at a young age that she must do certain things as a girl to be considered successful. Nanny tells Janie that she must marry a man to be comfortable in her life. Janie later finds that this is not true- she must harness her inner strength and her own independence to feel comfortable and at peace in her life. She does this and so much more by the end of the novel, showing that girls can step out of the boundaries often created around them when they are young and accomplish anything they wish to.

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Representation is key for bringing attention to any minority or oppressed group in society. Without proper representation, people go unnoticed and therefore are not valued as they deserve to be. Patricia Arquette spoke at the 2015 Oscars about the lack of representation of women in Hollywood: "Women helm only 6% of film projects and are outnumbered 4 to 1 in on screen representation." On average, actresses are also payed considerably less than actors, as Jennifer Lawrence was in America Hustle. Just as there is a lack of representation of women in science and technology fields, there is a lack of representation of women on screen. This pattern must be broken. Women who go through the same education as men, complete the same amount of work as men, and display the same level of skill as men, should be respected and represented just as much as men. There is no excuse for this glaring inequality in the workforce.

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Patricia Arquette brought excitement to an otherwise lackluster Oscar telecast with her impassioned speech on behalf of women's equality. Upon accepting the award for Best Supporting Actress, she stood before a worldwide audience of 1 billion and declared: "To every woman who gave birth to every taxpayer and every citizen of this nation, we have fought for everybody else's equal rights. It's our time to have wage equality once and for all and equal rights for women in the United States of America."

She got a sustained standing ovation and enthusiastic whoops from none other than Meryl Streep, not to mention worldwide twitter love for her statements. And whether or not you like politics mixed in with your awards telecast, Arquette is right.

It was widely assumed in the press that in asking for women's equality, Ms. Arquette was referring to the under-representation of women in Hollywood, both in front of and behind the camera. Women helm only 6% of film projects and are outnumbered 4 to 1 in on screen representation. SONY also got a black eye last year when it was revealed that its female execs made far lower salaries than their male counterparts and Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence was paid less in America Hustle than her lesser known and less celebrated male co-stars.

Arquette would not be the first to speak out on women's behalf. Upon winning the Best Actress Oscar last year, Cate Blanchett noted that stories about women do sell tickets. Women do fascinate beyond "Bond girls." Was Arquette addressing this as part of the issue ...yes. Was that her main point? I think not.

While I'm sure Patricia Arquette was addressing women's inequality in all its forms, her Oscar speech made a passionate plea for the recognition of women of all social strata - 73% of us are in the work force and 40% are sole breadwinners or head of household, yet 2/3 of minimum wage jobs are held by women. So to those in Congress, like Rep. Marsha Blackburn, who say that getting and enforcing equal pay laws for women don't matter - think again.

In her award winning role in " Boyhood," Arquette plays a single mom who educates herself to provide a better life for her two kids. Arquette was no stranger to this reality, as she became a single mother at 19 and juggled several jobs between auditions in order to care for her son. Per The New York Times, her maternal instinct to, as she put it, "drag meat back for my young," helped to steel her and grow her career rather than stall it, as one might expect. In this regard, it was lovely to see an actor celebrated for playing a mommy who, while imperfect, always showed up with everything she had for her kids.

Arquette has also founded a charity and works to build homes on behalf of the disadvantaged, so she has experience with women's lesser representation in governments (here and abroad) directly equating to the empty lip service paid to women's equality or laws that would benefit working mothers.

Per a study just released by the Department of Professional Employees this month:

"Women make up more than half of the professional and technical workforce in the United States. While the status for women in the workforce has improved over the last several decades, many women still struggle for equality in many occupations. Women are earning post-secondary degrees at a faster rate than men are, yet a wage gap persists. Some portion of the wage gap may result from decisions women make, personal job preference, or socio-economic circumstances; however, many still face overt or subtle employment discrimination, contributing to continued inequality."

While I am typically not a fan of the political at an awards show, I confess my own bias on this particular issue and appreciated Arquette's honesty in noting that women are great at championing the rights of other groups - as we did with Civil rights and Gay rights. We are also the ones encouraging our husbands to get their prostates checked - among other things. Just as the kids in "Boyhood" take their mommy for granted, women are often taken for granted in our society.

As Ms. Arquette rightly notes, it is now our turn to count on those we have stood up for to stand up for us.

The rousing reaction on twitter worldwide championing Arquette's statements may signal that we are finally beyond the stage of polite acknowledgement of a cause without also demanding results.

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Anita Finlay is the bestselling author of Dirty Words on Clean Skin - exposing media bias in a society not as evolved as advertised. #1 on Amazon's Women in Politics books for 16 weeks.

Like Anita Finlay, Author on Facebook.

Follow @AnitaFinlay on Twitter.

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Patricia Arquette Roars for Women's Equality at Oscars

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Patricia Arquette brought excitement to an otherwise lackluster Oscar telecast with her impassioned speech on behalf of women's equality. Upon accepting the award for Best Supporting Actress, she stood before a worldwide audience of 1 billion and declared: "To every woman who gave birth to every taxpayer and every citizen of this nation, we have...

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This article intends to define and discuss what white privilege actually is. The conclusion is drawn that white privilege is not a racist idea, but rather a concept that has developed in modern times as a result of our nation's history. It spans from simple things like first aid kits only including Band-Aids that match white people's skin tone, to more complex and serious things like the ability to accumulate wealth and live a quality life. White privilege is something that I personally have not been aware of in my daily life, but after reading this article, I have realized the many ways that the color of my skin determines how I fit into society; in subtle ways, I am able to feel more comfortable, more safe, more welcomed. This idea that race can control not only society's perception of someone, but also how likely someone is to feel accepted in society is dangerous and unfortunately relevant in today's world. We are struggling as a nation to reach equality in all aspects of life, especially with race. This article addresses an issue that is crucial to understand if we are to tackle racism- white privilege is a real occurrence that is alarmingly disregarded and has a profound negative effect on racial minorities.