Race in Modern America by Noble Mushtak https://padlet.com/noble_mushtak/RaceAndAmerica Progress Made and Current Problems en-us 2017-12-05 14:47:22 UTC 2017-12-20 14:59:47 UTC hello@padlet.com The Case for Reparations noble_mushtak https://padlet.com/noble_mushtak/RaceAndAmerica/wish/213310326 Ta-Nehisi Coates synthesizes examples from recent American history and statistics from America's present to question the view that America has moved forward past the racism of the distant past and thus argue that America must confront the current racial disparity. Coates' telling of the story of Clyde Ross, who fled discrimination in Mississippi and then confronted housing discrimination in Chicago, is told both in the context of one man's journey and in the context of broader racial injustices, such as the system of sharecropping and discriminatory housing polices. This dual perspective on Ross' journey allows the reader to empathize with Ross and understand the tangible effect racism has on a person, while also making clear that this racism was experienced by black people across the country and was not an outlier. Furthermore, by focusing on discrimination that occurred in the twentieth century, Coates disputes that most discrimination happened long ago during slavery. This focus highlights clearly that discrimination in the recent past led to the current racial disparity shown in statistics, such as the wealth gap between blacks and whites, and in the deterioration of black neighborhoods. After demonstrating this connection, Coates argues that America should confront racism by offering monetary reparations for the losses that African-Americans have experienced from racism. Coates' argument is powerful and convincing because he has demonstrated the very real losses that have come specifically from racism and have been experienced specifically by African-Americans, thus changing the view of the racial disparity from a problem that lingers from the distant past to tangible recent crimes that should be remedied in tangible ways.]]> 2017-12-05 14:48:36 UTC https://padlet.com/noble_mushtak/RaceAndAmerica/wish/213310326 Changing Views of Asian Americans noble_mushtak https://padlet.com/noble_mushtak/RaceAndAmerica/wish/214369035 In an interview with the Washington Post, the historian Ellen Wu argues that Asian-Americans have ascended in American society because of "model-minority" narratives about Asians crafted during the twentieth century. Wu's argument highlights both America's forward progress with Asian-Americans and backward regression with new stereotypes. In the interview, Wu rejects the idea that Asians have closed racial disparities through hard work, but instead that Americans' more favorable views about Asians led to dismantling of racist barriers for Asians in immigration and citizenship, thus leading to more opportunities for Asians to succeed. By revealing the connection between America's views about Asians and their success, Wu highlights how dismantling racism can lead to real change, such as the now-closed wealth gap between Asians and whites. However, Wu also connects these "model-minority" narratives to political propaganda meant to disparage the civil rights movement or gain geopolitical allies in the Cold War, demonstrating that these stereotypes were not necessarily meant to help Asians, even if that was the effect, and they can still cause harm, especially to other minorities. In following the complex connections between the "model-minority" narratives about Asians and the success of Asian-Americans, Wu reveals both how Asian-Americans have made real progress after the elimination of racist barriers and how modern Asian stereotypes, including the "modern-minority" stereotype, still taint how America views Asians and minorities in general.]]> 2017-12-08 01:35:00 UTC https://padlet.com/noble_mushtak/RaceAndAmerica/wish/214369035 How Experiencing Racism Changes One's Perspective noble_mushtak https://padlet.com/noble_mushtak/RaceAndAmerica/wish/214375340 (The following analysis is of the conversation titled "Norman and Tehran on younger generations using the word")

Norman and Tehran's conversation illuminates how experiencing racism affects people's perspective on racial language and how this relates to racial divisions. Norman has experienced racism personally and thus presumably has a negative view of the n-word, highlighting how experiencing racism makes racial language more personal and more offensive. However, Tehran says Norman's experience is extreme and argues that not all people who use the n-word are trying to offend, demonstrating how when one has not experienced personal racist epithets, racial language is sometimes viewed as separate from racism. Furthermore, Tehran extends his argument to point out how Norman talks about white people as a collective for the wrongdoings that have been done to him, revealing how Norman views white people as separate because of his experiences of racism. Tehran's argument thus connects Norman's disapproval about the n-word to his hard feelings about white people, which reveals that racism causes divisive feelings about language and different races even when one is not the perpetrator of racism.]]> 2017-12-08 02:46:38 UTC https://padlet.com/noble_mushtak/RaceAndAmerica/wish/214375340 America's Limited View of Native Americans https://padlet.com/noble_mushtak/RaceAndAmerica/wish/214877031 Matika Wilbur's documentation of Native Americans demonstrates how America still largely views Native Americans through racist stereotypes and highlights little-known, but important Native American social issues. Wilbur begins her talk by discussing the portrayal of Native Americans in film as "spiritual," impoverished, and in conflict with white people, which establishes the commonly held stereotypes about Native Americans. America's stereotypical and unrealistic view of Native Americans is similar to how there are still openly accepted stereotypes about Asian-Americans, as discussed by Ellen Wu in the Washington Post interview. However, instead of investigating the origin of these stereotypes, Wilbur shows the falsehood in these stereotypes by contrasting them with stories of real Native Americans. These stories allow the viewer to relate to the emotions of real indigenous people, thus humanizing Native Americans. In her storytelling, Wilbur also discusses important social issues Native Americans face, such as blood quantum, cultural education, and tribe sovereignty over their own land, which informs the viewer about Native Americans' untold struggles. By portraying the stories of real Native Americans, Wilbur fights American ignorance about indigenous people and illuminates how Native Americans continue to struggle with long-standing social issues.]]> 2017-12-11 01:28:09 UTC https://padlet.com/noble_mushtak/RaceAndAmerica/wish/214877031 The Black Family Pledge noble_mushtak https://padlet.com/noble_mushtak/RaceAndAmerica/wish/215036852 Maya Angelou's poem illuminates how the legacy of slavery still causes struggles in the black family and proposes a solution to these problems through community action. In the poem, Angelou states that issues such as disrespect in the black family or unexpected births are caused by how black families no longer have the reverence or wisdom of their ancestors to teach their children how to live a decent life. Although Angelou never explicitly mentions race or history in the poem, by mentioning lost ancestors, Angelou alludes to how the cruel, racist history of capturing Africans for American slavery, thus cutting them off from their ancestors, has caused the current struggles of the black family. While many modern commentators think that America has dealt with its problems of racism, citing "black culture" and a lack of family values as the real reason for racial inequality, Angelou demonstrates that these problems have their roots in racism as well. In the end of the poem, Angelou makes a pledge to come together and assist groups that need help, such as the starving, illiterate, and poor. This highlights how Angelou believes that fixing problems in the black community and bringing the community closer will in turn create stronger and closer black families. Angelou's pledge reveals how the racist history of how slaves came to America continues to affect black families, but also provides hope that these issues can be solved by creating a stronger black community.]]> 2017-12-11 14:50:55 UTC https://padlet.com/noble_mushtak/RaceAndAmerica/wish/215036852 Blood Quantum in Native American Tribes noble_mushtak https://padlet.com/noble_mushtak/RaceAndAmerica/wish/215655458 Brooke Jarvis' article on a Native American tribe that expelled hundreds of members based on their ancestry highlights in Native American tribal and legal matters, America has not moved forward from old, judgmental ideas about racial identity. Most Native American tribes use some ancestry requirement, known as blood quantum, to ensure that their members have ancestry from their tribe, but Jarvis' article focuses on the Nooksack tribe, which expelled 306 members in 2013 on the basis because they did not believe they had Nooksack ancestry. By focusing on the Nooksack tribe, Jarvis highlights the division and pain within a tribe when it excludes based on ancestry, as those expelled lost their friends, jobs, home, and identity. The division caused by blood quantum is also displayed in the TED talk by Matika Wilbur, when a Native American man refuses to trust outsiders because people once sampled his blood and tried to use it to prove he was not from his tribe. Both Wilbur and Jarvis display present-day harm that comes from blood quantum, but Jarvis also explains the historical context of blood quantum as a concept used by white Americans to determine the Indian status of others so they could curb Native American rights or disregard treaties with Native Americans that had become "diluted." This illuminates that blood quantum is not simply an exclusionary tactic used by Native Americans to preserve their culture, but a racist concept originally used to harm Native Americans. By examining both the historical context and the present-day effects of blood quantum in Native American tribes, Jarvis illuminates how outdated and racist ideas about identity still affect Native Americans even in the post-civil rights era.]]> 2017-12-13 01:34:13 UTC https://padlet.com/noble_mushtak/RaceAndAmerica/wish/215655458 How Racism Harms Interracial Relationships noble_mushtak https://padlet.com/noble_mushtak/RaceAndAmerica/wish/215662300 In Toni Morrison's analysis of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, she reveals how Huck's silence in regards to his feelings and relationship with Jim is caused by the precarious and doomed nature of an interracial relationship in a racist society. Huck is often silent about his true feelings about Jim, as Morrison points out, such as in Chapter 23, when Huck does not comment on Jim's emotional story of his father-daughter relationship with Elizabeth. Although not mentioned by Morrison, Huck is also sometimes insincere, such as in Chapter 15, when he pretends he was never separated from Jim after a very emotional search for each other, ignoring both his own and Jim's anguish. Morrison believes that Huck's silence reflects how Jim and Huck's relationship is doomed and impermanent because eventually, the friendship will break apart since their society does not approve of their friendship. This doom makes Huck anxious while the impermanence makes Huck less obligated to Jim because Jim is a black man, and both of these factors results in Huck not expressing how he cares for Jim. Huck and Jim symbolizes a caring interracial relationship, and Huck's inability to freely discuss his feelings symbolizes how white people can be insincere and uncomfortable in these relationships, hindering the relationship from becoming closer. Therefore, Morrison's analysis illuminates how Huck and Jim's relationship represents how racism harms interracial relationships in hampering people's ability to connect with and care about each other freely.]]> 2017-12-13 03:04:39 UTC https://padlet.com/noble_mushtak/RaceAndAmerica/wish/215662300 Institutional Racism in Maine noble_mushtak https://padlet.com/noble_mushtak/RaceAndAmerica/wish/216494527 (The link below may not work. However, this article was found on the database Maine News and is titled "Confronting Maine's racism," published by the Kennebec Journal on September 13, 2016.)

Matthew Raymond analyzes Maine history, culture, current events, and statistics to craft a strong argument that Maine has yet to move forward from its problems of institutional racism. Raymond first introduces Maine's historical racism, such as the Ku Klux Klan's political significance in the 20th century or how Maine has tried to "Americanize" other ethnic minorities, in order to highlight how racism has deep roots in Maine. Raymond then connects the historical context to present-day Maine, such as how some ESL students are still segregated from most students like in the Americanization program, to demonstrate that this racism has continued in modern-day Maine. The author also critiques Maine's culture as racist by explaining how the common labeling of people as "out-of-staters" represents Maine's racist and xenophobic judgement of other people. This critique illuminates that racism is in the everyday life of Maine, not just in higher-up politics and public policy. The judgement of out-of-staters, especially Gov. LePage's comments about voter fraud from out-of-state college students, resembles Pap's rant lamenting that black people can vote from the nineteenth-century classic The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn, which further shows that Maine's modern racism has its roots in America's history of racism. Finally, Raymond uses statistics about the black-white wealth gap and higher rates of African-American arrests to illustrate how Maine's racism causes harmful inequality and argue that this problem must be addressed, not ignored. By examining several aspects of Maine society, Raymond creates an effective argument that Maine must confront the racism in its culture and institutions.
]]> 2017-12-15 14:39:57 UTC https://padlet.com/noble_mushtak/RaceAndAmerica/wish/216494527 Civil Rights Act and African-American Progress noble_mushtak https://padlet.com/noble_mushtak/RaceAndAmerica/wish/216723830 (The following analysis focuses on Sections I and III of the attached paper.)

Gavin Wright uses history, statistics, and academically rigorous reasoning to create a convincing argument that the Civil Rights Act of 1964, along with grassroots activism, caused forward social and economic progress for African-Americans. Wright demonstrates that the act's requirement of desegregation of public buildings led to desegregation becoming a social norm by displaying historical examples of industries struggling to desegregate despite efforts before 1964 and several grassroots-led lawsuits that led to desegregation after the Act was passed. By examining how other efforts failed in desegregation where the Civil Rights Act succeeded, Wright makes a rigorous argument that the Civil Rights Act itself, not changing attitudes or previous trends, caused this change. Furthermore, Wright establishes that the Civil Rights Act's employment protections led to economic progress for African-Americans by examining statistics about black median income and occupational status in the South, which reveal that southern black median income and employment status increased much more rapidly after the passage of the Civil Rights Act. To anticipate counterarguments, Wright also proves that previous affirmative action efforts were not as effective and that there were still significant economic gains even after controlling for improving education, thus confirming that it was the Civil Rights Act, not other factors, that caused this economic progress. Moreover, Wright highlights weaknesses in the original Civil Rights Act that were only fixed after political pressure and lawsuits from activist organizations in order to illustrate the importance of vigilant grassroots activism in ensuring that the Civil Rights Act led to real political change. By analyzing history and statistics with academic rigor, Gavin Wright argues persuasively that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 coupled with grassroots activism caused forward socioeconomic progress for African-Americans.]]> 2017-12-17 02:04:10 UTC https://padlet.com/noble_mushtak/RaceAndAmerica/wish/216723830 Worsening Stereotypes of Arab and Muslim-Americans noble_mushtak https://padlet.com/noble_mushtak/RaceAndAmerica/wish/216829827 (The following analysis focuses on the segment from 0:00 to 6:30 as well as the segment from 17:00 to 18:40 of the attached video.)

Jack Shaheen uses several examples from modern-day media to demonstrate how after the 9/11 attacks, American culture went backwards and became more prejudiced after the media started to portray new, harmful stereotypes about Muslim-Americans. Stereotypes about foreign Arabs have existed in America for over a century, as depicted in the nineteenth-century book The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn, when the duke paints Jim blue to look like a "sick Arab" and tells Jim to howl to scare anyone off. However, Shaheen states that domestic Arab and Muslim-Americans were invisible in the media until after 9/11, when the media started portraying them as terrorists trying to destroy America. Shaheen lists at least nine TV series with these stereotypes to highlight how numerous these stereotypes are in modern media, and also gives descriptions of specific scenes depicting Muslim terrorists to give the viewer tangible examples of how Muslims are dehumanized. Additionally, Shaheen illustrates that these stereotypes are unrealistic by giving several specific examples of productive and prominent Arab-Americans in order to argue that the media should instead portray positive Arab-American role models. Shaheen's contrast between Arab-American stereotypes and real Arab-Americans mirrors how in Matika Wilbur's TED talk, media portrayal of Native Americans is contrasted with the real-life stories of Native Americans. Jack Shaheen presents several examples of false media portrayals of Arabs and Muslims in order to illustrate the post-9/11 rise of unrealistic and damaging stereotypes about Arab and Muslim-Americans.]]> 2017-12-18 02:00:22 UTC https://padlet.com/noble_mushtak/RaceAndAmerica/wish/216829827