Race in Modern America by Makenna Janes https://padlet.com/makenna_janes/raceinmodernamerica Research into whether progress in race issues in America has been sideways, forwards, or backwards. en-us 2017-12-06 16:27:27 UTC 2017-12-20 17:29:44 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/icons/Balance.png This Amazing, Troubling Book by Toni Morrison. makenna_janes https://padlet.com/makenna_janes/raceinmodernamerica/wish/213786813     In her work titled "This Amazing, Troubling Book", Toni Morrison expresses several of her ideas on the connection from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn to race issues in modern America. She believes that censoring the n-word in the book would do more harm than good, "appeas[ing] adults rather than educat[ing] children" (1). I believe the use of the word is purposeful and adds a lesson for young readers: kids seeing a word used in its true, derogatory way changes and rectifies how they view the use of that word in modern conversation.
     
     Morrison also mentions the readers feeling of imminent separation of Huck and Jim connects to her feelings about her friendships with white kids during her childhood. Twain meaningfully dooms Huck and Jim's relationship to end, reflecting America's past and present unjust condemnation of black and white relationships.
       
       Morrison's quote; "The nation, as well as Tom Sawyer, was deferring Jim's freedom in agonizing play" (4), conveys that African Americans and all other oppressed races do not yet have the amount of freedom white Americans enjoy. White society has continually forced black Americans fight for every aspect of their freedom and liberty; each time they are given a taste of freedom, it is overshadowed by another racist measure to withhold their freedom. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn shows that this has been a constant and never-ending practice, and Twain strives to illuminate and bandage the problem. ]]> 2017-12-06 16:36:49 UTC https://padlet.com/makenna_janes/raceinmodernamerica/wish/213786813 The n-word: The Washington Post. makenna_janes https://padlet.com/makenna_janes/raceinmodernamerica/wish/213791050 In the Washington Post's project, "The N-Word", a conversation on how to move past the debate about the use of the n-word impacted me the most. In the video, titled "Ayia and Ayana on Moving Past the Debate Over the Word", two young women discuss the bigger race issues behind the word. They believe that the use of the word is not the most imminent problem; there are greater injustices that black Americans face. The girls mention inadequate education given to African Americans, the imbalanced population of African Americas imprisoned, and the insufficient healthcare they receive. I agree; people will keep mistreating black Americans in numerous ways even if the n-word is never used again. The use of the word is a result of America's bigger race issues, such as the ones the girls mention. Eradicating the n-word would be trying to extinguish a fire from the tip of the flame, instead of the base. In order for race issues to improve, larger and more structural problems of race must be fixed before the use of the n-word becomes the most trying issue. ]]> 2017-12-06 16:42:32 UTC https://padlet.com/makenna_janes/raceinmodernamerica/wish/213791050 Ta-Nehisi Coates on why white people should not use the n-word. makenna_janes https://padlet.com/makenna_janes/raceinmodernamerica/wish/213793547 In an interview discussing his latest book, Ta-Nehisi Coates points out that "we understand that it is normal, actually for groups to use words that are derogatory in an ironic fashion". He believes that people understand not to use the derogatory term if they are outside of the group, but white people do not extend the understanding to black people. I disagree to some extent; I believe that there is a type of hateful person who will use LGBTQ slurs against LGBTQ people, who will use the word 'bitch' against women, who will use the n-word against African Americans. The line that white people ignore is not using the n-word at all, even if they perceive its intent to be of the 'brotherly', friendly meaning. Coates explains beautifully white peoples difficulty in refraining from using the word; "When you're white in this country, you're taught that everything belongs to you. You think you have a right to everything". This systematic conditioning that makes white people believe they have the right to everything is seen in Hughes short story, where the white couple freely copies black culture without consequences or guilt. Lastly, Coates concludes that rightfully refraining from repeating the n-word in music gives white people a glimpse into the lives of African Africans; seeing off limit freedoms enjoyed by others frequently and having those freedoms never be attainable. Twain, in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, shares a similar insight through Jim's fickle status of freedom and ending the book with his freedom still out of reach.]]> 2017-12-06 16:46:28 UTC https://padlet.com/makenna_janes/raceinmodernamerica/wish/213793547 Slave on a Block by Langston Hughes. makenna_janes https://padlet.com/makenna_janes/raceinmodernamerica/wish/213794601 Langston Hughes uses his short story to comment on the obsession of white Americans regarding African American culture. Ironically, white Americans have taken drastic measures in order to separate their culture from black Americans culture, such as segregated schools, yet they believe they have the immediate right to African American culture. Hughes's two white characters, Anne and Michael, "went in for the Art of Negroes"; they "bought it and raved over it, and copied it" (1). Anne and Michael know that their 'appreciation' of African American culture bothers the African Americans they know, but they ignore those feeling of resentment: this connects to modern America's disregard of black Americans' emotions and thoughts on the appropriation of their culture. This short story, published in 1933, shares many ideas surrounding the race issues of today. Perhaps the most prevalent idea shared is the idea of white use of black culture, which can be seen today with the use of the n-word. Ta-Nehisi Coates explains in another source that white Americans have been conditioned to believe that they have the right to anything in this country, including the use of the n-word and African American culture.  ]]> 2017-12-06 16:48:23 UTC https://padlet.com/makenna_janes/raceinmodernamerica/wish/213794601 Race in Maine: Why racism still effects the second whitest state in America. makenna_janes https://padlet.com/makenna_janes/raceinmodernamerica/wish/215175255 In this article from the Portland Press Herald, the Dr. H. Roy Partridge raises the question of "why should white people care about people of color in Maine?". Maine is 95.5% white, second whitest state in the country, so many people in Maine do not have intimate relationships with people of color. As seen in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck only started to respect and understand Jim as a human, with emotions, until he developed a close relationship with Jim. Partridge's point of view disagrees with Twain's depiction of white-black friendships. As a college professor, he was surprised to see that people from Maine still enrolled in his classes on race, despite them being white and removed from race issues. This observation makes Huck and Jim's relationship dynamic outdated. His view on the white-black relationship in Maine-where people with a distant connection to race issues still hold sympathy for black Americans facing those problems- provides a different insight into the relationship between white and black Americans today.]]> 2017-12-11 19:03:29 UTC https://padlet.com/makenna_janes/raceinmodernamerica/wish/215175255 The Racist Housing Policy that Made Your Neighborhood by the Atlantic. makenna_janes https://padlet.com/makenna_janes/raceinmodernamerica/wish/215176475 Policies placed by the US state and federal governments have continually oppressed African Americans. The US Constitution incased the Fugitive Slave clause, which enforced that runaway slaves be returned to their owners; Jim Crow laws passed by local and state governments in the South during the late 19th century brought damaging racial segregation to communities. These historic policies are unequivocally racist, but today it is sometimes hard to see the near irreversible race problems they caused. However, the Atlantic's article by Alexis Madrigal focuses on one government project whose consequences can still be seen today. In the 1930s, the creation of the Federal Housing Administration brought policies allowing the FHA to "explicitly refuse to back loans to black people". This policy, which ended in 1968, holds a powerful grip on the fate of current black neighborhoods. The policy created a social rut for African Americans in cities; "black families making $100,000 typically live in the kinds of neighborhoods inhabited by white families making $30,000". Just as Harriet Washington mentioned in the video by Vox, America's history has not been considered when trying to understand current race issues and race issues of the past have continued to today. America has claimed to see progress in race issues, but forgotten history like the racist housing policy left a irreparable dent in African American's progress. ]]> 2017-12-11 19:05:44 UTC https://padlet.com/makenna_janes/raceinmodernamerica/wish/215176475 The US Medical System is Still Haunted by Slavery: Vox makenna_janes https://padlet.com/makenna_janes/raceinmodernamerica/wish/215236920 Black men and women, since the beginning of slavery in America, have been used as experiments to develop white doctors surgical techniques. The man known as the father of gynecology operated on one of his slaves more than thirty time trying to perfect his surgery. Historical examples such as this- and there are many- show that many of the race issues African Americans face today are deeply rooted in America's history; these problems will not be easily fixed. America's ingrained system of oppression is reflected in the several ways the US medical system has failed black mothers today, such as disproportionate mother and infant mortality rates among African Americans. "Trying to understand a historical problem without knowing its history is like trying to treat a patient without eliciting a thorough medical history. You're doomed to failure"; this quote by writer Harriet Washington summarizes American's need to fully understand the origin of the current race issues in America. The issues caused by the historic racism of the past are the issues that the Ayia and Ayana discuss in "The N-Word"; these issues need to be tackled first before society worries about futile race issues. Until America use its history to solve these problems, the country will make useless progress sideways.]]> 2017-12-11 21:59:41 UTC https://padlet.com/makenna_janes/raceinmodernamerica/wish/215236920 "Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nahesi Coates: Book Review from the New York Times makenna_janes https://padlet.com/makenna_janes/raceinmodernamerica/wish/216552092 Ta-Nehisi Coates, in his book Between the World and Me, provides no answers to the problems he explains to this metaphorical letter to his teenage son. Coates wrote this book as a guide to his 15 year old on how to survive in America while being black, but instead of giving hope to his son, he strips away any idea of America making true, meaningful progress in issues of race. "And you know now, if you did not before, that the police departments of your country have been endowed with the authority to destroy your body. . . . I tell you now that the question of how one should live within a black body, within a country lost in the Dream, is the question of my life, and the pursuit of this question, I have found, ultimately answers itself”. Coates paints a bleak future for black Americans, and warns his son that he lacks the power to change the permanent injustice in the US. His opinion on the current state of race problem-that being America has not moved forwards towards progress- directly answers the essential question. Coates believes that "[i]n America, it is traditional to destroy the black body — it is heritage"; he explains the recent string of police brutality to be connected to the nation's past. He believes that issues of race will not be solved if progress is built upon historic racial oppression. This opinion of our country progress in race being static also directly contrast the opinion of Dr. Partridge's optimistic view of white and black American's relationship. ]]> 2017-12-15 16:55:22 UTC https://padlet.com/makenna_janes/raceinmodernamerica/wish/216552092 Is Racism Increasing in America? makenna_janes https://padlet.com/makenna_janes/raceinmodernamerica/wish/216557730 In this article by Dobie Holland, two experts argue that violence against black Americans has increased, citing statistics of primarily black church burnings. This argument focuses on individual acts of racism, instead of the systematic racism that can be found in the housing policies of the FHA mentioned in the article by the Atlantic. I find it very important to separate the two forms of racial injustice in America; for instance the increase in hate crimes against Muslim Americans after 9/11 versus the recent "Muslim Ban" the president attempted to place. The article, written in 1996, states that "[t]he threat of violence and hate-crime victimization is a frightening trend that appears to be on the rise". I believe that the country must focus on fixing systematic race problems, but also the racism of the general individual. The 2016 presidential election of Donald Trump was a direct reaction to President Obama; the increase in hate crimes against Muslim Americans was a direct reaction to 9/11. The white American individual still has ingrained in their heritage the racism of the past, and it shows itself still today. Fortunately, the article is over twenty years old; perhaps we have solved the race issue of increased hate crimes since then. I believe the article shows that racial progress in America does not consistently improve; we often take steps back and sideways.]]> 2017-12-15 17:10:17 UTC https://padlet.com/makenna_janes/raceinmodernamerica/wish/216557730 "Whateva Will Be" by A Tribe Called Quest makenna_janes https://padlet.com/makenna_janes/raceinmodernamerica/wish/216824492 Released in 2016, the song "Whateva Will Be" comments on numerous race issues African Americans face today. The track discusses several racial injustices with each verse and line; "Say am I 'posed to be dead or doin' life in prison? 
Just another dummy caught up in the system". In this line, A Tribe Called Quest (ATCQ) addresses the stereotypes against black Americans today; these stereotypes cause damage, as seen in the disproportionate African American prison population as mentioned by Ayia and Ayana in the “N-Word” video. ATCQ also discusses modern America's obsession with black culture;
“Are you amused by our struggles?
The English that's broken?
The weed that I'm smokin'?
The guns that I'm totin'?
The drugs that I'm sellin'?”. White American steal African American culture, try to immerse themselves, but they ignore all the negative, racist aspects black Americans have to face. In “Slave on a Block”, Hughes comments on the same obsession and ignorance that has not subsided today. Lastly, ATCQ sets up an optimistic present for African Americans in verse 3, only to strip away any hope with the line: “In some universe, this verse will be true". They believe that this possibility is not probable in modern America; much like Ta-Nehisi Coates they have a rather pessimistic view on racial progress. Overall, the song provides another insight into what African Americans think of race issues today and answers the essential question with a somber reality.
]]> 2017-12-18 00:36:40 UTC https://padlet.com/makenna_janes/raceinmodernamerica/wish/216824492 COLOR KEY makenna_janes https://padlet.com/makenna_janes/raceinmodernamerica/wish/216827415 Green: connects to essential question
Pink: Connect to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Yellow: Connection between history and today]]> 2017-12-18 01:24:01 UTC https://padlet.com/makenna_janes/raceinmodernamerica/wish/216827415