When I was growing up, I certainly had no idea of the advantages and privileges I had. Until I told my middle school friends and teachers that I was going to Dunbar High School, A.K.A “The Black school.” Once, my reading teacher even told me in private “Those black guys are going to shoot you.” Even my friends made the same racist remarks to me. I was young, too young to fully comprehend, but old enough to see the surface of race. In the closed ecosystem of Dunbar High, I was the minority. Whites took up fifteen percent of the entire student body. The only people who ranked below whites, were Asians and American Indians (Wolfram Alpha n.d). On the first day of class, I was thrown into a new world. I learned a lot about race and what it meant
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I feel coerced to admitting this because as far back as I can trace my lineage, my family have been farmers in America. I have been told that I could be Irish, Scottish, and even British, but without knowing exactly which one, it is hard to feel as if I have an ethnicity. Dalton states that “[White ethnics and] Hyphenated Americans of all colors draw great strength from their ethnic roots, and take pride in those characteristics that make their ethnic group distinctive.” However, America is a young country, and I have little to make myself feel unique from an ethical standpoint. Most hyphenated Americans, use hyphenation to “draw strength to their roots” (Dalton 2002). However, I think being hyphenated can cause issues as well. Take for instance, Asian-Americans. Whites use Asian-Americans as a tool to compare to other minorities. Say an African-American cannot get a job because they are black, a person of privilege might say “Well an Asian-American got the same job, and their skin is not white. So, it must have been due to your abilities or attitude.” Not only have White people used Asian-Americans as their tool, but they have forbidden them into becoming a full member of society, or have the same privileges. In other words, we still treat them like a minority. Not to mention, if an Asian American was to be deemed “unsuccessful” then they would be judged more heavily, because they are supposed to be the good minority
I feel coerced to admitting this because as far back as I can trace my lineage, my family have been farmers in America. I have been told that I could be Irish, Scottish, and even British, but without knowing exactly which one, it is hard to feel as if I have an ethnicity. Dalton states that “[White ethnics and] Hyphenated Americans of all colors draw great strength from their ethnic roots, and take pride in those characteristics that make their ethnic group distinctive.” However, America is a young country, and I have little to make myself feel unique from an ethical standpoint. Most hyphenated Americans, use hyphenation to “draw strength to their roots” (Dalton 2002). However, I think being hyphenated can cause issues as well. Take for instance, Asian-Americans. Whites use Asian-Americans as a tool to compare to other minorities. Say an African-American cannot get a job because they are black, a person of privilege might say “Well an Asian-American got the same job, and their skin is not white. So, it must have been due to your abilities or attitude.” Not only have White people used Asian-Americans as their tool, but they have forbidden them into becoming a full member of society, or have the same privileges. In other words, we still treat them like a minority. Not to mention, if an Asian American was to be deemed “unsuccessful” then they would be judged more heavily, because they are supposed to be the good minority