Michelle Alexander is a well-respected civil rights lawyer, legal scholar and civil rights advocate, whom teaches at the law of Stanford Law School. Alexandria studied a series of information regarding the similarities between race and criminal justice. Also, Alexandria participated in both private and nonprofit organizations and launched campaign regarding racial profiling, where she served as the leading director of the projects (The new Jim crow.org). The New Jim crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, written by Michelle Alexander takes readers through a series of events that demonstrate the evolution of social movements, and the never ending crisis of the racial caste.…
Tim Wise is an American anti-racism activist and writer explains how our country has overcome quite a lot; slavery, Civil War, and segregation. Although we like to believe that we live in a post racial society, the fact is that racial inequalities still exist. Tim Wise published a book called White Like Me which draws upon a nonfiction book called Black Like Me by journalist John Howard Griffin first published in 1961 book; in the book, and in the later version which was made into a movie, Griffin, a white man, tells the story of how he darkened his skin with dye, medicine, and intense UV rays in order to experience what life was like for African-Americans in the pre-Civil Rights South of the 1950s. Griffin thought the only way to understand…
From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation Book Review As a sociologist, I am continually interested in engaging with social movements that are happening. That interest is what led me to choose From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation to do my book review on. This book analyzes the development of politics in the United States and further argues that even though we have an African American president, America is a racialized society and African Americans face inequality in three prominent molds; biological, through color blindness, and the culture of poverty in the modern era, all of which will be discussed further. The last theme in her book was regarding the media and its representation of Black people being an outlet for cultural racism.…
Ethnography Analysis: The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness was written by civil rights litigator, legal scholar and author Michelle Alexander. The book discusses the history of race and mass incarceration in the United States specific to African American man. Alexander argues, “We have not ended racial caste in America, we have merely redesigned it” (pg. 2), there has been a rebirth of a caste system in the form of mass incarceration since the years of slavery, Jim Crow laws and black codes.…
In Graves excerpt he uses the word colorblind and says “W The idea of not seeing color in the future is a good thing to a certain extent. Colorblindness is essential when it comes to certain things such consideration for a job , pay rate and a abundance of other aspects in life. Colorblindness however should not be effect regarding situations in which one cannot control because of their race. Many people have decided to use not thinking of race as a way to ignore the racial injustice that happens everyday.…
On Wednesday, September 28th, at the SECU Arena, I went to Jane Elliott an American former third-grade schoolteacher, anti-racism activist, and educator, as well as a feminist and LGBT activist. She is known for her "Blue eyes–Brown eyes" exercise. This was a very informative seminar. I must say, I was stunned to hear this elderly woman speak so openly honest towards her own race. She talked about how racism is a learned behavior.…
In the novel Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly, the central problem was that African Americans were being segregated and discriminated against. They didn’t have the same job opportunities, couldn’t use the same bathrooms, or attend the same schools. Throughout the book, this became less and less so, however many times African Americans had to fight for their rights, such as when Christine Darden participated in the sit-ins mentioned on pages 161 or 162, or when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous “I Have a Dream speech,” mentioned on page 186. Over time, people began to see that no matter the color of your skin, we are all human beings. Segregation slowly diminished, and places like the Langley Laboratory became more integrated and started to hire more and more African Americans.…
“How we can make it through the long night of despair to the bright day of hope” is the author’s way of saying, how a change should be made in order to have a better life, a better future, and a better relationship with others. Racism started when African Americans were kidnapped and sold to White Americans. Ever since, Americans have grown up with a feeling of superiority towards minority races. The author Michael Eric Dyson utilizes statistics, real life examples, word choice, and emotional appeals in order to bring awareness to the reader of the seriousness of racism in the US and how every day that goes by, more and more black lives are taken without any mercy.…
During the Great Depression, and its preceding years of the decade, America struggled through a financial crisis. After World War I (WWI), the United States allocated large magnitudes of debts, unemployment, and suffering. Due to the poor economy, many citizens became trivial “concepts” and poverty and unemployment rates drastically erupted. In these desperate moments, the only wish and dream of a multitude of people was to separate themselves as far as possible from the level of poverty, even it be in desolation. The desire of these people was so high that Monopoly, a game in which fake fantasies became “real”, became famous solely for the purpose of making people feel good.…
In conclusion, white and male privilege are still prevalent in our present day society. In order for this to change, we must start making more people aware that these privileges exist. We must also stop viewing racism as an act of discrimination but also as certain groups being privileged over others. It was interesting to read her point of view because it was conflicting to the societal norm for…
I saw a picture at the museum that caught my attention. The picture told the community to finish school. I thought that was very important because without a good education, you have no change to make it in the world. I am glad they took the time and made the decision to become color blind. We are all the same in gods’ eyes despite our many walks of like. It is so awesome to hear how these people, “with the key word being people” made wonderful music together in Stax and overlooked the color barrier.…
The colorblind ideology only denies people of color their cultural accustoms, diverse viewpoints, and past experiences whether negative or positive. Furthermore, having the ability to ignore race can only become possible for individuals whose race is not consistently made aware of. In other words, colorblindness single-handedly will not necessarily reconcile racial wounds on a societal or personal level, but is only a half-attempt that ultimately acts as a form of…
“The Fourth of July” In “The Fourth of July” Audre Lorde tells her readers of her thoughts and experiences while vacationing in Washington D.C, one Fourth of July in 1947. She tells her readers that the reason they were vacationing in Washington D.C was because her older sister, whom was graduating from high school, was barred from going on her senior trip which was in Washington as well, because her class was staying in a hotel which didn’t rent rooms to colored folks. Throughout the essay Lorde shares her frustration and disgust with American racism. Unlike her parents and siblings who choose to shoo away the discrimination, Lorde can’t stand it. Although she is just graduating from the 8th grade, she already has a strong passion for change.…
Ralph Ellison, author of On Being the Target of Discrimination, did an excellent job describing the daily life of an African American child during the segregation era. This text has powerful lessons that he went through that shape the story into what it is today. On Being the Target of Discrimination is a narrative essay that relies on pathos to persuade its primary audience of white people in America how racism affects a kid’s childhood. The author had a very clear image of how he wanted to present the sole purpose of this text which was by presenting lessons the main character experienced. There are some things, particularly audience and word choice that overlap together in a way that make you think of the text in another dimension.…
Michael Hanson ENG 3370-60 Children 's Literature ROLL OF THUNDER AND RACISM We have all read books or have had them read to us at one time or another in our lives. What we may not have realized when they were read to us as children was just how much of the adult world was in them. There are many children 's books that written in such a way as to help children deal with or expose them to adult issues. These issues can range from death of a loved one to more serious issues such as racism and bigotry.…