Our society in the United States of America is comprised of people of multiple races, ethnicities, religions, cultures and beliefs. Each of these components of diversity have been the cause of much unrest and disagreement among people. In the book “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?” Beverly Tatum addresses the specific issue of race. Tatum examines various facets of the fact that different races are treated differently.…
In Glenn Loury’s speech, “Is He One of Us? Reflections on Identity and Authenticity” (pp. 489-493), he delivers the 245th Opening Convocation to the students of Brown University. Loury addresses diversity, what role it plays, and the advantages it can bring to people’s lives. His supporting statements are puzzling and his justification falls short of being a well thought-out speech, as one might expect at an Opening Convocation. As his speech progresses, his direction becomes unclear with each new point he brings up.…
Since the legal ending of segregation, many attempts have been made to make sure that each person is treated as an equal and the United States operates as a “color-blind” community. However, this may not be the best way to function and progress as a society. Throughout an excerpt from her book Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?, author Beverly Daniel Tatum uses the examples of forming a black identity, acknowledging the personal impacts of racism, and finally the social impact of racial encounters to show the strength behind racial identity in order to convey that finding camaraderie in shared experiences is not something to discourage. Beverly Daniel Tatum uses the formation of identity by black adolescents in a…
In America, it is evident that race is still an issue; this is seen through many occurrences. One event in particular is the recent story of Matthew Ajibade. The story of Ajibade immediately captured my attention due to the fact he’s a graduate of Parkdale Senior High School, just as I am. Many of my older colleagues recalled stories of him being a lively spirit that everyone loved. Although I did not personally know him, it made me realize that anyone can be affected and harmed.…
Throughout today’s modern culture or even societies from the past, numerous groups or communities have played an immense role in creating a world that is more intelligible, responsive, and aware of differing people’s beliefs and values through the categorization of cultural identities. Furthermore, Nealon and Searls Giroux in “The Theory Toolbox” assert the importance of cultural subjects providing a more interconnected and communicative society, but also stressed the false notions of generalizations on an individual basis, whether through identity categories or preconceived judgments. In fact, as a biracial American, this narrative of battling common myths or ideologies dealing with subject positions derived from culture has applied to my…
Throughout a person’s life, they might be faced with difficult or diverse obstacles. The obstacles they are faced can be formed in many different ways. Many people believe that the definition of an identity is their race, religion, and their connection with their society and how they are living. A person will interact with society and learn what interests they share to acquire information about their own identity. Throughout the book, “The Color of Water,” written by James McBride’s, it is shown that James McBride distinguishes his identity from assessment from others and through his thoughts and emotions.…
Growing up in Skokie, Illinois and going to arguably one of the most diverse high schools in the nation, Niles West, I have grown up with people of all different backgrounds and cultures. I was not even aware of our school’s diversity until I visited my cousin’s graduation ceremony in Geneva, Illinois. According to illinois-demographics.com, Geneva has a 90.9% white population. In contrast to this, Skokie has a 65.6% white population. He seemed to be the only Asian-American that I saw that day, and really stuck out.…
I often find myself the only minority in the room or at the decision making table. I am leaving a place where I was the majority and could friendly discuss my culture and beliefs without feeling as though I would be judged. This is my personal example of culture-cross interaction that I experience daily (Reid & Schram, 2012). I have often asked myself if I was a status quo. In this environment we could use dark skin and younger souls to relate more to the families we serve.…
When my father first immigrated from China to America, he was nervous, bittersweet about leaving his native country, but mostly excited. To him and thousands of others like him, America was a sign of a life of new opportunity. Growing up, my life was a blend of American and Chinese cultures. As a young child, I was always unsure if I was more American or Chinese, or even both. I didn’t feel like I fit into any of those categories.…
“My schooling gave me no training in seeing myself as an oppressor, as an unfairly advantaged person, or as a participant in a damaged culture.” (McIntosh, 1). From a minorities stand point achieving the white norm is a difficult task. “People of color experience explicit racial socialization, meaning they are taught in their families, in schools, and through the media that their race matters. White people, on the other hand, may have difficulties with the topic of race and privilege for the simple fact that such conversations have likely been uncommon in their lives.”…
We are born into this world without any prior knowledge of who we are. We grow up around the surroundings our parents or guardians choose to put us in, and it is then, all the assigned aspects of who we are and what we are supposed to be are established. From gender, sex, to religion and race; the possibilities are endless. These assigned attributes of what our identity is assumed to be can take a hindering toll on an individual. Within the meaning of identity, one is categorizing themselves to a specific group which can cause a biased opinion of another because of the assigned identity.…
What Influences Culture Culture is a blend of beliefs, ideas, values, bloodlines, communication patterns, artistic expressions, and ways of life. In many ways, culture makes up every part of a human, it makes them unique and at the same time culture is capable of uniting people. Culture defines how people identify themselves, how people act, and it even defines how people think. People view the world and the things that compose it in different ways, these ways are composed of a variety of factors, and those factors compose one’s culture, factors such as, how one was raised, the environment that said person was raised in, and societal stigmas and norms.…
As people look at others around them and guess what cultural background they come from without knowing, in most cases, they are either slightly off or on the opposite end of the spectrum. Most everyone has been guilty by their assumptions of race or ethnicity at some point. When interviewing John Killingbeck, a twenty-year-old student at SIUe, I learned that he has background that surprised and interested me immediately. I recently met John and was aware that he was Latino, but I did not know enough of his unique cultural background. He was born and raised a United States citizen.…
Before this course had initiated I measured myself as a person who was conscious of diversity and embraced the term. To my dismay I soon apprehended that I was not as open-minded as I had presumed that I was. Although, I had attended a multi-cultural school during my adolescent years that exposed me to different ethnicities. I had not developed a culturally competent way of thinking until I entered into Wayne State University’s School of Social Work program this fall. During my tenure at this diverse school I cultivated personal relationships with a multitude of people from different races, who possessed diverse beliefs and religions.…
With the hard work from Martin Luther king to Thurgood Marshall, equal opportunities are not longer glass ceiling that (is visible but unreachable) it is obtainable for all individuals by law. However, “the patterns of racial segregation and exclusion continue to characterize the production of popular” contemporary culture (Omi, 539). Even though nowadays segregation laws do not exist anymore, people are still separate into different groups naturally. Overtime, race has become a representation of self. It is neither about who this person is nor how he/she behaves, it is about what physical identities or traits he/she has.…