After watching my recording, I feel at the time of the recording my knowledge about racism and oppression was very limited. During this course I now know I have learned a lot of racism. It’s dynamics, as well as, how it plays out in society and how it affects me. After listening to my week 2 recording I was disappointed in myself. I sound very uniformed and misguided. Yet, I sound confident in my responses. I was surprised at how little knowledge I possessed about the dynamics of racism and oppression. I was so focused on Black versus White in racism and oppression I forgot about ALL people of color. If I conducted the self interview now I would change all response in the recording. As I listened to my words I felt a sense of unawareness.
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How others are afraid of what they do not know or understand.
At the beginning of my relationship with my current girlfriend I would think to myself “can I trust her”. I thought could I trust her not only because the color of her skin, but just in general I have an issue with trusting people. I would think to myself she is white and I am black would her friends and family accept me for my blackness. Because I am the first black man that she has dated was she just trying to get a curiosity fulfilled? “What is her agenda?” was a question I asked myself when we first started dating. I now see that it was my belief that because she was a member of the dominant groups I did not trust her. After all I dated a Black female, Spanish female, and Asian female before her. I trusted the Black female the most and she was the one who was deceitful. When we first started dating and would go out and do things she enjoyed such as hiking, opera, wineries things that are labeled as “white people” activities I would think to myself “am I selling out?” When we were involved in these activities I would find myself searching for other people of my race and not other people of color participating. When I saw other people of my race in the venue then I knew it was …show more content…
In a profound way this understanding has helped me with my racial identity. White privilege has taught me to understand that when I speak in a public setting to be aware of the words I choose for I could be putting my race on trial (McIntosh 2000) or if I am successful I am one of the few within my race to make “it”. Am I mad at “White Privilege”? I do not know, because most white people do not even realize the privileges they have. At the beginning of this course I could say I was upset. However, as this course went on and we read and discussed more and more about White Privilege I realized the obliviousness that White people have of White Privilege. Is that their fault? I don’t believe so, perhaps, but that discussion will stretch this past 6
How others are afraid of what they do not know or understand.
At the beginning of my relationship with my current girlfriend I would think to myself “can I trust her”. I thought could I trust her not only because the color of her skin, but just in general I have an issue with trusting people. I would think to myself she is white and I am black would her friends and family accept me for my blackness. Because I am the first black man that she has dated was she just trying to get a curiosity fulfilled? “What is her agenda?” was a question I asked myself when we first started dating. I now see that it was my belief that because she was a member of the dominant groups I did not trust her. After all I dated a Black female, Spanish female, and Asian female before her. I trusted the Black female the most and she was the one who was deceitful. When we first started dating and would go out and do things she enjoyed such as hiking, opera, wineries things that are labeled as “white people” activities I would think to myself “am I selling out?” When we were involved in these activities I would find myself searching for other people of my race and not other people of color participating. When I saw other people of my race in the venue then I knew it was …show more content…
In a profound way this understanding has helped me with my racial identity. White privilege has taught me to understand that when I speak in a public setting to be aware of the words I choose for I could be putting my race on trial (McIntosh 2000) or if I am successful I am one of the few within my race to make “it”. Am I mad at “White Privilege”? I do not know, because most white people do not even realize the privileges they have. At the beginning of this course I could say I was upset. However, as this course went on and we read and discussed more and more about White Privilege I realized the obliviousness that White people have of White Privilege. Is that their fault? I don’t believe so, perhaps, but that discussion will stretch this past 6