Week 2

After completing the "Sorting Race Activity," and looking at the conclusion section, I was in complete shock. I was in shock for two reasons…the first was because I classified many people into the wrong race, people who I was completely confident about classifying, turned out to be the ones I got wrong. The second reason as to why I was shocked was that I realized I fell victim to the whole “race thing.” I fell victim to subjectively classifying these people as a certain race based on just physical traits and characteristics. I classified these people like the U.S. government did prior to 1960…all based on physical traits and appearance. 

Furthermore, after reading the facts under ”Is Race For Real?” the three that stood out to me the most were the following:

1. Race justified social inequalities as natural. This fact stood out to me because as one of the other facts stated, “race is a modern idea” especially here in the United States. With that being said, I believe this was used along with race itself, to justify the fact that the oppressed minorities who were already in the Western hemisphere were being stripped of their land. This eventually transformed and evolved into the cultural and social norms that we have now…it created stereotypes and laws that were meant to systematically oppress minorities. These institutionalized laws in my opinion are just an implicit way of allowing racism to exist in this century.

2. Colorblindness will not end racism. I agree with this fact because even if we all were colorblind, that still does not change the fact that we have these institutionalized laws and policies that make it almost impossible for everyone to have social justice and equality. We have to look at more of the macro aspect in order to truly progress because this system is very corrupt.

3. Race and freedom were born together. Looking back on the history of the United States, it is obvious that slavery was the foundation of this country, as disgusting as it may sound. It is crazy to think that this so called “Land of Opportunity” and the way our government was built and created, was specifically just for the affluent white man to prosper and succeed. 

In the video "White Privilege and its Consequences for Racial Equality & Justice" by Tim Wise made some exceptional valid points and the lecture he gave was empowering. First of all, it was great seeing a white male who fits the “norm”, actually advocating for social justice and equality. What stood out to me in one of his segments was when he mentioned that even if you have a black male who has a great job, is educated, and middle class versus the white male with the same credentials, the white man will be wealthier technically, because of the historic systematic institutionalized racist laws. The ancestors of this white man no matter their social class, had equal access to loans, assets, and equity, unlike minorities who basically had to start from the bottom. It hit home to me because I am a first generation Mexican American and a first generation college student, whom had parents who were undocumented, as well as much of my family, so it is really frustrating to me because now as a college student I am realizing that it takes a lot more than a Bachelor’s degree and a fair salary to break the cycle of poverty that most oppressed minorities are suffering from. It truly is unfair that because of these institutionalized laws, even those who are simply looking for a better opportunity to help their generation still will not have social justice. This all goes back to the first fact I discussed above, "Race justified social inequalities as natural." 

Week 1

Reading Bob Herbert’s editorial “A New Civil Rights Movement” was empowering for me. He touched base on the contemporary issues that are prevalent in the African-American community, and although I may not be of African descent, most of the issues he discussed are also seen in my Hispanic community so I was able to really connect with his opinions. Children born out of wedlock, single-parent households, the cycle of poverty, and the absence of fathers have caused behavioral issues as well for Latinos, especially where I am from, so I was in total agreement with his idea of needing a new Civil Rights Movement. A new Civil Rights movement will inspire not only the African-American community, but the Latino community as well, as it did in the past with the Chicano Movement. The exceptional hard work of the Civil Rights activists helped push my ancestors to some of the rights Hispanics now have. A modern Civil Rights Movement will attract oppressed minorities, and together we can push for the social justice we deserve.