Final Blog (service projects)

For my last and final blog I would like to start out talking about the presentations we viewed in class on Thursday. The Tim wise screening, the ACC Men of Distinction, and the East Austin project were all amazing. All three presentations were exciting to watch and were very inspiring. I was extremely proud of my classmates and it was nice to see everyones projects come together in such a great way.

The tim wise screening turned out a success and I think it was awesome that the targeted audience was the majority, I know many people were reached out to and these conversations were sparked up which have them thinking about issues of White privilege and hopefully continue you to address this issue.

The ACC Men of distinction program was new to me and I think it is an Awesome program. I admire Edden for working with such a positive cause and devoting her time to this. I love how this group applied their project to everything that we learned about Black men over the semester only to find that the information is still true and relevant. Black men do want to be responsible and make something of themselves, they just need the resources to support them!

The East Austin presentation did not finish but I enjoyed watching their documentary. I love hearing from the older generations because they have so much knowledge and experience. Im looking forward to seeing the outcome of their project.

I am looking forward to seeing the remainder of groups and also presenting. The second group I am involved in (Theatre for dialogue) will be presenting on Tuesday and I hope our class will enjoy what we have planned for them also for the Patriensa School supply drive Lydia and I will not be presenting but only discussing the outcome of what we collected!
School Supply Drive presentation

Service Project Blog

I participated in two service projects over the semester. The first was the Patriensa School supply drive and the project I am currently working with is the theatre for dialogue focusing on African American Experiences. First I would like to thank all of my classmates who helped at the bake sale as well as those who contributed donations and supplies!!

Lydia and I completed the Patriensa school supply drive and I feel it went really well. I was happy to be a part of this project giving back to Africa where it all started. Before being in this course I never knew much about the roots of being African American. I didn't have much knowledge about Africentric ideas or way of living. From this class I learned that taking things back to where it all started is a perfect way of passing knowledge on to so many who know nothing about their history or identity. I feel that now I have a better understanding and more of a connection with being African American and all the principles that stand behind our culture such as Unity, and collectivism. We learned about the Nguzo Saba principles and about the African centered behavior change model and this project enabled me to live out these principles.I was honored to participate in a service that enabled us to give back to Africa and I am excited to continue to contribute to this effort every year!

Here are a few pictures from our bake sale! (more to come in our presentation)

I am continuing to work on the Theatre for dialogue with my second group which I am also excited about. So far we have decided to base our first demonstration On the Trayvon Martin case because it is a very touching topic that also bridges throughout time in the fact that the African American community has seen and dealt with these types of issues for decades now. It also stems along with discussions and readings we had this past week with the overwhelming number of African American men incarcerated and/or harassed by law enforcement. The burdens of fear and rehearsal when it comes to dealing with Law enforcement while being African American reveals itself in the Trayvon Martin case as well. I feel that we will open a lot of conversation with our classmates and hopefully discuss some solutions that will help end or semester on a positive note and with a positive hope for the future as we all continue on our college and life journey!

Hip Hop/ Media & the black community

Overall I feel that the film Hip Hop Beyond Beats and Rhymes did just what it's title represents. The film took us beyond the music and entertainment to a very personal and sensitive aspect behind the scenes of hip hop. The film portrayed the hip hop industry as an outlet feeding black communities with negative images and ideas of what the black community is or should "look like". The film shed light on the injustices of society and how media is used against African Americans . I feel the film brought an awareness of just how many people of the black community have been negatively influenced by what the media portrays about African Americans. The film also brought the artists to the forefront and how they react to taking on responsibilities within this issue or how they reinforce these negative ideas on the black community and other communities. I feel the film raised several questions such as who truly is behind the hip hop industry or orchestrating this negative depiction of blacks? Who is effected overall? How do these images compare to the realities of the black community? and what came first the reality or the depictions?

After viewing the film I feel that both articles highlight very important topics. The Black community has to set up early interventions with children to help them break down and understand images depicted of African Americans within the media. The black community has to steer away from internalizing the idea that in order to be a respected black man you have to be "hard," or a "gangster," or being a woman of the black community equates exploiting yourself or being over sexualized. Simply viewing this film and reading about the research results in the Peterson article convince me enough that there is a serious need for interventions such as the warrior program. Awareness and intervention are crucial to several aspects of the black community and one being the health of the younger generations of African Americans. The Petersen article reveals the impact of hip hop lyrics/videos on the sexual health of the women within the black community. I feel that it is great to know that interventions on these kinds of topics do exist and I feel that we have to uphold the need for these interventions so that we can see them continue and grow. Media has proven time and time again its ability to influence across races. The depiction of blacks within the media call for concern in the idea that blacks are portrayed through a very biased approach negatively influencing those of the black community and how the world views African Americans.

Achievement Gap (Boys of Baraka)

I feel that it is systematic factors that effect the "achievement gap". Several of these children grow up in areas that do not present them with the same resources of other students. Such as we saw in the film Boys of Baraka they are limited to resources because they live at a lower socioeconomic level and thus they are not afforded the same opportunities. It is unfortunate but of no surprise to me after being in this course and learning what I have learned to this point. The system is extremely harsh and it was difficult to watch the film Boys of Baraka, at many points in the film I began to tear up. I have a son who will soon be two years old and I thought about him and what kind of world he is living in. I am thankful that we are blessed but my heart hurts for those who are not as fortunate. Institutional oppression within our school systems reflects the importance of those who are in power and how they can effect minorities. Unfortunately most in power do not have the best interest of society as a whole.
I also feel that as a result of the environment the children live in individual factors come into play. Each of the young boys in the film presented adult like qualities which is a result of them having to grow up faster than they should and be men without enjoying their childhood. Their parents lifestyles and many of their living situations played a role in this.


I feel the achievement gap is yet another systematic idea set in place to keep those already down further down. You cannot measure achievement across a group of people or races without giving them the same resources to succeed to begin with! Thus there is not a true "achievement gap," just another justification for an unjust society. I agree with Steptoe's article in that teachers have to show more interest in minority students. In high school I was involved in many AP courses where I was one of the few African American students. I often felt like at times I did not receive the same guidance. I can also agree with the idea that some white parents may be more involved, however I feel that Black parents value success in education just as much but sometimes they do not have strong relationships within the community with other parents or school staff.


Coming from a biracial background I did not get the term acting white I was often told well "you aren't really black," however growing up I heard the term "acting white" directed towards my best friend. My best friend growing up was full black.She talked proper and succeeded in school. Many people would say "she talks white" or "acts white", it was always said to her in a joking way and we would all laugh. Now that I look back I never knew if it may have hurt her feelings or gave her a reason to hold back. I always saw it in a joking way but looking back now I see how stereotypes set forth in society effected our thinking at such a young age and that some people may have internalized this which in turn could have effected their behavior and achievement in school.

Racial/Ethnic Identity

Having a Biracial background I knew that I came from two different cultural backgrounds and they each had an equal share of importance. Growing up in my household I ate traditional Korean food from my mothers cultural background and she also cooked everyday American foods as well. I was also spoken to in her native language and she also knew english which was the primary language spoken in our home. With my fathers background in the military and growing up near a military base we never really had to talk much about race. I wouldn't put my family completely in the race neutral category because me and my father sometimes had talks about our "blackness," or conversed about race. However I do feel that the environment that I grew up in did not require us to talk about race as much as living in another type of environment may have. Growing up near a military base seeing several culturally different backgrounds was normal which I feel made it easier for me being a black/biracial child growing up in Texas. The closest case study I feel that I can relate to is Karen because she states that she was truly bicultural easily moving back and forth between black and white communities and that her parents were helpful in talking to her in situations that involved race.

I feel stage of racial identity effects concepts of privilege on how it is perceived be the individual. At low stages of racial identities across the board white privilege is kind of invisible to the individual. In white identity they are not confirming or recognizing their privilege, in black identity I feel they are still trying to adjust to who they really are just like biracial identity. The higher you get in every identity model the more visible white privilege becomes and is some what accepted as an unjust factor within our society. The higher racial identity is realized the more an individual is able to view themselves in a positive way and deal with the truths of our society such as "white privilege" in positive ways as well.

I feel white privilege effects me everyday in the sense that I do not have it. I my day to day interactions will never be the same day to day interactions in the life of a white male or white female. I am aware of the difference however I don't let them disable me. I feel that my awareness allows me to better serve in my service learning project in hopes of reaching out to others who may allow the unjust truths about being African American in our society hinder them. I hope to help open the eyes of other people to realize yes there are issues pertaining to race in our society but there are ways to mobilize effectively despite the existence of these issues.

Affirmative Action

Justice for Trayvon Martin
(^ Link to blog/poem )
I found this blog/poem as I was searching on the net for more news on the killing of Trayvon Martin. The poem is written by a white male and he talks on white privilege and why more white people have to speak up about it! Fun blog you guys should check it out! Also relates to our blog this week on discrimination!

Affirmative Action Case:
After reading about Fisher V. University of Texas i thought several things. One thought was that this is really huge for the school that I attend to presently be involved with such a case that is sensitive in many aspects. To start I thought i would post a clear definition of what discrimination is.

Discrimination is the prejudicial treatment of an individual based on their membership - or perceived membership - in a certain group or category. It involves the actual behaviors towards groups such as excluding or restricting members of one group from opportunities that are available to another group. It involves excluding or restricting members of one group from opportunities that are available to other groups.


As we have learned in class there in no such thing as reverse discrimination. Minorities and African Americans specifically will never hold enough institutional power to advantage us over other groups in our country. 


Affirmative action refers to policies that take factors including "race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation or national origin"^[1] into consideration in order to benefit an underrepresented group, usually justified as countering the effects of a history of discrimination.



Now from reading this Affirmative Action does take into consideration race and color  however, not to exclude gender and sexual orientation. People of all colors represent all genders and sexual orientations. I feel people need to stem away from only seeing Affirmative Action as a policy that uplifts minority races. I feel Affirmative Action was a policy that was set forth to yes uplift those of minority races but this policy also crosses over socioeconomic status and most importantly addresses uneven opportunities within this country. Unfortunately these unequal opportunities weigh heavily on minorities and specifically the black community. Affirmative action in relation to University acceptance gives those who have been brought up in communities with very little resources, the resources they need to succeed at a higher level. Once again most people in disadvantaged communities and areas with low resources and education systems are minorities.


Going back to this case as we discussed in class the Tim Wise video touches on the topic of poor whites. In the example of the Katrina devastation in New Orleans poor whites who lived nothing more than a few feet away from poor blacks felt they had more in common with their classification of whiteness than their actual socioeconomic status or standards of living. People see the color white and do not associate this with being poor. Although the white people who were devastated by Katrina lost just as much as the black people they felt higher and that they had more in common with the well off "white folks." In this case we see Fisher a white student emphasizing the fact that they too are poor and deserve the same as a poor black student who needs assistance.


Overall i feel this article touched a lot of sensitive topics but I disagree with doing away with affirmative action because the truth is within out society we need it. There will never be equality for people who do not fit into the "norm." People may view Affirmative Action as unfair but it is needed to keep diversity within our schools and diversity within the opportunities handed out within society.


Just as the blog I posted on Trayvon Martin stated. "White people, you will never look suspicious." I think this goes back to the idea that white people will always be associated with their whiteness first. Meaning that they will always have privilege over any minority wether poor, rich, educated, employed, or unemployed so the need for affirmative action will always be crucial to keep diversity and equal opportunity in our educational institutions.

Midterm blog: Reaching out to men of the Black community.

“In 1925 six out of seven black households had either a husband or a father” (Franklin, J. H. 1987.). Today the marriageability index of African Americans is at a low of 41% and the visibility of African American men fulfilling roles as husbands and fathers has declined. As a woman who is a part of the African American community I find it difficult to dismiss the decline of black men at these particular roles considering the importance of family within the black community. Chapman refers to black males as endangered species and states, “the psychological status of black men has serious implications for the survival of black family life” (Chapman, A. B. 1986). On one hand society perpetuates the idea that African American men can thrive based on the extent of their hard work and success. The emergence of Obama set forth the notion that black men no longer had an “excuse”, and this notion continues to linger over men of the black community. However on the other hand deep-rooted within our society are barriers set between African American men and the ability to successfully fill their roles in the black family. Over the decades institutional violence, government policies, and stereotypes have been utilized in the degradation of black male visibility and their ability to fill their roles within the black family, if we focus in on support from the black community for African American men we might see a rise in their ability to fill their roles within the black family.

Post slavery, the visibility of black men and their ability to fulfill roles as fathers and husbands exceeded far beyond what we see today. The importance of family and unity led many African Americans to the pulpit to legalize their unions. “Until the 1960s, a remarkable 75% of black families included both husband and wife” (Franklin, J. H. 1987.). However simultaneously as African Americans were declared free to reestablish their family structures institutional violence and racism removed several men from their families. As discussed in professor Gilberts class several assaults were put on the black family. A new form of slavery or slavery by another name emerged disabling the progress of Black families. For many years African American men were removed through beatings and Lynching. They were arbitrarily arrested and then sold to labor. With the re-enslavement of Blacks many men were forced out of their roles as husbands and fathers because of death or removal.

To continue the manifestation of this degradation governmental policies have also aided in removing and or disabling black men from their roles as husbands and fathers. The reform of the welfare policy impacted the role of black men as fathers. The reformation of the welfare policy required recipients to assign their child support rights to the state. Only 45% of black mothers had already established child support orders in comparison to 72% of white mothers (Hill, R. B. 1998). In addition to this most child support laws required lower-income fathers to pay higher child support. As discussed in professor gilbert’s class black men earn only 64% of their white counterpart in annual income making them the lowest earning group of men. So with that being said this policy reform weighted heavily upon the black male community.  Several men became discouraged knowing that majority of their earnings were already spent. Also many men grew overwhelming anxieties due to the inability to find work, which ultimately landed them in jail for non-payment. I believe the welfare reform only worked to remove more men from the role as fathers for their inability to meet child support requirements. This painted a picture that many Black men were “dead-beats dads.” However as stated in Robert hills Impact of welfare Reform, in Black families 80% of black fathers ages 14 to 24 had positive contact with their children. As discussed in Dr. Gilberts class and seen in the film Another kind of Black man, African American men across all individual intersections age and sexuality define masculinity as being accountable and responsible which coincides with the statistics in Hills article.

    Lastly the stereotypes about black men that are perpetuated in the media leave many in a bind. There is the idea that black men have to be absent, shiftless, aggressive, abusive, unfaithful, and irresponsible. The early images of black men ranging to the current images of black men have always set a negative portrayal of them within society. Edden Agonafer presented in her blog the “Barrack versus 50 cent” video, which is a prime example of how media continuously perpetuates an “Authentically black,” stereotype about black men. With the lack of knowledge about who they are and where they come from many internalize these stereotypes and live up to what society has said about them. This in itself calls for a change. As a part of the African American community I feel it is my responsibility to help the men of my community remember who they are and where they come from. African Americans come from a long line of brilliance and accomplishment and it is important that we all know that. This fact leads to the importance of the African centered behavior change model in relation to this issue. This model infuses an individuals sense of self worth or authenticity and the environment in which they live to establish which quadrant they identify with. The ultimate goal is to progress each individual to quadrant one being high in authenticity and self worth. If applied to African American men we can help them progress to levels of high authenticity and knowing who they are and where they come from driving those who internalize these stereotypes away from living them out.

    I believe as a part of the African American community we have to get back to our roots. I am speaking out to anyone who is a part of the African American community that also realizes that in order for the black community to progress we have to uplift our familial system. A positive start would be establishing therapy for the men using the four strategies of the strengths perspective, which are communicating, raising consciousness, giving the men a voice, and exploiting their resources. Applying the core ideas of the Strengths perspective and giving black men the capacity and confidence to deal with issues that they face can also ignite confidence within them to better fill their roles as husbands and fathers.  By reinforcing ideas from the Nguzo Principles such as Unity and purpose we will remember that we all are here for a purpose and that purpose is lifting the black community up. I believe family is the heart and core of the black community and that is why we should start by uplifting our men who are the protectors of that core.

Blog week 7 (guest speakers)

I really enjoyed the discussion and guest speakers in class thursday! I feel I got to be a part of a very rare opportunity to hear first hand from people in the LBGTQ community. Most importantly hearing from two people from the black queer community. I truly appreciated the speakers opening up to the class about their personal experiences. A lot of the terms they presented were new to me such as F to M, pansexual, and the actual definition of what it means to be transgender. I also enjoyed learning about the different names that people may prefer to be called such as butch lesbian or dyke, etc. This piece of information opened my eyes to the diversity of the LBGTQ community and that people within the community are complex just as we are within our black community. This made me realize to a further extent how a person who is a part of the LBGTQ community can face several struggles identifying with not only the queer community but also the black community two very complex systems.

 I know several people who are openly gay however I never had a conversation with any of them about the real life struggles or fears that they might have. The opportunity to hear from two different people highlighted the fact that each struggle in personal and independent varying from individual to individual. Depending on the many systems surrounding the individual (meso, exo,macro, etc.) the struggles vary and differ. Just as Kerry spoke about the many intersections that are faced (race, gender, sexuality.) these many intersections effect people in the black LBGTQ community because each group they identify with is the minority.

Strange Bedfellows discusses the relationship between African-American democrats and Republican Conservatives. I feel that this awkward and very puzzling union raises the bar for the issues that people within the LBQTQ community have specifically those who are also a part of the black community. 60% of African Americans disagree with the institution of marriage for gays (same-sex marriage). To make matters worse they are willing to come together with a group they normally oppose to enforce this opinion. I believe this highlights the idea that people of the queer community find it hard to identify within the black community at times because of the strong opposing opinions towards them within the community. As we saw in the video a "different kind of black man," they want the same things that other black men want. They long to fit into the community and as one man stated "lifting up any part of the black community lifts up the entire black community".

Blog #6 Counseling/Gay Rights

1. Young Black men prefer Black counselors.
Only 2% of psychologists being African American sounds a loud alarm. The need for more African Americans in the psychology field is crucial to the African American community for several reasons. One reason being representation. We need more representation of the black community within the field. Without representation there is no voice for the black community. Secondly we need more Black psychologists to further "Black" psychology. Black psychology is different from the "norm", or as it is called western psychology. African Americans need personal identity models and theories and ideas that are specifically designed for African Americans because of the varying ranges of individuals and history of oppression within the culture. 


Major areas of concern for Black men are anger from racism and oppression, feeling of invisibility, educational issues, Adolescents issues, and masculine role strains. I feel that these very concerns explain why we need more black representation in the psychology field. Who better to help African Americans than African Americans themselves? It often takes a person who understands the struggle or has been through the struggle in order to help guide and direct an individual who is in need of help.


2.African American women's views of Self esteem.
Two prominent components of self esteem for African American women are social support and self-reliance. These to components are often viewed as opposing however in the qualitative study it was learned that they are simultaneous within these views of self esteem. Both components were needed and balance one another. 


3. 85,000 Black Gay Households.
Black heterosexual and Black same-sex couples have the common similarity on a larger scale in that they are both socially and economically disadvantaged to a greater extent than other racial groups in society. Often times when policies are implemented black americans (heterosexual and/or same-sex) are the group that are least considered but most negatively effected. Same-sex marriage issues have negatively effected Black same-sex couples to a higher margin than other racial groups similar to the welfare act from our previous reading and how the act greatly affected black americans and black families over any other group.


In the article it also states that families created by black heterosexual and same-sex couples are similar in several ways. In raising non-biological children and children the rates are very similar between heterosexual black couples, female same-sex relations, and male same-sex relations with female same-sex relations aiming a little closer to heterosexual rates in children raising.


4.The choice to be gay.
I believe being gay is a lifestyle choice. People are born and are exposed to different environments, social ideas and influences that shape and change them as individuals. Being gay is a conscious choice made by people.


5.Understanding marginalization.
I feel the best way to address homophobia in black communities is to promote self respect, respect for others and seeing others as people. Individually we were all raised and taught different things and if a person was taught that being gay or a lesbian is wrong from a young age it would be difficult to change their ideas about others with the  lifestyle. I feel the most important thing would be to try and promote seeing others as "person first." Within the field of CSD we see children with disorders such as Autism as people first for example instead of referring to a child as the autistic child, we say a child who has autism. 
In no way am i trying to compare being gay or a lesbian as some sort of disorder I view it as a lifestyle choice but I feel that with gays and lesbians they are often only seen as that "gay guy" or that lesbian.Too many of times when a person is openly gay that is all people see about them or the most prominent aspect about that individual. If people could see past the lifestyle choice they could view them as people who deserve the same respect that they demand.Applying person first while viewing gays and lesbians people would see past their lifestyle choices and looker deeper into the individual.Instead of viewing someone as that "lesbian girl," it would rather be that girl who is a lesbian, and a student, etc. She is a person first who deserves respect and proper treatment.


This idea could also be applied on college campuses and I also feel that college campuses need to support groups put in place for individuals on both sides. Some people may have inner feelings of hatred and be homophobic because of their past experiences or what they have been taught. Like we a are learning and discussing in class interventions are usually the steeping stones to individual changes of mindset and ideas.


Homophobia Test
Several of the questions left me in shock being that I am not homophobic. I was raised to accept people for who they are. To see questions about doing harm to people because of their lifestyle choices seemed like common sense questions with a simple answer "Strongly disagree." However it opened my eyes up to the fact that hate crimes do exist and are real. There are people who harm others because they dislike their lifestyle choices and this is a serious issue in society today. I do not necessarily agree with people choosing the lifestyle however I was raised to accept others because we all are different and not every part of who I am may be acceptable to others but I would want them to accept me despite any of my shortcomings. I just ask myself the question of how do we get passed the intersections of religion, morals and values, and lifestyle choices in order to see people as individuals so that they can be adequately protected against crime. At the end of the day we are all humans and deserve the right of safety and protection.

Love and the African American Family

http://youtu.be/oYLeeHgjOCY

Why Can't Successful Black women find a good black man?

http://youtu.be/RMjm5TPjJlI

Miscommunication Between Black men and Women



Article Summary:Chapman addresses social changes,and statistical reasons to explain why African American men and women have a hard time sustaining healthy and productive relationships and/or marriages. Chapman explores internalized stereotypes that plague the black community along with the unbalanced ratio of African American men to women,socioeconomic differences between black men and women and interracial marriage all to determine the root of declining marriageability in the black community. She goes on to introduce a term called “mansharing,” which is a result of the decline in qualified black males as dating partners. In conclusion she presents collective ways for African Americans to come together on this issue as well as presents what consequences may present themselves as a result of the issue in the future. Chapman encourages Blacks to join together and take some risks to have successful relationships to benefit future generations to come.

1. Chapman solutions:
I feel that three solutions to addressing these challenges are discrediting stereotypes within the black community through educating and counseling.I believe with the help of the community if more resources could be put in the black community more people could have access to the truth.Secondly I feel the black community needs to take more advantage of networks like BET and TV One in order to generate positive images and ideas about the black community. I feel that they should not air any shows that do promote stereotypes within the society about Black Americans. Lastly I feel that most importantly a solution can begin with each person as an individual. Individually if we educate ourselves and the people around us a choose to reprogram ourselves social changes can come about.

3.Bethea Article:counseling perspective

A) Stereotypes about black men and women have effected their attitudes and views towards one another. The "domineering" and overly independent black woman and the unrealiable and absentee black male have been programmed in the minds of society today. The dominant worldview of what a man should be has been held over the head of many African American men. Stereotypes have kept the black community in an ongoing fight within their personal relationships as everyone has continuously pointed the finger at one another.Instead of overcoming these stereotypes that have been established much of the African American community has internalized them within themselves putting a wedge between black men and women.


B) The three areas that need to be addressed in order to have effective counseling within the black community are 
1.Recognize African American women are a heterogeneous group. 
Age and socioeconomic status may alter views on how they see relationships. This idea goes back to address standards. Most African American women look for a partner who is equal or higher than in regards to socioeconomic status. Counselors need to see each black women as an individual and not as one representing the whole. Their are varying degrees of what Black women regard as an ideal lifestyle.


2.Assess readiness to serve African American Women.
Counselors have to research and learn distinctly about black women. Many people try and use the standard based upon the societal norms and fail to realize that Black women have a psychology of their own. Counselors need awareness of the history behind black women in order to be sensitive and elective within their findings.


3.More research on African American women and ultimately integrating this with research on African American men.
While researching black women and men attempts to understand where the lack of communication and impacts of stereotypes can be better understood.


I feel that each one of these approaches are definitely needed along with more Black individuals within the psychology and counseling world. The emergence of black psychology is still fairly new and growing and along with that we need more Black people to become involved. I do feel that no better than a black person to understand the underlying struggles of another black person. As people begin to research the roots of the black community from a more Africentric standpoint I feel solutions to these relational barriers will begin emerge at a quicker rate.


3.Anti-Intimacy:
My body is not my own: This relates back to the legacy of slavery because the body was treated as property of another individual. Their was no power or control over ones own body.


No matter what I do, it wont make a difference: With institutionalized slavery it was hard to get ahead. Policies and stereotypes injected into society kept the overwhelming burdens of slavery intact continuing after slavery was "abolished."

4.Hammond: Being a man about it

A) four distinct ways men defined Manhood in the article were Manhood as an interconnected state of being,fluid development process, redemptive process, and a proactive course.

B) The top two themes describing manhood that came from the study were Responsibility-accountability and Autonomy.

Honestly it was a surprise to me to see how manhood for the African American male is related more towards the relational side and based more on how they interact within their everyday relationships. I was expecting to hear several responses that refer to each man as an individual not including others as much as what was projected from the study. However it is a relief to see that above everything African American men hold the views of those they love to a high standard which is a very positive outlook and hope for African American marriages and relationships.

Decline on Black Family Unity blog #4

1. Living in a class apart: The Black community still mirrors the issues in Graham's article today in several ways. For example the Unity gap within the black community. I believe this unity gap is a result of internalized racism or the idea that black people begin to despise all things "black". As the article used the term "us and them," I believe in some cases young African Americans striving for success internally strive to not be a part of the "them." With several alarming statistics, and stereotypes to work against, individually the fight becomes a race to be a part of the "Black elite" or unlike any of the stereotypes used against African Americans. Dating back to slavery as the article stated there were "Outside negroes" and "inside negroes" based on different shades of the same black skin they all wore. Socially in those times Blacks were psychologically programmed to believe that because my skin is fairer (closer to the norm) I am better than the next black person who has darker skin. Several stereotypes and images have been rendered true to the black community over the generations reiterating negative thoughts about Black people. This is just one instance separating black unity which still effects communities today. As we discussed in class should the black elite be held responsible to help those who were left behind? I believe this gap in African American unity is unlike many others (Asians, Indians, etc.) because of the psychological damage dating back to slavery. People rise out of the "ghetto" or against the odds, never turning back and then saying "Im not like those black people" as though every stereotype accurately represents Blacks. Many African Americans are fighting against stereotypes that were implemented years before that they have been taught to believe.


>>>This was an interesting article i came across that includes a video. The article is covers an up and coming documentary called "Dark girls." I feel that this article displays how so many of the issues raised in the Graham article are being implemented in the younger generations which is shown in the video. Check it out!
http://www.theroot.com/buzz/dark-girls-documentary-exposes-skin-color-bias

Link to only the video: http://vimeo.com/24155797


2. Offner Article:
I believe that Black women are advancing over Black men today because of the lack of resources given to Black men as well as the "thin line" between gender roles in the Black family today. The high school drop out rate for Black men is extremely high in the inner cities and urban areas, and as these numbers rise so do incarceration rates. As black men become more and more invisible the women are stepping up and taking on better educations to advance to better jobs. I believe that lack of educational resources and guidance within their communities are also a result to why they are falling behind Black women. In addition to this a lot of the issue can also be psychological with Black men feeling that along with odds they are already working against for being black (lack of privilege) no one truly wants to give them a chance.


3.Raspberry Article:
A) The percentage of Black women between the ages of 28 to 55 earning 55,000 or higher that are married is 29%. 
B) Cornel states that in the 1970 when he attended Harvard the ratio between Black men and Black women were nearly equal. Today this ratio is 9:1 in favor of women showing the decline in higher education in regards to Black men. These numbers stem far away from Franklins article where he discusses how the black family managed to stay together through many hardships. Up until the1960s about 75% of black households had both a mother and a father. Its almost a question of the Black man's visibility or invisibility, where have they gone? Throughout the course of years many Black men have been taking away due to varying reasons forcing women to take on roles that ultimately are resulting in this uneven disturbance of advancement in the black community and the black man's invisibility.


4.Eckholm Article:
A) The plight for Black men has deepened on several levels. Within the last decade despite a decent economy Black men have not advanced. Unemployment rates have climbed, incarceration rates have rose, and high school drop out rates in inner cities are at a high. These numbers out weight those of whites and hispanics specifically education rates.


B) To factors discussed in the article that have kept black men unemployed are Incarceration and the effects of it and stricter enforcement of child support. After men are released from prison most of them do not have a positive transition back into society. Most jobs will not hire them because of their criminal records, and lack of  education. Without having resources to benefit from most men will end up back in jail. Secondly with child support laws demanding large amounts from men with scarce incomes many of them are discouraged to find work thinking of the large amount of debt or money that will be taken away from them. Also many of the men will find illegal ways for gaining money in order to be able to have sufficient amounts of funds to survive.In addition to this Black men with clean records also have hard times in finding employment because of the stigma "guilty by association." The goes on to state that often times a Black woman will be considered for a job over a Black male with a good record stating that black women do not pose the threat of fear that a Black man does. 


5. "Bring me home with a Black Girl": 
In the article Therapist Gwendolyn Goldsby says that interracial marriage could ultimately lead to "annihilation through integration." What this basically means is a "weakening of black culture and resources" by taking away from the black community and putting into others. This article raises issues of economics and culture saying that by black men continuing to marry within the black race the black community can and will continue to thrive. This article presents the idea of or lack of marriageability within the African American community which is very relative today considering the high percentage of black women never marrying, and the outnumbering of black men marrying outside of the race compared to a lower number of black women marrying outside of the race. 


The Evans article first which praised the beauty of Michelle Obama and the notion of progress behind having an image of a positive, strong, and darker toned black woman in the media, this article presented an idea of hope. The article presented the idea that finally we have an image or role model for black girls and women. This goes back to the Edwards article when they stated at a young age black boys and girls need to see more positive images of themselves and know that black is beautiful. Some implications included in this article is the medias presentations of what is beautiful. The dark skinned black woman is often not glorified or publicized. Sarcastically at some points the Evans articles stresses the idea that "finally" or "maybe" a year from then the "hottest gift in the country during the holidays would be a dark skinned doll."


Secondly the Mclarin Article shows the perspective of a black woman who had been married to a white man for many years. Ultimately the difference in race led to their divorce. Later in the article the suggestion is that unless a person of the other race is ready to acknowledge and cross over that boundary of "not talking about it" the relationship will fail in her eyes because she readily talks about her hardships in relation to being black.Both articles imply many reasons for the decline in marriageability in the African American community but I don't feel that they give many ideas of how to fix the issue but more so raise issues to make people aware and maybe reconsider

Blog #3 Timeline/Nguzo/Harvey

>>>Part one:


1400's through 1865


Event #1 1758 
The African Baptist or "Bluestone" Church is founded on the William Byrd plantation near the Bluestone River, in Mecklenburg, Virginia, becoming the first known black church in North America
I believe that foundation of the church impacted the African American family as well as communities as a whole. Community organizing allows individuals to collectively support one another. Today we several families celebrate religion together and often times Sundays are family days.


Event #2 1787 
Free blacks in New York City found the African Free School, where future leaders Henry Highland Garnett and Alexander Crummell are educated. 
Educating African Americans impacted the community in numerous ways. Each and every person that received some type of education slowly impacted the progression of African Americans. Through education came social movements and growth and hope for families and their children.

1866 through 1953

Event #1 1893

African American physician Daniel Hale Williams  performs the world's first successful open-heart surgery.  This event highly impacts the African American family and their ideas of self. This type of accomplishments bring pride to the community and hope to individuals that one day they could impact the world in some way. Event #2 1899

Pianist and composer Scott Joplin publishes "The Maple Leaf Rag," a major hit that helps popularize ragtime music.  This event brought outlets for the african american family and community into the media realm. I can see how this positively impacted the family to hear music they enjoyed and represented the community in mainstream media. 1954 through 1971 Event #1 1954 In Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, the Supreme Court rules unanimously against school segregation, overturning its 1896 decision in Plessy v. Ferguson.

This event is historical and life changing for every African American. This brought forth several educational opportunities to the African American family that was a step closer to being equal to that of other individuals.

Event #2 1955

Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama, bus to a white person, triggering a successful, year-long African American boycott of the bus system. 

This event represents a social movement that was done in order to bring equality to the African American community and family. This event also represent self empowerment and pride for the African American community.

1972 to Present

Event #1 1975

The Jeffersons, one of the first sitcoms about an African American family, premiers on television. It will run for 10 years and will become one of television's longest running and most watched sitcoms. 
Seeing a major sitcom representing African American family in the media brought pride to the community. Being able to turn on the television and see a reflection of how you live and how your family is was a major step for African American families. The Jeffersons brought forth representation of The African American family in mainstream society and media without taking censoring or down playing how things really were for the African American community and family.

Event #2 1984

Jesse Jackson is the first African American man to make a serious bid for the U.S. presidency, vying for the Democratic Party nomination. He will try again in 1988 but lose to Michael Dukakis. 
This event brought representation for African Americans into politics and government. This is a major step forward to see someone who is African American being a serious runner in a political campaign inspiring generations to come.

>>>Part two:
Nguzo Saba (7 principles) concepts 

all can relate in some ways to the progress over the course of years in relation to African Americans. Two that I feel are extremely important and very relatable to todays society are Self Determination and Faith.

Self Determination (Kujichagulia) "To define ourselves name ourselves, create for ourselves and speak for oursleves.": Without drive and a sense of striving to become better, reach further,and go the distance African American families would not be were they are today. It took individuals using self determination and self pride to push themselves to become greater to impact generation after generation. Without this sense of uniqueness and knowing that we are special people who have several things to offer our communities and this world we would have sat in oppression never questioning it. It took self determination to keep individuality and love for our differences to fight for better lives and better representation of African Americans. Even today African Americans still have the determination to positively represent African americans and I feel this is a reflection of how we want to represent our communities and families.

Faith (Imani) "To believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.": There always had to be a belief of something better in order for individuals throughout each era to continue to strive and fight for better lives. Believing in good, practice and promise drove every accomplishment and every breakthrough. Even today African American families represent a lot of the "church going" families because that sense of faith and believing is still a strong principle today.


>>>Part 3:
In the Harvey article several principles of Nguzo Saba are used. Much of the intervention based work incorporates these principles. Much of the work is "Africentered" based and self determination is a major factor. The intervention goes back to the roots of African Americans to try and address the issues within families and the communities.Also in the Dynamic Duo article principles such as Self Determination, collective work and responsibilty, 
and purpose are all very eminent. The family works to keep positive images of the African American family alive and going through generations and realizes although they may not directly benefit it takes sacrifice to bless the future generations to come just as others sacrificed previously for them. 

Is Race Real?

After finishing the sorting race exercise I truly realized how difficult it is to identify who a person is solely based off of their exterior. I failed on most of the matches and found myself surprised at the results and what races the individuals actually were. Then I thought to myself "What does a person see when I walk by?" Most people would see me and say she is a Black woman. Some may assume that I am mixed. The answer to that is that I am a Black and Korean, however in todays society I am told to categorize myself as one or the other by choosing the "dominant race." 

How did we get to this point? As we have been discussing this question about "whiteness" in class there are many points that I knew about but the alarming aspect of it all is the "pre meditated" intent. Race is not biological but a social construct that was created to uplift the "norm" and oppress anyone who countered the "norm". It is frightening to see the power of authority when it is abused and misused. 

So Is Race Real? Race is simply a tool created in our nations history used to categorize individuals. Race was used as an intent to promote some sort of classification system amongst people. Unfortunately as our nation was birthed the overwhelming imbalance of power of one group promoted this tool or idea. "For us or against us", Comes to mind when i think of the events that took place. People were forced to give up the very things that made who they were to fit into a category of people that was created and promoted as the "best." This tool  disabled the power of people outside of the "norm" and their ability to refute anything that was constructed. 

So what are the facts?

Fact #1 Race Justified Social inequalities as natural

The intent to keep others in a state of oppression had to be justified. The creation of race and "whiteness" being superior aided this oppression. Through institutionalized racism and abused authority the idea of race was pushed to the forefront of our nation allowing the idea to grow, and thrive. Through science, government, stereotypes, and media this oppression was justified.


>(Video:Melissa Harris-Perry on comedy show, highlights self created stereotypes of Black women.)
http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/405561/january-09-2012/melissa-harris-perry

Fact #2 Most variation is not between races

This fact was new to me and I could only think to myself only if this information could have been promoted as much as the information of white superiority through biological facts. Anthropologist,scientist, and scholars did their best to promote the idea that Black men could never be equal to white men through biological information. Eugenics and other ideas that Blacks would never reach the potential of whites also aided to justify oppression and promote the categories of race.

Fact #3 Race has no genetic basis

Race was based to promote ideas and theories created by a group of people who wanted to keep power separated in our nation. Some type of system had to be created and maintained with all the old immigrants, african americans and  new immigrants entering the country. This refutes the ideas that whites had better genes than blacks.

I feel that if more people knew about this information there would be a major change on several levels. From a basic standpoint I feel it could help promote healing in the African American communities by revealing to those who do not know the truth behind how and why we are at this point. Young African Americans could gain a sense of pride and confidence and empowerment in these revelations. Educationally if these facts were promoted in school systems I feel that their would be a rise in our communities as far as graduation rates and college attendance rates.  Which all these facts would economically boost our communities to better jobs and incomes. Its a very minor step to a major change.

Privileges
1.Student
2.woman
3. religion

Civil Right Movement & Gingrich

First & Foremost Happy Birthday to a man who contributed to shape it all! 

After reading the Bob Herbert editorial the alarming statistics or the even the blunt reality of it all were both not as frieghtining as the relevance of his words to our present day communities.The accuracy and how the same issues manage to stand over time and represent our African American communities today alarms me. As the the lack of education and poor health conditions of African Americans continues to increase easily we can be lead to wonder if in fact the oppression is self inflicted? 


The idea of a "New Civil Rights movement", would require individuals to form into structural groups around their own communities to stir up a movement. However, as Herbert stated "Most black people are not poor..most are leading productive lives." I began to wonder is the African American community split? Are we bonded together strong enough to even begin to fathom a New civil rights movement? Our brothers and sisters before us were in fact truly fighting for rights and equality that they all did not have.Now that we have managed to obtain this freedom would we fight for a subculture of our people that are plagued by generational curses.


I Do not feel that our communities are ready for a movement like this because a large part of Africans Americans are successful and turning from the "generational curses" amongst our people.




After viewing the Newt Gingrich short clip it saddens me to hear how he specifically directed the food stamp v pay check scenario to the NAACP and African American communities.In his statement Gingrich displays his thoughts on African Americans by those simple words. He feels that the African American Community does not work and they are the primary group of people receiving economic aid in their households. On one hand I understand it is an unspoken truth that when society thinks of lower income and proverty stricken communities they often think minorities and primarily blacks. On the other hand however within our society their are several stereotypes and categories that socially we know not to speak of. To imagine that we have entered upon a time that presidential hopefuls degrade and freely voice their personal opinions about members of a society they wish to represent and command is extremely alarming.