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".