Blog #9: Racial/Ethnic Identity

Race identity definitely has a role in ideas of privilege here in America. Race will always be a big issue in America because there are so many different people that identify with other people in so many different ways. It is hard to compare African Americans and whites in terms of privilege because in all honesty, whites have a majority of power and authority and outnumber African Americans by a large amount. I think a good example of this is white and black schools, there are so many differences that are apparent every time, and like it has been mentioned, it comes down to resources. White privilege has a huge effect on my daily encounters. For example, being the only black male in a vast majority of my classes makes me stick out more than people of other races, and is something that I must deal with here at UT. I feel that many white people have problems identifying with blacks and people of color because they do not understand the basis of white privilege and how people of color understand racial and ethnic identity in comparison to whites. I feel like information about this (and specifically white privilege) should be taught to all Americans so we can all have a better understanding of each others race. One ethnic identity that we do not speak about much is immigrants, who are also of color but have a different identity than African Americans, of which non-immigrants usually do not have an understanding of. For the service learning group project, my identity and stage of race awareness has a huge role. Speaking to African American students in high school, they do not have a complete understanding of their ethnic and racial identity. When I was a high school student, I understood how my racial and ethnic identity existed, but I did not understand the implications on the macro-level. Also, I did not understand my connection with my race in terms of what I felt like I wanted to do for it long term. White privilege was also not understood, and I did not realize the role it had in my life. I feel like the majority of the high school students that I speak to at LBJ do not understand some of these concepts completely, but I hope to increase their understanding of how the University of Texas does accept African-American and minority students, but it requires work that is nowhere near the same level as high school. I hope to encourage the students to attend any school that they like, including out-of-state schools, HBCU's, and community colleges. I feel like the students will benefit from me speaking because I am an African American male, and it is rare that people see students like me attending UT.

Blog #8 - Affirmative Action

I personally feel that the article "Affirmative Action: Racist by nature" is a bit biased. Although some acts of Affirmative Action may be considered reverse racism, I do not feel that every aspect of Affirmative Action is negative. However, I am a bit confused on what Fisher v. The University of Texas actually means for me and the school. The top 10% rule has allowed more minorities to attend UT, but many people overlook the fact that not every school is 100% hispanic and black. My school, for example, was more than 85% hispanic and black, yet the top 10% percent of my school had a higher percentage of asians and whites represented. In addition, at UT only 4% of the student body is African American, which is nowhere near the 12% of the population that is African American. I feel like I need more research to develop an educated opinion about the topic.

Here is an interesting article about Texas A&M's legacy admissions that was basically a form of affirmative action for the rich in, if you didn't hear about it:

*This was used until 2004 I believe

http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Legislators-slam-A-M-over-legacy-admissions-1975642.php

Midterm Essay - Week 7/8

           I am writing an essay that is addressed to be towards anyone who has a direct effect on black men as whole. In particular, politicians, teachers, counselors, and the media.  In class, we discussed that stereotypes about black men have negatively affected the black family. Stereotypes justify and promote ways of viewing our social world and people’s position within it, so they are not all necessarily true. “Ethnic Notions” showed that these stereotypes originated from minstrel shows which black face, which characterized African-Americans in negative aspects. These stereotypes still live in multiple different forms today. Some of these stereotypes include the “Sambo”, “Coon”, “Uncle Tom”, “Buck”. These stereotypes have evolved to ideas today that black men are lazy and do not want to work, that they are sexually aggressive, great athletes and rappers, promiscuous, don’t take care of their children, and are criminals. There are very few stereotypes about black men that are positive, and some black men do not even realize that they are living up to stereotypes.
         Africentric theory suggests that behavior is function of a person and their environment. The African-centered behavior change model states that there are four different quadrants representing Authentic, Adopted, Adapted, and Aberrant behaviors. This supports the idea that development from early childhood to adolescence is crucial to outcomes of black men. In addition, it suggests that African-Americans may have different values than their Eurocentric white counterparts here in America. If more are black men are pulled towards adapted and authentic behaviors, it will be beneficial. The seven Nguzo Saba principles are Umoja (Unity), Kujichagulia (Self-Determination), Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility), Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics), Nia (Purpose), Kuumba (Creativity), and Imani (Faith). If these principles are performed early on in age, it will help. Another theory that will help black men is the social-ecological theory, which suggests that people act as a reaction to individual, micro, exo/meso, and macro factors that each play a role in a different way. Some examples of this include individual face-to-face influences, State Laws, schools, churches, neighborhoods, and parent-school programs.

            Studies show that women are held to more responsibilities within the family because perform more in the home, opposed to men who are more associated with money and work outside the home. Studies from the Hammond article suggest that black men value manhood and responsibility as the two major things they want to hold up to. In addition to these, autonomy, providing, and spirituality were also highly valued by African-American men. The Bethea article suggests that another way to promote black counselors who can help with mental attitudes of black men. She states that counselors of other races, specifically white women, need to understand that black men think differently and go through many different situations than their white counterparts.

Potential ways to prevent these negative stereotypes from continuing would be to get rid of as many of the stereotypes as possible from the media and promote positive healthy relationships between black men and society. Another solution would be to increase support for success among black males within the family. If there is more support from mentors, teachers, counselors, and parents at a younger age, black men will feel the need to become successful for their own satisfaction instead of getting involved in actions that will make them end up in jail or not become successful and supportive for the family as a whole. This is possible for black men as long as we people who are willing to change the way that things are now.

Week 7 - Class Discussion

Class Discussion

I will admit, when I went to class I wondered to myself how my friends and family would react to everything that was said and the readings. I feel like there was so much going on with the discussion that I really didn't have time to sit and think about what was going on. I also think that since everything was rushed it made the experience more one sided because not very many questions were asked. Regardless, it was an interesting experience to hear first hand from people who are part of the LBGT community. Growing up in the black church like many others, homosexuality is not ever discussed. I still believe that homosexuality is a sin, but it definitely is not any more of a sin than stealing, lying, or anything else. I have always looked at discrimination towards homosexuals as similar as discrimination with ethnicities, so I feel that they should have the same rights as everyone else. The United States is supposed to be a country that is accepting of all people of different lifestyles, races, and ideologies. However, I feel like there will probably never be a day when homosexual couples will be able to walk around like heterosexual couples like it is normal because they are in a minority similar to interracial couples, and people just are not used to it. Regardless, the whole dl/homosexual/sexual identity crisis is something that is even harder to deal with in black families and communities. The more everyone is educated and understands the truth, the quicker there will be solutions.