Racial/Ethnic Identity

Reading Tatum’s article on Family life and school experiences:  Factors in the racial identity development of black youth in white communities and learning about the different stages of identity development opened my eyes.  I realized first off that identity development is vastly different across racial categories.  While “minority” races have to come to realize that they are minorities and the White race is dominant, White privilege is very much seen and discovered in the White identity model.  Learning about the different case studies of various Black students revealed people of color going through the different stages of identity.  

The case study that most resonated with me from the article in terms of my own experience was that of Janice.  Janice grew up in a mostly White neighborhood and went to a majority White school.  Not until she went to college did she begin to really learn about her Black heritage and history.  This is where she reached the “encounter” stage and began to immerse herself in her Blackness as part of her identity.  While I definitely did not grow up in a majority White neighborhood, (it was majority Black and Hispanic), and I do not relate to her under class and SES, I the middle and high schools that I attended had magnet programs which I was in.  These magnet programs consisted of majority White and Asian students, me being one of the few Blacks.  I had White friends, but we never really did hang out outside of school.  I had Black friends, but was considered an oreo and sometimes even called “stuck-up”.  It was not until people really began to get to know me that the latter of these diminished from being associated with me, but the first never really left.  People would always say that I “talk White” or “too proper”.  I never really understood this and found it strange that in order to be considered Black, I had to talk a certain way, or that Blackness was always associated with using slang and mispronouncing words.  Coming to college and taking AFR courses taught me a lot about Black History that was immensely watered down throughout elementary, middle and high school.  I can say that I have reached the internalization/commitment stage because I have internalized and found a sense of pride and resilience in my Blackness.  This is communicated through my service learning project because we have come up with a model to promote positive ideas for improvement in the Black community in East Austin.  Through this project I feel strongly that we will be able to promote more Black people to get involved in the changes that are being made in the East side and to be proactive about these communities that are being heavily gentrified.  Racist jokes are no longer funny to me, nor am I passive about them as I once was.  Tatum describes in her book Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria, two forms of racism – passive and active.  Active racism is the kind people mostly recognize – the KKK and other White supremacist groups.  Passive racism can be noted in simply sitting back when someone of color is being oppressed, and doing nothing about it at all.  I mentioned racist jokes as an example because even entertaining these jokes, or just sitting back and not calling them out can be seen as an act of racism. 

Stage of racial identity intersects with concepts of privilege because it is a privilege in itself to not have to think about one’s race.  Very early on, children of color notice that they’re different, that there’s something different about them.  White children may not have to grapple with this.  White privilege has an effect on my daily encounters for the simple fact that White people are hold individuality, whereas I hold my entire race on my back.  If I do something off or strange, it is not just another person doing this, it’s “those Black people always do _____”.  As an example, my friend was telling me at dinner today that the majority of her colleagues at work don’t do much, they often just “look busy” but don’t really do anything.  She expressed to me that these people are White, and that she feels that there is no way she could get away with doing the lack of work that they do.  I noted that this was because she is Black, and Black people will always be looked at or watched more closely than our White counterparts.  This is just one example of many where White privilege effects me in my daily life. 

Affirmative Action and "Reverse Racism"

When Edden presented the class with a case about affirmative action in class on Tuesday, I immediately felt a shock come over me.  In the class prior to this one, the discussion was on how racism is alive and thriving today.  This article in the Daily Texan added to this idea.  After reading the article, it appears to me why people would feel as though it is racist to have affirmative action and call it "unfair".  I really took the time to try and figure out where this guy was coming from in his argument to abolish affirmative action all-together.  He mentioned poor Whites needing more assistance over well-off Black applicants; which is not taken into consideration.  One thing about this argument is that even for poor Whites, they have a higher value than that of some wealthy Blacks.  In the Tim Wise video that was viewed in class, this was discussed.  I feel as though oftentimes, especially in this day, many people like to overlook racism or brush it to the side as if it doesn't exist.  This backlash against affirmative action in the name of "reverse racism", in my opinion, perpetuates even more racism upon minority communities. 

From the responses to this article, I was disgusted.  The very first response that I viewed was from a Black male student (supposedly), who argued heavily against affirmative action.  His views were extremely racist and conjugated even more of the stereotypes that have been adopted by society about Black people.  I feel as though his argument was out of complete and utter ignorance due to the fact that he claimed Black students on campus as "dumb", while he himself is a Black student.  This was very strange to me and could possibly be from complete denial of self and adoption of the majority culture.

Reading about the history on affirmative action and President Power's statement about the continuation of affirmative action was surprising.  I did not expect, for some reason, that the president would argue to keep this rule in play due to the fact that AFR and other Ethnic Studies programs are often the first to receive budget cuts when it's time to make those decisions.  Also, lowering the top 10% rule to admission of the top 8% lowers the chance of more diverse students onto the campus.  I'm supposing that somehow keeping affirmative action will uphold the school's stature for having diversity, which I use in much of a sarcastic tone.

As for programs that are combating these issues - the Longhorn Scholars Program seems to be one of them that is beneficial in bridging the gap between minorities on campus and providing a positive sense-of-self in a mostly White institution.  I believe that many of the minority groups on campus have created organizations for themselves to rise up from being a minority on this campus.  Programs such as Black Students Alliance and other multicultural organizations are positive spaces where minorities can join together and build more of a sense of belonging. 

Midterm Essay on Black Marriagebility Index

Let’s Get Back to Our Roots

Dear Pastors,

As an informant on the marriageability index for Black couples, I come to you in a state of grievance on this issue.  Black couples are facing an epic dilemma in these times.  No one is getting married anymore, if so, not to Black women.  This drastically affects the amount of Black couples uniting and actually staying together.  I believe that it is upon the shoulders of the Black church to keep Black couples together.  You all are the leaders.  You must unite, work on one accord, and fight to educate and bridge the gap in order to extinguish the plight of Black marriages.  The current condition of welfare, in addition to faded purpose of the original Black family lie the two overarching themes that have caused a rift in Black couples today.  I present to you a plead to join the fight to keep Black families together.

Welfare reform is a factor that has caused a rift in Black marriages.  According to author Robert B. Hill, the original intentions of welfare reform were to “provide assistance to needy families…end the dependence of needy parents on government benefits by promoting job preparation, work, and marriage, prevent the incidence of our-of-wedlock pregnancies, and encourage the formation and maintenance of two-parent families” (The Impact of Welfare Reform on Black Families).  While the original goal sounds great, it has in turn caused a rift in the marriagebility index for Black couples.  Blacks have been the least likely to get married due to the stressors of welfare, making it much harder to keep a marriage, let alone a family, together.  Fathers with low-income are required to pay higher monthly child support and mothers are not able to attend drug treatment programs often, therefore terminating their welfare.  Not only are mothers and fathers impacted, but grandmothers are often left with the brunt of raising children even when they are elderly and feeble.  This makes it a lot more difficult for Black families to work. 

Not only is welfare a problem, but the “low ratio of quality Black men” (In Search of Love and Commitment, Audrey B. Chapman).  This low ratio of eligible suitors due to the amount of Black women gaining higher degrees and higher-paying careers.  More Black women are going to college, while more Black men are going to jail.  Something needs to be done about this rift.  More Black men need Black mentors.  A push to gain a higher education, or to pursue a different form of success is necessary.  More Black male role-models are needed in order to solve this problem.

Thirdly, extinguishing the stereotypes about Black women and Black men is a key factor.  According to an article on “African-American Women and the Male-Female Relationship Dilemma:  A Counseling Perspective”, “African-American men have tended to internatlize the dominant view of African-American women as “undesirable”, “domineering”, and “second-best”.  These are disgusting stereotypes and definitely do not represent the whole of the Black female identity.  We must lift one another up in a positive light. 

Getting back to Africentric theory principles is a key solution in solving all of these issues that effect Black marriageability.  The seven Nguzu Sabaa principles must be reinforced within the church, to unite African-Americans as a community and lifting up one another in a positive light.  This can be through creating small groups where Black men and women can discuss biblical topics as well as practice loving each other.  This can also be done via programs in the church that give back to the community such as providing rides for mothers on welfare and the elderly, providing a tutoring program for those in school of all ages, and a mentorship program for men of the church where they can openly discuss issues amongst themselves, as well as go into low-income areas of the city and create a bond and advisory relationship with Black male youth. 

Another theory that would be beneficial is Empowerment Theory.  This theory builds the self-esteem of Blacks and gives them the power to make a change.  With this theory, especially within the church, perhaps giving youth leadership platforms as well as more leadership roles throughout the church, this can take place.  Inviting members of all ages to practice community service together and giving back in order to make a change is a great way to solve this.

The marriagebility index of Blacks is at a plight, but there is hope.  I ask that you join in with me to solve this problem, and to fight to increase marriageability and effectiveness of African-American relationships world-wide.  Starting small can create a great change.  Thank you.

Sincerely,

Jasmine S. Burditt

Black and Queer

Discussion today was extremely enlightening.  I feel like most of the things that were discussed were very touching because it made the readings so much more real. Hearing from people who are actually Black and Queer and their stories make the readings come to life.  Terms such as pansexual, sisgendered, and F-M were completely oblivious to me prior to this panel discussion.  Although some of the terms were a little difficult to understand, just the knowledge of what Queer people that are Black go through as far as identity was informative.  Hearing their personal stories about coming out and their lifestyles was interesting as well.

The article Strange Bedfellows discusses the strange relationship between African-American democrats and Republican Conservatives on the issue of gay marriage.  This relationship was mentioned in class by Dr. Gilbert in a discussion this past week.  I never thought to stop and reflect on this strange union between the Black Church and White Republicans in order to completely ban gay marriage/equal rights for gays.  This is an interesting communion, as throughout history the 2 have been opposed to one another.  The fact that 60% of African-Americans are opposed to gay marriage represents a correlation between the angst against homosexuality in the Black community in general.  I do believe that it is difficult for Black politicians to speak on homosexuality when the stigma against it is so large.  People automatically believe that because someone supports gay marriage means that person is a homosexual.  I believe that until we can throw off the negative stereotypes and stigma that comes with being homosexual, can Black heterosexuals and homosexuals work together.