The United States has taken part of racism against non-white
people for a number of years. Whites
built up wealth by the exploitation of Americans of color while the country of
France benefited directly from exploitation of Africa. The U.S. and France hold many similarities
regarding racism, including their long history of racism. Additionally, both countries display racism
to minority groups, but the minorities may not actually be minorities in the
future. Brazil also compares to the countries of U.S. and France. Until the
19th century, Brazil brought in many Africans to help on
plantations. Although slavery has been
abolished in Brazil, Afro-Brazilians experience racial inequality even
today. In South Africa and Brazil,
citizens of African ancestry are currently experiencing stereotyping,
discrimination, and oppression.
Residential segregation has been a prominent issue regarding
race and housing in the United States. The
Housing and Urban Development Act of 1965 provided expansions for federal
housing programs, but issues such as discrimination, suburbanization,
redlining, and personal preferences continue to keeps neighborhoods racially
segregated.
Tatum identifies one barrier to be the student’s concept of
self. Many minority students observe
their race to be significant, while white students focus more on religion, sex,
or age. How society views the student
can also be a barrier in a classroom setting.
Identifying oneself as part of subordinate or dominant groups can also
alter our discussion of race and racism.
I am a 21-year old white girl receiving higher education,
and I was raised in an upper-middle class family. I would say that I experience many privileges
on a typical day. I can interact with
many people in public without being assumed of being a shoplifter. If I choose to, I could be completely
surrounded by white people. To be
honest, it’s difficult for me to talk about privilege, knowing so many people
do not experience the advantages I do simply because of preexisting
circumstances.
I love that you admitted to feeling like it's difficult for you to talk about your privileges because I was feeling the same way. I think it says a lot about how seriously you considered the assignment! It almost made me feel bad about myself knowing that I have so many privileges I always took for granted before. Definitely an uncomfortable feeling.
ReplyDeleteI had to take time to think and write about the privileges that I have, and I realized that I already had a lot of privileges than I thought!
ReplyDelete