Ending My Journey

I started this course unable to predict exactly where this class would lead me. I did not know how much I would be impacted by the class’s readings and discussions. When class began for my first blog I remember doing research about my Native American background and explained the importance of being ethnically educated. I also stated that I was raised in a predominately diverse community, therefore, rarely was I affected by the status quo of racism.  Meaning I was not just raised with one race around me I was in a diverse environment. However, after taking this course I have come to the realization that one not only needs to have a diverse background as far as race but as well as culture.

I read many excerpts from Takaki that explained that discrimination and prejudices are not only racially but are culturally as well. For example, the Irish were oppressed not because they were white like the Englishmen but because they were Irish and were considered to have a “savage lifestyle”.

 Being aware of different cultures and different traditions is the key to understanding a person’s motivations and behaviors.  I was not raised in a culturally diverse environment and most modern Americans aren’t, because here in America there is a traditional way to behave and traditional values to have. So if and when one deviates to far from the norm they are exiled or alienate. Muslims for example, don’t follow the traditional American lifestyle and are constantly put under the microscope for their beliefs, values, and traditions.

 We as people always like to simplify things and categorize things which ultimately take the complexity, intrigue, and beauty from situations. Through experiences people are able to relate to things better, yet when one has never experienced a different way of life they are rarely able to understand or relate to the situation for that matter. However, by having an open my and a love for knowledge one can achieve a level of understanding which essentially leads to respect.

I’m  very grateful that I was allowed to take such a relevant and educational course with a professor that is pretty profound.

Lies My Teacher Told Me: Overveiw

History is the lie commonly agreed upon. (Voltaire)

History comprehends experiences that have transpired previously. It is the aggregate of past events, which gives insight for the future. Majority of historical events are factual; however, all that exists is through perception.

Many Americans have lost touch with their history, and in Lies My Teacher Told Me Professor Loewen explains why. He believes that there is a combination of blind patriotism, mindless optimism, and misinformation that is being taught in high school history courses. After, reading a few chapters of his book I was very impressed by his research and detailed accounts.

Many high school students strongly dislike history. They presume history to be boring, predictable, and repetitive. “History is the past, so why should I have to learn about the past, why not the future?” This was a question that I asked my history teacher my senior year of high school. I couldn’t understand why he wanted us to learn about things that happened a hundred years prior.   How ironic that I chose history as my major in college. Anyhow, I remember the large text books that were always covered with deceased people that were important supposedly.  But important to who?  Loewen pointed out that some textbook leave out intricate details that ultimately make the main “white” character seem like a hero. He also explained that minority students perform slightly worse that white students.

Americans show a great interest in history outside of the classroom, many people enjoy films that recreate the past; they attend museums, and read novels. Nonetheless, they are uninterested in a subject that allows them to understand the world they live in.  Students complain that history texts are extremely huge some books pages number up to the thousands. The textbooks publishers attempt to include every single detail even if the details seem meaningless, which ultimately makes books longer. Teachers usually assign students chapters to read, key terms to define, and skill building exercises that usually concludes each chapter. These assignments are awfully time consuming. Overall, students exit history courses without having developed the ability to think coherently about social life.

 Loewen, James W. Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2007.

My Body Is Not For Your Use!

For women, freedom had a specific meaning: freedom from the degrading, demeaning and perverse behaviors of their masters. For they had endured bondage in more ways than men, like men they were treated less than human, worked the same fields and bent over backwards for their masters. However, as women they were subjected to reproduce the slave population. The governments prohibited the slave trade in the 17th century but since the South’s economy depended almost solely on slave labor women were responsible for the natural increase for its bonded labor. “For women were not only whipped and mutilated, they were also raped,” they carried a much heavier burden than men.

Rape is a sexual assault against a person without their consent; usually victims of rape are severely traumatized and sometimes have difficulty functioning as they did prior to the assault. Rape is a sick an unjust action that destroy a person’s soul and transforms the mind. The rapist takes control over not only the victim’s body but also their mind. The slave owner’s preyed on the women like predator and stole their essence. From there on many of the victims were left feeling empty as if their souls were taken from their bodies. These horrific acts were committed merely to “satisfy the erotic pleasures of their masters” as well as to reproduce. Most of their identities were captured in their master’s opinions that viewed them as property and treated them as such.

When humans are viewed as property they are almost always belittles by their “owner”. After reading the chapter, I couldn’t help but to think of the many women around the world that are sold as sex slaves. Surprisingly, most girls are sold by their “owners”, their fathers and mothers because their families are very poor. Some of these girls have yet to hit puberty, nonetheless, men with disgusting fetishes buy young girls and reduce them to less than human. The slaves are force to sleep with over 20 men a day, are constantly infected with disease and are abused. Many of the girls die very young due to the harsh lifestyle. The female body should not be used for the erotic and sick pleasures of men. 

My question is: when will the degradation of the female body stop?

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/slaves/etc/excerpt_hi.html

Shall I Conform Just Like the Irish?

Many Irishmen immigrated to America seeking a better life as well as a place to call home. Moreover, Irishmen where looking for a place for acceptance since in their homeland they were oppressed by the British.  The journey to America was one filled with hope, once here the Irish believed that they would be liberated.  The Irish assumed that in America there was room for economic advancement and job opportunities. Nonetheless, they soon realized that the American dream was not going to come true. Once in America many Irishmen experienced exploitation and social disintegration. The Irish were stereotyped as ignorant and forced to occupy the lowest forms of employment. ”At school they allegedly emitted a “pungent odor”—the “fumes of New England rum”, after reading the passage I instantly noticed the similarities between the Irish and Middle Eastern people from places such as India, Pakistan, and Iraq.

Warfare and religious persecution has forced many Middle Easterners to migrate to America seeking a better life just like the Irish. Nonetheless, once in America many of them have been treated intolerable and accused of the horrific attacks of September 11, 2001. The average America does not even know the difference between the different ethnicities in Asia. Some people automatically view people from the Middle East as a terrorist without even knowing which country they are from. Middle Easterners are ridiculed for their strong dialects, foreign garb, and their allegedly strong stench

Upward mobility was a slow steadfast road for most Irishman; through transformed identities from Irishman to Americans. To the oppressing of other races such as the Chinese and Blacks the Irish are now “accepted” by society. They have conformed after much hardship and are no longer seen as savages, many Irish- Americans are just seen as white Americans, they are no longer stigmatized. My question is what it will take for Middle Eastern Americans to be accepted by “society”, will they have to conform like the Irish?

Everything Has A Beginning

            “The efforts to civilize the Indians failed”, was President Jackson justification for Indian Removal. He believed that the Indians weren’assimilating well in the newly European communities. Yet, how does one race determine another’s destiny because of their refusal to assimilate to “traditional culture”. What human being possesses that much power and control to remove one person and place them in an isolated setting? Nonetheless, President Jackson conspired and cooperated to remove the Indians and push them further South. “Deprive the chief of the power they now possess...reduce them to plain citizenship…and then there will be no difficulty in getting the poor Indian to give their consent…all this will be done by the State of Georgia”, were the tactics that were used to manipulate the Natives. President Jackson assumed he was protecting the Indian from “mercenary influenced white man”, thus ignoring the affects his decision would have on the country years to follow.

It is vital that a person in power makes decisions that are motivated solely on improving conditions for everyone not just one set of persons. Considering that everyone will be affected in some way or another. Government officials should thoroughly think about decisions before they enforce laws that will affect and alter people’s lives for years to come. Arizona’s Governor Jan Brewer justified SB-1070, as a means to control crime in Arizona. Arizona's immigration law will require anyone whom police “suspect” of being in the country illegally to produce "an alien registration document," such as a green card or other proof of citizenship. After reading Takaki I wasn’t very surprised about the similarities between the Indian Removal and SB-1070. It is very clear that the law in Arizona isn’t as severe as Indian Removal, beside the sole purpose for the law is to “prevent so called crime”.

However, I believe that the law institutionalizes, discriminates and is a violation of one’s character. By forcing Latino Americans that look suspicious to present a card deprives them of their independence to freely exist. What does one look like when they are suspicious? Do they walk around with all black on as if they are ready to rob a bank or are they Mexican Americans? There is a beginning to everything; President Jackson didn’t just wake up one day and decide to remove the Natives, things progressed over a period of time. Beginning f with the “discovery” of their land and continuing with their “removal”. In my opinion the SB-1070 is the beginning of an accepted means to discriminate against and control Latino Americans in Arizona.  Yes, that statement is a long shot but ask yourself this? What will be the end result for the Latino Americans? No, their destiny doesn’t have to be as extreme as the Indians Removal, but will it affect mankind in the same way?

SB-1070

My name is Khalilah Naeema Ford. I was born in Louisville KY; my great ancestors were part of the Eastern Woodland Culture and belonged to the Iroquoian tribe however, after European Exploration much of my ancestor’s history became irretrievable because they relied on oral rather than written communication. I identify myself as an African American and so does society yet, my ancestors were Native Americans. When an average onlooker veiws me they see my latte’ toned competition. They fail to see that my ancestors shaped the Americas and established what European Explorers transformed. An average onlooker views my journey starting with the enslavement of Africans in the New World and continuing with the presidency of Barack Obama rather than the historic struggle for rights and identity of Native Americans.

I was raised in a predominately diverse community so rarely was I affected by the status quo of racism.  However at a very young age I understood the dynamics of my skin tone. I have three brothers and one sister, my sister is biracial so her skin tone is much fairer than mine. As a child I was subjected to being compared to my sister and her beauty. It was an unstated belief that African Americans with lighter skin complexities were prettier than those with a darker. I soon realized that my skin tone was one of the most important features I possessed outside of the fact that I am a women.

 While growing up my mother sent me to a preparatory school, while there I was taught the values needed to understand different cultures. To be able to understand different cultures one has to value education. As a child my mother emphasized the importance of being an educated black woman, she believed that if I was educated my ethnic background and race would not matter. As I continue my journey I realize that  being educated about my culture as well as others allows me  to see the world through so many different eyes; therefore allowing me to advance my mentality. My ancestors were able to live in their land and thrive even until after European exploration simply because they were educated about their environment and resourceful using what was provided to survive.

I have come to understand that race is important but education is more important. If everyone was culturally educated many of the stereotypes as well as discriminatory behavior would dissipate. Now I’m not saying that all it takes is for one to educate themselves, what I’m saying is that with education one’s mentality expands and so does their understanding of the world around them. My ancestors shaped America through cultural behaviors but now it is our turn to determine the dynamics of the world that we live in.