...Kristy Nguyen JOUR453 Spring 2014 The Meaning of Race in a 21st-Century America As far as America has come in the battle for equality and improving civil rights, the topic of race still looms over our nation and sparks many different debates. The division of the 21st-century isn’t as obvious as it used to be in the past, there are no “Whites Only” sign to direct us and the simplistic black-white concept of race no longer exists. The issue lies much deeper than we could ever imagine and its fast-paced change is making it difficult to comprehend. The increase in the multiracial population further adds to the complexity of this topic and our ideas on race. That is why Center for American Progress located in Washington, D.C. decided to tackle this matter head-on by opening an in-depth panel discussion entitled “The Meaning of Race in a 21st-Century America” to dig into America’s history to find the origins of race, address race and ethnicity today as the nation’s demographics are shifting, and emphasize the importance of the U.S. Census to accurately represent the people of this. Featured panelists included Rinku Sen, President and Executive Director of Race Forward: The Center for Racial Justice Innovation; Julie Dowling, Associate Professor, Department of Latina/Latino Studies, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; Roderick Harrison, Senior Research Fellow, Civic Engagement and Governance Institute, Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies; and Hilary O. Shelton,...
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...Race vs. Class From the time of slavery until the twenty-first century, race has been the driving element regarding opportunities for people of African descent. The question of whether this has changed presently is ambiguous. America has certainly evolved from a place of slavery and segregation to the self-proclaimed “Land of Opportunities” offering equal rights and prospects to all, yet there are still signs of inequality within the social construct of the nation. If one were to take a look at the American work field, they would notice the differences in positions acquired by African-Americans and Caucasians. African-Americans typically work minimum-wage jobs, living paycheck to paycheck and if they are fortunate enough to acquire an adequate paying job; their employers are Caucasians who usually own the major businesses and corporations. This inevitable conflict has emerged from America’s past history of unfair and unequal treatment of people of color. The American society has not completely eradicated the problem with racial discrimination and inequality within the workforce which has created the growing wealth gap. In the United States, issues of race and class are tied to together like a chain of DNA; one cannot address the issue of class without referring to the demographics of race. The methodology of determining the variations in social class was established in the mid-1960s and has not changed in the most latter years. Within the time span, there have been many studies...
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...the following terms: Term | Definition | White privilege | White privilege is the theory that describes the treatment of white people as exceptional over that of other races. While we often discuss the clear cases where other races are being discriminated against there is still yet another power at play. The world’s subconscious attraction to the American or European aesthetic. It is the advantage given out of the subconscious desire to give instead of the desire to withhold from others. | Racial profiling | Racial profiling takes place when law enforcement officials make a conscious decision to take action or not take action on the basis of race of the offender. If a police officer pulls a black person over while driving because he or she is driving through a predominantly white neighborhood, then that officer would be guilty of racial profiling. | Racism | Racism is the belief and actions taken based on the belief that race determines the level of human a person is. During the slave trades many traders treated the African slaves as dogs and believed they were such, cattle to do their bidding. They did not judge them on their historical knowledge of the group because they had very limited historical knowledge. They based their decisions about and treatment of the Africans solely on their race. | Reverse discrimination | Reverse discrimination describes the thought that the laws created to protect minorities from discrimination actually put the majority group at a...
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...Roy Adriano March 17, 2011 History 15B, Section 8 McBane The Backyard War – Struggle for Equality The drastic shift in American demographics in the 20th and 21st centuries brought about reactions, especially tensions, from the many facets of the American people – African Americans, Whites, and ethnic minorities alike. Although African Americans are most commonly associated with the Civil Rights Movement, the struggle for equality on American soil was one that was experienced by a number of groups of immigrants. These groups included the Japanese, who experienced racial segregation through internment camps throughout the west, the Jews, who were turned away after attempting to seek refuge in American democracy, and the Mexican Americans, half a million of it’s whom enlisted in the U.S. armed services for the chance to claim the country as their country, too. This paper will examine the struggles of the different racial groups, and reactions to the events that, during a tumultuous time in history, greatly divided a nation. From the year 1910 to 1920, tens of thousands of Blacks migrated to the Northeast and Midwest United States from the south because of the increasing opportunities for economic prosperity. Despite being free, they were enslaved by the harshness of poverty. The poor conditions and circumstances that Blacks experienced as sharecroppers and tenant farmers pushed them to migrate to the North, where they were welcomed with opportunities to prosper.1 On the other...
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...President Kennedy had just been assassinated; a country was mourning its president, a president who had brought hope to end segregation, a president who was handsome and charismatic. A completely different personality took the office and was prepared to win the American citizens’ trust and confidence. Lyndon B. Johnson was this man. The media perceived him as a vulgar Texan and rough around the edges, he was determined to make dramatic changes in the country’s reform laws. President Lyndon Johnson was a unique president who had had the unique experience of being a minority and coming from an impoverished background. According to Whitehouse, “Johnson was born on August 27, 1908, in central Texas, not far from Johnson City, which his family had helped settle. He felt the pinch of rural poverty as he grew up, working his way through Southwest Texas State Teachers College (now known as Texas State University-San Marcos); he learned compassion for the poverty of others when he taught students of Mexican descent.” Because President Johnson understood the needs of impoverished people in the United States, he wasted no time before implementing laws that provided financial and educational support for communities that needed it the most. Some of the most accessed and important programs, which set the United States apart from other countries, were established as reforms in Lyndon Johnson’s presidential term. President Lyndon Johnson was an enforcer of the humanities, he fought for...
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...Racism: A Learned Behavior I. Introduction Racism is one of the most controversial social topics in the world today even in the 21st century. As the term has been associated through the centuries for negative connotations such as discrimination, prejudice and even violence, racism remains to be a volatile issue affecting millions of lives today. The definition of racism is based on the belief that a particular race based on physical genetic features is more dominant than another. As such, the one that views that his or her ethnicity possesses human traits and capacities that are inherently superior compared to another is an exhibition of racist behavior. As such, this belief becomes the basis for particular ethnic groups to discriminate on others that can be seen through institutional racism. This is when an entire ethic population denies another racial group basic civil liberties and benefits thus, continuing on the cycle of preferential treatment of a particular race. It is important to note that the United Nations has declared that racial discrimination and ethnicity discrimination are one and the same. Significantly, the partition of races can be traced back in history as early societies have traditionally divided human populations based on their race. As such, through the centuries sociologists, anthropologist and psychologists have tried to determine the root cause of racism especially with the detrimental effects of discrimination as a result of racist...
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... framework. We conform— albeit equally—with their screwedup system. That is not liberation. It is capitulation. —Peter Thatchell Recent developments in samesex marriage have raised emotions, awareness and many questions about equality and rights as well as inquires about the benefits of marriage for society in general. Is the goal to blend into an existing system of rights and privileges or to work toward a new framework of acceptance? To examine these questions, I invite you to take a journey through the past sixty years and visit moments of both the African American and Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender (GLBT) Civil Rights Movements. By examining the African American Civil Rights Movement, I attempt to survey and assess the advantages and disadvantages of both the assimilationist and liberationist perspectives of the GLBT Movement. Historical Context The racist institution of Jim Crow grew out of the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 which abolished slavery in the United States. Long after slavery was abolished, however, African Americans continued to suffer cruel injustices throughout the country. The discriminatory system of Jim Crow perpetually placed blacks as inferior to whites in all circumstances. If these laws, both social and legal, were not abided by, African Americans faced severe consequences of punishment and death. The detestably bigoted establishment pervaded the American culture well into the twentieth century. The laws an...
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...the south changed? The chief accomplishment of the new south was the expansion of textile production, as the number of cotton mills grew from 161 to 400. There was also an increase in the lumber industry, coal production, and tobacco growth. Although, the majority of southern farmers were not flourishing, which caused sharecropping and tendancy to increase between blacks and whites. The bourbons perfected a political alliance with northern conservatives and economic alliance with northern capitalists. They also reduced state expenditures and public debt. Attitudes about race became more strongly felt and the prospect of an electoral alliance between poor whites and blacks that could threaten the power structure became a possibility, so the southern states came up with various ways to disenfranchise blacks. Also, “Jim Crow” laws were enacted to mandate public separation of the races. Legalized segregation reinforced the notions of white racial superiority and African-American inferiority, creating an atmosphere that encouraged violence, and during the 1890s lynching’s of blacks rose significantly. Define the New West. After 1865, the federal government encouraged western settlement and economic exploitation. The transcontinental railroads opened the western half of the nation to economic development and created an interconnected national market. Needing rapid communication, companies built telegraph lines along the railroad as the track was laid. Completion of the railroad...
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...responsibilities towards this. I will discuss inclusion procedures used within the workplace and express where my research indicates it could be improved. An overview of my current role I am currently acting as a volunteer at a local secondary school, working in a specialist centre where children attend since for varying reasons, they are unable to study in mainstream school. The centre is very small so the staff take on many changing roles and I find that so do I. The centre aims to achieve understanding of the child’s needs, dealing with any issues influencing the child’s behaviour and ultimately giving the child the security he or she needs to learn in the centre, of if possible eventually retuning to mainstream school. Above all we set out to achieve the five outcomes set out in Every Child Matters: Change for Children in Schools (DfES 2004e) by ensuring the children are: • Healthy • Stay Safe • Enjoy and achieve • Make a positive contribution • Achieve economic and social well-being Reasons for undertaking this research There appears to be three levels of inclusion used for special needs pupils these are: • Inclusion in the classroom within the mainstream school facilitated through the use of personal support using TA’S and LSA’S • The use of a specialised inclusion unit • The use of a special school The use of a specialised inclusion centre will be the model used as the main focus for this study. Since starting at the centre I have been...
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...50 Key Concepts in Gender Studies Jane Pilcher & Imelda Whelehan Fifty Key Concepts in Gender Studies i Recent volumes include: Key Concepts in Social Research Geoff Payne and Judy Payne Key Concepts in Medical Sociology Jonathan Gabe, Mike Bury and Mary Ann Elston Forthcoming titles include: Key Concepts in Leisure Studies David Harris Key Concepts in Critical Social Theory Nick Crossley Key Concepts in Urban Studies Mark Gottdiener The SAGE Key Concepts series provide students with accessible and authoritative knowledge of the essential topics in a variety of disciplines. Cross-referenced throughout, the format encourages critical evaluation through understanding. Written by experienced and respected academics, the books are indispensable study aids and guides to comprehension. JANE PILCHER AND IMELDA WHELEHAN Fifty Key Concepts in Gender Studies SAGE Publications London • Thousand Oaks • New Delhi iii © Jane Pilcher and Imelda Whelehan 2004 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without permission in writing from the Publishers. SAGE Publications Ltd 1 Oliver’s Yard 55 City Road London EC1Y 1SP SAGE Publications Inc 2455 Teller Road Thousand Oaks, California 91320 SAGE Publications India Pvt Ltd B-42 Panchsheel Enclave Post Box 4109 New Delhi 100 017 British Library...
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...BLACK LIBERATION THEOLOGY: SO YOU THINK JESUS WAS WHITE? By Hosea Bennett OUTLINE I. Liberation Theology a. What is Liberation Theology? b. Its origins and roots II. Black Liberation Theology a. It‘s true meaning b. James Cone - It’s Founder c. Luke’s social message to all d. History of Black Catholics III. Black Spirituality & Culture. a. Black Spirituality b. What We Have Seen and Heard – Pastoral Letter on Evangelization c. Catholic Teaching on Racism IV. Conclusion INTRODUCTION The purpose of this paper is to inform the reader about the true meaning of Black Liberation Theology. I want to present this paper as an enlightening pit of information to all who read it. I hope that will be an enlightenment and appreciation of the culture and spirituality of Blacks by non Blacks. And for Blacks I hope to affirm that our culture and spirituality is a depiction of our past, present, and future relationship with God. “Black Liberation Theology and Black Theology” are terms that walk hand in hand. For both share it’s African and slave roots since the 1560s. Long before the landing of The Mayflower at Plymouth...
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...this paper is to examine the gender gap and the potential factors that contribute to income inequality. Since the passing of the equal pay act, the median weekly earnings of women is still just seventy eight cents on each dollar that men earn (Center for American Progress, 2010). To put this in context, the pay gap in 1970 was sixty two cents and in 1992 it was seventy five cents (Institute for Women’s Research, 1993). Undervaluation of women’s work, occupational gender segregation, and discriminatory treatment in the workplace continue to hamper efforts to reduce the gender pay gap. A pay check is women’s and men’s most important source of income. Therefore, it is surprising, discriminatory and unfair to know that after both genders have worked satisfactorily on the same job; they do not receive the same pay. The gender pay gap is the best way to measure pay inequality between men and women. The authors discuss Gender Compensation Discrimination and examine the historical trends in pay difference, the various causes and the methods and paths considered for closing the Gender Compensation Gap. Key words: Gender Compensation Discrimination, Gender Compensation Gap, Equality, Rights and Privileges, Sex Segregation, Gender Pay Gap, Wage Gap, Discrimination, Equal Pay Act, Occupational Gender Segregation, Gender Differences, Gender-Based Salary Differences, Executive Compensation, Higher Education. Introduction Gender issues are not limited to the corporate world even though they dominate...
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...[University at Buffalo, the State University of New York (SUNY)] At: 06:29 3 November 2010 Social Sciences, Delta State University, DSU Box 3264, Cleveland MS 38733, USA; The College Board, Chicago, USA Tourism can serve as a vehicle for sustainable community development by contributing to equity and social justice. This happens as tourists learn about marginal groups through educational tourism, engage in development projects with host-area residents, undertake pilgrimages that bring greater meaning and cohesiveness to an ethnic identity, or encounter stories that transform their view of social injustice and spur further action to reduce inequities. Tourism planning can produce a sense of reconciliation when it brings historically divided groups together. An example is found in Tallahatchie County, Mississippi, where a group of white and African American residents are collaborating to develop tourism projects designed around a narrative of reconciliation, while they use the process of tourism planning to work towards racial reconciliation within their community. This case illustrates strategies tourism planners employ and challenges they face when they envision tourism as more than merely a means of economic growth. Keywords: heritage tourism; Mississippi Delta; racial reconciliation; social justice; sustainable community development The advantages of tourism to rural communities are generally painted as economic: developing a tourism industry brings in ‘‘fresh’’ dollars...
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...Discontent and Reform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188 CHAPTER 10 War, Prosperity, and Depression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202 CHAPTER 11 The New Deal and World War I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212 CHAPTER 12 Postwar America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256 CHAPTER 13 Decades of Change: 1960-1980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274 CHAPTER 14 The New Conservatism and a New World Order . . . . . . 304 CHAPTER 15 Bridge to the 21st Century . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320 PICTURE PROFILES Becoming a Nation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Transforming a Nation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 Monuments and Memorials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161 Turmoil and Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229 21st Century Nation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293 Bibliography . . . . . . . ....
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...BY DR. KAKAI P.W THE NATURE AND ORIGIN OF CIVILIZATION IN AFRICA Definition of key terms As we begin this course, it is crucial to first discuss our understanding of the concept ‘civilization’. This is a comparative term which is usually applied in comparison to such words as ‘barbarian’ ‘savage’ and ‘primitive’. In classical antiquity the Europeans used the word ‘barbarian’ to refer to a foreigner who was regarded as inferior (Ogutu and Kenyanchui, An Introduction To African History, 1991 p33). Do you think this is still the way we use the word barbarian? The Latin speakers referred to hunters, food-gatherers as savage. In the 17th century this term ‘savage’ referred to a person without art, literacy, or society who lived in fear of existence and death. ‘Primitive’ on the other hand, in Latin meant ‘the first or original’. Europeans used these words interchangeably when referring to non-Europeans while the word civilization was preserved to describe historical developments of European people (ibid). Now the term civilization is no longer confined to the above development but also extends reference to non-European communities. Attributes of civilization includes observance to law, belonging to an organized society, having a society of literate people with advanced developments in urbanization, agriculture, commerce, arts and technology. The French thinkers of the 18th century referred to a person of the arts and literature as cultured. But at the present the term is used...
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