... Race, and the African American Student: An Annotated Bibliography Bernstein, Susan Naomi. “Writing and White Privilege: Beyond Basic Skills.” Pedagogy: Critical Approaches to Teaching Literature, Language, Composition, and Culture 4.1 (2004): 128-31. Evaluating the relationship between white, middle-class privilege and both standardized testing and standard conventions of writing, Bernstein offers a classroom strategy for underprivileged students (either from racial or class position or both) to counter the negative effects of academic standards in relegating them to remedial positions in order to acquire basic writing skills before being granted access to the university at large. Encouraging her students to explore their previous educational experiences related to both testing and writing through a workshop format, as well as to evaluate their own imaginative writing and the reading of creative texts, Bernstein found that these can be used as means of critical resistance to their remedial designations. Ultimately, though, she concludes that it is not the student’s responsibility alone to resist relegation but also educators as well, who need to address and seek to resolve the conditions that produce “basic writers” even before their arrival at the university, and this, according to the author, will produce an awareness and restructuring of white privilege in determining academic success. Campbell, Kermit E. “ ‘Real Niggaz’s Don’t Die’: African American Students...
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...life experiences have led you to apply? Teach for America Essay help request Sorry for the long post! Okay, so I have rough drafts of both my essays for teach for America done! I have to revise them like tonight because the application is due Friday. But if you have a moment, look them over and let my know what you think. Ideas on how to trim them down to five hundred words would be very helpful. the first is a letter of intent, the second an essay about my greatest accomplishment in the past four years. ESSAY #1 I hope to join Teach for America for what seems like a simple reason: I want to teach. Specifically, I want to teach middle school social studies or history. What thrills me about teaching is the constant challenge of finding better ways to motivate students and make learning relevant to their lives. I want to teach middle school because it is a challenging age. Middle school students are trying to figure out their roles in the world and are facing many pressures from peers, society, and their parents to conform in different ways. I want to be a supportive mentor for children at that difficult point in their lives. I want middle school to be a pleasant experience instead of the bad memory it is for many people. This is much the same thing that motivates me to teach history: I hated history classes when I was in middle school. History seemed so irrelevant, all about dead white men. When I went to college, I started learning that there are many histories to be told...
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...Relying on examples from your own experience and from Staples’ essay, write an essay discussing what parts you think race plays in people's reactions to Staples. Do you think his perceptions are accurate? Make sure that you document Staples’ words and ideas and that you include a works cited page. (See Chapter 18 of the Patterns text for information on MLA documentation.) A White Man’s Privilege Alters Public Spaces “My first victim was a woman – white, well dressed, probably in her early twenties, I came upon her late one evening on a deserted street in Hyde Park, a relatively affluent neighborhood in an otherwise mean, impoverished section of Chicago.” Staples begins his essay very powerfully. Upon reading the first paragraph, one would think they were about to read about a thrilling crime. Unfortunately, Staples was recounting a time he was judged by the color of his skin, as he walked through the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago. “I was indistinguishable from the muggers who occasionally seeped into the area from the surrounding ghetto.” Staples’s naivety is sadly endearing, as he has clearly hadn't experienced any deep form of racism until he was almost twenty two years old. Why does Staples evoke this reaction? My story begins in Chicago as well, the year is 2008 and I was walking down Belmont; heading east from Sheffield. It was 4:30am and the streets were dark and distant. I was still getting to know the city and was walking extra cautiously, as not to slip...
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...Oswego, was nicknamed Lake No Negro—fitting considering the town is 90% white and only 0.7% African American—and while sundown no longer means expulsion, there is still, to this day, protests of new trains, bus stops, and apartment buildings because, and only because, it would let them in. The town evokes a West Coast sense of racism, not articulated or verbalized, instead perpetuated through nods or looks or words like...
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...school student remembers the stressful experience of preparing for college. Quite frankly, I never really understood the concept of college. In my opinion, it was just another ordinary school transition unlike the ones I had already experienced. I envisioned it be something along the lines of my middle school to high school transition. Yet, to my surprise, it was nothing of the like. It was not until my college transition, that I finally felt I was at a disadvantage in comparison to some of my classmates. It was also during this time that I realized I was a First-Generation College Student because neither of my parents had attended college and I was the first of my family to do so. Nevertheless, as a child, I never questioned the...
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...Strong Response On The Meaning Of Plumbing and Poverty Summary In her essay “On The Meaning Of Plumbing and Poverty,” Journalist Melanie Scheller examines the cultural identity of the rural poor. The author brings the readers attention to her call to action about poverty in America while using facts and personal background. While caring for a woman in a psychiatric ward, Scheller witnesses the woman’s obsession for flushing the toilets in her unit. This memory creates an opportunity for her to write an essay about growing up in rural North Carolina. In the 1960’s the author was growing up with her mother and five other siblings, moving from place to place in search of a home where the rent was affordable. Scheller mentions how she lived in a house with five rooms, with one room in particular for her and her siblings to gather in to complete homework or watch television. Furthermore, Scheller describes how “in the South” of her childhood, if a family did not have indoor plumbing they were labeled as white trash and strongly stereotyped at school. They often had comments thrown at them such as “White-trash children had cooties- everybody knew that”(321). When Scheller is granted a college scholarship, she describes the feelings of happiness and delight she encounters when given the opportunity to use as many clean toilets and take as many hot showers as she wishes. Having this newfound privilege is a blessing but she is ashamed to show her true feelings because she doesnt...
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...STATEMENT OF CULTURAL COMPETENCE IN TRAINING AND EDUCATING PEOPLE OF COLOR It is both a privilege and a pleasure to address the National Minority AIDS Council to provide you with an essay of my credentials. My credentials for being placed in this position as candidate of the Training of Trainers span my medical academic career, which began when I was an undergraduate student of Nutrition at Hunter College in New York City. My exposure to the realities of the medical system as it relates to blacks and other minorities continued through my experiences at the Ryan White Clinic for HIV (Fulton County Government) in Atlanta Georgia and subsequently at my current home base Rainbow Preventive Services founded in September of 2007. During that time span from my undergraduate years to the present, I have not only witnessed some dramatic events and developments regarding the delivery of health care to the nation’s medically neediest populations, I have also been privileged to play a role in them. Examples are my developing a Lactation Education program at Broward County Community College, teaching Nutrition as Adjunct Faculty in Miami Dade Community College – Wolfson Campus and as a Trained Trainer for Bright from the Start Georgia Child Care Trainer and Reviewer. Ultimately founded Rainbow Preventive Services (RPS Inc.) to be located in downtown Atlanta in the near future. www.rps-agency.com. This agency is dedicated to decreasing healthcare disparities by preventing HIV...
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...[Title Here, up to 12 Words, on One to Two Lines] Annotated Biography Learning Team D University of Phoenix Differently Abled Stephen, F. G., & Depoy, E. (2000). Multiculturalism and disability: A critical perspective. Disability & Society, 15(2), 207. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/195768418?accountid=458 This article talks about persons with disabilities and how they relate to people in society. It refers to how differently abled people have a sense of belonging and wanting to have their own identity outside of the medical diagnosis. They do not want to be referred to or defined by the limits of the diagnosis of their condition. Defining persons with disabilities as a culture gives them their own kind of language, a community and identity. Disadvantages are putting limits on the culture and persons and also setting up discriminations against people with disabilities by people with disabilities. Shrivastava, S., Shrivastava, P., & Ramasamy, J. (2015). Exploring the scope of community-based rehabilitation in ensuring the holistic development of differently-abled people. African Health Sciences, 15(1), 278-280. doi:10.4314/ahs.v15i1.36 1. This article talks about how community based rehabilitation is going to improve rehab services for the disabled population. Also touches on how this population is a sensitive population and it takes careful planning and carrying out of services to be successful. Native American Verbos...
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...Massachusetts, three years after the end of the Civil War. His great-grandfather had fought in the American Revolution and his family had been part of the community for generations. Du Bois learned of his African roots from his grandmother, and was given a sense of destiny from his mother, who raised him after his father left home. Du Bois was a brilliant young man, working as a correspondent for New York newspapers while still in high school, and, with the help of influential members of his community, went to Fisk University in Nashville. His years at Fisk changed his life – there Du Bois met sons and daughters of former slaves, who embodied the cultural and spiritual tradition that Du Bois had glimpsed as a child. He also encountered the White South, and saw how they were destroying the achievements of Reconstruction. He saw the suffering of rural blacks when he taught school during the summers in East Tennessee, and he saw how blacks were being terrorized at the polls. Du Bois resolved that in some way he would dedicate his life to alleviating the racial and economic oppression that he saw all around him. He continued his education and was offered a scholarship to Harvard, where he studied with William James. Du Bois entered Harvard during what historians call the Progressive...
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...College Writing has helped me develop many necessary skills I will need for my future. Writing is the best way to express yourself. Writing is a great way to relieve stress, or just release feelings. This class has really opened my eyes to the importance of writing to life and what doors it can open for you. In this class I have also learned how to work with the APA format. Something I never thought I would be working with. The most interesting part of the college writing papers we had to do an interview, something I had only worked with once while I was in high school. I feel like I have learnt how to express myself because before I wasn’t able to express my feelings openly, but through this class, I have been able to open up and search deeper within me for inspiration. Over the past three months, I have been stressed due to long hours in studio; writing papers for this class was always my way to vent my stress and get my mind of stuff in studio. Looking at racism and white privilege, I have realized that being white it is possible to be the little change I want to see in the world. Growing up with Africans, it has also helped me see that color is only skin deep. When I was in high school, I always used the MLA format for all ma papers and bibliographies, but this class gave me a challenge of changing that and using APA format, at first it was a bit hard because I had to teach the APA format to myself and then apply it to my papers. In the last two essays we had...
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...Different people with different backgrounds can offer fresh perspectives, ideas, and solutions; also diverse workforce is more resilient and flexible which can help ensure organizational survival. Input from diverse work groups can enhance rational decision making and therefore efficiency. Efforts like Equal Employment Opportunities (EEO) and the affirmative action, EEO prohibits discrimination based on race, color, ethnicity, religion and gender in employment. The affirmative action was meant to compensate for past discrimination, but now diversity is very important to the organization because of the direct correlation with the organizational effectiveness. It is a critical for an organization to enable their employees express rather than suppress their identities and roles they have outside of work. Save Race-Related Jokes for Later If the joke you want to tell at work includes a rabbi, a priest or a black guy, save it for home. Many jokes about race, religion and culture involve stereotypes. Accordingly, the work place isn’t the best place to share them. Even racial banter between colleagues from the same background can be off putting to others. Some people disapprove of racial humor, no matter the source of it. So, consider telling race-based jokes to be inappropriate behavior at work. Keep Stereotypes to Yourself Stereotypes about racial groups abound. While working, it’s necessary to check your race-based assumptions at the door. Say you think all Latinos are good at a...
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...Aaliyah Perry The Great Debaters The Great Debaters is a true story of the Debate Team consisting of four students and their professor from Wiley College, in Marshall, Texas. As an all-black school, Wiley College during the 1930’s trained young minds to believe in themselves and to use their educated minds to change the hearts and minds of society, to establish peace, and maintain human dignity, tolerance and acceptance for all people. No matter the color of their skin, origin of their birth, language they speak, or their occupational role in society. The story of The Great Debaters takes place at a time in America’s history when things were starting to change for both Whites and African Americans. The moral call for freedom, equality, and justice for all was beginning to resonate throughout the country. The students, James Farmer, Jr who was only 14 years old, Henry Lowe, and Samantha Booke, learn to lead through civil discussions using their minds as weapons and not violence. Under the direction of English Professor Melvin B. Tolson, these three students become the Wiley College Debate Team of 1935-36. This film also shows an understanding of how Professor Tolson sees these students potential as individuals and as a team. Progress is made one victory at a time. Under the intense and encouraging guidance of Professor Tolson, the students learn to speak with clarity and confidence. They learn to evaluate their own limitations. Defeat becomes an opportunity by which they...
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...beliefs about racial equality as somewhat…“colonized”. I believe his ideas were too ground in the white agenda that was going on in that era. I believe W.E.B DuBois ideas were better for the improvement of African American people in American society. Of these two great men, the first to come along was Booker T. Washington. He was a reformer, an educator and one of the most influential black leaders of his time. He preached the philosophy of racial solidarity, self-help and accommodation. He pushed for black people to accept the vicious discrimination that they were going through for the time being and instead concentrate on advancing themselves through material prosperity and hard work....
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...History Essay Contrasting the Proposals of Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois United States History 1828 - 1914 Instructor Stewart King Clackamas Community College February 7, 2012 Accommodation vs. Integration In March of 1895, Booker T. Washington delivered his now famous Atlanta Compromise Speech. In brief, Washington proposed that blacks accept segregation and focus on getting jobs rather than demanding equality. He also proposed that blacks concentrate on learning trades and how to work with their hands – not necessarily in becoming book smart. Perhaps even more central to his message, Washington argued that if blacks focused on equality they would never make it anywhere in society. In short, Washington’s policy was one of accommodation and not rocking the boat. (Washington) Washington was very clear about what he felt black intentions should be, stating that blacks should only be seeking opportunity – not for the right to integrate with white society. He wanted white society to see the good in all black people, and not as a threat to their way of life. Eight years later, W.E.B. offered a critique of Washington’s proposal. While DuBois respected Washington as a black leader, he felt that his policy of accommodation was holding back the black race. Contrary to Washington, DuBois felt that "the right to vote," "civic equality," and "the education of youth according to ability" were essential for African American progress. (DuBois) ...
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...The Quest for Equality Debbie Werley U.S. History 1312 Dr. Wendell Hunnicut Final Essay March 21, 2012 Although the United States was founded on the ideal that all men are created equal, many Americans throughout our history have not enjoyed this privilege. Several issues, such as voting rights, labor equality, and equal opportunities in education have faced minorities and women in our country. Many gains in improving equality have been made. Voting rights for all Americans, improvement in workplace discrimination, and equal opportunities in education are some examples of these gains. Various prominent citizens have worked diligently throughout our history to accomplish equality for these groups using different methods. Some of these methods have worked better than others. Boycotts, peaceful marches and courtroom battles were some of the methods that brought better results. Many equality issues have affected minorities and women in our country. The fight for the right to vote was long and difficult for both groups. Although the Fifteenth Amendment was ratified in 1870, granting all black men voting rights, (Jones et al, 2009, 373) it was not until after World War II that this right was realized. Women’s suffrage was an even longer battle. Begun in 1866, when women reformers attempted to secure this right along with African American’s right to vote, women would not gain the vote until ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920 (Jones et al, 2009, 476). Equality...
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