A huge focus of this course is to analyze the evolution of race and racism over time. As we prepare to explore whether Philadelphia was a "Haven "for free Blacks in the Antebellum era, we must revisit racial thinking and the way it impacts the manner in which people interact today. As people, we only have the option to change behavior or ways of being when we are conscious of what motivates thoughts and interactions. Law has a significant impact on how we relate, but much of that law is only as meaningful as the way it is actually enacted or enforced (de facto: in reality).
In class we discussed the racial milieu of modern day in American society. So much has happened in just the last couple weeks. The latest murder of Jordan Davis, eerily similar to that of Trayvon Martin under Florida's "Stand your Ground" law is nowhere near an isolated incident. Here is the digest of what we briefly reviewed in class:
- "Black Boy Interrupted." (Deductive Reasoning)
- "Dear Black Boys." (Racial Inversion)
- Racist Instagram posts @ Drexel University
- Lynching/KKK Parody at NJ High School.
It makes me question what direction our nation is taking in terms of "racial reconciliation." Sure we may have a Black President representing all Americans and social equality de jure (by law); but, it makes me question how that translates into supporting a society that accepts difference over promoting the privileged position of only desirable identities within American society. I want to believe America will live out the promise of its stated creed...that "We the People" be more inclusive of the diversity of these United States rather than excluding of those implicitly perceived as undesirable by a system driven my politics and policies unduly influenced by Institutional Racism (Wise, 2008).
17 comments:
This comment isn't really addressing the questions at the end of the blog post... This is more about the interview with Jesse Williams and the Davis case and the comparison to the Trayvon case that we talked about today in class. I say this with the most respectful meaning possible, but how someone takes this is up to them. Cases like these, interracial crimes, get to me. I think when it is a person of color who is the victim and the murderer is white, people of color are so quick to say "oh, woe is me, woe is our color, woe is our people" and play the race card. People are also so quick to judge whites and say WE throw out the race card but in cases like these it is the other way around. Mr. Jobs, when you heard Justine, Nicolette, and me speaking about double standards, this is kind of what we were talking about. I get very heated with subjects like these because I believe that people, not even just colored people, need to stop playing the "victim" so often and take a look at cases from BOTH sides. Most of the time, people are completely blinded by the interracial concept of crimes so they immediately jump to the victim's side and take it without seeing the issue from both ends and they have nothing to back it up with. I kind of feel that the "Black Boy Interrupted" piece we read in class today had this victimized feeling and it brings me back to the question of "are blacks helpless victims of enslavement?". The answer was no. So, no, people of color are not the helpless victims in these crimes, at least not all the time. Why are they the focus? How about the case where black kids drug a white teen by the back of their car, driving around, and then set him on fire? Does that not matter? It is NOT about color, it is about what is RIGHT. It is about justice. No one seems to realize this. So I thought maybe I should throw this comment out there for people to think about. I'd like to say sorry in advance for anyone I offended in any way if there are any.
India on the Drexel Intragram Post:
I believe the post is unnecessary for various reasons and many people especially blacks have a reason to be outraged at this post on instagram. For starters, if it wasn't anything to be concerned about it wouldn't have went viral. I believe the way that Jessica Sarkisian put it up wasn't the best way to say it. The way she said it is as if she needed to take the time out to worship black people was one wrong and then to say “its that time of the year again” and give “thanks” for without us that their fields would be ploughed. These certain points that she says in the captions forms a sort of racism joke toward African Americans because of the how they use to treat us in history of enslavement. I believe this post is inappropriate and disrespectful not only to African Americans but to the girl who Sarkisian posted the picture of, if anything I would feel embarrassed. I would feel embarrassed to have this disrespectful girl as a friend and if anything correct on her on African American History ASAP and not justify this post as others are saying because its like a clown showing off for a circus. I believe her apology is strongly necessary for this disrespect brung to the school and her friend.
Even as Lea argues that it is not based on race, which was a good argument I still feel that that race plays a part. With the Jordan Davis case, it made me feel that if the races were switched things would be completely different. First, the guy probably wouldn't have been convicted as easy as Dunn was. Second, I think more people would have be upset about it if a black man killed a white boy over loud music and said it was in self defense. It's sad to say or even think that our society is like this but it is. I feel that this continues to happen in society because not enough people are taking notice and doing something about it. This situation says that the racial milieu in America today may still be unfair, but I honestly still may need more evidence to completely support.
But on the other hand, like Jesse Williams said in the "Jesse Williams tells JMV: I'm outraged" video,it's not only a black people problem it's a society problem. Meaning, regardless if a black boy was killed by a white man or a white boy killed by a black man, everyone should be outraged because a life was lost over a situation that didn't seem genuine (by genuine I mean like whether it was really self defense or not). This relates to African American History because later on in the future the murders of Trayvon Martin and Jordan Davis could be analyzed and debated on. Also, if need be maybe these murders and possible other events may spark a protest that could make a difference and be historical.
Dunn claims he thought he saw Jordon Davis with a gun and that Davis threatened him. If Dunn saw Davis with a gun he should have called the police. Dunn had no right to fire any bullets let alone ten. The 17 year old boy didn’t have a gun on him it turned out and his poor parents have to mourn their child. He was too young, his life barely even started yet. This is related to Trayvon Martin case. Zimmerman thought Trayvon was dangerous and called 911. In the call he made a racial slur against blacks. The authorities said to not act and to let them check it out. Zimmerman did not listen, he shot and killed Trayvon. Not only do these cases have to do with racism but I think some people are just looking for their fifteen minutes of fame. Zimmerman and Dunn tried to act as heroes to protect people from so called “dangerous” figures. Especially Zimmerman, he did not want the authorities to steal his spot light he couldn’t leave to them to handle it. He wanted to be hero. Maybe he wanted to impress the cops. Maybe he thought it would get him an upgrade from being just the neighborhood watch. Ideas go to people’s heads and it leads to bad decisions.
In the video the reporter says there is a two way streak in our law system. The rich and famous get treated better than the rest of us. It takes a case to get famous for us the people to hear about it. The tv show star says “ Blacks are a victim of the fantasy of what the black body does and can do has become more important than the reality and we pay for it with our lives”. There is always going to be racist people unfortunately. Throughout the years racism has decreased. Hopefully in future it will cease to exist.
The day after we talked about the “Lynching/KKK Parody at NJ High School” I saw fox news discussing the case. The boys in wrestling team claim that the dummy only came in dark leather and it was supposed to represent suicide not lynching. I am not really buying that they saw nothing racist in what they done. In the picture two boys had hoods up and this is a stereo type about African Americans. Hopefully these boys had gotten a wakeup call after seeing how many people were offended by their action. A lesson should have been learned through this.
Most of the time, people are completely blinded by the interracial concept of crimes so they immediately jump to the victim's side and take it without seeing the issue from both ends and they have nothing to back it up with. I kind of feel that the "Black Boy Interrupted" piece we read in class today had this victimized feeling and it brings me back to the question of "are blacks helpless victims of enslavement?". The answer was no. So, no, people of color are not the helpless victims in these crimes, at least not all the time. Why are they the focus? How about the case where black kids drug a white teen by the back of their car, driving around, and then set him on fire? Does that not matter? It is NOT about color, it is about what is RIGHT. It is about justice. No one seems to realize this. So I thought maybe I should throw this comment out there for people to think about. I'd like to say sorry in advance for anyone I offended in any way if there are any.
i agree with lea.. and savannah.. i feel as these crimes are okay with society because no one is saying anything or taking a stand..i mean putting on Facebook and like this and such are not going to make a change. a change can only be done trough work and progress without it its nothing.. just sympathy post and such. i feel like there's still alot of racial things going on. white vs. black type and people think its funny but to me its rude, stupid and arrogant. no one race is better than any other race we all have our weaknesses and our strengths.
Most blogs I have read sound very good but I have to agree with Nicolette the most. First of all Dunn should of called the police, there was no reason for Dunn to fire any gun shots at the boy. Maybe if the boy pulled out a weapon and threatened Dunn to kill him, but there was nothing, the boy was completely innocent. Now the innocent boys parents have to take a big loss to them over some complete nonsense that should of not happened. Both Dunn’s case and George Zimmerman’s were similar with older men committing a crime to a younger individual over somewhat of a misunderstanding. It seems like both of these guys wanted to become some kind of a hero, but in the real world they are causing more problems. “The rich and famous get treated better then us” that is nonsense, all human beings with a living pulse should have the right to be treated equally as In our amendments. These men want to become famous just over killing somebody. Another quote “ Blacks are a victim of the fantasy of what the black body does and can do has become more important than the reality and we pay for it with our lives”, which informs us there will always be racist people out there in our world and it will never be fixed. Statistics have stated the rate of racism has decreased; hopefully our world can stay like this and continue to decrease. As Theresia states when people put information on Facebook about these cases and people expect this is okay, we need to take a stand. I agree with that 100%. It has been said all around the world that blacks and white problems and being separate cases but in my opinion it is still happening and it always will; which is very unfortunate.
To this day, people are still victims of being questioned and accused of doing things just because of their race. Knowing this is very unsettling and makes me feel very uncomfortable because it is simply not fair to those people who are being seen as guilty when they are really innocent. For example, Greys Anatomy actor, Jesse Williams states, “…this fantasy of what the Black body does and can do has become more important than the reality, and we pay for it with our lives, and it’s disconcerting, obviously.” This famous actor is one example of how false accusations and actions that support inequality affect people on a day to day basis. Williams refers to this as an “American problem, a societal problem” and not one specific races’ problem (i.e., a Black problem).
Cases today continue to affect society. For example, as mentioned in class and relating to the Jordan Davis case, many young Black boys are being robbed of the opportunity to grow up. Children should not have to deal with the fear that their childhood could be stolen from them.
I do believe that one of the only ways to begin to see change is through people and their actions. People must continue to fight in society. As mentioned in class, when people argue over things that become very personal, it becomes bloody and gets violent. This does not necessarily have to mean actual violence as in war. There will always be opinionated people, however, this does not mean that society can and will not change.
I agree with all of these blogs. If Dunn had seen a gun in the car, he should of called the police. He had witnessed a gun with a minor. But instead he shot ten bullets into a car filled with many minors. There was no proof he was harassed, but there was proof that Dunn committed murder. If Dunn was being harassed, violence shouldn't have been the first idea. I truly hope Dunn is proven guilty and spends the rest of his life in prison (I don't believe in the death penalty).
The racist picture that happened in Jersey scares me. It is awful to know a state next to us still thinks like this. The picture was not funny at all. If the boys thought it was, they should of kept it to themselves and not posted it. I feel that every high school student needs to go through the teachings of African American history. I think it should become mandatory for every high school in at least the USA. We can later start to work our way up with the countries. I feel as if a person is opened to these types of conversations and lessons their thoughts would change so much more, and less of these stories would happen. We are the future and we all have a say that matters. If we are all more open to these topics I feel as though there would be a change in society....a better change.
The Jordan Davis case, much like the Trayvon Martin case, has more symbolic value than legal impact. These cases were reminders of how the justice system has long been systematically manipulated so that a small group of people (typically well-off white, males) come out on top. However, the multiple reasons as to why the ineffectiveness of the judicial system has not caused outrage include that people are either unsympathetic to the murders or convictions of black and brown men, they are unaware of the severity of the issue because of there being less coverage of these cases or the people who are outraged are either afraid or don't have the resourcecs to spread the word. These factors decrease the amount of comfort people have in discussing issues related to race and this leads to there being an atmosphere where stifling and supression are normal. If you think about this in an imaginative way, the state of the country is like the aftermath of a breakup. The fighting or rebelling may have died down but the tension left over from it is still present. Black laws that kept blacks from moving into white neighborhoods, or getting good jobs or having more a say in legal affairs are no longer blatantly expressed in laws but in reality, these things still happen and societal pressure is one of the main reasons why loopholes still exist in the law. But, when Jesse Williams says, "I think people are tired of this criminalization of the black body...this is a tradition in this country." he expresses a feeling similar to how black felt in during the antebellum period and a reaction parallel to my own. But, if we as a class want to help change the outcome of these racially fueled crimes and cases the best thing to do is to educate ourselves and find out where the seeds of racism have been planted so that we can understand the thorns that continue to hinder black and brown society today.
I think the Michael Dunn is wrong. HE IS WRONG. There was just a couple of African American teenagers in a truck listening to music after they got finished playing basketball. By the way, in Philadelphia there are people that blast their music out loud, whether if they were black, Asian, or white. In addition, Dunn went to a liquor store and he was still drunk. The boys refused to listen to him and Dunn just opened fire. Dunn could've just easily walked away but no he wanted to kill people instead. They didn't do anything to him. They were just minding their on business. Just like the Trayvon Martin case. Trayvon was minding his own busy and he got shot, just because he had a hood on his head.
There's the same question that sparks controversy, "what if the teens were white and the man was black?". You have to wonder, if a case like this would still be talked about if the races were switched. It's time for a change, its getting annoying and irritating hearing about these types of stories. I agree with Savannah that this continues to happen in society because not enough people are taking notice and doing something about it. The racial milieu in America, until this day its still unfair. ITS TIME FOR A CHANGE!
I agree with Savannah 100% . I mean I totally understand where Lea is coming from. But let's look at a fact, no matter the color if skin, a life was lost. But to be honest, if the Dunn situation was flipped, it would have been more consequences for one and for two, the media would've made it seem like the whole world was coming to an end. I believed this is absolutely similar to the trayvon Martin case , because he as well didn't get the proper justice he deserved.
@Lea I understand where you're coming from about "the race card". but let's just say you robbed a bank wearing all black and a ski mask. ( I know this is off topic, but just using an example) you robbed a bank, and get away, and I just so happened to be walking while the cops pulled up. We're like the same height sooooo I fit the description and get arrested. Case closed. My point is, going back and forth with these damn blogs is not going to make a difference in today's society, because at the end of the day, in the real world, and life outside of "GAMP" people always look at the color of skin.
Rae is something that's has been happening forever, and it still exists today. It's not going nowhere, but like someone said earlier, "it's how people are made". It's obviously something that still goes on in today's society.
"It's not a black people problem, it's a society problem." It relates to African American history today because just as justice wasn't served for Emmet Till in 1955, it wasn't served for Trayvon Martin in 2012/2013 or The Dunn case in 2013.
Now In this generation, when any individual thinks of the Jordan Davis case; the first thought in the back of their heads is the Treyvon Martin Case. For anyone, this is a very common and devastating moment in everyone's lives. Racism is one of the most well known and most dangerous paths because of the scars that could forever burn in an innocent life. This started a aggressive rumor that maybe we still are in the antebellum era and we just didn't know it. America Has a dark history of Racism, even though it also had historical leaders that spread a message to the world to prove that racism is a terrifying thing and possibly a nghtmare. In the roaring 20s to the early 50s racism became also an economic downfall. There was white supremacy when it came to wealth. We created solid laws that were supposed to be very clear about the moral law of never to become a racist. The worst part of this terrible news is the fact that it came from people who were supposed to protect us. this causes an outrage.
I agree with what many of the blogs are saying. I do not believe that in this case violence is the answer, it isn't the answer in any case as a matter of fact. Dunn should of called the police when he realized the gun. There was no reason for Dunn to fire any gun shots at the car filled with innocent teens. If there was any reason for self defense if the boy did something then maybe it could have been understandable but not for a reason as stupid as this one.
The picture that we saw of the boys in Jersey standing around a black dummy looking figure hanging from the ceiling to me, was very disturbing. The fact that two of the boys had their hoods up in points showing they are representing the klan makes it even more disturbing, hoe much race their is in that one picture shows how mean the world can be. There was no need to post that picture on the internet and everything you post on the internet is never fully deleted. Over all I think the picture was terrible and not funny in any way. I think it offended a lot of people.
I don't want to say that racism is "STILL" a problem in our society today. I want to say that it did die down but racism is transferred through a different way, in such a way, that people can claim that it was not racism because they say that racism is something else. A lot of things don't disappear I feel like they are only transferred or translated out in a different direction or manner. Racism has not randomly disappeared it has only been changed to a different perception that people can now either claim it as a joke or as a claim to what their so called "rights" are. I love how we supposedly have these rights that our government claims we have. But we are not treated like we have them or we can use them unless in the situation we have done something wrong and are trying to get ourselves out of it. I just think that we the people supposedly have rights but we use them for the wrong purposes.
I can also see where Lea comes from that it is not about color... all the time but saying that they claim with nothing to back it up is wrong. You see many unjustified interracial crimes where a black loses his or her life and gets no justice. But the way I see it... if you just drain the colors out at the end of the day (using a Trayvon Martin case for example) A man still shot a child without a weapon and claimed self defense. He should have went to prison automatically for ending a childs life. Are children not the future of our economy ? I think the racial milieu was a lot worse of course but just because it's not as bad doesn't mean that we should totally ignore the case
When I first heard about the Jordan Davis case I was outraged! Suddenly black people are really “disturbing” the peace in FLORIDA the state where its okay to shoot people who you “feel” are threatening you. I believe the first case which was the Trayvon Martin case was rigged and a smack in the face to black people. I’m confused on how a man can get off FREE with no probation no certain charge at all for killing an unarmed child regardless of a skin color you should be charged for killing someone. I believe if Trayvon Martin was still alive that he would be the one actually getting charged for “trespassing” as George Zimmerman said. If you can't get both of the stories because of a tragic accident then you need to be questioned. I wonder how could people like Michael Vick get thrown in jail for dog fighting or Lauryn Hill get years in jail for not paying taxes, but George Zimmerman get freed for killing someone after being told from the police operator to stay in the car.It actually reminds me of a lyric Tupac once said in the song Changes “cops give a damn about a negroe kill a nigga he's a hero” and thats just what people in Florida are starting to believe that they can be a hero and get away with killing people because of this “Stand Your Ground” law. “Stand your ground law” needs to be prosquitied from the self-defense law book because people are using it as an excuse to kill anyone for what they believe is being threatening like Jordan Davis blasting music. I’m not certain how blasting music can be quite threatening or scare a grown man so much to have to shoot someone. I disagree with what some people said in the comments about when it comes to black people its always about race, did you not forget thats how it all started? African Americans faced their whole lives with fear of being shot to death or hung for even looking at a white person. Laws were the only things added in nothing ever changed we still get treated different, but the people who do it to us don't seem to see the problem because they believe the way they're doing it is right. When someone commented about look at “BOTH” sides well . . .How is that possible when one is not able to speak anymore because death was held upon them by a “self-defensed” person? I believe our community needs to focus more on RIGHTS than skin color because at the end of the day everyone is headed to the same place in the same yard.
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