Rihelia Pick- They donât care about us by Michael Jackson
When talking about the song and the purpose Michael Jackson said âThe song is in fact about the pain of prejudice and hate and is a way to draw attention to social and political problems.â I believe this ties into a lot of overall themes we saw in each chapter (some more then others) and I think if there was a song that best represents this class it would be this one
Sanai Pick Treacherous by Lil Durk
In class we discussed uneven development where every one comes from different or no opportunities. This song describes coming from a poor neighborhood and trying to rise above that. Being in a violent or poor community isnât reassuring to many when it comes to thinking about your future. The artist is showcasing you can come from anywhere and be as successful as you please as he describes his unfortunate experiences.
Team Pick- Black or White By Michael Jackson
We have covered race and ethnicity a lot in this class and I believe especially since we are learning about these topics in an hbcu the meaning of the song is incredibly relevant to the class as a whole
*This interview was conducted with the full consent of all parties involved and as per the directions the intervieweeâs identity will be kept anonymous*
In this chapter we have learned a lot about immigrants and their struggles and I have come to realize because I am second generation American I never really had a lot of the struggles a lot of my family has had to deal with. I don't have a strong accent, I can navigate American culture fairly well, and it is really easy for me to adapt. Because of all of these factors I never really thought about how it would be for someone who has immigrated here and all of the struggles that come with that despite the close proximity I have to immigrants. I believe this close minded view comes from the fact I know what I know and I just assumed everyone else knows as well. Common sense to me isn't what common sense is to others because of cultural differences. In order to open my mind up I decided to interview a person very close to me .
Haiti in the 80s
Why she came- (push and pull factors)
The person I interviewed was born and raised in Haiti in Port-au-Prince. Contrary to popular belief, and according to her it was a beautiful island with safe neighborhoods, beautiful flowers and delicious food. She never struggled there or worried for her safety as her family was well off prior to the changes in presidents 3 years after she came to America. Her move to America was simply one for a new change. She has six brothers and four sisters and at the age of 19 in 1983 (4 years before she gave birth to her first child) and she and one of her brothers made the journey to America. They settled in Ivy Hill Newark, New Jersey which was a vastly different place then what it is now. Back then it was a diverse place with nice households and families who made a decent income so none of her struggles ever came from where she lived before or after immigrating.
America in the 80s
Her struggles- (bridges and barriers)
Even though they had no trouble immigrating here location wise, many things were very difficult for them. Prior to coming to America, in Haiti she learned english however due to the different pronunciations when she came to America she couldnât understand people very well and they couldn't understand her due to a heavy accent that she still has to this day. She could write in english perfectly however that could only get you so far. So she started school here but due to her age at the time she learned at night schools and worked during the day. Soon after her brother moved down to Florida and she stayed in New Jersey alone until she met her husband. Until then she had to deal with the judgment a lot of immigrants faced back then, she speaks creole french and english fluently and she was still looked down on. She embraced American culture while simultaneously keeping her own, people didn't like the fact she wasnât fully americanized. She has an accent so people undermine her intelligence constantly. She was able to build a whole new life in a whole new place despite knowing no one and still people looked down on her. And I can only imagine how that must've been.
Present-
She has been in America forty years and she is still constantly true to herself and culture. She has three kids and four grandchildren. Most of her siblings have now immigrated here and her parents are no longer with her. Despite being in America most of her life you wouldn't be able to tell by watching her, she has a strong accent and practices her culture more than anyone I know. And even with all that has been thrown at her she has made a comfortable life for herself here and has worked as a nurse and raised successful kids.
As an economic system, one of the effects of capitalism is that it breeds competition between countries and perpetuates poverty among devel.
Marxâs idea of social class was the proletariat were the working class. These were the people who did a task(s) in return for a wage, whereas on the opposite side of that we had the bourgeoisie who owned the means of production such as factories, money and/or land. In his theory we had the workers who were essentially the lower class and the âownersâ the upper class. The news story above coincides with Marxâs theory in the way that it shows the difference between the workers and the rich/owners lifestiles/ ideals about similar things. And this shows the inequality overall globally because of these capitalistic societies where rich people stay rich and poor people stay poor and work for said rich people.
PIERRE BOURDIEU
Moreover, many rappers come from impoverished neighborhoods and realize that, if they donât seize the opportunity to make music that sells w
Bourdieuâs idea of social class was similar to Marxs. He believed it was made up into three different factors, economic, social and cultural capital. His was a more specific theory where economic capital is recognizing who money can make a group have certain powers, Social recognized the advantages on would have based on family and social standing and Cultural was the more complex theory where we are taught by the society around us when we are young. The news story above coincides with Bourdieuâs theory in the way that it shows cultural capital. Because of how we are taught to see certain things as a poor or uneducated thing and others as a wealthy and intelligent thing certain things aew looked down upon and stigmatized. One of these things happen to be the music genre that is rap/hip hop. And his theory explains why we see it the way we do.
MAX WEBER
A New York Times investigative report delved into allegations that Amazon has been systematically shortchanging workers on their paychecks.
In his idea of social class there were three ways to power in society which were class,status and organized power. Much like Bourdieu he believed in class in a similar but more complex way then Marx. He goes on to define power in society and say how power is the key to life and the unequal distribution of power is how inequality happens. He distinguished between class, status and party which is organized power. The news story above coincides with Weber's theory in the way that it shows organized power systems controlling the way inequality happens, making the top stay at the top and the working class continue to work. Amazon is a multi-billion cooperation that exploits workers and keeps the rich rich. This a system of organized power.
My family tree when looked at could be confusing because of missing parts on one side. My family from the side I know originated from Haiti in the late 70-80s. They came to America for better opportunities and to grow their family. They started in Florida until eventually settling down in New Jersey. The last two generations of my family have been born and raised in the United States. However due to deceased family members and my family members inability to speak about said family members I am left at a loss. I know similarly to my Haitian side my dad's side immigrated from the Dominican Republic around the same time for the same reasons. And My grandmother's parents never left Haiti. In America my mom met my dad in highschool and had me and my siblings. My Great Aunts and Uncles all found love here in America as well and as far as I know focused on growing their businesses. My uncle remains unmarried because of how young he is and my aunt went to Haiti for a church retreat where she met my uncle and had my cousins. As a whole my family can be found in Florida, California and New Jersey (with the exception of me because I'm in Maryland for College). Every person in my family is tight knit as thats what our family values are and how we were raised.
My family has been in America for around 40ish years as far as I know of on both sides.
My grandmother grew up in Haiti and moved here to America at the age of seventeen where she met my grandfather who is also haitian (and alot more âAmericanâ). After this they ended up in New Jersey where i would spend all of my life and gave birth to my mother in 1987. They briefly moved to California where they gave birth to my aunt in 1992 but ended up moving back to New Jersey to give birth to their final child and my uncle in 1995. My family has held on to our culture as best they could by speaking French and Creole which I unfortunately cannot speak and by cooking our cultures food however I would say we are a family that has embraced American Nationalism. We have for the most part adapted American customs into our life. We integrate our American and ethnic identity in the way we speak, cook and live. My mother (first generation american) and siblings along with their kids are very âAmericanizedâ as most people would put it in the way we dress and speak. Unfortunately there is not much I can say about the history on my fathers side because of estranged relationships with his family and the fact he is no longer with us for me to be able to ask but as far as I am aware it is around the same on that side.
Hiyyih deserve the world đâ€ïžđ #hueningbahiyyih #kep1er #kep1erot9 #xyzbca #kpop #fypă·
Miscegenation is when a person is born from parents with two or more different racial backgrounds it is more commonly known as a person being of mixed race and we see not only mixed people but a multitude of different reactions to mixed people in the media. An example of different treatments of mixed people in the media would be the comparison in how Olivia rodrigo and H.E.R are treated in the media. While both or mixed with Filipino Olivia is mixed with white and is more generally accepted in the Philippines while H.E.R a person mixed with black is less accepted. This is due to her proximity to blackness and that being seen as inferior. . Another case would be Bahiyyih from a newly popular debuted k-pop group âKeplerâ Bahiyyih is white and Korean and due to her not being fully Korean she is often the victim of racist comments and treatment by the Korean public simply because she is mixed(see vid above where at a fan meet she recibes no gifts from fans which rarely happens)
2-Hypodecendent
Hypodecendent more commonly known and referred to as one drop rule is where a person who is mixed or even has a little bit of blood from another race is considered the âinferiorâ race. This stems back from slavery when slave masters would rape slaves and the child that would result from that would be considered and treated as a fully black person. An example of this in the media would be zendaya, a person who is mixed but is often referred to as black in the media and in black spaces.
3- White privilege
Lessons people of color have taught me that changed my lifeâand could change yours too.
The article above very accurately depicts and explains white privilege. Where a person has advantages in society simply because they are white. Itâs is not something they can control because the system was made for white people to essentially thrive thatâs not to say people of color cannot thrive or all white people so end up thriving but it points out that the system if built for them to have the advantages they do based on their race
4-White supremacy
'There's no minimum safe number of hardcore white supremacists that we can have, as even one can go out and commit an atrocity' â Here's how
White supremacy is the belief that being white is right and white is the superior race. White supremacist are racist people who use old biased misinformation to project their racism onto non-white people. This belief has been the backing of so many horrific things in the world such as slavery, segregation and colonization. Itâs a belief that still is prevalent today like the reactions. Unfortunately as mentioned in my previous key term we live in a society that caters to white people where white supremacy more or less controls the rules and institutions of America. We see this in the health care system where black peoples pain is treated differently and searching up diseases will have it on white people, we see this in the education systems where more funding goes to pwi. Not only that but we also see groups with large followings such as confederates, the kkk, proud boys etc. showing white supremacy is very much alive and prevalent. And it remains as a space where racists can be racist comfortably.
5- Institutional Racism
COVID-19 has revealed stark, but wholly familiar, racial inequities in health
Institutional racism, âalso known as systemic racism, is a form of racism that is embedded in the laws and regulations of a society or an organization.â (Wikipedia) it uses white supremacy to make laws and dictate how people of color are treated in all different areas. Because of how embedded in our system it is it is difficult for most people to see how things are institutionally racist because of how ânormalâ it might be. But itâs not and it is something thatâs should be combated.
6-Microaggressions
When will yâall realize that saying that we are unapproachable and intimidating is a #microaggression đ€ #blackatwork #truestory
Microaggressions are indirect, subtle, or unintentional discrimination against members of a marginalized group. These are sky remarks or actions that are indirectly racists and have people questioning if they are over reacting by calling it racists. Things like touching a person with curly have without approval and saying things like âso where are you really fromâ and âis that your real hairâ are forms of microaggressions. These things show people of color that they are being perceived as a stereotype or the person saying it has many stereotypes they are projecting onto the person in the reviving end. These are uncomfortable to endure but often times pointing it out is met with a lot of push back and denial. And as of now there is little done to stop microaggressions in professional settings.
Doing this assignment has allowed me to do a lot of self reflection. I own triple the things that I just want over things I actually need and even then the things that I need can be argued as a want. I have realized how privileged I am to be able to have so many amazing things that I want and donât need. I also learned that everything in my room, no matter how trivial, serves a huge purpose to me and that it would be hard to part with anything.
Prior to the invention of any light bulbs at all oil lamps were used to light homes and such. Light Bulbs now are a stable in every building, street, car etc. They are in everything from rooms to fridges to lamps and so on. They are vital for our day to day life in a more âquietâ way. Thomas Edison has also been known and taught as the person who had invented the lightbulb however through further research I have found that that simply is not the case. The earliest versions of light bulbs (electric light) was created by a man name Humpry Davy in 1802 over 60 years before Edison however as it was the first it was understandably unpractical. In 1850 (20 years before Edison) an English physicist named Joseph Wilson Swan created a âlight bulbâ and many more people after would make their versions until Edison patented the one we know today as the one he âinventedâ.
The lightbulb I have was made and manufactured in China most likely due to cost saved by the company and the amount they'd have to pay their workers. In my life I never go anywhere where there isn't a lightbulb as with most people. I use to see in my fridge at my house and if I go out after dark , the one in my room specifically helps me with taking care of my hedgehog, cleaning my room, seeing my homework etc. without it I think it'd be very difficult to adapt because of how dependent I am on it. In the US factory workers are the most directly involved with the making of this product and if what I know about factory workers from videos and news sources is corrected then they are unfortunately underpaid and overworked which leads to a bigger and more unfortunate issue in today's society.
This shows uneven development because there are disparities in how different sides are treated and what they gain economically so half of the community is developed whereas the other half is not
This shows flexible accumulation because as McDonaldâs has gotten bigger they have expanded their business to different parts of the world to increase profit
This relates to Time Space Compression because Now people are able to send messages instantly where as a couple of hundreds of years ago it wouldâve taken longer.
