a role in addressing the institutionalized racism of the U.S.A.
The Birmingham Campaign of 1963 was important in the Civil Rights Movement because it was what put MLK on the map. Birmingham had suffered from extreme segregation and racism and the civil liberties of African Americans were regularly being violated (Garrow). The Southern Christian Leadership Conference had identified Birmingham as a potential place in need of support, as blacks were extremely underrepresented in law enforcement—i.e., there were no blacks on the police force in a city that was half African-American (Garrow). Blacks were routinely paid… Continue Reading...
of Hawaiian History” have also been instrumental in helping to dismantle institutionalized racism and the pedagogical, curricular vestiges that perpetuate the colonial mentality (Trask, 1999, p. 188). At times, classes like these seem reactive rather than proactive, as students recognize microaggressions and other subtle ways white hegemony is perpetuated on campus, by both students and faculty.
In addition to the creation of the Hawaiian studies department, students and faculty at the University of Hawaii have been able to empower themselves through community activism and campus leadership. Trask describes student government groups like Make’e Pono and Kalai Po, and the roles they… Continue Reading...
Institutionalized Racism
The term “institutionalized racism” might not have existed when Woodson penned his book. Woodson nevertheless pins the tail on the donkey. He recognizes that the inferior economic status of the African American, the paucity of African Americans in positions of power, and the slow pace of development among African American communities can be traced to mis-education. Woodson also knows that education in early childhood lays the important foundations for identity development. Even if the African American goes on to attend college or university, the institutionalized racism continues in… Continue Reading...
institutionalized racism, unequal power structures, and discrimination.
One of the strengths of Garza’s article is the way the author puts #BlackLivesMatter into perspective, showing how the movement is both similar to but radically different from other social justice causes. #BlackLivesMatter is similar to other movements that draw attention to institutionalized racism or sexism, and aim to correct those problems through a combination of communication and political strategies. Garza shows how #BlackLivesMatter fits into the Black Liberation movement in general. However, #BlackLivesMatter differs from other movements in that it focuses on… Continue Reading...
readers to take action or learn more about issues like institutionalized poverty, institutionalized racism, the perpetuation of the housing crisis, and systematic economic exploitation. The people Desmond profiles lack the power to stimulate change, and yet through collective action and self-empowerment it becomes possible to foresee policy change or at least normative changes in addressing the needs of the poor.
As the title suggests, Evicted focuses on the causes and ramifications of both legal and quasi-legal evictions that take place with alarming frequency. By conducting field research separately in predominantly white and predominantly black neighborhoods, Desmond also shows how race factors into… Continue Reading...
rights deprivation remain problems in spite of all the laws and legislation preventing discrimination. No matter what the Constitution says, and many decades after passing the fifteenth amendment, institutionalized racism remains real and was so even more poignantly during the days of Jim Crow. Fannie Lou Hamer spoke out against racism in America on the cusp of the Civil Rights movement, at a critical moment in American history. Delivered to a community meeting in 1964, Hamers speech Were On Our Way motivates her audience to take action and demand all rights and freedoms rather than passively accept oppression.
One of the cornerstone themes of Hamers address is the need to be… Continue Reading...
that were captured and put to work as slaves in the colonies, institutionalized racism remained a dark part of American politics and society for centuries. Americans saw Africans as property and resented the wave of Chinese immigrants that came for the promise of work in gold-rich California. The resentment of these new immigrants became so strong that during the 1850’s, an anti-Catholic, anti-immigrant political party formed to severely curb immigration. They succeeded in putting a presidential candidate up for election in 1956 (Millard Filmore) and were able to dominate the political climate of Massachusetts, generating a formidable power there. “Their most spectacular… Continue Reading...
1994). Yet even after Reconstruction, African Americans struggled to participate in the American economy due to persistent and institutionalized racism that permeated political and social life (Tate, 1997). As a result, African American economic, political, and social history has largely been one of struggle—the attempt to achieve parity through democratic means such as social protest, legislative and legal challenges, and via the persistent attainment of upward mobility via various means including education and dominance in the creative arts.
Current social status of African American culture in general has fluctuated, with tremendous strides being made on all fronts: political, social, and economic (Thernstrom & Thernstrom, 1998). Income gaps have… Continue Reading...
Americans and indeed all non-whites in America. The experience of institutionalized racism does persist in America, evidenced by high profile cases like the Trayvon Martin shooting. Second, the slogan’s use of the word “lives” stresses the existential issues at stake: black lives are literally being lost in a discriminatory social, legal and political landscape. Finally, the word “matter” calls attention to the meaningfulness of the movement but more significantly of the ways black and white lives have historically been valued differently in America—a vestige of slavery and Jim Crow.
Drawing attention to the emotional content of the movement, the image… Continue Reading...
have worked to dismantle systematic and institutionalized racism at its root and offer reparations, helping to pave the way for social justice. Instead, generation after generation of African Americans have had to fight for basic human rights and continue to do so until this day.
Post Modern
2. How did the end of the Cold War impact perceptions of ordinary crime as well as crime spending?
The Cold War allowed Americans to focus their attentions on a simple bogeyman: Communism. With communism framed as “public enemy number one,” politicians could easily market themselves to Americans as… Continue Reading...
debate helped to showcase the need to take action—affirmative action—to conscientiously and constructively solve the problem of institutionalized racism.
In a KFVE news show entitled “Island Issues,” two professors from the University of Hawaii talk about the need for affirmative action and how it can be put into practice at the senior levels of education. Professors Marion Kelly and Mimi Sharma focus on faculty diversity as opposed to student body diversity. The professors debate the host of “Island News” about some of the misconceptions about affirmative action. Those misconceptions include the “quality” question, a position that takes the short-range vision. The quality question is related to the… Continue Reading...
