http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/18/opinion/18rich.htm

This op-ed in the NY Times could not be a better summation of the recent Confederate History Month controversy. Admittedly, I do skim the news for this kind of op-ed piece that argues in favor of acknowledging that slavery did happen and that it was a fundamental reason for the civil war. Call me biased if you must. It is a guilty pleasure to read things with which I agree.

There are many opportunities in this article to ask the question 'why?'. These are questions I have been asking myself for quite some time, and luckily I have chosen the right field of study to get such questions at least partially answered.

• Why are some so adamant about denying that slavery had a big role in the Civil War and the makeup of the Confederacy?
• Was the confederacy good for anyone besides the wealthy plantation owners?
• If John Lewis doesn't have evidence that someone called him an N-word, does that mean there's no longer racism in this country?
• If it was only spittle rather than a full spit that was aimed at Emmanuel Cleaver, does that mean that there's no longer racism in this country?
• Is racism over in this country because we're fine with homophobic slurs against white, not black congressmen?
  
• If this Tea Party movement is not against the rights and liberties of minority groups, shouldn't there be more minority groups represented in the Tea Party?
• What is with the gun fixation?
• If a mob of African Americans were carrying side arms would people be ok with that?
  
• What is with the militia fixation?
• If African Americans were forming a militia would people be ok with that?
  
• What is with the Sarah Palin fixation?
• What is with the Glenn Beck fixation?
  
• Was Michael Steele not fired because he was black?
• Was Michael Steele hired because he was black?
• Does having a party that has 0 African American Congressman and 0 African American Governors think that race is not an issue because it has Michael Steele as the RNC chair, only appointed after Obama's campaign? 
  
• Has too much been made about the issues of African Americans like 52% of the Tea Party protesters feel?
• Can one man be a socialist, a communist, a fascist, and a Nazi all at the same time?
• Do people know what it means to be a socialist, a communist, a fascist, and a Nazi?
  
• If the American flag acts as a prime for conservatism, is someone who is wearing a shirt with an American flag pattern really that conservative or is it just the salience talking?
• Could the American flag also act as a prime for racial bias?
  
• Is it wrong to be prejudiced against other people who might be prejudiced?
• Can one be prejudiced against an entire news network? cough cough Fox News cough
  

Ok, my inquisitiveness and deep seated biases are out in the ether. I beg the indulgence of the public for the automaticity of my cognitive mechanisms, they are after all hard-wired and it would be futile to attempt to alter what God hath bestowed.

If someone has some answers, I would very much appreciate it. 

 

Here's a link to a video about the U.S. Census: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/36101466#36101466

The problem is people are having difficulty filling out the form when they have to choose a "box" or group to identify with. One of the newscasters shares his family's stories. Also, the statistics about Hispanics are interesting too.

What should be done about this issue? How should we address it?

"On February 4, the Fair Housing Justice Center (FHJC) announced the filing of a federal race discrimination lawsuit against a real estate broker, Amelia Lewis, and two housing cooperatives, Silver Beach Gardens Corporation and Edgewater Park Owners Cooperative, Inc., located in the Throgs Neck area of the Bronx, New York."

http://www.nationalfairhousing.org/


     Okay, So I'm not a Realtor, but I have worked in way too many sales jobs already to keep my head above water as a poor student.  I also know that in the last few years if you have to sell your house, GOD BLESS YA, cause its gonna' take awhile.

      With this in mind, how do things like this EVER happen?  Is it really possible that this is some kind of accident?  Lets see, with a name like the "Silver Beach Gardens Corporation", one might assume that this neighborhood co-op is composed of some pretty damn nice places.  Now, to have the means to purchase a nice joint you've either got to make a boat load of money, OR your parents made a boat load and gave you a good share of it.

     Regardless, lets assume that most of these people actually earned their money, which as research has shown over and over how education and income share a strong correlation.  This means that many of these folks must have gone to college, and were required to take some of the same courses you were.

     You'd think that SOME of these folks would think to themselves "Hey, you know what, our neighborhood is flippin pale, I wonder why that is?" 

OR maybe this is not the case, maybe it was a simple oversight, due to an antiquated protocol that overlooks such things.  But really?  Its safe to assume that many of these folks had to get the same 3 letters of recommendation from current owners to be able to purchase THEIR place, so doesn't that mean that this place is solely inhabited by all the "cool kids" from high school that still wear their "Senior Keg 1992" t-shirt while mowing the lawn?

This whole thing perplexes me...and I'm not sure how to best address this sort of issue?  I mean, what are you going to do, enforce affirmative action for buying homes?

Jeesh.... 

 

 

Author Tim Wise does an excellent job describing the state of racism in America (both before the age of Obama and during his 2008 presidential campaign). Wise's book is broken down into two main parts, or essays as he describes it. The first is an overview of racism and discrimination in America, citing both explicit and subtle forms of racism within the realms of employment and income, housing, education, criminal justice and law, health care, and even going into great detail of the inequality demonstrated during hurricane Katrina in 2006 and the 2008 presidential campaign. This portion of the book was mainly aimed at getting across the point that racism in America is still going strong, despite the fact that statistics show that most white Americans believe Obama's election as our president signals the end of racism in our country. Wise argues that although the election of a black man to our highest ranking position is a big step in the right direction, it does not mean that white people view black people on the same level they may see the president (he uses the analogy of Bill Cosby and the Cosby Show in terms of how white people view him differently because he does not fit the stereotype-consistent role of the "black man in America". Wise also spends a good portion of this part of the book criticizing Obama for his failure to address racism in a more direct fashion, stating that Obama has often side-stepped the issue of race in America and what needs to be done to promote more equality within the realms I mentioned above. My question regarding the first part of the book is: Is it really Obama's task to focus more of this effort on racism in America because he is our first black president? Because of the fact that he is our first black president, does it just come with the territory, whereas presidents before him were not "expected" to tackle this issue because they were old white men?

The second essay of the book focuses on what needs to be done to help alleviate modern racism (or racism 2.0, as Wise refers to it). In particular, Wise focuses on what white America needs to do in order to help promote equality in our country. He mentions five main goals for white America: 1) Take personal responsibility addressing racism and white privilege. 2) Listen to black people regarding racism. 3) Stop the denial of our disturbing history dealing with race. 4) Connect with anti-racist white culture to help promote understanding. 5) Speak up! - When you see racism, no matter how subtle, take action and make a difference.

Overall, I thought this book was a well organized argument for how racism is still a very big issue in our country and it can be seen where ever we go. Wise definitely did an excellent job getting the point across about how Obama's election to president does not mean racism is ending, it is simply not what it used to be....racism has evolved. Wise point out several instances of racism and discrimination in the book that relate to many concepts we have discussed in class, including stereotype threat, ingroup/outgroup biases, situational factors that bring out hidden prejudices, and institutional and modern racism. I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a good overview of where America stands in our battle against racism and discrimination.

Uh Oh. Watch the racists freak out. What's it like when the majority becomes the numerical minority?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/10/more-minority-babies-will_n_492742.html

"Minorities make up nearly half the children born in the U.S., part of a historic trend in which minorities are expected to become the U.S. majority over the next 40 years."

 

Yep. You guessed it. The pressure is on for organizations to appear diverse. And they'll photoshop if necessary.

http://www.11points.com/Misc/11_Photos_Where_Black_People_Were_Awkwardly_Photoshopped_In_or_Out

 

Here's a link to a Newsweek article: http://www.newsweek.com/id/233843

It's talking about how many minority students are getting into colleges, but they are not graduating. I thought this article was especially relevant since it directly mentions UNI:

"At less-selective state schools, the numbers get worse. During the same time frame (2007), the University of Northern Iowa graduated 67 percent of its white students, but only 39 percent of its blacks."

What do these numbers say about our university? Many schools seem to be trying to blame the students, but what is really going on here? How do we as a nation try to address this issue?

I found the following article: http://www.thegrio.com/opinion/wheres-the-diversity-at-the-winter-olympics.php on msnbc.com. As you might have guessed from this posts title, the article talked about the lack of minority representation at the Winter Olympics, not just today but throughout its history.

Why is it that the number of minority athletes participating in winter sports is so limited? The author of the article states "African-Americans simply aren't participating in winter sports due largely to limited access and exposure to these sports, a lack of resources and opportunities to train, and the high costs associated with them."

What I find most interesting is that they fail to mention other minorities, particularly those from Latin American countries. Is it just the warm climate that's not conducive to wanting to participate and support winter sports? Or is it something more?

From This American Life on NPR. The story of how the American Psychiatric Association decided in 1973 that homosexuality was no longer a mental illness.

In 1973, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) declared that homosexuality was not a disease simply by changing the 81-word definition of sexual deviance in its own reference manual. It was a change that attracted a lot of attention at the time, but the story of what led up to that change is one that we hear today, from reporter Alix Spiegel. Part one of Alix's story details the activities of a closeted group of gay psychiatrists within the APA who met in secret and called themselves the GAYPA...and another, even more secret group of gay psychiatrists among the political echelons of the APA. Alix's own grandfather was among these psychiatrists, and the president-elect of the APA at the time of the change. (24 minutes)

It's about an hour long, but if you get the chance, everyone should listen to this program!

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?episode=204

Here's a link to an article on MSNBC:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35357949/ns/us_news/

Here's a small news story about a train line that went to an Asian neighborhood, and it was the yellow line. Members of the Asian community have been complaining since November, and now, it is going to be called the gold line. What do people think about this? Was the decision to name this line yellow racially insensitive? In this particular case, change did happen when people spoke out about it. Has anyone else heard of stories similar to this?

Just a little plug for an event and an organization that I think you all should know about if you do not already. V-Day is an international organization with the mission of ending all violence toward women and girls. Below I have left a link for the V-Day website and the link to V-Men a series of essays from men about their journeys to their contributions toward ending violence against women and girls. Guys especially might want to check that out.

I feel the whole movement works to change people's sometimes misinformed views about violence against women. It also helps give women a voice all around the world and helps create awareness for the way woman are treated in various parts of the world.

The Vagina Monologues is a wonderful show that everyone should see at least once because of its ability to stretch one's horizons. Especially if one considers themselves  "Midwestern" and/or "of a traditional upbringing" this show might make you uncomfortable (but that's because of the mental scaffolding its breaking). It certainly has a lot of talking points. UNI is having a show this weekend, if you cannot go you could go to Wartburg's Monologues March 6th at 8pm! If that's not available you can pull up some of the scenes from it on youtube. I feel it's more insightful as a whole show in context though.

If anyone has done anything or seen anything from any of these sources, I would love to hear how they impacted you.

Vagina Monologues

Friday, 2/19/10 - Saturday, 2/20/10
7 pm, CAC 108 The Vagina Monologues seek to raise awareness and funds for the prevention of violence against women world-wide. Proceeds will benefit Club Les Dames, the NE Iowa Food Bank and V-day international.. Tickets/Registration: Tickets are $10, or $5 with a donation of two canned goods.

 

http://www.vday.org/home

http://www.vday.org/meet-vday/v-men

Here is a good link from Newsweek: http://photo.newsweek.com/2010/2/memorable-quotes-from-iconic-African-Americans.html

The site has photographs and memorable quotes from iconic African-Americans. Also, here is another link from Newsweek: http://photo.newsweek.com/2010/2/iconic-moments-in-black-history.html This site also has photographs and shows memorable moments in black history, such as Brown vs. the Board of Education.

I like what the writer states at the beginning: "If Black History Month is going to remain culturally relevant, then we must use it as a time to reflect, not only on where we're going but on where we came from."

What other moments or people could be included on this site that weren't?

Here's a link to a Newsweek story: http://www.newsweek.com/ID/232818

The story talks about issues surrounding Black History Month. I found this interesting because it mentions the Morgan Freeman interview with Mike Wallace. Here's his quote: "You're going to relegate my history to a month? ... Which month is White History Month? ... I don't want a Black History Month. Black history is American history."

I remember watching this interview, and I was curious what others thought about this. Should there still be a Black History Month? What do you think about Freeman's assertions concerning Black History Month?

Since 1970, there have been seven times as many married biracial couples.  By 2050, minorities will make up the majority - a projected 53 percent - of our countries population (U.S. Census Bureau).   The article I read in a magazine was titled "This is What Love Looks Like Now."  The main focus of the article is interracial dating/marriage.  They interviewed three different couples as they talked about their personal situations with being in an interracial relationship their experiences family, friends, and strangers. 

There have been many high profile interracial celebrities couples (Seal and Heidi Klum),  we now have a biracial president, and news articles talking about a Louisiana Justice of the Peace, who wouldn't marry an interracial couple because he had thought that their kids would have problems and their futures will be too difficult. 

The first interracial couple they talked to was Colleen (a white woman) and Anthony (a black man).  Anthony said that he had been in an interracial relationship when he was in high school, but back then race wasn't much of a concern but as he grew older he became more aware and cautious of his races and other people's reactions to race.  Both Colleen and Anthony were nervous about telling their families, they had said that their immediate families told them to be careful but accepted the relationship and supported it.  Once the families became comfortable, Anthony said that Colleen's dad started asking more questions like "is it appropriate to say African-American or Negro?"  That was the first time race really came into the situation for them.  They also become comfortable with each other by asking questions about the stereotypes of the other's culture.  They said they have dealt with a lot of stares and comments from the public, and that they get annoyed with always having to defend themselves, but that's just some things they are forced put up with being together.  And that love is all that matters.

The second couple interviewed was Claudia (Hispanic woman) and Jeff (Black man).  They commented saying their relationship was a lot easier since they had both been minorities so they relate to each other and experiences.  They both grew up in Washington D.C., a diverse town, so it seemed more accepted.  They had really positive experiences, and they are open with each other about learning and asking questions about each other's cultures as well.  This couple gets a lot of comments about how cute their kids will be, by older generations, they are happy that even when most of these people were raised in a time were interracial dating was just unheard of, they are positive toward them.

The last couple was Demetria (Black woman) and Joshua (white man).  They said that interracial dating was never an issue for either of them.  They had both experienced other family members who dated out of their race, which made it easier for them.  Joshua was raised not to judge based on race.  They tease each other about certain "white people" things and "black people" things that the other one does.  The couple travels a lot, they said that's when they get the most stares, is when they are overseas, and they have noticed fewer comments about biracial people, and interracial couples since Obama was elected into office. 

This article was mainly about experiences on these three different couples.  I haven't come across a lot of discussion about interracial couples in the media and having them talk about their negative and positive experiences.  This wasn't an article meant to point fingers at the wrongs and rights of discrimination, prejudice, or stereotyping, but just a look at the people who are living with these experiences.  I thought it was encouraging that there is now a more positive look into topics that were once "taboo." 

Do you guys think the world changing and becoming more accepting or less accepting? What is/isn't helping people change their attitudes about interracial dating? How would your parents/family feel about you being in an interracial relationship?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRuNcGDPzA8&feature=related

This scene from the Great Debaters is very powerful as it talks about education and how some minorities feel in the past, and in now present day.

Most Hispanic/ Latino families are a tight net family, not wanting their child to leave home. I can recall when I was leaving San Antonio to come to UNI, I distinctly  remember my fathers words, just before I got into the U-haul truck to drive away.   "Your making a mistake, your going to a white state that doesn't care about you because the color of your skin." My response was "If I don't try, or if I don't take this opportunity how will I ever know, that I can accomplish a goal in obtaining an education, unlike yourself!" 

For most of you who do read you my be thinking what and asshole, how can he  talk to his father like that. I believe that we should honor our mother and fathers as it say's in the 10 commandments, but you have to look at the big picture. Most parent are supportive of there children, giving them encouragement, and praise and the blessing to do what they feel is right, but I come from a family that really never showed that. I can say in a way that I had to raise myself; from the age of 14, I started working to help in supporting the family (two siblings, and my single father.)  Both of my parents did not have the education in which they should have had (mom dropping out in the 8th grade, and my dad in the 4th grade.) There belief is that a man should work to support a family. The reality of it a parent should be the parent and learn responsibility, and a child needs to be a child to learn and develop.  

Sorry all, I couldn't help but think of this clip from "Anchorman", though many of our peers may not have much more insight into the meaning of "diversity" than Ron Burgundy himself....

Here is a link to a show titled "Border Wars" on the National Geographic Channel:

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/border-wars/all/Overview?source=banner_house_118

As you may have already guessed by the title, Border Wars is about what goes on along the 2,000 mile border between the U.S. and Mexico. Most of you are from the Midwest so this show is a good way to gain a better understanding of what it is like to live on the border, what Border Patrol agents go through on a daily basis, as well as the various reasons/motivations thousands of impoverished men and women have to immigrate into this country particularly through extremely harsh weather and terrain. I think this show will be an eye opener to those of you who are unfamiliar with what goes on in the south.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxniiAG67hA

This is the last part of King's timeless Mountaintop speech-- the final words Martin Luther King Jr. proclaimed before his death the following day. On this MLK holiday, it is important to reflect upon just what the King legacy is, how far we have come with regard to racial justice in this country, and what distance must we still travel to fulfill King's vision of the promised land. 

If you are available, you should attend all or a portion of this town hall meeting. Make sure to blog about it when you are done!

http://www.uni.edu/diversity/

UPDATE:

 

The following activity is modified from Rusty Juban's activity in his Management of Organization's class.

 

Managing Diversity Today and Tomorrow

The management of diversity is smart for business. The changing trend of more women and minorities actively contributing in organizations results in a need for more awareness of differences and opens the door for increased education on valuing differences.Go to the Johnson & Johnson Careers page. Here you will find an overview of the company's philosophy on the value of a diverse workforce. Scroll down the page and read the "recent article" from DiversityInc.com titled "Strong Corporate Reputation at J & J Boosts Diversity Recruiting Efforts."

Microsoft also has a strong position on managing a diverse labor force. Click on each of the following links on the Microsoft Web page to read about Microsoft's diversity programs: "Accessibility," "Diversity Education," "Supplier Diversity," and "Diversity Program Links."