{"id":40,"date":"2016-03-11T07:06:36","date_gmt":"2016-03-11T07:06:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/bellazhang\/?p=40"},"modified":"2016-03-11T23:51:30","modified_gmt":"2016-03-11T23:51:30","slug":"lets-talk-race-and-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/bellazhang\/2016\/03\/11\/lets-talk-race-and-education\/","title":{"rendered":"Let&#8217;s Talk Race. And Education."},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b><\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Education in itself is a bold topic of discussion. Add ethnicity into the mix and you\u2019re looking at a melting pot of ideas that could rub many groups of people the wrong way. So before we delve into all of that, let\u2019s start with the basics. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Race: <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I know. It\u2019s a topic that\u2019s been covered hundreds of times, but I think there are a couple things that need to be cleared up. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>White Privilege:<\/strong> Now stop. Before you get angry and demand that white privilege no longer exists, hear me out. As a chinese-american female, give me a chance to explain what I see from my view, and what you may see from yours. Just keep in mind: you don\u2019t have to feel guilty about having white privilege, because it wasn\u2019t in your control to be born with white skin. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>HOWEVER!<\/strong> It truly does exist, and the moment you <strong>refuse to stay aware of the fact is the moment when you\u2019re now guilty. <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">After reading <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Peggy McIntosh&#8217;s 1988 now-famous piece, &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.deanza.edu\/faculty\/lewisjulie\/WhitePrivilege.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">White Privilege, Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack<\/a>,&#8221;\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">there are a couple key facts that show why white privilege does <strong>NOT<\/strong> mean everyone is calling you a lazy middle or upper class citizen. Read, please. <\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">&#8220;I can turn on the television or open to the front page of the paper and see people of my race widely represented.&#8221;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">&#8220;When I am told about our national heritage or about \u201ccivilization,\u201d I am shown that people of my color made it what it is.&#8221;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">&#8220;If a traffic cop pulls me over or if the IRS audits my tax return, I can be sure I haven\u2019t been singled out because of my race.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I understand that this list (and more that she has come up with) could certainly rub people the wrong way, because in some of the points she makes, \u201crace\u201d could easily be switched out with \u201cclass.\u201d But please, try stepping in my shoes and at least agree that some points may or may not indicate that <strong>YOU have white privilege. <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>And it\u2019s ok.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> It doesn\u2019t make you a bad person in any way whatsoever, and it also doesn\u2019t downgrade your hard work as an individual. So, at the end of the day, it\u2019s important to realize that we all have different privileges and experiences. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">TL; DR: (sorry in advance for the profanity)<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_44\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-44\" style=\"width: 270px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-44 \" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/bellazhang\/files\/2016\/03\/image-1-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"http:\/\/procrasti-nation.eu\/racism-sexism-privileges-for-the-underprivileged-mario-kart-analogy\/ \" width=\"270\" height=\"404\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/bellazhang\/files\/2016\/03\/image-1-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/bellazhang\/files\/2016\/03\/image-1-128x192.jpg 128w, https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/bellazhang\/files\/2016\/03\/image-1.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 270px) 100vw, 270px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-44\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Picture credits: http:\/\/procrasti-nation.eu\/racism-sexism-privileges-for-the-underprivileged-mario-kart-analogy\/<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Now again, that picture isn&#8217;t assuming that every white person has all the privileges in the world. It&#8217;s simply urging people to be AWARE of what privileges they hold, even if it was out of their control. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Acknowledging white privilege ALSO confirms that minorities many have to work differently in some senses, especially when it comes to education. Obviously, we all have our own set of privileges, because <a href=\"http:\/\/cultureandyouth.org\/racism\/articles-racism\/white-privilege-unpacking-the-invisible-knapsack\/\" target=\"_blank\">THIS<\/a> is a great list\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> that <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Gina Crosley-Corcoran put together, displaying <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">the other privileges one could have. After reading this list, I was pretty surprised about how much more privilege I have than i\u2019d imagined. It\u2019s always great to reflect on the things we often take for granted, and to be more aware of our surroundings and how we use our privileges. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>So, I DO have privileges, but it\u2019s time we all discover what we carry in our \u201cinvisible knapsacks.\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">NOW, that conversation isn\u2019t over, but I want to move on to my next point.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Education:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Affirmative action usually goes hand in hand with education, because it serves as a method of supporting minorities who have been oppressed for decades.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 496px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/jamieutt.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/06\/itshisfault-from-talk-onevietnam-org.jpeg?w=682\" alt=\"\" width=\"496\" height=\"297\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Picture Credits: http:\/\/changefromwithin.org\/2012\/06\/06\/are-white-students-being-disadvantaged-by-affirmative-action\/<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Though it is a VERY important topic, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=gJgQR6xiZGs\" target=\"_blank\">(learn more here)<\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0I don\u2019t want to focus on every aspect of it- it\u2019s too much to cover in one blog post. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The only reason why I want to bring up affirmative action is because it explains a lot of what\u2019s been happening to the definition of \u201cdiversity\u201d over the past couple years. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">When diversity, and education is mentioned, the spotlight of this conversation is usually put on two major racial groups: blacks and Hispanics. Now this makes a lot of sense, granted they make up the largest \u00a0% of minorities in America.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 585px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.lpstrategies.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/US-Population-by-Race-Ethnicity.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"585\" height=\"269\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Picture Credits: http:\/\/www.lpstrategies.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/US-Population-by-Race-Ethnicity.png<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">We can see why this spotlight is happening. In the chapter \u201cKing\u2019s Dream Remains an Elusive Goal:<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Many Americans See Racial Disparities,\u201d written by the Pew Research Team, a nonpartisan think tank based in Washington, D.C, their analysis of \u201cprogress towards racial equality\u201d (627) compares blacks, Hispanics, and whites. <\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cToday, white adults 25 and older are significantly more likely than blacks to have completed at least a bachelor\u2019s degree (34% to 21%)&#8221; (627)<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">This disparity with regards to education shows how important it is for the rest of society to be aware of what is happening, so they can provide support whenever possible. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">As a result of this focus on helping people from black or Hispanic (or both) backgrounds, much of the media attention began to revolve around them, and these two groups were able gain a stronger political stance, which is fantastic! <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">At the same time though, the definition of being \u201cdiverse\u201d is starting to look more like this:<\/span><\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 620px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/media.salon.com\/2015\/10\/people_grid-620x412.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"620\" height=\"412\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Picture Credits: http:\/\/media.salon.com\/2015\/10\/people_grid-620&#215;412.jpg<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><em><strong>Instead of this:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 1774px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/sjames1501.files.wordpress.com\/2013\/06\/istock_000016367688medium-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1774\" height=\"1082\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Picture Credits: https:\/\/sjames1501.files.wordpress.com\/2013\/06\/istock_000016367688medium-2.jpg<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Now, don\u2019t get me wrong, BOTH of these pictures are wonderful because of the differences we see. But the second one is a more true definition of diversity, one that isn\u2019t only measured by the number of black and Hispanic people in the picture. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I can see why, though. Sheryl Sandberg, a person of Jewish descent, agrees in the chapter \u201cWhat Would You Do If You Weren\u2019t Afraid\u201d of her book <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Lean In<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, when she elaborates on her background. <\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cAll three of [her siblings, including herself,] were encouraged to excel in school and engage in extracurricular activities\u201d (644). <\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sandberg\u2019s story is a strong testimony to the culture that has become associated with Jewish and Asian people. Growing up in a different culture makes education a top priority, and as a result, studies have shown that these two groups in particular have risen at a faster rate from oppression. This may be a reason why our stories are not shared as often, but is not a good enough excuse for our conversations to end here.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">At the end of the day, i\u2019m advocating for the INCLUSION of many other ethnically diverse people in the conversation when it comes to promoting higher education. It is great that people from disadvantaged backgrounds are getting the help and recognition they need, but this can&#8217;t be done by disregarding all the other hundreds of races and cultures out there.\u00a0Being \u201ccolorblind\u201d isn\u2019t going to solve the problem, and recognizing privilege is the first step to being more aware of your surroundings.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>So, when was the last time you checked your privileges?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Sources:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">&#8220;Explaining White Privilege to a Broke White Person&#8230;&#8221; <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">OCCUPY WALL STREET<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2016. &lt;http:\/\/occupywallstreet.net\/story\/explaining-white-privilege-broke-white-person&gt;.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">McIntosh, Peggy. <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. Wellesley: Peggy McIntosh, 1988. 1988. Web. 11 Mar. 2016.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">PEW Research Center. \u201cKing\u2019s Dream Remains an Elusive Goal; Many Americans See Racial Disparities\u201d <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">They Say\/I Say<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. Eds. Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein and Russel Durst. New York: W. W. Norton, 2015. 697-716. Print.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sandberg, Sheryl. \u201cLean In: What Would You Do If You Weren\u2019t Afraid?\u201d <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">They Say\/I Say<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. Eds. Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein and Russel Durst. New York: W. W. Norton, 2015. 642-58. Print.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Image Credits:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/procrasti-nation.eu\/racism-sexism-privileges-for-the-underprivileged-mario-kart-analogy\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">http:\/\/procrasti-nation.eu\/racism-sexism-privileges-for-the-underprivileged-mario-kart-analogy\/<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/changefromwithin.org\/2012\/06\/06\/are-white-students-being-disadvantaged-by-affirmative-action\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">http:\/\/changefromwithin.org\/2012\/06\/06\/are-white-students-being-disadvantaged-by-affirmative-action\/<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.lpstrategies.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/US-Population-by-Race-Ethnicity.png\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">http:\/\/www.lpstrategies.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/US-Population-by-Race-Ethnicity.png<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/c.tadst.com\/gfx\/600x400\/worlddaycul-diver.jpg?1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">http:\/\/c.tadst.com\/gfx\/600&#215;400\/worlddaycul-diver.jpg?1<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/sjames1501.files.wordpress.com\/2013\/06\/istock_000016367688medium-2.jpg\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/sjames1501.files.wordpress.com\/2013\/06\/istock_000016367688medium-2.jpg<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/media.salon.com\/2015\/10\/people_grid-620x412.jpg\">http:\/\/media.salon.com\/2015\/10\/people_grid-620&#215;412.jpg<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">More Links:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=gJgQR6xiZGs\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=gJgQR6xiZGs<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Education in itself is a bold topic of discussion. Add ethnicity into the mix and you\u2019re looking at a melting pot of ideas that could rub many groups of people the wrong way. So before we delve into all of that, let\u2019s start with the basics. Race: I know. It\u2019s a topic that\u2019s been covered &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/bellazhang\/2016\/03\/11\/lets-talk-race-and-education\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Let&#8217;s Talk Race. And Education.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1569,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"qubely_global_settings":"","qubely_interactions":"","kk_blocks_editor_width":"","_kiokenblocks_attr":"","_kiokenblocks_dimensions":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[9,7,8],"class_list":["post-40","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-topicsofdiscussion","tag-asian-americans","tag-race","tag-white-privilege"],"gutentor_comment":15,"qubely_featured_image_url":null,"qubely_author":{"display_name":"bellazhang","author_link":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/bellazhang\/author\/bellazhang\/"},"qubely_comment":15,"qubely_category":"<a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/bellazhang\/category\/topicsofdiscussion\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Calculated Contemplation<\/a>","qubely_excerpt":"Education in itself is a bold topic of discussion. Add ethnicity into the mix and you\u2019re looking at a melting pot of ideas that could rub many groups of people the wrong way. So before we delve into all of that, let\u2019s start with the basics. Race: I know. It\u2019s a topic that\u2019s been covered&hellip;","post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/bellazhang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/bellazhang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/bellazhang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/bellazhang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1569"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/bellazhang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/bellazhang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/bellazhang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40\/revisions\/55"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/bellazhang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/bellazhang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/bellazhang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}