Importance of Education

‘’ The schools are horrible and don't teach anybody anything’’- these are the words of one of Americas most important playwrights, August Wilson. Even though the rest of the interview was very interesting and enlightening in many ways, it was this sentence that had the biggest impact on me.
Wilson argues that from fifth grade on, teachers were essentially holding him back, telling him to ‘’shut up’’ instead of giving actual answers to his questions. This might very well be true, but I think he fails to realize that not everyone was as gifted as he was. Elementary schooling programs are not created to fit the most brilliant of children. They are more oriented towards the average mind, thus giving everybody a chance to learn and progress.
Some people, including Wilson, see the fact that ‘’you have to take all kinds of required courses before you can get to the subject that interests you’’ as a flaw in the educational system. Again, it appears he doesn’t realize that he was a very rare exception. Most children have no clue as to what they might be interested in, and that is why they need to go through such a wide range of courses. Hopefully, it will help them to recognize the areas of academia that suit them the most. Only after that can they make an informed decision, and choose what field of science to focus on.

Paradox

While reading ‘’Straightening Our Hair’’ by bell hooks, I came across a sentence that struck me as vital as the whole essay itself. It was pretty odd, considering that was not the first time I encountered this very fact. In the article, hooks mentioned a black woman who ‘’asserted that her home was a place where blackness was affirmed and celebrated’’. The word ‘’celebrated’’ is what had drawn my attention.
Experience teaches me that black children are encouraged to be proud of being black by their parents, and ‘’Straightening Our Hair’’ bears witness to my assertion. However, I don’t see anything worth ‘’celebrating’’ in being black, just as there is nothing to be ‘’celebrated’’ in being white. Every person, regardless of his or her race, should just accept their skin colour, rather than celebrate it. Therefore, a black person should just accept that, as a matter of fact, he or she is black. Now when I say accept, by no means do I imply that it should be accepted as a necessary, inevitable evil, or any kind of flaw. It is just a matter of facing reality.
Interestingly enough, I believe that no one has ever heard a white person make such a statement: that he is proud of being white. In his essay ‘’Race and the Schooling of Black Americans’’, Claude Steele tried to prove that the reason black students in general score lower on tests had nothing to do with ‘’genetic inferiority’’, but rather with low self-esteem caused by what is known as the ‘’Stereotype Threat’’. The way I see it, celebrating blackness is a way for black people to constantly reassure themselves that they are just as good as, for example, whites. The need for this kind of ‘’celebration’’ rises from the self-esteem issues Steele had written about in his essay. Surprisingly enough, it appears that some black people are having trouble accepting that they are, indeed, just as good a human being as anybody else. Even though they celebrate blackness and claim to be proud of it, it appears they don’t actually believe it. As weird as it may seem, this celebration only further aggravates the situation of our society, instead of taking us one step closer to racial equality.
If the imaginary differences between blacks and whites are ever to be erased and if our society is ever to reach absolute racial equality, the ‘’celebration’’ has to stop.

A Victim of Prejudice

''Black Men and Public Space'' was written by Brent Staples. In this article, he talks about his ''ability to alter public space in ugly ways''.
The first time he noticed he possessed this power was while he was studying in Chicago. One night, he was walking down a deserted street in Hyde Park, while another woman in her late twenty’s was the only other person around. At one point, the woman turned around and saw him behind her. She cast back a few more worried looks, as she was picking up pace up to a point where her walk turned into a full out sprint.
It became clear to the writer that he had been mistaken for a rapist, or a mugger at best. This lead to very mixed feelings of astonishment, disbelief, embarrassment , and anger on his part.
Similar situations followed: in the streets after dark, people would cross to the other side of the sidewalk as soon as they noticed him; while crossing in front of a car that stopped at a traffic light, he would usually hear the sound of doors locking down. Not to mention the countless unpleasantries with policemen, doormen, bouncers, and cabdrivers, or my personal favourite, a black man showing up at a hip restaurant for a meal(after making table reservations) only to be told: ‘’ There must have been some kind of mistake’’.
After a while, Staples got used to it. He learned how to smother his emotions and reduce the tension by whistling melodies from Vivaldi and other popular classic composers.
I found it quite interesting that it is the victim of prejudice who has to develop ways to loosen the tensions, and not the other way around. However, today, 25 years after the publication of the article, the situation has changed drastically. Perhaps, after the election of an African American for President, the vision of American people can be cleansed of prejudice and they will be able to see black people for who they truly are.

How times change

In the article ''Black vs. Blue'', Meta Castarphen talks about the ''strife, even violence, between white policemen and African Americans, that seems to be an ever-present reality,unlimited by time or locality''.
Not so long ago, black people were completly banned from the mainstream of the American society; Decent jobs were off limits; no matter how much money they might have had, they were prevented from buying property outside predominantly black neighbourhoods. The resuliting situation was such, that white policemen interacted with black people only in matters of crisis and crime, seeing them predominantely as criminals. On the other hand, the black people got used to interacting with whites in position of authority, who seemed to have been determined to emphasize their superiority through brutality and rough language. The tensions between the black and the ''blue'' kept growing, up to the point of unequivocal hatred for each other.
The events that followed were staggering. Not so long ago in Dallas, Officer Glen Chase was fatally wounded by a black vagrant, who had been cheered on by other locals(mostly black) to assault the policeman. Next, in Miami, a white Hispanic officer shot an unarmed black motorcyclist for, as it turned out, no reason at all.
Towards the end of the article, Castarphen mentions C.O.P - Community-Oriented Policing. Contrary to the usual police practises, C.O.P members try to ''allay black residents latent suspicions about police with a different set of experiences''. They go around the city of Denton, knocking on doors, meeting the residents, listening to their concerns. Then, Castarphen explains how her encounter with the white police was quite different. The policemen were professional, kind and friendly, which was surprising for her. Obviously, she had prejudice about the ''blues''. This proves that the ''black'' and the ''blue'' are realizing the mistakes on their sides. Accepting the fact that prejudice on both sides was what lead to such racial tensions makes the society as a whole one step closer to putting an end to this issue. And here we are...its twenty years after the publication of ''Black vs. Blue'', and not only are the blacks no longer banned from ''the mainstream of virtually every aspect of American society'', but they have their own representative at the highest position possible: the President of the USA.

Indeed,change is possible...

Small things - huge consequences

Around 1940 a hut was the most common kind of dwelling of the Gikuyu tribe in Kenya. These huts were round, with wooden walls and grass thatched roofs. Primitive as it may seem, a hut was a symbol of power among the tribesmen. It implicitly meant having a wife or wives; the owner was refered to as ''muthuri'' which means elder, and was considered capable of holding a responsible position in tribal affairs. There is even a proverb that says that ''the quality of a man is judged by his homestead''. Constructing one of these involved a lot of rituals, but more importantly, a lot of teamwork. Friends and family would gather to help out, and not just with the building process itself, but even by providing the necessary raw materials. As a result, building one of these huts took only one day.
According to traditon, every man was required to have at least two huts: one for his wife, and one for himself. However, this custom is dying out very fast, thanks to the ridiculous hut taxation imposed by the British Government. Very soon, this tradition will probably be forgotten.
This lead me to thinking about the current situation of our world. Due to rapid progress in communications and technology development, different cultures worldwide are being influenced by the minute, distorted, but what's infinitely worse- they are becoming standardized. In my opinion, it is very imporant for every country to fight for the sake of preserving its culture, its identity. After all, it is the uniqueness and diversity that make this world such a beautiful place to live.

African American or Black

Racism is one of the greatest and most persistent issues in the United States. One might wonder why such a thing even exists. We were all born equal as human beings, and yet, throughout history, certain races have been considered lesser in comparison to others; namely, in this particular case, the ‘’black race’’ compared to the ‘’white race’’. Recently, mankind has become aware of this issue, and from then on has been struggling to put an end to it. In the process, a new term has emerged: African American. This new term appeared in 1997, as an attempt of the US government to keep up with the changing social opinion. It was introduced as a substitute for the word ‘’black’’, as the latter was considered to be politically incorrect. In my opinion, referring to all black people as African American is wrong for several reasons.

First of all, lets take a closer look at how the term African American even came to be. It is derived from two words: Africa, the place of origin, and America- the country of residence. Using the same logic, a black person in Russia, for example, should be called an ‘’African-Russian’’. That makes no sense. ‘’African American’’ is supposed to represent the black race, and race does not change with the country of residence. With the term black, however, there can be no such confusion. It is more accurate, as a black person is black wherever he or she may go.
Now, lets take a look at the reason behind the appearance of the relevant term. With each generation of ‘’African Americans’’ born on US soil, their ties to the country of origin gradually fade. Keeping in mind the fact that the majority of the ‘’blacks’’ currently in the USA is native-born, the term ‘’African American’’ might seem like a proper one to use. It symbolizes the integration of the ‘’black’’ race into the American society, and at the same time preserves the cultural heritage of the same race. In other words, it is a compromise that satisfies both the people who feel American, and the people who still have strong feelings towards their origins. This way, by referring to all of them as African American, it is possible to assign both groups to just one race without discriminating against any of the two. But, for reasons already given above, African American is a rather ambiguous and inprecise term. Can we, then, refer to these people as just Africans? While it might seem fitting, the native-born blacks in the US would probably not concur. Then how do we refer to this group of people in the matters of race? The answer is simple: black.
However, in reality, things are far more complex. The word ‘’black’’ in the context of race is labelled ‘’politically incorrect’’, and from my own experience, is occasionally quite offensive. Once again, one must wonder why. The meaning of the word black is quite clear- it stands for the black colour. Then why is it inappropriate to call a person black if their skin is black? How come you will never see a white person offended when referred to as white? The answer to this last question, as well as to why ‘’black’’ is thought to be inappropriate lies in an article I recently read about the so-called ‘’Gates Affair’’. (blog)
The writer points out how the interpretation of the event of white people and black people were completely different. ‘’The whites interpreted it as another uppity black man sassing a white police officer, threatening law and order and white comfort levels. The blacks, however, interpreted it as a symbol of the ever-lasting harassment of black people by white policemen''. The key word here is ‘’interpretation’’. In my opinion, the US society is too busy interpreting that it fails to see and accept the reality. When the word black is used in the context of race, the people of the US don’t think ‘’black skin colour’’. They interpret it, and hear ‘’slave’’. This interpretation comes from the times before the abolition of slavery, when being black practically meant being a slave, or at least in a disadvantageous position in the society compared to that of the whites.
This has to stop. The times of slavery are long gone, and we need to let go of prejudice and former standards. The world is on its way to racial equality, but it will never get to the finish line as long as it’s people keep interpreting reality instead of accepting it the way it is. Nevertheless, one day, when people stop distorting reality, the need for such ambiguous terms such as ‘’African American’’ will be gone.
I am white. You are ‘’black’’. Accept it. Be proud of it.

The Definition of Black

Racism is a very nasty concept. Not only is it detrimental itself, but it also spawned a few other stereotypes that trouble our society to this very day. The one I got interested in is ‘’the definition of black’’. In the US, for example, athletics and entertainment are considered to be ‘’black’’, while things related to academia are often viewed as the prowess of the whites. Or at least, that’s what Mr. William Raspberry, a very respected journalist of the Washington Times, would have us think. Naturally, such a respected writer provided arguments to support his assertions, but in my opinion, they are completely wrong.
In the beginning of his article ’’The Handicap of Definition’’, he lists the cases in which ‘’black’’ is seen as a compliment. He starts off with athletics, namely basketball. Acknowledging the supremacy of black people in basketball would be stating the obvious, and that’s why describing a white man’s game as black is the biggest compliment he can get. I myself see nothing wrong with that. But, what struck me the most is how Mr. Raspberry than proceeds to assume that everything related to athletics is inheritably ‘’black’’. Obviously, this is not true. Take swimming, for example. Not that anyone would actually say this, but unlike Larry Bird, I think that Michael Phelps would have every right to be offended if anybody said he swam ‘’black’’.
The writer’s next example of black as a compliment is related to singing. Here I agree, but only to a certain extent. While there are people like Teena Marie, or maybe Eminem who would be honoured to hear they sounded ‘’black’’, I believe there are also singers who would not accept this as a positive thing. Like with athletics, there are types, or genres, of music at which black people are dominant and better, but at others they are just not.
Let’s take a look at the part where he talks about ‘’black’’ as a negative reference. One of his examples was ‘’tell a white reporter he writes ‘’black’’, and he will take a writing course’’. First of all, what kind of person in their right mind would even say such a thing? There is no such thing as ‘’black’’ or ‘’white’’ writing, there is just writing period. Besides, even if we’d accept that there was in fact a difference between the two, I think that if the roles were reversed, and it was a black person who had been told his writing was white, his reaction would be no different than that of a white man.
‘’Tell a white broadcaster he talks ‘’black’’, and he will take diction lessons’’. While ‘’taking diction lessons’’ is a bit extreme, nobody can deny that there are small differences between Black and standard English. ‘’I’m a answer dat person firs’ ‘’ is the example John McWhorter, professor at the University of California, Berkeley used to describe it. That being said, again I have to say that I don’t think anybody would refer to this as ‘’black talk’’. Besides, TV broadcasters (black and white) are all aware that they can’t speak the same way while broadcasting as they would in a casual conversation with a friend, so I don’t see how this can even be an issue.
Next, the writer explains how pretty much everything related to academia is considered to be ‘’white’’. But, he also points out that ‘’most black youngsters could develop their mathematical reasoning, their elocution and their attitudes the way they develop their jump shots and their dance steps: by the combination of sustained, enthusiastic practice and the unquestioned belief that they can do it’’. I couldn’t agree more. However, the fact that black students in general might not develop this kind of attitude has nothing to do with the ‘’definition of black’’ like Mr. Raspberry suggested. That would mean he that there are actually people who believe that white people are BORN smarter than the black people. I can’t believe that. I refuse to believe that.
And now, let’s take a quick summary of William Raspberry’s examples:
1) Telling a white basketball player his game is ‘’black’’ is a compliment- and it should be. Assuming that everything related to athletics is ‘’black’’ is obviously wrong.
2) Describing a white singer’s music as ‘’black’’ will always be taken as a positive thing- not always true
3) Telling a white writer his writing is ‘’black’’ or telling a white broadcaster he talks ‘’black’’ are fictional issues, as this will never actually happen.
4) There are people who believe that white people are born smarter than the black people. Ridiculous.
All in all, the examples provided as arguments by the writer are flawed. William Raspberry was right about one thing though: black youngsters can achieve anything if they employ ‘’the combination of sustained, enthusiastic practice and the unquestioned belief that they can do it’’.
There is no such thing as the ‘’definition of black’’. The definition of black is only what you make it to be.