At this point, race is not even the factor. This could have been any person, father, son, husband, wife, daughter, or mother of any race, but the fact of how the situation was handled lead people to believe that race is a factor on the ending results on responsibility. These perceptions of discrimination and prejudice have made my heart so heavy and filled with pain. All these years, we speak of how far we have come as a country and a nation, but have we really come as far as we think? Seems like we have not gone anywhere, but have stayed stagnate and ignored issues that now can not be overlooked.
Saturday, September 24, 2016
Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions
This week, I have seen a tremendous amount of microaggressions openly displayed in the daily news. I am typically not a political person, but I have been very disheartened to Donald Trump's reactions to the riots in Charlotte, NC. To even make the comment , "Wow, here we go again" in response to people being outraged about the attack that they have felt in the African American community. That was not only a microaggression but also a slap in the face. People have the right to be outraged, and yes being unruly and bring about hatred will not assist in the situation, but to have an attitude of , 'just another group of black people that are mad' is just unacceptable.
At this point, race is not even the factor. This could have been any person, father, son, husband, wife, daughter, or mother of any race, but the fact of how the situation was handled lead people to believe that race is a factor on the ending results on responsibility. These perceptions of discrimination and prejudice have made my heart so heavy and filled with pain. All these years, we speak of how far we have come as a country and a nation, but have we really come as far as we think? Seems like we have not gone anywhere, but have stayed stagnate and ignored issues that now can not be overlooked.
At this point, race is not even the factor. This could have been any person, father, son, husband, wife, daughter, or mother of any race, but the fact of how the situation was handled lead people to believe that race is a factor on the ending results on responsibility. These perceptions of discrimination and prejudice have made my heart so heavy and filled with pain. All these years, we speak of how far we have come as a country and a nation, but have we really come as far as we think? Seems like we have not gone anywhere, but have stayed stagnate and ignored issues that now can not be overlooked.
Saturday, September 17, 2016
Perspectives and Diversity on Culture
I asked three people (my coworker, my cousin, and my God mother) their definition of culture and diversity and these were their replies: My co-worker is Puerto Rican, my cousin is African American, and my God mother is biracial. Their ages range from 24-45 years old and all from various classes and walks of life.
My Co-Worker (Jammy) - "culture is traditions and food that has been passed from older generations and diversity is the differences that we all display that make us unique."
My Cousin (Kemisha) - "culture is behaviors influenced by different factors like time, race, and religion and diversity is differences."
My God mother (Jwandra) - "culture is your surroundings, environment, knowledge, morals, achievements, genetic makeup and beliefs and diversity is a blend of different people, backgrounds, cultures working together."
All of the answers include some form of the things that have been discussed with us in response to diversity and culture. I believe that we all have our differing of opinions but collaboratively they all have the same symbolic meanings. There haven't been any points of omission in my opinion among the responses that were given to me.
These answers to what culture and diversity are have just shown how uniform our opinions of the meanings are. It shows that we pretty much have a mutual understand for the words and what they mean to us individually.
My Co-Worker (Jammy) - "culture is traditions and food that has been passed from older generations and diversity is the differences that we all display that make us unique."
My Cousin (Kemisha) - "culture is behaviors influenced by different factors like time, race, and religion and diversity is differences."
My God mother (Jwandra) - "culture is your surroundings, environment, knowledge, morals, achievements, genetic makeup and beliefs and diversity is a blend of different people, backgrounds, cultures working together."
All of the answers include some form of the things that have been discussed with us in response to diversity and culture. I believe that we all have our differing of opinions but collaboratively they all have the same symbolic meanings. There haven't been any points of omission in my opinion among the responses that were given to me.
These answers to what culture and diversity are have just shown how uniform our opinions of the meanings are. It shows that we pretty much have a mutual understand for the words and what they mean to us individually.
Saturday, September 10, 2016
My Family Culture
If a catastrophic even occurred and I could only bring three items with me, they would be:
- My family scrapbook
- The recipe to my grandfather's bar-b-que sauce
- A Bible
These three things reach so deeply into my culture and they would be the only three things that would be of value to me. The scrapbook represents memories. Every member of my family is within that book and it is so valuable that money could not buy it. It hold the laughter, tears, hopes, dreams, and fears that have been felt and lives by members of my family. It shows generations of family and how we are linked together and have lived through the years. The recipe to my grandfather's bar-b-que sauce represents food and tradition. Food is the soul of our family and always seems to be the key that can bring us together and have a great time. No matter the occasion: graduation, funeral, weddings, family reunions, etc., food is always at the center. And last, but not least, a Bible. Religion is something we cherish and all know too well. We, as a family, have all been raised in the church and hold our values of being a Christian dear to our hearts. Living the life of helping and giving is what we stand for and practice in our day to day lives.
If I had to only keep one item, it would be the scrapbook. Those are memories and photos that could never be replaced or found again if they were destroyed. They give a visual to the times and stories that I could only speak about.
Through this exercise, I have had to dig deep and realized the finest things in my culture that speak volumes and mean so much more than anything else. Often we cherish the things that shall come to pass, but the love and tradition that grows within a family brings unspeakable joy.
- My family scrapbook
- The recipe to my grandfather's bar-b-que sauce
- A Bible
These three things reach so deeply into my culture and they would be the only three things that would be of value to me. The scrapbook represents memories. Every member of my family is within that book and it is so valuable that money could not buy it. It hold the laughter, tears, hopes, dreams, and fears that have been felt and lives by members of my family. It shows generations of family and how we are linked together and have lived through the years. The recipe to my grandfather's bar-b-que sauce represents food and tradition. Food is the soul of our family and always seems to be the key that can bring us together and have a great time. No matter the occasion: graduation, funeral, weddings, family reunions, etc., food is always at the center. And last, but not least, a Bible. Religion is something we cherish and all know too well. We, as a family, have all been raised in the church and hold our values of being a Christian dear to our hearts. Living the life of helping and giving is what we stand for and practice in our day to day lives.
If I had to only keep one item, it would be the scrapbook. Those are memories and photos that could never be replaced or found again if they were destroyed. They give a visual to the times and stories that I could only speak about.
Through this exercise, I have had to dig deep and realized the finest things in my culture that speak volumes and mean so much more than anything else. Often we cherish the things that shall come to pass, but the love and tradition that grows within a family brings unspeakable joy.
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