Summaries for Final Project
Summary of “Privilege, Power, and Difference” by Johnson
This author, Johnson, argues that even though discrimination against people according to their gender, race, sexual orientation, ethnicity, and social class is entrenched in our society, we can work together to fix the problems but we first need to “use the words” such as privilege, racism, sexism, etc. and the privileged groups need to “make the problem of privilege their problem and do something about it”.
Johnson’s work is very accessible, because he discusses the concepts of racism, sexism, ablism, etc. in a way that shows them as systemic issues rather then suggesting every individual is rasist, sexist, or ablist. Instead of putting all of the burden of causing these problems on readers in the privileged groups, he acknowleges that there are systems in place (laws, social norms, the status quo, etc.) that perpetuate these ‘-isms’ and lead to discrimination in our society.
One of Johnson’s main points is that racism is not a problem that belongs to people of color, but that privilege is always in relation to others, and therefore, the privileged group (whites in this case) need take responsibility for racism existing in our society and work to change it. He believes that white people must use and even reclaim, words like racism that have become “insulting”and explicitely name them in order to make sense of what truly is happening. Words like oppression, dominance, privilege, sexism, racism, etc. are words that need to be used to describe our current societal inequities because they are social realities. He asserts that it is impossible to change something without naming it, and people benefitting from the culture of power must simply tolerate any discomfort that using these words may bring.
He very gently explains that privilege does not negate a person’s personal triumphs, it merely affords benefits to some, while denying it to others. He wants us to differentiate these two types of privilege: “unearned entitelments” which are things that everyone should have, and “unearned advantages” which are what unearned entitlements can become if they are only available to certain groups. For example, everyone should feel safe at their workplace, however, there are often times that someone who is gay has to hide this part of their identity at their job for fear that their safety, acceptance, respect, position, etc. may be in jeopardy and this is when an unearned privilege becomes an unearned advantage.
Johnson tries to open readers eyes to the unearned advantages that are afforded to white people, a concept called white privilege. He makes sure to list the many ways we can see privilege in our every day lives. This list helps those who are privileged to recognize their privilege, a sometimes difficult thing to do because to they have the “luxury of obliviousness.” He argues that until a person with privilege sees that they have it, they are unable to change the institutions that give them that privilege. Unless they actively break away from the status quo, those in a group with privilege will continue to have their privilege.
Summary of TAL's "The Problem We All Live With"
Even though the Supreme Court Case Brown vs. Board of Education declared school segregation unconstitutional in 1954, many argue that this landmark case actualy opened the door for school segregation. For a few years, busing programs took black students to white schools, which caused a lot of outrage. The picture in the title of the TAL podcast is one of a young black girl, Ruby Bridges, being escorted by deputy U.S. Marshals to an all-white elementary school in New Orleans in 1960.
Now, in 2015 (after half a century has passed) schools are still extremely segregated, and efforts to desegregate are still met by hostility and outrage. However, no one is talking about desegregation, and people are saying that educational inequity is “not a race issue”. Nikole Hannah-Jones, however, begs to differ. She was in a bussing program and even though it was really difficult, she credits going to a white school for much of her success after school. In this story, she focuses on one school disrtict, Normandy, in Missouri to report on because their school was accidentally desegregated. In her story, she highlights a students named Mah’ria and her mother Nedra. This is the same school district that Michael Brown attended before he was soht by a police officer and became a symbol of the police violence against black youth. In Normandy, the teachers seemed not to care, and the curriculum was not rigorous. But when the school district lost accredidation, students like Mah’ria got the chance to start attending Francis Howeell, a school in a very white neighborhood.
Although she was met with much hostility from parents, Mah’ria attended Francis Howell anyway, and she recieved a better education. That is until the Transfer law, which allowed her to attend Francis Howell, became void. Fortunately, after a lawsuit filed by parents, Mah’ria was able to stay at Francis Howell. The moral of the story is basically that integration benefits students by decreasing the achievement gap. At white schools there are better teachers and educational resources. Integration provides students with cognitive and social benefits, even at the cost of leaving their neighborhoods to travel far to a school.
This author, Johnson, argues that even though discrimination against people according to their gender, race, sexual orientation, ethnicity, and social class is entrenched in our society, we can work together to fix the problems but we first need to “use the words” such as privilege, racism, sexism, etc. and the privileged groups need to “make the problem of privilege their problem and do something about it”.
Johnson’s work is very accessible, because he discusses the concepts of racism, sexism, ablism, etc. in a way that shows them as systemic issues rather then suggesting every individual is rasist, sexist, or ablist. Instead of putting all of the burden of causing these problems on readers in the privileged groups, he acknowleges that there are systems in place (laws, social norms, the status quo, etc.) that perpetuate these ‘-isms’ and lead to discrimination in our society.
One of Johnson’s main points is that racism is not a problem that belongs to people of color, but that privilege is always in relation to others, and therefore, the privileged group (whites in this case) need take responsibility for racism existing in our society and work to change it. He believes that white people must use and even reclaim, words like racism that have become “insulting”and explicitely name them in order to make sense of what truly is happening. Words like oppression, dominance, privilege, sexism, racism, etc. are words that need to be used to describe our current societal inequities because they are social realities. He asserts that it is impossible to change something without naming it, and people benefitting from the culture of power must simply tolerate any discomfort that using these words may bring.
He very gently explains that privilege does not negate a person’s personal triumphs, it merely affords benefits to some, while denying it to others. He wants us to differentiate these two types of privilege: “unearned entitelments” which are things that everyone should have, and “unearned advantages” which are what unearned entitlements can become if they are only available to certain groups. For example, everyone should feel safe at their workplace, however, there are often times that someone who is gay has to hide this part of their identity at their job for fear that their safety, acceptance, respect, position, etc. may be in jeopardy and this is when an unearned privilege becomes an unearned advantage.
Johnson tries to open readers eyes to the unearned advantages that are afforded to white people, a concept called white privilege. He makes sure to list the many ways we can see privilege in our every day lives. This list helps those who are privileged to recognize their privilege, a sometimes difficult thing to do because to they have the “luxury of obliviousness.” He argues that until a person with privilege sees that they have it, they are unable to change the institutions that give them that privilege. Unless they actively break away from the status quo, those in a group with privilege will continue to have their privilege.
Summary of TAL's "The Problem We All Live With"
Even though the Supreme Court Case Brown vs. Board of Education declared school segregation unconstitutional in 1954, many argue that this landmark case actualy opened the door for school segregation. For a few years, busing programs took black students to white schools, which caused a lot of outrage. The picture in the title of the TAL podcast is one of a young black girl, Ruby Bridges, being escorted by deputy U.S. Marshals to an all-white elementary school in New Orleans in 1960.
Now, in 2015 (after half a century has passed) schools are still extremely segregated, and efforts to desegregate are still met by hostility and outrage. However, no one is talking about desegregation, and people are saying that educational inequity is “not a race issue”. Nikole Hannah-Jones, however, begs to differ. She was in a bussing program and even though it was really difficult, she credits going to a white school for much of her success after school. In this story, she focuses on one school disrtict, Normandy, in Missouri to report on because their school was accidentally desegregated. In her story, she highlights a students named Mah’ria and her mother Nedra. This is the same school district that Michael Brown attended before he was soht by a police officer and became a symbol of the police violence against black youth. In Normandy, the teachers seemed not to care, and the curriculum was not rigorous. But when the school district lost accredidation, students like Mah’ria got the chance to start attending Francis Howeell, a school in a very white neighborhood.
Although she was met with much hostility from parents, Mah’ria attended Francis Howell anyway, and she recieved a better education. That is until the Transfer law, which allowed her to attend Francis Howell, became void. Fortunately, after a lawsuit filed by parents, Mah’ria was able to stay at Francis Howell. The moral of the story is basically that integration benefits students by decreasing the achievement gap. At white schools there are better teachers and educational resources. Integration provides students with cognitive and social benefits, even at the cost of leaving their neighborhoods to travel far to a school.
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