After Japan bombed Pearl Harbor and brought America into World War II, all Japanese people in and near California where suspect of spying in the eyes of the U.S. government. This fear of espionage and a repeat of what had happened on December 7th, 1941 the American government evacuated all Japanese families to relocation camps. In the video “A Challenge to Democracy” shows what happened when a group of innocent people was imprisoned based solely on their race. While confined to this camp Japanese people formed their own community while in the abnormal and unjust situation they were forced into.
In their community the Japanese strived to make the camp seem as much like home as they could. Japanese men acquired jobs made available by the government but where given little money. The money they received was used to purchase items that weren’t provided by the government. They set up groups and organizations inside the camps like the Red Cross, Parent Teacher Association, and the Girl Scouts. The relocation camps had a school system, which taught Mathematics, English, and History to children and vocational training for high school students. A community government is present, which consists of evacuees who were voted in by those in the camp. A court system also exists which is headed by Caucasian men.
The films title “A Challenge to Democracy” as well as the films introduction and conclusion suggest that this film would be a criticism of the U.S. government during their unfair imprisonment of Japanese people in relocation camps. In reality this video only touches on the injustices and hardships the Japanese went through in these camps. The video focused more on the ways Japanese coped with the imprisonment, but did so in a way that made the camps seem like just another American community. It discuses the jobs and training Japanese men received that would help them when they would re enter the real world. It shows parades and foot ball games showing the Japanese people in these camps as happy. What it doesn’t show is the harsh effect it had on all those confined to these camps.
Why does this film claim to be a video about the injustices of a race of innocent people being confined and isolated in a camp? Why doesn’t the film mention the devastation that these people were put through when they were evacuated from their homes and lives? One possibility is because of the time it was made in. The film was made in 1944 when we were still fighting the Japanese in World War II. The film was produced by an organization associated with the government and by showing just how bad the Japanese were treated could have negative effects on moral towards the war. Whatever the reason the video should have shown the whole truth, with out the sugar coated reason of why this was wrong.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Monday, February 26, 2007
Takaki ch 10
In the chapter “Pacific Crossings: Seeking the Land of Money Trees” Takaki discusses the immigration of Asian countries. Japanese immigrants came to America to escape the high taxes due to Japan’s attempt to establish a military that could compete with Americas. America offered much more money than Japan did and many woman, men, and families chose to move from Japan. Women from Japan whose customs called for arranged marriage would move to America to meet a husband they had only seen pictures of. They were called “picture brides” and would end up doing large amounts of work in the New World.
Many Japanese workers dominated companies working class and when conditions where unfair they often voiced their opinion. Workers got frustrated with the uprisings and strikes that Japanese workers would bond together to accomplish. Planters began to bring over other nationalities in order to diversify their workers. They to their laborers created competition between races in order to stop the employees from banding together and form strikes. By pinning Filipinos, Chinese, and Koreans against each other they created “race pride” which increased productivity as different races wished to show how good they were and how much better they were than other countries.
The way Americans used other nationalities as pawns in their game of commerce shows how privilege was established in favor of whites over those with a different color skin. Planters used these people to make money with out considering the humanity of these people. Races where forced to compete against each other, which made them work hard for their country. The harder these people worked the more money the white man made, and these nationalities were seldom offered a chance to become in a better possession. Whites could be promoted while they were forced to stay in the working class.
Why did American planters feel the need to keep other nationalities as a working class? White planters wanted to keep power in the hands of their own race. Whites had shown this need for power in past experiences with those of color when dealing with the Indians and Africans. In recognition of the link between power and money whites kept Koreans, Asians, Puerto Ricans, and many others in working class status. This kept them working to make money for their white bosses who remained rich and getting richer, while many immigrants were forced to struggle to get by. This is just another example of why whites established privilege over those of color.
Many Japanese workers dominated companies working class and when conditions where unfair they often voiced their opinion. Workers got frustrated with the uprisings and strikes that Japanese workers would bond together to accomplish. Planters began to bring over other nationalities in order to diversify their workers. They to their laborers created competition between races in order to stop the employees from banding together and form strikes. By pinning Filipinos, Chinese, and Koreans against each other they created “race pride” which increased productivity as different races wished to show how good they were and how much better they were than other countries.
The way Americans used other nationalities as pawns in their game of commerce shows how privilege was established in favor of whites over those with a different color skin. Planters used these people to make money with out considering the humanity of these people. Races where forced to compete against each other, which made them work hard for their country. The harder these people worked the more money the white man made, and these nationalities were seldom offered a chance to become in a better possession. Whites could be promoted while they were forced to stay in the working class.
Why did American planters feel the need to keep other nationalities as a working class? White planters wanted to keep power in the hands of their own race. Whites had shown this need for power in past experiences with those of color when dealing with the Indians and Africans. In recognition of the link between power and money whites kept Koreans, Asians, Puerto Ricans, and many others in working class status. This kept them working to make money for their white bosses who remained rich and getting richer, while many immigrants were forced to struggle to get by. This is just another example of why whites established privilege over those of color.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
The Ethics of Living Jim Crow
In “The Ethics of Living Jim Crow: An Autobiographical Sketch” is a chapter writer about the author’s life growing up in the segregated south. This author was Richard Wright and he recalls what his mother tells him about the differences between whites and blacks. His mother teaches her son not to fight the white man and beat her son when a broken milk bottle, thrown by a white kid, hit him. She taught him that blacks belonged in their place and whites had their own, informing him that he did not mix with the whites. From here on out Richard Wright lived in fear of the whites and he would soon learn why his mother wished him to feel this way.
When Richard went to get a job he remembered his mothers word and talked to his white boss with the utmost respect using “yessirs” and “nosirs”. Despite his respectfulness to the white man, his boss chastised him for wanting to learn and asked him if he thought he was white. Richard witnesses countless “Jim Crow” racism throughout his life all so the white man could feel superior to him and his race. At one point he witnesses his boss and twelve year old son beat a black woman and when she ran to a white cop he accused her of being drunk. Richard was searched for being in a white neighborhood, cursed for looking at an attractive white woman, and was forced to forge a white mans signature to receive books from the library.
Nowadays if someone’s mother tells him or her at an early age that they are unequal to others because you look different could scar that person for life. Those words could screw up someone’s self esteem and mental state that they would be in and out psychologist’s offices for a very long time. However, in this case Richard Wright’s mother telling him that he was unequal to whites probably saved his life. Before he knew this he would partake in fights with white kids throwing black cinders as they returned fire with bottles. When he got hit with one of these bottles and told his mother of the happened she beat him for fighting with whites. Though terrible this was an important lesson for young Richard who would encounter racism for the rest of his life, racism that if he didn’t listen to his mother could have got him killed.
What if more black mothers taught their sons and daughters to fight back against oppression? Could they have mad a difference? Possibly, but southern whites would do all they could in order to keep blacks as their inferiors. Though eventually blacks did take this stand it took them along time to end segregation and receive more rights. Maybe if boys like Richard were taught to fight they could have changed things earlier, but this would not come without consequences. Groups like the KKK would murder many blacks and without the significance of media to open the eyes of many white in the north it would be an extreme struggle.
When Richard went to get a job he remembered his mothers word and talked to his white boss with the utmost respect using “yessirs” and “nosirs”. Despite his respectfulness to the white man, his boss chastised him for wanting to learn and asked him if he thought he was white. Richard witnesses countless “Jim Crow” racism throughout his life all so the white man could feel superior to him and his race. At one point he witnesses his boss and twelve year old son beat a black woman and when she ran to a white cop he accused her of being drunk. Richard was searched for being in a white neighborhood, cursed for looking at an attractive white woman, and was forced to forge a white mans signature to receive books from the library.
Nowadays if someone’s mother tells him or her at an early age that they are unequal to others because you look different could scar that person for life. Those words could screw up someone’s self esteem and mental state that they would be in and out psychologist’s offices for a very long time. However, in this case Richard Wright’s mother telling him that he was unequal to whites probably saved his life. Before he knew this he would partake in fights with white kids throwing black cinders as they returned fire with bottles. When he got hit with one of these bottles and told his mother of the happened she beat him for fighting with whites. Though terrible this was an important lesson for young Richard who would encounter racism for the rest of his life, racism that if he didn’t listen to his mother could have got him killed.
What if more black mothers taught their sons and daughters to fight back against oppression? Could they have mad a difference? Possibly, but southern whites would do all they could in order to keep blacks as their inferiors. Though eventually blacks did take this stand it took them along time to end segregation and receive more rights. Maybe if boys like Richard were taught to fight they could have changed things earlier, but this would not come without consequences. Groups like the KKK would murder many blacks and without the significance of media to open the eyes of many white in the north it would be an extreme struggle.
Monday, February 19, 2007
Ethnic Nations
In the film Ethnic Nations videos are shown of racism both before and after the civil war. Before the civil war films and cartoons stereotyped blacks with certain characters and characteristics. The mammy was pictured as a large woman who was always willing and wanting to serve her masters. Aunts and Uncles frequently had no teeth, enjoyed dancing around, and loved to laugh loudly and for long amounts of time. The Zambo was a stereotyped black man who was extremely lazy and only wishes to listen to music and laugh. This was followed by a theater act in which a white man covered his face black, wore tattered clothes, and exaggerated a black dance and his name was called Jim Crow.
The main difference between before and after the civil war and the freeing of slaves was that before the civil war blacks were shown as docile, happy, and content to serve their master in slavery. After the civil war the slaves were free so whites altered the stereotype to a brutal savage figure. In films like The Birth of a Nation scenes of white men painted to be black can be seen assaulting white girls to show their savage nature. Black children where continually shown as animals in the wild pictured with alligators and tigers. Older blacks were shown to dislike freedom and long for the “good ole days” of slavery.
The way blacks were shown in films was a way of propaganda for white privilege. Whites used their control of the media to force
Stereotypes on those who may not come into contact blacks. Many
People in the north during this period were not use to blacks as well as never saw them. That is outside the context of these films. The fact that this northerner where put under the impression that blacks where happy in slavery as well as savages out of it is wrong.
So why would whites want to portray blacks in these ways? By showing blacks as content in slavery helped persuade those who thought slavery was wrong that it was for their own good. When slavery was ended blacks were shown as savages to show that they could not live in a society with whites, and if they did all that would come from it is assaults on whites.
The main difference between before and after the civil war and the freeing of slaves was that before the civil war blacks were shown as docile, happy, and content to serve their master in slavery. After the civil war the slaves were free so whites altered the stereotype to a brutal savage figure. In films like The Birth of a Nation scenes of white men painted to be black can be seen assaulting white girls to show their savage nature. Black children where continually shown as animals in the wild pictured with alligators and tigers. Older blacks were shown to dislike freedom and long for the “good ole days” of slavery.
The way blacks were shown in films was a way of propaganda for white privilege. Whites used their control of the media to force
Stereotypes on those who may not come into contact blacks. Many
People in the north during this period were not use to blacks as well as never saw them. That is outside the context of these films. The fact that this northerner where put under the impression that blacks where happy in slavery as well as savages out of it is wrong.
So why would whites want to portray blacks in these ways? By showing blacks as content in slavery helped persuade those who thought slavery was wrong that it was for their own good. When slavery was ended blacks were shown as savages to show that they could not live in a society with whites, and if they did all that would come from it is assaults on whites.
Ethnic Nations
In the film Ethnic Nations videos are shown of racism both before and after the civil war. Before the civil war films and cartoons stereotyped blacks with certain characters and characteristics. The mammy was pictured as a large woman who was always willing and wanting to serve her masters. Aunts and Uncles frequently had no teeth, enjoyed dancing around, and loved to laugh loudly and for long amounts of time. The Zambo was a stereotyped black man who was extremely lazy and only wishes to listen to music and laugh. This was followed by a theater act in which a white man covered his face black, wore tattered clothes, and exaggerated a black dance and his name was called Jim Crow.
The main difference between before and after the civil war and the freeing of slaves was that before the civil war blacks were shown as docile, happy, and content to serve their master in slavery. After the civil war the slaves were free so whites altered the stereotype to a brutal savage figure. In films like The Birth of a Nation scenes of white men painted to be black can be seen assaulting white girls to show their savage nature. Black children where continually shown as animals in the wild pictured with alligators and tigers. Older blacks were shown to dislike freedom and long for the “good ole days” of slavery.
The way blacks were shown in films was a way of propaganda for white privilege. Whites used their control of the media to force
Stereotypes on those who may not come into contact blacks. Many
People in the north during this period were not use to blacks as well as never saw them. That is outside the context of these films. The fact that this northerner where put under the impression that blacks where happy in slavery as well as savages out of it is wrong.
So why would whites want to portray blacks in these ways? By showing blacks as content in slavery helped persuade those who thought slavery was wrong that it was for their own good. When slavery was ended blacks were shown as savages to show that they could not live in a society with whites, and if they did all that would come from it is assaults on whites.
The main difference between before and after the civil war and the freeing of slaves was that before the civil war blacks were shown as docile, happy, and content to serve their master in slavery. After the civil war the slaves were free so whites altered the stereotype to a brutal savage figure. In films like The Birth of a Nation scenes of white men painted to be black can be seen assaulting white girls to show their savage nature. Black children where continually shown as animals in the wild pictured with alligators and tigers. Older blacks were shown to dislike freedom and long for the “good ole days” of slavery.
The way blacks were shown in films was a way of propaganda for white privilege. Whites used their control of the media to force
Stereotypes on those who may not come into contact blacks. Many
People in the north during this period were not use to blacks as well as never saw them. That is outside the context of these films. The fact that this northerner where put under the impression that blacks where happy in slavery as well as savages out of it is wrong.
So why would whites want to portray blacks in these ways? By showing blacks as content in slavery helped persuade those who thought slavery was wrong that it was for their own good. When slavery was ended blacks were shown as savages to show that they could not live in a society with whites, and if they did all that would come from it is assaults on whites.
Monday, February 12, 2007
Takaki
When white Europeans began to encounter black Africans they did not know what to think of these people. Their conclusion was a dangerous one because it would prove to be the reasoning for those who wished to enslave Africans. They called Africans “dark and deadly” and where savage and inferior to the “civilized” whites of Europe deemed. Africans were seen as animals, not the humans that they were, and where compared to primates, and because blacks weren’t seen as human their enslavement was generally accepted.
This all started with the selling of twenty African men who were taken to the New World. Blacks weren’t the only ones shipped over to the New World to be forced into servitude. The whites who were outcasts in Europe who have committed crimes or just been exiled by the community were shipped to work in servitude. There was a huge difference in how whites in servitude and blacks were treated. Blacks were forced to work until their death with no money. Though whites were not given money for their service, they weren’t forced to work forever. Often these people of servitude came together to form inter racial relationships, something not accepted by society. Many people were jailed or even beaten if
taking place in these relationships.
The first signs of a rascism that still exists today came because a culture was mis understodd as lessers than Whites. Blacks were treated like animals as well as sold that way. This kind of treatment is unexcusable and if the actions of these ignorant men had not happened our world could be extremely different today. Blacks and whites would live togethor without one feeling superior to the other and with mutual respect.
It shocked me to learn that whites wer put into servitude as well as blacks. By taking what the Europeans thought to be the trash of their society they added insult to injury for both these Blacks and Whites that were enslaved. It bothers me that even two races who were enslaved had racial biased with them. The punishments for disobeying orders or interracial relationships were much harder on blacks. On top of that whites had the possibility to get out of their servitude while blacks were enslavd until they ran away or died.
This all started with the selling of twenty African men who were taken to the New World. Blacks weren’t the only ones shipped over to the New World to be forced into servitude. The whites who were outcasts in Europe who have committed crimes or just been exiled by the community were shipped to work in servitude. There was a huge difference in how whites in servitude and blacks were treated. Blacks were forced to work until their death with no money. Though whites were not given money for their service, they weren’t forced to work forever. Often these people of servitude came together to form inter racial relationships, something not accepted by society. Many people were jailed or even beaten if
taking place in these relationships.
The first signs of a rascism that still exists today came because a culture was mis understodd as lessers than Whites. Blacks were treated like animals as well as sold that way. This kind of treatment is unexcusable and if the actions of these ignorant men had not happened our world could be extremely different today. Blacks and whites would live togethor without one feeling superior to the other and with mutual respect.
It shocked me to learn that whites wer put into servitude as well as blacks. By taking what the Europeans thought to be the trash of their society they added insult to injury for both these Blacks and Whites that were enslaved. It bothers me that even two races who were enslaved had racial biased with them. The punishments for disobeying orders or interracial relationships were much harder on blacks. On top of that whites had the possibility to get out of their servitude while blacks were enslavd until they ran away or died.
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
Zinn Ch 2
Howard Zinn’s chapter “Drawing the Color Line” shows how racism began and how it became such a huge problem in America. When setting up civilization in America the settlers found the conditions harsh, and struggled greatly to farm crops needed to stay alive. Many of the settlers died and they decided help was needed. This help didn’t come voluntarily however and a race would be oppressed into slavery. Black slaves were captured in African and were shipped to America. These slave ships were covered with the blood of Africans and blacks were packed in to harsh conditions. Conditions that were so bad they left one out of every three Africans dead some of which chose suicide by drowning.
The troubles of this race would continue off the boats as they were forced to obey the rule of their white masters. Africans were treated terribly by the whites that wished to cement their superiority they needed to keep the blacks oppressed. This is where the racism we still see today stemmed from. Some slaves chose to fight back against the belief that blacks were inferior and not a true human being. Some slaves did this unnoticed by doing things like slowing down production while others fought with actual violence. Some Africans ran off together in groups and formed small villages in the wilderness while others ran off alone and tried to pass as free.
When this country was founded it was on the basis that hard work and freedom will result in success and it is on their own shoulders to work their way to the top. Yet when colonizing America settlers ran into troubles they captured others and forced them to do their work for the new colonists. The slavery of a race due to a difference in color is far for the ideas of freedom, and hard work aren’t suppose to consist of another working for you. The people responsible for the slavery of Africans are also responsible for the racism these people are subjected to hundreds of years later today. The treatment blacks received was no less than torture from the way they were shipped to America, the way they were treated in America, or the fact they were enslaved.
In the reading Zinn states some whites joined the black in uprisings but none were very successful and many were squashed by betrayal amongst the group. Maybe if more people stood up for what was right and saw these men as human beings not slaves then the racism we know today wouldn’t exist. We wouldn’t have been subjected to hate groups like the KKK or segregation. Racism is a problem that should have been stopper a long time ago and this many years later still needs a solution.
The troubles of this race would continue off the boats as they were forced to obey the rule of their white masters. Africans were treated terribly by the whites that wished to cement their superiority they needed to keep the blacks oppressed. This is where the racism we still see today stemmed from. Some slaves chose to fight back against the belief that blacks were inferior and not a true human being. Some slaves did this unnoticed by doing things like slowing down production while others fought with actual violence. Some Africans ran off together in groups and formed small villages in the wilderness while others ran off alone and tried to pass as free.
When this country was founded it was on the basis that hard work and freedom will result in success and it is on their own shoulders to work their way to the top. Yet when colonizing America settlers ran into troubles they captured others and forced them to do their work for the new colonists. The slavery of a race due to a difference in color is far for the ideas of freedom, and hard work aren’t suppose to consist of another working for you. The people responsible for the slavery of Africans are also responsible for the racism these people are subjected to hundreds of years later today. The treatment blacks received was no less than torture from the way they were shipped to America, the way they were treated in America, or the fact they were enslaved.
In the reading Zinn states some whites joined the black in uprisings but none were very successful and many were squashed by betrayal amongst the group. Maybe if more people stood up for what was right and saw these men as human beings not slaves then the racism we know today wouldn’t exist. We wouldn’t have been subjected to hate groups like the KKK or segregation. Racism is a problem that should have been stopper a long time ago and this many years later still needs a solution.
Friday, February 2, 2007
Extra Credit
In the video Race: The Power of An Illusion the reason people discriminate against others is investigation. In the first episode “The Difference Between Us” college students take a class to study the differences between races. The students included a variety of different races and are all given DNA tests to see if there is a difference in the biology when comparing different races. All the students were asked whom their DNA would be most similar to. Naturally the students each said they would have the most similar DNA to the people they looked most alike. When the results came out race had nothing to do with biology.
Similarly people believe that African Americans have something in their biology that allows them to be better athletes. When blacks began to dominate track events they were labeled as excellent athletes but as far as intelligence was concerted they were still perceived as inferior. In the video athletes at a track event were asked if race had anything to do with athletics. Many of the athletes said that African Americans had an advantage any time they lined up against a white athlete.
It amazed me to see how DNA and biology have nothing to do with race. It proves that the only difference between races is the color of our skin, not the unfair stereotypes people are assigned. Furthermore, the video showed that there is more of a difference in DNA between two completely similar fruit flies than two completely different looking human beings. The experiment shocked the students taking part and proved that discriminating against others is superficial and hurtful for no reason.
The fact that some privileged whites used the success of black athletes to claim that they were uncivilized and unintelligent. Some people said the only reason African Americans were so good at running and athletic activities is because just a few years ago they were running for their live in the jungle. It amazes me that some people can use anything to establish power, privilege, and dominance to a group of people who have a minor difference between others. We are all different and can’t discriminate against those who have differences that society say are inferior.
Similarly people believe that African Americans have something in their biology that allows them to be better athletes. When blacks began to dominate track events they were labeled as excellent athletes but as far as intelligence was concerted they were still perceived as inferior. In the video athletes at a track event were asked if race had anything to do with athletics. Many of the athletes said that African Americans had an advantage any time they lined up against a white athlete.
It amazed me to see how DNA and biology have nothing to do with race. It proves that the only difference between races is the color of our skin, not the unfair stereotypes people are assigned. Furthermore, the video showed that there is more of a difference in DNA between two completely similar fruit flies than two completely different looking human beings. The experiment shocked the students taking part and proved that discriminating against others is superficial and hurtful for no reason.
The fact that some privileged whites used the success of black athletes to claim that they were uncivilized and unintelligent. Some people said the only reason African Americans were so good at running and athletic activities is because just a few years ago they were running for their live in the jungle. It amazes me that some people can use anything to establish power, privilege, and dominance to a group of people who have a minor difference between others. We are all different and can’t discriminate against those who have differences that society say are inferior.
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