①.As part of developing your racial justice literacy through this course, it is important to take inventory of what you know and how you learned it. Reflecting on your existing ideas and attitudes on race and racism along with the sources of your information (archaeology of self and information literacy) will help you better be able to identify the multiple ways that you encounter and engage with racial knowledge. It's a starting point for you to consider what you think you know about race in relation to the various definitions and concepts that we will explore in the course. Critical self-reflection is a key component to thinking critically about race and building your literacy around it.
Please respond to the following prompts in your own words and feel free to provide examples (Do not provide dictionary definitions):
Aim for at least 300 words total for you initial post. I especially want you to develop thoughtful and detailed responses to #3-5.
- What is race?
- What is racism?
- How have you learned about race and racism throughout your life?
Think about the ways that people, places, education, media, and culture have shaped your present understanding.
- How do you feel about talking about race and racism and why is that so?
- What are some values and communication behaviors that you feel would promote a safe, respectful, constructive, collaborative, humanizing, and accountable environment for discussing race and racism?
②
- What is education and what is its purpose in society?
- Do you feel that your education was/is relevant to your background, needs, and goals?
- After reviewing the material on the history of ethnic studies, what stood out to you regarding the student/struggles of 1968 and 1999?
- In what ways have you taken action or can you envision advocating for issues that impact you and believe in? It can be something that directly impacts you and your community or solidarity with another.
What Is Racial Literacy?
In schools, healthy conversations involving race across class, culture, and other characteristics of diversity are possible. The use of multiple texts and modalities to engage students in these conversations is readily facilitated by digital technologies. To develop racial literacy among students, educators can draw from historical, fictional, and poetic texts most effectively. Teachers who are able to engage their students in the topic of race are most successful when they employ self-exploration and honest assessments about the role they may play in perpetuating racist ideas. Once specific behaviors are recognized, it becomes easier for racially literate individuals to interrupt those behaviors in the future. Racially literate teachers develop curricula that are centered on fostering open-mindedness, commitment to inquiry and reflection, and exploration of ideas connected to the concepts of democracy and equity in schooling. Racially literate teachers make evident their deep commitment to social justice in the ways they interact with students, families, and their BIPOC colleagues. Racial literacy is a skill and practice by which individuals can probe the existence of racism and examine the effects of race and institutionalized systems on their experiences and representation in US society (Rogers & Mosley, 2006; Sealey-Ruiz, 2011;
Racial Literacy A Policy Research Brief 2
A Policy Research Brief produced by the James R. Squire Office of the National Council of Teachers of English
Thus, racial literacy in English classrooms is the ability to read, discuss, and write about situations that involve race or racism.
Sealey-Ruiz, forthcoming; Skerrett, 2011). Students who have this skill can discuss the implications of race and American racism in constructive ways. A desired outcome of racial literacy in an outwardly racist society like America is for members of the dominant racial category to adopt an antiracist stance and for persons of color to resist a victim stance. Thus, racial literacy in English classrooms is the ability to read, discuss, and write about situations that involve race or racism. Scholarship that informs the concept of racial literacy identifies race as a signifier that is discursively constructed through language (Hall, 1997); fluid, unstable, and socially constructed (Omi & Winant, 1986) rather than static; and not rooted in biology, but having “real” effects in individual lives (Frankenberg, 1996). The architect of the concept of racial literacy, Harvard Professor Lani Guinier (2004), implored a shift from racial liberalism to racial literacy. She critiqued racial liberalism as an inactive, deficit approach to racial equality that subjugates Black people to the position of victim and does not activate the required antiracist stance that white people must take against their own racist ideals and actions.
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OUR LIVES: AN ETHNIC STUDIES PRIMER i
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OUR LIVES AN ETHNIC STUDIES PRIMER
WEST HILLS COLLEGE LEMOORE
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CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS Guadalupe Capozzi Silas Cha Daryl Johnson
EDITOR Neomi Daniels CONTENT REVIEWERS Katie Conklin Greg Kennedy Rene Paredes Jacqui Shehorn Kelsey Smith COVER IMAGE Image by Jackson David, Pexels is licensed under CC BY 4.0 COPYRIGHT Produced and distributed under a Creative Commons License in June 2022. “Our Lives: An Ethnic Studies Primer” by Vera Kennedy and Rowena Bermio is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0. The contents of this book were developed under an Open Textbooks Pilot grant from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), U.S. Department of Education. However, those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Module 1. The Significance of Ethnic Studies……………………………………………………………………. 1
Learning Objectives ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 1
Key Terms & Concepts ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 1
Introduction …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 2
Application 1.1 Acknowledging Indigenous People’s Land …………………………………………………………. 3
Understanding Race………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 4
Application 1.2 Breaking the Illusion of Skin Color ……………………………………………………………………. 4
Race-Ethnic Relations Today………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 6
Application 1.3 Leadership Development through Intergroup Dialogue ……………………………………… 8
Race-Ethnic Group Perceptions ………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 8
Explanations of Racial Inequalities ……………………………………………………………………………………………. 10
Table 1. Structural Factors of Social Position & Intergroup Relations ……………………………………….. 11
Application 1.4 Intergroup Dialogue & Social Change ……………………………………………………………… 13
Application 1.5 Social Distancing by Race & Ethnicity ……………………………………………………………… 15
Reality of Inequality ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 16
Table 2. Indicators of Racial Ethnic Inequality in the United States ………………………………………….. 16
Table 3. Indicators of Racial Ethnic Inequality in the United States ………………………………………….. 16
Application 1.6 Housing Discrimination …………………………………………………………………………………. 18
Summary ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 18
Review Questions …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 18
To My Future Self …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 18
References …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 19
Module 2. Our Power & Identity …………………………………………………………………………………… 21
Learning Objectives ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 21
Key Terms & Concepts …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 21
Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 22
Collective Culture ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 22
Social & Cultural Bonds ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 23
Biographical Reflection 2.1 When Did You Become Black? ………………………………………………………. 25
Levels of Culture ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 26
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Groups & Organizations ………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 26
Application 2.1 Your Regional Culture …………………………………………………………………………………… 27
Doing Culture …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 29
Identity Formation & Politics ……………………………………………………………………………………………………. 30
Intersectionality …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 31
Application 2.2 The Privilege & Oppression of Intersectionality ……………………………………………….. 32
Globalization & Identity ………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 33
Identity Today ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 34
Cultural Change & Adaptation …………………………………………………………………………………………………. 35
Othering & Belonging ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 36
Biographical Reflection 2.2 One Times Three Equals One ………………………………………………………… 38
Application 2.3 The Meaning & Impact of Your Story ……………………………………………………………… 39
Application 2.4 Privilege & Life Chances ………………………………………………………………………………… 40
Biographical Reflection 2.3 Single Mother Gets a Bad Rap ………………………………………………………. 41
Summary ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 41
Review Questions …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 42
To My Future Self …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 42
References …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 42
Module 3. Our Story: Native Americans …………………………………………………………………………. 45
Learning Objectives ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 45
Key Terms & Concepts …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 45
Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 45
Indigenous Peoples of the Americas …………………………………………………………………………………………. 46
Contact & Conflict with the “Old World” …………………………………………………………………………………… 46
English Colonial Period ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 47
Westward Expansion………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 49
Application 3.1 Shifting Perspective: Cherokee Indians …………………………………………………………… 50
The 20th Century …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 53
Application 3.2 Shifting Perspective: Alcatraz Proclamation …………………………………………………….. 54
Application 3.3 Our Fires Still Burn ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 55
The Recent Past ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 55
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Summary ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 56
Review Questions …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 56
To My Future Self …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 56
References …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 57
Module 4. Our Story: African Americans ………………………………………………………………………… 58
Learning Objectives ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 58
Key Terms & Concepts …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 58
Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 59
Colonial Period to Reconstruction ……………………………………………………………………………………………. 59
Application 4.1 Shifting Perspective: Benjamin Banneker ………………………………………………………… 62
Application 4.2 Shifting Perspective: Justifying Slavery ……………………………………………………………. 64
1877 to WWII ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 67
Application 4.3 Shifting Perspective: What is Race? ……………………………………………………………….. 69
Civil Rights Movement of the 60s & 70s ……………………………………………………………………………………. 71
Application 4.4 Shifting Perspective: Letter from Birmingham …………………………………………………. 72
The Recent Past ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 73
Biographical Reflection 4.1 A Proud American, or a Proud African American? …………………………… 74
Summary ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 75
Review Questions …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 75
To My Future Self …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 75
References …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 75
Module 5. Our Story: Asian Americans ………………………………………………………………………….. 77
Learning Objectives ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 77
Key Terms & Concepts …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 77
Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 77
Mid 1800s to early 20th Century ………………………………………………………………………………………………. 78
Global Conflicts & the 20th Century ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 82
Application 5.1 Shifting Perspective: Self-Determination ………………………………………………………… 82
Application 5.2 Shifting Perspective: Japanese Internment ……………………………………………………… 83
New Immigrants & Expansion of Diversity …………………………………………………………………………………. 83
The Recent Past ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 85
Biographical Reflection 5.1 Southeast Asian Refugees…………………………………………………………….. 86
Summary ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 88
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Review Questions …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 88
To My Future Self …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 88
References …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 88
Module 6. Our Story: Latinx Americans …………………………………………………………………………. 90
Learning Objectives ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 90
Key Terms & Concepts …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 90
Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 90
Indigenous People’s & Colonization …………………………………………………………………………………………. 91
Westward Expansion & Warfare ………………………………………………………………………………………………. 92
Labor & Civil Rights ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 96
Application 6.1 Shifting Perspective: Zoot Suit Riots ……………………………………………………………….. 97
Application 6.2 Shifting Perspective: Labor & the Struggle of Migrant Farm Workers …………………. 99
The Recent Past ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 100
Biographical Reflection 6.1 A Little Goes a Long Way ……………………………………………………………. 101
Summary ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 101
Review Questions …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 102
To My Future Self …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 102
References ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 102
Module 7. Our Divisions ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 103
Learning Objectives ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 103
Key Terms & Concepts …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 103
Introduction …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 103
Cultural Hierarchies ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 104
Prejudice ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 104
Biographical Reflection 7.1 New Home and Race Relations ……………………………………………………. 105
Application 7.1 The Thinking Behind Prejudice …………………………………………………………………….. 109
Biographical Reflection 7.2 This is Not an Altercation ……………………………………………………………. 110
Application 7.2 The Affect of Implicit Bias ……………………………………………………………………………. 114
Racism & Exploitation …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 114
Application 7.3 Little Acts of Discrimination …………………………………………………………………………. 115
Application 7.4 Recognizing White Privilege ……………………………………………………………………….. 116
Summary ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 117
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Review Questions …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 117
To My Future Self …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 117
Application 7.5 Visual Ethnography Part 1 …………………………………………………………………………… 118
Application 7.6 Visual Ethnography Part 2 …………………………………………………………………………… 119
References …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 119
Module 8. Our Way Forward …………………………………………………………………………………………………… 123
Learning Objectives ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 123
Key Terms & Concepts …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 123
Introduction …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 124
Racial & Social Justice ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 124
Biographical Reflection 8.1 The Blue Mornings …………………………………………………………………….. 125
Reducing Prejudice …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 128
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