Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Black/White

In class on Monday, everyone took the Louisiana State voting test given to black people in the early 1960s. It's a literacy test of 30 questions timed for ten minutes that is supposed to prove that a person has at least a fifth grade education. The test is incredibly frustrating and personally, I couldn't finish the whole test in time. If you get one wrong answer on this test, you were not permitted to vote. Everyone had a good time reading off their answers and debating over how to interpret the questions. But after thinking about people seriously sitting down and struggling to finish/pass this test, it just was not fair. The test was designed to make sure that black people could not vote. If you read the questions, they can be interpreted in all different ways. So one day this might be the answer, but the next day if you have that answer, nope that's wrong today. No one in our class passed the test and I am 99% positive that no one else can pass this test either. If you want to try it, here's the link.

www.rethinkingschools.org/img/archive/17_02/Vote_test.pdf

In the article, "Black Schools, White Schools," Bell talks about how the Brown vs. the Board of Education actually did more harm than it did good. Black children wanted to have the same quality of education as the white children by integrating the schools and having access to all of the accommodations and resources that the white schools offered. After the Brown vs. the Board of Education case, black children were now able to attend the white schools but the white people left and moved to different areas, taking the resources and quality education with them. Therefore, the case still didn't help black people gain access to quality education, it further segregated the schools and further perpetuated the problem. I never realized this until after reading the article. Also, in class, the professor asked me what it means to be white and I couldn't think of an answer. After thinking about it more, I realized I have never been asked that question or have ever had to think about my skin color. To me, this is what white privilege means; never having to think about how the color of my skin can affect me in life. It goes along with what everyone else said but I never realized it before taking this class. Like the Brown vs. Board of Education case or the girl in class in the article, "Race: Some Teachable-and Uncomfortable-Moments," I have never had to defend myself because of my skin color. Regarding race, the concept of white privilege has opened my eyes to skin color meaning more than just people's appearance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1wztUJ4VVE
This video, "Stereotypes and White Privilege," is similar to what we did in class on Monday. It's interesting to see how many stereotypes can be rattled off about people of color and how much of a struggle it is for the people to think of white stereotypes.

4 comments:

  1. I completely agree with what you said about that test being frustrated. It's interesting the point about how each person interpreting it differently-it shows how the achievement gap isn't really because of ability but because how it was interpreted. I think this is really eye opening that the achievement isn't effected by race but because of different cultures.

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  2. You said you never had to think about your skin color and it being a factor in your life. So does this mean you never considered race/skin color to be a factor in the lives of others? Have you ever thought of what it would be like to be Black on this campus, or in society? I have talked to friends and discuss how being white on this campus may influence our experience, what do you think?

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  3. I appreciate your coming to terms with these ideas. Reflection is always the first step. Once we understand our position in the world, we are more aware of the postion of others who might not walk in our shoes.

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  4. That test was ridiculous i had to read very question at least three times, it was so unfair back then. But it does make you see how standardized tests suck, especially if you aren't ready for them

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