Racial/Ethnic Identity

The article was very interesting and touched on a lot of interesting points. I have never thought about the way I identify with being african-american up until now. Going to this school has really made me realized how concious I am about my race at this school. White perception has a lot to do with the idea of how blacks will progress. Its almost as if their opinion matters to us. In reading the article, I can take bits and pieces from each of the stories that relate to my life and how I feel. First, I want to talk about my experience that I have experienced with my cousin. She can identify with Janice's story in the fact that she wants to interact with the black community but doesn't really have the opportunity due to her parents. My cousin wanted so bad to be in touch with her background that it became awkward to be exposed. I think identify with Integration and Commitment. I really do internalize black culture and fights cultural oppression and I do have positve personal identity. I can relate to this because I am comfortable with myself and I think that began with being comfortable and accepting the beauty of my culture. I would never want to feel socially awkward, as my cousin does, around people that I have the most in common with.

Attendning UT, has taught me alot how racial identiy indentifies with concepts of privelage. Identity and privaledge go hand in hand because we live in a "white" society. White people are privelaged because of their skin which allows alot of things to go "unseen and unheard". Attending this school shows me how white people feel that have an advantage over blacks and hispanics and two examples of this would be the Abagail Fisher case and the Trayvon Martin case. I am deeply bothered by how screwed up our justice system is. Privelage amounts resources and opportunities that blacks are not openly awarded and its really not fair. I'm not saying that noone is more deserving than another but why are things this way? I feel lik a charity case going to this school because privilege makes as I didn't rightfully work my behind off to get here. Everything that has been going has really gotten to me I just can not believe that justice has not been served in the Travyon Martin case.

In Tatums's article, she highlights some great points, one of which stood out the most to me. In the article, the teacher was suprised that the black child was as educated as they were. This is wrong to me because this issue goes back to the stereotype that blacks are dumb. Whites have the predetermined attitudes about blacks relating to stereotypes that it could effect how a child performs and give them false praise. I really don't feel as if this is right because all black people are not dumb just as not all whites are smart.