These Colors Don't Run The World

Shame of you America and your ancestors. You have pillaged and ravished many countries, and worst of all, you pushed your own language and religion as the "proper" way of life. This week in class we discussed the way that colonials who came to American would force the Native Americans to learn English and practice Christianity. This was wrong because if they didn't and choose to stick with their original life style, as they should have, they were not allowed to participate in society.

This reminds me of my own high school experience where if I was not acting a certain way people did not what me participating in their events. I attended a mostly white and Asian school. If I was ever "acting too black" it was an issue with some students. I had to make sure not to act too much like myself at first because people would see me as an outcast. Fortunately I found friends to accept me, but what about the Native Americans? They didn't have friends to help them. Neither did the Africans who were stolen from their home and taught a totally new way of life. So for this I say Shame to you America. The only way to repent is to reteach the knowledge you've stolen.

Banned!

An entire ethnicity of people is under attack. It seems that the government itself is at war with Mexican-Americans. Banning the Mexican American Studies program in Tucson, Arizona was wrong and unjust. The border issues between Mexico and America have always been a talked about issue, however recently legislature was passed in Tucson, Arizona removing the Mexican American studies program from a school. Many Mexican-Americans are angry, but this is not the first bit of legislation that has angered the Hispanic community. About a year ago there was a law passed In Arizona allowing police officers to stop anyone who “looked” like the might be an illegal immigrant. Basically it authorized racial profiling. After that and now this banned program, many Hispanics feel like they are being outlawed, in both society and the classroom. When the program was dropped a book was banned along with it called Rethinking Columbus. This book has never been banned anywhere else and when news got out, there was internet outrage. People all over have blogged and written articles about it.

Bill Bigelow is one of the authors and Editors of Rethinking Columbus and upon finding out that his book was banned, for the first time, he has this to say on his blog “the last time a book of mine was outlawed was during the state of emergency in apartheid South Africa in 1986, when the regime there banned the curriculum I’d written, Strangers in Their Own Country, likely because it included excerpts from a speech by then-imprisoned Nelson Mandela. . . the white minority government feared for its life . . . It’s worth asking what the school authorities in Arizona fear today” (Rethinking Columbus Banned In Tucson) Bigelow posed a good question. Why, now all of a sudden is the government of Arizona scared of the Mexican American studies? Could it be that the white upper class is scared. If Mexican-American Children grow up to favor their Mexican heritage over their American roots they are likely to take opposing views on immigration than those of the people in Arizona, and we all know how Arizona feels about Immigration. Now the blame does not fall on ALL of Arizona, however the way that the legislature is acting is hurting people.

“My cultural heritage has been outlawed” writes James E. Garcia after gaining information of the banned studies program. I understand the issues that our government has with illegal immigration. Every year it seems that more and more immigrants get into the country. According to the Pew Hispanic Center In October 2008, the illegal immigrant population stood at 11.9 million. Since then the number has risen. I agree that the illegal immigration of any race is an issue to of the country’s safety, however to strip knowledge from the Hispanics here of their heritage is wrong. As a black student in America I already feel that there isn’t enough of an equal look at all ethnicities in most schools. Would you want someone to take away your ability to learn about your roots? Our heritage is what makes us who we are, we shouldn’t be robbed of that right to learn.

- http://www.endillegalimmigration.com/Illegal_Immigration_Facts_&_Statistics/index.shtml

- http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/articles/2012/01/15/20120115ethnic-studies-wont-end-idea.html
- http://howard.blackboard.com/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_group=courses&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2FdisplayLearningUnit%3Fcourse_id%3D_1002217_1%26content_id%3D_1236922_1%26framesetWrapped%3Dtrue

Borders

This week in class we discussed the theme of borders. To begin our theme we read a passage from Gloria Anzaldua’s Borderlands/La Frontera. In this passage Anzaldua speaks on the border between The Unites States and Mexico. She goes in to depth about the inhabitants of the area speaking on how those who live on the border neither belong to one culture or the other. They are a mix, a hybrid that is perceived as not "normal" by those further from the border on either side. We went on in class to discuss the fact that there are more borders than just the one's draw on maps between countries, states and cities. There are also borders between different social classes, different genders, different ethnicity, different sexual orientations and many more. One of the borders I though about was the border between different types of religion. Personally as a Muslim I have known that many people in the U.S. do not like the Islamic religion. Research shows that "More than 4 in 10 Americans (43%) admit to feeling at least "a little" prejudice toward Muslims" Another part of borders is that they cause a psychological affect among people. When a border is established it causes people on either side of them to look at and feel towards each other differently simply because, "I am HERE and they're THERE"
Think about it, borders do more than just determine where one country end and another begins.


http://www.gallup.com/poll/125312/religious-prejudice-stronger-against-muslims.aspx