At 11:30 PM 2/4/02 EST, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: >To begin with, I'm not certain which "deviant sexual proclivities" you're >referring to, so perhaps you could clarify a little more of what you meant by >this. I'd also like to hear more about this. I'd suggest that Mr. Swift join "sodomlist" to discuss this more. There are folks who both support and oppose the sodomy law on that list. To join, email [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>Now from a >sociological point of view, we shouldn't have it. It should be done away >with, because it isn't really Black History, it's History, period. It >doesn't just belong to or impact Black people only, it affects everyone. But >most classes and textbooks don't teach about SNCC, Scientific Colonialism, >and the origins of HBCUs among other things, and so they have to be compelled >to do it in the shortest month of the year. I guess my take is this -- Black History, Women's History, Gay History etc. are all history. From what I've heard, from stories from teenagers who have attended the Minneapolis Public Schools, is that there is lots of focus on "multiculturalism" -- and less focus on historical events like the fronteer (two days on that topic I heard) -- and the major impact that had on American History. That bothers me -- I guess maybe this dates me, but when I took American History in 9th grade, we spent about half the year on the Fronteer. There is much more to Black History than Martin Luther King. Just as there is much more to Women's History than the modern wave of Feminism from the 60s. 19th Century Feminists such as Susan B Anthony were opposed to abortion for example. I hate to admit my ignorance, but I don't know what HBCUs are -- and am not totally sure what Scientific Colonialism means. >Our society is already segmented into color and culture boxes. The only way >to move outside of these boxes is to teach people, especially children, that >race and culture and other characteristics should not be the defining >criteria in making decisions, choosing policy, etc.; which is part of what >you're saying. The part you're missing from the argument and solution is >that they are already used, and to a disadvantage of people of color and >different ethnic and cultural groups. The only way to truly eradicate the >problem is to first have an accurate assessment of negative situation and >second to place equal weight on the input and understanding of all cultures >so that none are sidelined or marginalized. Only then can you realistically >talk about eliminating the sociological construct that is race. I guess I've always had a problem with the term "people of color". Generally it is used to include African Americans, Hispanics (Latinos), Native Americans and Asian Americans. The term also suggests that people who are not "of color" by this definition have no color -- which is rather strange -- I mean, what am I -- transparent? I agree with the idea of having kids who graduate from our public schools having a good understanding of a variety of cultures. However, I think lumping together African Americans, Hispanics (or Latinos) and Asian Americans in the broad term "people of color" just makes no sense in a lot of ways. >This is what multiculturalism is, educating about the differences between >cultures, discarding and correcting the misrepresentation of facts, and >pulling people together under a banner of their similarities while showing >that this is not hampered by the differences that exist. If you truly want >to eliminate the racial and cultural barriers that exist, you have to begin >by teaching the value that each culture and group brings to the table. This >has not been the case to date. And there is no better place to do this than >in the school system. Integrating this education will go a long way to >bringing about understanding and helping our children and society to succeed. I agree with this. What I have problems with, is when schools stop teaching writers such as Mark Twain or Charles Dickens -- because they aren't "multicultural" enough. I also think the discussion of how students are tracked into technical/vocational areas, rather than getting prepared for college is worth discussing. I do think such tracking is happening in the Minneapolis Public Schools -- and that is a problem. Eva Eva Young Central _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
