I guess the question could be what do we hope to achieve by teaching about race.... and what are the risks. From what you all have said in response to my questions these exercises have not been beta tested... or there is little evidence on that people of color think about them. Or perhaps more important how students of color feel when they are part of these exercises in a predominantly white classroom in a predominantly white school.
I decided to do some informal testing with holiday guests of color. I used the statements below. We are located in the Phila Wilmington area. Given many things have changed since the these were written.... TV NBA.... The first general reaction was where have these people been? 1. I can if I wish arrange to be in the company of people of my race most of the time. 2. If I should need to move, I can be pretty sure of renting or purchasing housing in an area which I can afford and in which I would want to live. 3. I can be pretty sure that my neighbors in such a location will be neutral or pleasant to me. 4. I can go shopping alone most of the time, pretty well assured that I will not be followed or harassed. 5. I can turn on the television or open to the front page of the paper and see people of my race widely represented. 6. When I am told about our national heritage or about "" I am shown that people of my color made it what it is. 7. I can be sure that my children will be given curricular materials that testify to the existence of their race. 8. If I want to, I can be pretty sure of finding a publisher for this piece on white privilege. 9. I can go into a music shop and count on finding the music of my race represented, into a supermarket and find the staple foods which fit with my cultural traditions, into a hairdresser' shop and find someone who can cut my hair. While white people may take these things for granted... that does not make them privileges One of the Jewish women told how hard it was to get someone to cut her hair.... Perhaps the most repeated comment was that while some of these comments were at times true they did not represent privilege... and white people always make it about them.. some of the people of color suggested that this approach would make them underprivileged..... this would greatly soften the damage of racism... It is one thing to be denied a privilege and quite another to be denied a right. One of those commenting is a millionaire great grand parent was a slave. Grand parents were burned in in their home. It's not about white and it is not about privilege or underprivileged. They gave you all a pass because you are academics and could not be expected to understand the real world. At that point my told the real job story. When I got my Ph. D. I was directing a social practice agency. One of the faculty said now you can get a real job. The question remains..... what do we expect from these untested classroom activities. Where is the science. Del --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Teaching Sociology" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/teachsoc -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
