Final Blog Post: Privilege in Every Position

 We typically weigh pros and cons when making a decision but when dropped into a situation we don’t get a chance to do so. Rarely do we ever think about the things that come easy to us. I was dropped in the body of white man and had a choice. I was a part of the group with the most apparent pro. The cons on the other hand while fewer in number than other demographics were present but hidden. Most of the time my pros are referred to as privilege. My privilege can be used as a weapon against me. I have come to believe that every position no matter what demographic or psychographic a person possesses privileges and disadvantages.

I want to start with the group that we have discussed most during this class black people. Black people have had a long list of tragic events happen to them from enslavement to poll taxes and Jim Crow Laws. Black people still struggle to this day. Notably with police brutality. We saw this arise with George Floyd’s murder and Brianna Taylor’s cases poor police work that ended up in her death. Then communities also have issues with remnants of red lining which created poor communities who have less access to education, healthy food, and medical care. On the other hand these communities have more access to fast food, abortion clinics, and tobacco. The information I have provided is backed by research and is widely accepted

What I am about to say now is far less accepted. Black people have some level of privilege. The Black community does not exist the same way the white community exists. Black people have a more inherent support system. I am not saying that they don’t need to develop connections or relationships. I am saying that oftentimes black people have communities that quickly accept them just because of their skin color. I know that part of the reason that black folks bond easier is a natural shared experience. Black people have some milestone experience that they can relate to one another on. 

Another advantage of black people is their ability to create culture. A majority of the trends coming out in music and fashion are black trends made mainstream. Rap in the 90s was not widely enjoyed but throughout time you have more and more people listen to it. Black music has set the standard since Jazz was mainstream. The original rock star was Chuck Berry who developed early rock and roll. The only real genres that were not crucially changed by black people were country music which is arguable because of the invention of the electric guitar for playing Jazz in large spaces.

Additionally, Micheal Jordan and Muhammad Ali are two of the greatest athletes of all time and many others like them have set standards for excellence in their fields. Athletic as a whole has some issues in the Black community because of its dependence on it. J. Cole addresses this in one of his songs stating that he doesn’t see many black heroes unless they rap or are athletes. On the other hand black people have stayed at the top of their field for so long. Many little white boys and girls are looking up to people like Steph Curry or Sarena Williams.

One thing I can tell you is that no white athlete has ever made a bunch of Chinese people cry. Kobe did. Kobe Bryant was widely mourned in China after his death. You have to think how incredible it is that so many people's hearts can't be touched by one man. The athletic legacy left by Black people is massive.

I don’t want what I have said to discount the struggle or trails black people have been through or are going through. I am not the best resource on that. I know from hearing about it that black people have it rough. One that was addressed in a recent discussion about professionalism and hair. I don’t have to struggle with how my hair is cut for an interview as long as it is well groomed and neat I am good to go. Black people do despite dreads being neatly and professionally do they are looked down upon and same with afros. I can’t imagine having to be self conscious in an interview about whether they are judging my hair.

I know I am only addressing demographics in my argument; psychographics are far too complex and specific for me to assess well. Psychographics pertain to opinions, beliefs and interests. One example is conservative vs. republican but I will avoid that debate for now.

I want to wrap this up with some quiet disadvantages that I struggle with because of my demographic. As a man I am required to be silent in sadness and not to cry. It is not because of other men but in order to maintain an image of confidence. It is to still remain attractive because tears are a weakness. I even regret not walking out sooner because the room heard my voice wavering. It is not that it was taught to me but it was something that I came to know based on how I was treated when I did.

Being white man I have to roll over every time a minority issue comes up because if I speak and don’t agree I am immediately labeled. The Labeling only happens in groups who tend to be less nuanced but it hurts. I have been called many names because of my tendency toward conservative opinions.

I hope it is not just my undying optimism that can see the good everywhere around me. From every point of view you can see something different. I hope that I am not diluted or crazy for thinking this way. My hope is that after reading this week we can all be thankful for our blessings and understand our struggles. Take account of what in your life comes easy because of your situation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJHLiGoPumM

https://truthinitiative.org/research-resources/targeted-communities/why-tobacco-racial-justice-issue

https://www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/african-american#:~:text=All%20of%20these%20factors%20increase,face%20hunger%20as%20white%20individuals.

https://www.hoffmanacademy.com/blog/black-history-blues-jazz-creators/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5HChRA_VLw

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/760726-kobe-bryant-why-the-la-lakers-star-is-so-big-in-china

“Guess Who’s coming to Dinner” | A Character Analysis

 “Guess Who’s coming to Dinner” is a revolutionary picture that studies mixed couples and what happens if a hardcore liberal has it happening to his family. It is very clear throughout the movie that everyone has their own opinions and very few of them change. 

The mom’s of the couple both quite quickly become fond of the marriage and see the passion of John Prentice (Sidney Poitier) and Joanna Drayton. They become wrapped up in the emotion and as long as their respective child is happy.

On the other hand both fathers tend to disapprove of the marriage. They are not against marrying outside of the race. They just want to protect their children and not see them struggle. John’s father is framed more selfishly as he talks with his son about how he raised him and how much work he put in to give him a fighting chance. Me while Mr. Drayton has no issue with either party but is concerned about the ridicule the pair will face. He is also freaking out because he was given a day to make a decision.

John is thoroughly in love but does not want to risk Joanna's relationship with her parents or his relationship with his. He understands the issue and even the hesitation of the parents. Joanna on the other hand is gung ho and would be married tomorrow at the courthouse if that is what it took. She epitomizes the idealistic rich white girl who has been so sheltered from reality that she doesn’t realize the issues. It is hard to tell throughout the movie if she is naive or just so positive it is portrayed as blindness. 

Throughout the movie only two characters change in a significant fashion. Beginning with John who is so conscious of how everyone else feels and what they might say that he can not be wrapped up in magic of love. He is relying on permission from authority figures in his life to approve of him his whole life. It is how he was able to achieve so much at a young age because it made his parents happy. His need for authority approval breaks when vocalized by his father. His father tells him that he has never upset them and how much he did for him. It finally clicks in his head and decides to be happy he cannot always get permission. He tells his dad off and reconfirms his love for him in the same breath.

The other character that makes significant progress is Mr. Drayton. Mr. Drayton is hard core liberal but also a very practical man. He is not against racial mixing; he is scared for his daughter and her happiness. It is a very masculine instinct to protect those that you love especially if she is as innocent and idealistic and sweet as Joanna was. His hard stance against the marriage is broken when Mrs. Prentice helps to remind him of his love for his own wife. It doesn’t change his concern about the issues but it opens his mind to memories of their love. He ends with a dramatic speech that points out the fault of all of those in the room. He come to conclusion if it is anything like how he feels and felt for Mrs. Drayton that John should marry his daughter and stop worrying about having permission.

The movie had beautiful cinematography and a realistic but compelling story that we could really sit into. We could see from the eyes of all of the characters the issue that could rise. I imagine that in its time it opened many eyes.

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/guess_whos_coming_to_dinner

Backey v. Board of Regents Reax.

Board v. Bakke is a fascinating case pertaining to affirmative action. A California Law School did not admit Mr.Bakke despite above average test scores. He believes it to be a direct effect of the quota system that was held in places for minority applicants. California held 16 spots for minority applicants.

We saw many good arguments presented from both sides. The Board of Regents argued that he had 84 chances out of the 100 people in the program. If Bakke wanted to get into the School he should have been better than one of those 84 candidates. 

Another part of the Argument was that reparations were owed to the black community which this program mainly targeted. Racial Segregation and Jim Crow Law have cause and achievement gap between the white and black communities in America. The economic argument followed similar logic in that they said Black people will become a drain on the economy if they don’t begin to get an education

In addition the economic argument informed us that the minimum wage was not livable even at the time. The yearly wage for minimum wage workers is under four thousand dollars. College degrees in this time more often affected job market performance and it was crucial to have a degree to make a livable wage.

 

On the other side, Bakke argues that college has always been admitted based on performance and not based on identity factors. In the end if Bakke had the highest score then he should have gotten into the university. The idea of a racial quota is inherent discrimination because of how it excludes people based on race.

The other argument was that it is detrimental to Bakke’s Economic growth. He is being left out to dry because he is not a minority but has the test scores. It can be extended into a dangerous precedent that makes economic status about race and not about performance which is the cornerstone of American economics.

Another argument related to Brown v. Board to Bakke. They were both cases of racial discrimination by exclusion from a certain “thing.” The argument extends to this as an example of “separate but equal returning.

Overall both sides made very good arguments which had me readily questioning my own point of view on affirmative action. I applaud both groups for discussing such hotly contest issue with such intelligence and creativity

Cornell Law

Into Heat of the Night

 Into the Heat of the Night has to do with the solving of a murder of prominent investor and wealthy man. He was found dead late at night by a cop on patrol. He began to search for the criminal and found a black man at the train station who was brought in for questioning on the basis that he was black. He was found to be a police officer and innocent. He and the other cops spend the rest of the movie trying to find the killer.

One scene in particular stands out from the film where the Black cop strikes the wealthy white man. During this time no matter what he had said a black man striking a white man was a total upset of the order of the world. The fact that he was not arrested on the spot by the Chief of police. It shows not only the growth of the Office but also how the social norms were at the time.

Not only does the movie do extensive commentary on racial relations but also on the severe need for industrialization in these small towns. The man who was murder was killed over a factory he was attempt build.

The tension in the beginning of the movie is high between the chief of police and black officer. He immediately judges him for his skin color and makes assumptions like him not being a cop. He actually called the man's boss in the city to see if he was actually a cop. He was skeptical of how Black man could make as much money as he did. Slowly over the course of the movie the two become closer while never quite friends they do recognize each other’s humanity. The black cop did not come around to the white officer until later in the movie, same as the Chief of Police.

In total, Into the Heat of the Night is a masterpiece depicting the relationships between the black and white population in a small town. 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094484/

https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/17602/in-the-heat-of-the-night/#overview

Klansville USA: Bob Jones

 It is scary to me as a North Carolina Resident that people in North Carolina would ever be labeled Klansville USA. The documentary hit close to home because I had always seen North Carolina as more progressive than the rest of the South throughout history.

Bob Jones was the most prominent member and leader of the Klan in the US. He was raised in a poor white family. Bob Jones even from his early days held racist ideology. He refused to salute a black officer during his term in the Navy and was dishonorably discharged. He proceeded to bounce from job to job until he began to speak for poor white people in North Carolina. He became the Grand Dragon of the North Carolina chapter of Ku Klux Klan.

Bob Jones' power comes from his ability to vocalize how a group saw themselves being crushed under progression. Bob Jones’ had an uncanny ability that most prominent reactionary leaders do; exploit ignorance and fear. Bob Jones’ was exploiting a primitive fear of being the bottom of the totem pole. People in the South who weren’t educated and flat broke had no voice and no one speaking for them so Bob Jones became that man.

North Carolina was a hotbed of Civil unrest in 1960’s being both Klansville USA and the home of some of the brightest lawyers and activists. When you have a strong of progressive movement you will always have a strong reaction from the opposing side. North Carolina’s government wanted to continue along the direction they were going by slowly integrating but not cause alot of upheaval in society. Neither side of the movement was happy with North Carolina’s progress. It makes sense because the Klan wanted to segregate and the NAACP (and other movements) wanted to integrate as soon as possible.

The PBS documentary on Klansville USA is eye opening documentary especially when it comes to leaders of these dark movements like the Nazi and Klan. The documentary well expressed how and why people would fall in line with the Klan and white supremacy. They even showed how histeria caught up the country.

https://daily.jstor.org/history-kkk-american-politics/

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/klansville/

EOTO #4: Swann v. Charlotte Mecklenburg

 Intro:

Swann v. Charlotte Mecklenburg is a landmark case in understanding what is okay to do in the name of segregation. Swann has to do with the Busing of students in order to fulfill the orders passed down based on Brown v. Board of Education in 1954. Swann v. Charlotte Mecklenburg was ruled in 1971 on April 20th. 

It is clear that integration was not happening quickly like the Supreme Court desired. Swann’s design was to give an actionable framework to support Brown v. Boards command to integrate the school. Brown v. Board merely gave the command to integrate schools with “all debilitated speed.” Schools who were resistant to this change had no frame work to be analyzed from so accountability was non-existent.

Facts: 

The lawsuit was filed by the NAACP, who had also filed Brown v. Board of Education and many other cases, on behalf of Vera and Darius Swann who wanted their 6 year old daughter to attend Seversville Elementary School. Seversvill Elementary was one of very few integrated schools in the area. The Swann’s 6 year old was only one example of the 24,000 black students in the Mecklenburg Schools system.

Of the 24,000 black students 14,000 went to 21 different schools that were 99 percent black. 58.33 percent of students who were Black in Mecklenburg School were in 99 percent black schools. The statistic above does not account for anything less that 99 percent black meaning most likely there was school with 80 to 90 percent black populations that are completely ignored in these stats. The numbers are frankly staggering. 

The issue is made clear how to solve it is a lot murkier. The discussion the Courts came to was busing. It is the process of taking students form one school most likely their closest or easiest to access location to a school that is less convenient in order to meet statistical goals. Busing had been previously used to promote segregation by busing Black kids to those schools which were made up of majority black students. Busing has a lot of benefits but also many drawbacks

Pros:

Busing fixed many issues pertaining to racial statistics in schools. They could control the demographics of any school by busing in more Black kids in order to meet their quotate. It was the easiest solution because they had the buses all they needed was new routes and school assignments. It will solve long term integration problems by fighting prejudice by allowing white and black students to interact.

Cons:

First and most obvious issue with busing is some increased labor cost because some buses are going to have to drive further. Then some others increase operational cost but it is not concerned because of the importance of meeting the Supreme Court's request for hasty integration. The more concerning factor is how it will affect the students. Students will have to wake up earlier to be on the bus and have less time to do homework when they get home because of longer drives. Students will be farther from their homes in case of family or medical emergencies. Finally is increased stress on students who are entering unfamiliar environments and ones that could even threaten their lives.

My Opinions:

I think Swann v. Charlotte Mecklenburg is difficult to rule either way because people will be hurt on both sides no matter what decision was made. I can see why the Court made the decisions it did but it was a decision for the long term. In the short-term there was lots of discomfort and unease sending your kids to a school with an unfamiliar population. Many students experience violence but the case set a framework for improving relationships between black and white children. Those Children will grow and become the next generation that leads our society. The truth is if I were in a parent's shoes I would resist this decision because I would not be best for my child in the moment in my eyes, earlier morning, more time on the bus, and farther from where I could get to them if need be.

Conclusion

When it comes to integration of schools, Swann v. Charlotte Mecklenburg was a support beam to Brown v. Board of Education. The case gave shape to the ruling and aided America in integration in many ways.

https://www.ncpedia.org/anchor/swann-v-charlotte

https://www.britannica.com/event/Swann-v-Charlotte-Mecklenburg-Board-of-Education

https://www.lexisnexis.com/community/casebrief/p/casebrief-swann-v-charlotte-mecklenburg-bd-of-educ

https://samepassage.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/bus2.jpg

https://www.ncpedia.org/sites/default/files//images/digital_history_textbook/north_carolina_first_grade_1973_UNC.jpg

Black People in Media: Hazel Scott

Black entertainers have had a massive impact throughout history. They have written, directed, acted, sang, and entertained the world since before they were treated equally. We have artists from Nina Simone and Hazel Scot to more recently Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole. The artists have extensive power over culture and history.  

From the early days of entertainment Black people have wanted a piece of the action. Many Black people in the early day found their way into entertainment to make a better life for themselves. Jobs were far and few between, especially for black people. Black women especially got into entertainment. Many roles were being a mammy or housemaid which often had these women degraded. I imagine that most of these women were happy to make their own money so they were not concerned by the status of their role.

Later we had talent like Hazel Scott who demanded respect and stuck close to her values and began to use her star power to make studios do what she wanted them to do. She would force studios to change her costumes and the costumes of others that she deemed racist. She had it written in her contract that she had full control over her songs and her outfits. She was black listed from Hollywood for her actions. Hazel Scott only marks the beginning of black artist gaining power

Hazel Scott also had an impressive music career along with other black artists like Sam Cooke and Nina Simone. Many different methods were used to try to stop these stars but nothing could really hold them down. They had too much passion for their craft and the will to inspire generations. They paved the way for artist like Aretha Franklin and Otis redding. Aretha Franklin is widely considered one of history's great singers.

Comparing the black artist then and now is incredible because we have seen the rise of another age of Black music. Many artists that we consider to be the best in our generation are black and have lots of power over their own destiny. We have black art forms like rap taking over the mainstream. In the 90s yes people listened to rap. In 2020 rap is considered nearly parallel in popularity to “pop” artist. Rap has become a lot larger than itself expanding into multiple art forms in and of itself.

The road to this particular music era is a combination of black and some white artists inspiring generations. Art has great power and builds role models for future generations.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10486801.2016.1118827

https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=bs21_Egz--IC&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=How+black+people+in+pop+culture+in+history&ots=IMRJV1undD&sig=UrPcW1rnjXbWf23OiYh1EnM3hgM#v=onepage&q=How%20black%20people%20in%20pop%20culture%20in%20history&f=false

https://www.proquest.com/docview/230115151?pq-origsite=gscholar&fromopenview=true