Analysis Of Dear White People

The n-word is considered one of the most vicious racial slurs in the English language today. True that the n-word is closely associated with slavery and the oppression of blacks. Even after the abolition of slavery the word still haunted African Americans, especially in more segregated areas; where blacks were viewed as inferior to whites. In recent years the n-word has become less of a malicious slur in parts of our country. Public figures who use the n-word run the risk of losing their jobs. However, since the 1960s African Americans have coined the term “nigga”, when addressing one another. The rise of hip hop culture also enhanced the use of the word-they felt as though they are using the word as a term of endearment. Critics of the

In Elie Wiesel’s Night and Richard Motley’s “The Almost White Boy”, the authors both reveal that hatred for others exists because one is taught to hate. The two narratives are similar because people were discouraged and unwelcomed based on the race they are. Each piece is unique because in the narrative Night, you are punished for who you are; even if you are a citizen to the country you live in. Throughout the narrative, the Holocaust is taking place, tons of jews are being killed or worked like animals. The powerful leader known as Adolf Hitler was responsible for the traumatic event that took place from 1933 to 1945. However in the narrative “The Almost White Boy” if your race is hated, you are unwelcomed and treated as if you are

Prior to beginning my readings on white racial identity, I did not pay much attention to my white race. If someone had asked me to describe my appearance I would have said short blond hair, blue eyes, average stature, etc. One of the last things I would have noted was the color of my skin. Growing up in overwhelmingly white communities, I never thought to use the color of my skin to differentiate myself from others. Over the course of this dialogue I have learned that my white racial identity is one of the most defining aspects of my appearance in this society. There is a certain level of privilege that I am afforded based solely on the color of my skin. According to Peggy McIntosh, “White privilege is like an invisible weightless

When we talk about preferences, it is important to observe if the other person is willing to be called that racist term. Naylor states, “I didn’t know what a nigger was, but I knew that whatever it meant, it was something he shouldn’t have called me” (Naylor 477). Naylor’s character is very biased. The analysis of her essay towards such racist terms is that you can’t call someone the word “nigger” if you don’t know him or her well enough. Even though in her family the racist term came up a lot, she

The essay “The Meanings of a Word” by Gloria Naylor discusses the many definitions of a word and how its meaning can change according to context and delivery. She made this point by telling a story of her childhood and the first time she heard the n-word used by a white person in a derogatory, demeaning way. She described her this situation that took place when she was in third-grade and a boy in front of her in math class called her the n-word. She had no idea what it meant to be called that in a negative way because the people she grew up around only used it as positive and empowering. At the end of her essay, she once again emphasized how easy it is to change a word into something hateful simply depending on who says it and their

Growing up as an African-American girl my parents always told me to be mindful of the “White Folks”. My parents always said that they will try to control and put down the African-American race. A part of my up bringing, has always been taught to me by my parents, that the “White Folks” were malicious and they thought they were superior than “Black People”. I was taught to never let anyone think they were smarter than me, including the “White Folks”. I was always confused to some extent, because my god-father is White. However, since he is my god-father, he was an exception. He was the “nice guy”, that’s what my mother said. Prejudice and Stereotypes plays a role of social work. The presumptions that the African-Americans have towards the White-Americans are often dealt with in Social Work will later be discussed.

People have words they use with their family that would be hurtful had they come from outsiders. Gloria Naylor makes a great point when she articulates, “So there must have been dozens of times that the word “nigger” was spoken in front of me before I reached the third grade. But I didn’t “hear” it until it was said by a small pair of lips that had already learned it could be a way to humiliate me” (483). Naylor grew up hearing “nigger” everywhere she went. It was used as a term of endearment. It was used to describe people with great achievement. Occasionally it was used to describe a small group in the community who were not great people (481). However,

Working Towards Whiteness is about immigrants who are coming to the United States during the twentieth century and struggling to become white. This is because America has this identity of being white and the new immigrants are facing the problem of fitting in based on their race and class. The states have applied restriction so that they can preserve the population to be more white. In Roediger historical studies he brings these practices to light and his goals to draw attention to the biased white supremacist policy of the government in the regulations of immigration. Roediger most evident strength would be that he has the adaptation of the “in-between” status of the new immigrants coming in, which they are neither accepted as white neither can they be able to identify themselves as their pre-existing background.

Chapter seven is titled "the Naked Truth" and it tells about how Lac tried to hide the ugly truth of stealing from his own family to finance his friend's video game competition. Lac talks about his desire to be accepted by the likes of Javi in school. Javi is in competition with a man named Tucker on who can score better in the Spy Hunter game. Lac first starts stealing food stamps given by the government and sells them for cheap. He even coaxes a fourteen-year old girl to give him seven dollars by allowing her to touch his erected penis. But later he starts stealing outright from the family's "college fund." He is finally caught and his father savagely beats him and humiliates. Lac here is trying to explain the difficulty of fitting into American society for a Vietnamese like him and also how immaturity of childhood may lead to such horrible acts. Lac is so honest about everything he did that at the end it is hard to say whether he deserved the brutal beating at the hands of Pa or if it was too much. It certainly was too much because anger took control of Pa for a moment but what Lac did was also absolutely horrible.

" I love Yous Are for White People" is a memoir about Lac's journey and his family immigrated to America from Vietnam, after the Vietnam's War. Lac's family had to deal with cultural shock, language barrier, and difficulty finding jobs. As a Vietnamese immigration myself, I feel like Lac's experiences live through me because there were a lot of similarities in his memoir compared to my past experiences with my parents. Lac's family and many immigrations families had the same circumstances, that had a hard time adapting to a new cultural, and establish a new life in America. As the result, this environment played a

What Would I Do White? is a poem that not only emphasized how the African American Community viewed White People, but realized that they did not want to be like them. At the beginning of the last stanza there is a line which acknowledges that the Black Community registered that they “would do nothing” if they were white (Jordan, 101). This is significantly important because the start of the poem kicks off with a question. “What would I do White?” or what would I do if I was white (Jordan, 101)? June Jordan, the writer of this poem then continues giving uncomplimentary information about White Community. The second and third stanza contain the lifestyle that Jordan sees white people have during her time. She explains that not

Rather than merely examining the affects of racism on people of color, the book turns its attention to whiteness and how a system of white privilege, supported and perpetuated by whites, also damages whites by inhibiting them from making meaningful connections with other human beings. Until I almost reached the end of this book I was uncomfortable and disturbed by the way the book made me feel. As a white male, I am aware of the pain that my ancestors have created for others to advance the free world. I have pain for those who suffered and disagree with actions that were taken by my white predecessors. But I believed that we are now in a much more advanced world where we have chosen the first black president and equality was a focus of most Americans. Identifying with my culture as currently being a white supremacist society is something I have never considered, or would not want to consider. In Neuliep, within the Coudon and Yousef’s Value orientations, we perceive the human nature orientation within the United States with people being essentially rational. This term, rational, can be somewhat subjective. And if we continue with the same value system, and look from ‘the self’ values, we foster our self-identities from the influence of our culture’s values. If we are to reflect truthfully to how our country evolved and what we ‘had to do’ to create our freedom by limiting the freedom of other, how would we then perceive

Randall Kennedy argues that the word nigger should be usable by all people as long as no one is being harmed. “There is nothing necessarily wrong

A Netflix TV show, Dear White People produced by Justin Simien, is about the students of Winchester University. This show tends to target not only the Netflix customers, but the black and white audience as well; the entire first season generally focuses on the media, racial, and gender roles within the community as well as the mainstream problem of the unrecognized white privilege by white skinned people. Looking up who the producer is, it turns out that Simien is a black-skinned man. Therefore, he fully understands the politics and the human behavior towards the black race from the white race (considering racism towards people with his skin color has been around for so long). Being black-skinned is already clear for many people to assume that he probably has dealt with the racism majority of his life, considering the repeating themes throughout the show. Even with the title, the producer is purposefully calling out to the specific audiences in a straightforward way. According to some reviews, many have concluded that Dear White People is extremely offensive to them. While watching the show, there were a few significant and periodic themes that showed throughout the first season and the major themes I chose were important how the roles of media played throughout the show. As a result, the roles of the media within the show reveals that people tend to communicate to the public of who they they really are as a person by showing what they want the public to see them as: in a

Over all Dear White People is a great and well-needed movie for the time in age America finds herself in. In a country that praises a man like Donald Trump who uses his public notoriety to spread hate and ignorance, but condemns Kendrick Lamar for speaking about the systemic racism that infects our country to it’s core, this movie is a wake up call to America. It shows how racism rears its ugly head in predominate institutions and is a solid movie that highlights different types of black people, dismantles stereotypes, and shows that black empowerment for what it truly is. Even though the movie has an R rating, due to langue, drug use, and sexual content it would be suitable for everyone of the age of 15. TSU students should not write this