Between Barack and a Hard Place
Author: Tim Wise
Separate and Unequal
Author: Bob Herbert
In 1954 the Supreme court declared a state laws establishing separate schools for black and white students was unconstitutional. Most of society believes that racism has ended however Tim Wise believes that it has not, and it is still around. Also Bob Herbert believes that educational institutions it is unequal to have all whites or all blacks in one school. Also how it is unequal to the faculty and students. However this problem did eventually come to an end because of the communities, lawyers, parents, and students coming together and having their voice heard.
After reading and listening to both of these issues I automatically saw the connection between Johnson and Wise. Johnson believes that the white man is unaware of their power and I feel like Wise also agrees with Johnson. Wise also feels like the white man should acknowledge his power and how he has the upper hand in society and most of all the situations they are involved in. Wise also explained and used President Obama as an example on how he had to show and prove himself more than the average white man would have to. "The luxury of obviousness."
Also I found a connection between Kozol and Wise as well. Barack and a Hard Place connects exactly to the metaphor "a band-aid on a broken leg." In Kozol's story people were sent out to hand out condoms and clean needles so disease wouldn't spread more than what it was. However that was not fixing the issue they were still promoting sex and drugs. I felt like this related to Wise because Obama being elected president would bring an type of racism that deals with being intelligent and African Americans having to prove themselves to be just as smart as Obama. Wise wants to show that a regular person can also excel and also have the same opportunities and succeed in the same ways like Obama did.
The relationship between both of these issues is clearly racism. Wise feels like racism is still and issue even though we have an African American President. Herbert believes that it is unequal to have separated school systems because the issue with that is that it depicts racism. So overall I believe the big picture is racism.
Thinking Point: Is racism still and issue even though we have an African American President elected for TWO terms?
I believe racism is still an issue even though we have an African American president. President Obama would have never been taken seriously in the 2008 presidential election if he did not prove how intellectual he truly is. Yet, America elected George W. Bush president. I do believe racism is still an issue in the United States even though we have an African American president. We do not have to be exposed to racism to know whether or not it exists. America has come a long way, but we still have a lot of improving to do. I am appalled that our “great” nation used to segregate its citizens. I enjoyed reading your blog post this week and watching that great video.
ReplyDeleteIt is unfortunate that racism is still around today. The civil rights movement was not too long ago and some older people still hold on to racist beliefs. I hope younger generations open there eyes and realize we are equals and all deserve respect.
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