Brittany Clinkscales, 1

My ethnic background is a blend with no distinct winner. My father’s side is a mix of Italian heritage and southern culture while I would define my mother’s background as “general American” with vague ties to Germany and England. I am Caucasian. The traditions of my family are not tied to any one set of cultural traditions. If asked, I would most likely answer that I’m Italian-American even though we don’t maintain our “Italianism.” The most accurate way to describe my background would be American with vague cultural ties. For instance, while few people in my extended family speak fluent Italian, we maintain a strong sense of family that I have come to associate with Italian culture. Our gatherings are centered on our extended families, and we always make way too much food (including a minimum of 5 pasta dishes)!

I was exposed to the issues of ethnicity and race at a young age. Before moving to the suburbs I lived and went to school in the city. I remember my classes as a hodge-podge of culture and ethnicity. The fact that we were different from each other was not a problem. I remember participating in various cultural events; we celebrated Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanza and other activities without tension. In class and in my home life I was taught that people were not all the same. Some children had two parents while others lived in a single parent household. While I hunted for Easter eggs and opened gifts from Santa, other children celebrated events and holidays that were different, and unique. I feel like I was lucky growing up; I was not harassed for my background and I was taught to accept others. In some ways this had made me sheltered to the harsher experiences of my peers. I have never been harassed because of my skin color, my religion, or any other characteristic of my ethnicity.

As I’ve grown up I’ve become more aware of the myriad of experiences people have had. My studies have allowed me to see the influence of racial identity on a person’s existence and the strength of the activist communities. I’ve witnessed firsthand the frustration of social stratification, and I can see all too well how racial prejudice could make success nearly impossible for some. The issues of race and ethnicity are still pressing in U.S. society but I’m hopeful our generation will make greater strides toward equality.

Meaghan Rowland Post 1

My personal ethnic and racial heritage is pretty simple considering I am fifty percent Swedish and fifty percent Scottish. My maternal grandma and paternal grandpa were both 100% Swedish. My maternal grandpa and paternal grandma were both 100% Scottish. It was interesting to find that both sides of my family were a split of the same two heritages. I first became aware of race and ethnicity when I was five when my cousins who lived in LA came to visit. When they came with their dad/my uncle, I was confused why they didn't look like us. Granted my cousin Chandel and I could be twins if not for skin color. Their mom was black and their dad was white. We lived in a farming community with very little diversity so when my friends came over and saw my cousins they were put back and didn't know how to respond. My parents and uncle sat down with my cousins and me to explain why we looked different and how we could be treated differently especially in Kennedy. I was always taught to judge not based on looks but on how people act. No matter what race or ethnic background judge more on if someone is inconsiderate and rude or polite and friendly. I agree with this however you can't base the entire judgement solely based on their personality. If someone has a difficult back story that you don't know about you shouldn't hold it against them. Witnessing racism with my cousins was difficult growing up. They came with me to my grandma's house a few years later and my grandpa wouldn't even talk to them because they were black. In return my cousins were not as polite as they should have been to my grandma even though she was welcoming and tried to be nice to them. They were still hurt and felt discriminated by my grandpa so they were taking it out on others that were there. It was sad to see that even though all of these people were a part of my life and my family they were not accepting of one another.

TEA PARTY RACISM: What The Media Won't Show You About Teabagger Racism

Jordan Nicholson: Socialist, Communist, Marxist, Baby-Killing, Poor Sympathizer.

This class is meant to be about Ethnicity and Race, the study of our culture and other cultures and how race and ethnicity effects daily life. I am a liberal. The idea that "liberal" used to be considered a dirty word didn't exactly register with me until recently. With the election of Barack Obama and a sweeping liberal majority, we were meant to believe that our country was headed toward a new era of progressivism and prosperity. Instead, the factions of the far-right that promote dangerous and antiquated ideals have taken over our national dialogue, and hijacked the rhetoric that once was a promotion of peace. I believe that when it comes to race in this country, we have made tremendous strides. However, the election of Barack Obama has proved that we still have a very, very long way to go. Glenn Beck has claimed that the President is "racist," despite the fact that he was raised by his white mother, his white grandparents and spent most of his time in predominately white schools. Rush Limbaugh has offered suggestions of his "militant-blackness," and Sarah Palin publicly supported several candidates in the mid-term elections who don't even believe President Obama is an American citizen (but was rather a citizen of Kenya). The TEA Party has taken this to new extremes. These bands of misinformed or uninformed "patriots" hold rallies and shouting matches meant to convert all of their listeners to the far-right, which is pro-life, pro-God, pro-gun, anti-government, and blatantly inflammatory.

I will never forget where I was on the night of then-Senator Obama's election as our nation's first black President. Covering Democratic headquarters for a local radio station, I was moved to tears by the embrace of an 85-year-old black woman, who had spent her youth and early-adulthood in the South. When it was announced that Barack Obama had won the election, we all jumped up, threw our papers, cracked champagne and congratulated each other. All except Mrs. Taylor took part in these festivities. She was sitting in a chair, crying and was visibly shaken. I asked her what was wrong, and she looked at me and said, "Child, nothing is wrong. This is the happiest moment of my life. Most people say the birth of their child is their happiest day, but I hated myself on that day. I brought my child into a world that hated her before she could speak a word or write her letters. She's almost 50-years-old, and now my grandchildren and her grandchildren will get to grow up knowing they can be President too. I can't expect you to know what that feels like, baby, but just so you know why I'm crying." She gave me a hug and asked her husband, who had been a bus driver in Montgomery, Alabama, to share with me his experiences from the Civil Rights era.

As a radio journalist that evening, it was euphoria. My top-of-the-hour report at eleven o'clock fell right as the announcement was being made, and I got to make it live from the county headquarters. "At eleven o'clock, eastern standard time, America has broken a barrier that has transcended our history. With expected gains on the West Coast, Senator Barack Obama has been elected the 44th President of the United States of America. For the first time in our 232 years as a nation, we have called upon a black man to lead us further into a century that now seems so ripe with promise." My finest moment as a broadcaster.

Nevertheless, in 2011 I'm reminded of the struggles that Republicans went through in the South during reconstruction. In the South, you were expected to be what would come to be called a "Dixiecrat," or a Southern Democrat. Today, liberals are being chastised not by reasonable, moderate political centrists, but by the far-right loons who recently spat on legendary civil rights leader and Georgia Congressman John Lewis. I'm called "baby-killer," "Socialist," "Communist," "Marxist," "Fascist," and everything in-between. Despite the fact that these accusations are completely contradictory, they all have to do with one factor. I support the black guy in the White House. While this is an unfair assessment of many Tea Partiers, I feel as though the reason I've been shouted down at debates and yelled at over the phone is because this group, at its core, is inherently racist. To this, I say "fine!"

I have gay friends, I have transsexual friends, I have bisexual friends, I have Chinese friends, I have Mexican friends, and I have a black President...and I couldn't be happier about that. Those who believe the rich should get richer and the poor should get poorer should go to neighborhoods I've visited, or talk to the children of families that don't have much. If the desire for equality makes me a liberal, than I'm certainly proud to call myself a liberal.

"If by a 'Liberal' they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people -- their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties -- someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a "Liberal," then I'm proud to say I'm a 'Liberal.'" -John F. Kennedy

Post Your Event Announcements Here

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to mention that if you are part of any groups/organizations on campus that are putting on events related to our course to feel free to post advertisements/announcements to the blog for everyone to see.

See you in class,
Jeff

Marcus Anderson Post 2

I thought that our discussions last class were awesome. After the discussion, I went home and I analyzed some of the key points that were discussed within out discussion. I've concluded that it is very critical that we as people analyze all issues especially when it come to race and ethnicity.This class is by far, one of my favorite classes that I have taken at Fredonia, and I mean that with all seriousness. I enjoy the fact how our class contains so many students with different perspectives when it comes to race and ethnicity, and that's awesome. I would have to agree with Shauna that in this class, I don't feel that anyone should feel that they have to walk on "egg shells" when discussing race and ethnicity issues. I feel that the purpose of this class and the blog is for us as people to become educated and confront ourselves about issues and our own personal beliefs. I think it would be pointless for anyone to hold back their beliefs on any issue that we discuss within the class. If we all held back our feelings, there would be no need for this course at all because there would be no opportunity for growth. Like I said before, I love the perspective from the person from the city, country, small town, suburbs and so on. I believe that because we all come from different walks of life, it brings great discussion to the table like we have been having, and I hope it continues every time we gather. No matter how much we agree or disagree with each other about any issues within the class, there's good news, we have the guidance of Professor Jeff, and Each Other to figure out how to confront and correct the issues of race and ethnicity! We will all be better people, if not already by the end of this course. I feel that in our class and through this blog, we are really "giving" ourselves to each other. I'm sure that by reading each others post, half the things that we are seeing, we never would have suspected this person to have went through that situation and so on.. So, this should all be a lesson for us all and that's "not to judge a book by its cover, open it up and it might have a little more to offer". I want us all in this class to discuss our perspectives on these real life issues. I would rather someone tell me the 100 truth, rather than make up a lie just to not be "different" from the class. If I think that they sky is orange, I would say, hey class, my own personal feeling is that they sky is orange and that's just how I see it. That does not make me right or wrong for stating my personal beliefs, but I now just gave my honest opinion and now as a class we have a "foundation" to build off. I hope as we deal and discuss some of the issues that are uncomfortable to discuss, we will be brave enough to lay the "foundation(s)" so as a class we can build from there. As it was stated on the 1st day of class, our class is a safe haven, so lets talk truthfully and deal with the real life issues and perspectives that deal with race and ethnicity. By us getting "real" in our discussions, we will continue to grow, and we can correct and educate the world too starting in our classroom.

Marcus Anderson (Post 2)

Post 2

I was really excited about the conversations we had last class, and some thing were brought up that I really would like to expand my thoughts on:

The first topic I wanted to discuss was this idea of opposites. For example black and white. I think a lot of people brought up a good point; that our society focuses on categorizing individuals into one group or another. You are either white or black. With the issue of race, I think it was clear with examples students gave in class, that people still consider an individual to be "black" if they have black heritage. Why can't there be gray areas in our society? Kim gave a great example with bisexuals. Our society automatically places them with the gay community. Another example that I thought of was the issue of sex. Male or Female. A feminist named Anne Fausto-Sterling proposed that instead of the the original two categories, that we create 5 categories of sex; that way, people who are born intersex don't have to make such drastic decisions to call themselves male or female. It gives a "rainbow" effect, like someone has said in class. I believe this example should be used when discussing race as well. People shouldn't have to label themselves as just black or white.

Another topic that I found really interesting was how people talk differently to people of the same ethnicity/race than they do to people who have a different ethnicity/race. I understand that it is a sense of comfortability. For example, I feel comfortable enough to talk about certain things with other females than I would with males (including my boyfriend). But I think that causes two issues. One it creates a gap between different ethnicity/races. Also, I think it might make students in the class room feel uncomfortable on what they can and cannot say. We are obviously in a safe zone in our class where we can talk about ethnic/racial issues. Which I think is fantastic. But I think it can make things hard when we feel like we have to walk on egg shells so that we don't offend another race/ethnicity. I believe it's a tough situation, because we want to make sure everyone feels comfortable in the classroom. But at the same token, isn't this class supposed to discuss difficult topics that should push us out of our comfort zone??