In his famous “I Have a Dream” Speech, Dr. Martin Luther King stated, “Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred” on regarding how to deal with racism in America. Having more class than your opponent and keeping ones dignity is still possible when pursuing equality, though it may not always be easy. Judith Ortiz Cofer tells in her essay, “The Myth of the Latin Woman”, what it is like growing up a Puerto Rican woman in white America, also that one does not need violence or cruelty to overcome racism and stereotypes or to gain equality. Americas tend to be closed minded. If anything is odd or unfamiliar to them, it is rejected. The average American simply does not grasp a decent perspective, especially when talking about trying to understands other’s cultures. Instead of looking at someone’s customs from their cultures standpoint and viewing, it is almost always interpreted in an entirely different context. Cofer would find that when she spoke with certain people, and they heard her accent, they assumed she could only be an uneducated domestic. Growing up, she also realized that what she wore could also be a problem. What is normal to wear in Puerto Rice, like wearing bright colors or something that was semi revealing, is looked on as inappropriate or a come on in American culture (Ortiz- Cofer 93). On a similar note, James Baldwin was not given the chance to prove he was a dignified and educated young man, as he tells in... ... middle of paper ... ...says out of that whole day, she remembers that moment the most vivid. She likes remembering the stereotypes that are out there, they are what she has to overcome. Which gives her a great sense of pride, since she is one of the ones breaking them (96- 97). Works Cited Baldwin, James. “Notes of a Native Son.” Cohen 50- 70. Cohen, Samuel, ed. 50 Essays: A Portable Anthology. 3rd ed. Boston: Bedford- St.Martin. 2011. Print. King Jr., Martin Luther. “I Have a Dream” Speech. http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm. Intellectual Properties Management: Georgia. Web. Ortiz- Cofer, Judith. “The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria.” Cohen 91- 97.
Peggy McIntosh wrote this article to identify how her white privilege effects her life. Each statement is written as a privilege that Ms. McIntosh does not need to consider or fear as a white woman. From financial credibility to national heritage, this article makes a valid point regarding the way white people can be arrogant and naïve when the same treatment is not being given to their neighbors, coworkers, and peers. There can be two responses when reading this. The first would be a person of color. They will appreciate the attempt at realization of what white people take for granted. The second would be the reality that smacks the white people in the face when they realize how true all 50 statements are. Once this begins to sink in, many will start to broaden their competence realizing the unfair treatment of the people in this world. Moving down the timeline, we can see how the acknowledgement can mend broken relationships. Owning the reality and doing something to change it can give the people of different races the treatment they deserve (McIntosh,
The Chicano Movement was a time that pressed forth for the equal opportunity of the Latino community and proved to America that Mexican Americans were a force to be reckoned with. In the documentary Latino Americans – Episode 5: Prejudice and Pride, it centralizes on the success of the oppressed community through significant leaders in that period. Union activists César Chavez, along with Dolores Huerta, playwright Luis Valdez, teacher Sal Castro, US Congressman Herman Ballido, and political activist José Ángel Gutiérrez all contributed to egalitarianism of Latinos across the nation. This documentary reflects on the importance of equal prospects within the workplace, the academic setting, and the social and political features in society.
The Women of Colonial Latin America serves as a highly digestible and useful synthesis of the diverse life experiences of women in colonial Latin America while situating those experiences in a global context. Throughout, Socolow mediates the issue between the incoherence of independent facts and the ambiguity of over-generalization by illustrating both the restrictions to female behavior and the wide array of behavior within those restrictions. Readers of varied backgrounds will come away with a much deeper understanding of the challenges and opportunities that defined the lives of the diverse women of the New World ruled by Portugal and
Over the past few decades, research on women has gained new momentum and a great deal of attention. Susan Socolow’s book, The Women of Colonial Latin America, is a well-organized and clear introduction to the roles and experiences of women in colonial Latin America. Socolow explicitly states that her aim is to examine the roles and social regulations of masculinity and femininity, and study the confines, and variability, of the feminine experience, while maintaining that sex was the determining factor in status. She traces womanly experience from indigenous society up to the enlightenment reforms of the 18th century. Socolow concentrates on the diverse culture created by the Europeans coming into Latin America, the native women, and African slaves that were imported into the area. Her book does not argue that women were victimized or empowered in the culture and time they lived in. Socolow specifies that she does her best to avoid judgment of women’s circumstances using a modern viewpoint, but rather attempts to study and understand colonial Latin American women in their own time.
Cofer, Judith Ortiz. "The Myth of the Latina Woman." Bullock, Richard, Maureen Daly Goggin and Francine Weinburg. The Norton Field Guide to Writing. Ed. Marilyn Moller. 3rd. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2013. 806-812. Print.
In One Friday Morning Nancy Lee, a beautiful, proud African American student, is given the Artist Club Scholarship but unfortunately it is taken away from her “when the committee learned that [she was] colored.” It is not right nor fair what Nancy Lee faces, but it is and has been an ongoing issue here in the world today. America has struggled with racism for over centuries now. What is racism exactly? Racism is hatred or intolerance of another race or races. We as a country tend to brush off racism and act as though the problem has diminished over the years but it is still very much an issue here in America. Our government and our people can pass as many laws as they want, but no laws will change us, the people. We the people as a nation need to be willing to change to better the world Americans live in. One needs to learn to be accepting of the others in this nation. It does not matter that on the outside one may look or appear different because on the inside everyone looks the same. Everybody wants the same things in life. One just wants to have a happy life full of love. One should never deny that to anyone because of the color of their skin pigment. No one should ever be judged or discriminated against.
For as long as I can remember, racial injustice has been the topic of discussion amongst the American nation. A nation commercializing itself as being free and having equality for all, however, one questions how this is true when every other day on the news we hear about the injustices and discriminations of one race over another. Eula Biss published an essay called “White Debt” which unveils her thoughts on discrimination and what she believes white Americans owe, the debt they owe, to a dark past that essentially provided what is out there today. Ta-Nehisi Coates published “Between the World and Me,” offering his perspective about “the Dream” that Americans want, the fear that he faced being black growing up and that black bodies are what
Now that it’s been concluded that racial equality has not been reached the question must be asked of what steps society should take to fight for it. Recently violent race riots have broken out all over cities in America, like the one in Charlottesville, Virginia. White supremacists and anti-racist protesters broke out into fist fights. These riots are exactly what Martin Luther King Jr advocated against. He believed that the solution to improving race relations was to love and respect all people not fight them in the streets.
Every generation faces new challenges and new problems to which we have progressed, conquered or simply just swept right under the rug. In today’s world we are increasingly facing numerous social problems, such as income disparity, unemployment, political instability amongst many others, but racism seems to have resurfaced in these past years. Although, the United States has come a long way in the issue of racism, it has never completely conquered it. Incidents such the shooting at Ferguson Missouri has raised an upheaval of protesters against the Country’s system that claims equal treatment and equal opportunity for all, regardless of race or gender. Incidents such as the one previously mentioned, clearly depicts that white-power continues
Through the film “In the Heat of the Night” racial tensions are high, but one character, the Chief of Police, Gillespie overcomes racial discrimination to solve a murder. The attitudes that he portrays in the film help us understand the challenges in changing attitudes of Southern white town towards the African Americans living there.
Judith Ortiz Cofer, a professor of english and creative writing, tackles gender roles as well as cultural stereotypes in “ The Myth of the Latin Woman” and challenges them by attempting to replace the stereotypes with the realities. In “The Myth of the Latin Woman” Cofer discusses her life in America as a Puerto Rican woman. She also shares her stories of when she was stereotyped and how gender roles play a role in how Latinos are viewed. Stereotypes will follow you around because of your appearance and how the media portrays Latinas.
The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria, an essay written by Judith Ortiz Cofer, discusses the racial stereotypes Cofer struggles with as a Latin woman who travels across America. Throughout her life, Cofer discusses her interactions with people who falsely misjudge her as a Latin woman. Additionally, Cofer mentions other Hispanic women she has met in her life, who also suffer with racial assumptions. Although several people would disagree with Cofer and claim that she is taking racial remarks too seriously, racial stereotyping is a significant issue that should not be overlooked in our society. People should not base someone’s worth by their outward appearance or their ethnic background.
Racism as a Common Problem in the 21st Century Racism has been a problem since the very first day that two men of different races met in the past. Racism is defined as belief in the superiority of one race over all others. Often racism is a belief that one type of person has better physical attributes, or is more. intelligent. The snares are a lot of fun.
My perception of our world is that racism exists everywhere, even in the land of liberty, America. I am aware of the fact that there is racism against not only blacks, but also whites, Asians, along with people from all other ethnicities. I believe racism is deplorable in any form. Therefore I do my best not to be racist in any way.
Rivas-Rojas, Raquel. “FABULAS DE ARRAIGO VICARIO EN LA NARRATIVA DE JULIA ALVAREZ. (Spanish).” Canadian Journal Of Latin American & Caribbean Studies 33.66 (2008): 157-169. SocINDEX with Full Text. Web. 25 Mar. 2014.