Assignment: Diversity, Equity, and Social Justice

Running head: WHO AM I? THE JOURNEY CONTINUES

Week 4 Assignment 2: Diversity Profile

Alexis Lowe

EDUC 6164: Perspectives on Diversity and Equity

Walden University

Professor Wendy McCarty

July 20, 2020

According to the Laureate Education video (2011) many times people commit microaggressions without meaning to, based upon biases, assumptions, or stereotypes that they did not realize they were holding. Microaggressions may seem small, especially when they were not done on purpose. This is why it is important as individuals to test our own self biases to avoid microaggressions. For quite a few of us, microaggressions are so common, that we find it near impossible to tackle them one at a time. However, my personal experience with microaggression was my third year in college. I went to a private university and it was predominately white. While living in the dorm room I made new friends with people from all across the world. Yet, one day I had a close friend say to another of our friends, “I’m not racist, I have black friends.” At first, I didn’t respond, but then I had to address the issue at hand. This example of microaggression equates racism with prejudice. Racism entails the policies and practices that uphold the ideas of white people as superior and black people as inferior. I told my close friend that saying such a thing was offensive. As found in the text of Margles & Margles (2010) while we may not be racially prejudiced, just because you know black people does not mean you do not engage in invidious behavior or fail to challenge racist exercises. While I don’t think her microaggression was intentional, it communicated to me as a negative racial message that just because I know someone black I can’t be a racist. Even if we all have the best intentions of supporting racial policies, all of us can be a racist.

After the brutal killing of George Floyd by police officers, my attitude toward racism continues to shift daily. According to the text of Barry-Jester (2015), every measure of black people in the United States fare worse than white people do. I strongly believe that racism is a social issue. Racism makes me feel powerless and silenced. I thought racism was over when people like Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., and Malcolm X fought for our equal rights. To my surprise, racism still exists today. Imagine raising a child in this world, where racism exists, and we fear being killed because of the color of our skin. I know racism will never completely go away. Shall we continue to be raped, beaten, and murdered by those of the dominant culture? Should we continue to be treated as second class citizens? As black individuals are we not offered the same freedom, justice, and equality as other members of society? So, you ask, “what are your attitudes about racism; Well I will have to say my attitude toward racism is being awarded the same freedom to come and go without having to look over my shoulder. Or wonder if my sons’ have become a target because of their skin color. I want the freedom to think, speak, and provide for my family. I want the criminal justice system to work for black people who are treated unfairly by those who were sworn by oath to protect.

Furthermore, my personal experience with any of the “isms” began with classism. Growing up I never really had a lot of friends. It never bothered me until I went to college, and decided I should change that. I wanted to meet new people and build more long-lasting relationships so I decided I would join a sorority. Unfortunately, I was denied or not accepted into the sorority because of my social status. These girls considered themselves to be high class, and well you know being a black, African-Amercian female I was assumed to be low class for that sorority. To them I was poor, and couldn’t even afford to keep up with them or whatever else it took to be a part of them. This is a true example of classism. Being rejected from a sorority because I am middle or low class. Sadly to say, symbolic interactionism teaches individuals that a person’s social class is the result of talent and effort. If you're on the bottom, you do not have the skills, talents, or motivation needed to succeed; while those on top (high class) have worked extra hard and have what it takes to keep them ahead.

I have never experienced ableism. Up until recently, I never even knew ableism existed. However, I can recall an incident that is similar to ableism. I have a friend who is legally blind. She lost her sight in her late twenties due to a genetic disease affecting the women in her family. A group of us went out to eat at a restaurant to celebrate the surviving midterm week. The hostess/waiter spoke with everyone at the table directly except my friend Nancy. When the waitress got to Nancy, she asked us if we knew what she wanted to eat or drink. This sort of behavior made Nancy sad and upset. She shouted, “I may not be able to see you, but I can hear you and I am still a human being. While I may not truly understand what it is like to be legally blind, I do know that Nancy regardless of her disability still wants to be treated like a human being. We should consider disabled people human beings worthy of conversation. Just because you can not see, doesn’t disqualify you from speaking for yourself (Ford, 2009).

Racism is never easy to address. Unfortunately, racism still exists today in our society. And for those who say it doesn’t, are dismissing America’s oppressive past, and disregarding the current racial issues the country continues to face today. My personal experience with racism is when I hear people and my close friends say, “You speak so proper” or “You act so white to be a black person.” Even though I face these countless microaggression comments regarding my race, I try to downplay as though these comments do not hurt my feelings. Despite these experiences of racism, classism, and ableism these experiences have shaped my view of the world. Every person is born with dignity, and it is up to those around that person to uphold and respect that individual’s dignity, which is something we as a society fail to do all too often. By continuously undermining a person’s dignity we fail to promote a society or community capable of upholding a sense of equality and justice for all people.

References

Barry-Jester, M.A. (2015, June 23). Attitudes Toward Racism And Inequality Are Shifting. Retrieved July 21, 2020, from https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/attitudes-toward-racism-and-inequality-are-shifting/

Ford, A. R. (2009). It’s not just about racism, but ableism. Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, 26(4), 16.

Laureate Education (Producer). (2011). Microagressions in everyday life [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu

Margles, S., & Margles, R. M. (2010). Inverting racism’s distortions. Our Schools/Our Selves, 19(3), 137-149.