GTA: A Critical Analysis

Throughout the piece “Campus Racism 101” by Nikki Giovanni, the concept of ignorance is evaluated and advice to minority students is given. Giovanni, a professor at Virginia Tech, describes the struggles that might, and most likely will, impact minority students and addresses the stereotypical mindset that those students, and Giovanni herself, will encounter while on campus and in the “real world”. Giovani uses imagery to set the stage of her piece “Campus Racism”, as well as logical and backed by real world experience advice to students to help minority students succeed in predominately white colleges.

In Andrea Smith’s article “Heteropatriarchy and the Three Pillars of White Supremacy”, Smith argues from three different perspectives on how different people are oppressed and are victimized together. She presents three scenarios involving people of color and how they can modernize to become unified. The three pillars she uses to try to understand white supremacy describe the logic behind: slavery and how it deals with capitalism, genocide in the United States colonialism, and orientalism during wartime.

According to (Rev. Dr. Andrea Ayvazian); author of “Interrupting the Cycle of Oppression: The Role of Allies as Agents of Change”; many of us feel overwhelmed when we consider the many forms of systemic oppression that are so pervasive in American society today. We become immobilized, uncertain about what actions we can take to interrupt the cycle of oppression and violence that intrude on our everyday lives. According to (Merriam Webster); oppression, is treating someone unjustly; or cruelly exercising authority or power; weighing down body and mind (www.merriam-webster.com).

In Allan Johnson’s Privilege, Power, and Difference, Patricia Hill Collins describes the Matrix of Domination as an intersectionality between all the isms, especially racism and sexism. Collins describes this cycle of domination saying “that each form of privilege is part of a much larger system of privilege” (Johnson, 52). Work for change needs to focus on the idea of privilege in all forms and the way in which it enables people to think in relation to inequality and power. The only way to understand the matrix, is by understanding its dimensions. The different dimensions include one form of privilege reinforcing another, one form of privilege affecting the access to others and subordinate groups that are pitted against one another to draw attention away from the system

As we reach the 21st century we would think that racial inequality has completely ended yet we continue to see much discrimination. Racial inequality continues to exist in the world and here in the United States it is a very controversial topic. Today, we watch the television and almost everyday we hear news about some type of crime or situation which regards race issues. In other words, racism is still a topic that we experience in a daily basis and continues to haunt this country. By analyzing some recent racial inequality news we can find out what continues to make this issue such a controversial topic. Two recent news regarding racial discrimination is the controversial Mr. Donald Trump and his comments regarding Mexicans and also a recent strike held at many Universities around the United States protesting about discrimination at their schools.

They support this claim by using the matrix of domination in relation to gender, race and class, then advise the reader to look at an issue through a broad perspective- realizing both the oppressor and the oppressed, and finally distinguish between recognizing and understanding diversity and not just acknowledging it. Andersen and Collins’ purpose is to have students think about race, class and gender as systems of power, how the three categories matter in shaping everyone lived experiences, and to understand race, class, and gender are linked experiences. Furthermore, Anderson and Collins adopt an unbiased, and assertive yet friendly tone for his/her audience, the readers and others interested in the topic of race, class and gender. By doing this, the readers can relate to the struggles that the issues bring up, however the authors can still get their point or message across

By “acknowledging and recognizing, confronting, and addressing pervasive racism within social work practice at the individual, agency, and institutional level, and promote culturally competent social work interventions and research methodologies in the areas of social justice, well-being, and cost-benefit outcomes.” (Blank, 2013)

In “Intersectional Resistance and Law Reform,” Dean Spade proposes that the United States was founded through “racialization…(which) continues to operate under new guises… that produce, manage, and deploy gender categories and sexuality and family norms” (16). More over, these laws and norms tend to maintain the “status quo,” and employ an inherently flawed justice system that is only equipped to address single-axis discrimination issues (5). Thus, the intersectionality movement is largely dismissed by the social and justice systems, as it utilizes “critical intersectional tools… that are often (too) difficult for legal scholars to comprehend” (17). Interstionality’s progress is also impeded by advocates leaving to support single-axis issues. However, Spade warns that this approach is ineffective, as it fails to protect the most marginalized members of society.

Crenshaw’s Mapping the Margins: The Marginalization of Women of Color Analyzed Through Generalization and A Feminist Lens

Cincinnati had race riots going on since the 1800’s. A riot is a public outbreak of fights and violence between two racial groups in a community. One outbreak started in 1829 between Irish immigrants and African Americans for jobs in Cincinnati. Their goal was to get rid of the Black African Americans.They were wanting the African Americans to move to Canada or get out of Cincinnati period. The Cincinnati Race Riots has been starting in the late 1800’s which the author believes it is still occurring in today’s world.

Domestic violence in Aboriginal community is a cause for concern regarding Aboriginal women 's health and safety. According to Kubik, Bourassa, and Hampton (2009) “In Canada, Aboriginal women have faced destruction in their communities and families as a result of multiple forms of oppression. Aboriginal women experience the highest rates of violence and abuse of any population in Canada”(p.29). Domestic violence is defined by Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary (2015) as “ the inflicting of physical injury by one family or household member on another; also: a repeated or habitual pattern of such behavior”. The objective is to look at the cause of domestic violence aimed at Aboriginal

I have discussed in this piece Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Anti Oppressive Practice (AOP) approach to social work. Subjects such as Race and Racism, Microaggression, White privilege, Power and Empowerment in addition with Identity are themes links these two radical theories together which I have also discussed. I have concluded the work by stressing how CRT and AOP could be use to seek social justice for Black and Minority ethnic group (BME) within the UK society.

Integrating theory into social work practice is essential in defining why social work is needed and how to practice it effectively. This paper will discuss two theories; intersectionality and life course theory, as I believe that these two theories are collectively suitable and effective in interrupting the cycle of oppression. I will draw upon both my own experiences and literature to analyze the strengths and limitations of intersectionality and life course theory. This discussion will exemplify how intersectionality and life course theory enhance each other and can work synergistically to inform my social work practice.

In my daily life, one of the things that I am very conscious about is the color of my skin and my background. This is because of the different types of stereotypes that I may be associated with. In the article, “Levels of Racism: A Theoretic Framework and a Gardener’s Tale” by Dr. Camara Phyllis Jones, she talks about the social construct of race and its impact on racism. Dr. Jones broke down racism into three levels: institutionalized racism, personally mediated racism, and internalized racism. She also suggested that the reason why there is inequality in the United States is due to the government not being concerned about equality. I think that racism will continue to occur as long as there is inequality.

There’s an old saying that “sticks and stones may break your bones, but words will never hurt you.” In reality, that saying is wrong. Words hurt a person as much as punch or a kick can. It may not hurt someone physically, but it can scar someone mentally and emotionally. Due to the topics they are associated with, certain words or phrases can elicit strong reactions; some are positive, while others are negative but nonetheless, they all leave an impact on people. Today in class, we discussed a topic that is deeply engraved in American history yet widely avoided by many: race. More specifically, terms like “racist,” “All Lives Matter,” and “white privilege,” which may make some people uncomfortable but more than ever, need to be confronted and examined. We watched several videos containing a variety of people discussing their own personal thoughts and feelings on such terms to spark our own conversations on the same topics.