‘How to Explain White Supremacy to a White Supremacist,’ is a poem that addresses multiple issues within racism that we do not often care to look at. It is written by a powerful public speaker and activist commonly know as Guante. It dives under the surface of what you see on the news and really hits home with its moving stanzas full of intelligent metaphors.
I believe this poem to be all about the bystanders, who sit and watch people make derogatory comments and remarks yet fail to tell them it is wrong. This message really made me passionate about using my voice and encouraging others to do the same. Guante shows this when he says, “because of course, this isn’t really a poem for white supremacists. I don’t know any white supremacists.
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This made me think about the fact that as well as the larger racist acts, our world also suffers from casual and constant discrimination towards those of another race. Racial slurs and stereotypes are constantly floating throughout the media in forms of song, scripts and online posts, as well as face to face confrontation. It pains me to think that people can have these crazy preconceived ideas of another human based on the colour of our skin and although it is on a smaller scale, it still happens in New Zealand. It also leads me to think of a speech written by a teenage Samoan boy named, Joshua Iosefo. This speech is called, “Brown Brother” and it argues out against the stereotypes hovering over the people of Islander ethnicity. Similarly to Guantes words he speaks of difficulty within schools and workplaces as they are viewed as less intelligent and inferior. Guantes words pushed me to think about this and the community around me. He made me wonder what I can do and say to improve our small community and its ongoing and unrecognized stereotypes. Guante poem, although
The essay will consider the poem 'Practising' by the poet Mary Howe. It will explore how this poem generates its meaning and focus by analysing its techniques, metaphorical construct and its treatment of memory. The poem can primarily be seen to be a poem of missed opportunity. In this way is comes to form, alongside other poems of Howe's a study about a certain kind of loss and the recuperative efforts of memory, alongside the certainty of the failure of this recuperation. The paper will begin by giving a context to the poem with regard to Howe's life and work and will then proceed to analyse it directly, drawing attention to how it can be seen to fulfil this thesis about its content and meaning.
In both of these articles, the authors show similarities of discrimination however the articles highlight differences using diction, anecdotes, and tone throughout their writing with the soul purpose to account for racism. The authors write and project towards a certain audience to acknowledged the racial issues the people are still facing.
Case Study 1 – Ligua Here’s my interpretation of Ligua’s current situation, She is the head of her households, a student who needs to work hard to pay for her tuition and feed her kids. She lives in an environment of small-minded people; her neighbors are her social barriers. Social barrier refers to those factors that are external to her and impede her focus on improving her life or become successful. Her neighbors are caught up in their own thinking that they cannot see the value of exploring other ways of life.
The 1970s were a rough year for African-Americans, still fighting for social and political rights in the United States. Consequently, women still did not receive equal rights. However, in 1972, “Congress approved the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to the Constitution, which reads: ‘Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex’ (History.com Staff).” Out of the thirty-eight necessary states only twenty-two ratified it right away, it was relieving for the moment because the feminist advocates had been trying to be ratified since 1923. The First African-American woman elected into Congress was Shirley Chisholm.
This fictional short story had a powerful meaning because it focused on how racial stereotyping can cause a lot of problems even among young girls who were attending a Girl Scouts camp. “Brownies” also showed how stereotyping can actually be harmful and can sometimes lead to hurtful consequences for the person who is the victim of it and for the person is guilty of stereotyping someone. I decided to do my analysis of this short story using the historical context element because of the long history of problems between the Black and White races in this country according to our history books, including one terrible incident that just happened one week ago when nine innocent Black people were murdered in a church in Charleston South Carolina by a 21 year old White racist who was guilty of stereotyping and hating Black people. The killer accused Black men of raping White women and that Black people were taking over the whole country. These were stereotypes that he first thought about in his head that then led to his terrible actions.
The effect of this is not only seen in the engagement of the audience, who are seemingly majority white, but also in the mammoth reception of his speech online. Receiving millions of views and strengthening public engagement into the discussion of racism in Australia today. Grants display of passionate emotional rhetoric and a pure sincerity for his beliefs present a strong case for his argument. His powerful statements reveal a permeant scare on the face of Australia, and shameful history that still permeates
Poetry Analysis Once the poem “History Lesson” was written numerous poetry foundations celebrated it for many reasons. “History Lesson” not only makes an impact on literature today it has also impacted people also. This poem inspires people and moves them to the point to where they can find a personal connection to the poem itself and to the writer. Not only does it hold emotional value for those who were victimized and those whose family were victimized by the laws of segregation, but the poem is also celebrated for its complexity. The poem uses many techniques to appeal to the reader.
In addition, James Baldwin adds in his perspective and personal experiences when dealing with racism. The book is divided into three parts. Part one consists of three
In the poem, “Oppression”, by Jimmy Santiago Baca, Baca demonstrates many examples of the hope and belief throughout the poem. Baca mentions to the audience that there will always be obstacles which one must prevail before they reach the top. Therefore help the readers recognize that in order for emancipation, one must never stop believing in themselves. An example of hope would be when Baca states,” And always, always, remembering you are human.” Here he indicates that though life may put us through tough times, we must always remember that we are humans and we are capable of overcoming obstacles.
“Hate Poem” by Julie Sheehan describes how she transformed hatred to love. By looking at her pattern of thinking, it involves her own experience in the daily life that result the conflicts between her loves and hates. This poem begins with “I hate you truly. Truly I do” (1). This opening did not match the idea of a poem about hate; instead it is a poem about love.
At the heart of whiteness studies is the invisibility of whiteness and white privilege (Ahmed, 2004). Whiteness is thought of as the hidden criterion to which every other race is measured against. Through the lens of whiteness, the “other” is seen as deviant (Ahmed, 2004). The invisibility of whiteness, however, is only from the perspective of those who are white (Matthews, 2012). To people who are not white, it is pervasive and blatant.
Claudia Rankine a renown poet, uses her novel “Citizen: An American Lyric” to discuss issues of race and imagination. Claudia Rankine is an absolute master of poetry and uses her gripping accounts of racism, through poetry to share a deep message. Claudia Rankine uses poetry to correlate directly to accounts of racism making Citizen a profound experience to read. Not only is this poetic novel a vision of her world through her eyes, Rankine uses the experiences of Americans whose color has rendered them invisible to the many who are privileged enough to be blind and not note racism as a large issue in America. Claudia Rankine articulates the use of you and further emphasizes the larger meaning of the title Citizen and recognizing that word through societal issues.
Wherever we may come from, we can do amazing things in this world. In this world, every human being can be anything they strive to be. Lupe Fiasco released the inspirational song, “The Show Goes On,” on October 26, 2010, as the first single from his third studio album Lasers. He uses motivational and inspirational phrases to motivate the audience to never give up even if they are going through the hardest parts of their lives. Fiasco uses his past to connect to the targeted audience, that being the less fortunate families and those who grew up in harsh conditions.
Discrimination has plagued the world since the beginning of time and continues to happen today. People can be discriminated against simply for looking different or following different customs. It has been implemented by governments throughout history, but it has also been practiced individually. “In Response to Executive Order 9066” and “Legal alien” are two poems that discuss the topic of discrimination. “In Response to Executive Order 9066,” by Dwight Okita is a poem that describes the possible interment of a Japanese-American during World War 2.
Words have the power to create great things just like they have the power to destroy them. Claudia Rankine uses her book, Citizen: An American Lyric, to illustrate the idea that racism has become an everyday component of our society. This book expresses the idea that language normalizes the existence of racism. This particular