I am posting this under Workplace because I was not sure where else to put it and work is one of the dimensions that the authors talk about in the following article. If you ever even contemplated the possibility that we live in a post-racial society, an idea, which, I suppose, began we when elected President Obama, then the graphics in this article will show just how far we are from being post-racial. I am aware of these sorts of stats and how people of color in the US have so much less access to important societal scare resources, but to see the stats displayed in this form stunned, even me. Golash-Boza points out the difference between the jobless rate and the unemployment rate. The jobless rate is a more accurate reflection of the racialized labor market. Jobless rates are higher for the Latino population and the Black population. The statistics for Native Americans are harder to come by and they are not reported as systematically as statistics for whites, Blacks, Latinos and Asians. We do know that joblessness is high among many Native American nations and poverty rates are "off the charts." Statistics for the Asian American population, if aggregated, suggest that this sub-population mirrors the white population; however, when we focus on specific sub-groups within Asia America, there is significant variation. The recent economic crisis hit people of color quite hard and exacerbated the other dimensions mentioned in this article. One solution certainly is massive jobs creation like we have never seen before and it has to have a spatial component to it so that it overcomes spatial-mismatch and we must completely revamp our educational system so that we can overcome skills-mismatch as well.

Reeves, Richard, Edward Rodrigue and Elizabeth Kneebone. (April 2016). Five Dimensional Poverty and Race in America. Brookings Research. Retrieved from http://www.brookings.edu/research/interactives/2016/five-evils-multidimensional-poverty-race

RIP Prince. Prince and his music brought together generations, genders, races, ethnicities, sexualities, muscial perfectionist and casual listeners. And he understood.  He just understood. He reminded us at the 2015 Grammy Awards  "that it is art, our ability to sit with art and all the possibilities it helps us to imagine, that is so important to our ability to value all lives, and Black lives in particular." From Brittney Cooper (one of my favorite contemporary voices) writing for Salon:http://www.salon.com/2016/04/21/americas_prince_problem_how_black_people_and_art_became_devalued/

White Privilege Among College Graduates

With an unemployment rate roughly double that of their white counterparts, young African American college graduates have even greater difficulty securing employment.  The Center for Economic and Policy Research reports that in 2013, 12.4 percent of African American college graduates age 22-27 were unemployed, compared to 5.6 of all college graduates in this age group, and more than half of those who had jobs were underemployed.  Those with degrees in the highly sought-after STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fared little better, with unemployment and underemployment rates of 10 percent and 32 percent respectively.


Sociologists have provided compelling evidence that discrimination accounts for at least some of these disparities.  Devah Pager, for example, observed that African American applicants responding to help wanted advertisements in one U.S. city were less than half as likely to receive callbacks compared to similar white applicants.  African Americans with no criminal record, moreover, received fewer callbacks than whites with felony convictions.  Studies conducted by economists have yielded similar results.


https://workinprogress.oowsection.org/2015/01/29/stereotypes-social-networks-and-white-privilege-what-the-media-are-not-saying-about-unemployment-among-african-american-college-graduates/


Stereotypes, social networks and white privilege:  What the media are not saying about unemployment among African American college graduates. (2015). Retrieved April 21, 2016, from https://workinprogress.oowsection.org/2015/01/29/stereotypes-social-networks-and-white-privilege-what-the-media-are-not-saying-about-unemployment-among-african-american-college-graduates/

The war that never should have been

The War on Drugs was never intended to be fought or "won" in the way we were told by several presidential administrations. It was racist from the start and it is still racist today. The "war on drugs" is a discourse that had the effect, and maybe the intent, of continuing jim crow.

The Cleveland Indians

The Cleveland Indians have been around since 1894, with a name and logo that marginalize a racial group. The term Indian is considered a derogatory term for Native-American and is termed disrespectful. The organization has been under scrutiny over the past decade for the removal of the name from the Cleveland Indians, as well as the controversial logo that presents an unflattering and cartoonist image of an “Indian”. There have been a steady increase in demonstrations against the red-faced, ill-depicted version of a Native-American. Many Native-Americans have spoken out against this dishonor and have protested at many games, however it remains unchanged. The people garnering these offensive apparels and merchandise believe that there is no harm done, that they are simply supporting a tradition. “We just don’t want our people, our culture, our heritage, to be portrayed as a mascot. I don’t think any ethnic group would like that. But they ignore this and think it’s funny, because in their minds we don’t exist and never have.” However, protesters have made a valid point of whether or not a sports team with the name “African-Americans” would still be around today. This gets the reader to think, because I believe that this would have been changed several years ago.

This is evident across several sports teams including the Chicago Blackhawks, Washington Redskins, and Kansas City Chiefs. These logos have been under scrutiny, however remain unchanged due to traditions. The Cleveland Indians have made small steps towards a betterment as they have created a Block C logo for their caps. There is a step toward a solution, yet this could go further. If you take a look at the conversion of the Anaheim Mighty Ducks to the Anaheim Ducks, you will not only see a name change, but a complete re brand equipped with alternate logos and colors. The Chief Wahoo could easily be left behind as the organization should take these concerns seriously and search for a viable alternative.

McGraw, Daniel. "Native Americans Protest Chief Wahoo Logo at Cleveland Indians Home Opener." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 11 Apr. 2015. Web. 18 Apr. 2016. <http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/apr/11/native-americans-protest-chief-wahoo-logo-at-cleveland-indians-home-opener>.

Christian Privilege Taken For Granted

Grace Farrell


We often think about privilege in a strictly black or white scope.  African Americans are blamed for having privilege when enrolling in universities seeking diversity and granting scholarships.  Whites are mainly pointed out for having privilege when dealing with any judicial or legal consequences.  But what about a person's religion? Can we point to a certain people for having privilege in their faith?  This source is called the "Christian Privilege Checklist," and it examines the advantages that Christians, 32% of the world's population, or 2.2 billion people, (Washington Times) have over the rest of the world.

The checklist is comprised of 33 statements that social activist Sam Killermann pieced together by studying the Christian religion for over 10 years, traveling to 24 different countries.  Some of the most identifiable privileges that many Christians have are:

-You can expect to have time off work to celebrate religious holidays. 

-Fundraising to support congregations of your faith will not be investigated as potentially threatening or terroristic behavior. 

-It is easy for you to find your faith accurately depicted in television, movies, books, and other media. -You are never asked to speak on behalf of all the members of your faith. 

-Your faith is taught or offered as a course in most public institutions.

Source:

Harper, J. (2012, December 23). Christian Faith Retrieved April 20, 2016, from http://www.washingtontimes.com

Killermann, Sam. (2015, October). Christian Privilege Checklist  - Arizona State University: Project Humanities April 20, 2016, from https://humanities.asu.edu/christian-privilege-checklist 

Native Americans and the Game of Lacrosse

Grace Farrell

Native American dominance in lacrosse has been prevalent for centuries.  A common stereotype found typically at the high school and collegiate level of the game, is that Native Americans are some of the most elite athletes in the sport.  While we have learned from Golash-Boza and films in class that stereotypes can often be highly exaggerated and far from the truth; this stereotype has validity as to why Native Americans are some of the most elite lacrosse athletes in the nation.  

The game of lacrosse was first recorded in 1689 in a book called An Account of the Indians in Virginia by John Clayton.  The first tribe to ever be documented playing lacrosse was the Powhatans.  Clayton believed the Native Americans played lacrosse as a "medicine game."  The tribes would play to heal their family members who were sick, elderly and weak.  Women were forbidden to play this sacred game for thousands of years. (Keepers of the Game, 2016) 

Present day, three Native American men from the same tribe have dominated the collegiate game.  The Thompson brothers, at the University of Albany, became #1 and #2 of all time in history for points scored in a single season.  On an ESPN feature, Lyle and Miles Thompson explain that in their Onongada Tribe in upstate New York, on their reservation lands, lacrosse is not just a game, but rather a way of life.  Once a male is born into the tribe, he receives a miniature hand carved lacrosse stick, and learns to play as soon as he can run.  Lacrosse is now becoming popular with Native American women, who want to bring pride to their tribes and reservation lands as well.  



Sources:

Aveni, A. (2010, December). History.org: The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation's Official History and Citizenship Website. Retrieved April 20, 2016, from https://www.history.org/Foundation/journal/winter10/lacrosse.cfm

Barnes, K. (2016, April 18). Keepers of the Game : ESPNW. Retrieved April 20, 2016, from http://espn.go.com/espnw/culture/article/15273999/tribeca-espn-sports-film-festival-premieres-keepers-game

Sports Center Featured: Thompson Brothers. (2015, January 15). Retrieved April 20, 2016, from http://www.laxmagazine.com/blogs/author/

Racism and March Madness

61 percent of all Division 1 college basketball players are black. The NCAA makes close to 800 million dollars annually just from selling rights to the March Madness Basketball Tournament to television broadcasters.The athletes receive non of these profits. In 2010, the NCAA signed a 14 year contract, worth 11 billion dollars, with CBS for rights to broadcast the tournament. These profits don't include the profits the broadcasting companies make off of the advertisements, or the profits that the private arenas make by hosting the games. The sole reason people show up and tune in to watch the basketball games is because of the athletes that play in them. Unfortunately for these athletes, they are not allowed to receive even a single cent for their efforts and talent. The NCAA is taking advantage of these student athletes, and 60 percent of these athletes are black. This is exploitation at its finest, and has been compared to modern day slavery.
In addition to the exploitation by the NCAA, the NBA and other professional sports leagues are contributing to, and allowing this exploitation by requiring these athletes to attend at least one year of college. by forcing these athletes into colleges they allow the NCAA the broadcasters and anyone else involved to profit from the athletes unpaid hard work. This system is corrupt and should be changed to allow athletes to be paid for at least a portion of the profits that they are responsible for bringing in.

Moorehead, Monica. (March 25, 2013). Workers.org. Racism, Exploitation and Profits: The Real "March Madness". Retrieved from http://www.workers.org/articles/2013/03/25/racism-exploitation-profits-the-real-march-madness/

Reagan and The War on Drugs

Richard Nixon officially started the war on drugs in 1971, but his war was modest in comparison to the attacks launched under the Reagan Administration. The Reagan Administration marks the start of increasing incarceration rates due to expansion of the drug war. Between 1980 and 1997 the number of people in jail for non-violent drug offenses increased from 50,000 to 400,000. The issue was that the Reagan Administration did not push for whites and blacks to be targeted equally for their offenses. This was demonstrated when the Reagan Administration did not push for Ronald Reagan's own daughter to serve hard time after she developed a cocaine addiction. The war on drugs under Reagan unfairly targeted African American populations, and this is demonstrated by the grossly disproportionate numbers of African Americans in jail for drug offenses, even when considering the equal rates of usage between whites and blacks.
In addition, the Reagan administration and it's war on drugs also led to blockage of scientific studies about AIDS reduction. Reagan's war on drugs blocked syringe exchange programs that have been proven to prevent AIDS, and also DO NOT cause increased usage of drugs. This led to increasing numbers of people contracting AIDS and HIV. These outdated drug policies are still in place today and continue to proliferate institutional racism in the criminal justice system, and continue to treat addiction as a crime rather than a disease.

Newman, T. (March 7, 2016). HuffingtonPost.com. Nancy Reagan's Role in the Disastrous War on Drugs. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tony-newman/nancy-reagan-war-on-drugs_b_9400628.html

What is White Privilege?

This article helps to define "white privilege" and provides examples proving that it does exist in society today, even though it is difficult for the majority of people to recognize. It is the invisibility aspect that makes privilege effective. As stated in the article, "white privilege is like the air we breathe: we don't really know it's around us unless it's unavailable" (Weiss Online). The author of this article draws on her own struggle with trying to explain white privilege and identifying it's effects in her daily life. Despite challenges, for whites there are certain things that come easier than if they were to belong to another racial group which the author demonstrates in nine brief examples.

The white privileges explained in this article include:
Your Wages Aren't Lower Because of Your Race
People Don't Make Assumptions About Your Intelligence Because of Your Race
You Don't Feel Pressure To Represent Your Race
Most Products Are Geared Toward You
Most Media Is Geared Toward You
Beauty Standards Aren't Rigged Against You Because Of Your Race
Jobs Won't Discriminate Against You Due To Your Race
People Will Trust That You Deserve To Be Where You Are
The Police Are Looking Out For You

Weiss, S. (2016, March 22). What is White Privilege? Here Are Nine Everyday Examples. Retrieved April 19, 2016, from http://www.bustle.com/articles/149452-what-is-white-privilege-here-are-9-everyday-examples