In society today and even society years ago, race has been a sensitive topic that should not affect our society to the extent in which it does. I believe that racism is taught by parents and any influential person in your life. It essential works the same way political thoughts are passed down throughout the family. For example, black people gain the stigma that they are more violent or more likely to steal. Most black children are taught to always show their hands when pulled over by the police, ask if they can grab any item, and never question or speak back to any officers or they risk their lives. This is not the same way other ethnicities are treated or fear their lives whenever an officer encounters them. This is why our society needs to come together, acknowledge the issues people are having, and abolish them to make everyone truly equal, no matter their background or history. Racism needs to be spoken about in more public settings and within classrooms to change the way the younger generations view people and begin the change.
2 thoughts on “Race: Gwen Savidge”
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I completely agree, I feel like education about racism needs to be normalized. Starting off with history, history is taught through a subjective lens, and depending on where a person is in the nation, or really in the world, history is subjective. Western history is not universal across the United States. I was talking with a friend and they told me that in some places in the South, some refer to the Civil War as the “War of Northern Aggression.” I think that its prevalent in today’s society where history is being taught as ‘heroes and villains,’ whereas if history were taught non-biased, to an extent, the influence of racism taught through education may be better mediated. If culture were better normalized from a young age; if children grew up in more culturally diverse areas, the problem of racism will be lessened because from then on, people are people, rather than “they are a black man,” and “she is asian.” The moment race stops being normalized as a person/the moment race stops defining people and dehumanizing people, is when, I believe, major steps will be made towards a universally humane world.
I agree that racism is taught by parents and any influential person in your life. It is hard for people to see the racial problem without bias. Because of the diversity of society, the history of countries, it is hard to solve this problem in a short time. Children are taught through others’ perspectives since there is no mature education system for them to learn about the racial problem, which will cause them to form a subjective point of view. I love the example about what kind of education are black people receiving. Black people cannot find their identity because of education. The institutions and surrounding environment lead them to form their values. New media has played a huge role in solving this problem. People can know about it through movies, TV shows, and books. We need to use this powerful tool to ameliorate this problem and build a more equal society.