“ ‘I Can’t Breathe’: The Suffocating Nature of Racism ”

In the section “The Invisibility of Racism,” it talks about how some white people believe that racism no longer exists in their eyes. Instead racism for white people id more of an illusion or invisible.The reasoning they gave for this was because a person might not realize what racism is and what isn’t racism until they actually get to experience it. This section also talks about white privilege and how white people believe that they’re not privileged and everyone is the same in a sense. This connects to the song’s analysis by it supports the part of the song when she hints that sometimes white people don’t see racism and how racism still exists. 

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0263276420957718

“Policing and Racial (In)Justice in the Media: Newspaper Portrayals of the “Black Lives Matter” Movement”

The section “Social Protest and the Media” talks about how media outlets only show specific, as in the negative parts of the Black Lives Matter movement and protests. This section talks about how also, since the media outlets only show the bad parts of the protest, some viewers are more critical of the protesters and less compassionate on why they seem to be doing what they’re doing. With what they see on media, the viewers become less likely to identify with them as well. This connects to the analysis of the song by it supports when she talks about the media and fake news.

https://civicsociology.scholasticahq.com/article/12143-policing-and-racial-in-justice-in-the-media-newspaper-portrayals-of-the-black-lives-matter-movement

“Police brutality must stop”

This article talks about how there’s distrust with the law enforcement. It mentions how black and brown individuals and their communities are the only ones really suffering at the hands of police brutality and racism. This article also talks about how the United States has a history of systemically disadvantaging certain racial groups. The article as well includes a way on how to confront this systemic issue in our society. This connects to the song’s lyrics by it supports her issue of what’s happening with police brutality and minorities. 

https://www.ama-assn.org/about/leadership/police-brutality-must-stop?utm_campaign=meetedgar&utm_medium=social&utm_source=meetedgar.com

The text that I chose for Essay #3 was the song “I Can’t Breathe” by H.E.R. 

Thesis Statement: America is going through many social injustices, systemic racism being one of them. We as people need to fight for each other and stand together as one in order to create change that will last.

In my essay, what I hope to accomplish would be first of all to inform what systemic racism truly is. I would also want to highlight some of America’s injustices throughout these few years. I would like to write about the B.L.M. movement as well. What inspired the desire to further the research was how much the song touched me when I first had listened to it. It was around the time after George Floyd’s death when the Black Lives Matter protests and riots started to get a lot of people’s attention. Throughout the song, her lyrics are powerful, and while listening, you can hear the desperation and want for change. I came up with the thesis while listening to a verse in the song where it states, “How do we cope when we don’t love each other? Where is the hope and the empathy? How do we judge off the color? The structure was made to make us the enemy. Prayin’ for change ’cause the pain makes you tender All of the names you refuse to remember. Was somebody’s brother, friend, Or a son to a mother that’s crying, singing” This verse was important to me because it showed the humanity within it. Yes, we’re angry and want change, but that doesn’t mean that we want revenge. We just want justice and hope for a better future where people aren’t judged by the color of their skin. I plan to explore this statement in my research by adding information on the topic and maybe including people’s narratives from articles. 

In “The Good Immigrant Student” by Bich Minh Nguyen, the author shares her experience of being an immigrant and going to school. She writes about some of the trouble she faced, with students and even one of her teachers. She also talks about coming out of her shell a little more towards the end. In paragraph 28, Nguyen states, “I would like to make a broad, accurate statement about immigrant children in schools. I would like to speak for them (us). I hesitate, I cannot”. What I think she means by this statement is that yes, she would love to speak for all immigrant children that go to school and their experiences, but Nguyen can’t because even though she did not have the best experience with school, does not mean that the next immigrant student did not as well. Everyone has different experiences in life and different forms of reactions towards them. She can’t make a “broad, accurate statement” because she doesn’t know everyone’s experience, and she can’t just base that statement on her own life. She even states that she and her sisters’ experiences were different, as well. “My own sister, for instance, was never as shy as I was. Anh dislikes school from the start, choosing rebellion rather than silence.” Bich, with her experiences in school, was never the one to speak out, unlike her sister. This example alone shows how different everyone and their experiences are, so having just one person speak for all would not make sense. 

While reading “The Gettysburg Address” written by Abraham Lincoln and the “Inaugural Address” from John F Kennedy, we see how even though the subject of their speeches were different, they still had the same concept. Both president Lincoln and President Kennedy wanted the American people to see each other as one. To have freedom and equality for all. The problem that Lincoln thought the United States should solve was to work together and not let the people that fought for us die in vain. In “The Gettysburg Address,” he states, “we here highly resolve that those dead shall not have died in vain-that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom.” This was the start of something new, the start to give every American person the freedom that she/he deserved. Kennedy wanted to solve the issues of tyranny, diseases, poverty, and war. He stated, “Now the trumpet summons us-again not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need- not as a call to battle, though embattled we are- but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, “rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation”- a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself.” President Kennedy wanted to fix the issues America had. He wanted to make it a better place. 

Sadly the United States is still dealing with the issues both presidents wanted to put a stop to. There’s still racism, inequality, poverty, and diseases, but we have been taking some steps to make it better and put an end to it once and for all. 

When reading a good book, you might find yourself so engrossed in the book that everything else disappears around you. You find yourself paying more attention to the book than anything else. This is the power of reading. No matter what genre it is fiction or nonfiction while reading, at least one sentence is going to pull you in and want to keep reading more.

This is precisely what happened to Malcolm X. Malcolm X from the start was interested in knowledge from when he stated, “It had really begun back in the Charlestown Prison…Bimbi made me feel envy of his stock of knowledge. Bimbi has always taken charge of any conversation he was in, and I had tried to emulate him”. Malcolm was always interested in gaining knowledge, had trouble with it in the beginning but continued. When he continued, he learned how to read and write. This opened up a new world for him. He was so captivated with literature that even while incarcerated, he felt free. He had stated, “In fact, up to then, I never had been so truly free in my life.” This shows how strong the relationship between literature and freedom is, although some don’t realize it, literature is powerful. What this narrative suggests about the relationship between literature and freedom is that reading, especially if you’re someone that never believed in literature and the benefits of it or just never got a chance with it, unchains you and sets you free to learn about anything you want. Literature opens and expands your mind in a way that you would’ve never thought possible. It gives you a sense of being “free.” Knowledge is power, and the more literature you read, the more knowledge you will have.

Language played an essential part in Amy’s life. Her experiences helped her understand the significance of language. They taught her that language is just not about how you speak and hear it, but it’s about what the person conveys, their intent, and passion the person holds when speaking. Language shaped her perception of herself because she has always seen English as a challenge growing up because of her mom’s broken English. In school, she struggled in English classes and never got the grades she wanted. But instead of her sticking with the perception of herself that she will never be good at English. She did the opposite and “became an English Major my first year in college, after being enrolled as pre-med.” She broke down her barriers and challenged herself to achieve the very thing she thought she couldn’t do.

Amy became aware of her own language bias when she was talking in front of a room of people and caught herself speaking English in a way that she has never spoken before in front of her mom. All her life, she’s been used to hearing and even has described her mother’s English as “broken” when she stated, “Like others, I have described it to people as “broken” or “fractured” English.” Although some people might consider her mother’s English as broken. They can still somewhat understand her but choose not to. This shows how people, even when they know and get the gist of what you’re saying, will pretend as if they don’t understand you if your English is not perfect. This is how Tan realized language bias in other people. When her mother asked the doctors for her CAT Scan in the hospital, they were giving her a hard time. As soon as someone “who spoke in perfect English” got involved “–lo and behold– we had assurances the CAT scan would be found, promises that a conference call on Monday would be held…” The doctors knew what Tan’s mom was asking for but gave her a hard time just because they could. 

I think that people who are raised in non-English speaking households are always aware of how language is used around them because it’s different to them. The way they hear the language at home is not the same way they might hear it in school or at work. At first, I used to be very aware of how English was used around me. The English I would hear at home and at school was two very completely different things. At home, my sisters and I would always speak Spanglish. We would start off talking in English, and out of nowhere, use a few Spanish words here and there. The English that I would hear in school was what one might consider “proper” English.

Hi, my name is Jennifer Alcantara. My intended major is Psychology, and the gender pronouns I prefer to be called are her/she.

One thing that I’m excited about is the readings that are due for November 3rd and 5th. I’m excited about these readings because I can tell that these are going to be controversial passages based on the titles of “Which is it, Hispanic or Latino?” by Cindy Rodriguez and ” Why I’m Black, Not African American” by John H. McWhorter. I feel like we are all going to take something from these passages. I’m nervous about the essays that are 60% of the grade, just because essays are not my strong suit.

Some of the qualities of a good writer and what one would have to have to be a good writer would be organization and writing what you’re trying to portray clearly. That’s important for me because, without organization and an exact focal point on what you’re trying to discuss, the reader would be lost.

The easiest part of writing for me in an essay would be the conclusion. It’s easy for me to basically summarize my whole essay and put it in one paragraph and also leave the reader with something to take away. The easiest for me would also be writing about a topic that I’m passionate about.

The hardest part of writing for me is usually just trying to get my thoughts down clearly. I would consider this the most challenging part for me because I tend to get distracted and often ramble when I don’t have many ideas on what to write or even the opposite-when I have too many ideas and can’t put them down on paper in a clear way.

The writing genres I would have to write for my intended major would be research papers/reports. Being an effective writer can affect career opportunities because you would need to write in a clear, professional manner; if you don’t have that, it would be very hard for your readers/others to understand your work, which can impact your career negatively.