My Chosen text will be The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennet. Thesis Statement: In a world that favors white people, and leaves black people feeling oppressed it is clear to see why many mixed-raced people struggle with their racial identity.

In my essay, I hope to show the struggle many mixed-race people face (specifically half black/half white) in not only America but the world. How many of them struggle to accept themselves. Not knowing whether people will accept them for being two different races. Some people will even claim they are not of either race. What I hope to accomplish in my essay is to be able to show people that mixed-race people are two races, that they can identify as whatever race they choose and can identify as both races. I want to show that they understand each prospective race issues. I desired more research because during the Black Lives Matter movement many people claimed that people who were both black and white didn’t understand the struggle “full” black people faced and are still facing. I came up with this thesis because I wanted to dive deeper into the oppression and stereotypes many mixed-raced people are facing. I came up with the thesis because in my essay I want to show that mixed-raced people have their own battles that many of us do not understand. It’s important because I feel like people don’t fully accept them and they struggle to accept themselves. I plan to explore by researching in areas like Hollywood and their part in accepting half black/half white but not fully accepting just one raced black people. Also, the prejudices that mixed-race people face in their lives and their own prejudices toward themselves. I also want to dig into the history behind the stereotypes of mixed-race people and how it all started.

In the essay “The Good Immigrant” by Bich Minh Nguyen she talks about growing as an immigrant in America, specifically in a white-based area.  She talks about her time growing up in schools that were predominantly white, and how she would try and make herself smaller as to not stand out even more than she already did. In the essay, Bich talks about her challenges in a bilingual class, because she was better in English than she was in her native language. In the essay, Nguyen says “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.” I think what Bich was trying to say, was that yes she may be an immigrant but her experiences and her past make her unable to. In the essay, Birch talks about how she tried to make herself smaller and make herself invisible. “For, in addition to my excellent marks, I was nearly silent, deadly shy, wholly obedient. My greatest fear was being called on, or in any way standing out more than I already did-“, she writes. I think she believes she couldn’t speak for other immigrant children because she hadn’t liked being an immigrant, so she wouldn’t want to say something that she herself did not do. I believe apart of her was ashamed to be an immigrant. In the essay, she writes ” I have no way of telling what tortured me more: the actual snickers and remarks and watchfulness of my classmates, or my own imagination, conjuring disdain. My own sense of shame”(page 87). So yes, I think the way she grew up and how she treated herself  as an immigrant left her the feeling that she couldn’t make any statements for other immigrant children because she herself couldn’t accept the fact that she was an immigrant.

President Lincoln and President John F. Kennedy were two presidents who both faced many challenges throughout their presidencies. These two presidents I believed shared similar ideas about how the United States can come together as a nation to solve certain problems. During the time of President Lincolns Gettysburg Address, it was after the civil war and he had just freed slaves with the emancipation act. President Lincoln talks about the aftermaths of war and the toll it leaves behind. He talks about how all men are created equal. He wants the world not to forget about the war at Gettysburg, but for that war to remind us how we should not let those who fought in the battle to have died in vain. He also says that the government of the people should not perish from the earth, which I think he means to say, that the people chose this government and it does not fail in such ways that it already has. I think that statement he and President John F. Kennedy share similar ideas. John F. Kennedy in his inaugural speech also talks about the effects of war and what it does to a man. In his speech, he also mentions that we are the heirs of the first revolution. “Born in this century tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which the nation has always been permitted” I think what hes saying here is were a nation founded on war yet even as we watch our own undoing we do little to stop it. I think both he and Abraham Liconln wanted to prevent such things from happening again. They wanted a nation that is together and not divided. John F. Kennedy wanted the United States to put behind their own selfish needs, and to be able to look out for the needs of the people. To not let the poor be so separated by the rich, as one can not be without the other.  I think the United States still needs to work on these problems. We have yet to come together as a nation and put our differences aside. We allow money to the judge of all things, and the poor working class is so separated from the rich. We also are undoing what I would call a race war, where not every man is thought of to be seen as equal. it is now a movement known as the Black Lives Matter movement, where black people and people of color are fighting for equal rights still. so I think like John F. Kennedy said, we need to work on getting there, it may not happen in 100 days or 1000 but the work to get there should start now.

Hi, my name is Kiana Joyner, my intended major is Art, I want to become an Art teacher, my preferred pronouns are her/she. After reviewing the syllabus, one thing I’m unsure/nervous about is making sure I complete assignments the way they’re intended and asking for help when needed. I haven’t written a formal essay in a while and I fear that my writing may not be up to par, so to speak. I hope that throughout the course these fears settle as I learn to appreciate writing again and that I can become a better writer. I’m anxious to understand how to become a better writer and to be able to use what I learn in this course in my other courses.  I believe the qualities of good writing are being able to write coherently so that it’s clear and precise and easy to understand. It is also being able to understand grammatical errors, and being able to use good writing techniques. I think being a good writer takes time and dedication. You have to want to be a good writer, not just complete writing assignments because you have to. To be a good writer you have to be able to take criticism as well and be able to take it and fix your mistakes. So that means doing multiple drafts to try and get your work as clear and neat as possible, to put your best work forward.

It’s important to be able to write well because knowing how to write well is a skill that is useful for a lifetime. When you start a career or ar even applying to one, your writing tells a story about you, and the better you write the better chance you have of being hired. Also regardless of your career field, there is a big chance that you’re going to be asked to write something, whether it be formal or informal. I think the easiest part of writing for me is being able to grasp information and then to have to explain what I’ve learned. Writing in itself can be complex, but I feel I’m able to deliver information clearly. The hardest part of writing for me is being able to compile all the information and deliver it clearly. I sometimes find myself straying from the topic onto another topic. I find sometimes I grasp too much information so when its time to write an essay on it, it’s all over the place and hard to follow. I’m not sure what I will be expected to write as an art major, maybe art reports. I know for art teaching I will need to write papers and mock lesson plans. I’ll have to be able to prove that I can write lesson plans that are clear and easy to follow.