Article: Performative Allyship 

The article gives the definition of performative allyship and the real world instances of it. The author goes into depth about what people are seeking out of performative allyship and how it doesn’t help anyone. There was an increase of it in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, protests, and riots. The text also serves as a message to those who find themselves in these performative positions by calling out people who show little to no help in providing resources or donating to the cause. This is the same for larger organizations who use the issue at hand to make themselves seem “down for the cause” and to keep themselves marketable. This article would help categorize Joey underneath that label and provide truth behind her actions. 

Source:https://techniumscience.com/index.php/socialsciences/article/view/1518/611 

Article: Stress and Mental Health: Moderating Role of the Strong Black Woman Stereotype

This article explains the harm behind the “strong black woman” stereotype and how black women are prone to having higher rates of mental illnesses. We see this in Dom because she is the embodiment of this stereotype in the show in comparison to Joey or any of her peers. Dom faces an immense sense of responsibility at home and school which results in her having little time for sleep or even a break. This causes her to have breakdowns and act out rashly in order to try to support her family. This article serves as to how Dom and Joey contrast and how the roots of their intentions. 

Source:https://cuny-le.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01CUNY_LE/c5a3od/cdi_gale_infotracacademiconefile_A431385113 

Article: With Whom Do You Believe Your Lot is Cast? White Feminists and Racism

The article breaks down the hidden issues with white feminists. Although they face oppression from their male counterparts, they are the main enforcers of racism and discrimination against their black female peers who are fighting alongside them. The privilege the white women in this instance are allowed is hypocritical to their own movement because they are actively denying the liberation for their own “sisters”. Joey doesn’t realize that this is the root of her feminism and that she actively benefits and contributes to this white feminist racism.   

Source: http://web.a.ebscohost.com.lehman.ezproxy.cuny.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=f7bd59c7-6028-4f44-bc45-38b68af122f9%40sdc-v-sessmgr02

For my analytical essay I will be focusing on the Netflix show “Grand Army” and the issues with performative activism and the consequences of it in a heightened racial culture. In the Netflix original, “Grand Army”, performative allyship and real activism are represented in two protagonists, Joey and Dom, as audiences dive into a sea of internalized racism and sexism. In my essay, I hope to use the context of BLM and ALM to differentiate the difference between these two characters and their intentions behind their actions. Intention clues us into the true meaning of a person’s beliefs. For example, the performative allyship Joey represents is only used for issues that she can gain attention from and ultimately benefit her for “being a part of the moment” compared to when Dom doesn’t seek validation of her actions when she speaks on problems that affect her everyday life. Dom’s actions are authentic and don’t always give her the response she wanted because she is fighting for something bigger than herself. I initially watched this show out of pure interest. I heard that it was supposed to be a cross between Degrassi and Euphoria, similar shows that use teenagers in high school to display social issues, but compared to those shows Grand Army is racially focused and reflects how racial tensions and confusions are translated into a high school environment. 

I came up with the thesis by referencing Tik Toks made by young adults in reaction. One girl was giving her opinion on the show on how Joey was her least favorite character because people were distracted by her actions and opinions to not realize that they were all ingenuine. This analysis made me reflect on how I viewed Joey in the show and if her actions truly deserved any praise. Most people who view her character see her as attractive, powerful, and outspoken at first glance. However, it can be easy to ignore the smaller microaggressions by disguising them with “activism”and it is important to teach viewers how to remove the illusion Joey presents. Dom acts as an opposition because her character is inherently selfless. Her every action is done with the idea of someone benefiting in the long run including her family, friends, and community. She is the image of a “strong black woman”. I plan to explore my statement by rewatching scenes of both Joey and Dom and how they respond to social issues and tying into their character.

In Bich Minh Nguyen’s “The Good Immigrant Student”, she takes us through her earliest memories in the American school system as she had to balance her new lifestyle and languages. She was often the minority in her classrooms, so she casted herself out in order to fit in with the “good boys and girls”. Going onto her later elementary school years, her classmates would make fun of her and tourture her based on their perceived knowledge of Vietnamese people. Her childhood was made up of shrugs and sighs because of this desire to disappear from her classmates. This attitude continued into high school, where she recounts not fitting into her rich, white peers with their fancy cars and their cliques. 

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”. Nguyen wants to send a message to her community of immigrants and foreigners as an attempt to categorize them. However, she realizes that she cannot make due on this classification because it ignores the efforts those immigrants have made to categorize themselves. Although they may have similar feelings and struggles, the way an individual reacts to a new environment can vary. Making a statement can neglect a person’s experience and stereotype them in a way they wouldn’t want to be. Nguyen knows she wouldn’t want to face the same neglect and assumption that she had to endure as a child. 

The phrase “knowledge is power” has a unique interpretation in this section of Malcolm X’s autobiography. In the literal sense, Malcolm having more knowledge with words and literature gave him appreciation in prison because “an inmate was smiled upon if he demonstrated an unusually intense interest in books”(The Auto-Biography of Malcolm X). His knowledge made him out to be more rehabilitated than the others, thus he gained the favor of other inmates. X felt awoken to the problems staining the black community because of his insatiable curiosity. At that moment, a black man with a book was more dangerous than a black man with a gun because there was potential for the hierarchy to be shifted. High incarceration, school-to-prison pipelines, heavy policing, segregated school, low minority college enrollment only further prove this idea. The “power” was the ability to spread long-lasting ideals that would motivate future black scholars and activists into reshaping their current stance on the balance of power. 

Malcolm’s power is being able to regain full autonomy in his life. Prison provided a place where Malcolm could hone his inquisitive nature onto the inequalities facing his community. The knowledge Malcolm X sustained propelled him to a level of influence and political power within his community. Although college may seem like the one-stop-shop for all things educational, that may not always be the case for everyone. “I imagine that one of the biggest troubles with colleges is there are too many distractions, too much panty-raiding, fraternities, and boola-boola and all of that”(The Auto-Biography of Malcolm X). Books gave the same (if not more) amount of knowledge that a few college courses would consist of.

Language had a secluded presence in Amy Tan’s life. Although she wasn’t the most academically skilled at it, she understood the importance of speaking and how language is interchangeable. Her own perspective of herself was that she doesn’t conform to certain ideas of the English language. She was thinking in a broader way than the rules of grammar permitted and interacting with her family more intimately than how conversational/casual English would dictate. As a child she learned of code-switching and how differently a situation could play out when done properly. For Amy’s mother, “broken” English was a primary form of communication in a language that was foreign to her. She did her best to express her grievances and ask questions to business officials with her limited English. However, bias and preconceived notions about people with “tampered” English exist heavily in American culture; in some cases, Amy would have to take over and present herself as her mother in order to avoid the bias. “The fact that people in department stores, at banks, and at restaurants did not take her seriously, did not give her good service, pretended not to understand her, or even acted as if they did not hear her”(Mother Tounge, Tan). The idea of “proper English” gives an image of superiority from one person to another. The listener sees the speaker as an educated person, a person of status, etc. Broken English gives off the idea that none of those features apply to the speaker and is less deserving of service and/or respect. 

In personal experience, my vernacular differentiates between my family, friends, teachers, and co-workers. My mother was in a similar place as Mrs. Tan. She came to America in her 20’s with very little knowledge of English and only understood what she could from TV and her co-workers. She attended school for a while before marrying my father and proceeding to have my siblings and I. However, my father could be seen as far more skilled in English than my mother. He attended universities in Sudan, Scotland, and the United States before securing his P.H.D. and teaching for the next 20 years. My childhood consisted of helping my father with his grading and coursework, which elevated my knowledge of “professional English” and allowed me to excel in ELA in school whilst my mother would communicate in English and Arabic simultaneously; I was interacting with two different worlds and understanding different languages. Non-English households give insight into the importance of communication and how they can interpret any form of English because at some point, that same version was used in their own homes. 

Hi! My name is Zayneb Saad. My gender pronouns are she/her/hers, and I intend to major in Media Communication Studies.

I’m excited to create a website to examine the intersection between Black movements and American culture. I enjoy reviewing the history of black oppression and creating my own inferences on the root of black oppressions and the perpetuation of it in modern movements and the media. I’m also excited to listen to the lectures provided by Professor Gersh because it’s a shift in how I usually work in a classroom and allows me to be more active in my education when I choose which information to retain or not. I am nervous about the upcoming research paper because of the extensive work attached to it. I hope that my work comes to a finished and well-crafted end. 

The qualities of good writing include clarity, compassion, smooth progression, and little to no grammatical mistakes. Good writing should have an intended audience and position in order to convey particular ideals without confusion. Effective transitions in the writing would allow for the piece to sound like one big idea and lack any breaks in the understanding of the reader. 

The easiest part of writing for me is providing smooth transitions and a detailed analysis. I want to create work that can be easily read and have all of my ideas articulated correctly. 

The hardest part of writing for me can be not rewriting points that I have previously made if my paper ends up being on the longer side. I have to recheck my work in order to see that each section is its own original, unique idea. If I repeat myself too many times then readers could get bored of my writing and check out too early. 

At this moment I don’t know what my intended career field will be but based on my intended major, I believe I will create lots of non-fiction pieces and literature reviews. Being an effective writer will have people invested in my ideas and spread ideals to a larger audience.