The Lilly Pad

 Latinx and Native American Populations         We live in a society deeply engrained with racism. This meaning that it is a constant force in many people's lives and has a great affect on both mental and physical health. Discrimination alone can affect mental health, causing depression, anxiety, and so much more. This coupled with the fact that these groups often do not have access to health care or believe the have the resources or ability to get it causes a crisis especially among young people. In one of the videos we watched this week, a young girl spoke about how she fell down the stairs and injured  herself, but denied medical help because she was scared of the possible repercussions or that they would not help her. This is heartbreaking. Everyone should feel that they can use medical emergency services without fear of discrimination. The family also spoke of how wrongful incarceration of a family member greatly affected ...

Black and Multiracial Individuals and Families               The United States and multiracial individuals have had a precarious relationship throughout the course of history. Our country has continuously cast out these members of our society through attempts to stop interracial marriage, considering multiracial children  illegitimate, etc. Although conditions are improving, this does not diminish the struggles multiracial people have had in the past, or change the fact that many people still face discrimination.         Multiracial people may identify as multiracial, but they may not. They may have a singular identity, protean identity, transcendent identity, or a boarder identity. Identity could be tied to physical appearance, cultural knowledge, family, or other factors. Individuals who are multiracial might experience racism very similar to those people of color face. Multiracial people may be "white passing"...

Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders          Disaggregating data is the act of presenting data in separate sections, or pieces. This could mean you look at test scores from different ethnic groups instead of looking at all the data in one. This is important when looking at Asian American and Pacific Islander students because when looking at the whole data set, this group of students make up too small a percentage to be statistically relevant. This group could be completely overlooked if the data is not disaggregated. This would hinder the research known about these individuals and their achievements, as well as keeping them from getting supports or tools needed for success. It also hinders others from understanding the AAPI experience. Without this research it could perpetuate the stereotypical beliefs, such as the "Model Minority stereotype" that many hold of this group as well.      I think Asian American and Pacific Islander families sho...

Educational Inequality           Segregation in schools was common place until its legal end in 1954. Mexican, Chinese, and African Americans all attended segregated schools. These schools were severely underfunded and the quality of education was much, much lower than their white counterparts. Although legally segregation was put to an end, discrimination is very much still alive. For a long time (and  unfortunately in some cases still to this day), educators have extreme biases, and these can greatly affect students. Some believe people of color to be less intelligent and less academically capable. It has been proven that when teachers believe their students will be low achieving, they have a tendency to become low achieving. This can also be explained by the fact that many schools that exist today are still predominately white, predominately Mexican, predominantly black, etc. Rezoning will racist intentions could be the cause, or it could ...

Colorism       Racism and colorism are extremely closely linked and that this idea is perpetuated in media. Many times, brands feature light skinned people of color as the face of the product, for magazines, movies, etc. and believe that they are being inclusive and showing diversity. This act, however, excludes a huge range of darker people. While the people we see in media might be black, Latinx, Indian, etc., people from these groups with darker skin are very rarely represented. This is proven by the fact that many cannot name more than one or two dark skinned celebrities. One example of this that I remember from the past few years was the casting of Amandla Steinberg in the adaptation of  The Hate U Give . Many people were very upset because in the book, the main character had very dark skin, while the actress who was chosen to play her does not.      I think for the vast majority of people colorism is not so...

Labor Markey Inequality and Inequality in Housing in Wealth          There are many historic reasons as to the differences in wealth  accumulation and mobility among racial groups. Some of these include the introduction of residential segregation which resulted in it being easier for white people to buy homes and to increase the values of their homes. Since home equity is the largest source of wealth, this has lessened the wealth of people of color. Many companies also take part in discriminatory lending practices, which widens the gap even more. These reasonings directly contradict inaccurate, racist beliefs concerning people of colors' ability to hold a job, being less educated, etc. In fact, a study we went over in class showed that education attainment barely reduces the wealth gap.      African American and Latinx are statistically proven to have lower weekly incomes than Asians and whites. African Americans and Latinx are...

Sexual and Gender Minorities  1) I listened to the podcast episode entitled "Mads Ambrose". The episode begins by Mads talking about their experience figuring out what they identified as, and that it took a long time for them to find a place they felt like people understood them and their identity, and how big of a role the lack of representation played in this internal battle. Mads then goes on to talk about their business, which is an all gender waxing salon. I found this very interesting, because I have never thought about this, or even considered that this might be something that people need, because it is not something I have ever worried about. Listening to this narrative made me realize how important it is that all genders have access to salons, gyms, etc, where they feel safe and comfortable. I think it was really refreshing to see how the beauty industry could be represented in a positive way; just people choosing to present their bodies in a way that makes them feel...

   Health Inequality, Environmental Racism, and Transnational and Transracial Adoption       Unfortunately, we live in a country where racism is deeply imbedded and is found so prevalently that we don't even recognize it. Environmental racism refers to the racial discrimination that occurs in environmental policy making and enforcing. This is closely linked to health inequality, which refers to differences in how people are treated in the healthcare system due to their population groups. An unfortunately common example of this the discrimination of Black people in the medical system. For example, they are twice as likely to die from diabetes than a white person, women of color are more likely to be sterilized during procedures, and Black people live, on average, six years less than their white counterparts.      There are many factors that perpetuate health inequalities, many of which...

 Racial Ideologies and Media Representation of People of Color     We are constantly consuming media, whether we realize it or not. Through television, advertisements, social media, etc. we are surrounded by it all the time. This kind of exposure can have a large affect on how we see ourselves and how we see others. Sometimes, especially for young children, it can be difficult to understand the difference between real life and what you see on television. Children of color can often feel like they are left out or different, and when the media they are consuming reflects this by showing no one who looks like them, these ideas and feelings are reinforced. Growing up, I always loved Disney princesses, in particular Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. I think these were my favorite, in large part, because they looked like me and I felt that I identified with them in some way. Having these positive characters played a large role in ...

Prejudice, Discrimination, Microaggression, and Family Racial-Ethnic Socialization     When comparing "African American Adolescents' Perceptions of Ethnic Socialization and Racial Socialization as Distinct Process" by Julie Paasch-Anderson and Susie D. Lamborn to the article "White families and race: colour-blind and colour-conscious approaches to white racial socialization" by Margaret Hagerman side by side, one cannot help but see the differences between the two. Hagerman's writing discusses two different ways in which white families teach their children; they either discuss race and people's differences, or they do the opposite and take on a "color blind" approach. Paasch-Anderson's article discusses the experiences of African American students with race and ethnicity. I noticed that the questions these studies asked, while seemingly similar, were actually fundamentally very different. In reference to white students, that question was mo...

 Privilege, White Privilege, and Racial Identity       I grew up in West Lafayette, Indiana, home of Purdue University. The school brings people from all around the world, and I have been able to experience this for the entirety of my life; I was very aware that people looked different, had different cultures, came from different parts of the world, etc. This was sort of an unspoken topic in my household. We never discussed the color of our own skin, or the privileges that came with it. This is not to say I did not understand I had privilege, I was. I knew that my family had money and that I never had to worry about whether or not I would have dinner. I had nice clothes and toys. I always felt like I fit in and I always had friends. I understood I was privileged, but I did not understand that those privileges were awarded to me, at least in part, because of the color of my skin.  It ...

    Race, Ethnicity, and Culture               Terms like race, ethnicity, and culture are used frequently. I know I have heard these words, but I never really knew what they meant or how they were different from one another; I had a general idea, but when it really came down to it, I wouldn’t have been able to confidently state the meaning of each of these words or what their impact is. Over the course of the past week, however, I feel that I have learned a lot in relation to these topics and have a firmer understanding about how these are interwoven into our society, and what role they play for me, personally.             The term race is defined as “a social construction to describe a group of people who share physical and cultural traits as well as a common ancestry” (Golash-Boza, 2014). This definition was interesting to me because I had never thought about the face that race...