Different Perspective on Racism in Most Media and in Politics
For the first IA assignment:
First, view the spoken-word poem titled "I am NOT black; you are NOT white" by Prince Ea. Second, view the following two videos: "Kmele Foster; Race Abolitionist" and "The Art of Defying Stereotypes" (Karith Foster). All three videos are located in the Media Gallery (just type the titles into the search bar).
Then, discuss your thoughts on all three of these videos that collectively offer a rather different perspective on the subject of race than we see in most media or politics today. What is your response to each, and what might be your contribution to this broader discussion they all three address if you were seated at a round table with them?
Remember: these informal assignments are about making connections between all items in a set; in this case, there are three items (videos) in this set to address. Also remember that with these informal assignments, there are no correct or incorrect answers; there is no "correct" or "incorrect" content. These assignments are places to explore topics through others' perspectives and offering your own to the discussion.
MINIMUM of 900 words
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Race
Race has been a controversial topic. Racism is a significant problem today in the United States (US). In particular, it has contributed to dividing people and making some believe that they are better than others. Politicians introduced and revived racism so that they could make individuals hate each other and disrupt them from seeing existing problems that need solutions. Humans spend more time hating each other instead of uniting to improve their communities. Those who are tied by race believe that there are things they cannot do because they belong to specific ethnicities, cultures, or skin color. The media emphasizes identifying demographics by using race. The three videos discussed below are eye-openers that race is an artificial problem that was politically created to categorize people.
Prince Ea’s spoken-word poem “I Am NOT Black, You are NOT White” is very fascinating. Indeed, it reveals that all humans are equal and convinces viewers not to accept things that are used to divide them. Ea calls these things labels. He says that labels were politically introduced in the 15th century (Ea). Labels have been used successfully to divide individuals around the world. Some communities are called African Americans, Mexicans, Hispanics, Whites, and Asians. However, the poem compares the human body to a car or caterpillar shell. When a black person is driving a specific car, no one confuses that individual with the car that one driving. In that light, Ea wants viewers to understand that they