Double Consciousness

In chapter 4 Taylor talks about  the idea of double consciousness. At first it was pretty hard for me to rap my head around what he was talking about at first. Until he used the example of how W.E.B Du Bois framed double consciousness. Double consciousness is displaying a kind of double personality or internal duality.  In Du Bois's  classic The Souls of Black Folk shows a great depiction of double consciousness. Not until I came to the realization of double consciousness I've never noticed how it effected me. As a black man living in America I tend to take on a "white" vernacular in certain environments. Especially on a predominately white campus such as Ursinus. Coming into the school I was looking for a change of scenery since I was in a predominately black schools all my life. Both of the culture aspect was extremely different. Since I've been here I would say my freshmen year I would of tried to see if i can fit myself into white society so that I can be accept by the community. Until one day when it clicked in my head and I asked myself why do I need to try to fit in with a group of people who just don't like people like me. So now I'm not letting the standards of white society dictate how I present myself. Due to being an American citizen  I'm still participating in the idea of double consciousness because in order for me to become successful I must show that I'm just as good as my white peers.

The US Racial Terrain

In chapter 3.3 Taylor expands onto the topic of the US racial terrain in modern day. Taylor talks about how non-whites are more likely  to be unemployed, commit or become victims of a crime, receive substandard medical care, and to live in inadequate housing. Also, he talks about the so-called achievement gap, rates of incarceration and the infant mortality rate. I feel as though these things are no coincidence that American society operates like this. I don't think its a coincidence that every race that's not of the European descent is struggling in the areas that Taylor presented in this section of the chapter.  Later, Taylor talks about how the US population still looks to be divided into races. I agree, with Taylor on this point because majority of this country is still segregated. There are still certain parts in the south which minorities in particular blacks aren't allowed to travel.

History of Race

Last week in class we've had a interesting discussion on RACE. We touched upon many bases such as colorblindness, social aspects of whites when they are alone together, and the separation of hierarchies. Someone stated that we shouldn't turn this class into a history class. But I certainty disagree with that because if you want to discuss race we must look at history. We must find where the word originates from. For instance a place of origin, time period, and who it applies towards.

Race

On Tuesday  we discussed the term race.We were still in the process of defining what racism and racist mean. We also discussed people first hand experiences with racism. I believe we should start from the beginning with researching the term racism and figure out where the term originated from. I believe we must start from the beginning to figure out how we can change the future.

My essential question: What is racism, racist, and race?