With the closing of the “post-racial” America of the Obama years and the inauguration of the Trump presidency the untreated wounds of American society have attained new levels of visibility. The “dog-whistle” racism which forms the base of the New Jim Crow is rapidly crumbling, exposing a virulent white supremacy no longer able to legitimize itself behind the fiction of racial “colorblindness.” In such periods of social unrest the power of racial representation is critical. Beyond providing a snapshot of the prevailing attitudes and morality of the artistic culture, in their most subversive form such representations challenge dominant sectors of society to interrogate the myths they have constructed to oppress despised populations.…
“A picture is worth a thousand words,” is a common thought of art examiners. Nonetheless, people may not realize that art’s words extend beyond the canvas. A painting converses with an admirer about its artistic qualities, but it says much more. The words a painting evokes describe the social, economic, and political conditions of its time. Aspiration (1936) (Figure 1), a piece created in the United States by native Aaron Douglas, follows this ideology. This piece not only portrays Douglas’ own African-American heritage but also the wider political, economic, and artistic values of the first half of the twentieth century.…
The arts, a very explicit and uplifting way to show off how proud you are of your culture and people. And with every culture doing something a little different than the last the arts never cease to amaze. During the New Negro Movement many african american actors, singers and musicians were brought into…
Does High Art or Folk Art Best Express Racial Pride? Do you think high art and folk art express racial pride? Maybe they do however, you might think they don’t. Between World War I and the Great Depression, Harlem became a problem for African-American artists such as painters, dancers, musicians, playwrights, and poets. High art, folk art, and Harlem Renaissance are a huge part of racial pride.…
Over the last two centuries, our society has grappled with the perpetual strife of perceived racial discrimination. Inalienable Rights and founding principles of our nation have been tarnished by the belief that these are mere privileges, reserved for a select few fortunate enough to indulge in such luxuries. However, the last few decades have ushered into existence a transformed nation, where Supreme Court cases and social revolutions have seemingly eroded the dichotomous barriers of race. On one end of the spectrum, open wounds of our nation’s tumultuous past have been stung by the racial inequities of household income and a maliciously disproportionate incarceration system. On the other end of the spectrum, patriotism and unity swell to heights of exuberance at the sight of the increasingly diverse entertainment industry and…
In the event of the death of your current spouse, child, parent, legal guardian, brother, sister, grandparent, grandchild, or mother-, father-, sister-, brother- son-, or daughter-in-law, you may take up to three (3) consecutive scheduled work days off with pay with the prior written approval of your supervising Partner, the Firm Administrator. The Firm Administrator and the employee’s supervising Partner may approve additional unpaid time off. For other individuals, you may request time off as vacation or unpaid personal leave.…
Cultural appropriation is often described as when somebody takes something of significance from a culture that is not their own without showing respect for what they have taken. While some people do this on purpose for personal gain, that being profit or just popularity, many may not even know what cultural appropriation is. Miley Cyrus has shown evidence that she either does not know about or does not care about cultural appropriation at her 2013 Video Music Awards performance on live television where she used black women’s bodies as sexual props, performed a song that she explicitly wanted to feel black, and degraded a vast population of black women in the process.…
There seems to be no small amount of literature on how Native Americans are represented in our popular culture. Over the past several decades, Native Americans have been mythologized in films, TV, video games and other forms of popular media. And, “For the most part, the white man’s visual expressions of Native peoples have been dominant” (Boehme, et al. 1998:75). It is these depictions that have created a false impression of American Indians. As anyone could guess, the conquest of the American Frontier in the Old West is a period in this country’s history that has been mythicized in the media countless times. Historical issues like cultural genocide, colonization, and geographical displacement were the basis for creating these fresh, new ideas that portrayed…
The cultural identity of an individual is identified to alter owing to an intercultural encounter of an individual relating to the culture of another country. The cultural identity of the person is taken to remain latent and only becomes salient on one’s repatriation to one’s home country. Different types of identity shifts are observed related to the cultural encounter faced by individuals on repatriation like subtractive, additive, affirmative and also intercultural. Subtractive cultural identity is faced by individuals that tend to feel discomfort with the culture of their home country. These people are those that have left homes with low cultural identity and have highly adapted to the foreign culture. Individuals facing additive cultural…
Overcoming race throughout the Americas has been an issue repeated for centuries, an issue that we tag gender onto. Although, these struggles make us stronger through every obstacle we face with both of these topics, America is a country full of ethnically diverse human beings that can only become closer to solving the issue but not quite close enough to finish it.…
Identity itself is asking yourself a question “ Who am I?” it might appear to be about personality, and the person you are but that’s only part of it. Although some individuals don't have other abilities, as being bilingual. There’s a lot of ways a person could find out who they are and their identity. It could be shown in your language, nationality, culture, and accent.…
As a young African-American woman, I am often faced with the statistics that define my race and ethnicity. Statistics from jbhe.com and usnews.com says: "Black students graduate rate stands at an appallingly 42 percent compared to the 62 percent of Whites; Black college graduates are twice as likely as Whites to struggle to find jobs; People with 'Black-sounding names' had to send out 50 percent more job applications than people with 'White-sounding names' just to get a call back. " How can I ever grow from such statics that define my race, when the system is against our odds? I am appalled that the color of my skin weighs heavier than my actual intellect. My life has basically been determined for me before I even began to pave my own path.…
I am from St. Louis Missouri. My experience with racism has always been between black and white. From fifth grade age 10 to my senior year age 18 I attended predominantly white schools with only one or two black people in each class. Not any Asians or Hispanics. I am very aware of African American being treated unfairly due to race. What I learned from this chapter is that other races of color also feel the intimidation of White people. It is not just African American that feels racial prejudice. I agree with the statement “racial issues are not about physical skin color but rather stem from the meaning and value people assign to skin color”. I learned that people of color (not just African American) are publically labeled with descriptions…
Cultural identity is a huge part of who we are. Not only does it define our interests, it also dictates why and who we interact with. It affects so many things in our life that it can be hard to find anything at all that isn’t affected by it. For me personally, the biggest parts of my cultural identity are the food I eat, the people I spend my time with, and the music I listen to.…
How to raise a child with empathy? How to raise a kid might come across as a heavy question? Is it really so tough? When it comes to raising a child most adults look for the happiness of the child.…