Racism Assignment

In this racism reflection assignment, I am going to comprehend my place in the reality of racism. I will be analyzing the key influences in my life that have impacted the development of my multiple identities within the context of racism/white supremacy, color blind racism and oppression. I will be discussing a situation in which I experienced racism first hand, along with my analysis of oppression. Critical consciousness, positionality, and intersectionality in regards to Lum will be discussed in terms of my understanding of my place in racism. Lastly, I will identify as an African American female with multiple identities and discuss my personal thoughts of how I have been the target of oppression and discrimination.

Key Influences- In
the following section I will describe the four key influences that have had the biggest impact on me in regards to understanding my place in the reality of racism.

Family Upbringing
I was raised in a two-parent home with my biological parents and my older brother.
My family is from Haiti my parents migrated to this country when I was three years old. I had no idea why they did it at the time because I was only a child. When people see my mother, they have a hard time believing she is my mother until they see us together. My father is very dark so people automatically think he is my father. My mother use to buy me this soap and it was a lighting cream. My mother felt America is more acceptable of a lighter skin African American. So, everyday my mother would have me use the soap so my face can get lighter. I never felt my mother accepted my dark skin. My mother made comments sometimes that she wishes I came out her complexion instead of my father. All my aunts on my mother side use the soap to keep up with their complexion. When I attended public school the children in my school use to make comments about my skin tone because I was so dark. I remember looking at my white Barbie doll and wishing I looked like
her.
This experience with my mother made me not only hate the skin I’m in but look at the world differently. Other kids my age use to tease me and state comments like “you are from Africa” or “you to Black” and I use to go home after school and cry. I would see my family treat me differently than my brother who is lighter than me. As I gotten older I started to accept my skin more because other people started to accept my skin. My mother still make comments here and there about my skin but I learned how to love myself. I feel now a days a darker skin person is acceptable because people are starting to think black is beautiful again. This experience shaped my view of racism.
Schooling and Education
As a child, my parents always believed that education is key to make it in this country.
So, my father saved up some money and moved us out the inner city into a nice neighborhood. I was privilege enough to experience both public and private school. When I first got to the school I was the tenth African American student. I was treated differently because of my skin color. It took me a long time to make friends. It was different form public school the kids were respectful, it was strict and clean. I remember a young girl my age said to me “did you get lost” they noticed I did not speak the way they did. I went home and cried because they made me feel like I did not belong and I had no right to attend their
school.
Looking back into my childhood, I did not experience this kind of racism until I got into this school. My tight circle of friends only included Haitian people or African Americans. Throughout my life I always gotten along with everyone. I was a bit surprised when these people treated me the way they did. Eventually my parents took me out that school and out me back in public school. I felt more comfortable when I gotten around people that look more like me.
The influence that has made the biggest impact on me is my family upbringing. I believe the way you are raised shapes who you are as a person. My parents never talked to me about race. We came from a country where we all look alike. However, when I got to this country my parents never taught me to hate those who does not like me. I was taught to treat people the way they treat me.