PRACTICING AWARENESS OF MICROAGGRESSIONS

I experienced a microassault once in a bank. There were at least 6 people on line. When it was my turn the teller looked at the next person in line and said "How can I help you?". For a second I thought I was living in the twilight zone. I am not a small person that someone can overlook. I was in a little bit of a shock for about 30 seconds. After that period I said "Excuse me, but am I invisible? I was standing next in line!". The teller acted like she hadn't even seen me standing there. She tried to laugh off the matter. I was born and raised in New York. As a minority, being African American, we do not put up with racism too well. Some of my counterparts that may live in other regions of America may fear being outspoken but we do not. After that she acknowledged me but I am sure if I was some type of docile, introvert she would have skipped right over giving me any kind of customer service. I felt outrage, it really doesn't take much for me. I dislike inequality and unfairness, for anyone. I have spoken up for other people also when I see something being done unjustly. It didn't matter what skin color they had, if they are being treated poorly, I will bring their attention to it. James Baldwin stated in one of our articles this week that "the messages of racism teach that the lives of racialized peoples are dispensable and disposable, that the work of racialized peoples is less valuable, that the thinking of racialized people is less useful, that the concerns of racialized peoples are trivial" (Mables & Mables, 2010). In that moment the teller made me feel devalued. After a brief and to the point chat, I hope she learned a lesson that you cannot treat or mistreat people in the way that she did. Reference Margles, S., & Margles, R. M. (2010). Inverting racism's distortions. Our Schools/Our Selves, 19(3), 137--149. Retrieved from the Walden Library using the Education Research Complete database: http://ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=51372248&site=ehost-live&scope=site

PERSPECTIVES ON DIVERSITY AND CULTURE

I asked three co workers about their thoughts on the definitions of diversity and culture. Friend#1 is a 42 year old male from the Dominican Republic. His definition of culture was the attitudes and behavior of a particular group. His definition of diversity was that people from different backgrounds that live in the same area or town. Participant #2 was a 44 year old Puerto Rican woman. She said to her culture meant background, heritage, and cultures. Her definition of diversity was whether you are Black or White, where your family is from, the education you have received, your neighborhood and social class. The third participant was a 45 year old woman from Colombia. She felt that culture was values , experiences, ways of cooking shared by a group of people. Diversity to her was people from different countries with different religions, co-existing with others from other countries. I discovered that no matter who you ask..no two definitions are going to be the same. In this course we have read about how children of all cultures should be able to receive a great education regardless of background. We have learned how important for children to learn about each other and also learn about how similar and how they have differences too.(Derman-Sparks). In this class we have also read about how some people identify all Asian ethnic groups as Chinese. (Ngo). Despite the way we look alike, each culture is unique and different. African Americans, African and Caribbeans all look alike. That is our similarity. Our cultures are different. It is important to accept others for who they are not for what they are.

MY FAMILY CULTURE

The three items I would take with me to my new destination that will represent my family culture would include a DVD boxed set of the "ROOTS" documentary. ROOTS was a made for television documentary made in 1977 by Alex Haley, depicting the history of Africans and their travels to America due to the kidnapping by the British in Africa. It was a harsh and at times hard to visualize but it is my story. I would also bring with me a photo album of family pictures taken at family reunions. Black family reunions are positive cultural events usually held annually or biannually by family members at different host cities. They celebrate the strengths and traditional values of the African American family. The 3rd item would be a cast iron skillet used for cooking and frying. In Africa cast iron pots would be used to cook on in open pits. Slaves also used these skillets/pots in slavery in the Southern states. Today these skillets are still a mainstay in African American homes. I would feel sad if I would have to give up two of the items upon my arrival to the island. They all have equal importance. When I first read this blog assignment hastily, I thought I had to just bring 3 items, immediately I thought IPOD, batteries and my phone. Then I reread the details, I had to give some thought to the exercise to realize what was truly a representation of myself. It was an interesting exercise which caused me to think deeper. Reference http://www.soul=food-advisor.com/Soul-Food-History.html http://www.ncnw.org/events/reunion_history

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