This weekend I went to a religious service called Christ
City at Minglewood Hall off of Madison Avenue for the first time. The focus of
the lecture was on cultural identity led by a man named Ali Chambers. He
started off his lecture by asking, why is it that when we talk about culture, we
bring up the minority groups? And how come it is always the minority that talks
about race? We are more aware of race in America than in any other country in
the world because it affects the way we live. Although the entire lecture was
based around Christian values, it brought up a secular question: Who struggles
with their own identity today, and why?
Many people
are safe to say that we’ve made a lot of progress since the end of the Civil
War with regard to racism. The Civil Rights movement came and went, and today
we have our first minority president. Everyone has equal opportunities (for the
most part) and racism has died down. But then something like the incident with
Trayvon Martin occurs and it seems like the image of unity is shattered. Is it
still because beneath the surface lies the ugly truth of hundreds of years of
forced slave labor? Do we just lie to each other about not having racist thoughts
until something like Trayvon’s death happens?
No matter
where we go, we are going to be labeled by other people. Ali said that in his
mind he feels as if he’s always having to “disprove the stereotypes” associated with
him and the color of his skin. People who wear different clothing and have different hairstyles are naturally labeled by people. These things don’t determine who we are,
especially not the color of our skin. Last
names were given to Africans when they arrived in North America, throwing away
any proud or humble ancestry they had and they had to start fresh. They were
able to bring with them their religions, their songs, and other things related
to culture. Although ancestry and family lineages are all very important to
identity, is it really the most important? I, myself, can’t remember the names
of my great-grandfathers and great-grandmothers. I may know that half of my
family comes from Germany and the other can be traced back to early Virginia.
These facts don’t tell me much about myself though. What truly makes us who
we are?
That sounds like it would have been a very riveting lecture to be at. But your question at the end is definitely one that I think many have struggled with for a very long time. In terms of what you said about instances that occur such as the Trayvon Martin case, I agree that you were very right in saying that until things as such occur our society does like to pretend that racism is no longer an issue. In terms of that specific case, there are obviously a million things that can be said. But some main things that I got out of it are that at the end of the day, we cannot TRULY ever know whether racism was in direct correspondence to Trayvon's death. We can never know what George Zimmermann was thinking in those moments, how he felt, and what really happened in their interaction. But what we do know and fail to recognize is that things like this unfortunately happen every day. While they may not always necessarily result in violence, racism is still a very prevalent issue in our society. We want to believe so badly that we have come past it, but we have not. The only difference between the Trayvon Martin case and countless others is the way we allowed our media to magnify the situation and in some ways completely blow it out of proportion.
ReplyDeleteI think the underlying issue is our failure as a general population to recognize that it still exists and to actually address how we can ever overcome it. Pretending that it is not an issue in our society will never make it go away. And I feel like until our national community can by into this truth as a whole, its end may not be in any sort of near future. Racism has always been and will always been a constant battle and I wonder if we can ever develop as a society to move past it.
But back to the question of what makes us who we are, I would have to say that all depends on how you define identity. Personally, while our families and our backgrounds are what have brought us to where we directly are today and obviously are how we even came into existence, I think that only covers a sliver of who we are. I believe that our experiences are what define us. We form our own identities every day through our interactions with others, the beliefs that we form, and the ways we chose to react to the situations life throws at us everyday. Our society limits itself by not learning from our own history and constantly having the same problems over and over again. My question is when will we learn from it and move on?
The question of what makes us who we are today is a question that cannot be answered in a factual response, because everyone is different. I believe that the factors that make us who we are today are deeply rooted in how we were raised, and the characteristics of what sparks interest in each of us individually. The way you were raised lays the foundation for the type of person we will grow up to be. The society around you, your parents, your teacher, and other influences like these all have significant effects on how you will see the world and yourself in it. A broad but effective example is someone raised in the south will act differently than someone raised in the north, simply because of the people and culture that surrounds them molds them in certain ways. However, being raised in certain circumstances is only half the process. As we mature, we each are attracted to different directions that life has to offer. Styles of clothing, being considered a nerd or a jock, and different religions are proof that individuals are naturally drawn to a variety of lifestyles by design. Why we love certain things in our lives is unknown, our passions are not always chosen but rather accepted or revealed, and then we pursue them. My point is that history or pressing issues in the world aren't what has the biggest impact on what makes us who we are. The present life that we live in day to day and the characteristics given to us at birth are the more significant factors that mold who we become.
ReplyDeleteThere are many questions that you posed in your blog that I would like to address beginning with the question asked of the speaker, Ali Chambers, who led the discussion on cultural identity.
ReplyDelete“Why is it that when we talk about culture, we bring up the minority groups? And how come it is always the minority that talks about race? Who struggles with their own identity today, and why?”
Minority groups are the focus of the discussions about culture because these groups have been taught to be proud of their culture and their heritage. These groups continue to talk about race because the effects of race have shaped and continue to shape their racial identity. Minority groups, which include members of certain socioeconomic class, gender, sexual orientation, and races, will always be the groups who struggle with their identity. This is because their identities meaning how they perceive themselves and how others perceive them are constantly being reshaped and redefined.
“What truly makes us who we are?”
The pride that we hold of our heritage, the influences of those we revere as advisers and supporters, the experiences that we have encountered and unfortunately the constraints placed upon us by societal pressures continually shape and mold our identity.
My freshman year I wrote a research paper on how Black English was created when Africans first came to America as slaves. When they were rooted from their homes, people from the same tribes were often separated so that the Africans would not be able to communicate on the slave ships. Because their owners language English became the common language between them, Africans pieced the language together creating a pidginized form of English.
ReplyDeleteNot only did they lose their original language, but the Africans in America also their families, religions, practices, and as a whole their culture. As a result I came to the conclusion that as an African American I lacked a culture to call my own. Later that year I traveled to Belize in Central America and met a group of African descendants called the Garifuna. Their ancestors were able to rebel against their would have been slave owners and create a free community. They shared their rich culture and history with me, which in the end made me feel emptier when thinking about my ancestors and culture. But recently I have come to accept all of the slaves as my ancestors and the community that they built as my culture. Although my culture is rooted in oppression I take pride in the sense of community it claims.