In regard to the significant gains
that have been made among the African American community over the past 200
years, Professor McKinney asked the question, “Why aren't we happy with the
progress?” Listening to the comments in class and reading the blog posts, I
have noticed that it is not that we are unhappy with the progress that has been made,
but we are dissatisfied with the ever present immeasurable amounts of inequality
in relation to race, socioeconomic class, gender and more. Professor McKinney
mentioned that currently there are more African American males enrolled in
colleges and universities than incarcerated. This is a positive for which we are happy. However,
when analyzing the campuses of predominantly private white institutions, we see
that the amount of racial diversity is sub-par, which further depicts the
reasons for which we are dissatisfied. However, on these campuses the issue of
racial diversity is only one aspect. In conjunction with this topic, we must
also examine the issues centered on socioeconomic class.
Recently, an article titled, “The
Challenge of Being Poor at America’s Richest Colleges” was published in Forbes magazine. Below you will find the
link. This article discussed the challenges students from low-income
backgrounds encountered at the nation’s richest colleges. Again, we see the dichotomy
of positives and negatives in relation to the progress that has been made. A
positive is that more students from varying socioeconomic classes are being
enrolled into these wealthy institutions. A negative, as noted in the
article, are the sentiments of inferiority felt by these students at these institutions.
The question arises, why aren't we happy? This is an example, of why we are dissatisfied.
Within the political spectrum, we
as a nation have made momentous strides in that currently, we have a President
who identifies as African American. However, as many students’ posted and
commented, President Obama has had to balance his identity, to avoid scrutiny
from the public. In doing this, limitations have been imposed on his speech and
appearance. And, he has been subjected to an immense amount of critique in
regards to his perspectives on various areas of politics as opposed to past
Presidents. The election of President Obama can be viewed as a positive attribute
in relation to America’s transition toward cultural understanding and
acceptance. However, the notion that he has to seemingly “wear the mask” is
indicative of the progress that still needs to be made. And, further
highlights, why we are dissatisfied.
As we observe the moments of equality and inequality in
relation to the progress that has been made, the original question of “Why aren’t
we happy?” begins to morph into the question “When will we be satisfied?”
Source
No comments:
Post a Comment