Ethnic & Racial Identity Paper Jessica Garrison

ED 258
I am a dancer, a student and a mother. All of these things I define myself with, I hardly
ever think of myself as a white, Irish, German American woman. We are confident,
comfortable and oblivious says McIntosh we have the Invisible package of unearned
assets that I can count on cashing in each day. for instance, I as a mother dont have
to worry about educating my children to be aware of systematic racisms for their own
physical protection one might say. However I do have to teach my child about the
history that has led another to think down upon us as white people and let them know
that it is not their fault. My sons race is white, its what you see on the outside, our
ethnicity is a mixture of German, Native American Indian, Irish, Scottish roots. There are
many different colors of leaves on our family tree; it is very diverse; there are African
Americans and Mexican Americans in the mix. My child will grow up in a family melting
pot. No one will be valued at any less than another. Thankfully my child will have a
plethora of media and poster advertisements that are aimed at him as a white male. I
say this sarcastically however I do believe that there has been a shift in the paradigm,
especially in our culture here in Portland when it comes to being different. People of all
walks of life are drawn here and I really havent experienced anything different so I dont
have much to compare it to. Thats my background to whatever bias I might hold. I
believe that being anything is acceptable here. Shoot even being homeless has its
advantages here. You can be gay, straight; bi, transgender, polygamous, black, brown,
yellow, pink, white, grey, short, tall, male or female and I think there will always be
opportunities for you. There are even male models in makeup commercials now. There
is no longer one guideline to what being an American is, and Im not sure how many
states are on this bandwagon but I dont think its going to be stopped just because
Trump is building a wall.
White privileged is manifested in the schools because most of the schools that I know of
have old text books. Their textbooks have old racism images that portray mostly white
children. The neighborhoods I live in are not advanced in anyway except the rent keeps
going up. I was in a CPR class the other day and it shocked me when we were using
the dummies that there were all white adult dummies and two out of the ten baby
dummies were dark skinned. There are things you see every day that put white people
on the top of the hierarchy. But at least in my mind Im not thinking damn straight these
dummies should be white. I was thinking wow thats actually fucked up there arent
more diversity in these dummies. The playing field is not level when you look at it from
an outsider, but as an insider I do believe there is not much power in American racial
classifications on the daily. Now I understand this is probably my bias as a white person
for being ignorant to the fact that there is social inequality based off of the tone of
someones skin, but Im an optimist. Race isnt something biological, it doesnt change
whats on the inside; its a genetic mutation from the sun that has cause variations in our
skin color. The achievement gap with jobs, healthcare and where someone might live
can be affected by their race within a communities social and cultural perceptions. But
in the same argument, money goes a long way and no matter what color you are I do
believe that money will give you all the privilege you need. Thats not to say thats how it
used to be! When it came to Leavittown there wasnt much chance for people of other
races to feel welcomed. I dont and wont believe that this hold true today, at least not in
Oregon.
Thats where being a woman makes me feel under privileged. For being the one that
gives birth to a child there are still so many systematic prejudices against woman,
especially mothers. If I didnt have a child I would have a lot more freedom to save
money and make a good life for myself without a husband. But when you have a child
and you go to school and you work full time, without a husband its impossible to save
money and ensure a better future for your child. We were all born into this system, and
for the most part have inherited it. Luckily for me I found a good man that wants to take
care of us and works above and beyond what is necessary. And luckily for him Im not a
selfish woman that sits at home and shops online while hes out busting his butt to work
for more money.
My husband says in the work place hes seen as a bread winner. They know that most
of the time wives stay home with kids; its up to him to pay the bills. Male privilege is an
advantage to those who are married or in a committed relationship, so Im privileged in
that way. Though we both work hard to keep our family on the right track there is still no
way I could work full time, pay a babysitter and pay all the bills we do by ourselves. Its
not realistic for the average American that makes 30,000 a year to pay 20,000 in
mortgage payments and make enough to feed themselves, provide transportation and
childcare without assistance from the state. I dont believe it should be this way, but I
dont see another option besides finding a partner to help provide for a family. Jensen
says in his article that when I cash my paycheck I dont feel guilty. As he shouldnt,
because he works for his money fairly. But does everyone have a level playing field? I
dont think the world is as unfair as we sometimes make it out to be, I believe everyone
has an equal chance to work hard and make a sustainable life. We are all the
production both of what we will ourselves to be & what the society in which we live lets
us be. It all starts with a dream and then from there you work to pursue that goal. If you
have a mindset that the societies in which you will let hold you back from achieving that
then you should move. I know there are plenty of states in the U.S that still look down
upon people of color. However Im lucky to live in a place that I believe holds diversity
as value. In 1850 The Power of Illusion says that black people had no rights. This is
the history that we all have to learn and understand. Things have changed however in
certain communities you will always find prejudiced people. It might be a boss who
doesnt hire people of your race or it might be a landlord that wont rent to you based on
your ethnicity, it could be a man that looks down upon you for being a woman. However
when I was talking to my husband about it he brought up a valid point, he said if we
were to move into a neighborhood that was for the most part African Americans do you
think we would be treated equally? And I thought to myself about how they would
perceive us. Honestly I dont think they would treat us equally at all. Maybe they would
just avoid us, but that right there goes to show that racism is a two way street. I dont
think that we as individual families should carry the burden of our countries mistakes.
We were only born a little over twenty years ago. However we are still paying the price
and considered privileged white people. Growing up in felony flats meant that I went to
schools that were underfunded and run down, most of the water systems were shut
down for lead testing and the extracurricular activities were limited. Yes there are those
Americans that are in the fast lane and given more privilege right from the start of their
life into adulthood, but my family didnt have that. And we still get put in situations that
make us feel guilty for being white.
Back when my great grandma was my age, she was born in 1913 so probably around
1933 she started having children. Until she died we knew little about her past except for
what she told us. We found out after she passed away that she had given birth to seven
children and only raised three of them, out of those seven four of them she gave up for
adoption because they looked too native She herself was part native American but
could hide it well with her fair skin and short black hair. But those children were going to
be the death of her persona if people found out that she was indeed not Caucasian.
This I think reflects in the video when they had exhibits at the worlds fair that made dark
bodies seem like savages and those 20 million people that went to this created the
future vision of American culture that held true to my great grandma Rubys generation.
It just goes to show how much of an impact it had on their lives then. Those were the
fundamental years of our country. It will forever be engrained in our cultures history.
Evolution is a real thing but I feel like the mindset is the only thing holding us back.
As an educator I will ensure the idea in my students that the world is no longer what it
once was. Because I believe without that mindset change that there will still be fear
embedded within them as they get older that they are underprivileged and therefore
have no way of changing anything. But no Im going to do my best to let them know they
can conquer anything, nothing can hold them back. I want to be the motivator, the
coach that teaches them to compete against what society has portrayed to be the way
things are. I want to build a network of trust with my students so they dont think Im just
feeding them a bunch of lies. There will be an open dialect about the way things once
were and how horrible it was and how we as a country are working in the right direction
to make all walks of life equal. Everyone has a chance even though the playing field in
unlevel there is no one holding you back but your own personal fears. This positive
change wont come to an end, I believe that there has been enlightenment within
America that there was something wrong with the way we used to live, and how we
came here in the first place. Just look at all the people who dont support Trump and
marched in defense for all the minorities that he was putting down? There will always be
power in the people and there will always be people trying to tell us how to live. Wolf
said Race and racism are integral and inescapable parts of our culture and social
history. And we need to be mindful of this fact to fight it and move forward as a tribe of
America. I dont think we need to be colorblind; we just have to see the beauty in what
makes everyone unique as an individual.