A Question of Identity We, no doubt are aware that America is a melting pot of ethnic, persuasion and diversion. Americans often classify people by these measures. However, in certain circumstances these traditional measures do not apply. For example, how would one measure a Puerto Rican of Latino origin who possesses a “black as carbon skin”? (128) In America there exist a parody between skin color and ethnicity: race and ethnicity are often confused and creates questions of identity of the people subjected there under.
In fact, Blacks were denied education. It was not until after the Civil War that Black people began confronting the issue of illiteracy. In modern day society blacks have low test scores. The ability to articulate words the same as educated Anglo-Saxons has bridged a wedge in recognizing written words. The Black community, as well as teachers needs to understand, that although they have come far from slavery the English patterns learned created a new dialect amongst the African
Currently, there are probably over a thousand different ethnic groups and cultures across the world with their own languages and ways of pronouncing words respectively. This language (accent) inherently shows up when they are trying to speak in a language other than their own. As Baldwin explained earlier in his essay, the English that we know to be probably the most common Language spoken across the world is characterized by different accents across the world in the mouths of its users (263). For example, a typical American person does not sound the same way an African person would sound when speaking in English. This is because the land (ancestor’s language) makes an American person’s English quite different from that of the African person.
Instead of the government allowing slavery, it looked like it found a loop hole to not treat people of color equally for anything whether it was sports, school or public facilities blacks were still treated as inferior. Thankfully the civil rights movement that occurred during the 1950’s and 1960’s would turn out successful after years of civil demonstrations (some which would become riots e.g. : Birmingham, Alabama), marches, and speeches. One might say that one of the most famous speeches of the civil rights movement, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech, would see fruition when looking at today’s society despite some traces of racism. Now we live in an era where different races can co-exist.
On television today it can be argued that convicts are portrayed as African Americans too often. In a recent article for the Journal of Communication Travis L. Dixon conducted a survey of Los Angeles County adults to determine whether exposure to the overrepresentation of blacks as criminals on local news programs, attention to crime news, and news trust predicted perceptions of blacks and crime. His study found out that, “Heavier consumption of Blacks’ overrepresentation as criminals on local television news was positively related to the perception of Blacks as violent. The theoretical implications of these findings are discussed in light of chronic activation and accessibility of stereotypical constructs,”
Race is a very complex human designed social structure that was originally classified by color. In many places around the world, including the United States, race is still primarily defined by color, and it is easy to determine somebody’s race very quickly. However, this is not the case around the world. In certain places within Central America, South America, and the Caribbean, race is not so easily defined. Having a deep history of racial diversity and assimilation through the colonization of these countries, there are many different races, and many different people identify with races that one would not immediately think they would fall under.
Many people wonder what it takes to be an American, while, that is probably not a simple question to answer. In the eye of law, American is who holds a citizenship of the United States. Government also set up political standards for immigrations to obtain citizenship. Basic knowledge of American history and government is expected, followed by the language requirements. But being an American doesn’t mean only to live within the boundaries of the United States or simply holding a U.S. citizenship.
This was the land they were born on. This was their home. Being American might mean being so self-centered to put our so-called “discoveries” before trying to even reach an understanding of life that was already thriving in this land. But no, if anybody isn’t white, they might as well be called savages. According to the people that pillaged and plundered all the land that wasn’t theirs, practiced slavery, denied equal rights to women, and discriminated everybody that looked different in every way
Americans are so racist we don’t even know it; we say that we are not. But, by saying that we have over came diversity sense Martin Luther King. From my own experiences we all judge a book by its cover. We judge people by their skin color not by which they are as a person. American people use racial epithet, racial stereotyping, and racial assumptions in our everyday
The words of the English language are found to be centuries old but have been “chopped and screwed” over time to mean different things and seem new. MacNeil states that the idea of Otto Jespersen, where he compares the English language to an English park, which can be walked freely because of the lack of “…any definite plan…” without the “language police” stepping in. This idea is a great description of the English language. MacNeil states in his essay his fascination that “axe” which, in the black community, means “ask” and I found this interesting myself seeing that I am a part of the black American community. I have been guilty of this error and I have noticed that I mainly hear it among this community.