learntoquestion ltq discussions

Read:

From Winona Guo and Priya Vulchi, Tell Me Who You Are: Sharing Our Stories of Race, Culture, and Identity (2019).

• “ A Brief History of Whiteness,” pp. 8-10 (the reading can be found here--scroll down to pages 8-10)
• “Chapter 1: Race Impact Everything,”pp. 11-50. This chapter can be found here.

Some background:

We’re going to take a look at what I think is an uber-cool book by two women, Winona Guo and Priya Vulchi, who graduated from high school in Princeton, New Jersey, and took a gap year to write it.

The book is called Tell Me Who You Are: Sharing Our Stories of Race, Culture, and Identity and it was published just before the pandemic, in 2019. The women who wrote it became interested in exploring this topic in depth after the murder of Eric Garner in 2014 and a discussion that followed in their 10th grade history class. At first, they formed a club--called CHOOSE--as a way to explore racial literacy. As a professor they consulted described it, “racial literacy is developing a historical + sociological tool kit to understand how we got here and how it could’ve been/CAN BE otherwise.” And they began collecting stories...and stories….and stories, mostly from folks in New Jersey and New York.

One of the results was this book, first published as a textbook called The Classroom Index, which got considerable buzz thanks to Teen Vogue and a boatload of social media. That motivated the two to fundraise to support taking a year off without working pre-college to travel across the United States--from Anchorage, Alaska to Charlottesville, Virginia--and get….more stories.

In the introduction to the book, Priya + Winona let us inside their thinking:

“Our heads throb and our hearts hurt when we think about the stories we have heard. Many are tragic. Many are hopeful. Most detail lives we have never imagined and still cannot imagine.

The stories leave us feeling disturbed. Touched. Tired. Energized. Sad. Optimistic. Angry. Compassionate. More than anything, they leave us urgently wanting to make sure these stories are heard. As we have traveled, we have learned that racial literacy never stops. We--including the two of us--can all learn more about who we are.”

<b>The post: </b>

We will look at more parts of this book in class on Wednesday. But for this post, I ask you to address the following:

Winona + Priya state that “race and racism inescapably impact everything around us. Even the very existence of the United States demanded their presence.” (12) They go on to say “race is a cancer that impacts every part of our lives.” (13) Their inquiry + book starts from the notion that this is true and proceeds from that assumption.

2. Do you agree with Winona + Priya’s assumptions or do you want to challenge some part of what they believe about the role of race? Why or why not?
3. Identify one (1) first-person account from this first chapter in the book that says something that, in your view, is important about race and identity. Identify the person you select and share with us

(a) a brief summary of what each person said and

(b) why you think it’s important/significant/noteworthy (your choice).

3. IMO, among the cool things about this book are the eye-opening factoids/information details that appear in the margins, as if they are footnotes OR side-references, OR commentary. Select at least 2 of those and lift them up in the post by

(a) VERY briefly summarizing the factoid/information and

(b) why you think more people should know about this.

4. If you like or dislike this book ….so far….say so! Tell us why you feel the way you do about it.

Be sure to divide your post into paragraphs. Paragraphs are your friend and they make your post much more readable. Thank you in advance for making this reader-friendly.

1. I agree with Winona and Priya’s assumptions about the role of race because the concept was established to justify systems of power, privilege, disenfranchisement, and oppression. The ‘racial’ worldview was invented to assign some groups to perpetual low status- the status that was used to create stereotypes, disadvantages, and hate that people of color experience today. Educators need to be promoting culturally responsive practices, starting from kindergarten. It’s what would allow us to educate each other so that (white people especially) can recognize diversity, promote empathy, and lift up the stories and ideas of people of color.

2a. Queen Esther explained the fantasy of Whiteness- that America at its bones is Black, yet no one wants to say it. She identified the countless contributions and traditions that Black people made to America’s robust society- hundreds of ideas and inventions that we didn’t even know were started by Black people. She explained the hurt that Black people went through, their bodies taken from them, because (at the time) they were not their own, “for the advancement of technology and medical science.”

2b. When Esther highlights the hundreds of thousands of contributions that Black people made to society that has gone completely unnoticed, it opened my eyes to a world of possibility I didn’t previously realize existed. It’s sad to think how many contributions were ignored, stolen, discouraged, and that I may not have learned this had I not taken this class.

3a. America’s first immigration law banned Chinese women from America because America only wanted Chinese immigrants for their labor, not to welcome them (and their possible future generations) as citizens.

3b. I for one, didn’t know this. It would’ve been so incredibly eye-opening to have known this when reading certain books in previous English classes. I didn’t know that America flat out wanted to deny Chinese-American citizens their right to be citizens. They did this for hundreds of years with every race that has stepped foot into America and yet it’s. Still. Shocking.

4. I really like this book so far because it sheds light on so many new perspectives and gives me so many things to think about. I wanna read the whole thing in one sitting and ask hundreds more people their stories because while they are sad and disparaging, they’re incredibly relevant and interesting- and the only way to start to get humanity to realize the need for equity- and how race controls our world.

• I agree with Winona and Priyas assumptions because it is the reality for Americans. Race plays an important part of politics, freedoms, privileges, identity. Every important document that must be filled out in America starts with the question what is your race. Why does it matter at the dentist? I'm not quite sure, but race is something engraved in our society. The concept of race is completely made up, created by white people to separate themselves from others based on the color of their skin. The entire nature of race is based on racism and the need for division. The idea of race has definitely changed but its importance has not.
• Jennifer
  • I chose to write about Jennifer because her story was definitely different. She speaks about how growing up she was only surrounded by Vietnamese people and her only source of race was from her conservative dad who was very racist towards black americans. She then was transferred to a mostly black and latinx populated school and was racist to her fellow classmates. She talks about how she grew and learned to challenge the “model minority” complex and even started organizations to create a community for all poc students.
  • I believe that this is very noteworthy because she was able to admit her wrongs and change her mindset. She realized once experiencing her first hate crime in ninth grade that she too was oppressed. Jennifer became an advocate and a leader of the ASA it is truly amazing.
• I found in the margins the definition of ally which I thought was very important to share. Many people love to throw that word around but I wonder how many actually know the true definition. It states that as an ally you have to first recognize your privilege and work in solidarity with oppressed groups to fight for justice.
• A second piece of information in the text includes how traveling as a black woman is very different from traveling as a non-poc person. The hotels almost never have shampoo catered to people with hair other than straight white hair.
• Lastly, I really enjoy the book and how it seems almost like poetry. It is a great way to educate on race and also a fun read.

1.) I simultaneously agree and disagree with Winona and Priya’s statements. I agree that race and racism are cancer that severely impacts our society for the worst, but I don’t believe that the existence of the United States necessarily demanded the presence of them. The existence of the United States was a result of a group of spirited people seeking to overthrow, and gain separation from, a tyrant; the American colonists sought autonomy and democracy, and in doing so they drove out the British Empire from their territory. Whilst a core facet of America was the horrific “manifest destiny” mantra which correlated with incredible malfeasance and barbaric actions being undertaken upon the native population of this country. Nevertheless, the inception and EXISTENCE of the United States has very little to do with race. Thus, I would rework this quote as follows:

“The United States is, to a significant and noticeable extent, SUSTAINED by racism and race.”

Apart from that second statement, I agree with all other statements and messages made by Winona and Priya in the novel. Racism and the idea of race as a whole is an extremely potent democracy-harming, human-created construct, slowly disintegrating our worldwide societal structure and creating more hate and polarization globally. Bafflingly despite this, the world continues to utilize it! Only humans could be so foolish as to harness the engine of our own destruction for their own capital gain.

2.) One first-person response that I found to be particularly interesting was Rocky’s interview responses in chapter 10. A seemingly long-term resident of Sundance Wyoming questions his presence in his community due to the racial prejudices he encounters in the predominantly white environment in which he resides. The longer-term resident white populations racially discriminated against, and gatekept elements of their neighborhood from, the racial minorities in their community. Many communities are plagued with individuals who stifle their community with nonsensical racist dogma.

• I also thought Rocky’s story was deeply insightful and valuable for our quest as a nation to quell the spread of racist dogma. Rocky is also a fellow history buff, and thus approached his interview with a more familiar tone; it seemed as if I was listening to a version of me describe the scenario. I appreciated it more as a result of identifying with the subject. His response also included a brilliant margin-section on what we can do, as everyday citizens, to remove ourselves from the sidelines and actively strive to make a change in our communities.

3.) As previously mentioned, one piece of margin information which I thought was valuable was the section in chapter 10 (page 321) where the book includes information on what we, as everyday citizens, can do to make a positive and lasting change in our communities. It included sections about recommended actions we can partake in, and a 3-step formula to help us become more effective societal-change implementers. I especially appreciate this section as we often hear too much about the problems afflicting our societies and less about what we can do to revert and eliminate them. This information is valuable in our quest as a species to stop the spread of the virulent harmful dogma plaguing our world once and for all.

4.) After reading the assigned passages, and briefly skimming over some of the other passages in the novel, I’ve come to really enjoy the book. The distinctive format and the interesting perspectives featured in the book helped facilitate my understanding of what the book was trying to teach me, as well as helping me better understand the role that race plays in our society. The role that race plays, while seemingly obvious, is something that I’ve never quite seen the full extent of, and thus never properly grasped, until now. With the vivid and highly stirring introduction, and excerpts of people’s stories, featured in the novel, I feel much more in tune with the problems that afflict so many people in our nation and am recently more motivated to make a change. The book also provided me with what may seem to be a true yet depressing realization that many facets of our society are driven by race, which may cause others to feel hopeless, after reading this book I feel even more optimistic about our future as a country. This is because I discern that, as more and more people are starting to comprehend racial injustices in the country [many experience them first hand], we can start to improve and revert these negative tumors in our society. I feel confident that the more people are educated on these issues, the better we as a country can properly move forward, using books like this as a guide with which to judge whether or not a new policy would negatively impact the society we inhabit. As so many people are noticing these changes, we have the potential, as spirited individuals ourselves, to band together and make an impact, now more than ever. Such an opportunity, where the citizenry has such an impact on the rule of their state, may not be around for much longer, as we lean towards solidifying the changes made to set the precedent for the next century, we have to act as soon as possible if we hope to revert such injustices.

1. I agree with Winona and Priya that race and racism does impact everything around us, even if it isn’t completely “obvious”. I think that it is odd that there always needs to be some sort of separation of races, even when it doesn’t seem completely necessary in the situation. In addition, I do think that it is important to note how aware we become of race at a young age. I think that many have experiences of realizing their racial differences to their peers, even when they’re just in elementary school. I guess that it shows how race has subconsciously influenced how we think and how we were brought up.
2. Queen Esther’s story was one that I thought was extremely important to read. She describes so many inventions that were created by Black people and our society never credits Black people, most of the time the credit goes to a white person who essentially stole the idea or the credit isn’t even given. She describes how so many of our everyday objects were created by Black people but people don’t know or don’t acknowledge who actually created them. One of the most compelling examples was the modern field of gynecology and its origins. Society never acknowledges what the Black women that Sims experimented on/tortured had to go through in order to give us modern day gynecology. I think that it really shows how American society ignores all of these advancements made by Black people because they were Black. Furthermore, I would also like to add that it really shows how Black history isn’t fully taught, there only seems to be a focus on slavery and the civil rights movement, if anything. Nearly all of the examples that Queen Esther mentioned were unknown to me and I think that that is a consequence of never being taught Black contributions in school. I think that it is important that schools also start to teach Black contributions because we take so many of their inventions for granted.
3. The first factoid that I thought was interesting is how public schools in Texas are starting to wrongly rewrite history textbooks in order to ignore struggles that were faced by Black people. More people should know about this because this is literal falsification of history which is intentionally refusing to teach how white people have created these systemic barriers. In addition, the US was practically built by slavery and to have that be written out shows how society is still trying to erase the experiences of Black people. The second factoid that I thought was interesting is how there are 54 ethnic groups in Vietnam, yet they are generalized as all being “Vietnamese”. I thought that this was also interesting to think about with the scope of the entirety of Asia, like just imagine how many ethnic groups there are in all of Asia then. On those forms that ask for ethnicity, there is always just one box for the entirety of Asia AND the pacific islands. I think that it is interesting that we group ALL of these groups under one term even though they all have differences from each other.
4. I do like this book. I like how it gives real examples of people’s experiences and is engaging because I can relate to or understand the topics they are discussing. I think that personal experiences and examples are the best way to bring a point across and finding these common denominators with the stories helps me to understand the main point better.

The authors are correct in their assertion that race plays an important part of every American’s life. We, as Americans, are often surrounded by people of other cultures and races, and we stereotype and are stereotyped by the people around us. Even if it’s unconscious, we allow peoples’ race to trickle into the way we think about or treat them. If I’m talking to someone White, for example, I may use slightly different verbage or mannerisms than if I was talking to some Asian, Black, Hispanic, etc, and vice versa. I don’t try to do these things, but they happen subconsciously from years of implicit bias. However, I also don’t agree with the simplification the authors make when calling race a “cancer”. Many people take pride in their race and find comfort in people like them. Also, oftentimes with different races comes different cultures, which should always be celebrated.

Vic is an Asian American who shares her experiences being part of the so-called “model minority”. She discusses how she’s never had a problem associating with White people because they likely felt more comfortable around her. However, as an Asian, she also feels like she’s categorized as a sidekick for her white friends, but she wants to have her own voice. I think this post is memorable because it talks about the viewpoints from someone of a traditionally privileged group. Vic’s classmates didn’t treat her like they probably would with any other minority group, but they still let out subtle hints of racism. She described the scene of her and her classmates watching Vietnamese being murdered during the Vietnam War and her friends not even flinching, yet they turned away when a pig was being killed.

On page 13, there’s a piece of commentary talking about how Texas has changed its history curriculum, brushing over topics of racism. I thought this was really interesting because I always wondered how certain parts of history are taught in the areas where they happened, and it’s apparent that sometimes it’s just avoided. However, I think this change should be known because history shouldn’t be altered. We learn history to see the mistakes we’ve made in the past and avoid them, so brushing over the mistakes erases a huge part. Another note I found informative was on page 30. It gave Vernon Francois’s definition of cultural appropriation, defining it as a culture borrowing an aesthetic from another without anything done for its originator. I liked this note because I never really got a full definition of cultural appropriation; I had only seen it used here and there on social media. Francois’s definition makes it alot easier to understand, though.

I like the book so far. I like the format it’s presented in: an easy-to-read account of stories from people of all minority groups. I think, in that sense, it’s very well rounded and teaches the readers how to tackle all sorts of racism.

1. I completely agree with Winona’s and Priya’s assumptions about the role of race in our daily lives. In today’s society, race has become a major component of people’s identities. Unfortunately, our country was built on the biases and discrimnation against anybody not considered “white”. Because of this, a lot of people have an unconscious sense of internalized racism. This has become so deeply rooted in people that sometimes we don’t even acknowledge the extent to which we are being racist at times. I wish race was never used to divide people or determine their significance. More often than not, people have already formed implicit biases upon first impressions of somebody before truly meeting them. Consequently, they let these pre-developed ideas govern the way they see certain people which falls into the category of how racism can be a cancer to the public. Just because of your race you inherited upon birth, your opportunities in life can be limited which only highlights how unjust our current system is.

2a. A first person account that really spoke to me was Liz’s. In her narrative, Liz shared with us her different experiences upon touring different places in the world. To begin her story, Liz commented on how during her visit to the Czech Republic, people had begun to ask to take pictures of her. She describes her feeling as though she was some sort of object and form of entertainment for them. Upon touring other countries, it was only until she declared that she was an American that she would receive any form of respect or recognition. It wasn’t until her visit to East and South Africa that Liz finally felt a sense of belonging. As a Nigerian woman growing up in America, she was always underrepresented in the minority. Walking through and seeing a representation of herself in Africa gave her confidence in her identity. The narrative closes as Liz undermines American history and the events that led up to these implicit biases. She notes how she ironically felt free in Africa—not America.

2b. The biggest reason for why I believe this is such an important story to hear is because it undermines America and its promises. Americans often pride themselves on the idea that their country is a land of freedom and liberty. However, this is not the case. Liz expresses how she never really felt any sense of freedom in America—in fact, it was only in East and South Africa where she felt any form of belonging. Furthermore, it highlights the dangers of underrepresentation in society. Liz, who always felt a “burden…growing up in a place where [she] was outnumbered”, is a true portrayal of this. Because of the fact that she was a minority, she never saw a true representation of herself. In contrast, walking through Africa and seeing people alike gave her a sense of confidence and belonging. From this, we should learn the importance of giving everyone a fair representation—not just in politics, but in their societies as well. Without doing so, you run the risk of limiting true freedom and liberty.

3a. One factoid I found interesting was how in 2015, public schools in Texas adopted a new curriculum that omitted slavery, segregation, and other sensitive topics on the subject of race. Another detail I was surprised to hear was how hotels don’t offer shampoo that caters to the natural black hair .

3b. To start, I found this factoid to be a piece of evidence to prove how people don’t want to be associated with the bad pasts. Texas is trying to avoid any association with the fact that they contributed greatly to racism in America. It is important to acknowledge our past, for that is the only way we can learn from it. Regarding the second factoid, I just think some of the ways black people are discriminated against are completely ridiculous. I never would have imagined that hotels limit their shampoo to only be healthy when working with “white” hair. This is just one example of many that serve as ways to prove how black people face a constant disadvantage, even in things that don’t seem like there is segregation.

4. I really enjoyed reading through all the stories. They not only informed me of the different experiences people face and better educate me on racism, but they also provided numerous factoid things that were really interesting to read about. It discusses things that never really have a place to be discussed normally.