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March 10, 2019 at 3:03 pm #4786MARIA ECHEVERRIAParticipant
For this week’s photo share on lyrical representation, I decided to share J Cole’s “Neighbors” as it speaks on the dangers of racializing and criminalizing black people, especially black men. The song speaks on how even if you’re an artist as well known as J Cole, people will still only choose to view him as a black ‘dangerous’ man. Due to the white space that white people fight tooth and nail to preserve, black men and people of color alike still have issues navigating such a toxic, unwelcoming environment. As mentioned, there is never any “evidence” provided by cops other than their inherent racism and discriminatory practices that lead them to further criminalize these communities.
Image is a screenshot of J Cole’s “Neighbors” from https://genius.com/J-cole-neighbors-lyrics
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March 2, 2019 at 8:36 pm #4520MARIA ECHEVERRIAParticipant
In order to capture the theme of the week, I wanted to share this meme that accurately reflects the degree to which white people protect their dear white space. Although obviously edited, the meme shows BBQ Becky on the phone with the police while at former President Obama’s inauguration. Even though the meme is supposed to be lighthearted humor, BBQ Becky is a representation of the masses of Americans (white people especially) who spent 8 years bullying/harassing Obama (and his family alike) for having entered a space only occupied by a heterosexual white man since the founding of this country. After having won the election, ignorant white people in particular found creative ways to attempt to deny Obama the presidency by falsely claiming he had been born outside the United States despite Obama having released his birth certificate. This is an extreme version of the common question that attempts to identify non-white people: “where are you really from?” As a result, Obama’s ability to belong in the White House was denied by many in order to protect white space, clearly showing how white people feel they are the “custodians of public space.”
https://knowyourmeme.com/photos/1372317-bbq-becky#trending-bar</span>
- This reply was modified 5 years, 2 months ago by MARIA ECHEVERRIA.
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February 24, 2019 at 1:02 am #4283MARIA ECHEVERRIAParticipant
The image showcases the peaceful scenes prior to the brutal forces of settler colonialism that forced the Native tribes (predominantly Blackfeet, Salish, Pend d’Oreille, and Kootnei) to give up their space in an area that held strong spiritual and ancestral ties for these groups and were pushed into reservations. The setting here is the Glacier National Park whose land ties back to that of various tribes yet remains a space for the white imaginary space to exist. There are those with the luxury to enter nature as a means of withdrawal while disregarding all other responsibilities of the capitalist world and those who are deprived of this essence for issues such as money. It’s ironic to think that before the white man criticized Natives for their way of life, yet now the world the white man created is so harmful it requires vacations/trips to disengage from reality.
citation: https://www.nps.gov/glac/learn/historyculture/tribes.htm via National Park Service, captured in 1914
This allows for the transformation of the lands once used for survival/cultural/religious purposes to later be used as a preservation for nature
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February 10, 2019 at 2:11 pm #3888MARIA ECHEVERRIAParticipant
For this week’s photo share, I chose to include a personal story on the middle schools in my area and my mom’s decision to send us to the better one. I grew up in San Pedro and so I was designated to go to the one in my area, Dana Middle school in San Pedro. The kids who went to Dana were mainly Latinx (80%), then white, then black students, with most coming from a low-income background. I looked up some statistics for context and found that for Dana only 23% of its students are achieving proficiency in Maths compared to the state average of 37%. As for Reading/Language Arts, only 31% are proficient compared to state average of 48%. Dana consistently places in the bottom 50% of schools for overall test scores in California state schools. Dana is the image on top that shows the surrounding neighborhood as well as the conditions of the building. It’s also important to note how the high school was attached to the middle school and separated by a fence (indicated by the yellow line)–a worry my mom had.
On the other hand, Dodson in Rancho Palos Verdes has 50% Latinx, 25% White, 12% Asian, and 6% Black students. Of the students here, 48% are achieving proficiency in Maths with state average at 37%. As for Reading/Language Arts, 62% are achieving proficiency compared to Dana’s 31% and the state’s 48%. Dodson consistently places in the state’s top 30% schools for overall test scores. When I went to middle school here there were a lot more White and Asian students than there currently are, showing the white flight that continues to occur here. Dodson was a magnet/”gifted” school because of its test scores and had countless academic/arts programs.
Knowing this, my mom fought tooth and nail to get my older sister and I in Dodson and the only chance we had was to score in by passing an entry exam after getting a letter of recommendation and achieving “acceptable” scores. I remember my mom going over how important it was for us to get into Dodson and tried her best to help us study for the test, despite her not knowing the language needed to help us study. When I was taking the entry test, I remember not knowing what some of the symbols meant in math not because I didn’t remember but because I had never been taught any of it in my elementary school. Long story short, my sister and I scored into their “gifted” program and were able to give my younger brothers a leg up in their application process. My mom’s drive also led her jump over hurdles to get us into “better” high schools.
The images are screenshots off of google maps.
The statistics are from publicschoolreview.com
- This reply was modified 5 years, 2 months ago by MARIA ECHEVERRIA.
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February 2, 2019 at 11:30 pm #3641MARIA ECHEVERRIAParticipant
The image below depicts 19 year old David Isom at the segregated community pool after having crossed the color line. This was not an isolated incident as other black folks had previously gone for a swim in the pool which resulted in both the pool and the facility being temporarily closed for three days after.There was no given alternative for black folks as the only pool in the community was restricted and reserved for white people. After various incidents of black folks swimming in the all-white pool, the city decided to close down the facility permanently. This perfectly showcases the extent to which these ideologies were held as white people chose to deny themselves the opportunity to swim in the pool by closing down the facility rather than risking more black folks to “trespass.” I wish I could say I found this shocking, but unfortunately I cannot. This is a classic move in terms of segregation and the different routes taken in order to ensure that integration would not and could not occur.
This image was dated for June 8, 1958 in Florida but did not have a listed photographer. However, I found it on histomania.org.
- This reply was modified 5 years, 3 months ago by MARIA ECHEVERRIA.
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January 27, 2019 at 12:08 am #3416MARIA ECHEVERRIAParticipant
The image that I chose for this week’s photo offers a slightly different visual perspective to the realities of segregation. Viewing images through a black and white lens chips away at our ability to fully submerge ourselves in that environment as it paints the setting as foreign, allowing us to easily forget that the subject was only 60 years ago. However in an image that’s been colorized, it allows us to view it in a more relatable and real framework. This image captures the daily reality that was for black folks in this country during the Jim Crow Era and the constant (completely inaccurate and severely degrading) reminder of their “inferior” status. This image showcases the extent to which these ideologies were in grained in every day life that prevented black folks from even walking through the same entrance white people would.
Credit: Gordon Parks, 1956 (Retouched by The Gordon Parks Foundation)- This reply was modified 5 years, 3 months ago by MARIA ECHEVERRIA.
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January 16, 2019 at 8:27 pm #3080MARIA ECHEVERRIAParticipant
The image that I selected for this week’s theme is one that showcases the unfortunate reality that many black families had to encounter in occupying and purchasing homes. The cartoon image, retrieved from a 1948 report called “Segregation in Washington,” includes the board’s code of ethics that governed Washington DC’s real estate market which explicitly states that the properties within the area should not be sold/rented/offered to black folks. Of course, these inherently racist practices contributed to the current housing segregation that exists in which black folks are forced into ghettos/barrios while white folks enjoy their spacial imaginary in the suburbs. The image also makes note that because of the existing housing segregation as well as other systematically racist practices, black folks are deprived of essential resources needed to advance in a society that unfavorably benefits white folks with unparalleled privileges. The takeaway is that segregation pushed black (and other non-white) folks outside the bounds of the “pure American space” designed solely by and for white people in the suburbs and into purposefully deteriorating inner-cities.
- This reply was modified 5 years, 3 months ago by MARIA ECHEVERRIA.
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