Ashton Tilton

Color Me Black

{this is another project for my TELL(teaching.english.language.learners) class. it's a cultural snapshot of a prominent cultural group that allows us to recognize and analyze how cultural groups are represented in the United States. i had a lot of fun with this project as i explored african-american culture. it was so interesting to apply the ideas we are learning about in class to real-life and the media that surrounds us everyday. i'm excited to share what i've discovered!}

Artifact #1.

"I Am Not My Hair" by India Arie ft. Akon

{every person across the United States has predispositions and stereotypes of different races, whether he or she wants to admit it or not. unfortunately, these stereotypes can be so severe or engrained in one's head, that they strongly affect the society we live in. india arie sings a song with akon, called "I Am Not My Hair." they tell their stories growing up as black kids trying to make it in a white world. they talk about how they couldn't find jobs or get people to take them seriously in the world, until they cut off their dreads and braids. they go on to declare, "i am not my hair. i am not this skin. i am not your expectations, no, no. i am not my hair. i am not this skin. i am the soul that lives within." how sad that in the united states, racism still pervades. it is still present in us all in one form or another. whether we are passive racists or outright, blunt racists, we are all a little bit racist. if one doesn't have the cultural identity of dominant society (white, middle-class, English-speaking), then he or she is often discriminated against. india & akon are sending the message that society looked down on them and wouldn't accept them until they assimilated into what the dominant society expects. until they at least cut their hair like white men & women, they were not taken seriously nor did not get respectable jobs.}

Artifact #2.

The Freedom Writers.

Jamal: "At sixteen, I've seen more bodies than a mortician. Every time I step out my door I face the risk of being shot. To the rest of the world it's just another dead body on a street corner. They don't know that he was my friend."

{this movie sends a powerful, double-bladed message. on one hand, it shows how one can overcome the cards of life they were dealt...how no matter what background you come from, you can rise above. some of these students were born into living hells, such as jamal. every day, getting shot on the streets was a possible reality. yet despite that reality, many of miss gruwell's students chose a different reality because of the impact miss gruwell had on them. they chose to learn & educate themselves...to rise above what the world expected of them, which wasn't much. on the other hand, this movie also contributes to the sterotype that as african americans you are born into a battle. as an african american you are automatically going to have to struggle in life because of your race. this message skews what african-american may think about what the future holds for them. it may cripple them into thinking that they will have to overcome struggles in life simply because of the color of their skin. this thinking has the potential to create pride, hatred & a sense of entitlement in life, which is why this particular media message could be crippling for young african-american students, but could also be life-changing.

Artifact #3.

"Father forgive us for living
Why are all my homies stuck in prison?
Barely breathing, believing that this world is a prison
It's like a ghetto we can never leave
A broken rose giving bloom through the cracks of the concrete
So many things for us to see
Things to be
Our history so full of tragedy and misery
To all the homies who never made it home
The dead peers I shed tattooed tears for when I'm alone
Picture us inside a ghetto heaven
A place to rest finding peace through this land of stress
In my chest I feel pain come in sudden storms
A life full of rain in this game watch for land thorns
Our unborn never got to grow, never got to see what's next
In this world filled with countless threats
I beg God to find a way for our ghetto kids to breath
Show a sign make us all believe"

tupac shakur

{was it tupac's fault that he was born into incarceration and struggles? that his parents were in trouble with the law? that his parents were members of the Black Panther Party of the 1960s and 1970s, putting his life in danger as soon as he was born? that his godfather was convicted of murdering a school teacher? that his stepfather was on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives for four years when tupac was a pre-teen? tupac had no control over where he was born, who he was born to, and what situation he was born in...forces also known as macrofactors. despite these macrofactors, tupac got involved in the arts, literature & music. at age twelve he enrolled himself in Harlem's 127th Street Repertory Ensemble. in high school he transferred to the Baltimore School of Arts & became involved in many plays. he studied acting, poetry, jazz & ballet. he never had the trendiest clothes in high school, but he was extremely popular because of his rapping skills, sense of humor, and ability to mix with all crowds. tupac is the prime example of making the best of the hand of cards you're dealt in life. despite the incarceration he was born in to, he put forth the effort to overcome those struggles...he recognized he had control over how he reacted to certain life situation's, also known as microfactors. in accordance with the resistance theory, which deals with one's response to persistently not being accepted by the dominant culture, tupac demonstrated positive resistance in high school. he chose to rise above and make the best of his circumstances by immersing himself in the arts, joining choirs & participating in plays.}

{in this poem of tupac's, he questions why his "homies" (referring to black people from the ghetto as a whole) are all stuck in prison, why so many of them have been killed, why they are stuck in this "ghetto prison". tupac sees what his people can be...hopes for what his people can be...but the world suppresses those hopes & dreams. will they ever be able to escape the poverty and struggles they were born into? could they have done better for themselves? will the world allow them to be better? is it their fault? it makes me question meritocracy. are those who are "at the top" (smarter, work harder, etc...), at the top because they got there purely on merit? would some of these black "homies" who were born into poverty, drugs, abuse & the slums be able to rise "to the top" if they had been born into different circumstances? just because they were born into struggles, does that mean they aren't smart or don't work hard? society needs desperately to overcome the deficit theory which suggests that people who are different from the majority culture are, by default, not smart and perform poorly. just because you're black and from the ghettoes, does not mean that you are not smart and that you automatically will perform poorly in life and are doomed to fail. what makes the difference? what can we do to make the difference?}

How do these messages affect the classroom?

{we are a society heavily influenced by and encompassed with media & its affects. for african americans, the messages sent by these three artifacts specifically is that blacks are always trying to overcome society's crippling stereotypes...that life is going to be a constant battle against the world in trying to "make it" as a member of a cultural identity that is not the dominant culture...that it will always be a struggle. this is not always the case & no minority culture should have to feel this way. yes, these artifacts could be positive affects on some african-american children, but they could just as easily have a negative affect. african americans are not always born into poverty, drugs, abuse & struggles. in many movies, literature, or music about african americans, the media tends to focus on how african americans have overcome the world's discrimination against their race, which is certainly noble & worthy of recognition, but this easily could put into the heads of african american children that their life is going to be something to overcome, simply because they are black. this is one huge danger of the media.}

Why is this important for teachers to understand?

How can teachers mitigate the influence of the messages of the media?

{as teachers, it is their responsibility to accept all children from all backgrounds, ethnicities, religions & races. it is their responsibility to take what the media has to say and put a positive spin on it or make it apply to all the children. it is their responsibility to unite the classroom. & in order to do this, it is absolutely vital that the teacher understand the implications of the media and be informed about how certain races are portrayed and what prejudices there are against them. this allows the teacher to show the children how acculturation and biculturalism allow for all cultures to maintain their cultural identity, while learning from other cultures. this also allows the teacher to better care for and love his or her students. & as the teacher shows love for all students of all races, the children will also learn to love all students and be more accepting of each other.}