I agree with Allison's post with Morgan Freeman. I fully support furthering people's knowledge of different races but I also think that to a certain extent it shouldn't need to. As Morgan Freeman said in the video "Black history is American history", we should all be taught what it is brought up in Black History month, Women's History month, and other History months as well. We should all be brought up with an awareness of other races and ethnicities. I realize that this would be difficult to do, what with everything else we have to learn, but it is something to hope for. As a future educator I know that I will always figure out a way to make sure that my students are learning about those who are different from them and also make sure that they are respectful of them.
I also like the point Morgan Freeman brings up on ending racism. I think that his point relates to what we have been talking about. We have said that if you aren't a white christian male then you are deviant. Those who are not white are considered deviant. But what if we take on Morgan Freeman's view. Stop calling people by their skin color-call them by their names. Not "oh I have this black friend, Sarah..." but "my friend Sarah..." If people would do this it might help with our society's definition of normal and deviant and with the "us" and "them" thoughts.
Jillian Stephenson
Jillian,
ReplyDeleteI agree that we should be more educated on issues of race, gender, sexuality, disability, etc. Following Freeman's logic that "black history is American history," we can also say that "women's history is American history," "LGBT history is American history," "the history of those with disabilities is American history."
However, the reality is that we live in a world in which we do not receive enough education about those society positions as "other." Therefore, don't we need events/celebrations like black history month to raise awareness about past and current injustices and to pay homage to those who came before us?
In regards to Freeman's ideas about how to end racism see my response on Allie's original post.