Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Eye Opener

This morning, we continued the lecture from yesterday morning. The lecture was led by Cassidy and she focused her lecture around White Supremacy. I don't really know much about White Supremacy other than the stuff I have learned from my AP United States History class. I guess when it comes to topics like these, I am clueless about the problems that are circulating around society. Cassidy asked us when did white supremacy first appear in the history of the U.S. and many said it was during Bacon's Rebellion. According to Cassidy, white supremacy gave people the division and most power to run society as how they see fit. I have never realized how dark the American society was until now.  People throughout the history of the United States have always used white supremacy to justify their actions and this is wrong. Like yesterday, people passed the microphones around so that they could speak their minds about this topic and others built their argument from others comments. This whole discussion made me realize how sad the society we live in is today. It is sad to see how so many people did not realize this back then and even now. The reason why our society cannot unite is because people are still stuck onto old beliefs and refuse to accept new beliefs. How can we move together and improve as a country if we do not change our way of thinking? I don't understand how people can think that they are better than one another. Cassidy restored my faith in humanity by showing the class that there are a lot of groups who are rising against racism and seek to change society. 

After Cassidy was finished with her lecture, Professor Tony Monteiro added onto what Cassidy said. Professor Monteiro said that we must understand the systematic level of racism in order to really combat it. To add to that, Professor Moneteiro said "one cannot work in the system and continue to fight white supremacy." I thought that idea was very interesting and never thought of it that way. His and Cassidy's lecture really opened my eyes to the problems that America was facing. This discussion reminded me a lot about the ILC essay prompts I had to answer for the Social Justice Academy. 

After lunch, we went to North Philadelphia to meet with some youth who were a part of the Youth United 4 Change foundation. They seek to better their communities and schools by protesting against the district since the district has tried to cut the school's budget multiple times and wants to close down the school. Seeing how they are so involved in their school makes me question what I am doing in my school and inspires me to find a way to better my community. We walked around a part of North Philadelphia with them and "protested" with them to see what they do and how they protest. Even though they are the same age as me, they are very inspirational and I commend them for doing things that many in our age would not do. This part of the day today flew by really fast for me and I can't believe how much time flies by when we are having fun. 

Jun, Chiamaka, Elexis, and I had dinner at a Pho restaurant after we got back. It was Elexis's first time getting Pho and we were excited to show her the world of Vietnamese food. I ordered a beef tendon noodle pho and it was alright. I think I'm use to the Pho with too much MSG so everytime I eat Pho, I always expect it to be salty. Elexis and Chiamaka went to the optional evening session of the class and Jun and I headed back to the Quad with Chiamaka's roommate, Lisa. If I did not have to do the chores I needed to do, I probably would have gone with them. Perhaps I can ask them in the morning tomorrow, but for now, I must catch up on my sleep. 

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