lacey-tucker-5

[lacey-tucker-5]

Reflection #6

We have seen so many intriguing rap/hip-hop videos throughout class over the past week. I never would have guessed so much meaning could be behind a music video. After watching the different videos I noticed how the lyrics in each song seemed to stick out at me more and more. It’s strange to think that most of the time we just sing along to songs but we have little to zero clue what the words that are coming out of our mouths actually mean. So many of the videos took on the meanings of issues that Oluo has presented. In Beyonce's video we see her on top of police cars, Lil Baby is shown standing with the black lives matter protests. In Kendrick Lamar’s lyrics, he talks about police brutality with the line “And we hate po-po. Wanna kill us dead in the street for sure, nigga.” This is clearly not a positive reference to the police. However, Kendricks main theme throughout the song to the black community is that they are going to be alright. In my opinion, I do not know if this is a great message to send to his fans, continuing to create hate around the police community I do not think will do any good in the long run. T- Pain's video was my favorite by far, he took more of a positive reference in his lyrics and video. “Get Up” was almost a tribute to the resilience you have to have everyday to keep on going. The main line focusing on this was “The only thing that matters is what you gon' do when you get up.” These lyrics I think are such a positive message that the black community and even people outside of the black community need.  I believe that watching these music videos has allowed me to realize how many different ways the protest for racial issues can be expressed, this way being very creative.

[lacey-tucker-5]

Blindspotting reflection

Overall, the movie Blindspotting was very insightful. I really liked how the movie used very realistic examples, therefore I was able to really understand it. It portrayed many of the topics we have discussed throughout the semester so far. I feel as if the movie displayed many issues related to race throughout the movie such as, stereotyping, police brutality, use of the N word, and white privilege.

During Blindspotting we are shown examples of racism. One example in the film that stood out to me was when the man was telling the story of when Colin was the bouncer at the bar and he ended up beating up this white guy for taking his drink outside. However, Collin did not do this act alone.. his friend Miles who is white also was partaking in the mugging, but only Colin got arrested. Many of us ask ourselves why? Many of us know the answer. The film also does a great job showing police brutality and the N word. We see police brutality displayed when Colin is stopped at a red light, and a young black man runs into his truck, and then keeps on running. Then, a white police officer is shown running after him and then shoots the young black man, killing him.  The N word is said many times throughout the film. I thought it was very interesting how we witness different scenes where the N word becomes uncomfortable for Miles, Colin's friend, who is white. There is one scene where Colin screams at Miles to say “Come on N word” and Miles will not say it because he’s not black and feels too uncomfortable. There is another scene where Miles' girlfriend calls him the N word and Miles asks her to not call him that. I think these were two very interesting scenes that the film used to display the N word. Miles feels as if he almost has to try and change to fit in with the people of Oakland. Some other issues this movie addressed were when Miles' son got a hold of the gun and everyone was scared to death. Unfortunately today, so many accidents are caused by guns so I thought it was very smart of the producers to shoot this scene to try and bring awareness to this problem. Overall, I really enjoyed seeing different examples of racism in this movie and I thought the film brought up so many issues that need to be talked about. I would give this movie a 10 out of 10!

[lacey-tucker-5]

Reflective Journal #4

I have really enjoyed this course so far! I have learned more about the topic of race in four weeks than I had learned throughout my life. I really enjoy how most of our classes are class discussions. I find this to be very engaging and keep the class interesting, and I honestly wish my other classes did the same. I love that we get to watch and read new aspects every week, this also helps keep the class interesting. I have probably enjoyed the race/comedy videos the most. I love good humor, and In my opinion, using comedy while talking about race helps take that uncomfortable feeling away sometimes. I feel as if being a face-to-face and a remote student all my needs are being met! I really would not change anything so far about the course, I think you have been doing a great job, Professor Bravard.

[lacey-tucker-5]

Reflective Journal Entry 3

In this class so far I have learned so much. There have been so many amazing topics and concepts that have increased my knowledge and understanding of race. Learning about microaggressions was one of the most intriguing topics to learn about. I had never heard of the term before, and I couldn’t believe how often microaggressions can spill out of our mouths and we do not even realize. I found this term intriguing because I in a way disagree with the meaning behind it. I believe that some comments that are believed to fall into the category of a “microaggression” have no malicious intent behind them. I simply don’t feel like it is right to categorize every comment that is considered a microaggression written down on paper, is bad. Sometimes during class, I will feel uncomfortable, if called on because I simply do not want to say anything that can be taken the wrong way and offend someone. I think now that we are taking a look at comedy and how race is applied to it is very cool. I believe that it can help me better understand concepts throughout the semester. Just like we watched on Monday, the Keel and Peel was an extreme example of code-switching. So far I am happy with my progress throughout this class!

#learning!

[lacey-tucker-5]

Blog #2

I will be honest, before reading chapter 5, I had never heard of the term “intersectionality.”  It was super interesting reading more about this term and understanding the true meaning behind it. I think that this term and even similar terms to this can be very helpful in understanding the topics in our class. I believe that understanding the full meaning of terms similar and alike to “intersectionality” will only help everyone better understand deeper class discussions. I look at it this way… the more terms that I learn that I previously did not know or understand is a step closer to understanding the complexity of racism. I do not have any reservations about this concept, and the more and more I read about it, it becomes less confusing.

The Model Minority Myth is very harmful to Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. This Myth basically reduced the broad population of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders down into a single category pretty much. This myth is so harmful to these races because it practically erases anyone that is American asian or pacific islander from society. This myth gives a single viewpoint that this race has no struggles, that everyone this race ends up being successful, etc. I was not aware of this myth. I never ever thought there wasn’t such a thing as poor Asian Americans. That just never seemed realistic to me. I thought Canwen Xu’s TED talk was very informative. I think watching videos like this, allow each and everyone of us to continue to expand our knowledge of race, from different people’s own persepctive.

[lacey-tucker-5]

Introductory Post / Blog #1

   Hello! My name is Lacey Tucker. I am a sophomore this year. I am from Atlantic Beach, Florida. I love working out, doing well in school, eating healthy, and spending time with those I love. I am on the women's golf team. I am looking forward to being back learning in person this semester. I am most anxious about finding a balance between school and golf once again. My dog makes me smile & laugh the most. My favorite show to watch is Vampire Diaries and the bachelor and bachelorette because I love watching the drama unfold haha! I do use social media: Instagram, and snapchat. I think I am mostly curious about how in this class we will dive more into learning about race and pop culture. It should be fun and interesting and I am excited to learn new things!