All posts by Gabi

Week 12- Wealth

Wealth Week 12

(A post I had drafted but realized I never posted)

I think Shapiro’s book was really valuable. I really enjoyed that he explored the wealth gap. Back in Week 3 I spoke about how I was scared that Blacks would never truly be able to reduce this wealth gap. So to be able to look at all the different reasons why there is wealth gap between Blacks and Whites was nice. I especially liked how when he talked about inheritance he expanded besides just receiving monetary funds and possessions after one’s parents die to being offered financial help in any way shape or form. I think the example comparing Kathryn to Vivian was very helpful in conceptualizing that. I think all the interviews her performed were very helpful. I liked how he used all different forms of research to support his claims. I do wonder what effects fixing the wealth gap will have on the rest of the Black community. What I mean by this is what tangible effects can we see after the wealth gap is reduced. One thing I can see happening is more upward mobility for Blacks because there will be more wealth and help to get them there. But will closing the wealth only really help Blacks in the middle or upper classes. If it does help poor Blacks, in what ways will it truly help them? I definitely think this wealth gap needs to go but I wonder how effective will ending the wealth gap be.

The Intersection of Race and Gender and Its Affect on Black Students

Schooling and Education Week 11

Even though Karolyn Tyson didn’t discuss gender in her book, I was very intrigued to see how it affects Black boys and girls differently. There are all these statistics stating that Black women have the highest college enrollment rate of any race or gender, but not as much focus on how schooling can be different for Black girls and boy. I thought the article posted about how Black boys can essentially transition easier than Black girls can was very interesting. I had a feeling that this was the case given how we perform gender but it was nice to see that a study was actually performed to prove this. The double standards present for men and women is already seen in today’s society a lot. The way in which a woman who is assertive is seen as bossy whereas a man would be deemed a leader is one example of this. When adding race to the mix, it just complicates things even more. As mentioned in the article, the boys were able to use their Blackness to their advantage and were deemed as cool while the girls were not. There were certain things in the article that I could emphasized with and compare to my own life, which only made the article even more interesting. I definitely want to look at how gender and race play out a lot more within the Black community. It would be interesting to see how books we have read so far for class would incorporate gender into their argument, if they haven’t already, and what the results would be.

I think male privilege is something that is downplayed within the Black community and because of that issues are arising. Thinking about Black Lives Matter movement, which was started by queer Black women, has become something that focuses a lot more on the lives of Black men lost instead of the lives of others. Black trans-women have an average age of about 36, yet not many names of these Black trans-women became hashtags. It got to the point where the hashtag #SayHerName was trending on twitter to remind everyone of the Black trans women and Black women who have been lost. I remember reading an article on The Root which basically said why focusing exclusively on Black men is not a problem, which I had a big problem with. I’ve heard people say multiple times before that Black women will be there for their men but the same wouldn’t be done for the. Why don’t we talk about male privilege more? How do we have a constructive conversation where race and gender are both acknowledged without downplaying the experiences of anyone?  This issue of not discussing male privilege is definitely a problem within the Black community that needs to be addressed.

The Uncertainty in Black Women’s Lives

The Black Family Week 10

Burton’s and Tucker’s article was very interesting to read. The fact that they attributed the high number of single mothers to uncertainty was something very interesting and new for me. At first, I was a bit skeptical but when I thought about it, it did make sense. If you are unsure of how your life will end up or have no time for a relationship, you’re less likely to invest in one. But, there has to be more reasons than just uncertainty at place here. Wouldn’t uncertainty mainly apply for the older generations of women than the younger? I doubt a teenager is as concerned with uncertainty as someone in her mid-20s is. I do appreciate how Burton and Tucker bring an almost positive light to Black women in this sense. I oftentimes feel that Black women can be easily demonized or negatively discussed in these conversations and Burton and Tucker managed to change that. How do we study the Black family without ignoring the importance of Black women? Is a father necessary for the Black family to thrive or is it merely his income that is important?

Something else that I have always thought about when reading about the Moynihan report and other studies focusing on them is how heteronormative it is. If we just confine the Black family to being a mother, father, and children, how do we account for the other types of families in the Black community? In another one of my classes, we studied how people think that being in a non-heterosexual relationship is antithetical to having a family. Oftentimes, couples in same sex relationships were considered less of a family than couples in heterosexual relationships. How would race impact this? I know that the Black community is portrayed as being more hostile to the LGBTQ+ community, which is not necessarily true or false. But it does make me think about how the perception of what a family is would change based on race and who is in the relationship. How do we discuss the Black family without forgetting the different types of Black families that exist?

Immigration’s Effect on Gentrification

Structural Racial Inequality Week 9

I think Sharkey’s book had multiple important points that I particularly appreciated. I liked how he brought up the argument of the effect of multi-generational poverty. Even though it was something I have thought about before, it was nothing something that I felt was ever truly studied or stated explicitly. His analysis of how children’s life trajectory is affected by this poverty was also very important. I feel that oftentimes when poverty is discussed there is more focus on the present lives of those affected. There is not much talk about the past or the future, but with his multi-generational argument and effect on children’s life trajectory, it pushes us to think more about this.

Something else that I thought was really great about his book was his discussion on how immigration affects Blacks living in poverty. As a child of immigrants, I oftentimes feel like some of these discussions don’t include me but I’m still affected by the ramifications. (Hopefully, that makes sense.) I want to understand how immigration affect Blacks, if it does at all. I think it’s a worthy conversation of having that we don’t talk about that much. Also when thinking about how Sharkey explained the effects of immigration, how does it actually look like? Yes, economically they may be better off, but how is it socially? I know that there is oftentimes friction among immigrants. It’s Caribbean vs. African vs. African American. That’s only accounting for Black immigrants. Once you think about immigrants from other places, particularly Latin America, then the situation gets even stickier. How does this look like in the community? As much as I appreciated Sharkey’s macro-level look at the problem of poverty, I would like a micro-level look at how these communities look with all the various immigrants. Is there tension? Is this tension mainly among the older members or younger ones?

The Importance of Sneakers and Symbols

Health and Community Week 8

I thought it was interesting to see how important sneakers play in the gang. It reminds me of how today in the Black community sneakers still play an important part. It was interesting to see how much where you buy the shoes, type of shoe, and the price of the shoes matter. Even to this day, Jordan’s are still very prominent sneakers. When I was in high school, I remember my friends being very selective and careful of their sneakers. They would make sure their sneakers weren’t dirty. They would make sure the sneakers matched their outfit and everything. They were also not involved in gangs so I think it’s interesting how even outside of gang life sneakers matter so much.

Something else that was interesting was the symbolism of the gang items. It was ironic how Mr. Otis’s favorite symbol was the cane because the cane was used after gang members sustained injuries from gang violence. For me it was also weird how the cane was a symbol of gang unity. What about a cane is so symbolic for a gang? Is it because of the fact that cane had to be used after the members sustained injuries or is it something else?

I thought overall the book gave a nuanced look to gang life that is hardly ever seen and I really appreciated that.

Negotiating Privilege

Policing the Carceral State Week 7

As I mentioned in class, Alice Goffman’s privilege was something I felt was a shortcoming for her in this book. Even though see acknowledges her privilege in her methodological notes, I would have liked for her  to talk about how she grapples with her privilege a bit more. I think her methodological notes were a very good and necessary addition to the book. I did appreciate that she took the time to explain how she got to 6th Street and how she formed relationships in the book. But I wanted her to talk more about what it meant to live there as a upper class White woman. What preconceptions did she have before going into the neighborhood? How shocking was it going from living at a place like UPenn to living on 6th street?

This book also made me think about how/if the situations described by Goffman would change not only if her race was different but also her gender. If she were a White male, would Mike treat her more like one of the boys or not want to deal with her because she would look like a cop. How would she be treated as a Black man? A Black woman? The list could go on. It’s interesting to considered how her identity would change how people would react to her and act around her in certain situations.

Week 5

Ghetto Poverty Challenges for the Middle Class Week 5

I really appreciated discussing American Apartheid and segregation in class. I think oftentimes when segregation is discussed, Brown v. Board of Ed. is brought up and it seems as if segregation has ended.  Denton and Massey’s analysis of racial segregation seemed pretty in depth. I like how they defined hyper-segregation.  I think it was also interesting what they said about Blackness being the opposite of Whiteness. I think originally I was kind of shocked and slightly appalled. However, I think when thinking about it, there is some validity to the statement. This was something I addressed in my last blog post about what makes someone blacker and how my intelligence was seen as being anti-black. Overall, I want to actually read this book in its entirety one day.

I also really appreciated Mary Pattillo’s book, particularly her analysis of the relationships between youth and the ghetto aesthetic. I like how she had the three categories of consumed, thrilled, and marginal. I think it was a really interesting interpretation of things. Also, it’s particularly relevant given the conversations regarding cultural appropriation.

Week 4 post

Black Middle Class Week 4

As I was reading Frazier’s Black Bourgeoisie , something that I kept thinking about is this idea that your wealth diminishes your race. Trevor and Anna both touched on this idea. It definitely was something I struggled with growing up. A lot of my friends called me an Oreo and said I talked white. Since I was smart and spoke like an educated person, I was automatically deemed as acting white. There are many things wrong with this assumption. First, it makes being smart and gaining success something only white people do and this is very problematic. Also, it makes it seem like there is a certain list of things you need to be Black. It almost becomes this checklist and the more statements you have checked off, the more Black you are. The reality is I am Black because I walk the earth as a Black person and I identify such. My speech or intelligence does not affect that.

But, I do think that there can be a sense of arrogance among some in the Black middle class. This idea was brought up in an article called “The New Black Suburbs” that described how the daughter of two parents who were of the Black middle class scoffed when she passed those living in lower income areas. There is this idea that you are somehow better than lower income Blacks because you have money, an education,  success, etc. It’s a very sad idea that I know my parents instilled in me. It ignores all the structural problems affecting the Black community.

The End of White America?: A Satire

DuBois Sociology Week 2

Whenever I hear the word post-racial, I can’t help but roll my eyes. Oftentimes, because it is usually accompanied with the good ole “We have a Black president now”. I decided to read the entirety of the “The End of White America?” to see what the author was trying to get at and give context to the quotes explored in class. However, I was disappointed and not surprised to see how simple some of his arguments were. At times, parts of his piece read like a satire.

I want to precede my critique with my own thoughts on this ideal of a post-racial society. First and foremost, I think we are far from reaching a post-racial society. Currently,  there is so much in society situates whiteness as the norm that even if Whites become the minority it won’t necessarily change things. The election of a Black President will not all of the sudden change the tide. This country was basically founded on the principle that Blacks were inferior. It wasn’t until about 50 years ago that segregation was officially ended. In today’s society a Black person can get fired for wearing natural hair. American history focuses mainly on White America. Seeing a Black person in a film is luck,if they are able to speak you’ve hit the jackpot. You’ll be lucky to read a book from a person of color in an English class. These are only  examples that immediately come to mind, which is sad and alarming. In so much of our society whiteness is seen as the default that I personally feel is not fully acknowledged in the article.

A lot of the article has broad generalizations and surface level analysis. For example, the author states that there are people of color in office but there is no mention of how many people of color there are in comparison to Whites. If Whites are minority, will it matter when they control most things? He mentions how some Whites feel there is a lack of White culture, but this also affects Black Americans. He suggests that future generations that “didn’t have to follow the path of race” will somehow bring us closer to a post racial society. However, he doesn’t consider that we are raised in this society that values whiteness.

I do wonder if his article would change due to the recent events involving Trayvon Martin, Sandra Bland, etc. I think those events would complicate matters, but  I also think he could benefit from a more in depth analysis of the things discussed.

 

Week 3- Achieving Wealth for African Americans

Philadelphia Negro Week 3

While reading Black Citymakers, I was struck by his historical analysis of the Black bank, particularly because it caused me to think when will the wealth gap between Blacks and Whites become virtually eliminated. Hunter’s look at the history of not only Brown & Stevens and Cosmopolitan, but also Freeman’s Bank was very good and helpful. I liked how he linked it back to the end of slavery.  I think it’s interesting to consider it starting then because I have seen the argument that slavery ended over 200 years ago and by now Blacks should be equal. I feel like this argument forgets how hard it was for Blacks to establish financial security as Hunter showed due to the failures of all these banks.

This portion also caused me to think about how race is sometimes is downplayed, while class is seen as the main problem, like in affirmative action debates for example. If you are a well off Black person, then the effects of race are diminished. Even though this could be true in certain contexts, I think it’s also important to consider wealth vs. income, something I remember from taking AFRAMER 10. Income is essentially wages earned from work, while wealth is based off ownership, such as cars, houses, land, etc. When people talk about class vs.  race, they often tend to think more along  the lines of income than wealth, and the reality is there is a wealth gap between Blacks and Whites that is based off race, so race cannot be ignored.

Lastly, this chapter of the book brought this question to mind; will Blacks ever be able to attain this great wealth and almost completely eliminate the wealth gap? I know that the wealth gap will most likely not be completely eliminated because of the setbacks Blacks have, but I do wonder whether this wealth gap will reduce substantially. With all the setbacks Blacks had to face, I wonder if it will simply be Blacks born into wealth becoming even wealthier, while Blacks born into poverty are stuck in the cycle of poverty. This isn’t to say that every Black born poor or rich will never be able to get out of that, but more whether or not the overwhelming majority will be able to overcome it.

Gabi Thorne-Introductions

Introductions

Hi guys!

My name is Gabriela Thorne, but almost everyone calls me Gabi or some variation of my name. I am a sophomore living in Cabot House currently undecided but exploring the possibilities of either a joint concentration in African American Studies and Studies Women, Gender, and Sexuality or simply concentrating in Sociology. I hail from the wondrous Bronx, New York with its delicious bagels and Chinese food. I am really excited for this course because this past semester I took Introduction to African American Studies, which I enjoyed and wanted to dive into more of the sociological analysis of the material.

Outside of class, I am on board for the Association of Black Harvard Women, Fuerza Latina, and Concilio Latino. I also write for Blavity in my spare time, which is a site that combines Buzzfeed and Upworthy styled news written by Black millennials. My hobbies include fashion, eating, dyeing my hair, discussing social justice issues, and sleeping.

Looking forward to taking class with all of you!