Shining The Light On White

[bearstar76]

I read the article that Chris handed out last week in substitution for the activities on the Day of Presence. I apprciate the historical infomation imparted by the author in the piece. The difference between white "servents" and black "slaves" is interesting. It never dawned on me that the slaves never had a chance to work off their "debt" and that

Comments

[mildlyamused21]

Before I start, let me say thank you for giving me the name of the article and the author's name because I was able to find it online. I pretty much agree with everything you have said here. I found it very helpful to receive a historical "time line" of events that accompanied the article. I was appalled by the fact that white individuals were considered "servants," while blacks were the less privileged "slaves." I found it particularly heartbreaking that blacks were not allowed to marry, while whites were, and also that interracial marriages were banned as well.

[bearstar76]

word!

[zippongu1]

I remember how special I felt as a kid when I got to bring Lebanese food to class, or tell a cool story about my mom's growing up. But it's true that I got to experience the "coolness" of being distinct while never having to put up with stereotyping or discrimination. I remember vividly the one time that it was not that simple. Last year, in my PoliSci class, we were having a discussion about profiling. I brought up the fact that my mother was born in Lebanon (completely omitting the fact that we are not even remotely ethnically Lebanese) and one student's response was, "I wouldn't tell anyone that if I were you." And all of the sudden, as door opened in my mind and I got it. In that moment, aside from being ridiculously angry, I finally understood that my being different was always totally under my control. And I wondered who it must have been for students who didn't have that option.