Week 4 Blog Prompt: Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King, Jr.

Nelson Mandela and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led shockingly similar lives for the distance apart they lived. They were both strong black leaders that promoted non-violence and fought against racism in two different continents, helping to bring people of all races together. Both King and Mandela received a formal education in their early lives, and pursued interests in politics. They were known for organizing peaceful protests to fight for their cause—Mandela against apartheid, and King fighting against segregation and for civil rights.

Both men were imprisoned for some time, although Mandela’s sentence lasted much longer than King’s.  Mandela served as the first black president of South Africa, while King was never elected into an official position, as he was tragically assassinated at age 39—Mandela lived a long life of 95 years. Nelson Mandela was therefore able to experience and live out his goal of the end of apartheid, while King deceased before seeing his dream become a reality.

            Both Mandela and King have several quotes that serve to embody their spirit and goals of peace and equality. One quote that I feel accurately represents both leaders was said by Nelson Mandela in 1994:"No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin or his background or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite." This quote truly reflects both leaders’ strife for equality and love across all races and backgrounds, and hearkens to King’s famous “I have a Dream” speech.

   

Week 3 Blog Prompt: South Africa's Past and Future

After delving more into the history and people of South Africa, it is evident that this is a country with an extremely rich culture, beautiful landscape, and turbulent past. I am of course aware of the apartheid era, but was still surprised and saddened upon learning that it was expressly forbidden and punishable for people of different races to be in love or have a relationship—I assumed that this might be frowned upon in the apartheid-era society, but not that it was actually against the law. This is one of many sad realities of apartheid. Another surprising and distressing aspect of South Africa’s history was the degrading and extremely unjust practice of Bantu education, which denied black people the right to an education by replacing it with debasing teachings promoting racist stereotypes.

In terms of South Africa’s strengths, it has become a global economic force to be reckoned with, as well as being a leading spot for tourism. Its cultural diversity and overcoming apartheid makes it a historical landmark for human rights. As the overthrow of apartheid is a fairly recent occurrence, continuing to move away from this system in the future could present challenges. Another possible challenge for the future of South Africa lies in allegations of corruption of Jacob Zuma, the current ANC president.

Upon reviewing several of South Africa’s current events, the event I found most intriguing was the Ebola story: “South Africa pulls up its sleeves in fight against Ebola,” which outlined their very vigilant and robust efforts to keep this virus out of the country which have been successfully implemented thus far.

            Based on all of this information, a pertinent question I would like to ask David Gilmour, our guest speaker and the Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of African Affairs, would be: In South Africa today, are all races guaranteed quality education and schooling opportunities?

Week 2 Blog Prompt 2: Is Race Real?

Upon completing the Sorting Race Activity and reviewing “Is Race Real,” the fact that stood out to me the most was number 6: Human subspecies don’t exist. Human beings are in fact the most similar of all species on the planet. This fact alone infuriates me. It is unbelievable to think that so many people have undergone unfair and disgusting displays of human cruelty based on race or ethnicity, when in reality, there is no such thing. It has been proven that race is nothing but a myth, and yet society does everything it can to ignore this fact. I am shocked that despite extensive evidence that biological races do not, and have never in the past existed among the human race, racism is still prevalent today. The idea that races exist and that certain races are ‘better than others’ has led to horrific injustice, prejudice—even genocide. The concept of race and racism is nothing but a cultural phenomenon, hopefully one that eventually dissipates into nothing but history.

Week 2 Blog Prompt: Reactions

Peggy McIntosh’s article “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack,” and Beverly Tatum’s “The Complexity of Identity: Who Am I?” are both truly eye-opening and necessary pieces to developing a sense of who you are in all senses. McIntosh delivered an eye-opening account of her realization of white privilege as something she had been taught to ignore growing up as a white female, but became more aware of her unfair skin privilege later in life. The list of 26 white privileges listed in her article made me realize several privileges that I have overlooked in my own life. Conversely, Beverly Tatum, a Black woman, gives a different perspective on the issue of White privilege. She suggests that in order to make any lasting change, for the human race to become free from such unjust racial oppression, we must embrace all of our identities—even the ones that are seen as “taboo” or may make us uncomfortable. As a white female myself, I am frustrated with the idea of unearned skin privilege, although as McIntosh states, disapproval is not enough to make a change, we have to work to acknowledge the hidden dimensions of our social systems in order to diminish racism.