Practicing Awareness of Microagressions

Describe at least one example of a microaggression which you detected this week or remember from another time.

 I have not been out lately because, its summer time so the only people that I engage in any conversation or activity is my family.  However, last year I did experience microaggression when my husband and I were buying our first home.  We went into an area that is known for the dominant culture, but when we pulled up into their office space the man greeted us at the door, and he boastfully told my husband, I know you must be a dope boy because of your truck and the rims on your truck.  Of course, my husband and I are try  to be respectful and calm in all situations, so we held our peace, although we felt insulted.   The man said, “Oh I was just joking”.  Then when he was asking us questions about our income, my husband told him  his income, and he asked do we receive any additional income, and again we said no, and he asked us so you all  do not receive any government checks and we said no again. So, after we felt the prejudice, we said excuse us for a minute and we went and got back into our automobile.  As we were exiting the premises, a young man came to the truck and asked was everything okay, and we told him about the attitude of the older gentlemen and he apologized for his negative behavior.

In what context did the microaggression happen?

People feel that when black people have rims and nice cars we must be drug dealers.  It is like we can’t work hard and buy whatever we choose.  People judge people based on their own assumptions creating racial conflicts among people.

 What did you think and feel when you observed the microaggression or when you found yourself as the target of a microaggression?

Until this week, I was not just focused on the term microaggression.  However, I have gained insights on microaggression and the forms of microaggression.  When I experienced microaggression last year, I was insulted and upset.   On the other hand, I know that people look at other people and they are quick to judge.  People can be ignorant and judgmental, you can either play into their ignorance or you can choose to ignore them.

In what ways did your observation experiences this week affect your perception of the effects of discrimination, prejudice, and/or stereotypes on people

I believe that people have attitudes and behaviors of discrimination, prejudice, and stereotypes.  However, you have to prepare to deal with these negative circumstances.  I believe that I am more able and willing to deal with people and their negativity.  I am in the Early Childhood Field and I want the children that I educate to feel respected, because I know that I have to be a positive role model for those young children.

PERSPECTIVES ON DIVERSITY AND CULTURE

Interviewees’ definition of culture and diversity

Whitney (African-American Pre-med student/sister-n-law)

Culture is the way of life of a group of people.

Diversity is a group of characteristics that separate culture into distinct groups in which they exists

 Kanayo (Nigerian accountant/Son’s godfather)

Culture is the sociological genetic makeup of an individual in regards to their environments, experiences, and education.

Diversity is just the differences in all aspects of individuals live

           

Deanna (Caucasian real estate agent/Aunt in law)

Culture is how we interact with people who we have family relationships with that unite us together.  We have favorite recipes and music that represent our culture.

Diversity is what separates us from other people cultural ways.

Which aspects of culture and diversity that I have studied in this course are included in the answers I received—and what are some examples?

Culture relates to the beliefs, artifacts, the values, and other things that bind people together (Smidt, 2006). We have discussed to some degree each individual definition of culture.  For example, we have discussed that culture is the way of life.  Culture is something that brings us together and culture does relate to a sociological agent.  Also an example of culture is many view the food and music that we share in our family as being a part of our culture. For example diversity is the differences that separate us.

Which aspects have been omitted—and what are some examples of such omission?

I feel that each person gave their own opinion of culture, but as we have learned, culture is complex.  For example, people of the same culture are quite different, depending on their individuality, their family, their gender, age, race, ethnicity, abilities, religion, economic level, social status, where they live and where they came from, sexual orientation, educational level, and even appearance, size, and shape (Gonzalez-Mena, 2008). 

In what ways has thinking about other people’s definitions of culture and diversity influenced my own thinking about these topics?

From engaging in conversation from each of these people, I learned a lot about how important culture is to them and how they each deal with the cultural diversity of the world.  They each shared an experience on how their family culture has gone through changes as they learned to adapt to the ways and beliefs of people and their cultures.  I learned that all of these people valued their own culture, and in fact that culture is a way of life that may in fact make us come closer together.  I also learned that despite these three people ages, gender, income status, religion, education, and race them all had the same perspective on culture and diversity.

References

Gonzalez-Mena, J. (2008). Diversity in Early Care and Education. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Smidt. (2006). The Developing Child in the 21st Century. New York: Routledge.

MY FAMILY CULTURE

We live in a society where everything is digital and computer based, however many people still value momentums that has been important through family generations. I cherish the jewelry and my wedding ring, but I believe that some things can be replaced or upgraded.  The three items that I would choose to take with me into another country are family pictures, my grandfather war medal, and my great-great grandmother’s necklace. Each three of these objects are very important to my family history and culture.  They are items that have been in my family for many generations.

I chose pictures of my family because pictures hold detail of life and memories.  Many of the pictures in my family are pictures that represent the joy, struggles, and heartache that my grandparents and their family members endured in their lives.  They are pictures of pain and joy.  Of course, the pictures of my immediate family which include my husband, children, parents, and siblings are very meaningful and they are items that I want to have as keepsake items.

I chose to keep my grandfather’s war medal, because my grandfather was such a positive inspiration to me.  He died when I was very young, but his services to our country and my family were some of the most proud and memorable moments that I hear about him from older people in my family.  I also know that the medal were very important to my grandmother, therefore I want to continue to treasure this item.

I also chose my great-great grandmother’s necklace because when I turned 21 it was given to me by my grandmother.  It was very important to my grandmother, because I did not get a chance to even see a picture of her, so that is the only memory that I would have of her. My great-great grandmother was killed and this is one of the few pieces of memories that are in my family that belonged to her.

If I was told that I could only keep two of these items, I would be very sad and I would feel like I am losing a piece of my family’s history.

From this exercise, I realized how important my family culture is to me and the items that are a part of my family culture is very special. These are items that I want to be a part of my children and their family’s life’s.  I also realized that as a family culture, it is my job to keep those cultural traditions alive so that my children can learn about their family identity.