Category: Blog

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Facing and confronting America’s history is uncomfortable and sometimes terrifying for those that have reaped all of the benefits that history has sowed. The idea of reparations is overwhelming because for those that understand that history, how could we ever reconcile what has been done? Does money fix the issue? The systematic racism in this country runs deep and has for generations. We still don’t understand all of the repercussions of the systems white people have built and how they have disproportionately served some communities and extremely disadvantaged others. In his article “The Case for Reparations” Coates discusses the effect that systematic racism has had on America throughout the generations and challenges the leaders of America to question our roots. Two works that help to draw attention to these issues come from Carol Dweck’s TED talk “The Power of Believing You can Improve,” and Lukianoff and Haidt’s “The Coddling of the American Mind.” I believe that having a growth mindset is a necessity when it comes to dealing with racial issues, which means that it should be required and expected in members of congress and the United States government. We can only improve by recognizing that there is a problem and that our roots are indeed infected.

With the statement that the topic of racism and discrimination should be confronted head-on in order for the problem to be solved, despite its ability to make people uncomfortable; some people could argue that bringing up these subjects can cause trauma to resurface, or even be offensive when simply brought up and discussed. When reviewing a situation that happened at Brandeis University, Lukianoff and Haidt explain how a group of Asian-Americans, who sought to bring attention to microaggressions aimed at Asians, wrote stereotypical phrases that were commonly directed toward the community in a place were they could easily be seen and gain influence. As a result, Lukianoff and Haidt state that “…a backlash arose among other Asian American students, who felt that the display itself was a microaggression” (para. 3). A cause that sought to bring attention to the discrimination and racial profiling, instead offended the minorities that they were trying to protect. There is no right answer on how to deal with these situations, but we must deal with them in the end. We can’t push back what was so clearly a large part of history in order to protect the people from being uncomfortable. It is through being uncomfortable that we grow as a community, as individuals, and address the problems that need to be addressed.

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Congress’ fear of the possibilities of what might come next once HR40 is passed suggests that they know what must be done and are unwilling to look into it to further the development of America. Coates states that “an America that asks what it owes its most vulnerable citizens is improved and humane. An America that looks away is ignoring not just the sins of the past but the sins of the present and the certain sins of the future” (p. 40). The fact that Congress hasn’t even acknowledged the harm that has been brought upon the black community, due to their own need for comfort, expands upon a concept brought up by Lukianoff and Haidt. The phrase “vindictive protectiveness” refers to the idea that when faced with a situation that makes someone uncomfortable, they will ultimately try to shield themselves from it and avoid confrontation with the subject. Lukianoff and Haidt state that “talking openly about such conflicting but important values is just the sort of challenging exercise that any diverse but tolerant community must learn to do“ (para. 61). Both Coates and Lukianoff and Haidt believe that it is necessary to confront these conflicts head on, even when it makes us uncomfortable. In terms of HR40, there must be a point when Congress realizes that they have to reach out to the communities that America has harmed and come up with a solution through their guidance. America cannot solve its problems by assuming what’s best for everyone through a group of predominantly older white males. Members of every community must be included in order for America to grow into its message of freedom and justice. If we are unwilling to accept the fact that there is a problem and continue on as if it never happened, then we only hasten our fall as a country.

The idea of growth and fixed mindsets is expressed by Dweck in her TED talk. She states that “in our country, there are groups of students who chronically underperform, for example, children in inner cities, or children on Native American reservations. And they’ve done so poorly for so long that many people think it’s inevitable. But when educators create growth mindset classrooms…equality happens” (6:33). This is a prime example of what happens in our country today because of past racial attacks. Students who struggle the most in school today are predominantly from black neighborhoods or neighborhoods with more diversity. This is an issue that America must correct sooner rather than later because we are holding children back from their true potential. Congress stays in the fixed mindset when they choose to deny HR40 and dismiss the subject all together because they are afraid of what it could mean. Coates states that “reparations beckons us to reject the intoxication of hubris and see America as it is—the work of fallible humans” (p. 36). The only way to improve is to approach the uncomfortable subjects with an open mind and with multiple points of view. Both Coates and Dweck express that in order for positive change to happen, a growth mindset is needed to approach the challenging topics ahead. I believe that this is absolutely necessary because the idea that America is the greatest country in the world and that we are the “heroes” has been propagated to children for years, and that’s just not the case. America has tried so hard to erase its racist roots and upbringing and because of that, its issues with racial discrimination continue and will continue in the future unless we face the problem head on and deal with our history.

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Congress’ fear of the possibilities of what might come next once HR40 is passed suggests that they know what must be done and are unwilling to look into it to further the development of America. Coates states that “an America that asks what it owes its most vulnerable citizens is improved and humane. An America that looks away is ignoring not just the sins of the past but the sins of the present and the certain sins of the future” (p. 40). The fact that Congress hasn’t even acknowledged the harm that has been brought upon the black community, due to their own need for comfort, expands upon a concept brought up by Lukianoff and Haidt. The phrase “vindictive protectiveness” refers to the idea that when faced with a situation that makes someone uncomfortable, they will ultimately try to shield themselves from it and avoid confrontation with the subject. Lukianoff and Haidt state that “talking openly about such conflicting but important values is just the sort of challenging exercise that any diverse but tolerant community must learn to do“ (para. 61). Both Coates and Lukianoff and Haidt believe that it is necessary to confront these conflicts head on, even when it makes us uncomfortable. In terms of HR40, there must be a point when Congress realizes that they have to reach out to the communities that America has harmed and come up with a solution through their guidance. I strongly believe that America cannot solve its problems by assuming what’s best for everyone through a group of predominantly older white males. Members of every community must be included in order for America to grow into its message of freedom and justice. If we are unwilling to accept the fact that there is a problem and continue on as if it never happened, then we only hasten our fall as a country.

The idea of growth and fixed mindsets is expressed by Dweck in her TED talk. She states that “in our country, there are groups of students who chronically underperform, for example, children in inner cities, or children on Native American reservations. And they’ve done so poorly for so long that many people think it’s inevitable. But when educators create growth mindset classrooms…equality happens” (6:33). This is a prime example of what happens in our country today because of past racial attacks. Students who struggle the most in school today are predominantly from black neighborhoods or neighborhoods with more diversity. This is an issue that America must correct sooner rather than later because we are holding children back from their true potential. Congress stays in the fixed mindset when they choose to deny HR40 and dismiss the subject all together because they are afraid of what it could mean. Coates states that “reparations beckons us to reject the intoxication of hubris and see America as it is—the work of fallible humans” (p. 36). The only way to improve is to approach the uncomfortable subjects with an open mind and with multiple points of view. Both Coates and Dweck express that in order for positive change to happen, a growth mindset is needed to approach the challenging topics ahead. I believe that this is absolutely necessary because the idea that America is the greatest country in the world and that we are the “heroes” has been propagated to children for years, and that’s just not the case. I feel that America has tried so hard to erase its racist roots and upbringing and because of that, its issues with racial discrimination continue and will continue in the future unless we face the problem head on and deal with our history.

Changes:

For both of these paragraphs I specifically focused on adding more of my thoughts, through usage of different diction, on the material into my writing because I mostly just compare ideas between works. This helps my paragraphs become stronger because instead of just interpreting the works, I am also adding content and ideas as well.

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Coates discusses a specific congressional bill in his work titled HR40. HR40 exclusively aims to initiate the study and development of reparation proposals towards the black community. The bill has never been passed by congress and continues to gain no legislative support to this day. Coates states that “the idea of reparations is frightening not simply because we might lack the ability to pay. The idea of reparations threatens something much deeper—America’s heritage, history, and standing in the world” (p. 34). This could mean that reparations would ultimately be an unachievable goal, which is why congress is so hesitative to pass it. The idea of reparations not being enough to repay the black community for decades of racism, slavery, and discrimination eludes to a much larger issue that many white Americans are afraid to admit. The source of the problem was never what must be repaid, but in actuality what must be corrected, developed, and ultimately re-written.   

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Congress’ fear of the possibilities of what might come next once HR40 is passed proves that they know what must be done and are unwilling to look into it to further the development of America. Coates states that “an America that asks what it owes its most vulnerable citizens is improved and humane. An America that looks away is ignoring not just the sins of the past but the sins of the present and the certain sins of the future” (p. 40). The fact that Congress hasn’t even acknowledged the harm that has been brought upon the black community, due to their own need for comfort, expands upon a concept brought up by Lukianoff and Haidt. The phrase “vindictive protectiveness” refers to the idea that when faced with a situation that makes someone uncomfortable, they will ultimately try to shield themselves from it and avoid confrontation with the subject. Lukianoff and Haidt state that “talking openly about such conflicting but important values is just the sort of challenging exercise that any diverse but tolerant community must learn to do“ (para. 61). Both Coates and Lukianoff and Haidt believe that it is necessary to confront these conflicts head on, even when it makes us uncomfortable. In terms of HR40, there must be a point when Congress realizes that they have to reach out to the communities that America has harmed and come up with a solution through their guidance. America cannot solve its problems by assuming what’s best for everyone through a group of predominantly older white males. Members of every community must be included in order for America to grow into its message of freedom and justice. If we are unwilling to accept the fact that there is a problem and continue on as if it never happened, then we only hasten our fall as a country.

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The idea of growth and fixed mindsets is expressed by Dweck in her TED talk. She states that “in our country, there are groups of students who chronically underperform, for example, children in inner cities, or children on Native American reservations. And they’ve done so poorly for so long that many people think it’s inevitable. But when educators create growth mindset classrooms…equality happens” (6:33). This is a prime example of what happens in our country today because of past racial attacks. Students who struggle the most in school today are predominantly from black neighborhoods or neighborhoods with more diversity. This is an issue that America must correct sooner rather than later because we are holding children back from their true potential. Congress stays in the fixed mindset when they choose to deny HR40 and dismiss the subject all together because they are afraid of what it could mean. Coates states that “reparations beckons us to reject the intoxication of hubris and see America as it is—the work of fallible humans” (p. 36). The only way to improve is to approach the uncomfortable subjects with an open mind and with multiple points of view.

Question 1

1. “A country curious about how reparations might actually work has an easy solution in Conyers’s bill, now called HR 40, the Commission to Study Reparation Proposals for African Americans Act. We would support this bill, submit the question to study, and then assess the possible solutions. But we are not interested” (p.15).
2. “That HR 40 has never—under either Democrats or Republicans—made it to the House floor suggests our concerns are rooted not in the impracticality of reparations but in something more existential. If we conclude that the conditions in North Lawndale and black America are not inexplicable but are instead precisely what you’d expect of a community that for centuries has lived in America’s crosshairs, then what are we to make of the world’s oldest democracy?” (p. 15).
3. “Perhaps after a serious discussion and debate—the kind that HR 40 proposes—we may find that the country can never fully repay African Americans. But we stand to discover much about ourselves in such a discussion—and that is perhaps what scares us. The idea of reparations is frightening not simply because we might lack the ability to pay. The idea of reparations threatens something much deeper—America’s heritage, history, and standing in the world” (p. 34).
4. “John Conyers’s HR 40 is the vehicle for that hearing. No one can know what would come out of such a debate. Perhaps no number can fully capture the multi-century plunder of black people in America. Perhaps the number is so large that it can’t be imagined, let alone calculated and dispensed. But I believe that wrestling publicly with these questions matters as much as—if not more than—the specific answers that might be produced. An America that asks what it owes its most vulnerable citizens is improved and humane. An America that looks away is ignoring not just the sins of the past but the sins of the present and the certain sins of the future. More important than any single check cut to any African American, the payment of reparations would represent America’s maturation out of the childhood myth of its innocence into a wisdom worthy of its founders” (pp. 39-40).

Question 2

I believe that Coates means that the justice of reparations can only be achieved through actions that rewrite the American system in a way that isn’t rooted in racism and discrimination. The harsh reality of that is what white Americans don’t want to consider and they would rather throw money at the problem than actually work to solve it. However, money won’t ever solve the problem; it will ultimately make the situation worse and the problem will undoubtedly continue in the foreseeable future.

Question 3

A racial reckoning would mean a complete re-write of our entire American democracy and our governmental and societal systems. We have to begin anew and build a country that profits on the diversities of individuals and strives to build a positive and equal environment for everyone.

Question 4

The “threat” that reparations poses is to the America that currently exists today. I believe that it is necessary to start over and strive to build a foundation that truly demonstrates equality and freedom.

Question 5

What Coates has detailed changes the childhood myth that we all grew up learning. The idea that America is the greatest country in the world and that we are the “heroes” has been propagated to children for years, and that’s just not the case. America has tried so hard to erase its racist roots and upbringing and because of that, its issues with racial discrimination continue and will continue in the future unless we face the problem head on and deal with our history.

Question 1

Question 2

The G.I. Bill ultimately failed black Americans in many factors involving real estate through racial discrimination. Coates states that “…title III of the bill, which aimed to give veterans access to low-interest home loans, left black veterans to tangle with white officials at their local Veterans Administration as well as with the same banks that had, for years, refused to grant mortgages to blacks” (p. 22). This automatically put black veterans at a disadvantage because they were already struggling to afford purchasing homes as a minority, and the fact that they had to put up with companies who didn’t care about them or their well-being only pushed them further down the list on who those home loans were going to. Meanwhile white veterans were being treated as the bill intended all veterans be treated and they ultimately were given better treatment. Another program that put black Americans at a disadvantage while simultaneously giving whites a major advantage was Roosevelts New Deal. Coates states that “when President Roosevelt signed Social Security into law in 1935, 65 percent of African Americans nationally and between 70 and 80 percent in the South were ineligible” (p. 22). Most of the jobs that were mostly occupied by blacks weren’t included in the New Deal, which put them at a major disadvantage since they could rarely find better jobs due to other racial discrimination and governmental factors.

Question 3

Upward mobility is much harder for blacks than it is for whites because the roots of America are deeply infected and influenced by racism and discrimination of blacks and other ethnicities. Coates states that “…black college graduates still suffer higher unemployment rates than white college graduates, and black job applicants without criminal records enjoy roughly the same chance of getting hired as white applicants with criminal records” (p. 33). This is a prime example of how the racist roots of America affects modern day. If a system ultimately starts crippled, it will not improve or learn from its mistakes until the root of the problem is disposed of. The idea that any ethnicity is inferior to whites is deeply infused in the history of this country and that ideology is still enforced today, however it is less subtle and disguised to look like the great “founding” of our country.

Question 4

The issue of reparations is much more threatening because white Americans are not ready to admit that the system they were brought up in is faulty, and no amount of money can make up for the lives that were affected in order to develop the society they live in today.

Question 2

History books like to give the misconception that slavery and racism ended with the proclamation. However, this is majorly incorrect. The term may have been illegal, but the acts were still performed, and they were performed under a different name. Coates’ claim correlates with this information because even though slavery and racism were “illegal” at the time and presumed over, white people still found a way to segregate them further through homeowning, abilities to find jobs, and multiple other areas of living. Coates states that “the men who peddled contracts in North Lawndale would sell homes at inflated prices and then evict families who could not pay—taking their down payment and their monthly installments as profit. Then they’d bring in another black family, rinse, and repeat” (p. 5). Most of the time these sellers were owners of the property, which meant they could sell it at any price they wanted even if they had bought it for a lower price.

Question 3

The entirety of the first paragraph of part II on page 9 strikes me as important because the statistics give plenty of evidence on the racism that has continued in our country through the decades and demonstrates how the government has not changed a single bit.

Question 6

Two key examples of how slavery was connected to “freedom” and democracy are that the “freedom” and democracy only apply to the white indentured servants that were granted freedom once more blacks were enslaved, and all white people were granted citizenship while blacks were reduced “to a class of untouchables” (p. 17). Coates states that “as life spans increased in the colony, the Virginia planters found in the enslaved Africans and even more efficient source of cheap labor. Whereas indentured servants were still legal subjects of the English crown and thus entitled to certain protections, African slaves entered the colonies as aliens” (p. 17). This shows that even when the white indentured servants were enslaved, it was still cheaper to use Africans because they had no protection and no rights established in America.

Critical thinking is a process that allows students to approach challenges head-on with efficiency and independent views. Scheuer states that “critical thinking is the intellectual engine of a functional democracy: the set of mental practices that lends breadth, depth, clarity, and consistency to public discourse” (para. 22). This relates to what the Core handbook believes that students will learn when they take a course that teaches critical thinking and problem solving. The core handbook states that when a course that focuses on these topics is completed, the student will be able to “evaluate and synthesize information from multiple contexts and settings to achieve a common understanding of a phenomenon and to effectively characterize and/or implement an action designed to address a question, challenge, or problem” (page 24). The ability to think and inquire critically allows for better communication in a democracy, and the better informed the citizen, the more likely they are to positively contribute to society.  

In Scheuer’s article, he describes the concepts of critical thinking and how it is a necessary part of modern education. He believes that critical thinking is a process that allows students to approach challenges head-on with efficiency and independent views. Scheuer states that “critical thinking is the intellectual engine of a functional democracy: the set of mental practices that lends breadth, depth, clarity, and consistency to public discourse” (para. 22). This relates to what the Core handbook believes students will learn when they take a course that teaches critical thinking and problem-solving. The core handbook states that when a course that focuses on these topics is completed, the student will be able to “evaluate and synthesize information from multiple contexts and settings to achieve a common understanding of a phenomenon and to effectively characterize and/or implement an action designed to address a question, challenge, or problem” (page 24). The ability to think and inquire critically allows for better communication in a democratic setting, and the better informed the citizen, the more likely they are to positively contribute to society.  

The need for a well-rounded liberal education has increased dramatically in the modern era. With the rise of technology, social reforms, and evolving society, the ability to be knowledgeable in these topics proves to be beneficial not only to yourself but to others as well. As a student at UNE, one of the most interesting factors that drew me to the school was their take on the concept of liberal arts education. They consider every subject to be important instead of just STEM or the humanities and expand upon the beauty of human expression in its many forms. Two works that help to elaborate on UNE’s concept of the liberal arts come from Jeffery Scheuer’s “Critical Thinking and the Liberal Arts,” and Sanford J. Ungar’s “7 Major Misconceptions About the Liberal Arts.” Scheuer and Ungar both agree that a liberal education is well worth it in the end. The ability to relate different subjects to one another and ultimately be a well-rounded and informed citizen is a goal that UNE expands upon in its Core Curriculum Handbook. I believe that UNE wants to normalize the idea that all human expression is important and that there should be a balance between the humanities and STEM in modern education.

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Both Scheuer and Ungar argue that the liberal arts include more than humanities and creative arts, they believe that features of STEM are a major necessity when it comes to incorporating a broad range of subjects into a liberal education.  In “Critical Thinking and the Liberal Arts,” Scheuer talks about the importance of a liberal education and how the liberal arts are not limited to the humanities, they can include elements of STEM and colleges actually encourage that the STEM field be included in all curriculum in some way or another. He argues that “the STEM disciplines are obviously important to economic productivity, but so is the entire rainbow of human knowledge and the ability to think critically” (para. 35). Correspondingly, Ungar argues that universities that focus on the liberal arts most often do not limit the curriculum to humanities, they also expand on elements of STEM, but instead of solely focusing on one topic they cover a broader range of topics. For Ungar, “the liberal arts encompass the broadest possible range of disciplines in the natural sciences, humanities, and the social sciences” (para. 11). For me, I share both Ungar and Scheuer’s claim that the topic of liberal arts should include a broad range of subjects. Including multiple points of view can ultimately help improve a student’s ability to think and inquire critically, develop skills to aid in overcoming challenges they may face in the future, and become better citizens to the community.  

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In Scheuer’s “Critical Thinking and the Liberal Arts,” he gives three different conceptions of the liberal arts. The first one “embraces the ideal of the integrated curriculum, encompassing virtually all nonprofessional higher learning, from the natural and social sciences to the humanities and the performing arts” (para. 9). The next two models narrow the subject down further by “[excluding] the sciences” and then by “[focusing] mainly on the humanities” (para. 12). Given the three definitions of the term, I believe that the UNE core handbook falls into Scheuer’s first model because the liberal arts program at UNE focuses on subjects that can help expand a person’s worldview and allow them to develop opinions based on their own bias and experience by including science and nonprofessional higher learning, which allows a person to have a larger understanding of the world around them.

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UNE’s core handbook describes their model of liberal education as a way that “develop[s] students’ skills in social and cultural literacy, including historically grounded understanding of the diversity of societies across the globe from a variety of disciplinary perspectives across the liberal arts and sciences” (page 2). This corresponds with Ungar’s perception that “the liberal arts encompass the broadest possible range of disciplines in the natural sciences, humanities, and the social sciences” (para. 11).  The curriculum contains topics ranging from STEM to history, art, theatre, and multiple other subjects, and it considers them equal in importance. The core handbook goes into further detail to express the multitude of subjects that they want students to engage in, not only to be better scholars, but to be better citizens as well. It expresses that “by actively participating in service-learning projects, campus events, and other extracurricular activities that express Core themes, UNE students are prepared to act as informed, engaged citizens” (page 2).  With knowledge on a broad range of subjects, UNE students are able to make connections between different topics, think and inquire critically, and be more socially and culturally aware in order to freely involve themselves as citizens in a successful manner. This corresponds with Scheuer’s theory that “the overall goal [for successful citizens] is to foster vibrant and prosperous communities with broad and deep participation, in public conversations marked by fairness, inclusion, and (where critical thinking comes in) intellectual rigor” (Scheuer para. 20). When a community is able to coexist despite their differences, it is usually due to the people being able to mutually understand each other through knowledge and contribution.