The Japanese were sent to relocation centers which housed around 18,000 people. The entire community was surrounded by wire fencing and guards. The films talks about what they went through and the struggle they had to overcome. The Japanese were placed in these camps because of World War II. The Japanese were relocated and this situation went against the constitution.
The Japanese were forced to work to grow crops. They had to level the land and built irrigation systems to start off the farming. The wages they received were low and they got very little money to spend on clothes and toys for their children. The children still went to school and the older children learned how to farm in school. Japanese workers had their own professions on the west coast before they were sent to the camps such as being in the medical profession. The crime rate has always been low and this had stayed the same in the relocation centers. In order to have fun in the centers they would start their own football teams, and other sport teams, but the government refused to spend much money on their recreation. The USO club was established for the Japanese-American soldiers and other clubs were form such as boy scouts. The film stated that “Relocation centers are not normal and will never be.” It also said that the relocations centers were not even needed. After leaving the relocation centers the Japanese would get jobs such as nurses and making parts for bombs. Others went on to college and some still continued to farm.
The relocation centers were only built to make sure the Japanese already in the U.S. were not trying do any harm to the U.S. Everyone was paranoid after the Pearl Harbor attacks but was it really worth it to put all the Japanese people in relocation centers? It seems as if there could have been other solutions to this problem. The relocation centers just did not seem ethical. How can people just lock up a race because of who a country is feuding with? The U.S. should have never done this. If they had pure evidence of Japanese Americans committing terrorists acts then that is who they should go after, not the entire Japanese population.
I thought what the U.S. did was wrong. I remember learning about these camps in past history classes and this video refreshed my memory about it. I think the U.S. has made some major mistakes in the past, but we cannot change things today because we have other issues to worry about such as the war in Iraq.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Monday, February 26, 2007
Takaki chapter 10
In chapter ten Takaki talks about other groups of people that were discriminated against which were the Pilipino, Japanese, and Chinese people. These groups came to America for various reasons, but ended up experiencing different hardships. What they thought America was ended up being something completely different that they had imagined.
When the Japanese came to America they mainly settled on the east side. Numerous people wanted to come to America because they heard the wages were better. Japanese women also went to America and “forty-seven percent of Japanese women made up the Japanese population.” Because of the major influences to come to America and, so many people immigrating, the U.S. came up with the Chinese Exclusion Act. The Chinese and Japanese differed somewhat with their values and traditions. In a Japanese family the first bon son was to follow in his father’s footsteps and the second son had to find a job. Soon enough the field work was being divided between Korean laborers. Takaki stated that, “the Korean government prohibited further immigration to Hawaii” because the workers were complaining about suffering from abuse. Later on the different work groups formed into gangs and would often get into fist fights and riot. Work gangs would consist of 20-30 people. Gangs included some nationalities like Hawaiians, Filipinos, Japanese, and Chinese workers. Since the Japanese were composed of much of the work force they then realized they wanted better pay like the Portuguese workers. The Portuguese workers earned around 22 dollars per month compared to the 18 dollars the Japanese workers were making.
During the 1920s the people in America were very anti-Japanese. The Japanese were not even considered second class citizens and were treated like animals. It like they did not matter to anyone and people held grudges and biases against them. Shoe keeping and farming soon became the main Japanese trade. The Japanese workers came to America to work and have a better life but they could not get a break being harassed by the white population. Why do people continue to discriminate against a different group of people throughout the decades? It went from African Americans in the past to Arabs and Muslims in today’s society. No matter what people do someone or some major event is going to put a group in jeopardy and make them hated by many people.
I thought this chapter was very long but interesting. I learned some new facts about the Japanese and their past. I think that learning about different groups’ past is important because people do not realize that everyone has gone through some kind of struggle.
When the Japanese came to America they mainly settled on the east side. Numerous people wanted to come to America because they heard the wages were better. Japanese women also went to America and “forty-seven percent of Japanese women made up the Japanese population.” Because of the major influences to come to America and, so many people immigrating, the U.S. came up with the Chinese Exclusion Act. The Chinese and Japanese differed somewhat with their values and traditions. In a Japanese family the first bon son was to follow in his father’s footsteps and the second son had to find a job. Soon enough the field work was being divided between Korean laborers. Takaki stated that, “the Korean government prohibited further immigration to Hawaii” because the workers were complaining about suffering from abuse. Later on the different work groups formed into gangs and would often get into fist fights and riot. Work gangs would consist of 20-30 people. Gangs included some nationalities like Hawaiians, Filipinos, Japanese, and Chinese workers. Since the Japanese were composed of much of the work force they then realized they wanted better pay like the Portuguese workers. The Portuguese workers earned around 22 dollars per month compared to the 18 dollars the Japanese workers were making.
During the 1920s the people in America were very anti-Japanese. The Japanese were not even considered second class citizens and were treated like animals. It like they did not matter to anyone and people held grudges and biases against them. Shoe keeping and farming soon became the main Japanese trade. The Japanese workers came to America to work and have a better life but they could not get a break being harassed by the white population. Why do people continue to discriminate against a different group of people throughout the decades? It went from African Americans in the past to Arabs and Muslims in today’s society. No matter what people do someone or some major event is going to put a group in jeopardy and make them hated by many people.
I thought this chapter was very long but interesting. I learned some new facts about the Japanese and their past. I think that learning about different groups’ past is important because people do not realize that everyone has gone through some kind of struggle.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Extra Credit:the ethics of living jim crow
The Ethics of Living Jim Crow gives the perspective of a young black boy in search of jobs and dealing with white co-workers. Throughout his life he has struggled with getting beat and tormented, and trying not to be perceived in the wrong way that would make his fellow white co –workers upset with him.
As the young boy grows up behind the railroad tracks he is in a close vicinity to the white neighborhoods. When he and some of his friends get into a fight he ends up going home with three stitches in his neck. Once he tells his mother about the incident she beats him till he has a fever. She had to beat him to teach him a lesson not to get into fights with the white people because it always leads to trouble. His mother asks him, “How come yuh didn’t hide?” She said that because she already knows what danger her son could have been in and that he should never, under any circumstances, start fighting with white people. But as he grew older he needed to get a job because his mother could not support the both of them with her job. He states that, “There is but one place where a black boy who knows no trade can get a job, and that’s where the houses and faces are white, where the trees, lawns, and hedges are green.” Having different jobs such as working as a bell boy and delivery boy white people have approached him and accused him of doing things he has never done. Being cut up with beer bottles and harassed is one issue, but seeing such violence happen to another person is unacceptable. Although when people saw such abuse being conflicted on another no one would ever dare say anything, especially if a black person saw this happening.
Being harassed and trying to survive everyday without getting beaten or accused was probably one of the hardest things to accomplish in the past. Today things are very different, but what if things never changed? How would society react? People today really do not understand the actions of the past. If society never changed and black people were still considered savages and beaten for no reason the world would have one dominant race forever.
I thought the reading was interesting and it made me think of the horrible things they would do to him. He would mind his own business, and the next thing you know he is bleeding from being hit by a beer bottle or accused of no saying “mister” before someone’s name. I am glad society has changed because I would not have been able to survive such things. What people are capable of doing to each other is horrifying.
As the young boy grows up behind the railroad tracks he is in a close vicinity to the white neighborhoods. When he and some of his friends get into a fight he ends up going home with three stitches in his neck. Once he tells his mother about the incident she beats him till he has a fever. She had to beat him to teach him a lesson not to get into fights with the white people because it always leads to trouble. His mother asks him, “How come yuh didn’t hide?” She said that because she already knows what danger her son could have been in and that he should never, under any circumstances, start fighting with white people. But as he grew older he needed to get a job because his mother could not support the both of them with her job. He states that, “There is but one place where a black boy who knows no trade can get a job, and that’s where the houses and faces are white, where the trees, lawns, and hedges are green.” Having different jobs such as working as a bell boy and delivery boy white people have approached him and accused him of doing things he has never done. Being cut up with beer bottles and harassed is one issue, but seeing such violence happen to another person is unacceptable. Although when people saw such abuse being conflicted on another no one would ever dare say anything, especially if a black person saw this happening.
Being harassed and trying to survive everyday without getting beaten or accused was probably one of the hardest things to accomplish in the past. Today things are very different, but what if things never changed? How would society react? People today really do not understand the actions of the past. If society never changed and black people were still considered savages and beaten for no reason the world would have one dominant race forever.
I thought the reading was interesting and it made me think of the horrible things they would do to him. He would mind his own business, and the next thing you know he is bleeding from being hit by a beer bottle or accused of no saying “mister” before someone’s name. I am glad society has changed because I would not have been able to survive such things. What people are capable of doing to each other is horrifying.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Ethnic Notions
In the film Ethnic Notions cartoons, figurines, and pictures overemphasized black features and provoked a negative image to the black race. Over the years the views of black people changed, but in the end even today we see images that remind us of the past.
In the early movies being made black men were made to seem childlike, careless, and always smiling. The black man was seen as being a happy slave. The Mammy was also portrayed as a happy slave who was always loyal to her master. Her image consisted of being a big black woman wearing a headscarf and happily doing her chores. Black people were identified as being brutes, but over time when they got their freedom competition arises between the blacks and whites. In certain movies such as Birth of a Nation white people would take over the roles of black people by painting on the “black face”. When black people were allowed to be in movies they were forced to fit their stereotype and make their skin even blacker. The black actors would put soot on their faces to make them appear darker and then widen their mouths with more face paints. Over time when blacks became free they still did not get the respect they wanted because of the views white people still held about them. The status quo of the north was threatened by emancipation when black started moving from the country to the city and competed for jobs.
The two main points the video pointed out were that blacks were seen as savages and that blacks were happy servants. Blacks were put into these stereotypes, but in the end slaves did not fit such an image. Why is it that some of these images are still present today when people have work hard to get rid of them? Overall it seems as if these images are a reminder of the past but they still represent hatred and harmful stereotypes toward black people. Some products they we still see these images on are food products like pancakes and syrup.
I thought the film was interesting and it was just another reminder of the things I learned in my past history classes. I knew of some of the material in the videos because of what my grandma would teach me when I was younger. I think racial issues will always be present and I hope that what happened in the past never reoccurs again.
In the early movies being made black men were made to seem childlike, careless, and always smiling. The black man was seen as being a happy slave. The Mammy was also portrayed as a happy slave who was always loyal to her master. Her image consisted of being a big black woman wearing a headscarf and happily doing her chores. Black people were identified as being brutes, but over time when they got their freedom competition arises between the blacks and whites. In certain movies such as Birth of a Nation white people would take over the roles of black people by painting on the “black face”. When black people were allowed to be in movies they were forced to fit their stereotype and make their skin even blacker. The black actors would put soot on their faces to make them appear darker and then widen their mouths with more face paints. Over time when blacks became free they still did not get the respect they wanted because of the views white people still held about them. The status quo of the north was threatened by emancipation when black started moving from the country to the city and competed for jobs.
The two main points the video pointed out were that blacks were seen as savages and that blacks were happy servants. Blacks were put into these stereotypes, but in the end slaves did not fit such an image. Why is it that some of these images are still present today when people have work hard to get rid of them? Overall it seems as if these images are a reminder of the past but they still represent hatred and harmful stereotypes toward black people. Some products they we still see these images on are food products like pancakes and syrup.
I thought the film was interesting and it was just another reminder of the things I learned in my past history classes. I knew of some of the material in the videos because of what my grandma would teach me when I was younger. I think racial issues will always be present and I hope that what happened in the past never reoccurs again.
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Takaki Chapter 3
In chapter 3 Ronald Takaki talks about the hidden origins of slavery and the giddy multitude, which is a disconnected class of indentured servants, slaves, and landless freemen both white and black. He then goes on to talk about the history of slavery and the indentured servants and how things started to change over time.
First Takaki talks about why the Indians were not able to become slaves and how they resisted. No matter if they were slaves or not they would be able to escape and survive off of the lands because they were accustomed to the lands already, and they could never be found. So when the slaves were brought in they were forced to work with the white indentured servants. At first the slave population was small but began to grow over time. Soon enough there was as many back people as there were white people. Punishments were severe for the slaves and indentured servants, but slaves had a more severe punishment than the servants. For example blacks were serving longer time periods for service than the indentured servants, and if they ran away they were not only whipped but also branded with the letter R. The difference between an indentured servant and a slave was that the slaves were serving their master for a lifetime and were by law considered to be property. Soon enough more laws came into effect about slaves stating that all servants who came into the country that were brought by land or sea and were not Christians were to be slaves. One of the reasons why slavery became so popular was because conditions in Virginia improved and black slaves would serve for a lifetime instead of a certain number of years like the indentured servants.
Takaki stated that Thomas Jefferson owned about 267 slaves and over time thought that slavery was wrong and something should be done about it. But the real question is why he had a sudden change of heart after he owned so many slaves and was just like every other cruel slave owner. It even stated that he would make sure he kept his slaves in line with severe punishments. I believe that Jefferson did realize there was a difference between the two races, but overall he did not think that blacks and whites would really get along if the blacks became free.
I think this reading was just refreshing my memory about slavery. I remember most of this information from previous history classes talking about how slavery came about.
First Takaki talks about why the Indians were not able to become slaves and how they resisted. No matter if they were slaves or not they would be able to escape and survive off of the lands because they were accustomed to the lands already, and they could never be found. So when the slaves were brought in they were forced to work with the white indentured servants. At first the slave population was small but began to grow over time. Soon enough there was as many back people as there were white people. Punishments were severe for the slaves and indentured servants, but slaves had a more severe punishment than the servants. For example blacks were serving longer time periods for service than the indentured servants, and if they ran away they were not only whipped but also branded with the letter R. The difference between an indentured servant and a slave was that the slaves were serving their master for a lifetime and were by law considered to be property. Soon enough more laws came into effect about slaves stating that all servants who came into the country that were brought by land or sea and were not Christians were to be slaves. One of the reasons why slavery became so popular was because conditions in Virginia improved and black slaves would serve for a lifetime instead of a certain number of years like the indentured servants.
Takaki stated that Thomas Jefferson owned about 267 slaves and over time thought that slavery was wrong and something should be done about it. But the real question is why he had a sudden change of heart after he owned so many slaves and was just like every other cruel slave owner. It even stated that he would make sure he kept his slaves in line with severe punishments. I believe that Jefferson did realize there was a difference between the two races, but overall he did not think that blacks and whites would really get along if the blacks became free.
I think this reading was just refreshing my memory about slavery. I remember most of this information from previous history classes talking about how slavery came about.
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Zinn Chapter 2
In chapter two, Drawing the Color Line, Zinn talks about how racism has been so important in the United States alone. Over the last 350 years feelings of racism has been mixed. Zinn goes on to talk about the history of slavery and how it all came about. Zinn also states that slavery was carried out because of the need for profit, desperate settlers, and for the superior status for the poor whites.
Zinn describes how slavery was the answer to peoples’ problems. For hundreds of years African blacks were stamped as slaves and even Christopher Columbus brought back slaves from his journeys. The people and tribes in Africa were very spiritual and had their own laws, but their punishments were not too harsh. It was not like the Africans did not want the people to come into their land, it’s just that they did not have the weapons like the Europeans had so they were not able to defend themselves or make the Europeans obey them. The reason why African slavery was so cruel and unjust in the United States was because of the status the slaves were given and from the profit that people could make off of them. The slaves were more like dogs than humans. They never got respect and when they were punished for doing something wrong or running away their punishment was always the harshest of them all. There were white indentured servants, but their punishments were still less severe than those of the slaves.
In the chapter Zinn talks about what would happen if slaves ran away or tried to revolt. When slaves ran away how would people really treat them even if they did have the papers to prove they were free? I think that whether the slaves were free or not they were still treated like the scum of the earth. No one ever appreciated what they did or even gave them the time of day. The fear they had instilled in them was horrible and I actually understand why they would jump off the ships they were on. No one, no matter what race, should have to be in such filth and horrific conditions.
It makes me sick to think about what slaves were put through. I don’t think I would even survive something like that. I thought this chapter was well written in how Zinn tells the readers where slavery came from and what it was all about.
Zinn describes how slavery was the answer to peoples’ problems. For hundreds of years African blacks were stamped as slaves and even Christopher Columbus brought back slaves from his journeys. The people and tribes in Africa were very spiritual and had their own laws, but their punishments were not too harsh. It was not like the Africans did not want the people to come into their land, it’s just that they did not have the weapons like the Europeans had so they were not able to defend themselves or make the Europeans obey them. The reason why African slavery was so cruel and unjust in the United States was because of the status the slaves were given and from the profit that people could make off of them. The slaves were more like dogs than humans. They never got respect and when they were punished for doing something wrong or running away their punishment was always the harshest of them all. There were white indentured servants, but their punishments were still less severe than those of the slaves.
In the chapter Zinn talks about what would happen if slaves ran away or tried to revolt. When slaves ran away how would people really treat them even if they did have the papers to prove they were free? I think that whether the slaves were free or not they were still treated like the scum of the earth. No one ever appreciated what they did or even gave them the time of day. The fear they had instilled in them was horrible and I actually understand why they would jump off the ships they were on. No one, no matter what race, should have to be in such filth and horrific conditions.
It makes me sick to think about what slaves were put through. I don’t think I would even survive something like that. I thought this chapter was well written in how Zinn tells the readers where slavery came from and what it was all about.
Thursday, February 1, 2007
Johnson chapter 4
In chapter four Johnson talks about making privilege happen. We tend to give privilege to some people, and others are just ignored or have their privilege taken away. Racism has been present for a while now and Johnson talks about racism in society today.
Johnson then goes on to talk about racism, privilege, and organizations. Johnson gives some good examples of how racism plays a role in our society today. For example student of different ethnicities may be treated differently in the college setting, or banks will deny certain people for loans that they may need. It was stated that black people are the most residentially segregated. Racism can lead to many different actions, but the main act would be violence. Privilege can separate people dramatically, or connect them in a way. Being privileged can mean a lack of diversity. When organizations lack diversity the environment can be challenging, which in turn can upset the employees and encourage them to resign. Today women are still making less then man and the wage gap has increased dramatically since the 1908s. Although the work force is still greatly segregated maybe things will start to change in the future.
Johnson stated that African Americans and Latinos having a college education does not account for much in the work force, and a lot of other ethnic groups that make major accomplishments are ignored or are rarely heard of. Why do we desegregate schools and want everyone to get along, but what is going on in today’s society is the same issues that were going on many years ago? I think that something drastic has to change in order for society to change. Right now it doe not even seem like people want much change because the privileged people want to stay privileged and feel like they are better than others. How are people really supposed to get out of poverty if they do not even have a chance? I think that no matter what goes on in society one group is never going to get along with a another group.
I think that this chapter was interesting because of the facts Johnson stated about the work force. Being an African American female and the first to go to college in my family I feel like I do have a lot of pressure to succeed. And what I want most is to prove people wrong and that I’m not going to fall into the category of one of those statistics.
Johnson then goes on to talk about racism, privilege, and organizations. Johnson gives some good examples of how racism plays a role in our society today. For example student of different ethnicities may be treated differently in the college setting, or banks will deny certain people for loans that they may need. It was stated that black people are the most residentially segregated. Racism can lead to many different actions, but the main act would be violence. Privilege can separate people dramatically, or connect them in a way. Being privileged can mean a lack of diversity. When organizations lack diversity the environment can be challenging, which in turn can upset the employees and encourage them to resign. Today women are still making less then man and the wage gap has increased dramatically since the 1908s. Although the work force is still greatly segregated maybe things will start to change in the future.
Johnson stated that African Americans and Latinos having a college education does not account for much in the work force, and a lot of other ethnic groups that make major accomplishments are ignored or are rarely heard of. Why do we desegregate schools and want everyone to get along, but what is going on in today’s society is the same issues that were going on many years ago? I think that something drastic has to change in order for society to change. Right now it doe not even seem like people want much change because the privileged people want to stay privileged and feel like they are better than others. How are people really supposed to get out of poverty if they do not even have a chance? I think that no matter what goes on in society one group is never going to get along with a another group.
I think that this chapter was interesting because of the facts Johnson stated about the work force. Being an African American female and the first to go to college in my family I feel like I do have a lot of pressure to succeed. And what I want most is to prove people wrong and that I’m not going to fall into the category of one of those statistics.
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