Author: Robin Sutherland

Student Opinion Questions, NY Times

Robin Sutherland

The article I chose was “Why is Race so Hard to Talk About? One of the answers stood out to me when a student was asked how ethnic they are. The student responds with “ ‘Ethnic’ is a weird word. In practice, in the U.S., it can mean ‘not black or white’.” This only relates to me to an extent, because I am clearly black, but then there is the question of “Wait so are you just black?”, and I then have to explain which Caribbean island my family is from and how it’s usually never heard of, and while I am American my parents are not. It is interesting how people of color can sometimes be forced to present themselves and show how “ethnic” they are. 

Personally, I do not find it hard to talk about race. Since a child, I have noticed that my race is often a topic of discussion in many places. From reading about people like me dying on the news, to strangers being racist in video games, my race is not something I can hide or just chose to ignore for a day so I personally do not find it hard to discuss my race or the race of others. I am able to understand that people of color go through racial biases all the time, unfortunately. However, I understand how talking about race could make someone uncomfortable if they had any experiences or if they know someone who dealt with racism. Talking about race in terms of things like police brutality or the increasing number of hate crimes against the Asian community is hard because violence and hate crimes are sensitive subjects, but there are other things about race that can be talked about. I also think it can be hard for people to discuss this subject in general because they might have their own prejudices that need to be worked on, and when confronted by them it can be uncomfortable. Also, when someone’s privilege is talked about it can make them uncomfortable to the point where they do not want to discuss it, or invalidate someone’s experiences because they themselves “aren’t like that”.

To make conversations about race easier, smoother, and less awkward I would try to be as unbiased as possible, but personally, while I would want the person I am having a conversation about race with to be as comfortable as possible, I do not think it is my responsibility to make race-related conversations easier for people. 

At first, I could not think of anyone I would want to have a conversation about race with.  The question had me stumped as I began to think about all the race-related tragedies in human history, but I realized I would not want to talk to an aggressor of one of those instances. One person I would want to talk to about race would be Harriet Tubman, and one of the many things I would ask her about would be what was her perception of race as a slave and how did she view herself and others during that time. I would ask if race was also hard to talk about and who were the people talking about it.

Racism and cruelty

Robin Sutherland

For some reason, Critical Race Theory is so controversial to many people to the point that some states banned it from being taught in schools. Even so, I personally find it important to learn and understand how the victims of systemic racism are affected by the cultural perceptions of race, and how they are able to represent themselves to counter prejudice. Learning about CRT provided me with an understanding of the way that a person’s race, like my own, can shape their experience with the law and with society. I think it is useful to be educated on topics that are ingrained into our society because they affect me and others. 

Colson Whitehead’s “The Match” piqued my interest. Whitehead addresses race relations in educational institutions by sharing the story of Griff, a black student in a racist school only noticed as a commodity, or form of entertainment to be used at the school’s boxing matches. Whitehead is able to clearly demonstrate the power dynamic between the white people and the black students. The students and teachers themselves are segregated, “The racial division of the school recreated itself in the gym, with the white boys taking the south half, and the black boys claiming the north”(Whitehead 4). There was no prevarication of the clear race relations in the school. While all this was happening, the school still tried to maintain a prestigious image when giving tours, the countless fights and the inhumane means of discipline were ignored,  “They might have had a question or two but that was not part of the tour” (Whitehead 1). This furthers Whitehead’s points on race relations within an institution such as education, and lack of care when it comes to certain types of students. 

Whitehead created the capacity for cruelty by setting the story in a reform school for juvenile boys whose main hobbies are boxing each other.  These boxing matches are for white man’s entertainment, but at the same time, students like Griff use boxing as an outlet. The lack of regard for the black students in the story is also emphasized by the fact that the coach asked Griff to throw the tournament, and stop doing what he likes to do showing how the capacity for cruelty is bolstered by racist ideologies, and how the students used.

Chopin

Robin Sutherland

The writer’s race matters when the narrative deals with race because there is only so much that can go into a narrative about such a topic that a white woman in the 1890s like Kate Chopin,  would never be able to fully understand and experience herself. It would be more important and more credible for the narrative to come from someone who actually experiences racism, not benefited from it. By coming from a family of slave owners, and marrying someone in the cotton industry Chopin may be able to see the oppression and racism firsthand, but there is always bias because Chopin was never the receiver of the racism. I believe that Chopin writing about the struggles of African Americans in the 1890s was advantageous to the extent that it was competing with social norms at the time. However, the white savior narrative is overused, the truth is behind the people who actually struggled with racism and slavery. The U.S has a long history of telling the story of racism from a white perspective, and it would make more sense for the stories of African American slavery to come from African Americans. 

Feminism in Ichiyo

Robin Sutherland

I believe the female character Oseki in “The Thirteenth Night” by Higuchi Ichiyo represents the life and treatment of women in society at the time. Ichiyo lived during the Meiji era, where women were constantly exploited and had no legal rights or power. Women were under the influence of the man of the household and were limited to mundane responsibilities. The women would work at overcrowded factories under very poor and unhygienic conditions. When at home there were more jobs such as keeping the family fed, clean and clothed, including the elderly, as well as managing household finances. Women were expected to be uneducated and could not partake in politics, making it difficult to navigate through the systems of power. 

Marxism in the Thirteenth Night

Robin Sutherland

During Oseki’s run in with Roku In “The Thirteenth Night” by Higuchi Ichiyo I believe Oseki realizes how life could have been if a person’s social class in society was not so important. Marrying Isamu is acceptable to her family and it was what they wanted because they come from poverty. Isamu is considered more educated and is in a higher social class compared to Roku, but he does not make Oseki happy. Along with her happiness, she gave up being with someone who had actual feelings for her. Who Oseki truly loves does not matter when it comes to financial stability.  

Government

Robin Sutherland

In both “The trial of Thomas Builds- the-fire” and “This is what it means to say Pheonix, Arizona”  Sherman Alexie alludes to a particular type of government/ rulership. Two characteristics of this system are discriminatory and unjust, both are seen evident when Thomas was on trial and they used the fact that he is Native American as grounds to charge. While Thomas was unsure of what he was being charged for, they decided “It has to be a felony charge. We don’t need this kind around here anymore”. This shows how little regard they have for Thomas and Native Americans in general. The system itself is discriminatory which creates unjust outcomes. Thomas can be seen as an allegorical figure because he is in his own right dealing with a discriminatory system as an individual but also representing Native Americans like him that deal with the same unjust treatment. 

Parents

Robin Sutherland

In my opinion, parents should always say what they mean. Children can be impressionable and mimic the actions around them. Being a child does not make them any less worthy of honesty, lying about little things for no reason or for the sake of “just teasin’” is unnecessary. However, it is understandable in some cases if their intentions are to create a sense of wonder and magic for example fictional stories and lies like Santa or the Easter bunny personally were fun for me as a child, even after eventually knowing it was just a story the feelings remained for a little while. It could be damaging to withhold too much, but damaging to tell children everything because some things are simply not appropriate. Ultimately I think one should use discretion because everyone is different and can handle different things.

Where I’m From

Robin Sutherland

I am from hairspray bottles,

from Dawn soap and vinegar.

I am from the loud silence.

I am from the sweet potatoes,

the aloe vera plant; used to heal and nourish.

I am from Mama’s mac n cheese

and foreheads,

From Solae and Journee

And Quest and Kiewan.

I am from the ignorant bliss,

and empathy.

From “Don’t eat and lay down!”

and “moisturize your hair!”.

I am from enjoying the choir,

But not the service.

I’m from the Bronx always missing St Vincent,

Curry Chicken and saltfish.

From the day Ashley ran away,

the bison burgers Mom made that special day,

Denea’s zoo book photoshoot.

I am from the few photos we have, i’ve saved

Kept during the move; envelope the same.

Reuniting with the memories,

We reminisce thankfully.