ARE YOU READY FOR SOME “COURAGEOUS

CONVERSATIONS”?

“I wish I could say that racism and prejudice were only distant memories.” ~Thurgood Marshall20 Nov.

2013

Learning Target: Consider relationships between power and race

Please take out your notebooks and copy down the learning target.

**do you have a smart phone with you? Please bring it out and load the class blog site

(Google “Tomlinson Camas English”…should be there!)

Agenda11/20/13 The Race Card Project/Bellwork “Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes” experiment Introduction to Yellow Raft in Blue Water Book Checkout

Homework: By the beginning of class Monday, read through Chapter 3 of Yellow Raft in Blue Water (reading day Friday)

The Race Card Project

“Harassed and beaten for being white.” “What will my children look like?” “No, really, what are you?” “My son’s not half, he’s double.” “Hasn’t been an issue for me.” “Not THAT kind of black girl.” “You’re named Carlos, but you’re blond?” “I bet you like rap music.” “Worried to say the wrong thing.”

Bellwork11/20/13 What’s your six-word “race card?”

Once you have brainstormed this, please use the link on the blog for your class period to upload your response. These will be put together to form a class list that I’ll post later this week!

Class Content Connections

Marxist analysis looks at power dynamics (typically between classes). Who has the power, how is the power maintained, what’s the result of not having power? Death of a Salesman identified power dynamics

between employees and bosses/men and women Yellow Raft in Blue Water will look more at power

dynamics between races and the legacy of racism Identifying some of our own perspectives on

race can inform our discussion of the real issues experienced by the characters in the novel

Why address this head on?

Racial “colorblindness” is the idea that ignoring or overlooking racial and ethnic differences promotes racial harmony. Experts in psychology/sociology say

colorblindness can do just the opposite: It can highlight that folks who enjoy racial privilege are “closing their eyes” to the experiences of others (false consciousness?)

“Failure to see and acknowledge racial differences makes it difficult to recognize the unconscious biases everyone has” And the fear of appearing racist prevents honest

conversations and an open dialogue about issues related to race

Camas High School Race/Ethnicity (October 2012)

Race/Ethnicity Number of StudentsAmerican Indian/Alaskan Native 8Native Hawaiian / Other Pacific Islander 11Black / African American 22Two or More Races 101Hispanic / Latino of any race(s)112Asian 122Asian/Pacific Islander 133White 1,517

Jane Elliot and the “Brown Eye/Blue Eye” experiment In 1968, after the assassination of MLK Jr.,

3rd grade teacher Jane Elliot did an experiment to show her white students what discrimination felt like. She used eye color as the determining factor, and talked harshly, took away privileges, etc.

She’s continued to be an activist and diversity trainer, continuing the idea but “ramping it up” to impact young adults

Video context

This group of students know they are in for a social experiment about racism.

They are receiving a college credit for participation.

They were separated into brown eyes and blue eyes, and the brown eyes were told that her goal is “to take away the freedom to be ignorant about the daily struggles for people of color.”

This video is the second part- the first part shows the blue eyed students more uncomfortable, annoyed, or laughing it off, but at this point just beginning to feel really pushed.

“I do this is a mean and nasty way because racism is mean and nasty”

While watching:

Record notes to answer these questions: What techniques are being used by Jane

Elliot to try to take away power from the blue eyed students?

What is her point? What are your gut reactions to this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neEVoFODQOE&feature=share&list=PLmirLMfAJwIzhavWWChcUhjvOuQOHJ9tK

Reactions? Responses?

What’s your “new thought” or a question you’re going to consider to think about after today?

Yellow Raft in Blue Water

Rayona is half American Indian, half African-American

Her mother, Christine, is full American Indian. She was raised on a reservation, moved to Seattle, and then brings Rayona back to the reservation to live with her mother, Ida.

Rayona struggles to find her place culturally and racially because she’s not “fully Indian”

Yellow Raft in Blue Water

Multiple narratives so the reader must triangulate to find the “truth”. Stories overlap to get the full experience

communicated Quest for identity through remembering the past

How does the history of your family (and/or the history of racial tensions/stereotypes) affect you?

Conflict between the three women, yet they are inseparable Struggle for children to separate themselves from their

parents’ baggage (D of S?!) Males are alienated/alien to the female experience Conflicts between historical religious positions of

power

Author’s Background

Michael Dorris (1945-1997) Was married to famous Native American

author Louise Erdrich Native American father died when he was

very young, and he was raised by his mother and her female relatives

Advocated for tribal issues/literature during his career

Adopted several Native American children Very tumultuous, sad, and troubled life

including domestic violence and child abuse (as the aggressor), depression, and suicide after allegations of abuse from his children.

Things to consider while reading: How does Rayona see herself in regards to her

culture/race? How do others see her in regards to her

culture/race? What power dynamics are in place between

different racial groups? How does her relationship with her parents

affect her? Who has the power in these relationships?

How has a legacy of racial struggle impacted this family?

Book Checkout

Please write down your book number and the condition of the book (if you see any damage- otherwise leave blank!)

Begin reading! Read through Chapter 3 by the beginning of class Monday (reading day Friday)

Native Experiences

November is American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month

5.2 million Americans (only 2% of the overall population)

By 2060, it’s projected that the number of people will be over 11 million

About 22% of native peoples live on reservations

Life on Reservations

Living conditions on the reservations have been cited as "comparable to Third World” Many reservation families live without

basics like running water, electricity, or sewer systems

The disparity for American Indians living below poverty on the reservations is even greater, reaching 38% to 63%

Economic Statistics

$35,310: The median household income of single-race American Indian and Alaska Native households in 2012. This compares with $51,371 for the nation as a

whole.

29.1 percent: The percent of single-race American Indians and Alaska Natives that were in poverty in 2012, the highest rate of any race group. For the nation as a whole, the poverty rate was

15.9 percent. American Indians living below poverty on the

reservations is even greater, reaching 38% to 63%

Education Statistics

78.8 percent: The percentage of single-race American Indians and Alaska Natives 25 and older who had at least a high school diploma, GED certificate or alternative credential in 2012.

In addition, 13.5 percent obtained a bachelor’s degree or higher. In comparison, 86.4 percent of the overall

population had a high school diploma and 29.1 percent had a bachelor’s degree or higher.

Health Statistics

• The average life expectancy for Native Americans trails that of other Americans by almost 5 years

• Heart disease is the leading cause of death for American Indians (2003, Center for Disease Control). • 36% of Natives with heart disease will die

before age 65 compared to 15% of Caucasians (2001, HHS Office of Minority Health).

• American Indians are 177% more likely to die from diabetes (2011, Indian Health Disparities).

• Infant death rates are 60% higher than for Caucasians (2001, HHS Office of Minority Health).

Harsh realities

American Indians experience per capita rates of violence which are more than twice those of the U.S. resident population.

American Indian victims of violence were the most likely of all races of victims to indicate that the offender committed the offense while drinking.

1 in 10 Native American deaths were related to alcohol.

The suicide rate among Native American adults grew 65.2 percent in the past decade and is the largest increase of any racial or ethnic group in the U.S. 82% more likely to die from suicide (2011, Indian

Health Disparities).