watkinsjohnson3media

In Johnsons chapter three he identifies the difference of race and what it means. He also goes on saying how you should not live in fear of different races. The piece I feel that best fits is these pictures that I observed while browsing through the internet. I feel this is what Johnson is trying to accomplish with his writing. This picture shows the unity of black and white, old and young, and different cultures. This also follows more of Johnson’s points in that racism is cause by capitalism. That with money and power comes different groups of power and wealth, which then cause separation between these groups. This picture is what Johnson is trying to depict in his writing of not being scared of differences and just embracing them.
These pictures come from Lilo Kine who uses body art as a way of unifying people. Through her shows she brings many different races and paints of their skin tones and bodies and makes them all the same; just art work. These men and women are stripped down to just their bodies so that they are all just humans and nothing more. No materialistic clothing or style may separate them. The only thing that they have become is people. This relates because throughout ethnic studies because that is what this class is trying to prove. That their have been many philosophers out there and people who are trying to show that people are people and nothing more. No matter your make up or class we are all the same so there is no reason to have hate or be afraid of the unknown race.
For me this art symbolizes unity in every form. It is celebrated as people coming together for a common theme which in this case is artwork. The general message is to not judge but to allow you to see past the color of people’s skin and the many colors that are splattered across their bodies.

Link:http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.lilokinne.com/LiloMakedaBodyArtBD6-14-2005DSCF2212EnergyTransfer.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.lilokinne.com/LiloKinneBodyArt-LiloKinneCreatingPortrait.htm&h=633&w=720&sz=77&hl=en&start=29&tbnid=y0SXufCUycBkqM:&tbnh=123&tbnw=140&prev=/images%3Fq%3Ddifferent%2Braces%2B%252B%2Bblack%2Band%2Bwhite%26start%3D20%26gbv%3D2%26ndsp%3D20%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN

watkinsracepart1media

Race part one is a video that we watched in class. It shows how a group of high school students try to see who they are similar to by using their own genes. Many of the students believed that by looking similar to a class mate they would have similar genes. These genes were used as a lesson to show that many races have similar genes. Many genes can be dated back to early ancestry however along the course of time there has been a lot of interaction between races and culture. This shows that no matter your genotype race is not a way of showing what genes you are made up of.
For me the song bridging gaps by the Black eyed peas, is a good example of not using race as a way of dividing people. This songs talks about seeing people as who they are not how they appear, and bringing everyone together as one. It goes into more detail about how what ever a person’s background is; people should unite as a whole and not use that as an excuse. This relates to the video because many different races has very similar genes. Genes don’t depict race or culture, just what you are made of. Many different people have similar genes and should just realize how race is not an excuse for hate or difference.
For me the video race part one showed me how truly naïve people are about race. It also shocked me to see that genes have no part of race. This is a sign that humanity is coming around. Now that is proven that we are all very similar as people there is no reason for segregation or hate towards one group, and as time continues we will all be so closely breed that there will be no racism in our world. Hopefully some day I can be around for this world, but with this information it is a good base.

link:http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/blackeyedpeas/bridgingthegaps.html

watkinstakakimediapost

Takaki the famed author is well known for his writings about ethnicity. In chapter twoof “a different mirror” Takaki discusses how in the early 1500’s in Europe many different races were seen as outcasts. They were often discriminated against and even seen as savages. This was shown more so in William Shakespeare’s play of the “Tempest”. The media piece for me that best describes this information is William Shakespeare’s “the Tempest”. This piece is what Takaki based his writing on so for me this best fits what I am trying to portray.
In this time period of the early 1500’s many races, Africans, Irish, and German people were seen as slaves. Originally they began as servants trying to pay off their debt to wealthy land owners by working and living with them. This turned into a form of slavery. In “the Tempest” the character Caliban, the African man is depicted in many different ways, mainly as being a chaotic and brutal character. This play shows the many different roles that he was incorporated as. His barbaric ways gave a negative view of Africans in this play. Also it has drawn many different stereotypes, from him walking on all four limbs as to symbolize a monkey, or creature, to people observing his features of a large nose and exaggerated lips. This play is one of the most famous by Shakespeare and is well known around the world. This fits into our discussions due to the fact that because of his negative role in this play it cause a sort of scare of the African race that was caused by this play and Caliban’s role in this particular play.
My personal feedback is during the time that this play was originally performed in England, it was highly unusual to see a dark skinned performer in plays, not to mention the role of a barbaric and violent character. This caused fear of the unknown since many Africans were around being used as slaves, nobody wanted them to become anything more than that because of what was depicted of them.

Link: http://www.shakespeare-literature.com/The_Tempest/1.html

watkinstylercolumbusmediapost

Christopher Columbus is seen by many people as the founder of the Americas. Over the years it has only been his story that has been seen and taught to many children around the United States. In Zin’s writing of "Columbus, the Indians, and Human Progress" he depicts the harsh truth of what Columbus and his men were all about. A clear example is in the sketch of apparently the first interaction between the Native Americans and Columbus. This piece stuck out in my mind because when I observed this piece for the first time to me it looked as if Columbus and his men were swarming these native Americans offering them gifts. Then we had the discussion in class about the two views of Columbus, him as the founder of our country, while others are starting to see him as the cruel European who was so into pleasing the queen that he would destroy a civilization that was already established and strong.
In this piece from the University of Michigan the painting speaks volumes. It depicts how the Native Americans who had previously lived in the America’s have a civilization developed. This cartoon shows how Columbus and his men overwhelmed the Native Americans who were seeing Columbus and his men and were trying to offer them gifts as a form of welcoming new faces. Columbus saw the gold and wealth that the Native Americans were offering and thought of profit. The term a picture speaks a thousand words is best used for this. While some may see this as the first meeting, the knowledge that I obtained from class allows me to see what is truly happening in this picture.
The issue of Columbus is one that has many people divided. For me this drawing shows the way that Columbus took advantage and destroyed a culture that was previously established and may have been flourishing before the Columbus and his men came to destroy something that may have caused America to become a completely different place, than we are accustomed to today.

link to picture: http://www.umich.edu/news/Releases/2005/Sep05/img/columbus.jpg