Week 6: Diversity and Inclusion II
Monday
To prepare for class on Monday, we were told to watch the documentary "Documented." The documentary was about an undocumented journalist named Jose Antonio Vargas who decided after years of hiding to publicly share his story. His story was very interesting, and the film depicted what Jose's life was like living in America under the identity of being an American citizen, but not having the documents to prove it. For me, the most memorable part was when Jose called his mom after not speaking to her in years. It was just a very emotional scene.
In class, we discussed the documentary "Documented" with our neighbors. My neighbors and I talked about how we were unaware of using the term "illegal immigrant," and the effect that it had on people. In the documentary, Jose argued that instead of being labeled an illegal immigrant, people should use the term "undocumented."
Then, with our neighbors we discussed the chart given to us in class "Who You Are. What You Experience. How You See the World." I was a little bit surprised that all of our answers were very similar.
In class, we got into groups and talked about different controversial questions and topics regarding immigration and diversity. My group consisted of Bry-Anna and Will (wheat thin king). I really liked what Bry-Anna and Will said about the questions "What have you done and what are you doing to earn your American citizenship?" Will talked about how us three were just born into America, we did not have to do anything to prove that we were American, but immigrants, undocumented or documented, have to prove themselves. Bry-Anna and I agreed that it was just a good statement to reflect on. Ultimately, I feel like the citizens that were born in America take it for granted many times, but it really is a blessing.
The second statement that we discussed in our group was "Most white Americans live in a bubble. The typical white American lives in a town that is more than 3/4 white, and the average white person's group of friends is more than 90% white." I shared how for me personally, I lived on the side of town that was extremely diverse. In 3rd and 4th grade I went to a predominately black school. I shared how most of my friends growing up were not white, and I surprisingly I felt very left out at my school. I was never invited to birthday parties, and I was really bullied at school. I did not really think much of it growing up, but looking back it made me more aware of how easy it is to judge people.
In conclusion, I really enjoyed this week's discussion, but I can understand how people may have found it as an uncomfortable subject.
Sources:
(1) https://time.com/3789293/behind-the-cover-americas-undocumented-immigrants/
(2) https://defineamerican.com/?gclid=CjwKEAiAws20BRCs-P-ssLbSlg4SJABbVcDpR5N4fedValhrYiDWIj_Riosq1vzD1EtOtA0iJoz6ERoCGRrw_wcB
(3) https://defineamerican.com/stories/view/teresa-enriquez-texis/
(4) https://www.google.com/search?q=illegal+immigrant&tbm=isch&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwirrMvco-3kAhUOn-AKHV2tAaQQ_AUICygC&biw=912&bih=736&dpr=2#imgrc=kc97L2Uxue03PM:
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| (1) |
Wednesday
To prepare for class on Wednesday we were to watch a video and read an article on the website Define American (2). The article (3) that I read was about a teenager from Buford, Georgia. She stated in her short article that growing up she really felt like she had to push herself and try super hard to try and win approval from the government. |
| (4) |
In class, we got into groups and talked about different controversial questions and topics regarding immigration and diversity. My group consisted of Bry-Anna and Will (wheat thin king). I really liked what Bry-Anna and Will said about the questions "What have you done and what are you doing to earn your American citizenship?" Will talked about how us three were just born into America, we did not have to do anything to prove that we were American, but immigrants, undocumented or documented, have to prove themselves. Bry-Anna and I agreed that it was just a good statement to reflect on. Ultimately, I feel like the citizens that were born in America take it for granted many times, but it really is a blessing.
The second statement that we discussed in our group was "Most white Americans live in a bubble. The typical white American lives in a town that is more than 3/4 white, and the average white person's group of friends is more than 90% white." I shared how for me personally, I lived on the side of town that was extremely diverse. In 3rd and 4th grade I went to a predominately black school. I shared how most of my friends growing up were not white, and I surprisingly I felt very left out at my school. I was never invited to birthday parties, and I was really bullied at school. I did not really think much of it growing up, but looking back it made me more aware of how easy it is to judge people.
In conclusion, I really enjoyed this week's discussion, but I can understand how people may have found it as an uncomfortable subject.
Sources:
(1) https://time.com/3789293/behind-the-cover-americas-undocumented-immigrants/
(2) https://defineamerican.com/?gclid=CjwKEAiAws20BRCs-P-ssLbSlg4SJABbVcDpR5N4fedValhrYiDWIj_Riosq1vzD1EtOtA0iJoz6ERoCGRrw_wcB
(3) https://defineamerican.com/stories/view/teresa-enriquez-texis/
(4) https://www.google.com/search?q=illegal+immigrant&tbm=isch&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwirrMvco-3kAhUOn-AKHV2tAaQQ_AUICygC&biw=912&bih=736&dpr=2#imgrc=kc97L2Uxue03PM:
I loved your blog this week Michelle. I find your thoughts on being born an American interesting. I believe a lot of people take it for granted and do not realize how hard it is to get citizenship in the United States is. I loved hearing your thoughts in class about immigration and discrimination. See you Monday.
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