McNair Research Journal - University of St. Thomas

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Humanities & Social Sciences all of the questions about parents in relations to behavior. The lack of concrete opinion leaves room for further questions about the topic. In the classroom, both teachers had the same opinions about their students’ behavior. Behavioral issues are not prevalent issues in these classrooms. Neither boys, girls, nor African American students pose more of a disciplinary issue more than another group. Teachers strongly felt as though African American students did not pose more a behavioral issue than other students. Boys and girls seem to vary on behavioral issues but the teachers did not agree that dealing with African American students required more time spent on behavior. Questions about boys and girls received responses of “neutral” while the questions about African Americans receive answers of “disagree”. In relation to the potential of African American students, one teacher views African American students to have high potential while the other thinks African American students are at an average level of potential. It cannot be assumed that this teacher has a negative opinion of African American students. Possibly if other races were included there could be a generalization and conclusion drawn about this teacher’s opinion. Neither teacher perceive that African American students are challenged academically. Overall it can be said that there is not necessarily a divide between the potential of African American students and other students. Interestingly, the final opinions of stereotypes created a lot to infer about the teachers. Names such as Keisha, D’Mario, Tyreka, and JayQwan were suggested as names for Caucasian people and African American people. Teacher #1 remained neutral on whether or not these names applied to African Americans or Caucasians. Teacher #2 did identify these names to be names that represent African Americans. This teacher has agreed with the various stereotypes about African Americans and their name choices. The teachers are both comfortable with the label of “Learning Disabled” being applied to African American students. Neither of them saw the label as harmful or a form of stigmatization. Implications/Significance of Study Uncovering potential subtle racial issues in the Twin Cities is beneficial to those living and working here. In an area with nearly 700,000 people issues of culture, race, and ethnicity can be just as important as issues of pollution or homelessness. Many ethnic groups are represented throughout the Twin Cities. New Hmong and Somali refugees have now relocated to this metropolis, changing the demographic immensely. References Aquanette Early Systematic Labeling In 2002, greater than 68% of the students enrolled in the school districts were students of color. (Wilder 2002) Gathering information about racial opinions, perceptions, and beliefs are beneficial to providing the proper education for students. Uncovering biases of teachers is extremely important due to the high number of students of color in the public school population. For the public school districts in the Twin Cities, surveys like this should be implemented to assess the opinions and perceptions of teachers at all grade levels. Knowledge of underlying racial tension can help create a more favorable educational system for young people of color. Graduation rates for African Americans, Latinos and Native Americans are considerably lower than those of Caucasians. There is a decline in achievement rates from elementary school to high school due to disinterest in education (Haycock, 2001). Educators are responsible for grasping the interest of students (Vygotsky, 1978) but with underlying issues of racism or discrimination barriers will exist. Conclusion The struggle of African Americans within the educational system has been a long journey. African Americans remain bombarded with institutionalized racism. This form of racism does not resemble the blatant overt racism of the 1960’s; instead, it is camouflaged. New racism called “respectable racism” is viewed as the goodwill of white people to help African Americans, but not entirely (Piliawsky, 1984). The responses received from the survey have not shone a light on understanding the issues of institutional racism or respectable racism. The lack of involvement from the teachers has not helped with understanding issues of racism. Lack of involvement by the teachers, for whatever reason, shows that uncovering opinions of racism is a difficult issue. Due to the small sample size, this study provided little insight to teachers’ perceptions of African American students. In relation to future research of this topic, a larger population base would be more favorable. Samples from students, teachers, parents, and a multitude of schools in the Twin Cities public school districts will provide a tri-fold approach to analyzing academic expectations of African American students. This is important research that deserves much attention within academia. Cheng, S., & Starks, B., (2002). Racial Differences in the Effects of Significant Others on Students’ Educational Expectations. Sociology of Education 75, 4, 306-327. Epps, E., (1995). Race, Class, and Educational Opportunity: Trends in the Sociology of Education. Special Issue: African Americans and Sociology: A Critical Analysis, Sociological Forum 10, 4, 593-608. Harris-Murri, N., King, K., & Rostenberg, D., (2006) Reducing Disproportionate Minority Representation in Special Education Programs for Students with Emotional Disturbances: Toward a Culturally Responsive Response to Intervention Model Education and Treatment of Children 29, 4, 779-799. Haycock, K., (2001). Closing the Achievement Gap. Educational Leadership, 58, 4, 6-11. Kaplan, R., McLoyd V.C., & Wood D., (2007). Gender Differences in the Educational Expectations of Urban, Low-Income African American Youth: The Role of Parents and the School. Journal of Youth Adolescence, 36, 417-427. Kunjufu, J., (1995). Conspiracy to Destroy Black Boys. (Volume 1): Jawanza Kunjufu. Piliawsky, M., (1984). Racial Equality in the United States: From Institutionalized Racism to “Respectable” Racism. Phylon, 45, 2, 135-143. Roscigno, V.J., (1998). Race and the Reproduction of Educational Disadvantage. Social Forces, 76, 3, 1033-1061. Spears, A.K., (1978). Institutionalized Racism and the Education of Blacks. Anthropology & Education Quarterly, 9, 2, New Perspectives on Black Education 127-136. Vygotsky, L.S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press (M. Cole, V. John-Steiner, S. Scribner, & E. Souberman, Eds. and Trans.; original works published 1930–1935). Wilder Research Center. Census Facts 2000-2002. Retrieved April 27, 2009. http://www.communitydataworks.org/StPaul/data/stpaul/city/profile.pdf http://www.wilderresearch.org 8 University of St. Thomas McNair Research Journal
Humanities and Social Sciences The Importance of Satire Reginald Evans University of St. Thomas - Department of English Abstract: Research on the satire employed by three contemporary African American writers, Amiri Baraka, Ishmael Reed, and Percival Everett. The research looks at how and why Baraka, Reed, and Everett use and are attracted to satire. The research reviews Baraka’s The Dutchman, Reed’s Mumbo Jumbo, and Everett’s Erasure. Keywords: satire, Amiri Baraka, Ishmael Reed, Percival Everett, Dutchman, Mumbo Jumbo, Erasure “…all Art is propaganda and ever must be, despite the wailing of the purists. I stand in utter shamelessness and say that whatever art I have for writing has been used always for propaganda for gaining the right of black folk to love and enjoy.” “Criteria of Negro Art” by W.E.B Du Bois, October 1926 Satire has no absolute definition, and many scholars have different understandings of what and how satire should be used. However, a good general definition for satire can be taken from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, which states that satire is “a literary work holding up human vices and follies to ridicule or scorn.” It goes on to say that satire uses “trenchant wit, irony, or sarcasm…to expose and discredit vice or folly.” According to A Companion to Satire: Ancient and Modern, edited by Ruben Quintero, there are certain criteria that satire must follow in order for the work to be truly considered satire. One of the characteristics of satire is that the “immutably divine or demonic cannot be made satiric, except through a humanizing or a thoroughly iconoclastic perspective.” This means that the subject of satire must be able to be reprimanded and its actions must be changeable. Satire can also be a “vehicle for assuming a critical posture of a less powerful but contentious underdog” (Quintero). This is important to note especially in terms of African American satire. African Americans are usually not perceived to hold power within America; it is because of this perceived power differential that African American writers who would like to critique those who are in power need to find a covert means of doing so. Given all the qualities of satire, it appears that satire would be one of the best tools in covertly undermining the present power structure. Satire allows African American writers to politically and/or morally disagree with those in power without much fear of retaliation. A prime example of African Americans satirically critiquing those who are over them would be that of African American slaves in the Antebellum South. For example, if the masters had any evidence of the slaves downplaying them, then most likely, the slaves would have been severely punished, if not killed. Therefore, the slaves had to devise covert means of releasing frustrations and critiques toward those in authority. This imbalance of power between blacks and whites did not end with slavery, it continued on throughout the course of American history, through the implementation of Jim Crow, separate but equal laws, voting complications, and redlining. With all that being said, it seems evident that contemporary African American writers use and are attracted to satire because it affords them the opportunity to critique the status quo and those who hold power, such as publishers, with a relative sense of safety. The primary focus of this research is to take a closer look into contemporary African American satire, 1960 until present. This research will assess University of St. Thomas McNair Research Journal Reginald Evans The Importance of Satire how many contemporary African American artists, namely fictional writers, have used satire as a vehicle to provide social commentary on various ills of society (i.e., the unconscious belief in the United States that Western culture and its ideology is superior to other cultures). The research will show how satire can be used as a subversive political tool for African American writers and why contemporary African American writers utilize satire. The questions that this research project seeks to answer are: Why do contemporary African American writers choose to use satire as a literary means to illustrate the ills of society or a specific person? What are the aspects of satire that appear to be attractive to contemporary African American writers? How does satire function for African American writers in the subversive critiques of the status quo? My hypothesis is contemporary African American writers use and are attracted to satire because it affords them the opportunity to critique the status quo and those who hold power (i.e., book publishers) with a relative sense of safety. I also hypothesize that satire is alluring to African American writers because of the aspect of humor that satire includes and the cover that humor provides the writers’ works. African American writers see the resemblance that satire has with signifyin’, a historically African American way of play, further explaining the attraction that contemporary writers hold for satire. Amiri Baraka was originally born LeRoi Jones and as LeRoi Jones, Baraka was married to a Jewish woman named Hettie Cohen, whom he would divorce in 1965 and in 1966 he married Sylvia Robinson; this was around the same time that Jones changed his name to Amiri Baraka. In Dutchman, Baraka critiques the very lifestyle that he previously attempted to mimic, that being the lifestyle of the “black, middle-class integrationist” (Davidson). Baraka derides black integrationists and himself during that stage in his life for attempting to assimilate into white American culture. Dutchman begins with Clay, a black male, sitting alone on the subway. He peers out the window and makes eye contact with Lula, a white female, who is standing on the platform. Lula boards the subway train and sits next to Clay. Clay and Lula begin flirting, but the flirting turns into Lulu chiding Clay for Clay’s efforts to assimilate. The play closes with Clay growing angry at Lula and threatening her; however, Lula murders Clay. Thus, Clay is a symbol of the black integrationist while Lula symbolizes the white culture into which the black middle class wishes to become a part (Davidson). The efforts of assimilation can be seen during the dialogue between Lula and Clay where she criticizes him by asking: “And why’re you wearing a jacket and tie like that? Did your people ever burn witches or start revolutions over the price of tea?” (1952). Lula condemns Clay for attempting to appear as if he shares the same history as white America, and then goes on to point out that he comes from a completely different history: “Your grandfather was a slave, he didn’t go to Harvard” (1952). Through Lula, Baraka reminds the black integrationists that they are not a part of the same history of the mainstream, white America and that they are in fact apart from this history. Also Lula’s words remind the black integrationists that the same people that they are attempting to assimilate as held their fathers in bondage (Davidson). Baraka then critiques the integrationists for seemingly forgetting their unique history as well as America’s violence against blacks. He then goes on, through the character of Lula, to mimic the forgetfulness of the integrationists: “And that you are free of your own history. And I am free of my history. We’ll pretend that we are both anonymous beauties…” (1953). Lula is reminding Clay of the differences between the histories of blacks and 9
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