Whitewashing is an issue that needs to cease, it affects many minorities who are already faced with a lot of burdens and hardships such as fitting in and being accepted for who they are. Whitewashing is not only replacing the race of certain characters but it can be providing incorrect information and sometimes even ignoring the existence of some people. Filmmakers and storytellers are the ones that should read about this first but also educational systems should definitely know of it. The educational system is a very important and it is responsible for teaching future community members, but I think that movies and stories make a bigger impact on a bigger audience. The genre that I decided to go with is an interactive article, an article in which readers can answer questions or take surveys. I chose this genre because it seemed most appropriate for the audience and it makes sure that they do not get overwhelmed by all of the information. I plan on first making an outline of what I want this article to look like and gathering the information needed, ensuring that I am prepared to easily execute the idea. One of my majors concerns is how would I be able to fit the polls into the article and if there is any needed software to be able to do that, because I want to make sure that readers would be able to actually interact with the questions. If I am not able to incorporate the polls or surveys into the article I would like to leave questions through out the article to make the reader think about what they read and how can they contribute to making a positive change in their communities and what they should avoid doing in their work to prevent further whitewashing.
Author: Mohamed Zindani (Page 3 of 10)
At the end of Unit 2’s project, I wrote that filmmakers and storytellers are the ones that should read about this first, but I also mentioned that educational systems should know of it. While the educational system is very important and is responsible for teaching future community members, I think that movies and stories make a bigger impact on a bigger audience, for instance, if a story depicts a character as a race that he/ she is not, and later on, that story gets made into a movie there will be much more people who start believing that a character is from a place they are not from or learn false information about them. For unit three I would like to make an article that discusses the issue with some sort of interactive features such as polls or surveys.
“What effects does whitewashing have on historical figures and the African American community?”
When I first heard of the term Whitewashing I thought it was about race, and while it is sometimes, it is not only that. I first heard about whitewashing when my highschool teacher talked about how The Hate U Give’s movie was different from the book and how they had to “whitewash” it for the more general audience. I instantly became interested in the topic but that was that. Over time whitewashing has been the back of my head, and I kept thinking of other things that are whitewashed. I started to notice things and people that are whitewashed and my interest grew even bigger.
While doing research I expect to find many historical figures who might have been whitewashed and I am looking forward to seeing who did and the reasons they were. I expect to find this because a lot of original stories and events are usually too graphic or may be considered to be inappropriate for some people. While I was doing my own research I found it interesting that there are other types of “washing” as well such as red washing, in which organizations, companies, etc, pretend to care about social equality in order to gain financially.
If while I’m doing research and I come across information that goes against what I had expected to find I would examine the information and see if I can use it in another claim or question this will save time and I would still be doing something I am interested in. If that’s not possible I would find a different topic which I hope doesn’t happen as it will be time-consuming and I might not find a topic that I am into such as this one.
Genres that I think would be a very good chance of providing me with good information would be non-fiction genres such as articles, as they would talk about new incidents and/or old ones, research papers or studies might have something that could be useful and well research, an autobiography or biography I think would be good to find the raw events or things that those people did.
Dunigan, Jonece Starr. “The Consequences of Whitewashing Black History.” Al, 1 Mar. 2019, www.al.com/news/2019/03/the-consequences-of-whitewashing-black-history.html.
In this article, the author, Jonece Dunigan, talks about how many of the legacies of the civil rights movement leaders, such as, Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks, are cherry-picked and more times than not leave information out. Dunigan points out that their images are watered-down to fit homes comfortably and become symbols of love and unity. When in fact they challenged white supremacy in uncomfortable and harsh ways. Dunigan points out some of the revolutionary people that contributed to the civil rights movement yet their name still is unknown in many places. People know of Rosa Parks as the woman that assisted of the end of segregation by refusing to go to the back of the bus, but rarely anyone knows about her investigating the sexual assaults and rapes of black women by white men years before she refused to give up her seat. The author also talks about the erasure of the groundbreaking existence of black gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender members such as, Bayard Rustin, who was left out of history books due to his sexuality and homophobia he received from both white and black activist.
I completely agree with this article and think more people should know of this information, not only does it affect black people but also many minorities alike. Dunigan says, “These stories may be uncomfortable to hear, but are necessary to recognize so we can stop the cycle of hate.” Without discomfort, there will never be change if these watered-down stories keep getting passed down to generations people will never want to change anything, because why would you want to change something that is not broken, right? Telling people stories of how black women would get raped by white men because they knew they would face no consequences would cause people to become uncomfortable. However “People ought to be uncomfortable.” I will need to delve into any of the people mentioned to make sure I do not forget about their contributions. If I can ask the author one question it would be, What motivates you to do journalism?
Jonece Dunigan is an active African American reporter for Birmingham News, she has a very tenacious and strong tone which can be heard throughout this article. She has published many similar articles in which she tackles issues of racism and activism which makes her aware of the target audience and is well informed about the topics she talks about.
Some of the quotes that stood out to me were
“We honor the image we made of Parks, but silenced the context of the racist interrogation she fought against.”
“When we don’t face the epidemic of racial injustices in our state’s and country’s past, it is bound to infect our future.”
Ikard, David. “The Real Story of Rosa Parks — and Why We Need to Confront Myths about Black History.” TED, Mar. 2018, www.ted.com/talks/david_ikard_the_real_story_of_rosa_parks_and_why_we_need_to_confront_myths_about_black_history.
In this TED talk, David Ikard, an African-American and culture studies professor, talks about his experience with his kids being taught whitewashed facts/ incorrect information about African American historical figures through the educational system. Elijah, his son, tells him what he learned about Rosa Parks at school, Elijah tells him that she was an old woman who had tired feet and that was the reason she refused to give up her seat. Ikard knowing that this information is wrong was not too impressed by what his son just said. Ikard tells his sons what Rosa Parks was actually like and tells him that he would buy him her autobiography so that he actually knows the real history of the events. Ikard then realizes that he has to go address this issue with Elijah’s teacher which he was not too enthusiastic about, then Elijah suggests an idea. He says that his school gave him a public speaking assignment and that he would like to take that chance to talk about this issue. When Ikard asks Elijah how it went he says that the teacher pulled him aside afterward and apologized, and the next day she decided to make a new lesson about rosa parks and fill the gaps she had left from the other lesson. Ikard was proud of his son but when he thought about it he got really angry because a nine-year-old should not be thinking about correcting and teaching his teacher about his own culture and instead he should be enjoying his childhood. He then talks about an incident that happened with his professor in graduate school, his professor had written a book about an event that happened in the 1960s. In the professor’s story, he talks about his maid which he saw crying because they had just assassinated Martin Luther King Jr. In the professor’s story he tells the maid that King’s death might actually lead to a good outcome, the morale of his story was that “even in the most harrowing times of race struggle that two people could come together across racial lines.” Ikard calls out the professor and asks him a couple of questions about the maid which the professor is unable to answer, then Ikard gets to his point saying that this story was not about the maid it was about the professor, that this story made the professor feel good thus he included it and that it was actually a misread situation.
David Ikard’s ted talk was very eye-opening and had a lot of good points in it. I agree with what he talked about especially his son’s experience with the educational system which fails to teach us important parts of history or tends to leave out parts or misinform students. “The only thing that she was tired of was she was tired of inequality. She was tired of oppression.” Here Ikard points out the true motive behind Rosa Parks refusing to give up her seat, unlike what some textbooks teach. If I could ask David Ikard a question I would ask him, what challenges does he face when talking about such issues?
David Ikard is very knowledgeable and he tries to reach a more general audience who may not relate to these issues, he tries to reach them because although they may not relate to the issue them knowing about these issues and trying to change them is important and it will affect their future and their kids’ future as well.
Quotes:
“my nine-year-old son had to educate his teacher about his history, had to educate his teacher about his own humanity.”
“young, radical black women who don’t take any stuff from anybody are very scary, who stand up to power and are willing to die for that — those are not the kind of people that make us comfortable.”
“Letter to the Editor: Elimination of BHM Is Myopic Whitewashing.” The Hofstra Chronicle, The Hofstra Chronicle, 12 Mar. 2016, www.thehofstrachronicle.com/archive-2016/letter-to-the-editor-elimination-of-bhm-is-myopic-whitewashing.
In this Letter to the Editor, the author talks about certain issues that the African American communities are suffering from. The author starts by talking about how the Amazonian rainforests and what is happening to them now and talks about how many people try to not pay any mind to it and how they try to relate other things to it in order to make that issue seem smaller than it actually is. Then the author says that the same thing is happening to the black communities except that their issues are way more serious and what is happening to them is very cruel. African Americans have been suffering since the beginning of this country’s existence and they still do. The author points out the existence of systematic racism by displaying different statistics in which black people are treated worse or neglected and these tragedies are usually whitewashed to seem less significant. The author talks about the stonewall riots and how that was largely thanks to the efforts of black trans women, yet this event is also whitewashed and the accomplishments are credited to white men. The author closes off by saying that Black History Month is a reminder to everyone, and it is not only a reminder of the tragedies they went through and still go through to this day, it is also a reminder of the many accomplishments they have achieved and their efforts to improve their lives which in turn improved our lives to.
I agree with what the author says, it is truly a shame how much pain black people have to suffer and their screams are continuously silenced by corporations and organizations whitewashing the events and spreading misinformation. “People of color are still in many ways second-class citizens in the United States, and the country still has a long way to go in recognizing both the forms of systematic racism that exist today.” This was the statement I agreed with the most, there are many incidents in which black people were done wrong and nothing is done about it. If I can ask the author anything I would ask them, what inspired them to write this? I want to do some research on the stonewall riots, I have not got the chance to learn about that yet.
“Pre-American history itself as taught in schools is also largely whitewashed, with little focus on African civilizations and their accomplishments.”
“Black History Month serves as a reminder to the white people of the United States such as myself that we owe an infinite debt to those that were and still are being subjugated at our benefit.”
Nelson, Kai. “Where’s the Representation?: The Impact of White Washing on Black Children.” Scholars Archive at Johnson & Wales University, 2015, scholarsarchive.jwu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1037&context=ac_symposium.
In this research paper, Kai Nelson talks about growing up as a black person and not seeing any representation of her race in media and how that affected her and how it can affect other black children. Nelson talks about how African Americans rarely appear in many forms of media, and even with they do appear they are only there to fit certain stereotypes that only worsen the image of African Americans. Young African Americans growing up with a lack of role models that look like them, and due to the stereotypical portrayal of black people in media, young African Americans are more likely to face, such as being targeted by law enforcement. In an experiment conducted by Kenneth and Mamie Clark, children were presented with, two dolls one white and one with dark brown complexion, the children were asked questions about the dolls, and most of them associated the positive traits/ answers to the white doll. Many movies have Black characters have a lesser standing than their white counterparts, for example, in the first Harry Potter there was a shot of 272 students, only seventeen were Black or people of color and only five were given names. Black body erasure is a large factor in how young Black children construct and perceive body image, it causes them to develop a mindset that their bodies and they themselves, are not good enough. Nelson states that As someone who identifies as Black, as a young girl, she wondered why she did not look like the little white girls on TV or in books. When she grew older, she began to resent that she did not look like the light-skinned, blond-haired models in all of the magazines and popular TV shows.
After reading this research paper I can say that I agree with what Kai Nelson talked about and the issues she discussed. Growing up is the most important part of a kid’s life and if they are not being represented or shown that their race is capable or is doing good things then they will grow up resenting who they are instead of embracing it. “There is a widely accepted notion that ‘White’ is the default race. Often there are all-white casts in movies, books, and shows.” This is true and is very wrong as it is not fair to minorities.
The author, Kai Nelson, is a black female who has observed the environment around her as she grew up, and the lack of representation of her race in media platforms made her resent the way she looks, which is very sad and no kid should feel that way.
“ Many people are completely unaware of the disproportionate representation of races, cultures, and skin tones.”
In this research, I found a lot of new important information that I may never have come across, learning more about this topic was an eye-opener. Many people live their lives not worried about how others feel or what they might be going through. This human nature we are often too wrapped in our own lives that we forget to take the time to absorb what is going on around us. I learned some stories about historical figures such as Rosa Parks, I also learned some names that have been buried away due to what they represent, including Bayard Rustin, who was left out of history books due to his sexuality and the homophobia he received from both white and black activist. I learned that some schools fill their students with misinformation and blatant lies, such as describing Rosa Parks as an old lady who had tired feet which is the opposite of what she was. I learned that companies and organizations try to shove information about how African Americans are mistreated and discriminated against under the rug. I learned that while whitewashing affects adults it is really the children of minorities that struggle the most, it can get as bad them growing up resenting who they are instead of embracing it. The lack of representation in minorities might not seem like it is of great importance but it plays a major part in the development of children and how they perceive the world and themselves. I was surprised to learn of the events that had great importance but are not talked about due to the fact that African Americans contributed the most to it, or the people are replaced with white people who did not contribute to it as much, such as the stonewall riots that were largely thanks to the efforts of black trans women. What I learned is important because it is a big issue that should not exist in the first place and it is depressing to think that African Americans and many other minorities have to go through that. I think that this issue should be dealt with as soon as possible, one of the first people that need to hear this are filmmakers, storytellers, and other media makers to make sure they do not continue this problem. The government and educational systems should also know about this issue in order to teach true history and provide accurate information.
Reviewer’s Memo
In this bibliography, I wrote about whitewashing and how it is an issue that affects the African American community. I hoped that this paper would raise more awareness about the issue and I wanted people to realize that it is an issue and it does not only happen to African Americans.
I feel confident about the project so far, I am most proud of myself for staying on task while doing this project and not getting distracted easily. I think I need help with making it easier to recognize when the source entry ends and when the next one starts.
Some questions I have for any readers are, Is there any part of this paper that you think did not fit into well? What did I do well? What Do I need to fix? What should I add on?
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