Category: Race

Introduction

Policies adopted in the education setting can be assumed to mean texts that have the potential to alter educational practices and learning outcomes. Although various policies have been used to influence the future direction of the sector and, by extension, social and national agendas (Bartram, 2021), not much effort has been made to understand the weaknesses of current systems, or how their evolution and adoption have helped to achieve their intended objectives, or not. Particularly, this observation is true for policies that have been developed to promote equality and inclusion in schools. For example, the UK Equality Act 2010, which was introduced as a substitute of the Race Relations Act 1976 was designed to prohibit all forms of discrimination based on people’s nationality, ethnicity, and color of their skin, but the same practices exist today (Educational Institute of Scotland, 2021). Race Relations Order 1997 also had a similar objective (AHE, 2021), but minimal efforts have been made to understand their impact, especially in the higher education sector.

This study is a research proposal aimed at understanding the efficacy of inclusive policies in promoting race relations in the UK higher education sector. The study is important because it will highlight the relationship and efficacy of national policies on higher education practices. By doing so, observers and students will understand the underlying intentions and motives of formulating policies aimed at promoting inclusion and diversity in schools. As suggested by Stephen (1993), these attempts at reconciliation will give education stakeholders a glimpse into the mind of policymakers. This way, students will be able to have an in-depth understanding of problems that affect their learning environment and how they could best address them. Broadly, the findings that will be formulated from the proposed research will be useful in providing important feedback needed to improve future education policies.

Background and Context of Study

The changing social, economic, and political environment around the world has been primarily brought by globalization and technological changes. In its wake is the growth of a revolutionary mindset that has emerged not only in political spheres but in the industry and education sectors as well (Welcomer, Haggerty and Sama, 2021; Bruff, 2021). It has prompted people to think of better ways of addressing contemporary social and educational problems. However, higher learning institutions in the UK are having a difficult time preparing their students to live in a race-neutral learning environment (UK Commission for Racial Equality, 2016). Nonetheless, to keep up with changing attitudes about race relations, higher education institutions must prepare students to compete in a race-neutral world.

Literature Review

The lasting impact of race and racism on societies has been well documented. However, in this literature review, the problem is presented from a structural analysis perspective with the UK higher education sector being the main context of analysis. It is used to highlight the link between race relations and education reform to support future policy improvements in the sector.

The link between Race Relations and Education Reform

Racism is a complex term, but it is commonly associated with biased behaviors aimed at groups of people based on the color of their skin (Educational Institute of Scotland, 2021). This practice has gone on for a long time and succeeded in dividing populations into various groups and categories that have eventually morphed into hierarchies that dominate society today (Bassel et al., 2021). The higher education sector has played a key role in promoting or propagating some of these ideas, particularly through the false notion of “race science” (AHE, 2021). Consequently, there is a growing push to overhaul existing systems and processes to have better outcomes.

Current developments about race relations in major western democracies are not a new phenomenon as countries have dealt with the problem in the past (Nurein and Iqbal, 2021). An article by Keating (2021) indicates that three major converging forces always conspire to create an environment where societies have to address this problem and he lists them as changes in demographic trends, emerging skill gaps, and economic shifts. Cumulatively, they can create conditions where groups of people hold on to their fundamental beliefs, regardless of what other people think, thereby threatening social cohesion.

Understanding Structural Racism in UK Higher Education

It is difficult to understand how racism operates in the higher education sector because the terminology is perceived from various legal, cultural, and social lenses. However, there is a growing consensus among educators and policymakers that the vice is a social construct perpetuated by society (Loftsdóttir, 2021). There is also a growing consensus among the same professionals that racism exists in UK society at a macro level (AHE, 2021). Based on logical reasoning, this realization would mean that the vice also exists in higher education institutions to some degree. This assumption is plausible because educational institutions are not immune from the vices of societies that support them in the first place (Sharma et al., 2021). This is why AHE (2021) says that “universities are institutionally racist spaces that have had a historic role in producing the knowledge that racism is based on” (p. 6). Consequently, it appears that education institutions are part of a social network that propagates the practice.

Racial inequalities have been reported to affect people through their experiences and outcomes. For example, in the educations sector, it has been reported in the allocation of awards and degrees, progression to post-graduate research, hate crime, underrepresentation of minorities in the school staff as well as curriculum development (Strand and Lindorff, 2021; Nurein and Iqbal, 2021). Existing practices that foster inequalities in higher education can be traced to the intersectionality of these factors through structures of dominance and inequality. Therefore, there is a need to unpack them and identify techniques of making existing policies more effective in addressing the problem.

Summary

This review shows that efforts have been made to improve race relations at a policy level but few researchers have bothered to understand the extent that existing policy structures have impacted the same relations. Particularly, the literature is almost silent on the impact that current policies have played in improving or worsening race relations today. This gap in the literature informs the current quest to understand the efficacy of inclusive policies in promoting race relations in the UK higher education sector.

Research Questions

1. Have policies on race relations impacted segments of the school population differently?
2. What aspects of race relations have been unaddressed by current policies?
3. What key assumptions underlie race relations in the UK higher education sector?

Research Design and Methodology

To recap, the objective of the proposed study is to understand the efficacy of inclusive policies in promoting race relations in the UK higher education sector. Data will be collected through a mixture of primary and secondary sources of information within a broader mixed methods analysis framework. The model is selected for use in the proposed study because the research topic contains qualitative and quantitative aspects of the investigation. For example, race relations is a subjective and emotive issue, thereby necessitating a qualitative assessment, while its effects are perceived quantitatively (Blaikie and Priest, 2018). Therefore, the framework of the mixed methods will allow the researcher to have a historical understanding of the cause and effect of existing policies on current race relations.

Method

As part of the mixed methods design, secondary research data will be obtained through a review of published materials for purposes of answering the research questions. The keywords used will be “policies,” “inclusive education,” “laws,” United Kingdom, and “Higher education.” The secondary research method is chosen for the proposed study because of the emphasis on policy. It will help the researcher to understand the historical background of various educational policies and their effects on the student population (Patten & Newhart, 2017). Therefore, this type of analysis will allow for a retroactive analysis of the research issue. Articles that will be included in the investigation are those that have been published within the past five years – from 2016 to 2021. Therefore, those that will not fall within this publication framework will be excluded from the investigation. Emphasis will be made to include credible sources of information, including books, journals, government publications, industry reports, and credible websites. These sources of information will be sourced virtually via reputable databases, including Emerald Insight, Research Gate, Sage Publications, and Springer.

Primary data will be collected using interviews as the main tool of data collection. This type of information will be obtained from the deans of various schools in the university because of their knowledge of school policies and education performance. Eight respondents will be recruited through a purposeful sampling method to give their views on the research issue. This sampling method will be employed because of the limited number of respondents who fit the profile described above (Gentles et al., 2016). Furthermore, the views of only a select few respondents will be sought because Stokes (2017), Sekaran and Bougie (2016) affirm that interviews should ideally sample the views of few people to obtain quality data.

Method of Analysis

“What is the Problem Presented” (WPR) will be used as the main data analysis technique. It stems from qualitative inquiry and promotes a post-structural understanding of the effects of laws and policies on organizations (Bacchi and Goodwin, 2016). The data analysis tool will be used in the proposed study because it offers the researcher an opportunity to engage in theorizing the main issues affecting the implementation of educational policies and their effects on the learning environment (Bacchi and Goodwin, 2016). This competency will help in advancing the analytical task of making politics visible in the educational setting. The data analysis method will also be instrumental in understanding how policies are presented and produced. The WPR approach will be employed in the proposed study by prompting the research to answer fundamental questions regarding the data collected, including evaluating what the problem is presented to be, the underlying assumptions supporting its existence, effects of its representation, and how its content or influence is reproduced over time. One of the major limitations of this study is that the policy analyzed may not perfectly reflect the reality in the school setting.

Ethical Issues

The proposed study will involve the collection of both primary and secondary data. This dual technique of data collection has several ethical implications for the study. For example, the use of published data will require that the researcher properly attribute the sources to their original authors to avoid plagiarism (Kara, 2016). Additionally, emphasis will be made to only include research materials that can be freely available online to avoid infringing on copyrighted materials that do not grant permission for public use of their content. The use of human subjects in the collection of primary data will require that the information they give is presented anonymously and confidentially, as recommended by Robson and McCartan (2016). Similarly, the participants who will take part in the study will be allowed to do so voluntarily.

Research Timeline

Given that the proposed study will have both qualitative and quantitative elements in data collection, it is expected to take up to nine weeks to complete the research process and present its findings. In the first week, the researcher will undertake preliminary research to understand key variables that need to be addressed in the investigation. This process will pave the way for the collection of data, which will happen in the second week while synthesizing the same information will be undertaken in the subsequent two weeks to allow for the formulation of the final report and a presentation of the findings which will happen in the last six weeks of the study. The various stages of data processing are outlined in Table 1 below.

Table 1. Gantt Chart (Source: Developed by Author)

Reference List

AHE. (2021). Understanding structural racism in UK higher education: an introduction. Web.

Bacchi, C. and Goodwin, S. (2016) Poststructural policy analysis. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.

Bartram, D. (2021) ‘Does the UK ‘citizenship process’ lead immigrants to reject British identity? A panel data analysis’, Ethnicities, 21(2), pp. 375-394.

Bassel, L. et al. (2021) ‘Naturalization policies, citizenship regimes, and the regulation of belonging in anxious societies’, Ethnicities, 21(2), pp. 259-270.

Blaikie, N. and Priest, J. (2018) Designing social research: the logic of anticipation. London: Polity.

Bruff, I. (2021) ‘Moving to new generational beats: lived experiences of capitalism, student-led (re)makings of knowledge, and the evolution of critical research agendas’, Capital and Class, 7(2), 659-677.

Educational Institute of Scotland. (2021) Anti-racist policy guidelines. Web.

Gentles, S. J. et al. (2016) Reviewing the research methods literature: principles and strategies illustrated by a systematic overview of sampling in qualitative research. Systematic Reviews, 5(172), pp. 1-12.

Kara, H. (2016) Creative research methods in the social sciences: a practical guide. New York, NY: Policy Press.

Keating, A. (2021) ‘Mobility for me but not for others: the contradictory cosmopolitan practices of contemporary white British youth’, Sociology, 4(2), pp. 1-11.

Loftsdóttir, K. (2021) ‘An alternative world: a perspective from the North on racism and migration’, Race and Class, 62(4), pp. 38-52.

Nurein, S. A. and Iqbal, H. (2021) ‘Identifying a space for young black Muslim women in contemporary Britain’, Ethnicities, 7(2), pp. 128-139.

Patten, M. L. and Newhart, M. (2017) Understanding research methods: an overview of the essentials. London: Taylor and Francis.

Robson, C. and McCartan, K. (2016) Real-world research. 4th edn. London: Wiley.

Sekaran, U. and Bougie, R. (2016) Research methods for business: a skill-building approach. 7th edn. London: John Wiley and Sons.

Sharma, G. et al. (2021) ‘A paradox approach to societal tensions during the pandemic crisis’, Journal of Management Inquiry, 30(2), pp. 121-137.

Stephen J. B. (1993) ‘What is policy? Texts, trajectories and toolboxes’, The Australian Journal of Education Studies, 13(2), pp. 10-17.

Stokes, P. (2017) Research methods. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

Strand, S. and Lindorff, A. (2021) ‘Ethnic disproportionality in the identification of high-incidence special educational needs: a national longitudinal study ages 5 to 11’, Exceptional Children, 87(3), pp. 344-368.

UK Commission for Racial Equality. (2016) Framework for a race equality policy for schools. Web.

Welcomer, S. A., Haggerty, M. E. and Sama, L. M. (2021) ‘Management education in a “post-truth” world: critical theory’s contribution to addressing disruptions to learning and communication’, Journal of Management Education. 9(2), pp. 320-345.

The educational process in schools can be a place where racist and other intolerant attitudes of parents are passed on to minority children. Even in modern Western higher education, bias and prejudice are common perceptions of Black and East Asian students (Moosavi, 2022). To trace the origins of such a behavior, it is illustrative to discuss Nancy Foner’s writings about waves of migration in New York. The main argument about the interconnection of race, education, and myth-making will be depicted in the example of Jews students.

The atmosphere in New York in the 1910s and 1920s was full of discrimination against Jews because of their alleged inferiority. There were plenty of forms of open discrimination in employment, access to different parts of the city, and education (Foner, 2008). In universities, colleges, and medical schools administration set special quotas on Jewish people, limiting their enrollment opportunities (Foner, 2008). Even after officials restricted open discrimination, educational facilities continued to use tacit ways of limiting the number of Jews. This example shows how the myth about the inferior status of Jews influenced their opportunities to attain the education they wanted.

Another form of myth about Jews is related to their learning achievements. Many Russian Jews who immigrated to New York did not know English and had to enter levels in which they were the oldest in class (Foner, 2008). In addition, Foner (2008) indicates that education did not allow them to leap to the middle class. Despite these problems, many Americans did not appreciate cultural differences and wanted to “make Americans out of immigrant greenhorns” (Foner, 2008, p. 206). Greenhorns was a derogatory word used to describe a deteriorating place in the society of immigrants like Italians and Jews. As a result, although Jews experienced great difficulties in accommodating to new realities, they faced many myths about their success in New York’s schools. Many students, seeing as white, spoke black about the Jews, trying to justify their failures.

References

Foner, N. (2008). From Ellis Island to JFK: New Yorks two great waves of immigration. Yale University Press.

Moosavi, L. (2022). The myth of academic tolerance: The stigmatisation of East Asian students in Western higher education. Asian Ethnicity, 23(3), 484-503.

Introduction/Thesis Statement

The study aims at critically evaluating the role that has been played by the filming industry in creating the American history. The paper contrast the coverage the industry has given the white Americans with that of the Native Americans. The paper will identify how the white Americans have corrupted the Native American’ culture and then draw a conclusion from this study.

The misrepresentation of the Native American culture in the commercial cinemas in the United States has occurred on the basis of context and motivation. In so many cinemas, the Native Americans culture has been filmed, but the scenes are devoid of the true Native American spirit.

The scenes negate the actual practices of the Native Americans. This is because the films are produced to relay the cultural practices of the Native Americans, but they are watched by people who don’t understand them. Therefore, this leaves the audience to come up with individual judgments concerning the themes that the film makers desire to convey to them.

Over the years, Hollywood and other film producers have used the film industry as the yard stick of corrupting the Native American culture. This has been achieved through the continued effort by film directors’ attempt to implant the Euro-American values and practices into the natives.

They have continuously used white actors as the leading characters in narrating storylines meant to illustrate the lives to the natives. In their ideas, the movie-makers purport to give an accurate lifestyle of the natives, but in the actual sense they coerce their own ideas and cultural practices to the Indian people. For instance, in the movie “A Man Called a Horse” Richard Harris through the cultural initiation process that is deemed primitive by a majority of the Euro Americans endures the “pain” like the Native Americans.

He takes part in all the cultural practices of the natives Americans in the film after which he will be accepted as one of them. This illustrates the European egocentric views that they are better than the Native Americans even in their own cultural practices. These egocentric ideologies are of the opinion that the Native Americans should adopt the Euro-American monolithic culture.

The Statement that brings the author’s opinion on the relational roles of the Native Americans and the Euro-Americans in the country’s history completely reverses the role. Those who stole the North American continent in the films are illustrated as the victims of phantom aggression from the Native Americans.

This statement by the author connotes that the Native Americans are leading players in the film industry in the US and therefore, the white Americans have relentlessly discerned to ape the natives in making films to bring out the cultural practices of the natives. In this case, the natives ironically are the leading key players and they have trumped over their captors and masters.

Summary

It is evident that the filming industry has played a key role in perpetuating the wrong impression in regard to the cultural practices of the Native Americans. Through its actors and directors, the industry has played a role in trying to undermine the Native Americans. Therefore, it is prudent to conclude that the filming industry has been a major of creator of the perceptions affixed to perceived primitivism of the Indian-American culture in the eyes of the rest of America.

The Hispanic Americans represent various different ethnic groups that are related through a common language and cultural heritage. These groups were heavily influenced by Spaniards who were their earlier colonizers. This essay is a response to Martin Marger’s chapter entitled, “Hispanic Americans” from the book titled, Race and Ethnic Relations: American and Global Perspective.

The essay will focus on Mexican Americans who are the largest group of Hispanic Americans. I agree with the author’s argument that initial migration of the Mexicans into the American society was because of conquests in wars while subsequent movements were voluntary.

The Mexican war which resulted in the independence of Mexico from Spain in 1810 was the cause of annexation of a large territory of Mexico. The Texas colony which was under limited control of the Mexican government revolted between 1835 and 1836 in search of independence.

Although Mexico was opposed to annexation of Texas, the Americans supported it. This resulted in the Texas war between Mexico and America with disastrous impact to Mexico which lost almost half of its territory. Therefore, Mexican immigration was as a result of both Texas and Mexican wars in which Mexico lost.

The author claims that the original immigration of the Mexicans to America was because America triumphed in these wars. He goes further to say that the original number of Mexican immigrants was small (about 75,000). Majority of the Mexican Americans entered as voluntary immigrants motivated by similar factors that affect other immigrant groups.

According to Marger (2008, p.309), “flow of Mexican immigration during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries was dictated primarily by the labor needs of the American Southwest”. I agree with the author that the initial movement of the Mexicans was small compared to the massive movement that was spurred by demand for cheap labor.

Although there is the evidence that significant Mexican migration happened during the reminder of the nineteenth century, massive migration of the Mexicans to America occurred in the twentieth century. This was in response to labor needs spurred by the rapid expansion of American Southwest. The massive migration also corresponded to the insufficiencies in the Mexican economy.

The author also asserts that the pressure of a growing population and political destabilization brought about by the Mexican Revolution in 1910 could have further fueled the migration. The development of various labor-intensive industries including railroads and agriculture contributed to the great movement of the Mexicans into the United States.

The author presents a strong argument that majority of Mexican Americans migrated into the United States out of free will. He also argues that the political instability that resulted from Texas war, Mexican war, and the Mexican revolution also contributed to massive migration of the Mexican people.

The labor shortage in America that resulted from rapid development of various industries such as Agriculture and railway was another reason for massive movements of Mexicans into the United States.

In conclusion, Marger’s view point that majority of the Mexican Americans migrated out of their free will is true. I fully concur with the author that the annexation of Mexico after the Texas and Mexican wars resulted in significant movement of the Mexicans into the United States.

However, the largest share of Mexican Americans migrated out of their own free will. This voluntary migration was spurred by factors such as shortage of labor force in America and dismal performance of the Mexican economy.

Works cited

Marger, Martin. “Hispanic Americans”. Race and Ethnic Relations: American and Global Perspective. Belmont, California: Wadsworth Publishing, 2008. 221-223,225-244.Print.

Introduction

The concept of race plays a crucial role in human history and remains one of the most frequent sources of conflict. The current use of the word “race” creates a significant discord among researchers and modern society. This essay will discuss the origins and the current usage of this term to explain why it is appropriate to use it only as a social attribute.

The Usage Of Race In Biology

The word race initially came from biological studies as a hierarchical rank. The studies of the human genome in the past led to a belief that race is a constant that defines a set of characteristics to which an individual of this race will be predisposed (Meloni 390). However, this notion has been since discredited, as the paradigm of stability of a genome has been discontinued due to the studies that show how a multitude of factors outside of genetic heredity affect it (Meloni 390).

The Usage Of Race In Sociology

Nowadays, the term “race” is used primarily as a social construct. Throughout human history, race has been used to separate people into categories, which were often divided into oppressed and oppressors (Go 442). Races have their historical bases in systems that were fueled by social developments (Go 446). Cultures that stem from different races are the reason why people were separated in this way, not otherwise.

Differences Between Two Concepts

The primary reason for the term race to remain viable only as a social construct is that races were used to indicate different communities, which led to the creation of significant cultural differences. As the race in genetics lost its weight, it remains widely used in social sciences to determine one’s cultural identity. For example, it remains a largely accurate way to describe one’s ethnical background.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the concept of race remains useful in sociological studies but has lost its meaning in biology. Predispositions towards a particular behavior are not created by a human genome. Instead, a complex web of social influences affects parameters previously attributed to a race on a biological level.

Works Cited

Go, Julian. “Postcolonial Possibilities for the Sociology of Race.” Sociology of Race and Ethnicity, vol. 4, no. 4, 2018, pp. 439-451.

Meloni, Maurizio. “Race in an epigenetic time: thinking biology in the plural.” The British Journal of Sociology, vol. 68, no. 3, 2017, pp. 389-409.

Introduction

Race refers to how individuals differentiate other people for social or biological reasons. A social construct is an idea created and accepted by many people in the society. After reading and listening to Dolezal’s story, my initial reaction was filled with some questions. They were if Rachel Dolezal could actually choose her race or what made her feel better identifying as a black woman and not just appreciating the black culture. Rachel Dolezal has repeatedly invoked the concept of race as a social construct (Morning, 2017). She consistently defends her identity with a race different from that of her biological parents. However, the identity of a person is not what they are born biologically.

Discussion

In my honest opinion, I agree with Rachel Dolezal that race is a social construct since there is no race gene that exists and can be retrieved and referred to as somebody’s race. After listening to Rachel Dolezal’s story, it is evident that she is a person who turns the existing racial categories to her advantage. Rachel also rejects the widespread beliefs regarding the criteria used in racial categorization (Dolezal & Reback, 2017). Hence, the concept of race as a social construct it is human-invented and was also created to identify physical differences between people. However, it has been used as a tool for violence and oppression worldwide.

When a topic concerning race or gender is raised, the context of that conversation is apparent. There might be cases where it is hard to tell what gender or race a person is, but it is easy for an individual to assign another a race. Nevertheless, it is sometimes vague when someone says they are white contrary to their physical appearance. Rachel Dolezal insists that she is a black woman, even after her parents say and proving otherwise. She is a perfect example of a race eliminativist who insists that the topic of race is very vacuous and that no one is either black or white despite their skin color. According to Orbe, Rachel Dolezal is black because she identifies as a black woman (Orbe, 2016). Her claim for that identity was authentic since people are now getting used to the fact that a sense of belonging or racial affiliation can change in various situations.

Dolezal goes to the extent of lying to explain what it means for race to be a social construct. Her decision to lie about her identity and those of her parents led to many issues with everyone. She was a white lady who claimed her parents were African American and their adopted son was also theirs. This was farfetched because she was the president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, whose mission is to secure the social, political, economic, and educational quality of rights (Bey & Sakellarides, 2016). This was to help people from all walks of life deal with discrimination and ensure their health was considered. Rachel Dolezal did not have to lie about her racial ethnicity, even if it was a social construct. This is because their mission as the NAACP was to deal with and prevent discrimination. Moreover, they had a vision of ensuring every individual in the society had equal rights and that they had eliminated discrimination based on race.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Rachel Dolezal’s controversy significantly described race as a social construct since her race varied over time. She was born white, which her parents proved through her birth certificate, but she later identified as a black woman. She identified as a black woman because that is what she felt she was. However, she did not have to lie about the identity of her parents or her adopted brother. Trying to convince people about her views on race and why she identified as a black woman would have worked in all aspects. For instance, it would have worked in line with her career as the president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

References

Bey, M., & Sakellarides, T. (2016). When we enter: The blackness of Rachel Dolezal. The Black Scholar, 46(4), 33-48. Web.

Dolezal, R., & Reback, S. (2017). In full color: Finding my place in a black and white world. BenBella Books, Dolezal.

Morning, A. (2017). Race and Rachel Doležal. Contexts, 16(2), 8-11. Web.

Orbe, M. P. (2016). The Rhetoric of race, culture, and identity: Rachel Dolezal as co-cultural group member. Journal of Contemporary Rhetoric, 6(2), 11-25.

The advent of the internet as a communication tool brought with it promises of equality and fairness as far as racial, religious and ethnic boundaries are concerned. Many considered it as a platform that will guarantee equality by enabling strangers and people of diverse cultural, religious and racial backgrounds to interact together in a rather harmonious manner. However, the recent developments, as portrayed by some social sites, have indicated otherwise.

It is increasingly being observed that individuals belonging to the same race are clustering on certain social media websites. A case in point is the racial distribution of the micro blogging website Twitter. Although this social website seems to encompass users from all races, a closer look shows that the Hispanic and the African American audiences form the majority of the users.

These groups are also equally on the rise with regards to their commitment to the site. Another social site, the Pinterest.com, boasts of more than ninety per cent of white users from the United States. On the other hand, the Tumbir.com has witnessed a steady rise of the Asian Americans in the recent times. Even though the social media has become a crucial communication tool, it is highly divided on racial grounds.

All these said and done, there is an interesting twist to this. The claim that the social media is divided by race could be farfetched and also lacks the truth in it. This is owed to the fact that very few individuals commit themselves to creating these divisions. Up to now, there is yet to be a social media site that is created by the sole intention of representing a particular division within the society.

The truth of the matter is that the divisions that exist within humans are as a result of their own creations but they rarely pin down to the color of the skin. Some of these social media sites that have been victims to condemnations of racial divisions are actually serving other purposes.

For instance, the Pinterest.com is composed of mostly females and mothers who benefit from the online site as a platform of putting up images of the things that they consider most favorite. It is worthwhile to note that it is normal to find busy mothers attracted to Pinterest.com because of its easier pin as compared to Tumblog or blog. This worked in favor of the Pinterest.com, which grew through invitations. Mothers therefore found out new members on whose mindset they shared.

The dominance of the membership of the Pinterest.com by the white race could only be attributed to the consequence of the place of birth and growth of the social media site. A more credible argument concerning the Pinterest.com should be the sexuality of the dominant gender of the users and not the race.

Apparently, more than seventy per cent of the users are females. The contents of this blogging site are feminist in nature and the audiences being centered on are females. Based on these scenarios, it is therefore apt to argue that the social media site, Pinterest.com, is more divided along the gender lines with sexist themes than the alleged racial boundaries.

The growth of Twitter among the African Americans and the US Hispanics is also not a deliberate thing. It can be attributed to several factors and it should first be noted that most smart phones and cell phones that are possessed by residents of these areas contain Twitter as one of the applications. This makes their handsets reliable for tweeting at any given time. It is also important to note that Twitter does not disclose the race of the user.

This makes the claim that the blacks and the Hispanics to be the dominant race on twitter invalid. Nobody chooses to join a social media site because other members of his or her race belong to it. Therefore, social media sites are not platforms of racial divisiveness. Similarly, the social media site, Tumblor, which is synonymous with the Asians is only so because they use it to discuss pertinent issues, which affects them like culture.

This therefore makes it a cultural issue, not a racial one. The social media has contributed in positioning some races in certain strategic prejudicial locations in the global society. During the 1950s and 1960s, black people were astoundingly positioned as the social problems, because of the development of some documentaries during those times. The problem was orchestrated by the need to offer the black immigrants to Britain housing, jobs and the social ills that came with their arrival such as crime, prostitution and congestions.

On the contrary, the social media sites have helped suppress some social barriers. Thanks to these sites, there have been more frequent interactions across various races. Unlike in the past, where only a cliché of the elite were allowed to own and use the digital media devices, today the devices are relatively cheaper and accessible.

Moreover, frequent mobilizations and empowerment have ensured that even the minority and marginalized groups of people access the devices. The impact of this is that information has been able to travel into all corners of the world within split of seconds thereby increasing the interactions.

The media has also come with a new mode of representation that is exhibited by people of different ethnicities. The adoption of communication technology by different ethnic groups in the world has a number of variations. These variations cause differences that emanate from a number of factors. To begin with, it is important to understand ethnicity to include such diversifications as cultural practices, racial orientations, the national originality and the socioeconomic variables.

It is also worthwhile to note that the adoption of technology has very little to do with formal education because of the dynamics that therein. Conversely, the possession of income plays an important role in the adoption of technology. This is attributed to the empowerment to purchase such technological equipments as computers, satellite dishes, VCRs and the cable televisions (Dupagne and Salwen 25).

The representation of news and ideas in the social media has helped portray the social lives of groups of people across the globe. Their mindsets and opinions are formed and shaped by what they receive from the social media. This catapults the importance of the ethnical or racial representation of the news and ideas from the social media since it has the potential of affecting the manner in which certain ethical groupings distinguish things or are perceived.

Different ethnic groups represent themselves in different ways in the media. On the other hand, different media firms have unique and predetermined ways of representing various ethnic groups especially those ethnicities from the minority cultures. Normally, these representations are characterized by cultural dominance undermining. In addition, the kinds of the representations exhibited by the media lack equality and knowledge of their identities (Mainsah 183).

When left on their own, different ethnicities would use the social media to not only represent themselves but also to articulate their ideologies with regard to the perceptions within their context. These ideologies, in most cases, are the natural motivations within which a given ethnic group finds a common sense of purpose that pertains to the political and social leanings. Their representations within these contexts enable them to be classified into appropriate categories of race and culture.

By the very fact that the media has the ability of controlling and shaping the beliefs and attitudes of a population, some ethnic groups are notorious in intimidating other ethnic groups through the use of the media. A case in point is the use of televisions to represent some ethnic minorities such as the non whites in America.

For instance, the conservative cultures that inhabit the Amazon forests have always been represented by the media as being backward and primitive. In essence the attitudes and beliefs of the whites towards these minority group of people have been mostly so. They too believe that indeed these are primitive ethnic groups as opposed to them, who are civilized. By this, the media has contributed to the formation of the attitude of looking down upon an ethnic civilization by a selected mass through ideological motivation (Arora 87).

Some ethnic groups have also adopted some rare but chilling forms of representation in the media. For instance, the black people, who are Afro-Caribbean, often portray themselves as gangsters and criminals. These acts of violence and crimes are hugely demonstrated in the videos and songs that are composed and sang by this culture. This has impacted on the stereotyping against them by the whites who consider them as reckless, irresponsible and violent.

Apparently, the media has the power to determine and dictate the kind of representation a particular ethnic group wants to disseminate to the public. While it can be true that some black neighborhoods are full of criminal and violent activities, it is also true that most black people are in pursuit of moral uprightness and are committed to the transformation of the society into a more prosperous destination. It is needless to say that the president of the United States of America is black.

However, the media will rarely report any progressive news about this minority ethnic group because of the stereotype that has always described the group. It is important to note that more of these stereotyping is orchestrated by the ethnic group themselves. For reason best known to them, this ethnic group has found it wise to identify themselves with negative attributes.

Actually, all these attributes are depicted in the media for all to see and judge. Stereotyping has contributed to the subordination of certain ethnic groups in accordance with the white ideological hegemony. In yet another focus, the black people have always identified themselves or rather their underdeveloped nature to be closeness with nature. In retro respect, the whites were associated with civilization through the media.

This further promotes the kind of stereotypical representation, which characterizes boils down to racial discourses. The television media is also known to have adopted and perpetuated some seemingly cultural way of life of the blacks from the earlier films which portrayed them as contented slaves, entertainers and the noble savage.

Through the actions of the television media, the white viewers have been fed to the preconceptions of the way of life expected of the blacks. This kind of subjugation is what makes the media an important tool in the perpetuation of stereotypical actions (Ryan 201).

Another important minority group consists of the disabled people. Apparently, these individuals have had to undergo untold forms of discrimination and sufferings due to their physical state. In order to reverse this trend, some of the people who belong to this minority group have made efforts to come together and use the media to articulate their issues and concerns in a bid to communicate to the public their issues. One such media destination is the internet.

The internet has provided a platform for the disabled people to participate in online discussions with themselves and the non disabled internet users. In such media, they do realize that their physical constraints are made more flexible in addition to establishing their own identities. In addition, the internet also boosts their chances of accessing the most useful information concerning the appropriate care that is required of them.

This is a shot in the arm to this minority group since they are mostly limited and restricted to move in search of such pieces of information from physical locations. The internet also allows the disabled people to connect online and this necessitates the flourishing of their culture online because they are able to connect with one another no matter where the other comes from and the level of impairment and mobility that characterizes them. However, not all this is a bed or roses.

The internet, on the other hand, has exposed some disabled people to more abuse and harassment from either fellow or non disabled internet users. Worse still, a good number of digital technology systems tend to legitimize the oppression of the disabled people by offering discriminatory services to the non disabled users only.

Further the media being highly commercialized tend to apt for the mainstream voices who boasts of more cash compared to the disabled minorities. In the same breath, most of the websites meant for disabled are normally characterized by the pleas for charity.

This in a way makes them less attractive as compared to the mainstream internet websites. One other shortcoming of the internet lies in its diversification into relaying messages and information in the form of graphics, animation, text, video and audio. This has the potential of leaving out the disabled people who have the hearing, visual and mobility impairments (Mcgonagle 287).

The Asian people as an ethnic group have also used the media to perpetuate portions of their values and norms. Apparently, some of these values and norms defy the normal ways of family interactions. Subsequently they have subjected themselves to immense prejudices from the mainstream media.

The media, in essence, have always conveyed the Asian families as being so insensitive and overbearing thereby forcing their daughters to participate in predetermined marriages deprived of love. They are also portrayed as wealthy billionaires whose occupancy of the western world is because of their wealth and nothing else, not brains.

This is indeed a subjugation of an ethnic group by the media. Still, in Asia, some terrorist groups have used the media and the internet to offer threats or claim responsibilities from the terrorist activities that have been conducted in a given part of the world. The impact of this is that the rest of the

World has always associated terrorist activities with the Muslim world. This, in turn, does a lot of reputational damages to the non terrorist Asian citizens.

Other regions of the world where reports of biased representation of the minority groups have immensely been witnessed include France, Finland, Netherland and Germany. The United Kingdom, on the other hand, is said to be awash with enough policies to help curb this vice. Speculations are, however, rife that this is just in paper. In France, for instance, the citizens who hail from North America are required to submit their representation with the French audiovisual media that belongs to the French majority.

This is a gesture aimed at alleviating the prevailing discrimination that arises from the media industry. Such efforts include encouraging the minorities to seek efforts within the media industry in a bid to enhance fairness and representation equitably (Mcgonagle 290).

Online discussion board participation and identity and multiculturalism have also been exhibited in the media in various forms. Online discussion, normally, consists of various rubrics upon which conversations are held as the fresh discussion topics or new threads are added. A user must first register to become a member after which he or she can post reactions to threads or even initiate new threads.

The online discussion boards serve an important purpose of integrating different cultures amongst the participants in addition to preserving their identities. They provide an opportunity to the participants to share and discuss things that could otherwise be difficult to talk about on face to face value. Besides, they are avenues of showcasing the identity of the users which they explicitly portray with regards to the discussion of an important context (Stokes and Reading 219).

The participation in the online discussion board brings forth the cross cultural exchanges amongst the participants in various aspects. When they take part in such discussions, they get to combine their religions with ethnicity in an expression of differentiation. By posting their photos in such forums the participants are able to tell their identities and that of their countries. For instance, a participating Muslim female student might want to post a photo of her wearing a headscarf. This is in itself an indication that the participant is from an Islamic background of which she is proud of. This could be helpful in informing fellow participants at a glance, some of whom might be interested in learning some Islamic teachings or sharing the same with her.

The online discussion forums are also instrumental in the exploration of divergent personal trajectories by the participants. Users have the opportunity to infuse what they learn outside the internet and share it with the online friends. People of diverse backgrounds such as race, class and gender can participate in a flat discussion and interaction through sharing of ideas. Offline power relations are normally propelled online. This has also helped some users to locate and find life partners in marriages.

It also helps participants to work together on projects and in essence maximizes learning process. In addition, it ensures that the participants assume responsibility and participate in active learning in conformity with the expectation of the regular learning in the online discussion. For students, it ensures that all of them participate by not only interacting with their lecturers but also engaging their peers in content exchange and negotiations (Reitz, Breton and Dion 23).

The cultural identities were reproduced or contested in the process of self-presentation in various ways through civilizations. The reproduction of cultural identities can be attributed to a variety of events ranging from the historical background of a community to the community’s way of life. Some cultural identities were reproduced through the activities of the colonialists such the colonial expansion and the economic imperatives on their subjects of colony.

Yet, some other cultural identities were imposed by use of force by other established cultures that considered themselves civilized. In essence, they suppressed the local cultures and values together with the norms of life. The cultural identity of any society can further be understood through the examination of the political economy and the institutions.

The conceptualization of culture in anthropological ways provides the means through which the cultural practices offer meanings. Apparently culture is by description an act of giving meaning to life and its ways. These meanings are not theoretical but rather practically demonstrated by people. Hence, the cultural practices of a given group of people. This meaning makes culture to be a thing, not of possession but something that is practiced.

Another important cultural identity practice is nationalism; the national and cultural identity is a sure means of uniting the citizens of a given nation and culture within the boundaries of a given territory. However, this political status quo that is hence formed can in turn be challenged by cultural institutions.

When dissident voices such as the civil society, marginalized women and other minority groups within a given cultural and national territory participate in challenging the national status quo, they are contributing to the development of the culture of the given nation. Apparently, these opposing groups will always oppose the culture adopted by the nation, which they feel does not serve the common good of the country (Stuart 108).

The digital media can be used as a vehicle for identity formation in some unique ways. The use of the digital media has been on the increase over the past few decades. This could be attributed to reasons such as efficiency, reliability and in some cases easier portability. According to the Deloitte & Touché, thirty eight per cent of the population of the United States watches the television shows online while thirty six percent use the mobile handsets as devices for entertainment.

Another forty five per cent are reported to be using their digital devices to create online contents such as videos, blogs and websites. All these uses involve the sharing of information across a diversified composition of the audiences. The audiences and the disseminators of the information must therefore strive to preserve their identities (Steinberg 305).

The identity formation by the digital media can be achieved through participating in online discussions, writing web content in the internet, commenting on various topics on news blogs such as BBC and CNN, writing online magazines and posting various updates on both Twitter and Facebook. By so doing, the user is likely to set his or her authority by stating a firm view point which in most cases is influenced by his or her social setting or historical background.

Digital media devices such as Smartphone, iPod Touch, e-readers and tablets have some unique applications that enable users to easily interact through chats and updates, photo upload and many others. A user can use this opportunity to convey particular information or upload a photo that portrays his or her cultural identity. By doing this he is developing and forming an identity. The kind of identity could be the type of attire the user prefers and the language of use (Spencer 129).

Ethnic Minority and Visibility and Digital Media

Many ethnic minorities have been victims of invisibility by media companies registered in their host countries. A case in point is the way the France media covers issues that pertains to its extra citizens. Not only are they given very rare airtime but very few of the television journalist are from the blacks, Arabs and Asian origins.

A more sober take to this scenario is that persons from all races must be accorded equal representation so that they too can feel and enjoy a sense of belonging similar to their fellow citizens of color. Apparently, the television media holds an important position in life since it exhibits the cultural, social and domestic environment.

It is therefore unnecessary for the television stations to purport that the models conveyed create identification problems to the minority citizens. The very fact that the minority ethnic groups do not see the models in their television sets that resemble them is tantamount to killing their self esteem (Burd, Drucker and Gumpert 283).

Furthermore, the digital media should be tasked with playing a cohesive role in a society. Therefore, when they poorly or negatively represent a minority ethnic group in their television, they are only contributing to dividing that nation. This will lead to resentments towards that media station besides fueling incitements towards the minority ethnic groups by the mainstream citizens.

The only way this situation can be reversed is through adopting equal and fair representation of all races regardless of the positions and the numbers they constitute within the population. Inclusion of the minority tribes in employment by the media industries is also a good way of addressing this.

Considering the fact that most media stations are for commercial purposes, it is important to note that even people from the minority tribes are consumers of the advertised goods and services within the media stations. For instance, a television station that does not give fair representation to the Asians in Europe assumes that all the people from that continent should not purchase the products being advertised.

This has a negative consequence to the business community and the social interactions of the nation. The visibility or lack of the minority ethnic groups within the digital media must be addressed by bringing everybody on board. Everybody here include both the perpetrators and the victims.

It must never be assumed that all the minority groups lack visibility or experience invisibility due to deliberate oppressions from the mainstream groups. Some minority groups actually love to take part is some activities that portray in negative light. For instance, some of the African Americans living in Europe mostly like to Americanize themselves by associating in weird behaviors and activities.

To the other minority ethnic groups like school children who might be experiencing problems with enough visibility of the digital media, empowerment and demonstrations may be the only way to go. School going students are the favorites because through the media, their behavior and creativity can be developed. The visual representation in this digital age should be done in such a way that it encompasses and takes care of the needs of the almost forgotten minority groups.

For the communities that are yet to receive the full access of some advanced and yet technical digital media devices, simple improvise can be made to bridge the gap. As a motivational factor and to fulfill the hunger for digital technology, schools that are located in remote areas can be involved in such projects as digital imaging. Participants will feel the impacts and assume the ownership of the project (Abbott and Shaikh 458).

In order to successfully achieve this, there are a number of measures that should be put in place to ensure that the goals are met. The students should be encouraged to integrate creativity into learning within their curriculum through the use of digital technology. This provides utmost motivation and inspiration. The improvised technological devices made by students not only enhance creativity but also help in decision making and responsibility assumption by the students.

Moreover the success of such projects further motivates the partisans. Needless to say, most technological devices have the rooms for corrections since one can always delete unwanted applications. This is also a stronger motivational drive to the students. In addition, it strengthens the student (De-Leeuw and Rydin 452).

Conclusion

As much as the social media has improved and revolutionized the communication industry, there are some concerns on the racial divisions within this area. For example, the number of African-Americans and Hispanics using Twitter is so high in spite of the fact that they were for a long time absent in the television scene and other conventional media platforms.

Although there are many positive things about social media, racial segregation is a great problem that should be addressed given that it could spark huge problems in the future. However, the problems linked to the social media revolution cannot overshadow the gains that it has brought to the world as a whole.

Works Cited

Abbott, Chris, and Alim Shaikh. “Visual Representation in the Digital Age: Issues Arising from a Case Study of Digital Media Use andRepresentation by Pupils in Multicultural School Settings.” Language and Education 19.6 (2008): 455-466. Print.

Arora, Ranjit K. Race and Ethnicity in Education. Edinburgh: Ashgate Publishing, 2005. Print.

Burd, Gene, Susan J. Drucker, and Gary Gumpert. The Urban Communication Reader. Cresskill: Hampton Press, 2007. Print.

De-Leeuw, Sonja, and Ingegerd Rydin. “Migrant children’s digital stories : Identity formation and self-representation through media production.” European Journal of Cultural Studies 10.4 (2007): 447-464. Print.

Dupagne, Michel, and Michael B. Salwen. “Communication Technology Adoption and Ethnicity.” Howard Journal of Communications 16.1 (2006): 21-32. Print.

Mainsah, Henry. “‘I could well have said I was Norwegian but nobody would believe me’: Ethnic minority youths’ self-representation on social network sites.” European Journal of Cultural Studies 14.2 (2011): 179-193. Print.

Mcgonagle, Joseph M. “Ethnicity and visibility in contemporary French television.” French Cultural Studies 13.39 (2002): 281-292. Print.

Reitz, Jeffrey G., Raymond Breton, and Karen Kisiel Dion. Multiculturalism and Social Cohesion: Potentials and Challenges of Diversity. London: Springer, 2009. Print.

Ryan, James. Race and Ethnicity in Multi-Ethnic Schools: A Critical Case Study. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters, 2008. Print.

Spencer, Steve. Race And Ethnicity: Culture, Identity And Representation. New York: Routledge, 2006. Print.

Steinberg, Shirley R. Diversity and Multiculturalism: A Reader. New York: Peter Lang, 2009. Print.

Stokes, Jane C., and Anna Reading. The Media in Britain: Current Debates and Developments. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2000. Print.

Stuart, Hall. Questions of Cultural Identity. London: Sage, 1996. Print.

Many people rely on media to provide reliable information and frame their opinions about events of life. However, the challenge is to ascertain the accurate representation of races in television shows. This essay explores how race is portrayed in the Devious Maids with a focus on Latinos. In particular, it aims to explain how the show stereotypes characters by their race and limits or expands viewers’ understanding of the racial identity.

Devious Maids focuses on four Latino maids, who work for “the wealthiest and influential families in the Beverly Hills” (Thompson 1). The maids team up with a newcomer to uncover the truth behind the murder of a maid, and they eventually become allies in their lives.

Although Devious Maids has gained recognition as a show with all Latino casts, its critics have ignored the cast and insisted that the show’s depiction of Latino women promotes stereotyping and unacceptable.

However, many critics claim that Latinos should be proud because their “numbers and depiction on television shows have increased in the past few years” (Thompson 1). Thus, Latinos can find characters they relate closely in almost every network. However, stereotypical roles continue to define Latinos on television shows. According to Thompson, Latinos still play the role of “a ditsy but forgivable housewife, a confident but compassionate prison inmate, cold-blooded and calculating drug dealers, and devious and seductive housemaids” (Thompson 1). On the same note, Rodriguez noted that there were four Hs associated with Latinos in Hollywood. The four Hs stereotype Latinos as “either the overly hormonal (“Oh Mamacita, I have to have you”), overly hysterical (“Lucy!”), overly hostile (“I’ll cut you sucka!”), or overly humble (“We are poor people”)” (Rodriguez 1). These Hs have become the Hollywood formula for depicting Latinos, and they provide accounts of why Latinos do not play significant roles, leaders, or heroes in shows (Rodriguez 1).

Not all television shows portray Latinos negatively. There are series, which depict Latinos as doctors, nurses, police officers, judges, lawyers, and teachers. However, in most cases, Latinos are associated with negative roles in television shows. They could be “criminals, gardeners, maids, and dropouts” (Thompson 1). These negative depictions of Latinos do not represent the whole Latino community. However, the first impression from people who do not interact with Latinos is the portrayals they watch on television shows, which they are likely to believe. Thus, such misrepresentation of races could be detrimental.

Devious Maids has supporters too. For instance, some critics observe that characters’ roles or their jobs do not make their stories less vital in a community. In other words, maids in Devious Maids are not defined by their jobs or incomes. Instead, the television shows focus on telling a real, compelling story of immigrants. Although the characters happen to be maids, which is their job, the show reflects people and not jobs. It focuses on culture and portrays them as adoring, affectionate women (Moreno 1). Devious Maids is all about hard work and the struggle in pursuit of the American Dream.

Despite such supports, many Americans believe in media stereotypes because of what they watch on television series. Therefore, such negative stereotypes will continue to dominate shows and portray Latinos as poorly educated, live on welfare, and take low paying jobs from Whites. While positive depictions may emphasize their constructive characters, negative stereotypes continue to be the key roles that Latinos project in their shows.

The problem of stereotyping Latinos has become consistent, and it could be a reality for many Americans. This explains why some critics of Devious Maids call it ‘a wasted opportunity and disappointing’ because lead producers like Eva Longoria have failed to show the exact reality of Latinos (Moreno 1). Moreover, such critics have claimed that Devious Maids undermines and disregards several years of Civil Right work.

Based on historical context, television shows have ignored Latinos, but their numbers of shows have increased. However, some believe that Latinos in Devious Maids or any other exhibit should choose their roles “more wisely and create characters that transcend” (Moreno 1). Although there are many Latinos in Hollywood now than ever before, they fail to develop in terms of characterization. Moreover, the increase of Latinos in Hollywood has not changed stereotyping or enhanced the accurate representation of the community. Consequently, one can only appreciate the diversity, which such characters bring on television shows and if possible question the authenticity of such shows.

Overall, media have critical roles in presenting how certain people are portrayed, and that has critical consequences in a community. Although one can argue that characters in Devious Maids portray positive aspects of their roles, they still exhibit elements of stereotyping and fail to reflect authenticity associated with Latino culture, diversity, and unique experiences. Therefore, Latinos need to reinvent their roles and portray themselves as professionals with authentic characters. Devious Maids only perpetuates stereotyping of characters by their race and limits viewers’ understanding of the racial identity of Latinos as lead characters continue to play by the rules that exist.

Works Cited

Moreno, Carolina. ‘Devious Maids’ Criticism: Lifetime Series Continues To Draw Cultural Backlash For Latina Stereotypes. 2013. Web.

Rodriguez, Cindy. Does Hollywood have a Latino problem? 2014. Web.

Thompson, Nicole Akoukou. Mo’ Latinos, Same Problems: Negative Portrayal of Latinos Continue in the Media, Despite More Latino Talent on the Screen. 2013. Web.

Although everyone going to a movie to watch a good film, is seldom prepare him for anything more than entertainment, the appreciation of a film might increase, when it has a particular social message. In that regard, “School Daze”, a 1988 film directed by Spike Lee, can be considered as such a film, or at least shot with such intentions. Telling the story of a fraternity in an all-black college, the film mixes musical performances with satirical social messages, which look on the ideas of race, class, language in the black community from a new perspective. This paper analyzes how such categories as race, class, and language affect the perception of the film’s main characters of themselves.

In terms of race, it can be seen that even in an all black characters, this category has a huge affect on the perception of the characters of themselves. In that regard, the race issue is defined by several attributes such as skin tone and hair type. In that regard, the usage of such distinctions set degrees for the level of blackness in the film and how the characters viewed it honestly. Such a distinction, especially in the hair type issue, can be evident in the scene at the Salon, where women rated each other based on their hair type. Accordingly, in terms of skin tone, the film criticizes the perception of the character, where they believed that the lighter the skin color the more you belonged to a somewhat higher caste, for which there were more opportunities. Accordingly, the division in the film between the “wannabees’ and the ”Jigaboos” might resemble the two polar direction of being truly black and being closer to the white, where wannabe might represent want to be white.

In terms of the class, the division might be based on educational level, where the person who went to college was considered as forgetting the idea of fighting the discrimination. This can be apparent through the scene where Vaughn “Dap” Dunlap and his friends have an encounter with the locals. Although Dap can be considered as the sense of conscious in the movie, where leading anti-apartheid demonstrations and protesting the divestment from Africa, in the eyes of the local blacks he faced in the fast-food restaurant, he and his friends are privileged boys who forgot the idea of fighting the apartheid.

The same perception of being closer to white to more black can be paralleled to the use of language, where the common language used and often misunderstood by white people is used by the more black people which perceive themselves as staying loyal to the ideas of the brotherhood and anti-apartheid, unlike those who speak in good English imitating white. Additionally, the force of language can be seen through the emphasis on militarism as the only way to solve problems, and the reinforcement of African practices.

It can be concluded that “School Daze” is an example of demonstrating how perceptions and stereotyping are used not only in different groups, but also within a single group. In that regard, the film is a call for the black community to wake up, and acknowledge their false perceptions. Each of the mentioned categories is a reflection of how the blacks, although fighting for the equality and anti-discrimination, are practicing the same wit themselves.