Jena 6

Everyone grows up with an assumption about race.  It’s the fact that our nation has to learn how to unlearn our unconscious behaviors.  This may seem like a difficult concept but as our nation progresses we neglect the fact that we are still active in our old habits.  The only reason why whites avoid calling themselves racist is they believe that being racist involves some sort of animosity towards another race.  In a sense this must be true, but what happens when these discriminatory bias’ reach our legal system.  A perfect example of the underlying racism that occurs in today’s society is a string of events that lead to six African American high school students being arrested after a school fight with white students; introducing to the world; the Jena 6.  But what really occurred to trigger such violence within these teenagers?  As we further investigate we find that the racial tensions began when a black student sat under a tree that had “supposedly” belonged to an all-white group of students.  The next day there were three nooses hanging from the tree; clearly implying signs of racist. The fight between the two groups resulted in the whites suffering from minor concussion and bruising, while the blacks were sentenced to life in jail for the attempt of second degree murder and conspiracy.  

The Story. Educate Yourself First.

These unjust acts of discriminatory enforcement triggered an uproar of social rallies around the nation.  On September 20, 2007, the date upon which Bell was scheduled for sentencing, an estimated 15,000- 20,000 supporters rallied in Jena from all over the nation.  Activist, artists, actors, musicians and key note speakers all came in support of Mychal Bell and the Jena 6.  Without the high amount of media coverage and public advocacy, these students would still be incarcerated under unethical authority today.  This case proves how much we have failed to learn.  We have gone years and years avoiding the fact that our past is still very much prevalent today.  We can’t seem to escape these unrighteous habits that we once followed before.  We seem to dehumanize the human being on merits of importance. 

I wonder what this scenario would be like if the tables had been turned.  If this was an all-black high school where a white individual sat at an all-black table and verbally abused through racial slurs, followed by an anti-white symbol of discrimination showcased on that table, how would the justice system respond to that?  The white individuals would still be seen as the victims because that is the social norm within our society.  Any group that has the power to be the oppressor will have the power to be oppressive.  Being white is privileged and transparent.  Whites, especially white men have the privilege to never think of their race as a trait of their characteristics.  They don’t have to wake up every day and wonder how they will face racism that day.  They don’t have to face cases like this where their actions are based off of the assumptions of their ethnicity.  It is times like this that proves the imbalance of visibility within our nation. 

THIS IS OUR NATION TOO.

Hurricane Katrina- The Privileged White

The White Imprint on today's Society.

What does it means to be white in today’s society?  This question may not be defined by the mere thought of an ascribed inheritance, but instead the powers that lie within the concept of being labeled in this category.  The perception of being white possesses the highest disbursement of power in correlation to social class, control of the minority, and the power of privilege.  Our society naturally possesses a prejudice towards those of different ethnic backgrounds, but is not mindful of our intolerances. This concept is what drove our country to the inhumane treatment of New Orlean civilians, post Hurricane Katrina. 

Equality in Rescue?

After the hurricane had struck on August 29th, 2005 New Orleans had become one big game of, “survival of the fittest.”  As citizens were stuffed into the Super Dome and the Convention Center, evacuation efforts and rescue missions had fully commenced.  Citizens began to stand on their roofs, waving their arms and creating S.O. S signals in attempt to be rescued.  But how did the government decipher on who was saved first? What characterized the importance of an individual to be saved over another?  As days passed citizens began to become aware of a constant trend in who was being rescued.  Many of individuals who had been saved were white, and the individuals who were left behind were African American families.  One story describes a group of residents of mixed races choosing to send the African Americans off the roof to ensure an immediate response from the rescuers.  This evidently displays clear signs of discriminatory bias among police enforcement.  As buses began to arrive to rescue the evacuees by land, transportation was segregated and whites were once again placed to higher importance than blacks.  Whites were given the privilege to leave on the buses first, leaving the rest to suffer and wait in line for days on end.  Such “unconscious” efforts dehumanize the “refugees” by placing worth of a human being over another.  This type of discrimination also began to occur as police enforcement focused their efforts on African American individuals who appeared to be “looting.”

Same Scenario- Different Intentions....

Media outlets began to cover and report cases of looting and property damages occurring in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.  Some were labeled as looters and criminals, while others were described as “finding means to survive.”  Placed in identical scenarios, the intentions reported in the media were created upon assumption by race.  Many whites seem to mix negative views of black Americans with images of white innocence portrayed in the mass media, thereby giving specific expression to elements of a broader racial ideology.  In areas predominately occupied by white bodies, white campuses, and white spaces, outside viewers perceive this as “less threatening” and “harmless.”  In areas with the general population being black Americans, the area is known to be “dangerous” and “unsafe”; or even economically unstable.   This connects to the media’s perception of blacks in today’s society. The machinery of whiteness connects with media coverage by these mainstream outlets.  We have given them the power to shape our attitudes towards demographic groups by following the views placed in these reports.  But this doesn’t end in the attempt to overcome a “natural” disaster.  Discriminatory biases were still evident in the rebuilding and reconstruction of New Orleans years after Hurricane Katrina. 

This habitual prejudice does not end at the distinction between blacks and whites.  Social inequalities described in economic classification also present bias and discrimination between each class.  Social class correlates with theory of Social stratification.  The discrimination between classes indicates that the measure of one’s social economic status by income, education, occupational prestige and wealth provides some overall assessment of people’s place in the society.  In the rehabilitation of New Orleans the “checker board” was transparent.  In Jordan Flaherty’s novel, Floodlines he states that “the inequalities in the city’s recovery were obvious.  Some areas had electricity, gas and clean streets, and some areas were untouched. .. The Washington Post reported in 2005 that although both the overwhelming white Lake View Neighborhood and Black Ninth Ward neighborhood were devastated by flooding “it appears now that long-standing neighborhood differences in income and opportunity are shaping the stalled repopulation of this mostly empty city” (Flaherty 2010, 70).  He then further describes the drastic separation of classes within several blocks of neighborhoods that had been salvaged and replenished. 

A fight for Equality.

Being white is an intricate narrative of physical appearance surpassing the content of one’s character.  It is not only a recessive gene, but instead a construct or an idea that is embedded into our unconscious behaviors.  It is not the white body that is presented to society, but the idea that is created within this concept.  The idea of superiority, the idea of high social classification, and the idea of worth comes with being a part of the “white privileged”.  This stereotype does not provide you with a negative stigma, but instead implants a natural power above the rest.  Being white gives you visibility within society and equal opportunity of mobility within class after such devastations.  It unconsciously gives you more rights than others, for the white majority’s views, practices and culture are generally seen to be normal.  Being White is the “American Dream.”  

IT NEVER SEEMS TO END.

CIW and La Via Compesina- A Workers Voice

Consciousness + Commitment = Change.  According to the CIW online database headquarters “The CIW is a community-based organization of mainly Latino, Mayan Indian and Haitian immigrants working in low-wage jobs throughout the state of Florida.”  The CIW’s efforts gear towards the equality of fair wage, respect in the work environments, cheaper housing, stronger laws and enforcement, and end to involuntary servitude in the fields. The CIW represents a struggle for justice in their fight for visibility.  Their disruptance include such movements as the Anti-Slavery Campaign and the Campaign for Fair Food.  With the Anti- Slavery Campaign CIW was able to gain national and international recognition to the investigation against involuntary servitude as well as build awareness to human rights education. 

CIW establishing a powerful new voice for the respect of human rights

The CIW’s Campaign for Fair Food began as a farmworker boycott targeting one of the largest fast food giants in the nation; Taco Bell.  The CIW’s goal was for these leading fast food corporations to take responsibility for human rights abuse in the fields where their produce is grown. The consumers played a role in this boycott when the “Boot the Bell” boycott spread through high school and college campuses across the nation.  With the refusal of purchasing Taco Bell products, the powers now lied in the hands of the consumers.  Due to consumer power the demands to improve wages and working conditions for Florida tomato pickers was met.  But it did not end here.  Now that The Coalitional of Immokalee Workers has established a voice in the mainstream media, it was time to keep their movement going.  The CIW collaborated with other leading fast food branches such as McDonalds, Burger King and Subway striking a deal with growers to raise workers’ pay and to create an industry code of conduct, a health and safety program and a system to resolve worker complaints.

50 Pounds of Tamoto?

Or 10 cents of labor.

With these many accomplishments lead to the birth of the “One Penny More” movement.  The intention of this campaign was to build a voice for unjust wages and Fair Trade, asking for one more penny for every pound of tomato that was picked.  The purpose was not to only increase the wages of the workers, but to build awareness on the concept behind asking for “one more penny.” The very minuscule request in asking for one more penny, instead of 5, 10 or 25 showcased the reluctant compromise of these large corporations. The CIW faced challenges in how much power these corporations truly possessed.  They were very aware that many of the farm workers were illegal immigrants and were not supported under U.S. labor protection laws.  According to an editorial in the New York Times, “The Florida Tomato Growers Exchange, which represents 90 percent of the state’s tomato growers, still fought back, threatening huge fines against members who participated. The extra pay sat in escrow.”

Another group striving for justice in today’s society is La Via Compesina. La Via Compesina is “a transnational agrarian movement made up of organizations of peasants, small- and medium-scale farmers, rural women, farm workers and indigenous agrarian communities throughout Asia, the Americas, Europe and Africa. These groups all share an intimate connection to the land and a collective will to work together to build a more humane world” (Desmarais, Navarro 2009).  La Via Compensina has become one of the most powerful voices of resistance towards globalization and the corporate model of agriculture.  These movements build awareness on the funds that are systematically displacing farmers and undercutting local economies and food traditions.  Their disruptance coincides with The Coalitional of Immokalee Workers (CIW) in the fight to overcome Invisibility and injustice working environments.  We must not conform to the bottleneck corporations.   

THE STAGES OF YOUR FOOD