Do you think these historical events, rules, and laws still impact our society today? What are your thoughts after viewing these videos? Without a doubt, I think that the effects of these events, rules, and laws still impact today's society. Trauma echoes through generations, and some of these events are so recent, within just a few decades. And centuries-old systemic racism manifests today throughout our culture. It's like the fish who does not realize they are in a fishbowl, it just IS. The reckoning with our own fishbowl is what is driving enrollment in this course.
My thoughts are heavy after these initial viewings. I am a mixed-race POC: Polish Jew on my father's side, Chinese on my mother's side. My father's family survived the Holocaust; my mother's family escaped the Communist uprising in China. My family has experienced persecution in their countries of origin, as well as racism and discrimination in their new country, America. I have had slurs used against me, but for the most part I have passed as white, and enjoyed much of the privilege that comes with that passing. I feel guilty for not doing more in my life to be anti-racist, especially given my family's history. I want to move through my discomfort and do more.
