When thinking about systemic injustices local to my hometown I immediately think of the Chagrin Falls Park. I grew up in Chagrin Falls, a small town that is not more than five miles from the Chagrin Falls Park. Chagrin Falls is 97% white, and the majority of Chagrin Falls Park residents are black. The Chagrin Falls Park is completely dissociated to Chagrin Falls despite their close proximity. This is because of systemic injustices placed upon them. Hundreds of years ago the border of Chagrin Falls and Cuyahoga County cut off right outside of the Chagrin Falls Park. Therefore, the children that grow up in the Park cannot attend Chagrin Falls Schools, the closest schools they live to. Instead, they have to attend a school 20 minutes from them. This is because those that established the border, white men, did so with the intent to segregate their black neighbors. While this is an example of systemic racism a while ago, it is still really relevant today.

Recently, when a rally was scheduled to take place in Chagrin Falls to support the Black Lives Matter Movement, every store in the town boarded up their windows (Black 1). They treated the rally with fear. A fear of a violent rally with no trust in those partaking in it. This proved the racism present in Chagrin. The residents and store owners showed their true colors when they assumed a rally held by their black neighbors would turn violent. I, as well as many of my classmates, were distraught. How could people be so scared of those who live five minutes down the road from us? It made little sense but indicated the cowardliness of the people in my hometown. The entire town agreed that if there was a rally, the stores would board up without even hearing out the details of the rally, that is systemic injustice.

This is extremely relevant in today’s world and the Black Lives Matter movement. It is also relevant in the One and the Other theory as well as Martin Luther King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail. My town, as well as many other cities and people around the country, treated the protestors as foreigners even though they are their neighbors. They acted as if they feared for their lives when our houses are just five miles apart. I think this indicates how the people of Chagrin Falls felt as if they are the One and the protestors are the Other. They felt as if they were being invaded by their own neighbors. This indicates a switch in power. Also, in Martin Luther King’s letter he emphasized how the white men were cowardly even though they referred to him as a coward. He also fought back on the idea that their protests were ‘“unwise and untimely’” by indicating that there is no “right time” according to the white man (King 1). This is very much related to the response of the Chagrin Falls citizens reacting so poorly to Black Lives Matter protests. They believed it was unnecessary despite the years and years of racism that occurred in the town. From intentional excluded a black community when creating border lines to boarding up stores for a nonviolent protest, systemic racism is present in my hometown.

Short Film:

Article:

https://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2020/06/09/chagrin-falls-park-black-neighborhood-next-to-chagrin-falls-at-heart-of-last-weeks-protest-controversyhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Q_4VhGDBIw

Black, Shana. “Chagrin Falls Park, Black Neighborhood Next to Chagrin Falls, at Heart of Last Week’s Protest Controversy.” Cleveland Scene, Cleveland Scene, 19 Jan. 2021, www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2020/06/09/chagrin-falls-park-black-neighborhood-next-to-chagrin-falls-at-heart-of-last-weeks-protest-controversy.

Ortlip, Henry, director. “The Park” – A Film about the Chagrin Falls Park Community Center. YouTube, YouTube, 23 Oct. 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Q_4VhGDBIw

With the current Black Lives Matter movement within the United States and the recent election, I researched the representation of African Americans within the United States Congress. Throughout the years, African Americans have started to gain more and more representation within the United States government. Here is a chart showing the subtle increase of African American members over time in Congress:

From the chart, the 116^th congress which was in 2018 “was the most diverse ever with 57 members out of 535 being African American” (History, Art & Archives, U.S. House of Representatives). The inequality that African Americans were experiencing reflected on the injustices that were occurring throughout the United States. Without proper representation in the United States government, changes could not be vocalized by members of the black community. During the civil rights movement, African Americans were trying to make changes to get equal representation and have laws modified. It wasn’t until 1870 that the first African Americans were elected into Congress (History, Art & Archives, U.S. House of Representatives). African Americans are not the only race and gender that is experiencing injustices and poor representation within the United States government. Since the start of Congress and the United States, white men have run the government as president and congress members. Through changes and movements by many genders and races, African Americans as well as women have been able to take part in Congress. The social injustices of improper representation of African Americans and even women in the United States government have reflected on the injustices within society like abortion, education, and health care. Changes are trying to be made, but without members of the community wanting to make those changes in government minimal laws will be changed or modified.

A text that relates to the inequality of African American as well as women and other races is “Can the Subaltern Speak”. As stated on the module page titled “Spivak’s ‘Can the Subaltern Speak’”, “Subalterns are fragmented groups of marginalized people who are without power; subalterns have no access to the power structures under which they live.” Even though government has changed throughout the years, in the early days of Congress, African Americans, women, and other races had no access to power. Their voices were limited to what white men in Congress were voting on and doing for the United States government. Currently within the United States Government, Congress is the most diverse in terms of race and gender. Congress has become more diverse, but there are still systemic injustices and inequality throughout the government and the United States that can possibly be changed due to more diverse voices being heard.

Picture of the most diverse congress in history (117^th Congress, current congress members)

This week I have been paying a lot more attention to the wage gap that has been going on in the United States. Women are still getting paid less than men in the workforce especially black women. This has been a known issue for years that still has not been solved. In an article I have found on this topic, a diagram shows how many more days women need to work to make the same amount that a man makes in one year. According to Business Insider, Asian women need to work 42 more days than men, white women need to work 100 more days than men, black women need to work 226 more days than men, and Hispanic women need to work 307 more days to get the same amount of pay that a man makes in just one year. That is almost an entire extra year that Hispanic women need to work which makes this not only a gender inequality but a race issue as well. If this did not have anything to do with race than that would mean all women would have to work the same amount of days to equal men. However, it is not the case and because of this it is now a gender and racial issue. Therefore there are two different issues that need to be solved based on this problem. Doing the same job should not get you paid any less than a male or a female of a different race. Another reason why there is a wage gap is because there is segregation when it comes to different occupations. Not all women are allowed to hold the same position as males and this is even shown in the business field with males being CEOs of many more companies than women. Personally, I see this in my career field as I am trying to pursue a career in the sports industry. My classes are dominated by males and often look at me like I am not a threat to anyone. I can obtain the same amount of knowledge, if not more in order to be a successful women in this field but people do not take me seriously just because I am a women. It is complete injustice and sad to see still in the United States today.

https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/women/reports/2020/03/24/482141/quick-facts-gender-wage-gap/

For this week’s Diary of systemic injustices, I will be talking about the rise of hate crimes against Asians in America since the start of the Coivd-19 Pandemic. Many of these hate crimes that have happened within the last 2 months have ended with people dying, for example “a 36-year-old Asian man in New York’s Chinatown neighborhood was stabbed and taken to the hospital in critical condition” (Abdollah and Hughes). The suspects that were involved in this awful hate crime have been charged with “attempted murder as a hate crime and assault as a hate crime, among other charges” (Abdollah and Hughes). The reasoning for these hate crimes have been pointed to the former president of the United States Donald J. Trump, when the virus first reached the U.S., he labeled the Coronavirus as the “China virus” and “Kung flu”. This showed people, specifically his supporters, that it was okay to be Xenophobic and Racist, because our own President was doing the same. Seeing the man who is running our country openly say these racist things would motivate others to go out and do the same, which causes lots of tension in hates in the streets of the U.S. I believe we as a nation, especially the people in power who run this country, need to put our foot down and make sure that every person who has committed a hate crime is held accountable so it is known that it will not be tolerated anymore. And it doesn’t end there with just the hate crimes connected to Asian Americans and Coronavirus, hate crimes are committed everyday against people of color, immigrants, the LGBTQ+ community, and people with disabilities. Although Asian Americans are already minorities in the U.S., because f the Coronavirus pandemic it has made them even more of an “other” as described by Simone de Beauvoir in her book The Second Sex. American natives treat Asian Americans as if the Covid-19 is their fault when it is common sense and basic knowledge that it’s not, and that having this type of mindset is offensive. We call ourselves one of the safest and most accepting countries in the world, but behavior like this shows otherwise.    

Here is a link talking about the fight against Asian hate and what is being done to help. 

Fig 1. Screenshot of Graph shown in NBC article “Anti-Asian hate crimes increased by nearly 150% in 2020, mostly in N.Y. and L.A., new report says” https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/anti-asian-hate-crimes-increased-nearly-150-2020-mostly-n-n1260264

Work Cited 

Abdollah, Tami, and Trevor Hughes. “Hate Crimes against Asian Americans Are on the Rise. Here’s What Activists, Lawmakers and Police Are Doing to Stop the Violence.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 27 Feb. 2021, www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/02/27/asian-hate-crimes-attacks-fueled-covid-19-racism-threaten-asians/4566376001/. 

My mother’s cousins all grew up here in the city of Columbus. I first heard about the “busing” system of the 1980s from them as I sat with them around the dining room table listening to their stories from high school. In the late 1970s a supreme court case concluded that the city of Columbus still had segregated schools and that a program was mandatory in which buses would transport kids from predominantly white neighborhoods to predominantly black schools and vice versa. My mother’s cousins were among those sent to a previously predominantly black school.

This week as we discussed place while reading Lisa Ko’s The Leavers, I was reminded of my mother’s cousins’ stories and the history of our very own city less than 40 years ago. Place impacts us more than we may know. It can define and shape our ideas, perspectives, and experiences. The goal of the busing program was to bring diversity to the schools. Yet as Lia Eastep records in her article (link below), this was only semi-successful. Sure, it encouraged students to encounter other students of different races, cultures, and backgrounds, but it also removed them from their homes and friends. Eastep recalls the pride of her home high school that she was able to attend and wondered if she would have felt that same way if she got bused to a high school across the city.

Integrated Columbus school class in 1979

https://www.dispatch.com/story/lifestyle/2020/12/03/desegregation-columbus-ohio-schools-black-students-stories/3635484001/

www.columbusmonthly.com/lifestyle/20191216/my-memories-of-busing-in-columbus

Does simply changing the location of where someone goes to school change the system of segregation? After about 15 years the program was fazed out and the schools went back to being separated by location and neighborhood, both of which were for the most part still segregated. This raises many more questions around whether the problem was neighborhood and the more pressing problem of do all schools receive equal funding and opportunity regardless of the demographic of students? With desegregation the city walks a fine line between finding equality and uprooting cultural neighborhoods, how can that best be done? I personally do not know the answers, but I am grateful to hear from various perspectives to educate myself on a topic that I previously knew very little about.

Works Cited

Eastep, Lia. “My Memories of Busing in Columbus.” Columbus Monthly, Columbus Monthly, 16 Dec. 2019, www.columbusmonthly.com/lifestyle/20191216/my-memories-of-busing-in-columbus.

Ko, Lisa. The Leavers. Little, Brown, 2018.

Wagner, Mike. “Stories of Desegregation in Columbus Schools, as Told by Black Residents Who Were There.” The Columbus Dispatch, The Columbus Dispatch, 7 Dec. 2020, www.dispatch.com/story/lifestyle/2020/12/03/desegregation-columbus-ohio-schools-black-students-stories/3635484001/.

One recent instance of a systematic injustice is the financial markets in the U.S. As most people at this point are aware of the crisis that stocks such as Game stock and AMC caused. These stocks were being bought by many average American traders boosting their price while the institutional hedge funds were betting against them. Not only were the hedge funds, just simply shorting the stock, but they were also shorting the stock options at a significantly higher than normal volume. Basically, this meant that they were betting against the stock at an extraordinarily high level, so when the “regular traders” started buying the stock in boosting its price, the hedge funds began losing billions of dollars. In efforts to stop this loss, Funds such as Citadel, which worked closely with the trading platform Robinhood, influenced the platform to halt the ability of traders to buy certain stocks. If the traders could not buy the stocks and only sell, then the price drop, allowing the funds to cover the money that they had lost. This was the definition of market manipulation as the funds influenced the market to benefit themselves, while the average trader got screwed over. This clearly shows the inequality in the financial system of the U.S as the people with money and power were protected when the markets were not in their favor, yet the everyday person has no ability to influence the market and can easily lose his or her money. At the root of every significant financial crisis in the U.S, it is the hedge funds acting in their favor to cause it. This instance was especially eye-opening because their market manipulation was so blatant. This will continue to happen as long as institutional funds are not further regulated by the government. Not only does the financial system refer to the banking system, but it also perpetuates many other injustices we see. According to Citizensforfinancialjustice.org, examples include the financialization of health provision, which affects people’s ability to access affordable and high-quality (public) health services; the transformation of land into a tradeable asset to be purchased and speculated upon, hindering peoples’ right to food, nutrition and health; the financialization of housing, which turns a social good and a human right into a profit-making machine for those with the most money to invest. The 2008 financial crisis was a good example of how the finacialzation of housing almost ruined the economy and caused many people to lose their homes and jobs. The banks that were responsible got off with no punishment and went about business as if nothing had ever happened. A text that we have looked over in class that relates to this issue of injustice is “Can the Subaltern Speak” where the theme was that the marginalized people, and groups that are not in a position of power often go unheard. With the financial system, the powerful banks have control of everything while the voices of the regular American working class goes unheard.

Citizens for Financial Justice-  https://citizensforfinancialjustice.org/news/cast-the-spotlight-on-financial-injustice-to-tackle-rising-inequalities-says-new-report/

Explanation of the 2008 Financial Crisis: https://www.investopedia.com/articles/economics/09/financial-crisis-review.asp

After researching a variety of systemic injustices, I realized that these injustices are much more common than I thought. A lot of people simply do not want to acknowledge these injustices because they are not affected, but they are common. The injustice that struck me the most was the disparity in education and access to various resources between minority communities and predominantly white communities. On the surface, it seems like a problem, but the more you divulge into the issue, the more you realize how big of a problem it truly is. It is common knowledge that minority communities make significantly less than their white counterparts, which directly leads to the massive education disparity in America. This is because public schools are directly funded by income tax, and due to the fact that minority communities make significantly less than white communities, they lack in various resources. This leads to lower subsidized test scores, worse colleges and eventually lower paying jobs. 

According to NPR, predominantly white schools receive $23 billion more in funding than minority schools. They also state that predominantly white schools receive around $2226 more per student than predominantly minority schools. This is detrimental for minority communities. To break this down, this means that minority communities have access to worse technology, less learning resources, and worse teachers and counselors. They also lack access to standardized testing resources which leads to lower scores on these tests and subsequently entry into worse colleges. Entry into worse or no college means that the kids in these communities will have lower paying jobs. This feeds into the never ending cycle because in the end public schools are funded by income tax, and people who make less money will not be able to contribute as much money. This is truly unfair, as no child’s fate and life should be contingent upon the amount of money their family and community makes. I think a good solution to this would be making communal tax pools and distributing the money evenly among school districts so all kids get equal resources. 

A concept that I think relates to the disparity in education in our country is Spivak’s concept of the Subaltern. When Spivak talks about the Subaltern, she is speaking of individuals or groups that are marginalized and can’t make their voices and complaints heard. I think that due to the lack of funding in minority communities, they don’t necessarily have the resources to make their voices heard making them the Subaltern in this sense. On top of this, I believe Spivak portrays the Subaltern as someone who can’t tell their side of the story, which is exactly what is happening to these underfunded minority communities. It is not that we as a society do not know that this problem is prevalent, we choose to brush it off because it does not have that much exposure. This is something we as a nation should actively work to fix, as education is the backbone to our society. 

https://www.npr.org/2019/02/26/696794821/why-white-school-districts-have-so-much-more-money

Lombardo, Clare. “Why White School Districts Have So Much More Money.” NPR, NPR, 26 Feb. 2019, www.npr.org/2019/02/26/696794821/why-white-school-districts-have-so-much-more-money. 

Difference between schools in underfunded communities and rich communities

This past week, I read an article published by The New York Times titled, “‘I Just Didn’t Want to Be Alive Anymore’: Meghan Says Life as Royal Made Her Suicidal”written by Mark Landler. The article discusses the interview that Oprah Winfrey conducted with Prince Harry and his wife, Duchess Meghan Markle, a woman of color. The interview was shocking to watch, revealing the systemic injustices that Meghan Markle experienced at the hands of the British monarchy.

 Meghan explained how her mental illnesses were ignored by palace officials and she did not receive the medical help that she needed at the time, causing severe depression. In addition to reading this article, I also watched the full interview Oprah Winfrey conducted with Meghan Markle. When speaking about her experiences with being denied help regarding mental illness, she revealed that the Institution could not help her because it would lead to media coverage. After this, Meghan was shocked and recognized that she was still mentally unstable. She then went to the human resources department, explaining that with her previous job, she would’ve been supported by the union to receive medical care when needed. They acknowledged that she was in an unfortunate situation, but because she was not a paid employee of the institution, there was nothing they could do to help her (Oprah). This denial of basic medical care is an aspect that anyone else in the Royal Family would ever experience. 

In addition to this, palace officials began to raise concerns regarding how dark their child’s skin complexion would be after he was born. They also made it very clear that the child of Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan would not have a royal title or financial security (Landler). At this point, after three years of mistreatment, Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan decided it was time to leave behind their royal duties and financial security to avoid the mistreatment. 

After reading the article, I was stunned to see that systemic injustices take place within the palace walls as well. I was also shocked to learn about how differently Duchess Meghan and Duchess Kate were treated and how Kate mistreated Meghan as well. Duchess Meghan revealed that Kate even drove her to tears after relentless fighting over her flower girls’ dresses (Landler). During her interview with Oprah, various magazine titles were examined that showed Duchess Meghan and Duchess Kate doing the exact same thing, but portrayed in entirely different light. For instance, when Kate would cradle her baby bump during appearances, the media portrayed it in positive light, showing excitement for the arrival of the new member of the Royal Family. However, when Meghan did the exact same thing, she was shown in a much more negative light; she was accused of drawing too much attention to herself (Oprah). 

Duchess Meghan Markle’s experiences with systemic racism relate to the concepts we discussed regarding deBeauvoir’s theory of “the One” and “the Other.” Meghan is portrayed as “the Other” in this context, where her behavior and actions are over-scrutinized to the point that she feels she cannot do anything right. To the point where she truly questions her will to live, asking herself if it is even worth it. She was clearly distinguished as “the Other” by the British Institution and palace officials who consider themselves, “the Ones.” “The Ones” continuously try to hold control over “the Other” due to their respective differences. 

-Divya Patibandla

Links: 

www.nytimes.com/2021/03/07/world/europe/oprah-interview-harry-meghan.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/07/world/europe/oprah-interview-harry-meghan.html

https://www.cbs.com/shows/oprah-with-meghan-and-harry-a-cbs-primetime-special/

Additional Media:

Citations:

Landler, Mark. “’I Just Didn’t Want to Be Alive Anymore’: Meghan Says Life as Royal Made Her Suicidal.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 8 Mar. 2021, www.nytimes.com/2021/03/07/world/europe/oprah-interview-harry-meghan.html. 

Oprah with Meghan and Harry: A CBS Primetime Special [Interview by 1275727956 941733689 O. Winfrey]. (n.d.). Retrieved March 27, 2021, from https://www.cbs.com/shows/oprah-with-meghan-and-harry-a-cbs-primetime-special/video/i6UW_WTQjLrEeOoObMmlwrFLTTypvuZm/cbs-presents-oprah-with-meghan-and-harry-a-primetime-.special

What I will be analyzing in my diary of systemic injustices showcase is colorism, specifically in Hollywood and the media. Over the last decades, there have definitely been improvements in the inclusion of Black people in Hollywood productions and the overall implementation of diversity. We are seeing so many more people that represent different races and ethnicities on our screens. Additionally, we are finally starting to see productions highlighting Black people getting the recognition they deserve. However, Black representation is still facing limitations which are brought by Hollywood’s colorism problem. Colorism refers to the discrimination against individuals with a dark skin tone among the same racial group. The range of female blackness seen in movies and TV is typically much more light-skinned than the range of blackness seen in society, it is not an accurate depiction of reality. Zendaya addressed it herself, admitting the privilege she has had by being light-skinned compared to “her darker sisters and brothers” (Onyejiaka). 

Even though we are seeing more Black people in Hollywood, we typically see them fitting the traditional European beauty standards (light-skinned, slim, straight hair, classically attractive, etc). This made me reflect on how I see Black beauty. I realized that I definitely find myself resonating more with Black actresses that fit “conventional” beauty standards. I look for qualities that I as a white woman have, instead of looking for qualities that are unique for Black people. The actresses that fit that European beauty standard more are the ones I find myself following on social media, watching their movies, etc. Though I am not proud of this subconscious behavior, now that I have recognized it, I will work on recognizing dark-skinned actresses and appreciating their natural Black features. I will also look for movies that have this Black representation and show true inclusivity. 

It is important to note that Hollywood’s colorism problem is not just towards Black people, but towards all types of minorities, such as Latinos and Asian-Americans. In the following video, we see different women from different races talking about this issue. One remark that resonated with me was about the Latinx community. One of the women says that the only thing that connects all Latinos in the US is colonialism. For example, the language (Spanish) is given to us by our colonizer. SImilarly, our beauty standards are also influenced by our colonizer. This made me think about “Things Fall Apart”, and how, towards the end, we see how the African villagers become the subaltern and essentially become dominated by their European colonizers, and now they are forced to adapt to their way of life. Both in “Things Fall Apart” and in Hollywood, we see how people are held to traditional European standards, and anything that differs is not accepted.

Works Cited:
Onyejiaka, Tiffany. “We Need to Talk About Hollywood’s Colorism Problem.” Teen Vogue, www.teenvogue.com/story/hollywoods-colorism-problem-cant-be-ignored

The story I want to reference today was published by The Blaze on March 11th. The article is titled Editor of Prestigious Medical Journal Fired for Denying that Structural Racism Exists in Medicine. Why I’m writing on this article today is because I am appalled at the behaviors of the individuals on the political left. That these individuals are not open to dissenting opinions other than their own and are willing to forcibly make people retire (or get them fired) than have an honest discussion about a topic. Taking all of my political beliefs and opinions out of this diary and just ruminating on the simple nature of this article; there is no such thing as freedom of speech, freedom of thought, or free will in the majority of this country anymore. It’s either you comply or get steamrolled by the mob.

Edward H. Livingston, MD

The activists that called for Dr. Livingston’s resignation weren’t concerned with just his podcast. They wanted their onlookers to boycott the entirety of the Journal of the American Medical Association, for one comment on one podcast. That is unfathomable to me, you can’t even hold yourself accountable for your own actions, you must be representative of the entirety of your organization or company. This logic only applies though if you speak in opposition to the mob. Your expertise or background in a certain field will not protect you and even your employers are willing to hang you out to dry just to save face. Dr. Livingston said and I quote “I think taking racism out of the conversation will help. Many of us are offended by the concept that we are racist” (Livingston 3rd Paragraph).

These people believe that Dr. Livingston couldn’t have thought independently for himself and had a unique opinion. It has to be encapsulating of the whole American Medical Association and be boycotted and canceled for harboring a free thinker. This is truly a systemically unjust act and is one of many in a long list of egregious crimes against humanity.

I have included a portal to the Twitter thread below (just click the image below), as well as the link to the news story (under Works Cited), so a more diversified lens can be used when analyzing this story.

https://twitter.com/AmandaLuvsRoses/status/1368735492406132738?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1368735492406132738%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theblaze.com%2Fnews%2Fjama-editor-structural-racism-fired

Works Cited

https://www.theblaze.com/news/jama-editor-structural-racism-fired