Author: jawo.1

Text Review Assignment: “The Namesake”

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For this assignment I chose to review the book, “The Namesake” by Jhumpa Lahiri. The novel is about an Indian couple, a man named Ashoke and a woman named Ashima. The novel follows them throughout their life in America having moved from Calcutta, as well as that of their children Gogol and Sonia. Lahiri has readers observe the family through their lives and the difficulties they each faced with life in America. Gogol’s fight with his name and identity, Ashima with her homesickness, and other battles characters fought. Every person’s journey in this story is different, but they are all intertwined with one another to create a deep and meaningful experience to readers.

In this book there are numerous concepts to be seen, and one is the One/Other dynamic from de Beauvoir. For example, Gogol and Sonia would constantly receive looks and stares at the mostly white school they attended. Gogol would often get teased for his name and other things, all because of the fact that he was “different”. We see how whites in this case have established themselves as the “One”, giving them the power to treat Gogol however they want to. Whether this means teasing, bullying, or anything else, they feel as if Gogol is an “Other”, below and inferior to themselves. This relationship between Gogol and his peers also highlights the act of “Othering”, where one group of people subjects another to be below them through their actions. Overall, de Beauvoir’s theory is prevalent in Lahiri’s novel and can be better used to understand why Gogol and other characters acted as they did.

This novel is similar to “March” in a way, as both books show the difficulties of being a minority in America in addition to giving examples of the One/Other relationship. Although John Lewis’ writing is about his life and the fight against segregation, it showed examples of him being seen as an “Other”. This came in forms of second hand books, harassment from white men, and other things that was done to Lewis to make him feel inferior to whites. Similarly, Gogol and members of his family were treated as Other through teasing and bullying in school and racial bias outside of the home. Both works of writing depict the effects of seeing a class of people as lower than yourself. It creates an unhealthy dynamic that can affect not only how the groups see one another, but how they see themselves.

All in all, Lahiri’s book really questions what identity is. Where does it come from and can it be changed? Gogol thought his name was what dictated who he was so he decided to change it, but did his identity really change along with it? How do each of us see ourselves? Does our name play the biggest part in defining who we are? Through her characters, Lahiri gets us as readers to explore what identity truly means and how we go about changing it.

 

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/09/movies/09name.html

DSI Showcase: Health Care Gap Among African Americans

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In my first diary entry on systemic injustices I wanted to focus on African Americans and the inequalities they have experienced during this Covid pandemic. I saw a story on how the Franklin family in Louisiana lost 4 family members to COVID (Hutchinson & Carrega, 2020), and it made me take a step back and look at the reasons why blacks are dying at a faster rate compared to whites. After research I found this issue to be apart of a larger systemic problem which has been going on for centuries.

The issues that are present today in the US healthcare system in how blacks and whites are treated can be traced back to times of slavery. The mentality amongst a majority of whites at the time was that blacks were inferior to them. This racist belief is what allowed for surgeons to experiment on slave women and commit acts that are unethical. This racial bias continued on however, and would affect how physicians would treat blacks up and through the 21st century. This lack of equal healthcare is why so many pre-existing conditions like diabetes and coronary heart disease are so prevalent in the black community. Having these pre-existing conditions is what makes individuals more susceptible to COVID-19, and part of why blacks are dying at a much higher rate. This is all part of a system that continues to oppress African Americans, and other issues such as wage disparities, education, and housing contribute to the current systemic problems.

The relationship that exists between blacks and whites is described perfectly by de Beauvoir’s theory One/Other. Whites have established themselves as the “One” in American society, the people who can dictate what anyone else does. On the other hand, blacks have been seen as “Other”, submissive to whatever the white population says or does. Kimberly Crenshaw’s idea on intersectionality can also be used to describe how black women are doubly disadvantaged. On one hand they were slaves, so they already had to deal with abuse from slaveowners, and terrible living/working conditions. Likewise they were also female, which meant they had a higher chance of being assaulted and abused by plantation owners and other slaves. This meant female slaves felt the effects of both groups without receiving help from either, thus putting them at a crossroads.

Sources:

Bachynski, Kathleen. “Perspective | American Medicine Was Built on the Backs of Slaves. and It Still Affects How Doctors Treat Patients Today.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 28 Oct. 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/made-by-history/wp/2018/06/04 american-medicine-was-built-on-the-backs-of-slaves-and-it-still-affects-how-doctors-treat-patients-today/. 

Hutchinson, Bill, and Christina Carrega. “’Torn up’: African American Family Mourns 4 Loved Ones as COVID-19 Racial Disparities Exposed.” ABC News, ABC News Network, 10 Apr. 2020, https://abcnews.go.com/Health/torn-african-american-family-mourns-loved-covid-19/story?id=69997122. 

“Risk for COVID-19 Infection, Hospitalization, and Death by Race/Ethnicity.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 9 Sept. 2021, https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/covid-data/investigations-discovery/hospitalization-death-by-race-ethnicity.html. 

“The Urgency of Intersectionality: Kimberlé Crenshaw.” YouTube, 7 Dec. 2016, https://youtu.be/akOe5-UsQ2o. 

Tello, Monique. “Racism and Discrimination in Health Care: Providers and Patients.” Harvard Health, 16 Jan. 2017, https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/racism-discrimination-health-care-providers-patients-2017011611015.

Week 4 Context Presentation: John Lewis, “March: Book One”

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During the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s-1960s, there were numerous influential figures that we can attribute this time to, names such as Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, Malcom X, and Ida B. Wells are just a few of the leaders that we recognize as having pushed this movement for racial change the furthest. But in the background was a large group of people who were working alongside these crusaders, people who were still attending school and still didn’t have the ability to drive yet. The youth of the Civil Rights movement played a massive role in the success of this revolutionary period, they put themselves in danger by going to segregated schools and holding sit-ins, in addition to their creation of organizations that would field out workers to fight for change. At the head of this list of young leaders comes the name of the late, great, John Lewis, who began his fight for racial equality at an early age. Knowing how John Lewis and the adolescents of this time helped to propel this mission forward will give all of us a greater appreciation of them as we head into the book, “March: Book One”.

I believe most people are familiar with the name John Lewis, and most people are also aware of his involvement in the Civil Rights era and his time as a US Congressman. But many might not know that Mr. Lewis had coordinated sit ins and protests at the once segregated lunch counters in the south, or that he got beaten nearly to death while attending the Freedom Rides of the south (ACLU). Lewis was also the chairman of SNCC, a nonviolent, student created group which played a large part in the organizing of demonstrations for the advancement of Civil Rights. It is likely that many of us have seen the movie “Selma”, which revolves around the story of “Bloody Sunday”, a day where John Lewis almost lost his life again championing this cause. Lewis throughout his life would continue to fight for racial equality, from working in congress, to being appointed to lead different projects and many others. It is important in my view, to have a sense of the man who we will be reading about this week.

The youth of the Civil Rights movement of the 20th century played an instrumental role during that time, and the youth are again at the front of pushing for racial change present day. Throughout the protests following the death of George Floyd, we saw numerous young activists hold for the large part, peaceful demonstrations that called for change. John Lewis, once being a young leader himself, would look down proudly upon a new age of leaders who he was able to inspire through his dedication and spirit. 

Sources:

Abayomi Azikiwe. Pan-African News Wire. Youth Played Pivotal Role in Civil Rights, Black Power Movements, 11 Feb. 2010, www.workers.org/2010/us/youth_pivotal_0218/. 

ACLU. “Congressman John Lewis.” American Civil Liberties Union, www.aclu.org/congressman-john-lewis. 

Daniels, Nicole. “What Students Are Saying about Race and Racism in America.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 18 Feb. 2021, www.nytimes.com/2021/02/18/learning/what-students-are-saying-about-race-and-racism-in-america.html.

Jean-Philippe, McKenzie. “28 Civil Rights Leaders of Past and Present.” Oprah Daily, Oprah Daily, 21 Apr. 2021, www.oprahdaily.com/entertainment/g35181270/civil-rights-leaders/.