power, privilege, and everyday life.
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188 posts tagged class
My professor told our class that over ninety percent of Africa was illiterate.
Today one of my roomates bought supplies for the apartment, and texted everyone except for me (I’m the only black person living here) to ask them to chip in money for it. She then asked my best friend and other roomate, in regards to me: “do you think it will be hard to get the money out of her?” It wasn’t going to be, but now it sure as hell will be. Like because I’m black I’m automatically supposed to be poor/cheap.
While working as a tutor at a charter high school that is predominantly African American, a young boy asks me (a Black woman) if I could give him information about becoming a doctor. He knows I am slated to go to medical school early the next year and has always wanted to become a surgeon. I’m delighted and give him lots of information. The next day I am told to go to the office.
The director of the tutoring program (a white woman) was angry that I would tell a young student of a charter school to go into an “academic,” field of study. When I asked why, she says, “We don’t want to give them false hope. Many of them are lucky to get into a technical field, like HVAC or refrigeration. Why should we give them a false sense of security that they can survive the rigors of college?” I was floored, stunned and angry.
“I’m supposed to write my statement of diversity– but I’m not a minority, I wasn’t poor growing up, I’ve never been raped…”
My friend when writing her medical school application essays- she didn’t know that I was raped the year before when studying abroad.
During a meeting I had set up with my middle-aged white female English Composition professor to discuss some issues I had with her essay prompts (vague or conflicting directions, mostly), she cut me off and said, “Well, you know, the University education ISN’T for everyone. You might want to consider your alternatives, like trade school or the military.” When I asked her what she meant, she replied, “If THIS class is too difficult for you, then you’re DEFINITELY not going to be able pass any of your other courses, which will also be in English.”
I’m a part-time personal assistant in NYC and the guy I work for was telling the head of the company about his return to Rockaway this weekend to help out with hurricane recovery. “They finally have power back but some of the buildings are just all mud, so we helped a building super clean out the mud.” Head of the company: “Did any of the residents help you? Or were they all old or - [lowers her voice] - did they not give a shit?”
Friend:: How cool is Chicago?
Me:: I love it! You should come visit me this summer!
Friend:: If I come will you be my ghetto pass?
Me:: .........
I then tried very every avenue possible to explain why this was a microaggression (mind you he was very familiar with the term as we were in a graduate program that focused very heavily on race, racism, and microaggressions). He told me I was over reacting and that Eminem had said it so it was okay -__- He then said he's said it to other Black ppl. and they were okay with it -__-.
“You’ll have to marry a rich man if you want to afford that!”
PhD candidates and holders using the term “ghetto” to describe simplified or alternative means of doing things. (e.g. the “ghetto” way to conduct an experiment).
“Where are you from? Where were you from before that? Before that?”
A stranger who, noticing that I don’t have an American-sounding accent, decides to ask me personal questions about my place of origin and then accuses me of lying. This happens with most strangers I meet for the first time. Made me feel insecure, discomfited, angry.
I am late to work because my door fridge falls off randomly just as I’m headed out the door. When I finally get to work and update with the details of how I tried to fix the door, one of my co-workers says, “That’s so butch of you.” I’m taken aback because, yes, I am a masculine queer woman, but more than anything I grew up poor and poor people just fix their own shit. I am consistently read as much more masculine in middle-class and upper-class contexts.
“Yeh… I am going to get my insurance bill sent straight to my mom so she could pay it every month.”
“The reason why women get paid less than men is because they aren’t assertive enough. If women would just demand better pay and refuse to work until they got it, they wouldn’t have to keep complaining about the wage gap.”
I, an African-American woman, sit by a conference room at work. One of my duties is scheduling conference rooms and offering assistance when necessary to those attending meetings. A meeting is about to begin in one of the conference rooms. A woman (not African-American) is in the meeting that is about to begin and comes out of the room and complains that someone has left their bag in the conference room. I go into the room and see a large purse in a chair. I offer to move the purse. The woman seems taken aback by this offer. So, I leave the purse there and go back to my desk, which is right by the conference room door. The owner of the purse shows up shortly and the woman, in my hearing, tells the other woman, the owner of the purse, “Your bag almost got stolen!” (Now why would I steal a purse, from a conference room, in front of an entire group of people assembled for a meeting? Why? Oh, I get it, because I’m black!!!! So that’s why I’m not only likely to be a thief, I’m likely to be a stupid thief!)
“Oh my God! Yea, that shooting at Haas last week was so crazy! I feel like I go to a ghetto school now!”
