Mapping Latine Inequalities – Reading Responses

Mapping Latine Inequalities – Reading Responses

Author: Jenny Xie

  • Jenny Xie Week 8 Response

    We Do This Till We Free Us by Mariame Kaba introduces the political vision of abolitionism, which focuses on abandoning the current system of oppression, such as police brutality, and reorganizing it into a community-based structure of care and accountability.

    One of Kaba’s main arguments lies in the distinction between punishment and accountability. She critiques the use of punishment and urges communities to engage in accountability. Punishment is more closely tied to the legal system, involving jails and prisons where individuals face incarceration and legal consequences, whereas accountability arises from the responsibility of citizens.

    While Kaba’s vision and argument are valid, I find them somewhat utopian. The idea of abolishing the legal system entirely and replacing it with community-led accountability groups raises concerns about feasibility and equity. Personally, I find it difficult to imagine a world without a legal system, relying solely on accountability. Her vision seems more plausible in highly educated and affluent communities. In societies with systemic economic disparities, it is difficult to envision a world without theft or conflict, where everyone behaves exactly as others expect.Hence, I do find Kaba’s argument compelling though it is very idealistic in the current society where extreme disparities still perpetuates.

    At the Ready is a documentary that follows Latino high schoolers preparing for a career in law enforcement. Mariame Kaba lays the groundwork for questioning whether policing is necessary, a debate that also arises in law enforcement classes. I was particularly intrigued by the classroom discussion on deploying the military to the border. Kassy remarked, “I wasn’t participating in the debate because they weren’t discussing them as people; they were discussing them as pests.” I think her point is valid—such classroom discussions might dehumanize the subjects and frame them as “others,” thereby reducing the empathy students should have for their own communities.

  • Jenny Xie Wk 5 Response

    In this article, James discussed how democracy is dysfunctional for African Americans. She starts the article by analyzing segregated communities, showing how segregation exists in gated communities and prisons. These segregations disproportionately affect individuals’ access to resources and economic opportunities. This reminds me of “ghettos,” a term that describes urban neighborhoods high in crime and poverty. My roommate, who lived in a poorer community, shared with me that she saw a gun every other week. The deepest reason for ghettos to exist, as James pointed out, is the legacy of racial segregation, but they continue to exist because of the continued disparity in economic resources for minorities. As we see in the photobook, there is a huge racial diversity within these communities on Buford Highway. As James has noted, these segregated communities led to a disappearance of diversity: “while universities are becoming increasingly white, prisons black or brown.”

    Then, James talked about how this class and racial inequality led to a disproportionate number of Black individuals in prison. This reminded me of the book The Hate U Give, which shows the systemic racism toward Black people. The main character, Starr, witnessed her only friend being shot by a white police officer because of a suspicion that he had a gun. This story is based on real-life events, showing how systemic racism and discrimination still perpetuate. In the narration that follows, Starr shows how the communities suffer from cycles of drugs and gangs—Black individuals in poorer communities are uneducated and have limited opportunities, so the only choice they have is to participate in the drug business. This has reinforced cycles of poverty and crime, which in turn perpetuate negative stereotypes about Black communities.

    In conclusion, James’ analysis of segregation, and racial and economic disparity in communities, shows how democracy is sometimes dysfunctional for Black individuals. Her analysis allows us to critically examine the current structure and think about ways to push further to challenge this dysfunctional structure.

  • Jenny Xie Wk 4 Response

    Still Falling Through the Cracks is a comprehensive report that examines persistent problems in the education pipeline for Latinx students through K-12, community college, four-year college, and graduate education. Through a comparative race study, this report clearly illustrates the systemic inequality Latinx students face, which persists even after policy changes in California.

    One of the main challenges highlighted is the lack of attention toward Latinx students in academic support, resource allocation, and sufficient guidance at every level of education. Reflecting on curriculum design in high school, especially in humanities and social sciences courses like history, literature, and sociology, I can see the need for educational reform to include more cultural studies. Such reforms would shift the predominantly Western-oriented curriculum toward recognizing the cultural diversity of this country and the world.

    It was also intriguing that this report included comparative ethnic studies to provide a clear comparison of how different groups succeed in education. It made me reflect on my own educational journey. As an Asian student, I experienced pressure to study from my family, school, and society. This is because higher education in Asia is often perceived as a guarantee of a good career and a good life, leading parents to push students very hard and adopt a grade-oriented approach to raising their children. Although I recognize the issues associated with this demanding attitude, such as fostering an unhealthy climate of competition and intense psychological pressure, I failed to acknowledge how we sometimes take the importance of education for granted. This pressure drives students to strive for academic excellence, potentially opening doors to promising opportunities in societies with large populations and high levels of competition. This realization made me reflect on the complexity of education, which serves not only individual students but also families and entire ethnic communities.

    Hence, I agree with the authors’ recommendations on how we can promote the importance of higher education for Latinx students, as it is critical to their success. However, the educational system is highly complex and requires collaboration among multiple ethnic groups to recognize each other’s differences and work together to create a more equitable and culturally inclusive environment.

  • Jenny Xie Wk 3 Response

    Harrison began introducing Whiteness as Property by telling her grandmother’s story, which “illustrates the valorization of whiteness as treasured property in a society structured on racial caste” (1713). The way that Harrison names this racial inequality as “Racial Caste” made me think of the casta system in colonial Latin America, where people were organized into a system based on race that controlled every aspect of their lives and socio-economic status. In this system, Black people and Indigenous Peoples were considered lower than White People, and the myth of blood purity arose as racial mixing occurred. I can see many parallels between contemporary racial differences and the colonial caste system, showing the lasting effects of white supremacy ideologies and colonization.

    She then illustrates how the concept of whiteness as property originated from slavery, and how Black people were treated as economic assets, as seen in Jefferson’s story and the Johnson v. Butler case. After introducing how slavery began as a relationship between owners and property, she further defines the concept by showing the legal definition of property: “Property is thus said to be a right, not a thing, characterized as metaphysical, not physical” (1725). These rights are enjoyed by white people, and exclusively by white people. These exclusive rights manifest in the racial segregation phenomenon in the Plessy and Brown cases. Through these legal cases, along with anecdotes and personal stories, Harrison has effectively illustrated the effects of whiteness as property in many areas. In this context, although Brown’s case led to the end of tangible racial segregation, Harrison then demonstrates how racial inequalities still manifests in many present-day areas.

    Affirmative action is one contemporary example that highlights the lasting phenomenon of racial inequalities. Harrison argues that affirmative action is a principle of equality and challenges the pre-existing privileges that were exclusive to white people. Affirmative action remains a widely discussed topic in higher education, especially after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against racial classification in college admissions. A range of responses were enacted by different colleges—some supported the Supreme Court decision, while a vast majority did not. This leaves room for future legal discussions.