The article i chose to examine is called “White valedictorian: A first for historically black Morehouse”.  The article can be found at http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/05/16/white.valedictorian/index.html?iref=newssearch

Morehouse is a university located in Atlanta, Georgia. This University is known for its high academic standards and turning the dream of Martin Luther King Jr. into a reality.  Joshua Packwood is one of the only white males attending Morehouse. Packwood even turned down a full scholarship to Columbia University to attend the all black men’s university of Morehouse and is now the first white male to become valedictorian in 141 years. Joshua also attended a predominately African American high school so going to Morehouse was not as uncommon for him as it would seem. Through family problems he grew up in the black community and has always gravitated toward that.  In the article Joshua states, “I gained this interest in African-American studies and I thought that Morehouse would probably be the best experience, I think of it in terms of ’study abroad.’ If I really want to learn it, if I really want to understand it – maybe it’s best if I immerse myself in the culture.” The article also states instances where Joshua Packwood has been discriminated against for being the only white male at Morehouse. His fellow students were bothered by his presence and the fact that he had an African-American girlfriend and that he above 3,000 other students got to be the Valedictorian. It’s interesting to see how every race and ethnicity is discriminatory. While it makes sense, you wouldn’t think there would be discrimination at an African-American university, especially one that strives to portray the dream of Martin Luther King Jr. It just goes to show that everyone, regardless of background or race, is somewhat afraid of people being different. It’s part of human nature and while I think education and family values are a huge part of overcoming this, even establishments with the highest education face the issue sometimes.(word count: 305).

Article: http://www.allaboutpopularissues.org/racial-prejudice.htm

The article I chose was called Racial Prejudice-Discrimination? I thought this was in interesting article because everyone knows about prejudice, it’s something we have learned about in school for most of our lives but I feel like people don’t really know about it or where it comes from.  The author pointed out many aspects of prejudice such as, “fear, intolerance, separation, segregation, discrimination, and hatred” and the main source of prejudice and stereotypes as being ignorance and this is completely true. We are ill mannered when it comes to racial prejudice and a quote from the article I chose states, “Racial prejudice perverts this uniqueness of the races and takes the view that these differences separate individuals further into groups, with one group being inferior to the other”. This statement shows exactly how distorted our image of one another has become. I thought it was interesting to actually take a look at how the author of the article responded to the question of, do we all have it? I agree that it’s hardwired in our systems from the moment we begin to recognize differences among the people we are surrounded by. As the article also describes, we constantly judge people based on “superficial characteristics” which only increases stereotyping and prejudice.  I thought this article did a nice job at identifying the origin of prejudice such as the fact that it dates all the way back to Bible times and the times of Hitler and touching on different areas of why it still exists.  (Word Count: 253)

http://www.ncela.gwu.edu/pubs/classics/culture/identity.htm

The article I have decided to expand upon is called Cultural Identity. When I first glanced at the topic of culture and identity I was not sure what exactly it meant until I thought about culture itself. Depending upon what kind of culture you grow up around, that typically defines who you are as a person, which is what this article is about. The article states, “Most value their own group membership. Some reject their own group and wish to change”. I liked this statement because I think it says a lot about the culture that we are surrounded by in America. There is so much diversity and we get to experience so many different aspects of different cultures through interacting with different people that it is easy for us to simply change the direction we want to go in as far as our identity, based on culture. We have the freedom being Americans, to switch religions if we observe and want to continue learning about a new one, switch lifestyles, anything we want and this is not possible in many other cultures where uniformity is valued.

            Another statement that got my attention was, “Those who value their own group membership and don’t wish to acculturate to the dominant group may be treated as not ‘well adjusted’ to our society. Those who reject their own group and wish to change may be viewed as ‘traitors’ to family and old friends. Those who wish to belong to more than one group may be mistrusted by both, and seen as ’spies’.” While there are still many people who hold traditional values as sacred and take pride in the culture they have been exposed to growing up, I believe that most people grasp the opportunity for change and embrace it. You can’t please everyone, so it’s important to start off by pleasing yourself! Part of our countries “magic” so to speak is the ability to explore different cultures and decide for oneself who you are and what you stand for, I don’t think this means we have to give up aspects and important values that have been instilled in us through our primary culture. (Word count: 364)

http://www.cs.org/publications/csq/csq-article.cfm?id=1727

This article gives a great example of intercultural conflict. In this article, American Indians fight for justice. Johann Augustus Sutter is a prominent figure of Sacramento, California. There are many different places and objects named after him, including the controversial, Sutter Place. Sutter place is a street located in the city of Davis which is named after Johann Sutter. Professor and Indian scholar Jack Forbes wrote an article on the notorious Sutter called, “Native Intelligence” which exposed the truth about the man that was so highly regarded. Sutter may have been the “father of Sacramento”, but he was also a child molester. According to the article, “‘Sutter’s possession of captive girls and boys coupled with his despotic power seems to have led to some serious abuses,’” writes Forbes. “‘According to Heinrich Lienhard, a Swiss who lived at Nueva Helvecia … Sutter was a sexual predator against very young girls.’” Steve Jerome-Wyatt is a Washo/Northern Paiute Indian who lives in the city of Davis. He was appalled at the information found on a man who had been such a well known and positive figure in the city. Wyatt took the case to the Davis City Council where the case grew and Indian leaders requested that a name change of Sutter Place occur. Unfortunately their case was refused and Sutter place still remains to this day. As the article states and as the protesters told the Davis City Council, “what you are actually doing is honoring the legacy of a 19^th century child molester”.

This shows the intercultural conflict of America with American Indians. The street was named after a man who many people did not realize was a child molester. Even though he was known for greatness, the true facts are more important and have been overlooked for far too long. While the two cultures may disagree based on different perspectives and the fact that Sutter’s bad qualities went unnoticed during the time of the street naming and recognition, the real information has been brought to the surface and that should be enough to give justice to those who feel a need for it. (WC: 353)

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