Personal Journal #2: 3.8.09

Question: How would you respond to Dr. Tatum's closing question in the film: Who has had opportunities in my environment and who hasn't? What can I influence? How am I making a more equitable environment?

The differences between people of privilege and those without is vast. Usually the people in our environment who do not have privileges have been that way for a long time. Once something has been a certain way for a long time, it's hard to make a change for the better. Through being in this class I am more aware of the privilege that has been afforded to me simply because of the color o f my skin. In my environment at home people with more money have more opportunity than those without money. The majority of people in my area were white, but the disparity of money is extremely vast. Also, about 20 minutes down the road were the projects on the North Side of Pittsburgh which were inhabited mostly by impoverished African Americans. This is another depressing picture of the "white flight" to the suburbs that they discussed in the movie after WWII. The culture shock from one area to another was extremely disturbing to me, and I tried to make a difference in the ways that I could.
I used to work on the North Side over the summers at a day camp for the youth who lived in the project and also for kids in the surrounding area whose parents needed an affordable option for their kids for the summer. Since I love to teach and to spend time with children, being able to interact with the youth and to help with their education over the summers was an unforgettable impact on my life as well. Now that I am older and can see the truth of the disparity, I can take my passion to work with chidren and to see equal opportunities for education and use my age and whatever other authority I have in society as leverage over the system. I believe that the root of the problems in today's society is perpetuating the effects of the racism of our forefathers by basing school funding on property taxes. This has been detrimental to our school system and in turn detrimental to our society as well. Any way that I can be a voice for the equal opportunity to a QUALITY education would be one step closer to making a more equitable environment.