Final Thoughts!!!

I was really excited when I found out the theme of our class was race and justice.  Almost everyone else in my class is from NY, where there is every type of race and culture.  I’m from a little city in North Carolina where it is a majority of black and white.  I saw a lot of racism in NC, mostly from whites towards blacks.  I would think racism wouldn’t even exist in NY because of all the different types of people living here, and I had always thought it didn’t until this course made me more aware, to the point where I started looking for it.  I see a lot of racism where I live in Harlem.  I understand, it is a higher crime rate neighborhood, but that doesn’t call for unlawful and racist actions from the police to the citizens of the community.  Thats the biggest problem I see, where I live.  I’ve always known this racism was present, but I never really understood the full meaning of racism until this course.  Through all the readings we’ve had assigned, it’s made me understand how bad racism can really be.  Especially in the eye of the criminal justice system.  But also, the open workshops, have really helped me understand how present racism really is.  We have a very diverse english class and hearing some of their personal stories of how they’ve been treated because of race, has really made me see how present it still is.  As ignorant as it sounds, or maybe just because of how I grew up in a mostly black and white community, whenever i’ve thought about racism, whites and blacks come to my mind.  My mind doesn’t think like that at all anymore, because of this course.  My mindstate first changed, at the very beginning of this course with the columbus day reading, and then I just became so much more aware with all the stories from the open workshops I read.   I always knew racism was prestn, but I guess i’ve never experienced it personally to a large extent.  After my eyes started opening a little I noticed racism everywhere, and I HATE IT!!  I had never noticed before, but now just walking down a hall or standing outside of Baruch, I constantly here racist slurs coming from everywhere.  Whether people are joking or not, I don’t think its funny that people are being referred to as asians, or afghans, or whatever other race.  This surprises me, especially at Baruch, I would think people would be so much more open, with all the foreign students and diverse ethnicities.   People should be proud of where they come from, and their culture.  They should embrace it!  Racism just sets the barriers of keeping this world more seperate and segrated.  People who feel racism are more likely to stick to their race, rather than embracing all races and accepting them for how they are.  I really enjoyed both the books, that were chosen for this course.  Even though, I didn’t finish them on time for class, I finished them both on my own and I think that says a lot.  I’ve always known racism existed in the justice system, but i’ve never felt so passionate about the cruelty from it, until after these readings.  Knowing that racism is still so present today, I’m going to be so much more aware of it, and do anything I can to live the most unprejudice life and standing up for racism whenever I can.  From one of my first essays, i said, race and justice go hand in hand.  I think thats all the more accurate after completing this course.  Racism is still happening on the daily, towards every race.  And because of this course, I see how present it really still is in so many different aspects.