hfbsmulticulturaljournal

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Multi-Media Summary

Over the course of this summer class, I have learned how valuable it is to immerse oneself with multicultural art and media, even with movies and television shows that one can enjoy as well. These 3 media selections I have studied contain so many relevant events and issues to today. One can view multicultural media in order to become aware of how others’ live and what others’ go through and develop an understanding and appreciation for diversity. There are so many different people and circumstances that one will encounter and it is important for empathy’s sake and personal growth to have a well-rounded grasp of the world—not through the lens of the privileged, but from the perspective of the people who experience it.

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Activism Through Instagram

The Instagram account SocialWorkSage is run by a school social worker named Jasmine. This account provides awareness, information, history and encouragement on a wide array of issues such as racism, gender and sexual orientation, and mental health among others. Figure 1 shows an example of the account showcasing a Black historical character. These “historical spotlights” the author creates tie in very well with the purpose of this class—to give voice and credit to important people and historical events that are not widely put in the “spotlight”. There are also Native American, Latinx and LGBTQ+ spotlights on this Instagram page.

Figure 1.

This account also sheds awareness of intersectional identity and how it is individualized and different for everyone. In one of their post captions, Jasmine talked about what it means to be Black and also what it means to be a woman, and how both contribute to her identity, but being Black is more important or of influence to her. This idea of identity directly correlates back to “The Hapa Project: 10 Years Later” and the formation of identity (Fulbeck, 2011). SocialWorkSage is in itself “digital artivism”, a term coined as a result of Judy Baca’s work with SPARC meaning activism in the form of digital art (Sandoval, Guisela, 2008). Figure 2 is another example of relation to Takaki’s chapter “To the Land of Hope”, highlighting the struggles of the Black community in order for survival—struggles that white people did not have to go through (1993). One last example of relation to Multicultural Art150 is the Instagram account’s story of Yuri Kochiyama, a Japanese-American activist. In general, her work and leadership relates to all the figures we learned about in this class, but specifically I was reminded also of Grace Lee Boggs, another Asian-American, because both were heavily involved in activism, specifically for the Black community (Lee, 2005).

Figure 2.

Note: Reposted by @socialworksage. Originally from: @voicesthroughvisuals

SocialWorkSage generates conversations about race and cultural diversity in the fact that its posts in and of themselves are about race and showcase many different ethnicities. Most post captions go in depth with information about these topics, educating the reader along the way. There are posts to inform or challenge people, including non-Black viewers and often specifically educators, about Black Lives Matter, LGBTQ+ issues, and cultural diversity, and ways to fight racism in the classroom, support people of color or check one’s own privilege. But there are also posts for encouragement towards other people of color as well and this also creates a safe space for them which is just as important as multicultural education.  Figure 3 is an example of encouragement and strength.

Figure 3.

Note: reposted by @socialworksage. Originally from: @artbysafara.

 Citations:

Fulbeck, Kip (2011). “The Hapa Project – 10 Years After.” The Asian American Literary Review (pp. 1-22).

Lamitte, J. [@socialworksage]. (n.d.). Posts [Instagram profile]. Instagram. Retrieved July 25, 2021, from https://www.instagram.com/socialworksage/?hl=en.

Lamitte, J. [@socialworksage]. (2021, February 4). “Black History Spotlight: Dorothy Heights” [image]. Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/CK4weIQjXEN/

Lamitte, J. [@socialworksage]. (2021, April 21). “One of racism’s harms” [image]. Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/CN8JRD5jVYz/

Lamitte, J. [@socialworksage]. (2021, February 28). “Still I rise” [image]. Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/CL2MxeZDFYK/

Lee, G. (Director). (2005). The Grace Lee Project. Women Make Movies (Production Company). From Kanopy: https://uwm.kanopy.com/video/grace-lee-project-0

Sandoval, Chela, and Guisela Latorre. “Chicana/o Artivism: Judy Baca’s Digital Work with Youth of Color." Learning Race and Ethnicity: Youth and Digital Media. Edited by Anna Everett. The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Series on Digital Media and Learning. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 2008. 81–108. doi: 10.1162/dmal.9780262550673.081

Takaki, R. T. (1993). To “The Land of Hope”. In A different mirror: a history of multicultural America (pp. 311-335). Back Bay Books.

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Just Mercy

Just Mercy, a 2019 film directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, follows the true story of a Black man, Walter McMillian, who was wrongfully convicted of murdering a white woman in his town, and was placed on death row, even before he was on trial. Bryan Stevenson, a new Harvard graduate and defense attorney, sets up an office in Alabama seeking to bring justice for Walter McMillian and other inmates wrongfully set on death row.

Figure 1.

Note: Michael B. Jordan as Bryan Stevenson and Jamie Foxx as Walter McMillian in Just Mercy, 2019.

Figure 2.

Note: Walter McMillian and Bryan Stevenson, Equal Justice Initiative.

As Stevenson looks at the evidence for McMillian’s case, he finds that it is based almost entirely on a white convicted felon’s feeble testimony and that Black witnesses who attested to McMillian’s alibi and innocence were suppressed from testifying. The story sheds light on racism, corrupt police officers and court systems, and how little Black people are valued, including veterans with PTSD. Just Mercy strongly relates to Multicultural Art class on the United States history of racism, violence, and the struggle for civil rights and freedom. This movie relates to the darkening of a photo of O.J. Simpson in order to make him look more “dangerous” (Kurtz, 1994): one felon on death row was convicted because the prosecutor said “he was guilty based on his look”. In other words, in Just Mercy, in this class’s documents and photos, and out in the world, people view Black people as dangerous as well as capable and responsible for terrible crimes they didn’t commit, just based on their skin color. A scene in Just Mercy, where a group of people gather to nonchalantly watch the electrocution of a Black man, Herbert Richardson, is similar to the lynching scenes and photographs in the “hooded” archives described by Mirzoeff in “The Shadow and the Substance: Race, Photography and the Index” (2003). 

As a white person watching this film, I can witness the struggles and hurt of Black people and their communities as well as their strength and courage. The film easily shows the McMillian and other convicted felons on death row are innocent and deserve true justice, but it also challenges viewers on how they view people of color in daily life and if negative biases are perhaps present.

Just Mercy generates many conversations about race, racism, personal biases and corrupt systems, especially because it is a true story and relates strongly to today—where videos and media are finally capturing the disgusting treatment of people of color as well as others who justify that treatment. As Stevenson in the movie pointed out, the system is not about justice and right or wrong, it is about white versus black: a white convicted felon was coerced into telling a false testimony and believed, but law-abiding Black citizens were not allowed to testify, Stevenson, a Harvard defense attorney, was illegally stopped and harassed at gunpoint by cops. These events in this movie are relatable to the murders of so many Black citizens at the hands of cops.

Figure 3.

Note: Rob Morgan as Herbert Richardson, being led to execution.

Figure 4.

Note: Protest poster displaying the names of Black people murdered.

The movie ends on a positive note—McMillian was finally proved innocent and released, and he and Stevenson continued to fight for justice for Black people and others on death row. This generates a message of action to be anti-racist and to make moves to help people of color and to stand up for justice.

 Citations:

Just Mercy. Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, performance by Michael B. Jordan & Jamie Foxx [image]. Warner Bros. Pictures, 2019. Amazon Prime, https://www.amazon.com/Just-Mercy-Michael-B-Jordan/dp/B082YJ8THX.

Just Mercy. Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, performance by Rob Morgan [image]. Warner Bros. Pictures, 2019. Amazon Prime, https://www.amazon.com/Just-Mercy-Michael-B-Jordan/dp/B082YJ8THX.

Just Mercy (2019). Warner Bros. Pictures. Amazon Prime. https://www.amazon.com/Just-Mercy-Michael-B-Jordan/dp/B082YJ8THX.

Kurtz, H. (1994, June 22). TIME'S 'SINISTER' SIMPSON. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1994/06/22/times-sinister-simpson/6659311e-0bc0-4215-96f5-40271e38525a/.

Manterfield, M. L. (2020). Say Their Names. WSAV. photograph. https://www.wsav.com/news/local-news/live-updates-protesters-gather-in-downtown-savannah-over-george-floyd-death/.

Mirzoeff, N. (2003). The Shadow and the Substance: Race, Photography and the Index. In C. Fusco & B. Willis (Eds.), Only Skin Deep: Changing Visions of the American Self (pp. 111-127). International Center of Photography.

Walter McMillian and Bryan Stevenson. (2020). New York Post. photograph. https://nypost.com/2020/06/04/the-harrowing-true-story-of-just-mercy/.

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Gentefied - Multimedia Journal

Figure 1.

Note: Facebook. Gentefied. This family's not for sale. Facebook, 21 February 2020, https://www.facebook.com/gentefied/photos/a.566749546849683/1292808494243781. Accessed 18 July 2021.f

Gentefied is a television series on Netflix surrounding the story of the Morales family. One of the main plots of the show is the Hispanic family struggling to keep up and afford their taco shop, Mama Fina’s, named after their deceased grandmother. The abuelo in the story, Casimiro, started the shop from the ground up and wanted it to create a greater future for his grandchildren. This shows the struggle and vision many immigrants faced when coming to the United States. Many other characters’ individual struggles intertwine in this series, such as Ana’s aspirations to showcase her artwork, Erik torn between being a present father for his baby versus supporting his girlfriend’s decision to move, and Chris struggling to fulfill his dream of being a chef. Yet they all have to sacrifice in order to help save Mama Fina’s. This television series relates strongly to Multicultural Art’s topics, especially in regards to identity—each character is struggling finding their place in the world while remaining true to their origins and family.

       Chris Morales has an identity crisis in this series. His cousins view him as uppity and too good to help with the taco shop, and his kitchen coworkers accuse him of being a “coconut”—brown on the outside, white on the inside. Chris’ coworkers quiz him on Mexican history, candy, dancing, and other “tests” to prove that he is Mexican. After Chris stands up to their racist boss on behalf of his coworkers, they finally approve of him. His identity struggle could be similar to another character, Ana’s girlfriend, Yessika. Yessika is Black and Latinx. Just as was shown in the Hapa Project, Chris and Yessika’s characters could generate a conversation that being Latinx does not look any one way. They might be relatable to some viewers who struggle with feeling like they must prove who they are. Julissa Calderon, who plays Yessika, describes the similarities between her personal life and Yessika’s character in this Youtube video.

       Yessika also is an activist dedicated to her community. She evens stands up and protests against Mama Fina’s because the actions they are taking to save their shop would lead to gentrification of their neighborhood.

Figure 2.

Note: Gentefied. Directed by Marvin Lemus and Linda Yvette Chavez, performance by Julissa Calderon [image]. MACRO, Sector 7 Productions, Anchor Baby Productions, Take Fountain Productions, Yellow Brick Road, 2020. Netflix, https://www.netflix.com/title/80198208

Yessika also warns her girlfriend, Ana Morales, about the wealthy white man, Tim, who is commissioning Ana to create art at a high price. Tim was using Ana’s art for gentrification purposes, as well—to increase the property values in order to attract rich, white people, which would destroy the community already living there. Ana only sees Tim’s offers as a way to showcase her art, however she realizes Yessika is right, when Tim makes a show out of her family’s heritage, immigration, and struggles at her art show instead of just appreciating her talent with good intentions.

Figure 3.

Note: Gentefied. Directed by Marvin Lemus and Linda Yvette Chavez, performance by Karrie Martin [image]. MACRO, Sector 7 Productions, Anchor Baby Productions, Take Fountain Productions, Yellow Brick Road, 2020. Netflix, https://www.netflix.com/title/80198208

This is similar to how people make a show out of different cultures, such as in “The Couple in the Cage”. The stories and struggles of these characters in Gentefied are relatable to challenges many Latinx people and other immigrants face today.

  Citations:

Calderon, J. (2020, March 25). Gentefied's Julissa Calderon Is Not Changing Her Accent. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhtm6b0WPa4.

(Figure 1). Facebook. Gentefied. This family's not for sale. Facebook, 21 February 2020, https://www.facebook.com/gentefied/photos/a.566749546849683/1292808494243781. Accessed 18 July 2021.

(Figure 2). Gentefied. Directed by Marvin Lemus and Linda Yvette Chavez, performance by Julissa Calderon [image]. MACRO, Sector 7 Productions, Anchor Baby Productions, Take Fountain Productions, Yellow Brick Road, 2020. Netflix, https://www.netflix.com/title/80198208

(Figure 3). Gentefied. Directed by Marvin Lemus and Linda Yvette Chavez, performance by Karrie Martin [image]. MACRO, Sector 7 Productions, Anchor Baby Productions, Take Fountain Productions, Yellow Brick Road, 2020. Netflix, https://www.netflix.com/title/80198208