knowledgeactivism-blog

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Classism

The Wrong Guys (We’re Always Right)

Check in questions:

“Do your aspirations include you reaching a higher social class?” and “Are the people you admire in a high(er) social class?”

Classism: Prejudice or discrimination based on class, unequal treatment based on one’s social class (social class = label that indicates to others how much wealth/economic power one has; social and economic prowess interrelated)

The current global wealth distribution is as follows: the richest 0.5% of the world’s population owns 35.6% of the wealth, the upper middle class (7.5% of the population) owns 43.7% of global wealth, and the middle class (23.5% of the population) owns 16.5% of the wealth, leaving only 4.2% of the world’s wealth for the lower-middle and lower classes, which account for 68.4% of the world’s population.

Activity: After the check-in questions, we begun class with an activity meant to showcase this distribution. We set up ten chairs and asked the entire class (~20 people) to spread out evenly (~two to a chair); this represents a completely equal wealth distribution, such as that attempted by communism. We then began to adjust the seating situation to reflect the current situation, leaving one person to occupy 3 seats, 2 people to occupy 4 seats (2 each) 4 people to occupy 2 chairs (2 people to 1 chair) and everyone else to occupy the last seat/floor; representing the top 0.5%, upper-middle, middle, and remaining classes, respectively. We also proportionately gave out cookies to match each of these groups, so the "richest” person ended up with many cookies and the “poorest” group (~13 people) had to share one cookie. People at the “bottom” were very crowded and hungry, whereas the “richer” students were far fuller and more comfortable.

After this activity, we presented on types of classism, breaking it down into two concepts: individual/interpersonal classism, and structural/institutional classism. We discussed how different waves of immigrants have attained different class levels, tying class to race, and also gave a more in depth lecture on the history of classism via the creation of an economy dependent on racism, sexism, homophobia, and imperialism. We connected past institutions, laws and attitudes to those of modern times, and looked at how current societal norms are derived from the past and how they have changed over time.

The rest of the class was a discussion of the intersectionality of classism relating to citizenship status, race, gender. It was very in depth and interesting, class is a fundamental part of society and it’s important to consider how it affects and is affected by our other identities.

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TMD Barangay 

Date: April 18th, 2017 

Topic: Gender Inequality and Sexism 

 Sexism : prejudice or discrimination based on sex ; attitudes that foster stereotypes of social roles based on sex

After defining sexism, we presented to the class on the history of sexism and how it has been prevalent in American society and how it has changed over time. Overall, women have been the one’s most oppressed throughout history. Women had to fight for their right to votes, suffered from being overly sexualized by men, and current still battling for equal pay. So, although some may argue that sexism has been flipped on its head and that women are getting the upper hand in today time period, the contrary is seen in our world today.

The main point in terms of sexism is that it is something that we need to consistently talk about with one another (males and females together). We are constantly supporting sexism everyday from the littlest thing that we may say or do. For example, how women wants a “gentleman” or how a man wants a woman to be “inferior or subordinate.” We fall into society’s flaw of constructing idealism of the nature of being a man and a woman. 

The activity that we did in class consisted of two boxes where everyone could contribute in writing in. One box is labeled “Act like a Man” and the other box is labeled “Act like a Woman”. Within each box, we asked everyone to write what they feel society expects a male or a female are suppose to be like. And outside of the box, consisted of terms that people are called when they don’t follow this ideal social construct of a man or of a woman. The picture above illustrates what was written in class.

Lastly, we ended the class with a discussion on sexism in general and how we are all individually affected by sexism within different cultures and communities. It was pleasure to hear everyone’s perspectives on the nature of the topic. It was insightful and truly respectable. We encourage everyone to have these discussions with their peers to build a community where we can better respect one another. 

[knowledgeactivism-blog]

Racism Class 4/4/17

Check In Question: What does race mean to you?

Reflection: On a separate sheet of paper write a story/anecdote about race that you have encountered. 

Barangay 4: Racism Powerpoint

https://docs.google.com/a/dons.usfca.edu/presentation/d/1BodWDQHiSInqkyclNmUxwAS9APq0t3KgQBJ1RDB2k0U/edit?usp=sharing

In Class Activity: Shapes

Everyone is randomly assigned a shape (circles, squares, triangles). Each shape has a different personality trait. The object of the game is to treat others as if their stereotypes/traits were true. Every shape is treated differently but the circle is especially privileged in that they receive many rewards (candy and chocolate) for doing the same work as the other shapes but because they are circles, they seem more qualified. 

Reflection afterwards: Many of the classmates were uncomfortable due to the fact that all the circles were treated above every other shape. They were given more opportunities and they didn’t like the fact that they could not change their shapes. 

In Class Discussion: 

-Definition of racism

-Trump’s Policy

-Shared personal experiences

-Interconnected with colonialism

-Racism is connected to white supremacy (they want power)

-Debate of whether racism is biological or not

-Heartbeat chart (going through ups and downs in American history in order to get to where we are now)

[knowledgeactivism-blog]

Barangay ng Tulungan: Decolonization

AGENDA FOR TODAY

1. Check in Question 2. Announcements 3. Cultural Energizer (Barangay 3) 4. Culinary Cultural Wealth 5. Decolonization 6. Bagsak

Check in Question:

What is your favorite home-cooked meal? Next class (4/4):

Read the expert from Ta-nehisi Coates’s Between the World and Me

Barangay 4: CE on Racism

Snacks: Elizabeth

Extra Credit Opportunities: Barrio Fiesta (3/31 & 4/1)

Service Learning Opportunity: This Saturday from 10 am - 3 pm with VEC. Text Caroline to volunteer.

Office Hours with Allen

Cultural Energizer:

1. Check-in Question: How have you been colonized? What steps would you to decolonize?

One group talked about how some Asian-Americans feel that they have to change their last names to sound more “American” and easier for Americans to pronounce.

2. Activity Part 1:

Groups worked together to create as many cuff links as possible without restrictions.

Activity Part 2:

Group #1 - Cannot speak to one another

Group #2 - Can only have ONE tool at a time, must switch out tools

Group #3 - Each member can only use one hand

Group #4 - Only one member is allowed to work on the activity

Group #5 - Paper cuff links from the 1st round are thrown away!!! #bye

Debrief: 

Q: What was the hardest part about doing the 2nd activity?

A: “It would be only being able to use one hand for the second activity”

The resources were taken away during the second round to show how the 7 L’s relate to the activity and certain resources we took away from each group.

“Taking away the resources could either make you give up or motivate you to keep moving forward.” 

Culinary Cultural Wealth:

The ingredients of this fruit salad are not indigenous to the Philippines, but are from Nestle and Del Monte.

Cultural Food Colonialism - linkages of food to processes of U.S. Global expansion and that strengthened neocolonial relationships between the U.S. and the countries and peoples of Asia and the Pacific. (Padoongpatt, 188)

1. Example: 

The natural resources of the Philippines (such as rice and fruits) are being shipped away to places such as the United States which leaves the country with little to no resources.

Culinary Multiculturalism

2. Another example: Bobby Flay Throwdown

Meme showing Bobby Flay with the caption, “finds amateur chefs who make one thing really well, challenges them to a throwdown so he can take that away in front of friends and family”

How does one have the power to belittle someone’s culture and heritage for their own profit? This is what Bobby Flay Throwdown and Fear Factor have done.

Cultural Estrangement

How does food affect how we view others?

Shifts of cultural norms and cultural allegiance in its effort to erase ethnic identification in favor of assimilation and rendering ethnic practices ridiculous and shameful (Xu, 2008)

1. Example:

Eating dog, balut, foie gras (?)

Decolonized Diet

The preparation of food as an act of resistance

[knowledgeactivism-blog]

I-Barangay

Internalized: For this section of our icebreaker, we asked the students to go to their desk and get a piece of paper. Then, with similar instructions to the previous exercise, we asked them to journal about how they felt, or just any stream of consciousness about the following phrases:

Have you ever believed a stereotype about yourself?Have you ever believed that you were unworthy or not good enough to do something?Have you ever stopped pursuing something because someone told you that you could not do it? Though we did not ask them to share, I was glad to see that people were feeling introspective and engaged with our questions. I hope this exercise helped them think about the ways oppression can unknowingly enter our lives, even though their own selves.We first started off the class exploring the different types of oppression. First of which was institutional oppression. In this activity, we showed examples of how we face institutional oppression in our lives by stating the following questions:

- If you ever had a job where you received less pay than somebody for doing equal work… Maggie

- If you ever felt like law enforcement was not on your side...  Jason

- If you had inadequate educational resources… Monika

- If you ever got evicted from your home… Bettina

For every prompt that applied to a person’s life, we made them stand up. I realized that very few people stood up for receiving less pay, inadequate educational resources, and evictions. However, a lot of people especially people of color stood up for when law enforcement was not on their side. This brought to light how institutions, even though they might seem really far, effect our own daily lives.

Interpersonal:

We asked the classmates to get into their barangay and sit in a circle. As we show our examples of interpersonal oppressions we commonly face, if any of them feel or believe they have experienced it, they will put their hands in the middle. Here are the following phrases:

- If an educator, counselor or other authority figure ever discouraged you from pursuing a particular field of study or profession… Maggie

- If people routinely mispronounce your name... (stand up). Jason

- If you were ever bullied because of your race, class, gender, religion, or any of your other personal identities Monika

- If people made stereotypes about you Bettina

During this section, I realized that more hands are put in compare to the institutional oppression section. This shows that people experiences interpersonal oppression more than institutional oppression; but it may also be that people may not know that they are experiencing institutional oppression.

Internalized:

For this section of our icebreaker, we asked the students to go to their desk and get a piece of paper. Then, with similar instructions to the previous exercise, we asked them to journal about how they felt, or just any stream of consciousness about the following phrases:

- Have you ever believed a stereotype about yourself?

- Have you ever believed that you were unworthy or not good enough to do something?

- Have you ever stopped pursuing something because someone told you that you could not do it?

Though we did not ask them to share, I was glad to see that people were feeling introspective and engaged with our questions. I hope this exercise helped them think about the ways oppression can unknowingly enter our lives, even though their own selves.

[knowledgeactivism-blog]

Session 6: 2/28/17

Check In Question: If you could make a permission slip for anything, what would it be? 

We finished our last talambuhay.

Barangay #2 - United Playaz introduced the class to Social and Political Issues in Cultural Energizer.

Next we graded our assessments from last class and discussed our interpretations of their answers. 

We went around the room sharing our definitions and examples of White Supremacy, Patriarchy, and Capitalism.

Professor Del Rosario noticed we were all shlumped and made us stretch and do some high-knees.

Art and folklore regarding patriarchy.

White Supremacy: 

Capitalism:

Balagtasan: poetic debate next class 3/2

Love,

United Playaz

P.S.: **EXTRA CREDIT**:

Rock the School Bells 3/11

Jason Bayami “Locus of Control” 3/3 & 3/8

International Working Women's Day 3/11

[knowledgeactivism-blog]

Session 4: Barangay

Check In Question of the Day: What is your definition of love?

We started class with some talambuhays. We have two more to go! After today’s presentations, we did “blind affirmations” by standing in a circle and affirming each other (without saying the exact name of the student/teacher).

Next we had a discussion about True Generosity versus False Charity.

Our class definition of the two terms:

True Generosity: More than just money, giving your time and dedication, don’t expect anything in return, not for yourself, give what you can and truly care, not as a favor

False Charity: doesn’t take input, selfish reasons

Next we broke into our class “barangays” or working groups. Throughout the semester, we will be in barangays to support each other both inside and outside of class. The 6 barangays are as follows:

We went over Service Learning forms, etiquette, and Barangay Responsibilities. 

To build community among our barangays, we did a round of “barangay battles” where each barangay had to brainstorm and perform as many songs as they could with the lyrics “love.”

We ended class with isang, dalawang, and tatlong bagsak.

For next class:

- Catch up on all your journals

- Contact your assigned SL partner!

- Barangay #1 will lead us in a Cultural Energizer

[knowledgeactivism-blog]

Session 3: Pedagogy

Last week’s Check In Question:

What is a song that helps you focus and puts you “in the zone”?

Check out our class spotify playlist at http://knowledgeactivism.tumblr.com/ OR https://open.spotify.com/user/121714866/playlist/2h0y7b5smo40eYolprSxpZ . We weren't able to add one song because we couldn't find it on spotify, so here's the link if you want to listen: Chance the Rapper feat. Childish Gambino - Favorite Song.

We spent most of the class doing talambuhays. Next class we will have two more left!

After talambuhays, we spent the last 20 minutes of class talking about PURPOSE and PEDAGOGY.

What is your pedagogy?

Pedagogy is The ART of TEACHING and LEARNING.  In education, pedagogy encompasses the purpose, content, and methods in the process of teaching and learning. Critical pedagogy is also about praxis. Praxis is theory + practice + reflection.

Art:

1. The conscious production or arrangement of sounds, colors, forms, movements, or other elements in a manner that affects the sense of beauty, specifically the production of the beautiful in any form.

2. A system of principles and methods employed in the performance of a form.

3. A trade or craft that applies a system of principles, methods, and strategies.

- American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 2000

Teaching: Facilitating the growth of knowledge, skills, and strategies.

Learning has an integral role in teaching.

Teaching is a performative act. Pedagogy should be transgressive.

»- bell hooks, Teaching to Transgress

Learning: To gain knowledge, experience, understanding, and/or perspective. Both students and teachers learn. This also means that there is faith and hope that all students and teachers can learn from each other.

Journal 2 Prompt: Upon reflection of these definitions and also class discussion, what is your pedagogy? Here are sample statements you can use to form your pedagogy.

I became a student because...

As a student teacher, I want to be...

My purpose/values in my leadership are...

You will be able to see this when...

My responsibility as a leader is...

I develop relationships with other students by...

I develop relationships with teachers and other community members by...

This class will be relevant when...

This class will be responsive when...

For next class:

- Finish your reflection for Talambuhay

- If you haven’t chosen your SL site, be sure to choose by completing Journal 1.

- Complete Journal 2

[knowledgeactivism-blog]

#NowPlaying Spring 2017: in the zone playlist by Caroline Calderon

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Session 2: Talambuhays

The second Knowledge Activism class started out with a check-in questions: 

How can we engage one another?

What are ways we can keep this a safe space?

How should we act in this class?

Here were some of the student responses:

SPACE should... be a place of acceptance and understanding be a safe place but not judging one another ensure that every student knows they won't be judged because of their culture allow for students to break up into groups and have each student in a group present and other students answer honor Vegas rule (what's shared here stays here), golden rule STUDENTS TEACHERS should... be openminded, open to all of our opinions and experiences be respectful (inside and outside of class) understand everyone without judgment challenge each other when appropriate be attentive when people share their thoughts and open to understand their points of view be open to having constructive discussions pay attention to use of language know the difference between sharing your point and arguing when there are two opposing parties not "yuck" on someone's "yum" be aware of your body language help anyone that has questions get to know each other and work together know and value different perspectives from understanding --> growing deeper understanding know how to hold each other in this classroom teach tolerance, be accepting of those around us (ethnicity, background, education, etc) be kind to one another respect other's privacy by not telling their personal stories to anyone outside class smile and greet each other be polite to one another, no saying offensive language, have peaceful discussion

ONE MIC... Give people attention when it's their turn to speak, respond respectfully encourage people to speak up and share their opinion be active listeners

ENGAGE Discuss our thoughts and feelings with one another be on time and be prepared to discuss any readings or assignments explore how our personal experiences fit with those of others include others in conversation in team work

The rest of the class was spent doing Talambuhays. Students were asked to provide feedback for presenters: Kisses (what they like about the presentation) and Questions (for the presenter).

For next class:

- Finish your talambuhays (Part 3)

- Complete your first journal: Part 1 - 

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Session 1: Intro to KA

January 24th marked the first class period for Knowledge Activism.

We started class passing out “name tents” so students could share their preferred names but also write responses for the daily check-in questions.

The check-in question for the day was “What is your New Year’s Revolution?”

Students were split into 3 groups and shared their revolutions with their group members. Each group created a movement that was representative of their revolutions.

Afterwards, the three instructors (Professor Del Rosario, Allen, and Caroline) did a “course carousel” that went over 1) Class expectations and requirements 2) Service-Learning component and 3) MIND, BODY, SOUL.

We spent the rest of the class introducing the Talambuhay project and ended class with an “Isang Bagsak.”

Due Next Class:

- PEP Registration Form & Student Life Survey

- Talambuhay (3-5 minute presentation)

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Barangay 2 (Infinite)

Summary: 

Group meditation within the class to stray from the political and detrimental side of society.

Message and meaning behind the activity.

For our cultural energizer we decided to drift away from the literal side of society and focus on mind, body, and soul. We had the class participate in a 10 minute group meditation session so students were able to connect with their inner self and balance their inner Chakra’s.  

Key Terms:

Mind: the element of a person that enables them to be aware of the world and their experiences, to think, and to feel; the faculty of consciousness and thought.

Body: the physical structure of a person or an animal, including the bones, flesh, and organs.

Soul: the spiritual or immaterial part of a human being or animal, regarded as immortal. 

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Session 13 Part 1: Classism

Hello! We are Barangay 5 and our activity was based on Classism and the socioeconomic aspect involved with the concept.

Summary of our “Protect your Egg Child” Activity:

One group had $300, one had $150, and two groups had $75.

Purpose/Message Behind Activity:

As mentioned in the summary, we gave each group a random card that determined how much they had to spend. Ultimately, this determined the items they could buy to protect their “egg child”. Since our topic was on classism, we wanted to show the rest of the class through this activity how your economic status can affect your opportunity in even the smallest of ways. By having each group receive a predetermined amount of spending money, it helped reflect how society gives more privilege to those who are financially better off. We have grown up in a culture where the amount of money you have or make determines your happiness and ability to take care of yourself or others. An example of this can be seen in the SoMA because primarily filipino families that have been living there for decades are suddenly being pushed out of the district due to big corporations coming in with their money and pushing for gentrification. This system is unjust and hopefully through this activity, we showed our fellow classmates that we need to be more aware of our status and privilege and how our current government system is affecting others less fortunate than us.

Key Terms:

Classism - Also known as class discrimination, this is a set of beliefs and policies constructed to benefit those in power and oppress those who aren't. Classism can manifest in many different ways, from economic to social to racial.

Discrimination - Stereotyping against someone based on a particular merit. While most of the time this attempts to put someone at a lower level than the individual (racial discrimination, financial discrimination), it can occasionally be seen when an individual puts someone higher than themselves (favoritism).

Privilege - An advantage or right given to a select group of people or person.

Socioeconomic status - A way of determining the worth of a person or their family based on measures like education, income, job, and social standing.

Kisses and Wishes:

We really liked the fact that this activity divided our classmates into 3 socio-economic groups. With the money they were able to realize what sort of lifestyle their child (egg) would have. There were a lot of chattering and laughter in the classroom as everybody was trying to shield their egg with the essentials they had bought from the market with their fake money. We believe that our classmates realized that by being more privileged they were able to protect their baby from the fall better than those who were unprivileged. We divided our classmates into four different groups ($300, $150, (2) $75). What I wish we could have done differently was instead of having 2 groups of $75 we could have created a group with only $50 to represent more of an impoverished class rather than just a poor class.

Links for further reading:

http://www.classism.org/about-class/what-is-classism/

http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2015/03/23/san-franciscos-gap-between-rich-and-poor-among-largest-in-nation-study-finds/

http://inequality.org/income-inequality/

In love and solidarity,

 BANGIN BARANGAY 5

(Melissa, Julia and Sarinya)

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11/17/2016

SESSION 13 , GENDER (BARANGAY 6)

This class was the second half of a 2-part session, the 1st half done on race. 

Barangay 6 started it off with a simple but meaningful activity that revealed some very common gender stereotypes.  The class was split into 3 groups and each group was instructed to make a list answers to one of the following statements:

 List characteristics an ideal person should have.

List characteristics an ideal woman should have.

List characteristics an ideal man should have.

The picture above shows the list of answers each group came up with.  One could immediately spot the differences between the answers for all three groups, especially those between list #2 and #3.  Under list 2, notable characteristics came up were “homemaker, good with children, and attractive.”  Under list 3, some were “tall, handsome, and rich.”  

This cultural energizer was a great way for Allen to start the discussion on gender roles and stereotypes, why they exist, and furthermore, why we shouldn’t be reinforcing them; the issue was very simlar to that of race, where categorizations shouldn’t define a person.  

We were surprised by how well the activity went, and how well it transitioned into the session’s discussion. The main thing we thought would have improved the discussion was if we had more time, since it was a 2-part class.  

-Barangay 6,

Angelo, Juncheng, and Janette

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11/03/16

The check-in question for Thursday was to turn in your Art piece. We also went around the room and we all discussed what we wrote or drew on our sheet. 

The professors gave us a pep talk about our service learning hours and emphasized the importance of being professional and prompt at our volunteer sites. Also, THERE SHOULD BE NO EXCUSES AS TO WHY YOU DON’T COMPLETE YOUR HOURS. Plenty of opportunities to get your hours done!!!

Barangay 4 (Adeline, Craig, and Elena) did their presentation on PRIVILEGE. We started out by doing a class activity that involved a set a questions to see how privileged we are. We asked students to keep score while we go through the activity, that way we can tally them up and look at the class distribution. Here are the questions that were asked: 

If you are white take one step forward.

If you are male, take one step forward.

If you are straight, take one step forward.

If you are Catholic, Christian, or atheist take one step forward.

If you attended (grade) school with people you felt were like yourself take one step forward.

If you’ve had access to adequate healthcare, take one step forward.

If your work/school holidays coincide with religious holidays that you celebrate take one step

forward.

If you feel that your culture is generally portrayed in a positive light by the media take one step forward.

If you feel that you are evaluated on your merits for employment positions, university admission, team selection, etc. take one step forward.

If you were born in a developed country take one step forward.

If English is your first language take one step forward.

If you come from a two parent household, take one step forward.

If you came from a supportive family environment take one step forward.

If you are a citizen of the United States take one step forward.

If you’re going to graduate without student loans, take one step forward.

If you feel safe walking home alone at night, take one step forward.

If you’ve never done your own taxes, take one step forward.

If you’ve had an unpaid internship, take one step forward.

If you feel that the police are a force for your protection, take one step forward.

The purpose of the Privilege Walk Activity is to learn to recognize how power and privilege can affect our lives even when we are not aware it is happening. The purpose is not to blame anyone for having more power or privilege or for receiving more help in achieving goals, but to have an opportunity to identify both obstacles and benefits experienced in our life.

When we tallied up the ‘privilege points’ for the class and looked at the distribution, and tried to interpret it in a couple of different ways:

- We acknowledged that situations might push those on both ends of the spectrum away from USF.

- We recognized that although everyone was attaining the same level of education here at USF, there are underlying benefits and struggles that differentiate us.

After Barangay presented, we had a discussion on RACE and ETHNICITY. 

RACE as the class defined is a social construct. Meaning that society defines your cultural identity. Ever notice an application form that asks what your race is and you have to circle what best fits your identity according to their description? well, that’s one example of race being a social construct. 

ETHNICITY on the other hand is YOUR cultural identity, your roots,  and most importantly how YOU identify yourself as. 

At the end of this discussion we were reminded of what our assignment for next class is 11/10/16: Watch short video and write a journal entry. (Guidelines posted on Canvas)

That’s all folks,

ACE 

[knowledgeactivism-blog]

Session 10: If you want to know what we are...

IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT WE ARE

by Carlos Bulosan

If you want to know what we are who inhabit

forest mountain rivershore, who harness

beast, living steel, martial music (that classless

language of the heart), who celebrate labour,

wisdom of the mind, peace of the blood;

If you want to know what we are who become

animate at the rain's metallic ring, the stone's

accumulated strength, who tremble in the wind's

blossoming (that enervates earth's potentialities),

who stir just as flowers unfold to the sun;

If you want to know what we are who grow

powerful and deathless in countless counterparts,

each part pregnant with hope, each hope supreme,

each supremacy classless, each classlessness

nourished by unlimited splendor of comradeship;

We are multitudes the world over, millions everywhere;

in violent factories, sordid tenements, crowded cities;

in skies and seas and rivers, in lands everywhere;

our number increase as the wide world revolves

and increases arrogance, hunger disease and death.

We are the men and women reading books, searching

in the pages of history for the lost word, the key

to the mystery of living peace, imperishable joy;

we are factory hands field hands mill hand everywhere,

molding creating building structures, forging ahead,

Reaching for the future, nourished in the heart;

we are doctors scientists chemists discovering,

eliminating disease and hunger and antagonisms;

we are soldiers navy-men citizens guarding

the imperishable will of man to live in grandeur,

We are the living dream of dead men everywhere,

the unquenchable truth that class-memories create

to stagger the infamous world with prophecies

of unlimited happiness_a deathless humanity;

we are the living and the dead men everywhere....

  If you want to know what we are, observe

the bloody club smashing heads, the bayonet

penetrating hallowed breasts, giving no mercy; watch the

bullet crashing upon armorless citizens;

look at the tear-gas choking the weakened lung.

If you want to know what we are, see the lynch

trees blossoming, the hysterical mob rioting;

remember the prisoner beaten by detectives to confess

a crime he did not commit because he was honest,

and who stood alone before a rabid jury of ten men,

And who was sentenced to hang by a judge

whose bourgeois arrogance betrayed the office

he claimed his own; name the marked man,

the violator of secrets; observe the banker,

the gangster, the mobsters who kill and go free;

We are the sufferers who suffer for natural love

of man for man, who commemorate the humanities

of every man; we are the toilers who toil

to make the starved earth a place of abundance

who transform abundance into deathless fragrance.

We are the desires of anonymous men everywhere,

who impregnate the wide earth's lustrous wealth

with a gleaming flourescence; we are the new thoughts

and the new foundations, the new verdure of the mind;

we are the new hope new joy life everywhere.

We are the vision and the star, the quietus of pain;

we are the terminals of inquisition, the hiatuses

of a new crusade; we are the subterraean subways

of suffering; we are the will of dignities;

we are the living testament of a flowering race.

If you want to know what we are

WE ARE REVOLUTION!

Leny Strobel states,

“To decolonize is to tell and write one’s own story, that in the telling and writing others may be encouraged to tell their own.” (Coming Full Circle, p. 66)  

What negative things do haters say about you and/or your community/people/etc.? 

What is your response?

[knowledgeactivism-blog]

Session 8: The Five L’s of Colonialism

This specifically goes out to the student who missed class, which are JLin, Elena, Janette Jaya, Hannah, Dominique, Feng Qing, and Sarinya!

Balagtasan:

Today, we finished up our last debate, which posed the topic of discussion:

Q: Is the Energy Transfer Partners (ETP) company, proprietor of the Dakota Access Pipeline, justified in using militarized police action to vacate protestors?

- Each group’s opening statements were done in the form of a remix to a song/tune.

Upon completion of the three debates, we shared a quick discussion on how this activity made us feel.  Terms such as “afraid”, “awkward”, “powerless”, “curious”, and “eye-opening” were some ways we described the Balagtasans.

Cultural Energizer: 

Afterwards, Equilateral Trio lead the class in a cultural energizer that related to colonialism.  Here, they made the entire class migrate to the empty space in the middle of the classroom.  Each person then chose someone to play one round of Rock, Paper, Scissors with.  If you to lose the match, you have to fall behind the person you just played, rest your arms on their shoulders, and follow them as they move around in their quest to conquer all of the other competitors.

This activity is related to colonialism, which is defined as the policy and practice of power in extending control over weaker peoples or areas.  It is the structured relationships of domination and subordination, where the dominant and subordinate groups are defined along ethnic and/or racial lines, and where the relationship is established and maintained to serve the interest of all or part of the dominant group.  This activity showed colonialism in the fact that each player is like two countries fighting for power.  Once one country dominates the other, the weaker person must now follow the way the higher country acts, moves, and lives.  Their original power, voice, and freedom is now lost.  Overtime, a country might rule over several weaker ones, adding in more people to their population.

Allen then led us in discussion of the 5 L’s of Colonialism, which are different ways people can be colonized.

Life

Labor

Land

Legacy

Language

Talambuhays:

After our quick, casual discussion of Colonialism, we finished off the class with two talambuhays.

Homework:

Get your SL agreement signed or show proof of agreement ASAP!

Regards,

Equilateral Trio