Discourse

This reading focused on discourse, the way statements are portrayed, and it affects people when talking about community within a university. There was a study being done that analyzed and reworded different statements. It is important to keep in mind that everyone's discourse is different; everything is not going to be interpreted the same way. Among the statements the word community was used in different ways. The conclusion was based on how we should express community in a way that is very direct; not being misleading.

Interview

I interviewed one of my close friends and this is what she said...

1. What do you think my strengths/challenges are for this class?
     Strengths: caring, giving, religious
     Weaknesses: shy, quiet, passive

2. Am I a good collaborator?
     Yes because you are willing to put in the work to get things done and help come up with new
      and/or better ideas. However, depending on the situation you can be a little too passive because
      you are so quiet and would rather avoid any form of controversy.

3. Am I a good communicator (written, verbal, visual)?
     You are a good communicator verbal, visual and written.

4. How well do you think I work with groups of people I don't know or who have different  
    experiences and perspectives than I do?
     I have never witnessed this but I feel that you will be able to work well with a group of people you      do not know. This is because you are an open minded individual and you are aware that others
     will not always see things as you do.

5. Do you see me more invested in theory or practical applications?
     Practical application because you are religious

6. Did you ever think of me as an agent of change [activist, advocate, invested in community
    empowerment] Yes or No? Explain
     No, because you are so quiet and you avoid situation that could lead to any form of controversy.

7. What do you think I need to work on to be a better student/person/global citizen?
     The only thing I can think of is to be more talkative and open to situations that are a little
     controversial. I'm not saying situations of extreme controversy but situations that lead to great
     debates. Debating more with others will help you become more comfortable speaking on
     differences and just more comfortable speaking in general. It also helps you to question your
     own stance and change it or become more reassured of it.

Robert Weaver- Final Touches

Last Monday we went back to Robert Weaver and got everything done so that The Project will be successful in February. We met with one of the representatives of the Project and gave her the assessment that the residents filled out. We also were able to get some measurements of the things the residents wanted to get fixed (doors, floor, etc.). Excited about helping the residents and can't wait to see the results in February! :)

Robert Weaver

Last week we went out and knocked on doors to see if the residents wanted to take an additional assessment for things they would like to get done on the inside and outside of their homes. We pretty much got a good turn out from the ones that were home. Mrs. Renteria is going to meet up with us tomorrow, October 20, so that we can finish up everything that needs to be done.

Austin's Rosewood Neighborhood

After reading the book I find it interesting how the neighborhood grew. It went from being pretty much nothing to a neighborhood that people loved and enjoyed. They learned things and built from what they knew. When blacks were separated they basically had to do for themselves. From the pictures it mostly shows their successes and pictures of the people with smiles on their face. I'm sure they had hard times but it did not bring them down and stop them from making a great community. 

I have a different view of East Austin after reading the book. The people worked so hard to make the community what it is for them and their future children and grandchildren. It seems like it'll be hard and almost impossible to stop gentrification from happening. I feel even more passionate about helping and doing all that I can to make those people in the community feel comfortable and at home. 

Gentrification

I am from a low-income neighborhood in Fort Worth, Texas. There has not been any gentrification going on where I live. Everything has pretty much been the same since I was young. I was not really sure of what gentrification meant before taking this class. Gentrification in Africa seems to be very aggressive. Some people were literally forced to leave their homes; not even being able to gather their belongings. Austin's gentrification seems to unique to me, specifically in East Austin. I see how they are trying to raise property taxes and building higher priced homes. What I do not understand is why is seems so random in a low-income neighborhood. All of the houses on a block seem the same, but there is one house on that street that is being built that is more modern and costs more. Are they going to eventually remodel all of the surrounding homes? Will they possibly rebuild homes and not raise its cost?? I learned that having resources is very important. The community that we are currently helping may get recognized and can keep their homes for years to come. Gentrification is definitely real, but I am a firm believer that it can/will be modified if people in the community use their voices.

East Austin

The most surprising thing to me was that the city was segregated. Around the late 1920s the African Americans were sort of forced to move to East Austin. As the years past it became a lower income neighborhood. Today, low income are being pushed out of East Austin and Austin all together. Instead of moving low-income families out, they should focus more on how everyone throughout the city can live comfortable lives.
People just think of East Austin as a bad place to live in. They may not even know of the history behind the neighborhood. Back then people were afraid to speak up because of where they were from and if they were going to be taken seriously. There are a lot of opportunities in today's time. I do not think it is to late to stop gentrification in certain areas. The people of East Austin could stay just were they are if they take advantage of resources and get the word out. Making the neighborhood look better is good, but you do not have to kick people out that is already there; make it more affordable for them. :)

What does society say I am?...Who do I think I am?

The history of blacks and racism is very similar around the world. Other minority groups were significant, but Africans seemed to be good enough to provide capital for different countries, but not good enough to be seen as acceptable or on the same level as everyone else. We were taken advantage of and their wasn't much we could do about it..we were exploited. In the U.S. whites were superior and blacks were inferior; in France, whites were good and blacks were evil; Brazil eventually abolished slavery but discrimination never diminished; South Africa was colonized by Europeans so Africans never really had their own. It seems that everyone had the same mindset when it came to distinguishing the good and pure from the ones that are poor and lazy. This is a good example of what greed looks like; you get what you want by any means...even if you have to bring others down to get it. Those are the exploiters.  Although racism still exists, there has been better opportunities opening up for all minorities. Realizing you have a voice is what started to make a change. Blacks began to reach out and take advantage of opportunities and resources that the whites have. The housing and urban development act was seen as a very good thing for the American people to get the opportunity to have their own homes. Then, black were not even seen as an equal so they did not benefit from the act. Martin Luther King Jr. stood out and made a difference for blacks. He took advantage of what he could to get the whites to realize that black lives are not inferior to whites or any other race. This resulted in the fair housing act which was part of the Civil Rights Act; allowing blacks to be treated fairly when it came to trying to rent or buy their own home. We are now allowed, to receive equal amount of education, own our own businesses, and elect the very first black president.

In Tatum's article she talks about the way her students respond about their identity and how they set their own barriers. She asked them to define who they are and realized they defined themselves based on qualities that others' seen in them. Obvious things such as ethnicity or sex was not mentioned. It kind of shows how we are trained to not really praise where we came from but boast about the things that will be an advantage to them in the future. Tatum also relates her students' responses to being dominant and subordinate. The dominant group sets the order and parameter while the subordinate group is ordered based on what the dominant group has set out.  She relates this to race to show that the minority knows about the majority (dominant group), but being that they feel inferior they are more focused on surviving in what the majority group has set out, rather than trying to set their own parameters; which could be do to the subordinate group not having enough hope to believe that better can happen.

McIntosh mentions privileges she has being a white female. She grew up not really realizing that she is privileged in many ways. The main thing she noticed was how white men had more of an advantage. Being a black female their are many disadvantages that I see in everyday life. Although, there are many disadvantages their are some privileges as well.
1. I am able to get a good education.
2. I have the opportunity to travel the world if I choose.
3. I am able to receive funding for school.
4. I can use school as a foundation for working on improving my culture (becoming a leader, making changes in the community, finding resources to make those changes, etc.)

Week 1

East Austin used to be a low-income area with majority minorities living their. With property taxes rising, their had been an increase of low income families moving out of the area. After interviewing, their has been good and bad opinions about the East Austin are. It was not liked that people had to move out of their homes or be forced to pay higher taxes because of the rise of construction. With the low-income families leaving, it also started to decrease the crime rate. It is good that the community is improving, but you have to also think about those minorities who left and how they can live better lives.