What he learned -a failing student's last essay

 On our first day of class Dr. Coates told us that to make it through his class then we have to commit ourselves to school and our education, something I’ve never really done. I had to learn how to approach school totally different. The way I study, the way I take notes, and the tactics in engaging in class, are all something I had to pick up on. When coming to Miami I was only focused on football and never really thought of the education aspect. Coates also explained that if you can't be a student, you can't be an athlete. After taking his class I find this to be a very true statement. Seeing how different the game is at this level is extremely true to that statement. After taking this course I believe I deserve to pass this course because I’ve learned in many ways that Race and Ethnics are all different in their own ways. The only thing constant in this world is change.   

 

The 1st week we discussed what the difference of Race and Ethnicity was Race is usually seen towards physical features for example, skin color, that many use to put others into groups. Race is something that you inherit and can't change. Ethnicity is something you learn or adapt to. This could be a language or a religion. People can share this with beliefs or things they have learned over time. We also went overpower and Ideology. Power, showing who you are and the only way to take someone's power away is to limit or get rid of their education. Ideology explains why you do what you do. This can explain why males' behavior is different from women's behavior. We discussed many racial Myths that are claimed to be said by many Americans, such as all Asians are smart. Many Asians come to America to seek a new opportunity while most Americans that have been in the states for a while get too comfortable and do the average. Another myth is all black people are great athletes. While Mack blacks may be great athletes not all are. There are many extremely talented athletes in the world today, you can look at the Olympics for example, the Olympics is extremely diverse and there are athletes from all over the world. And all whites are privileged. There are many white Americans below the poverty level, not to mention the whites in the Appalachians and many of the homeless. The final thing we went over in the first week was how diverse America really was. Most of the main things we think of when “America” is bright up, don't even originate from America. When I think of America, I think of hot dogs at a baseball game and when a home run is hit, maybe even see some fireworks, but not any of that originated from America. Baseball is an English sport that rebounds off the sport of Cricket. Hotdogs and burgers come from Germany. Finally, Fireworks come from China. All of the things we think of is “The American way” doesn't come from America. And that's what makes America, America. 

 

Our 2nd week of class we started to get into the people coming to America and the Native Americans who were there way before people started settling. Native Americans arrived in America to what we know it as the United States 15000 years ago. They have been living in America longer than any other culture in the United States. Native Americans adapted very well to their environment and used natural resources to help with everything in their daily lives, for example, they used the Bison not only for its meat but for its fur to stay warm, and its organs to make musical instruments. Native American parents went to an extreme extent to teach their youth. They would throw their 2-year-old child into water so they would teach themselves how to swim. If they could swim, they were worthy but if they couldn't let them down. Spaniards were the first to come to America after the Natives did thousands of years before. Spaniards came with a man very famously known as Christopher Columbus, who sailed the ocean blue in 1492. Columbus originally believed he made it to India, that's why many native Americans were known as Indians in the past, because Columbus truly thought they were Indians. The English did not arrive until last, but the English came to settle all the others that came, came to colonize that explains why today we are an English-speaking country. When others came to America, they made the Natives extremely sick, and this caused a huge pandemic. Native American women predominantly got the virus because when the French and Spanish came to colonize, they brought very little women with them and like many single males they slept around with the native women, and the virus grew rapidly from there. This virus is famously known as “Smallpox”. They also got this disease when the British gave the Natives blankets as a welcoming gift's Native Americans believed nobody should deserve the land, that it was blessed to them by God but in 1493 the catholic church claimed that the natives had no right to it, so the Spainards took over. 

 

Europe has been a major source of North American immigration and population growth for more than 5 centuries. WWII made European immigration less attractive due to all the negatives in Europe during the war. In the 60’s Europeans constituted to 75% of all US immigrants, The share fell to 22% by the 1990’s and today it is slightly less than 10%. The population of European Americans continues to drop drastically by each year. In 2022 Eastern Europeans had the largest share of all Europeans with 46%. Followed by western and northern Europeans who both shared 19%. Europeans tend to be older than other Americans. They share a Median age of 54 compared to the other Americans with a median age of 47.  

All immigration policies are different. The first immigration laws didn't get put in place until 1780. They Created a European union for citizenship allowing them to get into other countries. Pennsylvania Dutch made it to where Germans and Quakers were applicants, they were both anti-slaveries. Originally citizenship was only given to white males who had land. Many of the Irish started coming to America due to the potato famine. The average Irish male ate 14 pounds of potatoes a day while the average female ate 11 pounds. By 1587 English could no longer live on federal lands and were kicked off, causing many to be jobless because their job was working on the land for the rich. Shortly after they were kicked off the land, England created the poor laws that went against those who didn't have jobs and would be arrested and forced into labor laws. Labor laws would ship you across the ocean and work in the United States. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson believed that if you were poor then your best off serving in the military. 

 

In the 1920’s through the early 1930’s Drinking, Making, and Selling alcohol was illegal. This is well known as prohibition. However, this didn't stop people in the Kentucky hills. Moonshine was an extremely popular alcoholic drink that many valued. People that made and sold moonshine are known as Bootleggers, and they had a lot of money, many bootleggers bought very high powered and expensive cars so they could transport the alcohol quickly and efficiently without being caught. So, they also decided to start racing these cars and it turned into what we know as today as NASCAR. 

 

We live in a culture that is very opinionated and our culture seems to value wealth to no extent. And that if you're not doing what is expected or achieving your expectations, then you are undervalued. If people don't have a certain amount of wealth they now feel out of place. For an example the poor whites in the Appalachians and some known as hillbillies who are being punished because they aren't living up to the normal standard of a white American. Many of these poor whites are addicted to oxycontin and heroin and can't seem to find the right step but rarely is it ever discussed that poor whites are discriminate against. 

In our 3rd week of classes, we started discussing how Asian Americans impacted our country and the history that led to their success, as well as many conflicts they faced. First off, the 3 largest group of Asians are the Chinese, Indians, and Japanese. Asian Americans are extremely successful in the United States.  This took away many opportunities for other American citizens so in 1882 President Chester A. Arthur signed the Chinese Exclusion Act and it suspended Chinese immigration for ten years and declared Chinese immigrant's ineligible for naturalization. Also, in the 1880s America decided to move westward. The United States needed help to build long railroads for this expansion. America resorted to Many Chinese to help with this expansion and as a reward they were promised land. Their land they were promised had gold in it and the Chinese could no longer live in that area. These Asian Americans that have lived in America for a longer time are seen to be more liberal and have more democratic views. Many of the newer Asian Americans are more financially sound, making more money, they have more conservative views and vote republican. The Asian population is very diverse. They have the largest immigrant group. Nearly 6 out of 10 Asian American are a part of Gen Z. 

 

Our 4th we went over the race and ethnics of Hispanics. First off Hispanics were the first other than the natives to come to America. Columbus sailed the ocean blue and arrived in 1492 to colonize. Hispanics are a very hard-working class. The large working class comes from their parents. 51 percent of Hispanics are unauthorized off 11 million immigrants. 2.4 million undocumented immigrants come through Texas a year. These immigrants that are undocumented makes it harder for them to become citizens. 

 

Skin tone is a major difference depending on your culture. Those that are Spanish have a lighter skin complexion due to them inbreeding with the native Americans. Brazil imported Europeans, they inbred, and it made their skin complexion lighter as well. Those Hispanics that live closer to the equator have a darker complexion due to the vitamin D the sun gives out. Some of the lighter complex Hispanics can pass as white but the others can't. Those Hispanics that have a darker complexion doesn't get the best image. Hollywood makes Hispanics look as if they are negative. They are shown as poor drug dealers and sometimes they are seen in gangs. This is a racial myth of Hispanics. 

 

  Our last and final week we discussed the race and ethnicity of African Americans. The first Africans that came to America were in the 1600’s when they were shipped overseas to America to be sold for property and start slavery in America. First group of Africans that came to the country in 1619 got freedom dules which contained land, weapons, a horse or mule and seed. It was against English laws to have slaves in England so English men came to America so they could own slaves.  In a span of 250 years or so there were estimated 10 million African American slaves. In this time if a White male had children with a black woman, then his children could now become a slave. Even if they were married the same rules would apply, their children would become slaves.  Many of these slave states had a higher population of slaves than whites. The 13th Amendment in 1865 brought an end to slavery. This upset many in the south and lead to many negatives afterwards. After the reconstruction a racial group, targeting not only African Americans but other races, was formed, called the KKK (The Kul Klux Klan). This was the start to many lynching incidents. Lynching was a Major factor of racial violence in the US since the end of the Civil War. While every Racial background was targeted, a disproportionate number of lynchings favored African Americans as a whole. There were more than 6000 lynching incidents after the civil war.  

 

There were many cases that Black Americans won that torn down the color barrier. First, Plessy v. Ferguson was a landmark Court decision of racial segregation under the “separate but equal” doctrine. The case challenged Louisiana laws requiring separate railcars for African Americans and whites. The decision was justified for segregation on trains, buses, and public facilities, relegating African Americans to second-class citizenship. Secondly Brown v. The Board of education was a case that tried to end the racial barrier in public schools. All the way up to this moment schools were divided and segregated by race. The court followed back to the Plessy v. Ferguson case and said that it was unfair and unconstitutional to separate the students. The first known group to go to a school that was all white was the little rock 9.  And lastly the Loving v. Virginia was a Supreme Court case that struck down state laws banning interracial marriage in the United States. A white man and Black woman whose marriage was claimed to be illegal according to Virginia state law. With the help of the American Civil Liberties Union, the Lovings appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled unanimously that so-called “anti-miscegenation” statutes were unconstitutional under the 14th Amendment. The decision is often cited as a watershed moment in the dismantling of “Jim Crow” race laws. 

 

While this class was nothing what I expected coming to Miami would be like, it has now prepared me for how I need to approach and attack everyday here at Miami. The number one way to take someone's power away is to get rid of their education. Over these past 5 weeks I have learned more about race and ethnicity than I’ve learned my whole lifespan. Many people bet against the odds that student athletes, especially football and basketball players, will flunk out of school. I believe that's just something they put in their minds. Then they get the motto that “there are only here to play sport” well growing up maybe that's the only thing they have been told they’d be. Having knowledge is power. Everyone has their own power they just need their education to find it.