Race Reflection Essay

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In every lesson I have learned new information that has changed my thinking about each topic; however, throughout the four lessons we have covered thus far in class, I have found the content in Lesson four to be particularly thought provoking in the discussion of race, differences, and power. Specifically, for the purposes of this reflection paper, I will be taking a closer examination of race. I think a common misconception, especially in the United States, is that race was a natural development that has existed since the beginning time. However, reading AAA Statement on Race, White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Backpack, and watching the film The Story We Tell: Race—The Power of an Illusion has changed my thinking on the topic of race.…show more content…
This direct quote from the Declaration was written in a peculiar time when Native Americans were being murdered and forced off their land, while simultaneously slavery was still acceptable in society. The conflict arises in the phrase written by Thomas Jefferson, because it was never supposed to be applied to all individuals in the United States. In the film I learned new information about Jefferson that I had never previously learned, which explains a lot of the hidden meaning behind the phrase in the Declaration of Independence. For instance, Jefferson’s Notes on the State of Virginia does not explicitly state his beliefs against the “inferior race,” he does express his views on the inhabitants of the new land. However, in this writing he does begin to justify slavery in the United States by elucidating the idea that there is something different about the African slaves and the white Christian American citizens. In stating this opinion, Jefferson’s phrase begins to explain itself; in that, Jefferson did not view black men as men. Furthermore, the information presented in the film involving the way in which race was, and is still, used assign meaning to individuals based on their appearance changed my thinking on the overall topic of
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