Problem with this course

I Feel that this course is forcing people to relive events that have already come and past and to try and bring back up as a cause for things that are occurring currently. I am not trying to play down the fact that African Americans were extremely mistreated in the begging years of the United States of America's existence. However there are better things to do than dwell on the past and make accusations of why something occurred. I haven's heard/seen any member of Jewish society bringing back up the holocaust and dwelling on past events. We can't change the past but we can change the future. I personally or anyone in my family lineage had any role in slavery, however I feel like the finger is pointed at me during some of this class. I also think that there isn't a huge reason to be talking about "white-mainstream" that further separates people from being able to live in a society peacefully and prosperously. while i do believe a need for this course currently it wouldn't be needed if grade schools and other history courses throughout education levels taught the basis of all cultures, as something to learn from, not dwell on. There isnt a Japanese-American course provided even though the were severely wronged during WWII being put into internment camps and such. There needs to be more cohabitation and less trying to separate each other or pit them against on another. Please realize that I am just trying to advocate a way for people to get along and prosper, for the good of humanity.

Obama is an African American

In a true sense of the label African-American Obama is exactly that. Since he is part Muslim and African and lives in America now. A lot of Africans are black in skin color and practice the Muslim faith, especially in the North-Western part of Africa. He fits the demographic of African Americans. However I don't fully understand why people that have lived in America for generations feel the need to separate themselves from others by attaching the names of their family's homeland. I am personally Irish German and Swedish, and you don't see me going around and calling myself Irish-American or European-American, or anything of the sort. My family has lived in America for three-four generations depending on which side. As for my Irish Heritage they were treated extremely poorly and were often degraded when they came to America, they hold no animosity towards other peoples and worked their way up to being successful in the business world. This is a personal view that we should drop all the qualifiers, and if you or your family has lived in America for a generation or more your are an American with heritage in some country. If you want to get technical too we all have heritage to somewhere in Africa/Middle east, since that is were homosapien originated from. It is only if you are a recent immigrant the there may be a reason to qualify yourself as to some sort of American

film in class 2/10/09

Some of the things on the film I was conscious of such as the on campus shootings and the black communities efforts to be allowed in school. However I didn't know that there was such a push to get African-American studies in schools. I thought it interesting that they had to work so hard to get the curriculum emplaced in schools. This class keeps throwing more and more information at me that isn't in the text books of my previous classes.

The Real Me

My major is Business Administration, however It was recently switched from Accounting, still kind of undecided. I have earned enough credits to be a sophomore however i probable wont be a junior after this semester, taking the five year plan. I was born right here in Springfield Illinois at St. Johns hospital. I am not in any Campus organizations or community organizations, when i was younger i played football in grade school all the way through high school and basketball when i was a kid. You could say i am not very active in the community. I plan on getting a Degree and getting a good Job to support a family of my own some day, thats me in a nutshell.

Beginning considerations

Well i received my books late so i haven't fully read or indulged myself in the books, but as I catch up i will let you know about my reflections

I'll Tell You More

I hope to learn about the culture and Lifestyle of African Americans, to discover if what motivates them is different than what motivates the Caucasian Americans, In learning this it would help me to converse and work together with African Americans in the business atmosphere

What is the White Mainstream

White mainstream to me is difficult to explain since it changes often. I believe white mainstream is usually what is depicted on the television which as of recently has changed due to the fad of reality tv. For the most part I think white mainstream is the bulk of Caucasian Americans who are middle class with both parents working usually having a couple of kids and living in suburban neighborhoods.