Importance of Challenging and Questioning Oppressive Structures in Society

Audre Lorde discusses the idea of silence and the way society encourages us to stay silent and “hide behind the mockeries of separation that have been imposed on us,” (Lorde). She says that especially being a black lesbian, she feels that she has come to learn and understand the importance of her voice and that it is crucial for it to be shared no matter the consequence. She writes, “What is the most important to me must be spoken, made verbal and shared, even at the risk of having it bruised or misunderstood,” which I find to be very empowering and something that the majority of individuals need to be able to practice and embody more throughout their daily lives. She challenges the “mockeries” and the ways in which society stigmatizes us in order for us to feel powerless and afraid to speak. She says, “we have been socialized to respect fear more than our own needs for language and definition, and while we wait in silence for that final luxury of fearlessness, the weight of that silence will choke us,” meaning that if we wait in silence for something to happen, it will never happen, and that is the way society and higher forms of power like to keep individuals in order for them to maintain power and control. Audre Lorde challenges these “tyrannies of silence” and encourages us to “learn to put fear into a perspective” that will give us strength, and help us turn that fear into action so we can utilize the power that we have but have lost touch with.

James Baldwin questions and challenges the social structure of education and the process of education. He says, “the process of education occurs within a social framework and is designed to perpetuate the aims of society,” which is a big statement in and of itself (Baldwin). Throughout his writing he stresses the idea of how education and what students are learning is heavily influenced by the American white male and how they, as leaders of society and our nation, want society to be run, “what societies really, ideally want is a citizenry which will simply obey the rules of society” (Baldwin). The paradox of education that he speaks of is simply the idea that as people get older and become aware of what is around them and the society they live in, they learn to live with the questions they have about society rather than pursuing or seeking an answer or challenging what they see; our educative systems do not perpetuate this kind of thinking for it would encourage people to go against the norms of society which is not what they are instructed to do/teach. Another thing he finds troubling about education is the lack of real history that is shared about different racial groups other than the dominant white culture. Baldwin states, “If, for example, one managed to change the curriculum in all the schools so that Negroes learned more about themselves and their real contributions to this culture, you would be liberating not only Negroes, you’d be liberating white people who know nothing about their own history,” and he further states, “having created this myth about Negroes, and the myth about his own history, [the American white man] created myths about the world…” (Baldwin). This section of his piece was very powerful and brought a lot of ideas to light. He believes this way of teaching false myths and stories about history needs to be countered and altered so that Black men, women, and children may be allowed to access their full identity, and be able to be lifted from the sense of discrimination and diminution that is so engrained into their minds and the minds of the white individual which further secures the “Caucasian as superior” mentality, and prevents our society and nation from moving forward from such racial tensions of the past that are still very much present. He says that since the white male created these myths about who Black people are and their role in history, it is taught in school and further planted into the young minds, never allowing us to be liberated from it, never allowing for change, and never allowing for movement towards a better sense of community in society.

In Jose Angel’s, “Negative Growth,” he talks about the “cup of promise” and the falsities of the “American Dream.” He speaks about how as he grew up in Mexico, everyone’s goal was to be like those who came back and had all the new gadgets and seemed to have all this money because they went to America, “What mattered was their… material possessions. For us these men were the very embodiment of success,” (Angel). He refers to his journey to America as “the mythological route of American success” and throughout his piece challenges this idea, and the “promise” that America was making for so many. He said one of the main problems with this whole thing was that as soon as something was going wrong with America economically, the blame was usually targeted towards undocumented immigrants; they always got the short end of the stick and their best interest was never kept in mind. He writes, “Economists sometimes use the term ‘negative growth’ to describe a country’s contracting economy. When this happens in the US it is not uncommon to blame the problem on the undocumented… this signals another kind of negative growth: a contraction of America’s promise to welcome the tired, huddled masses,” (Angel). This is significant because he calls out America and says it how it is. America’s promises are never kept, and the American dream is a myth, especially nowadays, it simply is non-existent, especially as he brings up the building of the wall. He says a lot of impoverished people in Mexico believe America will bring them good change and good fortune, but it is simply not the case and he finds it important to bring this to attention because he feels it leads many in the wrong direction.

This all relates to me in different ways, I specifically can relate to Lorde’s piece and Baldwin’s piece a little more directly than Angel’s piece. I can really connect with what Audre Lorde brought up to discuss because as a woman, in any case, it can be difficult to have/find the courage to always stand up for yourself. I think she really just wants to emphasize that whatever your difference(s) may be, it is even more of a necessity that you have your voice heard by others, even if it is on a small scale, any practice or experience sharing your thoughts with others is at least a step in the right direction. Being kept under the chains of silence that society quietly puts on us, can be something that prevents us from making change happen or just simply feeling that our existence is important. Baldwin’s discussion about education and the lacking ends of it really brought me to think about the education experiences I have had throughout the years. I feel it is important to note those teachers who went out of their way to address differences outside of set curriculum and allowed for space to discuss, share, and talk with the reality of the past and present circumstances in mind.

I will take what Lorde described as the second principle of Kwanza, “self-determination-the decision to define ourselves, name ourselves, and speak for ourselves, instead of being defined and spoken for by others,” (Lorde). I think I can apply this to the work I am doing with my community partner because it is something I can encourage in the students there. Self-determination is a big factor in developing as an individual and I think especially in an educative environment it is crucial for them to find their own voice, learn to own their identity, and not let others steer their lives, which are all important facets they apply into the learning experience at Next Generation Scholars.

I think my responsibility as an educated individual is to know that I am thankfully not someone who is not educated, and what I mean by that is that I am not one who listens to the news and believes everything they hear and lets that decide how they feel towards people and society. Here’s an example of what I mean, this is from Jose Angel’s piece where he tells about a conversation he had with a man, “He insists that people like me drive down wages for American workers; I tell him we make it possible for Americans to live comfortably and affordably. As a retiree, I add, he should be an ally of the undocumented, the Social Security Administration having retained $100 billion in taxes from our paychecks during the last decade alone.” This section of his writing hit me in a way of realizing just how many people there are in the world that really aren’t educated when it comes to these kinds of topics. I think as an educated person, or at least someone with logical sense, I feel I am responsible to help contribute my voice and help others to do the same. I wish to use my education to spread more awareness and open people to not be so narrow minded. I think his discussion on “negative growth” is also a huge burden on Latino immigrants and the children of Latino immigrants because it is something that I feel they may never be able to be liberated from, similar to what Baldwin was saying about Black history. I think this idea places them in a situation where they are already at the bottom so it is even more difficult for them to find the strength and courage to rise up, because most of the time they are never really given the chance/opportunity.