week 10 Lucero Hernandez Cruz A04

Every class lecture has definitely tied in the ideas to this last reading where it teaches us about how at the end what we need is this “woke” moment. One of the points that stood out to me the most is how many of these individuals who are seen as the model minority start realizing that they are not being considered in regards to their opinions, thoughts, and ideas. Also, individuals start to realize that for the most part, they are there because in academia and the workplace they seek to show a “diversity” in ethnicity, but at the end of the day, they are just part of a number. In the reading it emphasizes how it has become too painful to admit to themselves that for the longest time they have been living under a big lie, one in which they did not realize that they were the ones being oppressed, the ones that were set as an example yet given no actual reward for their hard work because academia and the system that is imposed has assured that despite their efforts they have no mobility and they are stuck in that position. Furthermore, as shown in the video one way in which Asian Americans with or without knowing keep the division and stereotypes is through entertainment media like social media and television shows, and rather than bringing light into their culture it continues to make fun of them. I was able to learn what being woke means and how unity is important because the system ensures that minorities see the line of distinct differences because even though there are more in the minority group they still fear the power of the elite. Being woke is being able to learn and gather all the information that we constantly keep finding and learning that we as the minorities are being oppressed and how we need to rise and make a change. 

Question: How can we as a society/community rise and initiate a “woke” moment without creating more barriers between each other?

References: Entertaining Diversity,INC. (2016, Nov). A-woke Mannequin Challenge-Asian American Power. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FEv6mLJ_E0&t=3s Valverde, K.L.C. (n.d.) Academics Awaken: Power, Resistance, and Being Woke. Retrieved from UC Davis Canvas website