Sage Stobbart, A02, Week 2

In "Fight the Tower: Women of Color in Academia Manifesto", the first part really painted a picture as to the issues that not just women, but Asian-American women face in their lives, particularly referring to academia. The first part was empowering to read and really painted a picture for the purpose of the book, as well as the issues that would be talked about. Although I am Caucasian, I am still a woman, and reading phrases such as, "We know a misperception exists that we lack the resources to defend ourselves against unjust attacks and to fight for our rights to remain and thrive in academia," lights a spark inside of me, as I can empathize with that statement. 

Source: Growing Up Japanese American in Crenshaw and Leimert Park
By Scott Kurashige (kcet.org)

Throughout the Prologue, Shirley Hune touches on a variety of topics, although the section titled "Fighting against Racism and Xenophobia for Educational Access and Rights" caught my eye in particular. She started off by explaining the history of the educational system in the United States, which came as a shock to me. I mean, in the grand scheme of things and the history of the U.S., I shouldn't be too surprised, but in places like the Mississippi Delta where children who were Asian-American were stuck without a place where they feel welcome to attend school because of their background is disturbing. Racial segregation was very much alive at the point of this occurring, but I think it was surprising to me because 1. I was not living around this time and therefore have only been able to try to understand it through the explanations of history, which in my experience, I have only heard mostly about African-American segregation, and 2. It is hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that people were so ignorant towards racial groups that did not fit within the "two" categories of Black or White.

How can those who are part of majority groups do a better job of educating society about racial topics involving minorities?

References 

Valverde, K.-L. C., & Dariotis, W. M. (2020). Fight the Tower: Asian American Women Scholars' Resistance and Renewal in the Academy. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.