Alicia Peterson

11/3/19
TL 330 Diversity
“White Like Me” Reflection Paper

Watching the movie “White Like Me” was eye-opening. I knew growing up how bad the
racism was just by what I heard on the news, what I saw on social media, and the stories my
grandparents and parents would tell. There were so many interesting aspects of the movie that
stood out to me. One thing that shocked me the most was the Nazi movement when a Nazi man
named Duke ran for the senate. He received 60% of the white vote. That is a large percentage of
people who wanted a racist person in the office. I was so shocked by that. How could people
really believe that people of color were so much different than them? And why is that a bad
thing?
Another topic that stood out to me was the election of President Obama. I remember
when this happened because we had prepared for this election in my 5th-grade class. We learned
about elections, why they were important, and what each party was standing for (in relative, kid-
terms of course), and I remember how shocked everyone was when Obama actually was elected
into office. For me, watching the election at home, it was a mere disappointment. Not because of
who he was or his color, but simply because my party had lost. For a 10-year-old girl, that was
all I was looking at. As Obama stayed in office, I learned more about politics, but it still wasn’t a
huge celebration or otherwise for me. Watching the reactions of all of those people in White Like
Me reminded me that I am in my own bubble a lot, and the way that things affect me will
definitely be different for someone else. Looking into the election, people were reflecting on all
of the things their parents and grandparents have had to go through to get to this point, and they
looked back on the Civil Rights movement. After Obama was elected people believed that all
things would be better. That racism was over, and that we would have fewer problems. To me,
this is unlogical. One person can’t look over the 330 million. It will never be possible. But for
some, this was a real claim, people were excited about what America was going to look like.
In a poll by Gallup, 85% of white people claimed that white and black children have the
same opportunities, but that thought was not reciprocated in the poll for African American
people. It was significantly less. “College educated African Americans are nearly twice as likely
as college educated whites to be unemployed. College educated Latinos are 50% more likely
than college educated whites to be unemployed.” Words can’t even begin to form about how
unaware or niaeve I am and have been about these things. I am one of the 85% in the first fact. I
don’t believe that is a firm statement. I believe there are some major factors that vary, but the
fact that the African American and Latino groups are seeing a lower amount of jobs even though
they are well educated baffles me. I have many questions, which I am sure are being studied, or
have been at some point. Going into a field where I am teaching students about their future,
about what is to come, and all of the educational things that fall in between, how do I inspire
students enough to work harder than those who don’t want you to succeed? How do you inspire
all students to reach for the stars because they are capable? I plan to love hard on my students.