Observation Exercise: DueMonday March 20 at noon. - May be turned in earlier.
Note: Assignment must be started more than 24 hours prior to submission
"At a recent conference Professor Frances Ansley drew a horizontal line, labeled the power line, and asked participants to imagine where they were situated in terms of race, gender, sexual orientation and other categories. Everyone knew what she meant by the power line, which divided those attributes that are privileged from those that are not. Those above the power line shared privileged characteristics[1]."
Society sends many messages favoring colorblindness but do these messages further social justice? This assignment asks you to notice the racial composition and interactions in your environment(s) for a 24 hour period and to record your observations.
What are the apparent races of the people you view? How do you know? Note their jobs and/or the activities in which they are engaged.
Note the kinds of interactions you observe and your position. Are you privileged in the interaction? Where are you in relation to Professor Fran Ansley's "power line"?) Make sure that you are in several different localities during the day (not just at home or the law library, although time spent in these places is pertinent).
Conclude by sharing your reactions about what you have observed and how you felt about the process of observing. Your observation should be around three pages.
Please prepare these observations in an electronic format (word preferred to PDF) send to Professor Armstrong to [email protected] by Monday, March 20 at noon.
Sample observation (partial):
I [Stephanie] found myself several weeks ago, stranded at Dulles airport with a cancelled flight and eight hours until I could depart. So I used some of the privileges I have to walk into one of those red carpet lounges, purchase a day pass, and settle in to work.
In the eight hours I spent, I found that all the airline employees who worked at computers and talked with clientele were white; all the clientele, with the exception of one African American man (based on just my looking) were white; the bartender was white; and all the service employees, who put out food, cleaned it up, and cleaned the bathrooms were people of color. I exercised my white privilege by my silence, just doing my work. When I got on the airplane, the fasten seatbelt sign had white hands.
The day after I came home, I went to the gym (mostly white), where a young man - probably high school age - was working out in a T-shirt with an Indian mascot on it. I didn't know the young man and I said nothing....
[1] [1] From Privilege Revealed pages 29 & 171: