[ANUCHA APHAYAVONG]

The photo I chose was taken from the group page “SACNAS Advancing Chicanos/Hispanics & Native Americans in Science,” and the photo was taken by Mark Charles/Wirelesshogan.

I chose this photo because it reminded me of the discussions we had in lecture about being an ally–specifically in regards to the Dakota pipeline. We had talked a lot about the ways in which allies for Indigenous groups played a really tricky role in whether or not their contributions were positively effective or not. I found this topic interesting because of the fact that the term ally has a lot of complex layers and implications to it. It is then extremely difficult to be a good ally because it takes an immense amount of understanding and role reversals in order to be helpful from a neutral position.

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[ANUCHA APHAYAVONG]

The photo I chose is of Serena Williams in her “controversial” catsuit that she wore when she competed in the French Open.

I found this photo interesting because of its connections to the latest Nike ad we viewed in class and how Serena Williams is constantly challenging ideas about women. From this photo, I also think about the ways in which issues/topics about specific groups are given a sort of social value and prioritized above or below other groups. In reference to the photo, Serena received a lot of negative criticism because of her outfit choice. In juxtaposing the treatment Serena gets as a black female athlete to male athletes then sheds light on the oppressive nature the sport of tennis is on women. This then illuminates to the ways men prioritize their issues over women and how white feminist prioritize their issues over nonwhite women. The #MeToo and #SayHerName movements then stem from the idea of women’s strength and empowerment. Serena Williams then embodies these ideals and uses her platform in tennis as a way to projects women’s empowerment.

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[ANUCHA APHAYAVONG]

The photo I chose for the Week 7 topic and discussions is a photo of Sandra Bland from a CNN.com article.

I chose this photo because of the ways in which it is representative of the Black Lives Matter Movement but also sheds light on the fact that movements are not perfect–specifically in female representation. We had discussed in lecture how women throughout history have been constantly overlooked while men were always on center stage and received all of the credit in terms of social movements. An example I thought of (which is not the best example, but it was the first thing that came to mind) is how white women during the Jim Crow Era that were pro segregation in schools would produce and reproduce their racist ideologies onto their children, family, friends, and neighbors. All of the racists/problematic work that these women did in their communities was then the driving force in allowing their husbands that were in politics to push for laws and policies that oppressed black bodies. This example just shows how women’s work, whether significant or not, will be overlooked in terms of the work men do because of the patriarchal hegemonies that demean women’s work while prioritizing men’s work. In regards to the photo, I enjoyed this photo because of its representation of Sandra Bland. A lot of the photos that I was trying to find of Sandra Bland were majorly her mugshots, which primarily portrays her as a criminal while disregarding her unlawful death. The idea of shifting away from a damage-based to more of a desire-based approach then allows audiences to see these black bodies affected by police/racial brutality as human-beings with emotions, instead of as criminalized individuals that need to be punished. BLM is an important movement in American history because it shows the institutional oppression/genocide of black bodies, but also shows the ways in which “opposing” views continue to spread hate through their masked “movements” All Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter.

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[ANUCHA APHAYAVONG]

The photo I chose is from a “Rise Up For Students” blog that discusses the reasons why the Seattle School Board should have Ethnic Studies in its curriculum. The blog was posted on July 13, 2017.

I chose this photo because of our discussions about the importance of Ethnic Studies. As an Ethnic Studies major, I have my reasons as to why I decided to switch majors into Ethnic Studies. But as my undergraduate career comes to an end, I think more and more about the prospective opportunities in Ethnic Studies. A lot of my colleagues agreed that history classes throughout grade school were extremely biased and issues/history of minority groups and people of color were usually glazed over and never truly taught in history textbooks. Through the readings and the conversations held in class, I could see myself entering academia and potentially teaching Ethnic Studies in high school. Another interesting fact I learned in ETHN 100B about history textbooks is that majority of the popular textbooks used in grade school only use a hand full of archived works. And in addition, only specific points are taken from these archives. This is problematic because it produces and reproduces the ideas that people in power <span style=”text-decoration: underline;”>want</span> to put out. Ethnic Studies as a field then challenges these ideas and addresses the history that influences/effects so many minority groups in America.

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[ANUCHA APHAYAVONG]

The photo I chose for this week is from the cover of Village Voice  in October 1989. I found this photo on an article titled “When Christian America and the Copes Went Insane Over N.W.A, Rap, and Metal” by Village Voice Staff.

I found this cover photo interesting because of the emotions it brought up for me when initially seeing the photo. I personally do not listen to music on an analytical level, but I do remember listening to N.W.A as a kid growing up in southeast San Diego with my older sibling/cousins. Before, I listened to rap/hip-hop simply for amusement, but by viewing and listening to music through an ethnic studies lens, it is interesting to to see the ways in which hip-hop culture intersects and influences various aspects of life. The photo shows a huge stamp across the group members stating “THE FBI HATES THIS BAND.” I relate this to the ways in which hip-hop not only produces music that a wide population enjoys, but it also confronts and refutes dominant ideologies within society. N.W.A songs that have stuck with me are the ones about having a sense of pride in one’s origins (i.e. Compton) and fighting the system and oppressive powers (i.e. the police). These songs then shed light on the ways in which power structures in American society–for example, religion and politics–then enforces the same dominant ideals that contradict the messages N.W.A put out in order to morph hip-hop culture into this evil entity that is the antithesis of the “good” dominant hegemonies of society. I also found it interesting connecting Adichie’s single story narrative to the civil rights movement in hip-hop and the oppressive powers that refute the movement. I believe both sides create single stories about each other and fail to see the good/grey area. This is then revealing in the positions that both sides are in. For instance, N.W.A’s positions shows the extreme oppression African Americans endured in Compton (which is why they only know of bad cops). And on the other hand, the projection of the single narrative on hip-hop culture and N.W.A shows how power structures allow for these narratives to be constructed in order to protect dominant ideologies.

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[ANUCHA APHAYAVONG]

The photo I chose is of a book cover for the novel No-No Boy by John Okada.

The novel tells the story of the experiences of Japanese-Americans during World War II where Japanese is the U.S. were forced into internment camps after the attack on Pearl Harbor. I had recently read this novel in a previous class and found it interesting that Richard Aoki experienced internment and later became a civil rights leader while working with the Black Panthers. In studying/reading about Japanese internment in America, a lot of histories seem to glaze over the fact that Japanese were put in internment camps and the narratives of these Japanese-Americans after internment also seem to be forgotten. In addition, I connected the video about Richard Aoki and the novel No-No Boy with the idea of the “model minority” and how important it is to understand the institutions and systems that work throughout society to create dominant ideologies that allow the American public to stereotype and assume things about certain groups of people. Richard Aoki then represents the antithesis of the “model minority” and challenges the ways in which racial groups can work together and also what it means to be an “ally” in terms of fighting for civil rights.

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[ANUCHA APHAYAVONG]

CONTENT WARNING: photo may be sensitive in nature and contain morbid ideas.

The photo I chose was from an article site “Rare Historical Photos” and was photographed by Malcolm Browne.

The burning monk, 1963

I chose this photo because of the ways in which it intersects the ideas of social justice, religion, and violence. In reading and analyzing the works of Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and James Baldwin, I found it interesting to see how the three leaders were similar but also very different in the ways they presented their opinions. And in juxtaposing the three, I realized the importance of thinking about violence and how it is related to social activism. The photo shows a Buddhist monk protesting for religious freedom by setting himself on fire. The contradiction of a Buddhist monk performing this violent act on his on body then sheds light on the ways in which violence is (sometimes) necessary and justified throughout social activism. This then parallels the “violent” and “radical” sides of the three civil rights leaders and shifts the social perspective on defining violence and also understanding/analyzing where violence stems from.

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[ANUCHA APHAYAVONG]

The photo is from a KPBS new article titled “UCSD Minority Students Walk Out Of Teach-In” by Ana Tintocalis and was photographed by Jessica Plautz on February 24, 2010.

I chose this photo because of how it links the ideas related to “leaders of the civil rights movement” with present day movements. The UCSD students that are photographed are gathering in protest and in response to the institutional racism on campus–specifically, the racially themed party titled the “Compton Cookout” that shed light on the racist tendencies that were normalized throughout UCSD. In relating the readings from Martin Luther King Jr. (a widely known civil rights leader) to this photo, I found it important to understand that MLK’s words have just as much significance today as it did during the Civil Rights Movement itself. The only difference is that the fight for ‘civil rights’ has shifted into today’s setting/context and that ‘leaders’ for these fights and various social movements are embodied all throughout social groups. Martin Luther King Jr. represents/mirrors the ways in which social activists fight for justice as leaders and individual group members. This photo (which shows students holding their fists in the air while chanting in unison) also directly reflects MLK’s words of breaking silence and fighting for justice while conveying the more radical side of MLK. Though this is a mild version of MLK’s radical side; the idea of students rallying as a group to protest the academic power/institution of UCSD has its own ‘radical’ undertones.

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