For Blog 18, please summarize and respond to a significant idea in "Where the Whale Be at? The place of Race and Racism in the Discussion of Environmentalism" on pages 19-21 of your class packet. This blog entry must be 400+ words long.
Suggestions, Tips, and Ideas
Suggestion: Try to make your summary of the reading no more than 200 words. The rest should be your response.
Tips: The writer's main point is stated as a question at the end of the first paragraph. The rest of the essay consists of answers to the question phrased as reasons and supported by different kinds of evidence. The first reason, as the author puts it, sounds "existential." The second reason has to do with how the environment affects large groups of people of color. The third reason narrows the issues down to specific, more personal issues. The last reason has to do, as the author puts it, with "being human."
Ideas: Lost as to what to choose for your "significant idea"? Here are some possible options (or do one of your own):
1.Comparison and Contrast using Personal Experience: Professor Cole suggests that many people of color shop at “the mom and pop or the bodega on the corner” because “there are no grocery stores in [their] neighborhood that [they] can walk to.” Is this true of your experience? Where do you live? Where does your family shop? What grocery options are available where you live and how would you describe them? Excellent? Good? Just OK? Or bad?
2. Paraphrase and Personal Examples: Professor Cole defines “environmental racism” as “any policy, practice, or directive that differentially affects or disadvantages (whether intended or unintended) individuals, groups or communities of color.” Restate this definition in you own words and give at least one example from your personal experience or knowledge.
3. Claim and Interpreting Data with Personal Experience: “The sad fact” Professor Cole asserts, “is that many [people of color] don’t see the environment unless [they] turn on the Discovery Channel or the National Geographic Channel. There are 1.7 acres of park space for every 1,000 people in African American neighborhoods; contrast this with the fact that there are 31.8 acres for each person in predominantly White neighborhoods.” Is this your reality? Where are the parks close to your house? What are they like? How do they compare to other parks in the city in richer or poorer neighborhoods? Do you ever go to the park? Why or why not?
4. Call to Action: Professor Cole ends his argument with a call to action. He says, “Maybe you should go to the park, and sit really close to a White person.” What does he mean by that? What response do you think “sitting next to a white person” might elicit? If you consider yourself white what might you think if you were sitting in a park on an empty bench and a person of color sat down next to you? Do you agree with Professor Cole's call for action? Why? Why not? (this last question is to help you create your claim).
