Systemic Racism and The Asian Experience Essay

Systemic Racism and The Asian Experience Essay

Watch the video above.

Clarification: I am getting use to use Panapto for lecturing but do not always manage my notes, the computer and my surrounding environment. So to clarify some notes regarding the gold rush in California:

Gold rush: At the start of 1849 there were only 55 Chinese men in the US. By 1851, 25,000 Chinese immigrants had left their homes and moved to California

Remember to take notes during this lecture and pause as I move along fairly quickly. Within the video I ask you to watch these two brief videos on Angel Island that was established in 1910 as a immigration processing center:

• Overview of conditions : https:// (Links to an external site.)www.aiisf.org/ports (Links to an external site.)
• Experience: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_EQY-0ThOM (Links to an external site.)
• For this lesson I want you to focus on the poetry discussed in the video (you may be tested on the conditions at a later date). I read one of the poems in the video above, here are two more:

Poem #32

Imprisoned in the wooden building day after day,

My freedom withheld; how can I bear to talk about it?

I look to see who is happy but they only sit quietly.

I am anxious and depressed and cannot fall asleep.

The days are long and bottle constantly empty; my sad

mood, even so, is not dispelled.

Nights are long and the pillow cold; who can pity my

loneliness?

After experiencing such loneliness and sorrow,

Why not just return home and learn to plow the fields?

Poem #8

Instead of remaining a citizen of China, I willingly became an

ox.

I intended to come to America to earn a living.

The Western styled buildings are lofty; but I have not the

luck to live in them.

How was anyone to know that my dwelling place would be a

prison?

We looked at music at the beginning of the semester, now it is poetry’s turn: This brief articles gives you examples of poems and poetry’s relevance for activism.

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/collections/101581/poems-of-protest-resistance-and-empowerment (Links to an external site.)

Choose one of the poems from the bottom of the article and:

1. Summarize its message. Who is it talking about?

2. Tell me why it should be considered a poem of resistance and/or empowerment (as some of you focused on when choosing your song.)

3. And then comment on the subtitle to the article: “Why poetry is necessary and sought after during crises.” and why you picked the poem you commented on.

1.5-2 pages typed. Submit here. Proof read as points will be deducted for numerous errors, use examples from the poem you choose to answer the questions.