Multicultural Psychology Blog

One of my roommates and closest friends is a Mexican immigrant; for anonymity's sake let's call him "S." His parents illegally immigrated and found residence here. S was very young when this occurred but nonetheless he has had to live somewhat secretively. He grew up speaking both Spanish and English and constantly pursued advanced placement programs throughout the course of his education. He is now attending college studying Ornithology. I have known him since high school and I never considered his citizenship until he disclosed this information to me. He has grown up and acted strictly American by our society's definition. He is American after all. However, he has a heritage culture that he does not identify with. His family dynamic, including Spanish communication, is a part of his culture he cannot escape but it almost seems like he would if he could. He wishes to bear no semblance to his heritage culture. He reserves positive attitudes toward his host culture...

Chicago rapper Noname released her second album on September 14th 2018. The opening track "Self" is a coherent yet thoroughly sporadic flow of consciousness, similar to Earl's opening track " Shattered Dreams ." Hip Hop is notoriously a very male-dominated landscape. In addition, women are very frequently objectified, exotified, and portrayed as possessions of men. The word "bitch" is commonly used to refer to literally any woman, however there is a notable cultural component to its usage as slang--regardless, it signifies the roles women often play in Hip Hop music. Standing in stark opposition to this, we see Noname intentionally defying American societal gender roles as well as gender roles within the Hip Hop subculture. She uses the term "bitch" to describe herself in first saying, "y'all really thought a bitch couldn't rap, huh?/ maybe this your answer for that," then later saying, "y'all still thought a bitch ...

L.A. based rapper Earl Sweatshirt released his new album on November 30 2018, following a four year hiatus. The first track "Shattered Dreams" briefly summarizes Earl's change in perspective from his last album, addressing his perspective on many issues of race. After listening to the album, I quickly connected the verse in "Shattered Dreams" to many aspects of our in-class discussion regarding race and privilege. Earl first comments on the ignorance of his past perspectives. He suggests that as an African American man in the United States he is inherently suffering but few seem to acknowledge it. He continues to reflect on how depressing the awareness of systemic racism is--wishing for the bliss of his previous ignorance. This is best exemplified in the last two bars of the chorus and the first four bars of his verse: "Why ain't nobody tell me I was bleedin'? Please, nobody pinch me out this dream I said peace to my dirty water drinkers Psh, n...

During this semester I began listening to a podcast called "2 Dope Queens" while I worked at the library. I became a big fan of Jessica Williams, one of the hosts of the show, and researched her other public appearances. I learned that she was a correspondent on the Daily Show with both John Stewart and Trevor Noah. In this research I came across the above video from 2016; it is definitely worth a watch. The present controversy is over the racist seal of the town of Whitesboro in upstate New York. The seal depicts a white man choking a Native American man. It was supposedly a display of wresting which actually fostered a relationship between the settlers (colonizers) and the Native people. Jessica Williams became involved and attempted to educate the mayor on why the seal was blatantly racist, with little success. She helped initiate a vote to change the town's seal. She then interviewed many of the people coming to vote. Some citizens were very vocal about the seal's...

When I began dating my partner, Uyen, I very quickly noticed a difference between her parents and my parents. Initially I shrugged this off as a cultural difference, which is was, but I failed to acknowledge the complexity of their parenting tactics. I had experienced parents very different from my own throughout my youth but I spent relatively little time interacting with parents from cultures other than my own. I was rehearsed with different American etiquettes and political ideologies and felt like I could respond comfortably to them. However, Uyen's parents' social behaviors were unlike anything I had seen previously. Both of Uyen's parents immigrated from Vietnam and were raised very collectivist. Both of my parents are white, native-born Americans with very liberal, individualistic social views. This difference could be felt in the household dynamics--how our families divided responsibilities and socially interacted. Uyen's home functioned rather efficiently compa...

Earlier this semester I sat in on a slam poetry reading by Carlos Andres Gomez. He is currently starring in HBO's Def Jam Poetry and V erse & Flow as well as Spike Lee's Inside Man . During the performance Carlos would routinely switch between insightful banter and powerful poetry. He discussed many systemic issues pertaining to race and gender. One poem, in particular, stood out to me; the emotion in his voice felt less rehearsed, his cadence more welcoming. I was baffled by his ability to fuel his words so passionately and cogently. In this poem, he discussed Latinx identity and offered countless counterstereotypical examples. He began with a story of someone asking him "what he was," because he did not look "hispanic." Carlos responds to this encounter by questioning exactly what it means to be "hispanic." He paints a grotesque, verbal icon of a "hispanic" person--defined by crude stereotypes and surrealist imagery. He then notes...