Isabela Nicole

I’m taking an Ethnic Studies seminar focusing on “Men of Color” and so far I am hella stoked about this class. Initially I wanted to take this class because it’s taught by Professor Robert Allen whom I heard was a dope professor. To top it off, I read one of his works about Black capitalism and the construction of the black middle class in legitimizing the “American Dream mythology” and the strategies that were carried out in opposition of the civil rights movement. For some reason, I always have a “mmmhmmm” and a nod going on with him from his book to just today’s lecture.

Today I was really struck by his take on male anger. First he created a comparative chart on the expectations of males and females in America to show how these constructions have been a set up for destruction. Although he addressed many aspects on this, I liked how we discussed that men are conditioned to mostly resort the emotion of anger. To add, there is so much that a male shuts out that we need to create an environment for men to be comfortable to express their internal struggles. 

To me that is not to say that we need hella males up in a room to “cry a river,” but to have a cathartic opportunity to release their feelings in other methods besides the emotion of anger, abusively that is. Most of all, to bring to consciousness the system that drives males to be this way and for males and females to think of it as being normal.

I bring this back home though to the young men of color who are mostly Filipino that I work with in Union City, and I just hope we can create this environment for more sharing but also building strength for a better community and more male allies.These young men tell me of abusive fathers layin’ hands on their mothers, cuffing their hands around liquor excessively, and to beat/shot the shit out someone to feel like they’ve gain the title of “being a man” when all that’s left is bruises on both bodies. To take it on another level and the issue of violence in this city, I think that a decolonized education and discussion about “men of color” is fundamental to the prevention of violence that cops and city officials are being blind to or using race in the wrong the way. 

There’s a lot to say here, but I’ll leave it at this….