Read Chapter Three in Understanding Prejudice and Discrimination, and answer the following questions:

 

The Hottentot Venus

 

1.  What is steatopygia and    how was this viewed in the early 1800’s?

  1. What is the Hottentots apron and what did it represent?
  2. Contrary to the earlier scientist’s view of the Khoi-San as similar to lower primates, what contributions were made to modern society by the Khoi-San?
  3. What were your reactions/your thoughts on viewing the picture on page 120?  How is racism apparent in this drawing?

 

Molasses and Rum and following one page sections.

 

  1. What did Thomas Jefferson include as part of his daughter’s dowry?
  2. Of the first 18 presidents of the United States, which ones did not own slaves?
  3. Which presidential statement on race surprised you the most (either because of the statement or the person who made the statement)? Explain your answer.
  4. Choose three of the Dissonance-Reducing Statements in support of slavery and for each one, explain how the reasoning fits into the traits and tendencies supporting racism and prejudice (found in chapter three of  Cultural Diversity: A Primer for the Human Services).        

 

The use of Blacks for Medical Experimentation and Demonstration in the Old South

 

  1. In the Old South, African-Americans were used for medical experimentation and research.  Who was used in Northern cities and port towns of the south? 
  2. Explain the cognitive dissonance in the use of Blacks for teaching about medicine in the Old South, while advocating for the need for separate medical treatment for Whites.
  3.  Although it was illegal in several states to dissect a corpse, what idea allowed medical science to extensively dissect Black corpses?

 

An Early Entry for “Negro” and following brief sections

 

  1.  What messages were communicated through the early Aunt Jemima advertisement?

 

Coming of Age in Mississippi

 

  1.    What are your personal reactions to this article?  Do you think you would have the courage to sit at the lunch counter with this group (please be as honest as you can with this question; there is no shame in saying no; it is just to help you think about the experience these students had).

 

The American Concentration Camps: A Cover-up through Euphemistic Terminology

 

  1. What objects were accomplished by the United States government through the use of euphemistic language, in relation to the internment of Japanese Americans?
  2. How are the experiences of Japanese Americans during WWII similar to the experiences of detainees today in Guatanamo Bay, Cuba?  (Note, the answer is not in the book)
  3. How did Japanese Americans react to their own incarceration?
  4.  How did Japanese Americans deal with their incarceration once they were detained?

 

How to Tell Japanese from Chinese People and following sections             

 

  1.  What biases are apparent in the article “How to Tell Your Friends from the Japs?”
  2. What would the reaction have been if Japanese soldiers “boiled the flesh off enemy skulls to make table ornaments…” (Page 163)

 

Extra Credit:  Explain the origin of the term “Jim Crow.”   Remember to include properly cited references.