As a group we chose the topic 

“Racism” for our investigation. All the group members had

an interest in exploring Racism as a topic, so we decided to work together to do the SBA on that

specific topic. Also, most of us worked previously before and felt obligated to work again seeing

how we worked well together. We all chose this topic because, while Racism has always been a

huge issue in society, it is now blaring because of the ‘Black Lives Matter’ protests that have

been going around the world. It seemed an appropriate topic to do for our investigation. 

          The sub-topics were chosen by picking out different topics associated with Racism and

issues that were popular in the world. The sub-topic we chose were: White privilege,

cultural appropriation, racism affecting black teens, racism in the school system and racism

against black people. We thought that would be enough to showcase different aspects of racism.

We all had a say in the sub-topics. After choosing our sub-topics, we went and found our three

artifacts to help with our investigation. 

           The purpose of our investigation is to educate people on this topic. Many people don’t

even know that they are racist at certain times and that they are being disrespectful even though

it was not their intention. Also, many people know that they are being racist but don’t know

how Racism affects a person.  Being educated about racism is very important. 

             We all came up with three questions that highlighted the issues surrounding Racism. We

chose these questions by switching each other's artifacts and understanding each article and

deciding which questions we were going to use. 

               The first question we asked was “How does Racism affect someone’s mental health?”

The source we decided to use for this is an article called “Study links racism with signs of

depression in black teens” by Kathiann Kowalski written in the year 2020. Depression as stated

in the article can be as a result of Racism. This is shown in the line, “Sadly, racial discrimination
happens every day. Indeed, for some U.S. kids, it’s a five-time-a day-thing. That’s the finding of

a small survey of Black Teens moreover, these kids show worse signs of depression” The article

notes that black children face mental illnesses as a result of racism.  

                 The second question that we asked was “Does Racism affect only Black People?” We

used a poem called “Who are you by?” Sequoya Henry written in the year 2017. The poem is

about how others, mostly white people, wear and do things that associate with other cultures. It

talks about how cultural appropriation is not only done to Black People, but to other races in the

world. In line seventeen, “Because Indians are only 7 eleven cashiers/Definitely not the people

who do your henna” This shows us that white people admire henna, something that is cultural to

India yet use racial stereotypes of all Indians being 7 eleven cashiers. 

                    Our third and final question that we asked was, “Does Racism affect males or

females more, emotionally?”. We used a journal entry written by Connie Wun, racism affects

society and the school systems within it. In the journal, close to the ending, it talks about

how racism affects black girls and what they go through throughout the day. It highlights

that girls go through more emotional damage, physically and mentally. It

states explicitly that girls are more affected when it comes to racism. A quote that states these

are, “This qualitative paper examines school discipline, policies and informal punitive practices

including the implications that these mechanisms have on the physical and emotional world of

black girls.”. 

                      In conclusion all the questions we previously had have been answered from these

artifacts. We now know that Racism in most instances can deteriorate someone’s mental health,

we know that Racism does not only affect black people but other people of color and that Racism

affects girls more.  

 

Who are you

https://powerpoetry.org/poems/who-are-you-ode-cultural-appropriation

To criticize her
And wear her clothes
To make fun of her culture
 
But look in the mirror
And say "it looks good on me"
And wear it the next day, just because you can. 
 
Because black people aren't pretty
It's just their 
full lips, 
dark eyes, 
noses, 
curves, 
Brows,
hair and hair styles, 
and music that is. 
Because Indians are only 7 eleven cashiers
Definitely not the people who
Do your beautiful henna
Have cultural significance with the bindis 
you love to go to Coachella with
Make beautiful music
And are beautiful people
 
So maybe before you sport generalized Native American feathers or dress up like Pocahontas next
year, think about the parts of your culture you hold most dear. If someone sported it just because it's
fun, that would be offensive if you were the one being made fun of. 
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0896920514560444

For nearly three decades, racial formations theory has influenced ideas, discourses and

political projects surrounding race and racism in the United States. The theory holds that

although race is a permanent feature in the US, the formation, order, and set of meanings

inscribed onto racialized subjects are contingent upon historical and political contexts. This

framework conceals anti-black racism as an enduring social order that affects policies, policy

outcomes and organizes the relationship between non-black and black bodies. One exemplary

social institution through which this can be seen is the public education system and its culture

of discipline and punishment in the US. Current interrogations of school disciplinary

landscapes have focused in on disparities in discipline policies as they affect

working-class/working-poor boys of color. While it is useful to examine the uneven rates of

suspensions, expulsions, and arrests, focusing on these disciplinary discrepancies misses

everyday occurrences of punishment that young black girls experience. This qualitative paper

examines school discipline policies and informal punitive practices including the implications

that these mechanisms have on the physical and emotional worlds of black girls. The study

finds that black girls are rendered structurally vulnerable to discipline and punishment at the

hands of adults and peers in ways that exceed or contend with the logics espoused through

racial formations theory. Placing black girls at the center of analysis compels us to examine

the anti-black logic of discipline and punishment in schools and at large.

Sadly, racial discrimination happens every day. Indeed, for some U.S. kids, it’s a five-
times-a-day thing. That’s the finding of a small survey of Black teens. Moreover, these
kids showed worse signs of depression after two weeks of such experiences. Mental-
health researchers worry that over time, such ongoing racism will cause more and more
emotional harm.
Devin English works at the Rutgers University School of Public Health in Newark, N.J.
As a psychologist, he studies human behavior, the mind and emotional health. He and
other researchers wondered how common different types of discrimination are for Black
teens. They also wanted to see whether racism affects teens’ mental health. To find out,
he and some colleagues surveyed 101 Black students, aged 13 to 17, in Washington,
D.C.

Team members first asked teens 20 questions about signs of possible depression. For
instance, did these kids have trouble sleeping? Did they have trouble keeping their mind
on what they were doing? Had they lost interest in some of their usual activities?

Then the team asked the teens to complete daily surveys for two weeks. The 15 survey
questions changed each day. In all, the surveys asked about more than 60 types of
experiences that might indicate racism. These ranged from physical assaults
and bullying to insults and other nasty behaviors.

But the incidents didn’t have to have been aimed at the teens directly. Racism
experienced by a family member, neighbor or friend can have broad impacts. This type
of secondhand — or vicarious — experience can hurt kids as well. Teens also can face
racism online.
If a Black teen feels upset by racism, for example, a White person might say, “Get over
it.” That downplays the teen’s experience and suggests it shouldn’t hurt — even if it truly
does. Or, someone might ask a person of color to speak for all members of his or her
race or ethnic group. That wrongly suggests that everyone in that group is alike.