Being a Middle Class Minority Understanding the Ku Klux Klan Labeling White Males on the Top of the Food Chain

Being a Middle Class Minority Understanding the Ku Klux Klan Labeling White Males on the Top of the Food Chain To date, issues of multiculturalism and racial diversity continue to breed unnecessary conflict in the United States, in large part due to the diverse interests and needs espoused by different ethnic and racial groups (Harvey Allerd, 2008).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Being a Middle Class Minority Understanding the Ku Klux Klan: Labeling White Males on the Top of the Food Chain specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More As a matter of fact, different races have over time established contact organizations and splinter groups to spearhead and protect their interests, with a section of whites subscribing to the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) from as early as the 1900s to safeguard their interests while limiting the influence of the minority, particularly the blacks, Jews, and members of the catholic church (Ku Klux Klan, 2010). The minority black Americans, on their part, rallied behind several lobby groups such as the Black Panther or ganization, which they felt offered more hope to their cause of fighting discrimination, oppression and slavery. As it shall be demonstrated in this discussion, more still need to be done in the U.S. to level the playing ground for members of America’s middle class minority to be able to enjoy the same status and perks as their white counterparts. The KKK is the name given to a number of past and present hate group entities in the U.S. whose affirmed objective was to safeguard the rights of and enhance the interests of white Americans through the employment of aggression, terrorism, coercion, and lynching to murder and oppress African Americans, Jews and members of other minority groups (Ku Klux Klan, 2010). Although various legislations have been put in place to curb this form of white supremacist aggression, evidence is available to the fact that American class issues are largely influenced by racial connotations, with the whites likely to be seen as supreme to the blacks e ven in instances where there are no presumed differences of social status or class. The sudden recognition that the above is the case came immediately after the 2008 election of Barrack Obama, the first African American man to lead the U.S. Even though Obama was overwhelmingly elected by whites as well as blacks, concerns about his suitability and capability as the U.S. president continues to elicit sustained debate in popular media forums. Through my own analysis, I have come to discover that these concerns are not triggered by class issues or an evident lack of leadership capabilities; rather they are being triggered by the fact that Obama is a black man and some white men feel extremely uncomfortable by the fact a man of color is in charge of the White House.Advertising Looking for essay on african american? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More A number of criticisms directed to Obama often demonstrate the â€Å"KKKâ €  reinforced understanding on the part of some whites that a black man is unable to achieve what a white man can achieve despite his level of education or class status in society. From experience, I can firmly say that in some parts of the U.S., an established black man with a doctorate-level education is still referred to as a ‘nigger,’ while a white college graduate may end up attracting more favor and respect from a society that is predominantly white. The challenges of the middle class minority, in my view, are further complicated not by the account of their divided identity as members of a minority group who have used their endowed and learnt abilities to scale the social and economic ladder, but by their reinforced persistence to celebrate the black underclass as the â€Å"purest† illustration of true African American identity or the ‘victim-focused’ black identity. This need not be the case as such an orientation only further to enhance th e false belief that American white males are on the top of everything, including good careers, social-economic status, and political muscle, not mentioning that such an orientation further enhances the KKK mentality, which is principally founded on false premises and an obvious hatred of certain racial groups perceived to be undesirable. Upon his election as the U.S. president, some sections of Americans started viewing Obama as a black African who was born in Africa and not the U.S. Such racial predispositions, according to Harvey Allerd (2008), only serve to elevate disharmony while encouraging instances of victimization regardless of class or an individual’s ability. Indeed, this orientation has led a sizeable white Americans to believe that it is difficult for a black American to achieve a middle-level class status. Americans therefore need to take pride in the diverse racial groupings as a source of strength rather than a reason to fight each other and label others as i nferior due to the skin of their color. As observed by Harvey Allerd (2008), diversity increases productivity and innovation if the performance of organizations such as Coca Cola and IBM is anything to go by. These organizations, according to the authors, promote diversity programs to source talents from a wide range of diverse ethnic and racial groups. In my view, the KKK mentality that puts much focus on the capabilities of the American white males must not be encouraged since every racial group has its own strengths and weaknesses. Whites and black Americans need to be encouraged to substitute and compliment each other’s efforts in nation building and no body should be viewed as superior or inferior to the other on status of his or her racial orientation. It is also imperative to view the U.S. middle class as a state that is brought by an individual’s capabilities and hard work rather than his or her racial orientation. Efforts aimed at implementing this paradigm s hift have already achieved enviable results, and we already have many African Americans shining in many fields, including sports, academic and research.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Being a Middle Class Minority Understanding the Ku Klux Klan: Labeling White Males on the Top of the Food Chain specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More However, care must be taken to preserve our interracial relationships since they enhance our understanding of our own identity and roots. The KKK wrongfully assumed that interracial relationships have little or no value (Ku Klux Klan, 2010), but this assertion is akin to someone who throws away his or identity in the pursuit of other shallow interests. Reference List Harvey, C., Allerd, M.J. (2008). Understanding and managing diversity, 4th Ed. New York, NY: Prentice Hall Ku Klux Klan. (2010). Retrieved from https://www.tititudorancea.org/z/ku_klux_klan.htm

How to Make Flavored and Colored Rock Candy

How to Make Flavored and Colored Rock Candy Rock candy is another name for sugar or sucrose crystals. Making your own rock candy is a fun and tasty way to grow crystals and see the structure of sugar on a big scale. Sugar crystals in granulated sugar display a monoclinic form, but you can see the shape much better in homegrown large crystals. This recipe is for rock candy that you can eat. You can color and flavor the candy, too. Materials Basically, all you need to make rock candy is sugar and hot water. The color of your crystals will depend on the type of sugar you use (raw sugar is more golden than refined granulated sugar) and whether or not you add coloring. Any food-grade colorant will work. 3 cups sugar (sucrose)1 cup waterPanStove or microwaveOptional: food coloringOptional: 1/2 to1 teaspoons flavoring oil or extractCotton stringPencil or knifeClean glass jarOptional: Lifesaver candy Instructions Pour the sugar and water into the pan.Heat the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. You want the sugar solution to hit boiling, but not get hotter or cook too long. If you overheat the sugar solution youll make hard candy, which is nice, but not what were going for here.Stir the solution until all the sugar has dissolved. The liquid will be clear or straw-colored, without any sparkly sugar. If you can get even more sugar to dissolve, thats good, too.If desired, you can add food coloring and flavoring to the solution. Mint, cinnamon, or lemon extract are good flavorings to try. Squeezing the juice from a lemon, orange, or lime is a way to give the crystals natural flavor, but the acid and other sugars in the juice may slow your crystal formation.Set the pot of sugar syrup in the refrigerator to cool. You want the liquid to be about 50 F (slightly cooler than room temperature). Sugar becomes less soluble as it cools, so chilling the mixture will make it so there is less chance of ac cidentally dissolving sugar you are about to coat on your string. While the sugar solution is cooling, prepare your string. You are using cotton string because it is rough and non-toxic. Tie the string to a pencil, knife, or another object that can rest across the top of the jar. You want the string to hang into the jar, but not touch the sides or bottom.You dont want to weight your string with anything toxic, so rather than use a metal object, you can tie a Lifesaver to the bottom of the string.Whether you are using the Lifesaver or not, you want to seed the string with crystals so that the rock candy will form on the string rather than on the sides and bottom of the jar. There are two easy ways to do this. One is to dampen the string with a little of the syrup you just made and dip the string in sugar. Another option is to soak the string in the syrup and then hang it to dry, which will cause crystals to form naturally (this method produces chunkier rock candy crystals).Once your solution has cooled, pour it into the clean jar. Suspend the seeded string in the liquid. Set the jar somewhere quiet. You can cover the jar with a paper towel or coffee filter to keep the solution clean. Check on your crystals, but dont disturb them. You can remove them to dry and eat when you are satisfied with the size of your rock candy. Ideally, you want to allow the crystals to grow for 3 to 7 days.You can help your crystals grow by removing (and eating) any sugar crust that forms on top of the liquid. If you notice a lot of crystals forming on the sides and bottom of the container and not on your string, remove your string and set it aside. Pour the crystallized solution into a saucepan and boil/cool it (just like when you make the solution). Add it to a clean jar and suspend your growing rock candy crystals. Once the crystals are done growing, remove them and let them dry. The crystals will be sticky, so the best way to dry them is to hang them. If you plan to store the rock candy any length of time, youll need to protect the outer surface from humid air. You can seal the candy in a dry container, dust the candy with a thin coating of cornstarch or confectioners sugar to reduce sticking, or lightly spritz the crystals with non-stick cooking spray.