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Samantha Ollerton
Professor Bown
English 1050
07/02/2014
The Growth of a Nation
Part One
In the many years between this nations colonization and the modern culture we know and
live through now, prejudice has played an enormous role in major historic events and has shaped
todays society. Our country is that which is comprised of many different parts, ideas, colors and
patterns, were a mosaic of the world and I believe its a beautiful thing. However, with so many
differences, there have been conflicts and injustices. Othering is a term used to describe the
feelings of an individual or a group to be considered outcasts, or to be excluded in the mind of
another individual or group. The term its self is unfortunate, and many unfortunate cases of
othering have occurred in American society. The origin of this prejudice requires a much
deeper conversation, but for now we can focus on the growth and improvement from initial
American colonization to the current state of affairs. I believe were in the best place weve been
so far, though we still have some prejudice to overcome.
Ellis Island, located in the Upper New York Bay, is a lovely little island with beautiful
historic buildings and some fascinating history. The island was once the busiest immigration
inspection station in the nation, where twelve million immigrants had been processed by the time
of its closing. A great deal of culture had entered through the country at this station, and many
accounts of this experience have been positive and enriching. There is another immigration
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station in California, called Angel Island, and the accounts of what occurred here between 1910
and 1940 arent as pleasant. Around 1 million Asian immigrants were processed in the 30 years
Angel Island served as an immigration inspection station. Because of the Chinese Exclusion Act
passed in 1882, many Chinese immigrants were refused passage, many more being held there,
waiting for entry. The immigrants were locked up in barracks, treated very poorly by the
American immigration officers. There was an unfortunate example of othering in this situation,
and the Chinese immigrants were excluded as a race instead of being embraced as people with a
beautiful culture to offer. The experience was no doubt horrifying, but the history has taught us
all a lesson in understanding. It even yielded some beautiful poetry, which was written or carved
by the imprisoned Chinese immigrants onto the walls of the barracks on the island. The
experiences that the Chinese immigrants had when they came to America was tragic and unjust,
but we as a culture exist because of all the elements that occurred throughout history, this being
one of them.
One of the most tragic examples of othering is the enslavement of African people. The
first slaves were brought to America on Dutch warships in the 1600s, and for hundreds of years,
othering occurred in severely unjust ways. The white Americans looked down on the African
Americans, and the each new generation was taught to think less of them. Some people began to
realize how wrong this was, and a president with this mind set was elected into office and would
soon change the country. After the civil war, and after slavery was abolished, there was still
othering, and African Americans were segregated in communities and public places. On July 5th
1852, a freed slave named Frederick Douglass gave a speech about the meaning of Independence
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Day to the American slave. He beautifully discusses the injustice of slavery, and the lack of
meaning on this holiday for the cruelly mistreated people. In his speech he says this:
What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer; a day that
reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and
cruelty to which he is the constant victim.
The speech is a harsh and honest reality for all Americans, and a phenomenal
defiance of othering.
Hundreds of years later, the first African American president, Barack Obama,
is elected into the White House made a speech similar to Douglasss. His language
and purpose is very different, but his overall message is the same. He addresses all
people, and illustrates unity and compassion, a newly founded non-discriminating
society built on the path to equality and justice for all. Though we are not perfect, he
talks about how far weve come as a nation, denoting that while there is still growth,
there is a wealth of hope to fund it. I believe he is right, and that othering can be
overcome as a nation.
There are other, more subtle types of othering, ways for a person to judge
and belittle a person for their ethnic differences. With the the expansion of culture in
our nation, there has been an introduction of many different languages and accents.
Some people immigrating to American have brought mixed languages, and some have
even further mixed their language with English. I personally believe this is a
fascinating and intriguing that should be embraced, but not all believe that. Anzaldua
is a Chicana who speaks a mixture of Spanish and English, calling itChicano Texas
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Spanish, and Tex-Mex. She wrote a lovely essay called How to Tame a Wild
Tongue, where she explains the deep connection between herself as an individual
and the identity she shares with her language. She states that Ethnic identity is twin
skin to linguistic identity - I am my language. This connection between ones culture
and their personal identity is unique and should be treasured, but there are those who
mean to silence this because they believe in a different kind of tradition. Some
people, and still many people today, hold a certain kind of pride over the English
language, and wish it to be the only thing spoken in America. Many even go as far as
pushing an American accent onto those without one. While I think its certainly less
aggressive in todays society than it probably once was, I think its still a problem
today, and I hope to see more acceptance of language in our future. Anzaldua states in
her written work, that she will overcome the tradition of silence, and I hope the rest
of the country and all immigrants do as well.
Part 2
With this idea of linguistic acceptance and the diminishing of othering in relation to our
more modern and accepting society, Id like to discuss one final literary work. June Jordans
written work Nobody Mean More to Me Than You and the Future Life of Willie Jordan. In this
piece, June Jordan discusses and describes Black English, and its effective and ineffective uses
to push equality for African Americans who have a different way of speaking. Its been made
clear that African Americans have had some of the worst cases of oppression and degrading
treatment, and they too have had language discrimination bouts. Jordan disputes this by stating
that white Americans have a standard of English, and describes it as something were all meant
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to follow in order to be an equal part of this country. I disagree with this myself, and while not all
agree with me, Jordan makes wonderful points in disputing this topic. Jordan herself is a teacher,
and she says that the students in her class do not feel a connection to the language they speak on
a regular basis. One student in particular, Willie Jordan, had a brother who was murdered by
white Brooklyn police. She began trying to help this student find justice, and she introduced an
idea to her class, a coordinated message to the public through Newsday. It took some discussion
to decide which approach to use, Black English, or Standard English. She refers to Standard
English as The language of the killer, while Black English would respect Reggie, and represent
the writers more honestly.
Tragically, the Black English papers that were ultimately submitted by the class went
unrecognized, and were not taken seriously. This to me is a very sad and disappointing but
accurate example of othering. As a fellow student of mine recognized, the students, In
protesting an injustice in this way, they remained true to their identities. I believe that to be true,
and if it were done today, I would hope that more recognition would be given to the efforts of
those students. This to me is where the growth comes in. Even though they went unrecognized
for their brave and intelligent efforts, today we can recognize them for what they did and take the
lesson for ourselves to learn and grow from.
There have been many changes in our history, prejudice has been overcome in many
ways, and opportunities for all have been brought into the norm of society. While the nation
grows we must grow as individuals, and we must recognize and accept that we are not perfect
and there will always be something to improve. Prejudice and oppression will still be deep in the
hearts of people, but it can be over come with understanding and education. Staying positive and
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open to changes is a message we all need to spread, and I believe we can overcome anything if
we persist and keep our hearts open as a nation.

Citations:
Jordan, June Nobody Mean More to Me than You and the Future Life of Willie Jordan
Harvard Educational Review; Aug 1988; 58, 3; ProQuest Psychology Journals pg. 363
Douglass, Frederick. What to the Slave is the Fourth of July? pg. 460-474
Ellis Island, History.com Staff, 2009, A+E Networks
Angel Island Poetry, 1998-2009. Center for Educational Telecommunications [http://
www.cetel.org/angel_poetry.html]
Obama, Barack. A More Perfect Union. pg. 476-484