Signare was the name for the Mestizo French-African women of the island of Gorée in French Senegal during the 18th and 19th centuries. These woman of color held some power in a patriarchal system throughout the Atlantic Slave Trade. These women were the wives of merchants. Signares commonly had power in networks of trade and wealth within the limitations of slavery. The influence held by these women led to changes in gender roles in the family structure archetype. Signares commonly had power in networks of trade and wealth within the limitations of slavery. Some owned masses of land as well as slaves. Many signares were wed under “common local law” that was recognized by priests of the Catholic faith. These marriages were for economic and social reasons. Both signares and their husbands gained from these partnerships. Europeans passed their names down to the offspring and with it their lineage. Source: Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signare |
I enjoy a lot of privileges. I’m middle class and I go to a good school. On top of that Asian Americans just seem to fare better in terms of bias and racism — at least these days.
I think it’s important to acknowledge that privilege exists. We don’t have to become defensive, and we don’t have to feel guilty for it, but we do have to know when it’s there.
Sierra Fang-Horvath, “Mixed Race Privilege?” KQED Radio, March 9, 2017. https://ww2.kqed.org/perspectives/2017/03/08/mixed-race-privilege/.
Mixed Race Privilege?Posted in Articles, Asian Diaspora, Audio, Media Archive, Social Justice, United States on 2017-03-12 22:33Z by Steven |
KQED Radio
San Francisco, California
2017-03-09
Sierra Fang-Horvath
Oakland, California
My mom is Chinese, with black hair and tan skin. My dad is white, with light eyes and skin the color of office paper. I, on the other hand, am an awkward midway point: dark skin, but not super dark; black hair, but not super black.
It used to be that I never thought about my mixed race. But as I’ve gotten older, and now that I attend a predominantly white suburban school, race is constantly on my mind.
Recently, my classmates and I participated in a survey calculating our privilege…