Ethnic Minority Children’s Experiences With Discrimination and Exclusion, Essay Example

below essay is designed to analyze ethnic minority children’s experiences with discrimination and exclusion. The author would like to examine how “Brownies” in “Drinking Coffee Elsewhere” by Packer in order to examine how the girls in the “black” brownie group look at difference, reflect on their status, and cope with exclusion. “Brownies” describes social exclusion and the fear of the unknown through social and cultural exclusion resulting in the girls are intentionally trying to become different, creating an artificial division of the two girl groups. The author features social exclusion of the black girls, while their minority status is represented by their actions and attitudes towards the white girls. They see Troop 909 as a privileged group, a superior to the black troop. Metaphors used by the black girls describing the white troop are used to “dehumanize” them. It is a coping mechanism of the girls set up to deal with social exclusion. The girls are not interested in finding out more about the white troop: they have racial prejudice embedded to them by the society. While Arnetta is trying to create an artificial group cohesion by creating an enemy (Troop 909), she fails at this task. The girls’ individual identity is stronger than the social identity provided by being a “Brownie”.

The girls featured in the text are socially excluded from the mainstream population, because of their ethnic minority status. In “Brownies”, the black girls are separated by the white group, called Troop 909. All the girls are different in temperament and appearance, and they do not have a natural cohesion within the group. Arnetta, however, quickly becomes a leader to “create an enemy” based on ethnic diversity. She is the one who makes remarks about the appearance of white girls, mocking them, and calling them names. She states that “They smell like Chihuahuas. Wet Chihuahuas” (Packer, 2). The rest of the girls do not seem to notice the white girls much; they need to be reminded of their difference. They obviously heard stories about “white people”, but they are happy to live their lives without getting involved in a conflict.  The author states: “When you lived in the suburbs of Atlanta, it was easy to forget about whites”. Here, the author implies that whites and blacks in America were not only separated by culture, but also geographically. Blacks lived in different areas than whites.  This was why seeing Troop 909 triggers the fear of the unknown in many of the girls. The black girls live in a closed cultural community, and know hardly anything about the lives of whites. They don’t know if they have any difficulties in life, what makes them happy or sad. Cultural segregation is clearly visible through the author’s description. As Andrew Smith once said: “People fear what they don’t understand and hate what they can’t conquer.

The characters of “Brownies” think that the white girls are “privileged”, and they are yet to find out that indeed, Troop 909 consists of “special needs” children. They recall their experiences with white people. They prejudice the girl troop’s members based on their limited knowledge of whites. Arnetta says: “My Mama and I were in the mall in Buckhead, and this white lady just kept looking at us. I mean, like we were foreign or something. Like we were from China”(Packer, 25). The girls reflect their anticipation of discrimination on Troop 909, assuming that the girls must be against black people, too. They are the ones who call the white girls names first: categorize them. Arnetta plays with the word: “Caucasian” well before she starts claiming that they called their troop “niggers”. The black girls automatically assume that (because most white people look down on blacks), the members of Troop 909 is mocking them the same way and calls them names.

The characters use metaphors and similarities to describe the “otherness” of Troop 909. The main metaphor of Packer’s “Brownies” is the nickname: “Wet Chihuahuas” for white girls. It symbolizes what the girls think about the “other group”. A Chihuahua is a well looked-after, good-looking breed, with little or no use for humans. Likewise, the girls of the black group think that white girls have no practical skills, no common sense, and everything is done for them. They refuse to think that even they might have their own struggles and despairs. They fail to realize that the girls in Troop 909 are also disadvantaged. They automatically assume that they are the superiors. Cleaning of the bathroom performed by Daphne is also symbolic. The girl is used to clean up after white people, and she simply cannot stand the dirtiness. She accepts that she is inferior to the mainstream population, just like her mother, who works as a cleaner.

Calling the girls names is a symbol of denying their humanity. The black “brownie” girls mock the white troop, as they do not want to accept that they are humans. They emphasize their difference, instead of trying to find a common ground.

Segregation for the black girls is something they are used to in the U.S. society. For them, mixing with the white girls is not an option because they are afraid of being ill-treated by them. They heard stories from their parents about white people looking down blacks, and they assume that their only option is to fight. They do not look at the similarities, but the differences. Arnetta simply dehumanizes the white girls, stating that they are like “Wet Chihuahuas”. Separation is the goal of the girls, instead of assimilation.

The girls willingly embrace segregation and confrontation as this is what they have seen in their lives. The events reflect their experience with racial segregation. There is no logical reason for fighting, still Arnetta tells Laurel: “Don’t think. Just fight. If you even know why” (13). The only coping mechanism the girls would ever know in this case is fighting and confrontation. They are not interested in embracing differences and are afraid of being discriminated against. Mixing with the white girls and engaging in conversations, finding common grounds is not an option for them.

The text emphasizes social exclusion and the inferior status of black girls. Social exclusion is based on demographic and cultural segregation. There are customs that “black girls” are used to, and those “white girls” find appropriate. However, the only cultural difference mentioned by Packer is that the majority of black girls live in poverty, while the whites are “spoiled”, according to the African American girls.  The girls from the suburbs had not before seen stars or real fish. They think that the white girls are “privileged”, and they are yet to find out that indeed, Troop 909 consists of “special needs” children. They recall their experiences with white people. They prejudice the girl troop’s members based on their limited knowledge of whites. Arnetta says: “My Mama and I were in the mall in Buckhead, and this white lady just kept looking at us. I mean, like we were foreign or something. Like we were from China”(Packer, 25). The girls reflect their anticipation of discrimination on Troop 909, assuming that the girls must be against black people, too. They are the ones who call the white girls names first: categorize them. Arnetta plays with the word: “Caucasian” well before she starts claiming that they called their troop “niggers”. The black girls automatically assume that (because most white people look down on blacks), the members of Troop 909 is mocking them the same way and calls them names.

Dehumanization of the unknown is a featured coping mechanism described by the author. Symbols of dehumanization are present through the text of the “Brownies”. The main metaphor of Packer’s “Brownies” is the nickname: “Wet Chihuahuas” for white girls. It symbolizes what the girls think about the “other group”. A Chihuahua is a well looked-after, good-looking breed, with little or no use for humans. Likewise, the girls of the black group think that white girls have no practical skills, no common sense, and everything is done for them. They refuse to think that even they might have their own struggles and despairs. They fail to realize that the girls in Troop 909 are also disadvantaged. They automatically assume that they are the superiors. Cleaning of the bathroom performed by Daphne is also symbolic. The girl is used to clean up after white people, and she simply cannot stand the dirtiness. She accepts that she is inferior to the mainstream population, just like her mother, who works as a cleaner.

Calling the girls names is a symbol of denying their humanity. The black “brownie” girls mock the white troop, as they do not want to accept that they are humans. They emphasize their difference, instead of trying to find a common ground. Arnetta calls the girls “invaders”, while the author states that they have “shampoo commercial hair”, suggesting they are not real.

Arnetta becomes a leader delivering messages to the girls in order to keep them together fighting for the common enemy: Troop 909. There is no natural cohesion in the group of black “brownie” girls, therefore, Arnetta steps up to create some. She tells the girls that they were called “negroes” by the white girls, and the reader can assume that this is not the truth. She wants a purpose for the group: she wants to create an enemy to fight against in order to make a community out of the group of girls. However, the cohesion is not strong enough. As the author states: “it seemed that the rest of the troop had given up making fun of the girls in Troop 909” (Packer, 25).

The girls of the black troop are too afraid of trying to find out more about the white girls. They are not open to new experiences. They have no hope for embracing difference. They are prejudicial, and therefore believe Arnetta when she claims that the white troop’s members called them “nigger”. Even though the leader of the Troop 909 states that they would not use that word, as it is a “bad word”, they do not believe them. They have their preconceptions and prejudices. As the author states: “when you’ve been made to feel bad for so long, you jump at the chance to do it to others”. The girls refuse to believe in the white girls’ innocence, as it would take away their reason to “fight back”.

Racial prejudice is described through the girls’ actions as they make assumptions based on the ethnicity of the white girls. They have previous knowledge about how whites stare at black people, as if they were aliens. They also know from their parents that whites handle blacks as inferiors. They want to overcome the oppressed status, and the only way they can find is to fight. One symbol of connectedness is the mentioning of Michael Jackson. It is interesting that he is mentioned in the text, as he appears to be a model for Arnetta. She clearly states that she loves him and will marry him one day. It is not clear whether Michael Jackson is referred to as a hero because he was able to become famous despite his skin color, or because he could “appear white” after all.

Being a “brownie” fails to create a strong cultural identity for the girls. Songs of brownie groups are designed to create connectedness, however, they do not act as an agent of getting the girls together. Even though they are about friendship, the shared love of Jesus, the girls are not taking on the real messages of the songs. They simply sing the tunes and repeat the words. As that is what they are supposed to do. They still feel social exclusion, despite being a part of the “brownie” community.

The way of dealing with cultural and ethnic exclusion are described by Packer is significant as it represents the fear and confusion black people in America felt when first facing white population. The black girls are suspicious of the white girls, and they are afraid to try and understand them. They make assumptions based on common prejudices and stories they heard. They do not want to understand the other group, and instead of looking at the girls as other humans, they dehumanize them; mock the white girls and call them names.  The substance of racism is captured by Packer: being afraid of the unknown and looking at people who are different as threats to one’s identity.

Works Cited

Packer, Z. “Brownies”. In: Drinking Coffee Elsewhere. 2003. Print.