April 30th

There is progress between businesses and laws that can be helpful for minorities in the workplace:

As early as 1966, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) took the position that Title VII prohibited not only intentional discrimination, but also neutral employment practices that had disproportionate adverse effects on protected groups.15 In 1971, the Supreme Court agreed with that position in Griggs v. Power Dukes Co.16 Griggs expanded the reach of Title VII by holding that “good intent or absence of discriminatory intent does not redeem employment procedures or testing mechanisms that operate as ‘built-in headwinds’ for minority groups.”  (Jones, 2017, para. 1217)

This supports the fact that people are trying to make change within society against discrimination.


JONES, A. L. (2017). IMPLICIT BIAS AS SOCIAL-FRAMEWORK EVIDENCE IN EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION. University Of Pennsylvania Law Review, 165(5), 1221-1243.

April 27th Freewriting

In Essay 4, I plan to talk about everything ranging from social class to cultural norms in the work place. The way I plan to structure my body paragraphs is to talk about my point of view the have one counter-paragraph to discuss the other side of my argument to strengthen my point of view. I also plan to discuss everything about the stress that is involved between different kinds of jobs and also talk about the difference between earning a living and just wanting to grind to have money. I will also implement my own experiences in this essay and putting my own thoughts about benefits and cons. Also, I will expand on certain stereotypes in different kind of work places.

Side of Argument: Indentify cultural norms and stereotypes within the workplace, ways to change the workplace for everyone.



Body P 1- Social classes + Workplace

talk about location, economy

Body P 2- Perspective on Cultural Norms + Workplace

Body P 3 – Perspective on stereotypes in the workplace

Body P 4 – Changing the educational system

Body P 5 – My experiences

Counter Body P- Opposite of my opinions


April 25th

A couple of my friends I know that used to work at IHOP, always wanted to work graveyard shifts and they were happy about it. However, it had a toll on their sleep and stress psychologically. As a result, they were not doing this job because they had to, but because they wanted to make money. On the contrary, I remember my mom had to work graveyard shifts because she had to work for a living. Both experiences help me understand the relationship between work and intelligence because there is both work ethic and there is knowledge about the work you do.

April 18th

Recently in my hometown, Union City, from the article, “Union City: Council passes law barring tenant evictions without cause”, landlords across my city have been unfair evicting people out of their homes, “A loud round of applause broke out last week after the Union City City Council enacted some protections for renters against unjustified evictions and landlord harassment. On a 4-1 vote, the City Council approved an ordinance that requires landlords to meet certain requirements before evicting renters and provide them with a notice detailing their rights as tenants. Councilman Lorrin Ellis dissented.” In relation to the reading “Home and Hope”, Desmond talks about how in Milwaukee, the poorest renters are moved so much around the city, “Why they do is a question that has puzzled researchers and policymakers because they have overlooked the frequency of eviction in disadvantaged neighborhoods.8 Between 2009 and 2011, roughly a quarter of all moves undertaken by Milwaukee’s poorest renters were involuntary. Once you account for those dislocations (eviction, landlord foreclosure), low-income households move at a similar rate as everyone else.9 If you study eviction court records in other cities, you arrive at similarly startling numbers.” Honestly, I feel like very city has evictions that are unfair, but I’m glad that my city passed a law so that landlords can’t force people out without certain requirements.




Critiquing Education

Firstly, I grew up in the suburbs of the East bay area. I went to a public schools with students that were mostly middle class. There were a few rich kids and some of my friends come from a rich family. When I was growing up, I realized that my family has worked hard to be in the suburbs of Union City and it feels great to earn something. Overall, what I’ve learned from growing up in my family, is that I’ve become a hard worker also during my whole learning experience in my youth.Secondly, the culture in which I grew up in is very Americanized. From Boy Scouts, to Baseball, to Basketball and even to music, my culture has shaped me to who I am today. Thirdly, as an African-American I’ve learned to be just be me because although I am considered a minority, I try everyday to be hardworking just as everybody else.

March 9th

Controversial topic – Gun Control


I believe that Wikipedia is not a credible source for writing a paper because it anonymous. However, that doesn’t mean the information isn’t true. Personally, I’ve been using Wikipedia my whole life just to get information. Also, I believe that Wikipedia is credible in its own way because of the amount of context that is on the topic you search. When I searched Gun Control, Wikipedia gave me the definition and the context from where this idea comes from. In contrast to a traditional research source such as an article, the content can be biased in some ways from the author. Overall, I love Wikipedia because it ‘s like an in-depth dictionary for any topics in the world.


March 5th

Reimagining Educational Practices’


The system of education is corrupt from the rankings, the cost, and to the quality of education. For instance, in the article, “Higher Education and the Opportunity Gap”,”Children born into the top fifth of the income distribution have about twice as much of a chance of becoming middle class or better in their adult years as those born into the bottom fifth (Isaacs, Sawhill, & Haskins, 2008). One way that lower-income children can beat the odds is by getting a college degree.” This supports the fact that less advantaged students have a greater chance in not getting the opportunity for not getting into a private school. In contrast, from Forbes.com, Jacobs describes how a college enhances your career only, “A college education has enhanced my career, but it has not created one.” This supports the fact that we should reconsider the perspective on how we get to success.


Reference List

Sawhill, Isabel. (2013). Higher Education and the Opportunity Gap Web. Brookings. Retrieved from https://www.brookings.edu/research/higher-education-and-the-opportunity-gap/

Jacobs, Deborah. (2013). Public Or Private College. Is The Outcome Any Different? Web. Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/deborahljacobs/2013/10/02/public-or-private-college-is-the-outcome-any-different/#66af5132e31f


February 28th

Isaiah J.

Juan R.

February 28th, 2018

Food and Social Class



This has become a big problem because while food deserts are often short on whole food providers, especially fresh fruits and vegetables, instead, they are heavy on local quickie marts that provide a wealth of processed, sugar, and fat laden foods that are known contributors to our nation’s obesity epidemic. The food desert problem has in fact become such an issue that the USDA has outlined a map of our nation’s food deserts, which I saw on Mother Nature Network.



Too many Americans are overweight and eat unhealthy food, a problem that falls disproportionately on poor and low-income people. Many have blamed the existence of “food deserts”—disadvantaged neighborhoods that are underserved by quality grocery stores, and where people’s nutritional options are limited to cheaper, high-calorie, and less-nutritious food.



“The other defining characteristic of food deserts is socio-economic: that is, they are most commonly found in communities of color and low-income areas (where many people don’t have cars). Studies have found that wealthy districts have three times as many supermarkets as poor ones do, [2] that white neighborhoods contain an average of four times as many supermarkets as predominantly black ones do, and that grocery stores in African-American communities are usually smaller with less selection. [3] People’s choices about what to eat are severely limited by the options available to them and what they can afford—and many food deserts contain an overabundance of fast food chains selling cheap “meat” and dairy-based foods that are high in fat, sugar and salt. Processed foods (such as snack cakes, chips and soda) typically sold by corner delis, convenience stores and liquor stores are usually just as unhealthy.”



In our research we found that a lot of food deserts occur in the middle of the U.S. toward the easter side, where it is more country and it’s more rural than being in the city. And even if you are in a city, you can still be in a food desert (according to theAtlantic.com). Food deserts have to do with social class because if you are of low income then you have a higher chance of being in an area that lacks nutritious foods and produce. It depends on where you are and what you can afford. According to foodispower.org, we found that food desserts are socio-economic meaning that they are commonly found in communities of color and low-income areas. In the website foodispower.com it states, “Healthier foods tend to be more expensive than unhealthful foods, particularly in food deserts.” which means it is less likely that lower class people eat healthily. I personally work at an organic restaurant where they advertise their food as healthy, where they have vegan, gluten free options, and tons of additions. This comes at a hefty price though, salads and vegan burgers are sold for around $13 dollars, and if you want anything on it, you’ll be looking at a $20-30 burger or salad. Only people with enough money eat there, and it shouldn’t be that way because I see people I know struggling to pay for basic necessities when people are overpaying for food.


The study reinforces the notion that food deserts are disproportionately found in disadvantaged neighborhoods. It finds that more than half (55 percent) of all ZIP codes with a median income below $25,000 fit the definition of food deserts—that’s more than double the share of food-desert ZIP codes across the country as a whole (24 percent).


Metropolitan Ave Bodega, Brooklyn

Reference List


Food Deserts. (2018). Food Deserts Web. Food Empowerment Project. Retrieved from http://www.foodispower.org/food-deserts/

Florida, Richard. (2018). Food Deserts Exist. But Do They Matter? Web. The Atlantic. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2018/01/food-deserts/551138/

USDA Defines Food Deserts. (2015). USDA Defines Food Deserts Web. American Nutrition Organization. Retrieved from http://americannutritionassociation.org/newsletter/usda-defines-food-deserts


February 26th

Food and Social Class:

In my family culture, we are pretty Americanized and eat a variety of foods. One family food that was passed down on my grandfather’s side of the family for generation is Gumbo. My grandfather is from Louisiana and Gumbo used to be the dish that their family always ate. Gumbo is a West African dish. Foods can be representative of our cultural status in society because culture involves the types of foods we eat. However, foods can be sometimes and sometimes not representative of our social status because anyone can eat anything at any time. In contrast, our eating habits every day can contribute towards social status and identity.