Talking in Color!

 

Tiffany Hendrickson, Urban Reflection, Talking in Color: Collision of Cultures, (March 21, 2013), the author embarks on a journey to a realm of cultural intersectionality, which growing up in a Black neighborhood but not identifying as African American, so she needs to act her skin color which is white. Tiffany Hendrickson grew up in a neighborhood where there was a tremendous linguistic gap. Which would be a place where most people call an impoverished African American neighborhood. Although the people in her neighborhood may not look the same as her she still can hear voices that are like hers. The purpose of this passage is to allow readers to connect with the real-world implications of cultural intersectionality. In order to do so you would have to live experiences of these grappling challenges and triumphs that come with diverse cultural worlds. Her audience is college students in general since she mentioned that she went to a college house party at Clifton.

I was surprised that Tiffany Hendrickson continued to stay in an African American neighborhood with two deaf parents. At first, I thought it might cause more attention or harm to her family. That reminds me of how me and my family grew up in a suburban neighborhood in Hilliard, Ohio. Most of our high school was white students, so when we attend and had to ride the bus we were pick on and look down at because we are African Americans. One time me and my sister was getting off the bus and some white boys yelled out the window “ go back to the ghetto where you belong”, that was when me and my sister told our mom that were didn’t want to go to that school anymore due to so much happening to us on a daily basis. It is not fair to have to code switch just to fit in where you live or go to school.

“Talking in Color: Collision of Cultures” is a compelling exploration of dynamics that unfold when diverse cultures come into contact with one another. She highlights the short cummings of the so called “dominant white culture” in thinking they are superior by enforcing code switching, skin shaming, etc. This false since of superiority and the system that rewards the inheritors of a lighter skin is called “white privileged,” and it exists to subjugate to people of color by oppression of economic circumstances, suppressions of native languages, and the enforcement of linguistic dominance by forcing people to code switch. The author also highlights the delicate equilibrium required for meaningful cultural exchange, emphasizing the shared humanity that underlies our differences. Hendrickson offers insights and strategies for navigating these collisions of cultures, ultimately promoting greater empathy, and understanding.