Narrative Assignment Walking into a lecture hall in Gregory Hall, I really didn’t know what to expect. I dressed as I would any other day; an Abercrombie shirt, a pair of frayed shorts and some casual sandals. I sat towards the front of the room and arrived slightly early to ensure a good seat. The name of this Brown v. Board education discussion was entitled, "Rethinking Slavery: 1800-1861,” and was arranged by the Mellon initiative. As I waited to observe the audience as they filled the seats with pencil in hand, I was amazed by the amount of diversity I saw before me. By the time the lecture was ready to set foot, I observed that nearly the entire lecture hall was filled. I would say that the hall where our discussion was being held in could probably hold around 300 people. The majority of the audience was not students forced to write a paper on the Brown v. Board Commemoration events, but rather scholars who were on average in their mid-40s. It seemed as though everyone knew each other to some degree. At one point, I saw a woman walk in with her young son and they were greeted by one of the first presenters. Oftentimes, groups of 2 or 3 walked into the room and they would sit down in no particular section of the seating and proceed to talk moderately loudly and peacefully. There was a sense of joy and rejuvenation in the air. After making my final observations of the crowd, I noted that it was a predominantly white showing! Not something I would expect to see when attending a discussion on slavery. It was a spectacle for me to see a group of Asian Americans nodding in unison when points were made during the seminar relating to black and white race relations. I would say that African-Americans wer... ... middle of paper ... ...ree topics in detail instead of giving us new incite on slavery? Finally what followed was a short question and answer section. Professor Ira Berlin was so excited about getting food at the following reception that he had to be reminded about the questioning section. How much compassion does that show I wondered? I observed that most of the questions Professor Berlin received were from African-American’s though their presence in the lecture was towards the bottom of the spectrum. The majority of questions that were being asked inferred the level of political correctness in the way in which Berlin addressed certain racial issues. It seemed as though the questions were rather insignificant and that the questioners knew the answers they’d receive before they asked them. After all, wasn’t everyone in that room that attended voluntarily there for the same general cause?
John Brown could be many things: a heroic leader, a violent troublemaker, a deranged madman. We would not know which or why if historians did not know to look into Brown’s past in order to find the motives behind his radical actions. By divulging into the history of John Brown, historians are able to better understand how Brown forced the entire country to make the decision to support or go against slavery in the United States. Brown made America take a good, hard look at itself in order to both confront Brown’s own views and the internal cultural problems that have been building up throughout the decades.
There are many contradictions pertaining to slavery, which lasted for approximately 245 years. In Woody Holton’s “Black Americans in the Revolutionary Era”, Holton points out the multiple instances where one would find discrepancies that lie in the interests of slaveowners, noble figures, and slaves that lived throughout the United States. Holton exemplifies this hostility in forms of documents that further specify and support his claim.
Although some like Conor Friedersdorf, of the Atlantic, categorized students as “intolerant bullies, (34)” meaning that the reasons for protests were not really reasons at all. Chang argues that the issues students are expressing need to be improved upon as if not, we will continue to go round and round in this vicious cycle. The addition of the apartheid in South Africa backs up Chang’s argument as there is a consensus of it being a serious issue. This explains why he included this piece of history and how it relates to college campuses. Encouraging critics to listen to students, just as Meyer did to those of color, is the only way to prevent today's youth from bring up the same issues in future years. Just as Chang predicted, the next school year brought protesters to hundreds of colleges and universities. What happened at Mizzou was just the beginning of a country wide movement for racial justice on campuses that hasn’t stopped
While the formal abolition of slavery, on the 6th of December 1865 freed black Americans from their slave labour, they were still unequal to and discriminated by white Americans for the next century. This ‘freedom’, meant that black Americans ‘felt like a bird out of a cage’ , but this freedom from slavery did not equate to their complete liberty, rather they were kept in destitute through their economic, social, and political state.
“Simple Justice” was written by Richard Kluger and reviews the history of Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court decision that outlawed segregation, and African America’s century-long struggle for equality under law. It began with the inequities of slavery to freedom bells to the forcing of integration in schools and the roots of laws with affect on African Americans. This story reveals the hate caused the disparagement of African Americans in America over three hundred years. I learned how African Americans were ultimately acknowledged by their simple justice. The American version of the holocaust was presented in the story. In 1954 the different between how segregation and slavery were not in fashion when compared with dishonesty of how educating African American are separate from Caucasian was justified by the various branches of government.
As a result, my thinking and perception was shaped and influenced by many of the negative stereotypes of African Americans that has been perpetuated in our society at large (this is where education can be a great liberator of falsehoods and misconceptions). I have come to appreciate Professor Marie’s Intercultural Communication course, for the class has broaden my critical thinking skills and stretched my thinking and understanding. Finally, how do I think this information will be of use to me? True understanding and teamwork will not begin to occur until individuals begin to speak up about address and embrace the controversial topics of race and culture. Setting aside the problem of racism and covering it up by saying that everyone is the same, does not eliminate the issue. Trying to patch up issues around the world dealing with culture and racism only provides a quick, short lasting solution, for when the temporary patch falls away, the problems will have grown twice as big. All it does is temporarily set aside what we know is still there.
The case of brown v. board of education was one of the biggest turning points for African Americans to becoming accepted into white society at the time. Brown vs. Board of education to this day remains one of, if not the most important cases that African Americans have brought to the surface for the better of the United States. Brown v. Board of Education was not simply about children and education (Silent Covenants pg 11); it was about being equal in a society that claims African Americans were treated equal, when in fact they were definitely not. This case was the starting point for many Americans to realize that separate but equal did not work. The separate but equal label did not make sense either, the circumstances were clearly not separate but equal. Brown v. Board of Education brought this out, this case was the reason that blacks and whites no longer have separate restrooms and water fountains, this was the case that truly destroyed the saying separate but equal, Brown vs. Board of education truly made everyone equal.
On the seventeenth day in May 1954 a decision was made which changed things in the United States dramatically. For millions of black Americans, news of the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education meant, at last, that they and their children no longer had to attend separate schools. Brown v. Board of Education was a Supreme Court ruling that changed the life of every American forever.
Roark, J.L., Johnson, M.P., Cohen, P.C., Stage, S., Lawson, A., Hartmann, S.M. (2009). The american promise: A history of the united states (4th ed.), The New West and Free North 1840-1860, The slave south, 1820-1860, The house divided 1846-1861 (Vol. 1, pp. 279-354).
It would be comfortable for me to continue believing that the Civil Rights Movement forced an end of de jure segregation and routine discrimination, ignoring the continuing de facto segregation and injustices faced by African Americans, viewing incidents such as Michael Brown’s shooting as isolated incidents. I could continue to shake my head and say that these events are tragedies, but surely they do not justify nation-wide protests. If there is no systematic pattern of disadvantage and abuse, then I am not morally obliged to take action. In this class it is impossible for me to simply brush off the complaints of groups like Black Lives Matters as overreactions. Like the rest of the nation, I now have to engage in the serious work of examining reality, acknowledging that racism is alive and well in America, and begin actively working to correct
I think it was a great idea for Ms. Myers to invite John Gray to speak in front of the school and tackle the issue of racism and settle down people’s prejudice thoughts. His strategy to handle the issue was an intelligent one, because instead of him talking the whole time he allowed the students to share their thoughts and ideas by expressing the seriousness of being silent. In so many words he basically said that if you stay silent nothing will change. But what really got the students going was when Mr. gray asked the boy who stated that you can’t get away with calling me prejudice if he was Jewish and since he is a good Christian and Jews believe in a god besides Jesus that they should go back to Israel. That was a good idea because negative people usually act in negativity when they see someone else acting in the same negative way. One student bought up that woman can never hold positions of authority and power because are more emotional than men (in which is very false). I remember when I was working at this supermarket and we had this manager who was a man and almost every day something went wrong, but when they finally fired him and hired a woman instead the store improved a lot, and should I add she was nice
As four, little, white Wahlert girls trot into our new college class, we came to an odd sight that we had yet to see in our eighteen years. A classroom full of black people. Going to catholic schools our whole life, I have generously seen a total of ten in a school environment. We almost cautiously walk to our seats. As class continues more show up late and a few argue back with the teacher. We sat back and gave judging looks and I thought to myself this kind of behavior wouldn't ever be acceptable at wahlert. Our first assignment of the day was to talk with someone we have never met before in order to conduct a solid introduction and conclusion to their lives. That is where Crystal came in and she revealed to me a perfect example of you can't judge a book by its cover.
If the audience were composed greatly of African Americans, there would exist no need to comment on how magnificent the Exposition was. Washington throughout his speech addresses the white majority especially when he tells them that “Nearly sixteen millions of hands will aid you in pulling the load upward,” addressing the white people telling them that African Americans are there to help them (2). He is speaking on behalf of African Americans, addressing the “Gentlemen of the Exposition,” so that both sides can come to an agreement (3). Throughout his speech, Washington approaches the white majority in an effort to reach a consensus on behalf of the African Americans, giving his speech a tone of
Knowles, H. J. (2007). The Constitution and Slavery: A Special Relationship. Slavery & Abolition, 28(3), 309-328. doi:10.1080/01440390701685514
Personally this course has been powerful for me since it made me realize the complexity of labeling one’s self and attempting to understand others around you. This classroom space was both comforting and scary at the same time. I felt threatened and fearful when I look around and realize there is one or two people that I can personally relate to. It feels scary enrolled in such a large institution; yet feel lonely and perhaps misunderstood. So to escape from being worried and concerned, I decided to say silent. I was afraid my peers will generalize my viewpoints across people of different color, and creed. Each culture and individual brings his or her own talents, skills, and unique experiences to the classroom. So to