Eight Values of Freedom

During Summer Advantage we talked about the eight values of freedom. In my opinion the most important value of freedom is the freedom to say whatever you want (excluding incitement). There are many reasons why I value this over other freedoms like right to assembly and right to petition. The first reason is that there are countries that punish and harm people who say certain things. In America you can say whatever you want without worrying about repercussions. Unless its social repercussions. But regardless if you wanted to scream a curse word out loud no one can stop you. The second reason why I value this is because if we don't have that right then America would not be considered land of the free and instead it would probably have other restrictions that come with it.The freedom of speech is a gift that we cannot take for granted at all. Other countries are not so free or lucky as us.

Brown v the Board of Education

    Today in class we had a mock trial about Brown v the Board of education. This famous supreme court case was about the segregation of schools and how the students were not treated fairly despite the fact that they were supposed to be treated equal. The Board of Education's points include about how if the students were not separated then African American students would be distracted and not be able to get a good education. They also talked about there would be more bullying and that would affect the focus of the classroom. The counterpoints Brown made against them made a lot more sense though. Brown talked about how it is a violation of the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment and how there was clearly still mistreatment of African American students. Brown also talked about how blacks and whites were supposed to get an equal quality education so that they have the same skills and knowledge to carry them in the workplace. This whole case originally started when the public school district in Topeka, Kansas did not admit the child of a black resident Oliver Brown, causing uproar in the African American community. The court ruled that it was in fact a 14th amendment violation and it sparked a wave of integration in schools. This case is so important because it paved the way for civil rights movements and the integration of schools is a huge stepping stone in the race for equal rights.

The Help

    Friday in class we watched the movie The Help.  The movie is about a group of African American maids that are getting oppressed and paid very minimum wage to raise people's children and care for them. There is a white woman who starts to write a book about the tragedies and terrible situations that the maids have gone through. When the book is published the maids were not credited because they wanted to remain totally anonymous. In my opinion it is very honorable that the maids did not want to be credited because it brings attention to the fact that any maid or African American could go through the same exact thing and not have their struggles highlighted. They did not want any fame out of the book and instead wanted to bring light to the harsh nature of the way black people were treated at the time. The ladies in this movie show an incredible amount of courage and perseverance throughout the film. The movie itself is a tear jerker with a good storyline to back it up. It also brings attention to what a colored maid in the 1960's could have gone through. The movie has also won many awards for its brilliance if you do not want to take my word for it. Everyone should watch this movie at least once as I believe it is very eye opening and a cinematic masterpiece.

Blackface

Blackface was a form of theatrical makeup in which a white person would paint their face in order to play the role of someone who is African American. It was started and popularized in the 1800's and took off in America and some other countries as well. However, before it came to America it was practiced in Europe in Shakespeare's Othello theater. It was formerly known as Minstrel and at one time was the most popular form of entertainment. Nowadays blackface is extremely frowned up and pictures of people wearing blackface at parties in their college years seem to pop up and spark outrage against certain individuals. Rarely it is still used today. Robert Downey Jr’s role in the movie “Tropic Thunder” has him wearing blackface.

While this was not really a big deal at the time given the fact that most people overlooked it because of the comedical theme of the movie, since the riots and all the turmoil going on in america, people on social media have brought the movie to light and have been voicing their opinions on the topic. Robert Downey Jr has also recently came out saying he has no regrets over the movie. Personally I do not believe that blackface ever should have been a thing. However social media tends to throw heavy terms around lightly. for example, Kim K was wearing a tan shade of makeup and people tried to come at her and say that she was wearing blackface and how racist she was. Social media is also very toxic though. People need to learn to not just throw around terms with deep emotional meaning around and the littlest clue of it. Do not get me wrong though, the majority of blackface is blatantly racist and offensive.

Ku Klux Klan

The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) was a white supremacist hate group that was very prevalent during the Jim Crow era. Their primary targets were African Americans and they were responsible for countless lynchings and other acts of hate. There were 3 clans that were in existence since 1865. The first clan was present from 1865-1871. The second was around from 1915-1944. Lastly, the third clan formed in 1946 and is still around today. The KKK members don a hooded white robe that looks ghostly. The motivation behind the KKK's antics was too get African Americans out of office and to make that Whites stay on top. They were especially big in the south as African Americans won elections into state governments and even the U.S. Congress. The KKK would burn down black homes, churches, schools and gathering places in an effort to drive them away. By 1870 the KKK had branches in almost every southern state. The KKK was usually more active in regions of the south were African Americans were the minority. One of their most notorious attacks was in January 1871 where 500 Klansman attacked the Union county jail and lynched 8 black prisoners. Eventually the Ku Klux Klan act of 1871 was created which designated certain crimes committed by individuals as federal offenses including trying to deprive citizens of the right to hold office, serve on juries and enjoy the equal protection of the law. The KKK ended up fizzing out but not before countless more attacks on minorities. They never ended up completely disbanding and you can bet that there are still members of the KKK somewhere today.

EOTO

Today in class we had an EOTO (each one teach one). It was about the Wilmington insurrection of 1898. The Wilmington insurrection was about a politically motivated event in which group of around 2,000 white men ransacked Wilmington and beat up most of the people living in the city. The attackers were upset with the way that the slave situation was going. They were without a doubt white supremacists and the massacre that they caused in Wilmington was meant to send a message of hate. At first,  the white press of Wilmington was calling this event a "race riot caused by blacks" but as time went on, the truth came to light. The whole reason why they destroyed this town was because of the fact that they did not like the fact that blacks and whites were serving together in the government. The fact that this happened does not surprise me at all. Everyone had a diff opinion and they were so split that that some people still have a hard time dealing with other races being equal today. There have been multiple events just like this one where hate groups ransack a town or village. I am pretty sure it happens today in some places too. Regardless, This event shows the true nature of some people and how far they will go to express their radicalized opinions. I really enjoyed hearing about this event from my classmates nonetheless. I find historical events like this very interesting because everything about the time period was different than today and it is like learning about an old world.

Vigilantes in Wilmington 

Gone With the Wind

During class on Friday we watched part one of the film Gone With the Wind . The show is set around the civil war and the life of Scarlet O'Hara who is a southern belle during all the turmoil going on in the country. The film has recently been on blast for the way the slaves were portrayed. Some people are offended at the way the film makes the slaves look dumb and helpless. Personally I have no say in the issue since it is not my place to be offended in the first place. However I will say that you cannot re-write history. That being said, the film was shot in 1939. In 1939 people were not treated as equally and we should not censor the past. Once again I do not know what it feels like to be systematically oppressed. Overall I really enjoyed the movie. The story was pretty interesting and I liked the old style of film that was presented. I will be sure to watch the second part of the film when I get the chance.