Final Blog Post

    The discussion that we had in class today was very powerful. It demonstrated how passionate and mature our generate can be. It was inspiring to hear what each student had to say, and yes there were moments of tension but that tension came from the passion everyone had. One take away that I had from the discussion that if our generation wants to change the world and progress in a positive way, we need to spend more time listening to one another and being empathetic. As Professor Smith said during the discussion, "there is no neutral place in society anymore, everyone is set in their opinions." This can be true and I believe that we need to work on seeing each others views to avoid conflict. 

    Everyone single person on the Earth is different and that is something that we should accept instead of hate against. People have different races, sexualities, genders, religions, belief, morals, and every single person has a different life and story. Some people struggle with things that I will never fully understand and we should use empathy instead of comparison when they share these struggles. For examples, if I was talking to someone about my struggles with severe anxiety and depression and the person I was talking to had never experienced that, they wouldn't be able to relate. But just because they aren't able to relate to me doesn't me that they should fight me on it or ignore the pain I am expressing. This can be related to race struggles, sexuality struggles, and so much more. Just because you haven't experienced that struggle in your life, it doesn't mean that it isn't less real. 

    We need to do better as a generation. We need to work on empathy and walking in someone else's shoes. Today as a class there were so many valid points being made but they were constantly drowned out by overpowering opinions and harsh dialect. To grow and achieve the goal of equality and peace in the United States we need to start actively showing empathy and learning the skill of compromise. Without empathy and neutral agreement we will never move forward and will be stuck in an ongoing loop of judgement, denial, and anger. 

Guess Whose Coming Reflection

     The movie "Guess Whose Coming to Dinner" is very powerful and shows the social struggle that came with desegregation. The movie was about a black man named John who wanted to marry a white woman named Joey. They met in Hawaii and fell in love. Both of them were accepting of one another because they were raised when segregation was over. But their parents were raised while segregation and desegregation was happening. The movie takes place in the 1960s and race relations were changing rapidly. The movie shows viewers the social gap and cultural gap between black and white citizens in the United States.

    The most interesting part of the movie for me was the difference perspective John and Joey had compared to their parents. When they went to Joeys parents who were white, they were shocked by the idea of John and Joey getting married. One line that John repeats to Joeys dad over and over while he contemplates letting his daughter marry a black man is "unless you two approve and without any reservations at all, there won't be any marriage. I already have so many problems that I couldn't afford to get married if it meant that I would have to take on any other special problems in addition to those I already have." I think that this line symbolizes so much more then just the marriage of a black and a white person. The line is about acceptance. 

    White citizens had to adjust to black people gaining rights, and it took a very long time. After years of violence, fighting, discrimination, and so much more there was finally acceptance. Yes, there are still racists out there but we have come so far as a culture. The movie shows the acceptance of black people into white culture and I think that is the underlying message. The purposed marriage of John and Joey represents the beginning of desegregation. The reaction of the parents shows the hesitation and fight of acceptance between black and white people. The fighting of the parents shows the violence and resistance to the idea of black and white people being equal. And finally after a whole movie of fighting, contemplation, bargaining, fear, denial, grief, anger, and sadness the parents give John and Joey their blessing to get married. The emotions above symbolize what white society was going through with the desegregation of black and white society. The acceptance comes form the younger generations leading us to the world that we live in now where black and white people are equal, after a decade of being seen for only the color your skin. 

EOTO Keypost

    In 1974, schools in Boston were starting to become desegregated. For the first time, black and white students would be attending the same school. Judge W. Arthur Garrity ruled that black and white schools being segregated was unconstitutional. To achieve the goal of having schools desegregated, there had to be a school bus system that would take the kids to their assigned schools from their neighborhoods. Specifically black kids. On the first day of school angry white parents and other racists in Boston stood in the streets and started attacking the buses taking the black children to what they still considered the “white schools” in South Boston.

    They threw eggs, bricks, and glass bottles at the buses. White people stood in the streets with racial signs, spit at the black children when they got off the buses, and many parents refused to send their kids to the new desegregated schools. Police Officers were forced to step in and stop the white protesters with violence. The riots were intense and lasted 2 years and around 40 riots occurred. The Boston Riots were very violent and it was a very scary time for all children as well as all black families in Boston and during the desegregation era.

    The Boston Riots were extremely violent and it was a time of fear for everyone involved. The Boston Bus riots were filmed and watched by citizens everywhere. For me, this is one of the most disturbing parts of the riots that they were televised and there was still nothing that anyone did to stop them from happening. Americans watched adults in white Boston neighborhoods throw bricks, stones, glass bottles, and sometimes even bombs at black children. 

    These children were terrified to go to school, and the fact that this was shown on televisions everywhere and this treatment continued for two years was very sad. No matter the race, children should not be afraid to go to school. Education is a privilege that should be given to everyone. I do not understand how showing children being harassed on TV did not anger more people. The riots were streamed all over America and people saw children being hurt in Boston and there was no real action made to stop the bus riots and violence shown towards black children. 

    The Boston Bus Riots were violent and will always be apart of Americas history. As violent and traumatic as the riots were, desegregating school changed history. The desegregation of schools started in 1954 and in the beginning it was a hard adjustment for white citizens. Brown vs. Board stated that desegregation in schools was unconstitutional and the case sparked change in America. The first desegregated school was Lowell High School in Massachusetts. This was a huge social change and showed how much change was happening during the desegregation era. Black citizens were allowed to vote, black children were able to go to white schools, restaurants started to desegregate, and rules started to change once segregation became unconstitutional. Black and white people slowly began to accept one another and live side by side. Because of the Boston Riots and the sacrifices made by black children and parents, we now are able to live in a world where children are treated equally.

Cites:

https://www.wbur.org/news/2014/09/05/boston-busing-anniversary

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/violence-in-boston-over-racial-busing

https://bostonresearchcenter.org/projects_files/eob/single-entry-busing.html

https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/civil-rights-movement

Reflection of Bakke Vs. Board

     Bakke vs. Board was a very tense case. There were so many different variables and views that played into the case. One of the points that stood to me was a point that someone made saying - having better grades then your competitor should be the deciding factor of getting into school, and not race. This statement relates more to current time rather then the time if Bakke vs. Board. But it is still relevant and is still an important question to ask. During the time of Bakke vs. Board, Bakke was a white man applying for college in California and he had the grades to get in as well as all of the other credentials. He was rejected twice because the college only admitted a certain number of white students and a certain number of black students. During the time, California was trying to desegregate college and make it possible for black people to get a higher education. Bakke argued under the Equal Protection Clause in the 14th Amendment and said that he was being discriminated against.

    This was a huge racial accomplishment and it was closing the racial gap and treatment of black people in the modern world and in the world of education. In 1978, it was hard for black people to further their education because colleges were dominated by white people. Because of this, there was a huge gap between white and black people in society. White people had an easier time furthering their education, getting better jobs, and moving forward in the world. Black people had a harder time getting into college and moving up the social pyramid. California was very progressive by making rules allowing black students into their college and using Affirmative Action. While this was a huge step for black people everywhere, it caused huge issues among white citizens. Bakke won the case, and because of this race is still talked about in college admissions today. It is a huge argument today in college admissions. There is an argument happening with UNC about asian admissions over other races. Admissions should be about grades and credentials, not about race. In 1978, I could see why race would be a deciding factor in admissions but in 2022 grades should be the only deciding factor. 

Klansville USA Movie Reflection

     Klansville USA was very disturbing but also an interesting documentary. It was disturbing because of the practices and beliefs of the Klan but it was interesting because of the manipulation and control the Klan had over its members. The leader of the KKK in North Carolina at the time of the documentary was Bob Jones and he was later known as the most influential Grand Dragon at the time. Jones was apart of the middle class in North Carolina, but he was on the poorer side. His father was a railroad worker and had been apart of the KKK in the past. Jones dropped out of high school and joined the Navy, but he was discharged because he refused to salute a black soldier. Bob Jones believed heavily in white-supremacy and he was also extremely angry about his life. He believed that black people having rights and having the ability to have jobs was just taking away resources and jobs from white people, especially poorer white people like Jones. This anger built up and that was when Jones decided to reopen a new chapter of the KKK in North Carolina. 

    The KKK in North Carolina wanted to be taken seriously and have more political power. They were also more peaceful then violent. The Klan would have parties on lawns and do peaceful protests through the streets of town. The only similar thing that the new chapter did was burn a cross at the end of each event. They would do this as away to scare people who stood against their beliefs. The most disturbing part of the Klan was the power that they had over their members. The leaders were manipulative and made the members believe that joining the Klan was the only way that they would have meaning in the world. The Klan was mostly made up of poor white people and people that were desperate to put meaning back into their lives. They were all afraid that black people would take their jobs and move above them on the social pyramid. Members were so afraid to lose value in the world and have another group ahead of them in the social world that they joined. Past members who were interviewed years after the Klan dismembered, they said that they didn't remember anything from the time and how the regret joining. This is scary because the real power of the KKK came from the intense fear of failure. All of the pain and chaos caused by the KKK was based on insecurity. The exploitation of people who felt lost was very devious of the KKK and it worked until the Klan was finally dismembered.  

Heat of the Night Movie Reflection

    Heat of the Night is my favorite movie that we have watched this semester in class. It was full of mystery, suspense, action, and unlikely friendships. The movie follows a black detective from Philadelphia who helps a police force in Mississippi with a murder case. The movie takes place in 1967 and race relations were very different in Philadelphia then it was in Mississippi. In Philadelphia the schools were integrated, there were lots of job opportunities for black people, and society was overall very blended. 

    During 1967, there was a peaceful protest in Philly called the "Philadelphia Walkout." During this protest teachers, students, and officials walked out of school and peacefully protested for equality and desegregation of schools. Philadelphia was much more progressive than Mississippi and you can see why the two main characters butted heads so much and had a hard time getting along. Mississippi during the 1900 was way different then Philly. In Mississippi there was still a lot of violence and discrimination shown towards black people. "The racial terrorism ranged from cross burning and church burning to beatings and murders. In 1964 alone Klansmen had killed 6 people, shot 35, and beaten another 80." (American Public Media) There was a clear difference in treatment towards black people in these two states and the movie did a great job at demonstrating the struggle for people in Mississippi and the deep South to accept that black people. 

    In the movie, you see the Police Chief originally arrest the black detective as a suspect to the murder. He later learns that the detective is a respected man from Philly and that he can be a big help in solving the case. The police chief from Mississippi goes through an identity crisis through the movie and he struggles with accepting the black detective or sticking to the social norms of Mississippi and discriminating against the detective. It is interesting to see the police chief struggle with following the detective vs following his own agenda. One of the most powerful scenes is when the detective gets ganged up on and jumped by a bunch of white men and the police chief bursts in and stops them. This was a defining scene and a shift in the police chiefs beliefs. He finally begins to accept the detective and together they are able to catch the murderer. 

Reconstruction Video Reflection

The Reconstruction Era Documentary showed that even with all of the progress that the United States had made, there were still so many people that were stuck in their ways. Racism is a thing that we are still dealing with today, and it is something that we shouldn’t be dealing with. During the reconstruction era, black people were able to sit in the House of Representatives, allowed to be in the Senate, able to get jobs, and so many more opportunities were given to them. While there were so many progressive steps made for black people, there was still so much racism and discrimination happening in society. “After 250 years of slavery, white southerners could not quite accept 4 million former slaves as equal members of their society.” (Reconstruction Era Documentary Pt.1) This quote is from the documentary and it describes the violence and hate shown towards black people during the reconstruction era, which was supposed to be an era of change, togetherness, and acceptance. 

            The Mother Emanuel Massacre was one of the things that stood out to me the most in the documentary. The massacre happened in Charleston and nine black people were killed. They were shot during a Church service which in my opinion is very messed up. Church is supposed to be a place of worship, peace, and celebration of faith. It is supposed to be a safe place and the fact that a shooting would take place in a Church shows how violent the Reconstruction Era really was. The Church where the shooting occurred was one of the oldest black Churches in Charleston and the disrespect the shooter showed was wrong. The violence was unbelievable during this time period and while it was harmful, it also sparked the Civil Rights Act and the peaceful protests that led to the disappearance of discrimination.