Joe Louis

The following image that I chose is of Joe Louis who was a boxing champion in the 1930's and 40's. During the middle of his career he served in World War II. In the picture it shows him in his military uniform. He looks down almost looking sad. All the other men around him are happy because they get to serve along side a great boxing champion. He might feel sad by the fact that he is probably one of the few black men in the military and he is surrounded by white men. During his time in the service he performed in exhibition boxing matches for the troops. He provided the entertainment for the troops to pick up their morale.
Many African Americans felt discriminated against in their own country and then they had to fight for their country which did not give them rights at home. Joe Louis was one of the few beloved black individuals in America because he was a world champion and he defeated Max Schmelling who was a German boxer just before World War II began. His victory over Schmelling symbolized the greatness of America over the evil Nazi Germany. He had to be conflicted because he beloved in one sense but in the other he didn't get all the rights as his white counterparts. When he returned home he knew he wasn't going to get any huge advantages because he was a black man. He would have to go back into boxing and fight for as long as he could to make a living.
Many of the sacrifices of black soldiers for a long time have gone unnoticed. For example the Tuskegee Airmen who flew many missions in World War II. It is only until recently that they are getting recognition for their service. They received the Congressional Medal of Honor for their service last year. It must have been hard for black athletes during this time period because they were loved for their athletic achievement but yet called racist names and discriminated against because of the color of their skin.

African Americans and Simpson Verdict final

The news article I chose is called "African Americans Respond to the Simpson Verdict". Many in the African American community were extremely happy because they felt one of their own beat the system that they felt has discriminated against them for centuries. You had black people who even thought O.J. Simpson committed the murders still were happy to see him free. The Simpson case created a great divide we have in our country between white and black America. White Americans saw a guilty man in Simpson that got away with it. It was one of the few times where a black man was let off and a chief reason of that was he had the best legal team a guy could have. The jury was heavily a minority which favored Simpson. It had been proven that the Los Angeles Police Department was racist by the testimony from Mark Fuhrman.
Our judicial system has been unfair to blacks throughout our nations history. The case involving Medgar Evers which he was shot by a white man who was let free by an all white jury. It took almost 25 years for the trial to be redone and justice was finally served and the white man who committed the murder was found guilty. Also blacks saw this as payback for the Emmitt Till murder in the 1950's.
It really ashame when our justice system becomes that racially divided. Any evidence that should be brought before a court should be conclusive evidence not based on someones race. But in our society today many people see justice in either black or white terms. In present day our judicial system has done a better job of trying to promote diversity in our court rooms and through out law enforcement matters as well. If we as a society put pressure on our legal system to do the right thing by being more of umpires and calling it down the middle and not by race then the better off a society we will be.
I found this news article from Ethnic NewsWatch

Mortgage lending discrimination

The news article I chose is called African Americans and mortgage lending discrimination. The article goes into how banks were not providing adequate credit in certain inner-city black dominated neighborhoods. The Home Mortgage Disclosure Act of 1975 was to provide a remedy to this problem by addressing the issue of discrimination by requiring lending institutions to document mortgage lending patterns. The Act was a step in right direction but it was coming under fire for lending patterns in disporportionate rate for whites to non whites. This is what the Federal Reserve Board concluded in a study in 1990. Minority groups tended to have worse credit and a lower net worth than there white counterparts. Plus minorities tended to buy multiple-family houses than whites. On the hole most people had some flaw in their credit but in most cases a white individual would be granted a loan compared to a black individual.
The reason I chose this article is because it goes into discrimination practices by banks and not giving out loans to African American families. In the power of race video it kind of toughed on this issue. African Americans wanted to own homes right after World War II including veterans of that war. They wanted to live in the suburbs but were denied in getting loans because of the color of their skin. Obviously this type of discrimination happened before the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act of 1975 but blacks were still getting discriminated against in the lack of loans they were getting. After this lenders put in policies that tried to level the playing field in order to not have discrimination.
African Americans want to live in the American Dream and there is nothing more American than owning your own home. It was great that they put the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act but in anything that deals with bureaucracy it tends not to function well. Plus people have hidden prejudices against African American. They probable saw this as blacks moving on up in society and thought this would hurt the white family.
In the future these organizations that are in charge of lending need to perform more equality and should not discriminate against minority groups. Every person wants to live in the American Dream and should be given an opportunity to fullfill their dreams. After all our nation was

Racism on your shoe final

The magazine article that I have selected is called "Is That Racism on Your Shoe? It describes how between blacks and whites there is seperation. The groups want to stay together within each other and do not want to associate with the other side. They segregate themselves from each other living in different areas of town and society. The author describes how their seems to be a "pile of poop in the middle of the room". These different groups tip-toe around each other not wanting to interact because they come from different cultures. It really damages someones perspective of the world if they do not associate with a particular race. The article talks about that if no friction or interaction happens between blacks and whites then we haven't made the progress some people had thought we had. While 75% of the white population favor integration in housing areas and interracial marriages another 25% want segregation. People feel that if there is seperation of the races then the tensions will be lowered and we will live a more peaceful society. It hinders your learning by not having experiences with blacks or any other minority group. The more cultured you are the better off you will be as a person. The more productive a society you will be if intergration is practiced than segregation. Blacks might have skills that a white person doesn't and if segregation is practiced then a society will be lagging because the skills they need are not available. People at the founding did not give blacks a chance to educate themselves. That is why in south during the mid to late 19th century the south lagged behind the north in economic production because they did not emphasize education in dealing with agriculture and as a result their society failed.
The article also talks about interracial marriages and how even in a society where we have made great progress still many people are against people of different races marrying. Interracial marriage can only serve as a benefit because it makes the child experience both cultures in a different light. It diversifies them making them more tolerate and understanding of each group. They can also face discrimination among each side because they will say he is not black enough or is not white enough. It is like we talked about in class with described as fraction black even if you were white you would be discriminated against because laws varied from state to state.
As a country we need to start learning about the other side and not be afraid to talk to someone that is of the other skin color. You will probably learn something from them you didn't know. A knowledgable society, is a tolerant society which is a productive society which is a better society.
I found this article at www.sojo.net

Racism ignored by mainsteam final

The article that I selected is titled "Racism Ignored by Mainstream by Bunty Anquoe. The reason I selected this article is because it talks about the racism Native Americans deal with on a daily basis and it relatively goes ignored by the mainstream of society. The author compares the use of the word "redskin" to the "N" word used against blacks. In Takaki we talked about how Native Americans were taken advantage of by white men through the unfair treaties enacted that took their land away from them. This was done by our Founding Fathers such as Thomas Jefferson. The article also goes into the certain policies that have hurt Native Americans. Congress seems to care more about animals and parks than Indians. Budgets every year seem to be cut by Congress and more money is allocated towards the status of a horned owl or a whale.
Another big issue for the Native American community is the term redskin, or Indian to describe certain professional sports teams. Let alone to have the professional football team in our nations capitol to be called the Washington Redskins. In class we talked about the symbols portraying different ethnic groups as Indians. The symbols to many people we saw in class would offend those races. Portraying Irish as drunk people, all Germans looking like Hitler and Catholics with wearing the Popes hat. Native Americans feel just as offended by the Redskins logo as would all Germans looking like Hitler.
The author seems to believe their is more of a public outcry of racism against blacks than their is against Native Americans. It is that situation because African American have spokesman who promote equal justice for all such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Native Americans really do not have a leader fighting for their rights. The African American community was able to get alot of the rights they have today through the hard work by these people. There might be a segment of the population that feels that it is easier to assimilate blacks than it is Native Americans. It might take us awhile as a country to give more rights to Native Americans because it took along time for whites to give rights to blacks. In our country things take time and movements do not just pop up out of the sky.
It is ashame that Native Americans are still getting discriminated. Minority groups of all kinds are still getting discriminated against. Native Americans do have a point when they say that their message is not getting out there about discrimination. Our country needs to step up and talk about Native Americans and how they should not be held down in our society today. The 1964 Civil Rights Act said you cannot discriminate against anyone based on race, creed, color. It is up to the media and Native Americans themselves to get there story out there so people will wake and stop the racism towards Native Americans.
I found this article through the Ethnic studies newsletter at Proquest

Immigration and racism final

This news article I found comes Time Magazine and is called "Is Racism Fueling the Immigration Debate". The article talks about how a new census report came out saying 45% of the nation's children under the age of five are racial or ethnic minorities. The hispanic population growth is going at an alarming rate. Some people use this growth as a chance to show their racial prejudices toward Hispanics. They see this as disturbing because in 25 years almost half of the population will be hispanic. There fearful they will be overrun by a darker skinned people and soon not be in the majority. But a census bureau released a projection a year earlier saying the hispanic population in the U.S. will be about 20.1% far below what the other census projected.
This speaks to the deeper issue of why I picked this article because it talks about racist feeling that still exist towards minorities and especially hispanics. In class we talked about how America wanted to expand its borders and fought a war with Mexico over the southern part of Texas. After the U.S. defeated Mexico, many Mexicans still lived in the land occupied by the U.S. feeling like prisoners in their own land. Many Mexicans felt like they should be getting all the rights the average American was granted.
In class we talked about why America expanded. It was because they wanted to build a great society in Mexico. The resources weren't being utilized to its fullest potential. They could create a booming middle class if people moved out their and expand the American economy.
The Mexican population must feel really angry because first America took their land then secondly they tell them your not welcome here. We are going to put up a wall in order to keep you out. The U.S. government does not send troops to the Canadian border because there is a tough of racism involved. The debate should be what kind of skills do Mexicans provide? Are they going into the labor force or more white collar jobs. Also an important question is if they are undocumented or not? Our country was founded on immigrants coming to this country such as the Irish, Germans, Italians etc. At that time they were discriminated against because they talked funny, their appearance was different, or they were thought to not have a strong work ethic. But we gradually accepted them into society and made America great. The same can be done for Mexicans, their skills and talent have a positive effect on America.
Not everyone that is against immigration is racist. They object to illegal immigration. Individuls who break our laws and come to this country illegally have to pay a price for doing this. It is not fair to all the people who waited their turn in line who were Mexicans and come to this country legally. Lawmakers right now are trying to come up with something that will stop the flow of illegal immigrants and at the same time create a guest worker program which will help in the situation of people who are already here illegally.
I found this article at time.com
In this article I took the knowledge of what I have learned about the Indians and how the U.S. government treated them to the issue of mexicans. I have leared to improve my knowledge of the issues and not blindly follow what the media says all the time on the issue of illegal immigration.

Terrorism and Racism final

The following news article is titled "You Can't Fight Terrorism With Racism" by Colbert I. King. The article talks about three op-ed pieces that were written describing how we should use ethnic, racial, national origin and religion to determine who is a potential terrorist. The author feels this infringes on rights of individuals in a free society. First he focuses on a op-ed written in the Washington Post by Charles Krauthammer. Krauthammer criticized the random bag checks program adopted in the New York subway. He says they should target "young Muslim men of North African, Middle Eastern, and South Asian origin. The thing of it is Krauthammer doesn't say how authorities should go about doing this. Another op-ed piece he criticizes is an article by Paul Sperry. Sperry says people should be on the look out for "people praying to Allah and who smell of flower water". Also it might be suspicious if men have just recently shaved you have to be on the look out for them. Then King points out that throughout history it hasn't been just the Arab looking man that has committed senseless acts of terrorism. For example, Timothy McVeigh killing 168 people in the Oklahoma City bombings and he was a white man. The bombing of a church in Mississippi, which killed black children were done by white men.
So you cannot simple go out and racially profile a certain group or race based on the fact that a horrific act was done by a group in the past. You must have hard evidence and use tactics that are not discriminatory towards people. In a nation that prides itself on civil liberties we cannot revert to what we did when we imprisoned Japanese Americans during World War II. The majority of muslims are hardworking decent people who want to live the American Dream just as much as a white individual. By using these racial tactics we alienate them from coming to our country and promotes a bad image of the United States around the world.
In todays society we have a dilemma that we face. Should we care more about national security or should we care more about civil liberties? That is a tough question. We know King sides with civil liberties but I tend to favor national security a little more. We need to use whatever methods legally to protect our way of life. Its unfortunate that we might have to suspect and look closer at people who are Arabs, but what is at stake is our lives and safety. The fact is most terrorist come from the Middle East area as Krauthammer points out. What the United States did during World War II was wrong in imprisoning Japanese Americans and it is not what we are currently doing to Arabs. They are still able to live freely and practice their religion. We need to be concerned about civil liberties and when it becomes excessive we need to stand up for those rights. But when it comes to national security we need to be aware of what happened on 9/11 and never forget because if we do then our way of life will be under attack once again by terrorists who have vowed to destroy us.
I found this article at wwwe.washingtonpost.com

American Dream Picture final

There is an image by Constance B. Schultz that portrays an elderly woman and a American flag in the background. The elderly woman is holding a broom and a mop as well. The reason I chose this image is because this shows the American Dream not being carried out or not being a possibility for this elderly woman. She has had to live her whole life as a second class citizen in a nation which preaches eqaulity for all but does not put those words into implementation. All the woman life she has had to be a servant to the white man not having any rights herself. The American flag behind her symbolizes the interdependence of our states working with the federal government to provide the freedoms we so charish as a people. That is what it should represent but in actuality it does not. Up until that point it represented equality for whites not blacks. The picture was taken four years before the Civil Rights Act of 1964. But it was taken six years after the famous Supreme Court decision Brown v Board of Education which gave black students the right to attend the same school as white students. There had been progress made when the picture was taken but not enough for African Americans to have full rights as American citizens. African Americans were relegated to only certain jobs of servitude. They could not own their own business or work independently for themselves. It was always working for the white man. In class we watched videos showing blacks as servants such as Aunt Gemima who was a heavy set black woman always serving the white family by cooking and cleaning.
Since the founding of our country we have considered our country to be the greatest on earth. with freedoms and liberties expressed in our constitution. We see the United States as the land of opportunity for everyone no matter their race, color, creed. That sadly is not the case. The Founding Fathers discriminated against minority groups. They put African Americans into slavery, they deceived Native Americans and took their land through unfair treaties. Many of our political leaders owned slaves including Thomas Jefferson. So the American flag symbolized that you can be free and have opportunity only if you are a white man and own land.
This photograph is a reminder of the past indiscretions we have made as a country. The woman in the picture never experienced freedom eventhough she lived around freedom. Future generations of African Americans would get to experience freedom because of the hardwork and dedication that many black leaders showed in past generations. In the past many white people had contempt for black people because they were seen as unclean and could not be educated. Scientists of that day even would say the white man brain is better than the black man. The picture illustrates how African Americans are close or hovered around freedom and wanted it so bad but were unable to receive it because of the color of their skin.
I found this image at www.content.answers.com
I believe my performance on this blog was good. What I tried to do was take what I learned in the Eyes on the Prize video. I learned about that time period which included the Civil Rights marches and the killing of several black leaders. It gave me a better perspective on the time period.

Razor Sharp final draft

This poem called Stay Razor Sharp and it focuses on how we live our lives. If it is in a divine light, or dark void. The poet describes the many hardships that we go through in our lives. But if we are kind to other people no matter how difficult the circumstances are, you will have a peaceful heart, accomplishing things might be harder but in the end you will be proven right and you will have eternal life.
I picked this poem because it relates to the many people we have talked about throughout the course. For example Martin Luther King Jr. was a man of peace and non-violence that no matter how much hatred and violence was around him or how much he had to deal with himself, the constant death threats he remained firm in his convictions.
If you do not have peace within your heart it will continually rot, and you will turn into the people that have the same hatred for you. In a world filled with war and violence directed toward innocent people the more peacemakers we have in this world the better off we will be in our societies. The sad part of it is our society promotes war and violence. The media sees it as some game which is for entertainment purposes. The kind of television that is shown today destroys the hearts of the young and old. For example you will have propaganda films today promoting wars in countries. That is the same thing that occurred during World War II. The video we saw in class about Japanese camps which basically showed you the positives about them living their not being harmed. The video made it seem that the conditions at the camps were good and livable.
The poem talks about how "Blessed things will come to the blessed", no matter who you are or what your background. Acts of kindness will always be acceptable. If by some chance they are not acceptable in this world, they will be acceptable in eternal life. It might be hard sometimes to do the right thing. The world doesn't always like to do the right thing. People have been martyrs for standing up for equal justice and civil rights for all. Rosa Parks stood up to the system and refused to sit at the back of the bus and Martin Luther King Jr. life was taken from him because he promoted equality for all.
This poem is very good because it explains how peace will always win out over violent acts of aggression. Peace is the engine that will always drive our society. In the tough times being peaceful and kind is extremely difficult. Many individuals who went through the Civil Rights movement experienced this first hand. Many times the media does the wrong thing and promotes an agenda which is counter productive to peace. People should stand up for what is right not just what is popular. What the marchers did in the south was not popular among the majority of the south but they did it anyways because they wanted blacks in the future to live in peace. If we practice peace then our world will be a better place.
I found this poem at www.zimbio.com

Race War song

There is a song by Ice-T called Race War which he raps about African Americans in our society today and the struggles they have gone through. Ice-T explains how many white people love him and love his music. He says they should show the same respect for people of his race and other minority groups. There is a difference between the way they treat the well to do black man compared to the average black man or minority group.
The reason I chose this song as a media item is because this song really talks about the discriminatory policies that our government has put into place. It is one thing to actually pass a piece of legislation which is good but when the legislation is not implemented well it has an adverse effect on minority groups. For some people they feel the U.S. government has focused more on starting wars in other countries than actually focusing on the needs of its citizens at home. Or the government will create divides against the different minority groups. For example the 1964 Civil Rights Act was a great piece of legislation that was long overdue. It barred discrimination at lunch counters, buses etc. But it did not stop discrimination against blacks because some people especially in the south have racist tendencies towards them, even if the laws are forbidden they will find ways around it. The law that was passed because of past discrimination against people such as Rosa Parks who refused to sit at the back of the bus or Emmitt Till who was horribly killed because he talked with a white woman who thought he was threatening her. The perception by some people in the government or media is that blacks and other minorities are still threatening to our way of life. Ice-T says all the minority groups are blacks and are not represented as a society today. Too many people that are in leadership positions want to focus against the issues of the black man. Ice-T says not even the police are on the black man's side. For example the Rodney King beating in Los Angles
Ice-T does a really good job in his song of explaining the issue of race as he sees it in our society today and how its been used throughout history. Where I think Ice-T goes wrong is he goes by "the everyone is against us philosophy", and doesn't place more of the blame on blacks as a society. Does the white man deserve blame for past discrimination? Yes. But some of the blame should go to blacks. For example most single parent homes are found in black families. Which leads black men into crime, then in turn leads them to jail. Is it the government fault this happened? No. Take responsibility for yourself and your actions. I believe the blame should not be put all on one side.
I found the song at www.asklyrics.com/display/Ice-T/Race_War_Lyrics/132759.htm