Have you ever seen the film Hidden Colors? If not, here’s my review: I loved the documentary, from its empowering accuracy, to the subtle acknowledgement of the erasure within history. I watched this in the seventh grade at eleven years old--and even then, I loved this movie that served as a memoir dedicated to iconic, forlorn past of African-American people. Many who have seen it may wonder where I’d seen such an impactful film. Why did I watch it? Were my parents okay with it? What did it entail? To answer briefly, I’d watched Hidden Colors for the first time in class for a history assignment, with my predominantly African-American classmates, and African-American teacher. My parents loved that I’d been exposed to the lies and truth …show more content…
Why? Because the book makes people uncomfortable--the vulgar reality of it makes them squirm, while the beauty of the ‘hot ebony woman’ makes money, and boosts the economy. In comparison to the main character of the mockingbird’s tale, she’s a hero! Ideals within the U.S. align with benefit. How does it improve the country? Is it offering up too much information? How does it keep the poor, poor, and the rich, educated? Censorship relies entirely on the socioeconomic mindset of the people, making new attempts at subtle assertion as time goes by. Education goes far beyond the doors of the classroom; it is certainly not the only source of information, especially in this overly-developed, first world country. There is a newfound platform for data within social media; and it serves as a greater fountainhead of information than any school on the map. Sites like Twitter and Instagram expose the general public to news that goes unseen on mainstream media. The WGN News at 7 A.M. doesn’t offer coverage on the current Syrian food crisis, the growing suicide rates amongst teens due to depression and anxiety, and it certainly won’t highlight the latest display of brutality against African-Americans and LGBTQ+ people within society. Instead, Robin Baumgarten will happily inform the public of how an
Newspapers have since become an exceptionally poor means of reaching a motivated audience that can justly enforce change. Social media has the capability to uphold a broader grasp of an audience that encompasses forwardness. Furthermore, the use of an Internet platform, such as Facebook, to present the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” would have accelerated a positive outcome to the brutality of Birmingham by broadening the audience without differentiating the rhetorical situation.
“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage,” Lao Tzu. Courage is the choice to confront agony, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation. Physical is when you show bravery in the face of death, pain, or threats, while mental courage is when somebody makes a right decision while opposing someone or something else. Some people do not have a choice to be courageous, and are forced to be courageous, while others have a choice to be courageous.
This purpose of this paper is to synthesize this writer 's three key revelations from this semester which are, (1) white privilege, (2) curriculum corruption and inadequate United States history education in K-12 public schools, and (3) United States legislation which disadvantages the minor races as a means for the dominate race to maintain power and control. Thus, this exploration organizes each area of significant course discovery, which a hybrid of class sources and readings relating to each area of learning supports. Additionally, this synthesis includes a summary of this writer 's social location as well as the course material’s impact on the understanding and interpretation of these themes. Finally, this paper ends with a conclusion and presents final thoughts about the concepts we 've discussed in the Sociology 321 - Race and Ethnicity course throughout the spring 2016 semester.
The ideas of slavery have resonated throughout American society, allowing many individuals of color to experience systemic forces of racism that hinder their abilities to obtain success. Anna Deavere Smith’s Twilight: Los Angeles 1992 accentuates that these Racist ideas have continued to plague marginalized groups and have led to the development of societal hatred. Institutionalized racism remains a major issue within American society, as thousands of individuals of color continue to endure poverty, police brutality, and lack of educational resources that have created a racial and class divide between white individuals and individuals of color. In Twilight: Los Angeles 1992, Anna Deavere Smith illuminates these racist barriers constructed by
Before using her Facebook as a means to connect young minds about civil rights movements and issues that still plagues the nation today, Sandra Bland used her social media like every other citizen. That is until just after Christmas of 2014 when she made the decision to speak up about “the economic crisis burdening young African Americans,” trying to, in her words, inform her readers about black history, or American history as she liked to describe it (Nathan). Sandra Bland, a 28 year old African American, had just received a job interview from her alma mater, Prairie View A&M University. Her life seemed to be going smoothly, just received a job offering, rekindled her relationship with her mother, and seemed optimistic about the future to
Reasons for banning and/or challenging To Kill a Mockingbird are usually the same or very similar. Mostly for the references to rape, profanity, use of the word “nigger” and sometimes because of racism. One time in Cherry Hill, NJ, To Kill a Mockingbird was banned in fears of black children becoming upset reading it. Most school boards will try to justify the bans by demonizing To Kill a Mockingbird and Harper Lee. In 1966, Lee wrote a letter of response to the attempts of banning To Kill a Mockingbird, discarding it as “immoral literature”. She said: “Recently I have received echoes down this way of the Hanover County School Board 's activities, and what I 've heard makes me wonder if any of its members can read. Surely it is plain to the simplest intelligence that To Kill a Mockingbird spells out in words of seldom more than two syllables a code of honor and conduct, Christian in its ethic, that is the heritage of all Southerners. To
While there may be some negative influences in To Kill a Mockingbird, for example: racial segregation, profanity, and ungrammatical speech the book still has it strong points of positive influences. Due to racial segregation in the book, people have led to believe that the way African Americans are portrayed in the book are nowhere similar to today’s segregation. This is shown whenever Tom Robison is talked about and how the women during the tea party held at Finch’s house react. They act scared of him as if he’s a vile disease when in reality, Tom Robison is a simple American. The only difference between him and everyone else is his skin color. While racial segregation may be different from back then, for the race, it is still an important part of our history. If textbooks are allowed to spout about how African Americans were treated, then why can a book not be allowed to do the
This book excerpt, written my Marshal McLuhan, begins by acknowledging how far the Western world has come in terms of innovation and development. It takes notice of the fast pace in which media is now spread. Before, one could post a video, and some may not hear about it for days, even months. Today, once a video has been posted, it has the potential to instantly go viral. McLuhan then goes on to speak of the social and political awareness that is now attached with the use of electric media. Due to our effortless access of social media, several social groups now have a voice both nationally and locally (Negro, the teenager, and some other groups.) We are living in the ‘Age of Anxiety’, where everyone has an opinion and everyone feels that
I can use my knowledge of assumptions and Situatedness to build or not build relationships with others. I believe in diversity, but there are times when I need to be around like minded
This book is very true to life even today. We all go about our day with our own preconceived notions on life. The saying, “Don’t judge a book by its cover” is very true when it comes to this book. Many people feel that it has no use for us in today’s society. They feel that due to the racist language it should be banned. An example seen here in an Interview by Mary Dempsey and Muriel Saunders, “"To Kill a Mockingbird," written in 1960 by Harper Lee. High school administrators in Muskogee, Oklahoma, removed that same book from the school's required reading list for freshman because, they say, the novel includes racially derogatory language that could offend African-Americans.” (Dempsey, Saunders). Society wants to hide the fact that the past
The media today is something that is used more than anything else by teens to obtain information about the world. “Social media in this day and age cannot be ignored; it is now a critical part of presidential politics, it has been part of the revolutions in the Middle East and its going to be an unavoidable part of high-profile legal cases; just as traditional media continue to be” (Hochberg 1). The media have reached the peak of influence since the beginning;
The Film I Am Not Your Negro is a 2016 Documentary that depicts the key events of the 20th Century African American History. This documentary was inspired by James Baldwin’s thirty-page unfinished manuscript. The manuscript was going to be his next project in which he called Remember This House. The manuscript was to be a personal explanation of the lives and successive assassinations of three of his close friends, Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. Unfortunately, in 1987 James Baldwin passed away leaving the unfinished manuscript to be forgotten, well that is what some thought. Now master filmmaker Raoul Peck envisions the manuscript James Baldwin never finished. The outcome is a fundamental examination of race in America, using Baldwin's original thoughts and materials to make the project possible. I Am Not Your Negro is a journey into black history that connects the past of the Civil Rights movement to the present of Black Lives Matter. It is a film that questions black representation in Hollywood and beyond. And, ultimately, by confronting the deeper connections between the lives and assassination of these three leaders, Baldwin and Peck have produced a work that challenges the very definition of what America stands for. Though this is the main thought of the documentary there are many key features that make this film much so about whiteness in American History and now.
Movies and entertainment outlets speak volumes about the current state of a nation’s culture. Cinematic creations in the United States allow small voices to be heard and controversial issues to be addressed. However, a repetitive and monumental issue continues to be addressed, yet continues to persist in our 21st century culture, racial inequalities. Since the inception of the United States, black men and women alike have been disenfranchised at the hands of the “white man” in America. Instead of continuing the conversation today, the issue is continually silenced referencing the successes and achievements of the Civil Rights Movement in the 20th century. Nonetheless, an unfortunate reality looms upon this great land; racially based systems and structures continue to exist in 2015 the in United States. This paper synthesizes three films focused on racial inequalities in different time periods. Separate but Equal (1991), Selma (2015), and Crash (2005) illustrate how influential the Civil War amendments are, while serving as an uncanny reminder of how the racial prejudices during the 20th century continue to exist in our great nation today. Needless to say our nation has made great strides, but still has a long way to go.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee has been challenged/banned countless times since it’s original publication in 1960. The reasoning people could have behind banning it is that they feel that the racism, language and subject matter in the book is offensive, inappropriate, immoral and that it encourages and condones such things. To Kill a Mockingbird takes place in Maycomb, a small town in Alabama, during the depression from 1935-1937, and is told from the perspective of a little girl named Scout. In the book Scout’s father Atticus teaches her and her brother Jem many valuable lessons. The things Atticus teaches Scout and Jem are things we all need to know. To Kill a Mockingbird is an inspirational book that teaches valuable moral values,
Logical problem explains that if evil exists then there must be no God. God is said to be all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-good. If God is morally perfect then God should have the desire to eliminate all evil, but evil still exists. The two, evil and God are inconsistent with each other. The evidential problem explains that there is an unnecessary evil in this world, and if God existed there would be no such thing. Therefore God is nonexistent.