March on Washington

 “I have a dream”, the famous quote from Dr. Martin Luther King’s speech given August 28, 1963. That date holds arguably one of the most significant days in American history, especially when discussing civil rights. The March on Washington consisted of about 250,000 people gathered in Washington D.C. in front of the Lincoln Memorial. The protest was intended to raise awareness for injustices African Americans were still facing long after the emancipation.

The day previous to the event, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Randolph agreed on an executive order, the Fair Eployment Practice Committee.​​ This act forbid discrimination in government, investigating charges of racial discrimination. A large incentive for this protest was to show support for many of the pending pieces of legislature in congress. The influence from this very day came to help pass these bills later.

The protest, officially called the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, brought extreme media publicity for civil rights activists and the NAACP because of the 3,000 or so news reporters. The peaceful approach to the protest turned the news coverage to be an extremely positive look for the cause and supporters of the cause. Protesters of equality had been covered in the news choosing aggressive and violent approaches to their goals, the March on Washington, however, was the polar opposite.

From past history classes I have been made aware of the effects the news and media had with progressing civil rights. Capturing live and in picture these large events and broadcasting them nationwide for all to see, gave everyone the opportunity to make their own opinions unfiltered from complete lies. This also carries into today’s issues. Everyone always has their phones on them and is always recording. There are always unedited and unfiltered videos of violence and discrimination today. These videos make it hard to distort the truth, as it is in plain sight. Phones and the news also can document positive events (more similar to that of the March on Washington). These events range from the ones everyone loves to see on the news like a soldier coming home or a puppy hugging a duck to more serious positive changes like a bill being passed by congress helping the less fortunate or a peaceful protest staying successfully nonviolent.

Sadly not every protest can be like the March on Washington. This is not always the fault of the protestors. Sometimes opposing people choose to “combat” these peaceful protests with violence. Many protests for civil rights, past and present, have been met with major heat and pushback in violent and destructive ways. Other times, it is not the opposers being violent but the protestors themselves. Groups like the Black Panther Party believed to achieve their goals, they must aggressively make their points known. Nowadays this approach is sometimes taken by a few members of or a whole group of protestors.

Works Cited: 

History.com Editors. “March on Washington.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 29 Oct. 2009, https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/march-on-washington. 

“March on Washington.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., https://www.britannica.com/event/March-on-Washington. 

“Official Program for the March on Washington (1963).” Our Documents - Official Program for the March on Washington (1963), https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=false&doc=96. 

bleeding kansas

    From 1855 to 1859, Kansans fought an aggressive guerrilla war between pro-slavery and anti-slavery forces called Bleeding Kansas which greatly pushed towards and ultimately started the Civil War. Because of the Kansas-Nebraska Act many southerners were committed to making Kansas a slave state. On May 21, 1856 hundreds of brutes crossed the border between Missouri and Kansas to enter Lawrence where they caused chaos. They set fire to buildings and destroyed the printing press of an abolitionist newspaper. 

    This blurb was my slide of the powerpoint on events considered anti-civil rights. This large movement, Bleeding Kansas, of opposition against civil rights and pressure largely pushed the start of the war. All of the events my group reported on were influential anti civil rights historical occurrences. It was intriguing to see how many of our events are connected and trigger other events. An example is how one of my group mates covered the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which directly led to Bleeding Kansas (my event). It was a cool connection to make and in return point out to the class during the presentation. 
  

 I believe this was my favorite of all our presentation opportunities. I truly enjoyed getting to create a powerpoint slide on a specific event and being able to present it. I found it fun being able to connect all of my team’s events. I much prefer extensive knowledge on one topic than intermediate knowledge on many. I also believe I learned best from this exercise. I believe this because the constant switching of people presenting the information helped me separate and comprehend each event. I also believe being able to have a deep enough comprehension to present a topic is obvious proof of one’s understanding of it.

Works Cited:

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopedia. "Bleeding Kansas". Encyclopedia Britannica, 14 May. 2020, https://www.britannica.com/event/Bleeding-Kansas-United-States-history. Accessed 16 February 2022.

State v. Mann

    

 Some of the other students in class argued the Supreme Court case of State v John Mann, as each side. The case was that of a North Carolina slave owner and his slave. Lydia was John Mann’s slave. Mann shot Lydia in the back, and was being charged with contributory negligence and assault and battery. The court ruledthat slaves had no rights from their masters. Thomas Ruffin

authored the opinion of the court, in which he asserted the “full dominion of the owner over the slave.”’ My classmates made arguments of ethics, despite her being a slave, she was human, so physically assaulting her should have punishments. Others used arguments of History referencing John Locke’s belief that slaves are property due to the investment of time and money put in by the owner. Although Mann was just renting Lydia, he did have the same rights as an owner. Lydia also was running away, which was against the law.

    From this class experiment, we were able to learn about this specific case deeply, as well as explore polarizing views of civil rights laws during the time. This case occurred in 1829, even before the civil war. Being able to see my classmates present a case was not only informative, but also interesting. I feel that they really covered the seven modes of argumentation. This activity was a great way to put to practice many of the things we have been learning in class, as well as display our knowledgeability on newly learned topics and ability to present them.

Sources:

Notes taken from presentations

Website design and web development by Mango Web Design mangowebdesign.com. “State v. Mann.” North Carolina History Project, 16 Mar. 2016, northcarolinahistory.org/encyclopedia/state-v-mann/. 

Regents v. Bakke

The following is an account of what I presented to my class defending the board of regents in the University of California v. Bakke. I took the economic approach to the case.

Judge and council,

I am here to defend the side of the board of regents. We are fighting to express the fact that allowing racial quotas in the admission process is extremely valid and beneficial to our country.

Affirmative action refers to a set of policies and practices within a government or organization seeking to include particular groups based on their gender, race, sexuality, creed or nationality in areas in which they are underrepresented such as education and employment.

If done correctly, affirmative action can greatly boost our economy. Affirmative action also has no negative effect on those not considered a minority. It simply alters the college demographics by admitting more high-skilled low-income students and fewer low-skilled high-income ones.

Right now we are limiting the future of some very bright kids. By limiting these children’s ability to reach their full potential because of aftermath effects of slavery and extreme racism were are obstructing the future growth of the U.S. economy. Providing these people with easier access to education and jobs is the best way to even the playing field and help improve our country as a whole.

An example of a hardship minorities have to face due to effects of past segregation is  not having the benefit of living in affluent neighborhoods receiving the benefits of good schools, low crime rates and access to public services. Many minorities sadly may have to travel farther and pay extra for access to services, work or school. These areas statistically are more dangerous, keeping away a lot of business. This segregation if you will has a large negative effect on the economy of the region, as well as surrounding areas.

To summarize this argument, Racial segregation by demographic separates high-poverty racial groups from low-poverty racial groups. The result of this separation is that poverty is concentrated in the communities of high-poverty racial groups while low-poverty racial groups are shielded from poverty contact. Affirmative action is a plan to set policies and practices, in this case we are referring to the school system, to allow for well deserving members of minorities to be provided better access to higher education. This system of inclusion, we believe, will build safer, smarter and richer regions. By incorporating this idea into the admissions process the university of California has not violated the constitution, only embraced it to bring equal opportunity to all.

Sources:

Darling-Hammond, Linda. “Unequal Opportunity: Race and Education.” Brookings, 28 July 2016, https://www.brookings.edu/articles/unequal-opportunity-race-and-education/. 

"Regents of the University of California v. Bakke." Oyez, www.oyez.org/cases/1979/76-811. Accessed 15 Feb. 2022.

Review, UCLA Anderson. “Sizing up the Measurable Good of Affirmative Action.” UCLA, UCLA, 25 Apr. 2018, https://newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/sizing-up-the-measurable-good-of-affirmative-action. 

Final Presentation Effects of Blogging

 

The internet, but more specifically blogging is a perfect example of practicing first amendment rights. Two of the guarantees of the first amendment are that of freedom of speech and press. I believe blogging covers both. Blogging is a form of communicating and sharing that communication to anyone who chooses to click on a website. The internet was obviously not around at the time of the writing of the Bill of Rights, so the founding fathers never had blogs and social media in mind while declaring the rights of the citizens. Blogging, I believe, advances the ability of Americans to use their freedom of speech and press. Allowing words to be accessed by anyone at any time is exactly what this right protects. Blogging also allows information, whether factual or opinion,  to be spread in a matter of seconds to the billions of people in the world with internet access.

I believe Martin Luther King Jr. would have used blogging to advance his work in the Civil Rights movement. I believe the use of blogging would have greatly helped his cause. My belief is based on my knowledge of the Civil Rights movement from a class I took in highschool and new information learned in this course. I am aware of MLK Jr. 's use of the media to show injustices African Americans faced on the daily and the violence used against their peaceful protests. I am sure public access to testimony from primary sources of these protests would be viewed by millions and influence these people to MLK’s efforts. Martin Luther King Jr. took advantage of the growing popularity of the news media. In this day and age that would parallel things like blogging and social media. 

I fully believe the internet and blogging are currently and can continue to advance social movements. Right now many African Americans are making successful blogs about their experiences during this BLM movement. The internet and blogging allow for personal experiences to be pubically shared at any time to anyone without having to get it picked up by a news station taking the story as their own and twisting it. The internet also gives access to anyone to view these posts at any given time. This makes for a better outreach for the blogger or poster. The ability of this direct contact to readers is exactly how to make social reforms using the first amendment rights.

Keeping a blog has been a cool new experience. Learning to navigate the website has been beneficial. I enjoy writing, so having a place to write, especially when given creative freedom to talk about things I am passionate about, has been one of my favorite parts of this class. To keep up with the blogging, I recommend trying to find something you enjoy in the limits of the appropriateness relating to the topic. It can be more difficult to keep up with the blogging if you do not look for enjoyment in the writing. This class allows for a lot of creativity, as well as group work and discussion. Taking advantage of this will allow for the growth of a lot of life skills. This class has been very enjoyable and beneficial in many aspects.

Mock Trial 1

Some of the other students in class argued the Supreme Court case of State v John Mann, as each side. The case was that of a North Carolina slave owner and his slave. Lydia was John Mann’s slave. Mann shot Lydia in the back, and was being charged with contributory negligence and assault and battery. The court ruled that ‘chattel slaves had no rights from their masters. Thomas Ruffin authored the opinion of the court, in which he asserted the “full dominion of the owner over the slave.”’ My classmates made arguments of ethics, despite her being a slave, she was human, so physically assaulting her should have punishments. Others used arguments of History referencing John Locke’s belief that slaves are property due to the investment of time and money put in by the owner. Although Mann was just renting Lydia, he did have the same rights as an owner. Lydia also was running away, which was against the law.

From this class experiment, we were able to learn about this specific case deeply, as well as explore polarizing views of civil rights laws during the time. This case occurred in 1829, even before the civil war. Being able to see my classmates present a case was not only informative, but also interesting. I feel that they really covered the seven modes of argumentation. This activity was a great way to put to practice many of the things we have been learning in class, as well as display our knowledgeability on newly learned topics and ability to present them.

Website design and web development by Mango Web Design mangowebdesign.com. “State v. Mann.” North Carolina History Project, 16 Mar. 2016, northcarolinahistory.org/encyclopedia/state-v-mann/. 

Reconstruction

According to Britannica,  “Reconstruction, in U.S. history, is the period (1865–77) that followed the American Civil War and during which attempts were made to redress the inequities of slavery and its political, social, and economic legacy and to solve the problems arising from the readmission to the Union of the 11 states that had seceded at or before the outbreak of war.”

In class we watched America After the Civil War. The documentary gave a lot of background and insight on life during the Reconstruction period. The Reconstruction consisted not only of social advancement for African Americans, but also legal reformation to ensure and further these moves. The Constitution added the 13th Amendment, legally forbidding slavery, as well as the 14th Amendment granting Due Process, Equal Protection, and Privileges or Immunities. 

The 14th Amendment’s guarantees help support equality for African Americans through providing protection in court. Ensuring equalities through legality is the best way, I think, to support positive motion in government reformation.

In class we did a timeline that I would consider more of an overview of this time period, so to go and watch a video where PBS historians go into depth on this was really helpful to me. I believe the coverage of this time period is immensely important to our generation, as we are going through many large social reforms ourselves, and should know how and what this requires. The pictures included in the documentary also definitely give help to the emotional aspect of the topic. Being able to hear and see persoannly is a great form of education and in many cases, persuasion.

 Foner, Eric. "Reconstruction". Encyclopedia Britannica, 26 Jul. 2021, https://www.britannica.com/event/Reconstruction-United-States-history. Accessed 26 October 2021.

“Reconstruction.” IDCA, 18 Sept. 2020, iowaculture.gov/history/education/educator-resources/primary-source-sets/reconstruction.