Author: James Wu

“Selma” (2014)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6t7vVTxaic

“Although the Civil Rights Act of 1964 legally desegregated the South, discrimination was still rampant in certain areas, making it very difficult for blacks to register to vote. In 1965, an Alabama city became the battleground in the fight for suffrage. Despite violent opposition, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (David Oyelowo) and his followers pressed forward on an epic march from Selma to Montgomery, and their efforts culminated in President Lyndon Johnson signing the Voting Rights Act of 1965.” (Wikipedia)

Research as Inquiry. Research review paper. Please read carefully, and check out the articles linked.

Total word count 2o00-2500 words.  Due April 7, before your spring break.     Note however due to emergency circumstances of this semester, I will grade accordingly and give you as much credit as possible for all work you do.  So don’t worry about the exact word count.  Also, please review my post from March 17th, “Historical context of Hannah-Jones and Wilentz.”

Write a review of Hannah-Jones, Intro to 1619 Project, “The Idea of America.”

https://pulitzercenter.org/builder/lesson/reading-guide-quotes-key-terms-and-questions-26504

Also available here:

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/14/magazine/1619-america-slavery.html

and Wilentz’s

American Slavery and ‘the Relentless Unforeseen’ _ by Sean Wilentz _ NYR Daily _ The New York Review of Books

Review two additional sources.  As a student researcher and inquirer, you find your own articles.  You can share sources on the blog.  The blog is also for bringing up discussion points and questions.  Here are the articles, I’ve found as a result of my “research as inquiry,” two of which we’ve discussed already.  You can use these articles or research and ask questions and look for the sources that will inform you on what you want to know.

Magness.

https://www.aier.org/article/fact-checking-the-1619-project-and-its-critics/

Lindsay.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomlindsay/2019/08/30/after-all-didnt-america-invent-slavery/#20161df37ef6

Here’s an excerpt from Frederick Douglas writing about advising President Abraham Lincoln that shows us what the situation was during the Civil War for free African Americans.  Question to ask is: how does this relate to Hannah-Jones’ view.  This whole website is worth looking at for the role of African Americans in the Civil War.  You can also read the wikipedia entry on Frederick Douglass.

Douglass, Frederick. “Secession and War.”  (The date on the website must be a mistake, as the text discusses events during the war. Douglass’ “Autobiography” was published in several editions, each time the author adding discussion of recent events.)

http://www.learningabe.info/Douglass_article_3.html

And here is a super interesting entry to Wikipedia on the famous 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, one of the Color Brigades in the Civil War.  The wikipedia entry can be discussed itself, but also can serve as a source for your own further research/inquiry.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/54th_Massachusetts_Infantry_Regiment

The movie, Glory depicts this regiment.  If you want to see it on Youtube or Netflix or Amazon, you can use it in your research as inquiry project.  Perhaps write a review of the movie, and discuss the historical accuracy, or simply a reflection on it and what you did or did not know about this topic.  And of course, relate it back to Hannah-Jones and Wilentz.  You’ll note that Frederick Douglas in the article above is discussing recruiting African Americans into these special brigades.

Here’s a video, it’s long, of 3 professors, discussing the Reconstruction Period after the Civil War.  Very interesting and probably necessary to understand racism in the U.S. today.

https://www.c-span.org/video/?404528-1/150th-anniversary-reconstruction

And here’s a link to the Wikipedia entry on the Civil Rights Act of 1968, arguably the 3rd founding of the U.S.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Rights_Act_of_1968

Lastly, I want to link an outline of the U.S. Constitution.  We should especially look at the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments.  Researchers and inquirers should do a wiki search on each and also compare to the wartime “Emancipation Proclamation.” We will discuss this in the blog and on Zoom.

https://www.fortheteachers.org/File%20Cabinet/United%20States%20Constitution%20Outline.pdf

 

An excellent article on Novel Corona Virus 19 for BMCC 8am class

For those of you interested in the ongoing health crisis, it’s absolutely necessary to understand the biology of the virus.

https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2020/03/biography-new-coronavirus/608338/

Feel free to comment and reflect, perhaps on language that clarifies and states precisely the nature of a virus.  What you knew and didn’t know and how clear language helps us understand scientific information.

Note this article was not written by a scientist, but by a journalist who writes about science.  You could reflect on the genre of science writing/journalism as a reader and as a writer.  Notice that this information would be very difficult to communicate in slang.

Vanessa R. writes:

 

We definitely have the power as a human to make history, if there wasn’t no human in this world it wouldn’t be a world because us humans make everything in this world, we make conversation and we know what to do and what not to do. Just everything that makes a world up needs humans in it because what would it be without them. We make every decision we have to make, if humans weren’t in the world who would have done that. That’s why it’s better for humans to be alive and be in the world. Humans make everything in this world and some people don’t realize that

 

Like how colored people were used for slaery. Some people didn’t realize if these kinds of people weren’t in this world nothing like that could have happened. That’s why it is upsetting that people were treated like that knowing were all human beings and it’s not fair how they were treated. It was scary to them and they couldn’t do anything about it because of everything what was happening to them in this world. I think it wasn’t fair to the colored people at all because i don’t like to see people get treated bad when other humans can do something about it to stop what was going on but they didn’t care how they were doing to the colored people, its just hard to see everyone treat other people that are humans just like them. Its scary knowing people can do that to others.

Reflections on the current epidemic

Post your reflections on the current health epidemic.  Please use best practices for writing on line.  Fact check conspiracy theories.  Evaluate news sources.  Take the time to read and understand scientific information about viruses and how they spread.

You should also reflect on your experiences, what you’ve learned, how you are learning about the situation, public healthy, psychological aspects of your own life.

You will get credit for your reflections on these as well.

Try to edit your post before you click send.  How can I make my communication easier to understand to the reader?  Can I write my sentences more clearly?  What is the next step in my flow of thought?  What benefit will the reader get from what I am writing?

Selines A.’s comment on Hannah Jones. Comment, politely and use best practices writing style and method.

3/12/20

Hannah Jones Reflection (by Selines A.)

Question 6:

Based on the Hannah-Jones, back in the 1940s, Mississippi was an apartheid state and defeated majority of the black population through horrific acts of violence. The white residents killed and hung more black people than those in any other state. Colored citizens had no legal rights. They were not allowed to vote, enter any public facilities, and find any other work besides picking cotton. It would be considered a crime if colored women went into the same room as a white woman was in, or if a colored woman bumped into another white woman. White people were more privileged than black people and that’s unfair on their part. Black people are just as equal as any other white person. They deserve respect and shouldn’t be treated any less than because of their skin tone. It’s a disgusting behavior which I one hundred percent disagree with. I can’t begin to imagine what this experience must’ve been like for those who had to go through it.

Homeless people now go through a similar situation. Because of their appearance, people prefer not to be around them nor offer any help. If they were to enter any public facility, they would be asked to step out. Sometimes they are physically abused if they beg for money. Homeless people become desperate for food because they go days without eating or drinking anything. People don’t see it from this perspective though, they see it more as a bother. Homeless people are also removed from corners of the street, they use to rest, by police officers. Homeless people are at higher risk of catching any disease or sickness because they are not provided with the proper care that they need. People usually believe homeless people are at fault for being in the situation they are in. Truthfully speaking, we do not know the real reason behind their situation. Homelessness can be caused by a number of reasons such as mental illness, substance abuse, medical issues that were left untreated, abuse and violence, traumatic situations, or not having enough money to afford housing. Instead of being judgemental towards homeless people, why don’t we stop and think to ourselves how hard this is on them? Why can’t we stop being so heartless and lend a helping hand to those who need it the most? Homeless people are not cared for and are treated less as a person, and so were slaves.