White Like Me

     On the last day of class we watched "White Like Me." Tim Wise is an antiracist educator and author. He tells his story about how when he was younger he went to a school where he was one of three students who was not black. His parents wanted him to know what it was like to be the minority. Wise went to college at Tulane University where he was an activist against equal rights.
     When Obama was elected president this was the turning point in black equality. This was compared to when the Prime Minister of Pakistan being a woman. It was apparent that racism was still present in American when white people were angry that Obama was elected president. Another thing that was brought up in the documentary was the criminal justice system. Most of the people in jail in America happen to be African American. He also says that there is racism against white people as well. 

Clansville USA

     In class we watched the documentary "Clansville USA." This movie really exemplified what it was like living in small towns in the south during the height of the Ku Klux Klan. Bob Jones was the most successful Grand Dragon of all time. The Klan would go around town in these elaborate costumes and terrorize the African American people of the town. Bob Jones was a legacy of the Klan. His father was also a member before him.
     It said in the movie that they claimed the bible backed up what they were doing. How could this be possible? Their most prominent figure was burring the cross and marching around the streets to terrorize people.
     This footage was some of the earliest images of the first Klan. Under Bob Jones leadership the Klan grew up to ten thousand members. Many people looked up to this man and what he stood for. IT was not uncommon in a small town in the south for most people to hate black people. This was one of the first documentaries that showed what was going on in small town southern communities. People of the North and activist everywhere could now see just what was going on.

California V Bakke

     The court case of California V. Bakke was about a man who was denied admission to the Med program of his choice because he was too old. It is a known fact that back then older people were not as accepted into medical schools. Bakke was a 3.51 Merit Scholar. It made no sense as to why he was denied into the medical school. Men with lower GPA's were also admitted.
     Bakke challenged this decision and stated that race should not be the only factor that plays into a school creating diversity. Age and other factors should also play in. Bakke claimed that this was discrimination. Bakke stated that if the goal of the institution was to create diversity and this was only helping African Americans, was it really creating diversity? This is a concept that angered African Americans. They thought that whites were trying to find more reasons to not admit African Americans. This is illustrated in the picture below.
     The court decided not to strike down the broad principle of creating diversity but they stated that race can not and will not be the only factor to achieve it. The California side stated that this was not the only school using age as a factor. It is known that all medical schools were using age as a reason not to admit a person. They also would only consider a small amount of minorities. Medical schools are hard to get into. The two moot court teams did a wonderful job at showing what both sides had to say. I would have to agree with what the side defending Bakke had to say. Their agreement was the most backed up by facts.

State Dept. contractor allegedly paid by Chinese agent to spy on Americans – yet no charges filed

Fox News

     Xiaoming Gao, a translator for the US government was under investigation by the Bureau for allegedly being paid thousands of dollars for information on US persons and US government employees by a spy for the Chinese government. She admitted that she would attend meetings with the spy at a hotel in China and provide information about her "social contacts" in America. The man she was meeting with went by the name of "Teacher Zhao." She worked for the department of Language and Services for four years
     Gao lived for a period of time with a state department employee for free. This employee designed high security embassies with top secret clearance. At first she claimed he did not discuss his job with Gao but later on she changed her story. Emails and phone numbers listed on the internet as Gao's employers have also gone unanswered since the scandal was revealed.

     "It's not clear to me, based on the court files that were unsealed, how a prosecution of this person could possibly have compromised U.S. intelligence gathering," Thomas Dupree, former deputy assistant attorney general under the George W. Bush administration, told Fox News. "If it jeopardizes or threatens to disrupt relations with another country, so be it. That you have to draw the line somewhere, and that we need to send a message that this sort of conduct and activity simply will not be tolerated."  

OAH Magazine of History

     We received two documents in class the other day which both were in reference to Dr. Martin Luther King and his comparison between American civil rights and the events of the Vietnam war. 

     Document number one which is called ""Dr King's Error" New York Times, April 7th 1967, 36." This is the article that was published in the times that explained what Dr. King had said. These writers claim that King unjustifiably compare the Vietnam War to the Civil rights movements happening in the US. They say that linking the two will cause nothing but confusion. They are both two very difficult and complex situations that should never have been compared. It has been stated that this was just for his own personal opinions. They also talk about how harsh and unjust it was to compare what the Nazi's did to our own US government and the use of their new weapons. 

     Document 2 has two parts to it. It is called ""Letters to the Editor of The Times," New York Times, April 12, 1967,46." The first letter is titled "Dr. King Backed" and is a letter written in by someone who supports what Dr. King has to say. He agrees that These two issues can be compared to each other and must be stopped. This person believes that colored people all over the world must speak out against this unequal treatments as whites. 

     The second part of document 2 is called "War Stand Rejected" and this one opposes everything King was saying. He would like to make it clear that his points are not the same as Kings and that he does not share the same opinion. He believes it is necessary to support the Vietnam war, especially with a son who is fighting in it. Simon, the submitter of this commentary believes that King does not have he ability to think clearly. 

     In my opinion this is a topic that can be very sensitive in both directions. War and equal rights are two of the most controversial topics even to this day. I do believe it was a little extreme to compare the American Government to the Nazi's 

Boko Haram kidnapping of 200 Nigerian schoolgirls, a year later

CNN News


     It is a year later since the 200 Nigerian school girls have been kidnapped by the Jihadist group in Nigeria. These girls were taken right from their own school. Although this campaign against Boko Haram is still going strong, much has not changed. There are still parts in the northeast of Nigeria where Haram still controls. He is still killing at a large number and abducting women and children. Some people in Nigeria began to believe that this was just a political stunt.
     All over Nigeria there has been protests with the campaign "Bring Our Girls Back". There were speeches and marchers that were held by protesters of the girls and people completely unrelated. This was a devastating experience for many. How could it be that school girls sitting in their classroom waiting to take an exam have been abdudcted and even a year later still have not been found. On Tuesday a hashtag on twitter began to trend that said "#BringOurGirlsBack."
     Within hours more and more people across the world knew about the situation at hand. Millions of people began to use this hashtag and there was even a picture of first lady Michelle Obama with the "Bring Back Our Girls" sign. It is amazing that an issue across the world, without the access we have had so quickly become known.
     This is one example of a way where social media can be used in a positive way. So many people have access to these types of websites and can spread awareness faster than anyone can imagine.

Michael Slager Charged With Murder of Walter Scott in South Carolina

CBS News 

     Father of four Walter Scott was brutally murdered on Saturday morning by a police officer Michael Slagger in South Charleston, South Carolina. The Victim was a black man and the officer who shot him was white. A cell phone video was taken by another person in the park that was then released after the attack. Scott was pulled over for a broken tail light. The video Shows Scott clearly running away from the officer while he was shot in the back eight times. He the walked over calmly and shot him in the back. He died on the scene.
     Slagger is now arrested and faces up to 30 years to life in prison even the death penalty. Officer Slagger claims that Scott grabbed for his taser and he then feared his life. However there is no part in the video that shows him doing so. This case is bringing up many other incidents such as the Ferguson case, Cleveland and Staten Island NY.
     Scotts attorney claimed that he ran from the officer because he owed child support. He had no violent offenses on his record as well. Other officers in Slaggers unit state that he was in no way a reflection of the unit as a whole. Lawyers for the family are looking to file a civil lawsuit against the unit.
     I don't always consider these types of cases to always be a total wrong against the cop. There have been incidents where I feel as though the cop is not always wrong. However in this case I feel as the cop was completely out of line. This man had done nothing wrong. This is just a case of a racist white man attacking a black man for no reason at all. The cellphone video proves this.