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.