Month: April 2022

A historical event that changed the political course of the country was the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. His death led to an outpouring of anger among black Americans, and a wave of civil disturbances and riots occurred all over the United States. This was also known as the “Holy Week Uprising.” After his death, there was a temporary suspension of the 1968 presidential campaign. The Academy Awards ceremony was postponed. Businesses, schools, and other public buildings were closed. April 7 was declared a national day of mourning by President Johnson. The riots/mourning and overall negative effect of MLK’s death did eventually help speed the way for an equal housing bill that would be the last significant legislative achievement of the civil rights era. This bill protected families from discrimination in the sale, rental, financing, or advertising of housing, and the kickstarter for everyone having equal rights in the United States. I decided to write about this topic because even though this event took place all the way back in 1968, racism is still at large in the country, and everywhere else in the world. Something so negative, to end up having a positive impact is also really interesting.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-chicago-riots-50th-anniversary-app-story-a20180402-story.html 

After watching the videos and thinking about it, I realized that race has always been a social construct. Race is not biological. There is no gene or cluster of genes common to all blacks or all whites. If race were “real” in the genetic sense, racial classifications for individuals would remain constant across all boundaries and borders. I was recently watching a movie called 42, which portrayed the story of Jackie Robinson, the first black player in Major League Baseball history. In one of the games, a kid sees all of his family and the people around him verbally abusing Jackie and throwing out racial slurs, and joins them in abusing Jackie, but then another player from Jackie’s team, who happened to that kid’s brother, goes to Jackie to have a chat and then hugs him, which immediately makes the kid stop because he had a new example to follow, made by his brothers. Nobody is born a racist, but the environment they grow up in and the things they are taught along the way make people that way.

For example- the saying that pink is for girls and blue is for boys is a social construct. All colors are colors, put people put the labels “girlie” and “boyish” on them.

The same way all people are people, and trying to make someone feels more inferior than someone else is a social construct, starting in Europe and taking over the world in a very unneeded manner.

Activity 1: For a long time, my stepson, Jonathan, was unhappy to have me as part of his family, for he resents that he didn’t have both biological parents at home. I tried to get to know him better, but he would complain that I invaded his privacy. As a newcomer, I understood that our relationship would require effort from both of us. It was not enough that I was friendly. Jonathan also had to want us to be friends, and I was not happy with the two of us being strangers, but I could wait for him to feel more comfortable around me.

Activity 2: Anne Marie collects antique bottles and loves to turn them into works of art. She will buy bottles if she likes them, but she prefers to find them in the ground. She finds bottles everywhere, but she picks them selectively. However, she has the best luck at construction sites on old farmland, where she spends most of her time. Often, bottles appear on the surface after a good rain, but they disappear very soon. She uses special tools for excavating bottles, including a set of brushes. She does not want to break the bottles as she removes them from the ground. After finding a new bottle, Anne Marie will add it to her display case and hang it on the wall as an artistic piece (Mangelsdorf, 2013, p. 411).

The Ted talk by Anthony Jack was a powerful video. It talked about really important issues that are almost never talked about. I was lucky to graduate from a private boarding school. I really liked it and it was my home away from home. Being the only Indian there I thought I would come across racism in some way or form, but from the few major racial incidents that occurred during my time there in New Hampshire, all of them were directed towards the black community. That is when I fully realized the extent of the problem and the rapid need for change. I had a number of black friends in school, but unsurprisingly the black students made only a handful of the student population. While all of them got into good colleges, one day one of my closest friends looked distraught. Upon asking him what was wrong he told me how almost every one of his black friend who went to a public is school is having a very hard time through the college process, so when Professor Jack from Harvard raised the same issue in the video, it resonated with me a lot. Talking about food shortage in undergraduates, that is something a lot of us college students have gone through at some point, so talking about two points which are comparable to a lot of college students makes me more confident that what Tatum wrote is important work that needs to be voiced.

I read I Isabella’s response. She talks about how implicit biases we have in everyday life towards certain people, and how that affects one’s actions. She explains how implicit bias is dangerous and can detrimental to humans with us even realizing it. She includes how the author uses the story of her own son, who at the tender age of 5, created a prejudice against black people due to environment he was in. This was a good ethos, and and made the audience soften the hostile crowd and actually listen to what she had to say.

I have a few historically significant topics I think would be good for this essay. An issue I feel passionate about and read a book recently on was the problem with the literacy rate in the country of India. The country has many strides in improving their adult literacy rate to 73.2%. It is still home to 313 million illiterate people, 59% of them being women. With the political system in the country being fairly corrupt both at the local and central government, for years this issue has been looked over by politicians and has never really been a big selling point in their respective campaigns. Things needed to change, and initiatives were needed to be taken. In 2017, the then Chief Minister of the state of Haryana, Om Prakash Chuatala, was charged with crimes and put in prison. He came from family full of politicians and was involved in politics from a young age. This caused him to not finish school and he dropped out after the 8th grade. While in prison, he decided to start studying to sit for board exams to pass the 10th grade. In the Indian education system, to pass the 10th grade, one needs to sit for these boards exams. Passing it means the person is educated to at least the lowest requirement of the system. According to the Indian law, it is the right of every citizen, even the ones in jail, to be able to have access to education and sit down to give the exam.

 

Outline- Start with quote from Nelson Mandela, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”

• Talk about the problem of the illiteracy rate in the country, give pathos about the percentage.
• Introduce the story of the politician.
• It became the center of the media’s attention.
• Inspired lots of others to follow their dreams
• Advertised the importance of education, something which was not usually done in heavy amount in the country.

Group members: Abhiraj Gill, Chinaza Hughes, Yana Walia

This meme was found on Google and it comments on how black people’s arguments about racism and violence are often undermined by white people trying to turn the tables back on to black people. It uses humor to undermine the seriousness of the issue and how it affects the stereotypes and society’ s perception of the issue as black people are countered with this argument to undermine their experiences with racism. It also successfully shifts the focus of the argument from the main issue of racism to black on black crime hence manipulating the narrative of racism. This meme is effectively thought provoking and it uses a popular argument presented to black people to address how invalidating that statement is. The meme itself is fairly simplistic so that may affect its strength as an argument, but still, the argument is clear.

 

Is this plagiarism or not?

Excerpt from page 23 of an article in 2011 by William Ellis entitled “Culture in Transition.”

World problems such as poverty, pollution, war, and hunger are inherent in the 

current system of world order based on nation-states and economic competition. 

They can be solved if people know and understand one another on a global,

 grass-roots basis.  By developing people-to-people linkages irrespective of national 

borders, we can start to ameliorate global tensions and inequalities.

Is this plagiarism or not?  Y or N

 

__Y___William Ellis asserts that world problems such as poverty, pollution, war, and hunger are

inherent in the current system of world order based on nation-states and economic competition (p. 23).

All the words aare the same of the original one.

__Y___Global tensions and inequalities can be solved if people begin to help one another

 on a grass-roots basis, moving beyond the current world order of economic competition 

(Ellis 23). Incorrect citation

___N__Ellis (2011) argues that global problems are often a result of exploitation inherent in 

economic competition.  He contends that “grass roots….people-to people linkages  irrespective

of national borders” can do much to ease global tensions (p. 23). 

 

__Y___Economic competition is at the basis of many of the world’s problems (Ellis 23). Only by

 

seeing ourselves as a single family without the separation of national boundaries can world

 

tensions begin to be eased.  The year and page number are missing.

_Y___Ellis (2011) argues that world problems are caused by overpopulation and that the only

 

possible solution is an enforced tax on families who have more than one child (p. 23).

It’s plagiarism because these information are not in the original source.

 

Original Text: Alaska’s wetlands provide many benefits including: food and habitat for wildlife, fish and

 

shellfish species, natural products for human use and subsistence, shoreline erosion and sediment control, flood protection, and opportunities for recreation and esthetic appreciation.

Hall, Jonathan V., W. E. Frayer, and Bill O. Wilen.

Status of Alaska Wetlands.

4 Nov. 1997.Web. 12 Mar. 2011.

Student Version:

Alaskan wetlands offer advantages such as erosion and flood control, homes and food for wildlife, and natural beauty and products for humans’ benefit.

2.Original Text:

 

Assertive individuals tend to feel more in control of their lives, derive more satisfactions from their relationships and achieve their goals more often. They also will obtain more respect from, and inspire confidence in, those with whom they interact since they tend to be viewed as strong characters who will not be easily swayed.

Hargie, O., Saunders, C., & Dickson, D. (2000).

Social Skills in Interpersonal Communication.

 

London: Routledge, p. 271.

 

Student Version:Because they are not readily influenced, assertive people gain respect from others, and they

 

experience success in guiding their own lives, nurturing good relationships, and achieving their goals

 (Hargie, Saunders, and Dickson, 2000, p. 271).

 

3.Original Text:

A new to recycle bald tires has been developed by researchers at the University of Georgia Agricultural Experiment Station. Instead of hanging them on trees as swings, they’re using them as mulch around the base.

“Tires Return as Mulch.” Popular Mechanics 94.2 (2000): 22. LEXIX-NEXIS. Web. 31 July 2011.

Student Version:

A Popular Mechanics article notes that University of Georgia researchers have found a new

use for worn tires: instead of having them on trees as swings, they’re using them as mulch (“Tires Return”).

 

 

I read Isabella’s response. She talks about how the girls prospered through the help of these sessions, something I mentioned in my paragraph as well. She gives credit to Carmen Knyard for creating a space forum where the girls could be their own authentic self. She also includes a personal experience which resonated to the writing. I used a personal experience as well. There is no written evidence provided from the essay, something I did not include myself, and I should have.

In the anti-racist teacher video, the high school teacher from Seattle, Taryn Coe, tries to create a safe space for her students in her classroom where her students felt valued, as she believes that their ideas are just as important as hers. This helps me understand better what Knyard was trying to don with her groups. She also talks about how white kids in majority white schools and neighborhoods and little to no contact with people of color, which can lead to them having a complete misunderstanding of systemic racism.

She includes a good point that when teachers and people try to make people of color the focus of their attention in discussions as to what the world is doing wrong, it often leads to more harm than good. She states that white people should educate themselves to how white people benefit from systemic racism.