EOTO reax

 The Eoto presentation that we saw this week was on civil rights. During the civil rights movement, it was an awful time that promoted a lot of horrible things, including discrimination on race and nationality. Although some of these issues were resolved during the Civil War, many of them still did not give fair treatment to many others who were of African descent. What changed this is many of the strong leaders of the civil rights movement. One of the most influential was Martin Luther King Jr, who gave the famous I Have a Dream speech and inspired many to keep fighting for their right to be treated as everyone else. 

\Something that changed during this time was super and essential for the citizens of the U.S. Was the Fair Housing Act that ensured housing opportunities would be equal for everyone in the U.S.? More people were denied the right to buy houses for the color of their skin, which gave African Americans a considerable disadvantage. The redlining was tricky here since it prevented African Americans from receiving loans to pay for their houses. This act changed all of this by making everyone equal, regardless of race.

Another thing that positively helped during this time was Thurgood Marshall. He was the first African American to serve on the United States Supreme Court. This was good since many cases during this time were civil rights cases. He spoke during the Brown v. Board, which helped educate countless African Americans. 

This time, multiple things changed the game and were super important. Another one of these would be the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which helped prevent workplace place discrimination. This helped form workplace unions that helped fight gender and race discrimination. The EEOC investigates all allegations of this and helps fight them to ensure everyone is treated equally. 

to stir with love

 The movie we watched in class was to sir with Love. The movie was made in 1967. This movie reflects what was happening in the world by showing the social tensions and what was happening in the poor areas of England at the time. A man who attempted to be an engineer but was rejected multiple times because of his skin color takes up a teaching job. He quickly learns that he got into more than he expected. The students had no discipline and no respect for their teacher. He tries multiple times to gain their respect and trust but teaches the kids how to be adults. 

You can see that the students danced with each other inappropriately; when the teacher came in, they never stopped dancing in this way because they did not care. The girls were not dressed in what they considered appropriate for that setting, and the guys engorged how they dressed. After many attempts, Thackeray started to get the students' trust, and they even began to dress, act, and talk better. 

A problem that we find out later in the movie that Thackeray also wants to solve is the racism that goes on in the class. A black student loses his mom, and no one wants to drop off the flowers because they are embarrassed to go to a house since the family is black. They did not care about the boy's race but were worried about what their parents might think about the whole situation. After realizing the situation they were part of is bigger than themselves, they decide to go to the house and bring the family flowers from the deceased mother, and all end up going to the funeral. At the end of the movie, all the students seem to love Thackeray, and he sees the incoming students for next year and is excited to transform them as well.

EOTO 4

 In 1968, Robert F. Kennedy broke the news to a group of African Americans in Indianapolis that MLK had been shot and killed just hours before in Memphis. As you can imagine, hearts were broken, especially in the African American communities across the nation, since MLK had done so much to move forward the progress of civil rights. RFK spoke without any prep or notes for five minutes about the incident and told Americans not to act with violence and hate but to act with love, wisdom, and compassion for one another. He became loved by many Americans and was known nationally as Bobby Kennedy. 

Soon after, on June 6, 1968, at the age of 42, Bobby Kennedy was shot and killed just hours after winning the Democratic presidential primary in California. Many believed he was heading for nomination, and Americans couldn't be more happy about it. Unfortunately, when he was shot and killed, it seemed that the hope was also killed as well. Many felt he was the only man at the time able to turn this country around, and after his death, it seemed that all progress had stopped. It was evident that America wasn't coming closer as a nation but being torn apart more and more. Violence was spreading all over America now, and no one knew how to stop it. 

Juan Romano was a 17-year-old busboy who was looking forward to shaking the head of RFK after his winning in California. Still, unfortunately, Juan ended up having to cradle the senator's head to comfort him in his final moments of life. Juan said, "Hope seemed to be dying with him; no one was there for us anymore."

The murder of RFK caused millions of Americans to stop believing that peaceful change was not a possibility. Over the next few years, it seemed America was more divided than it could ever have been. It seemed like every possible group was fighting each other. Black vs. white, young vs. old, rich vs. poor, pro vs. anti-Vietnam. That nation was in complete chaos in every possible way, and it did not seem like there was any way out of it.

The man who caused all this damage and shot RFK was Sirhan Sirhan, who was a Palestine immigrant and blamed RFK for the setbacks of Palestine and the trial sirhan sirhan had no problem admitting he was the one who killed him and even gave a victory speech. 

In conclusion, the assassination of RFK was not just a massive setback for the African-American community in the United States but all of the United States. If he had never been assassinated, the outcome of many of the issues at that time could have been significantly reduced, and there's no telling how different the country may have been around that time. RFK was not just a hero for African Americans in the United States but helped speak for all who did not have a voice.

EOTO reax

 During these eoto presentations, we were learning about events that either helped progress or slow/ get rid of segregation during that time. Each side gave us a good outlook on what was happening then, and some shared exciting stories. 

For the side telling us how segregation was still advancing, one story stood out to me more than others. That was the story of Emmett Till. I feel like this story was the one that stood out most to me because the things that they did to that boy were almost inhuman. I also think that it was awful that you couldn't even recognize him at his funeral. The worst part is he was also innocent, and the woman who accused him of the crimes was lying and just let all the awful things happen to the boy. 

The other group showed how African Americans were combating divorce and trying to make their lives better. One way they did this was the great migration; this was when all the African Americans in the South were sick and tired of the Jim Crow laws of the South, and they packed up to go north to find a better life for themselves. This may sound like not that big of a deal, but you have to realize that many of these people are poor, and technology is not as strong as it is now. That means that many who moved away may never be able to see their loved ones again and have to leave them behind for the rest of their life. 

With all being said, the groups did a great job showing us the advancements and deconstruction of segregation at this time. We have learned that segregation was getting better in the United States, but there was still a lot of hate and hate crimes going on in the United States.

driving miss daisey

 In class, we watched a movie named Driving Miss Daisy, a great story that follows a driver named Hoke, a businessman hired to drive his mother around town. This occurred during the civil rights movement when many African Americans were still oppressed and fighting for their rights. The man who hired Hoke to drive, his mother, is suffering from early symptoms of dementia, which is one of the reasons for her needing a driver. Miss Daisy is hesitant about Hoke moving her for multiple reasons. The first one is that she does not want to admit that she is getting old and cannot transport herself. The other reason is you start to learn that she is also racist towards black individuals around her. 

However, after spending a lot of time driving together, Miss Daisy slowly starts warming up to Hoke, and they soon have to go on a long trip together. After starting the long trip, you can start seeing them talk back and forth and laugh and then pull over to the side of the road to speak and eat. They are starting to get close and bond at this time, but two cops soon pull over next to them and start asking him if he's allowed to drive and questioning him as well as being very racist towards him. Miss Daisy sees this, and they finally understand how tough of a life it is for an African American in America at this period. 

At the movie's end, Miss Daisy is now ancient and in a nursing home. Her dementia has gotten very, very bad, but she still remembers Hoke and even prefers to talk to him over her son at any point. She is now towards the end of her life but still looks forward to seeing Hoke every time. 

trail 2 react

 This week, I saw the mock trial of Plessy v Ferguson and saw both teams bring up great points on each side of the case. As a quick recap, Plessy was a man who was ⅛ black and wanted to test the laws in the United States by buying a train ticket for the white train car, not the colored train car. He was soon arrested for this action and appealed the case. Which eventually made it up to the Supreme Court. 

Each side brought up excellent points and reasons for why they were right. To start, we will look at the side supporting plessy. One significant point they brought up is that segregating the train cars is financially destructive for the business. It costs more to operate extra train cars so blacks and whites wouldn't have to sit together, and the company doesn't get a lot of money back for this. It would be better financially for the company to have everyone sit together to make a better profit. Another reason they made is that the train company does not care if he's in the white car, but they overlook that other people tend to think that he's in the white car. His sitting here does not make the train operate differently than before, but other passengers don't want him there.

On the side of the anti-Plessy, the other team also brought up excellent points on why they thought they were right. They argued, saying more specifically what the 14th amendment said and how it gave African Americans political rights but not social rights; therefore, not allowing Plessy to be in the white-only car was perfectly acceptable.

In conclusion, both teams argued why their team was right and the other wasn't. At the end of this trial, the pro-Plessy side was more important and brought up better points than the anti-Plessy side.

EOTO 2

 During the Reconstruction era, there were many advancements for the African Americans living in the u.s at the time. One of the significant things that was a considerable advance in the time for African Americans was the 13th Amendment. The 13th Amendment is what unlimitedly outlawed slavery in the United States. 

The Amendment was passed on January 31st, 1865, but was not ratified until December 6th, 1865. Lincoln and many other leaders at the time concluded that the only way of getting rid of slavery was to amend the Constitution. It provided that slavery nor involuntary servitude shall exist within the United States. This Amendment was necessary at the time because of the Emancipation Proclamation since it did not end slavery everywhere, and there were still many enslaved people in the United States working and not accessible. However, slavery was still allowed as criminal punishment after this Amendment was passed. 

However, getting this Amendment passed was not as easy as the republican party was hoping for. In April of 1864, the Senate proposed an amendment banning slavery, but they needed a 2 ⁄ 3 vote, which was difficult as more and more democrats were refusing to side with it. But soon after Lincoln's election, the republican party put this at the top of their list. So soon after, when all met again in December, and it was getting passed around the house, they finally got the 2 ⁄ 3 vote that they needed, and the Amendment was soon on its way to being finalized and was later that year. 

Though this was all great for the African-American population, there was still a lot of hate going on, and the discrimination in the United States was still extreme. African Americans were now free, but they still had to deal with the black codes, Jim Crow laws, and more discrimination similar to this. And since the 13th Amendment still allowed slavery for criminal punishment, there was still a way to keep it going. Many African Americans would be arrested during this time for false convictions or protesting. Soon after that, they would be charged and sent to do unpaid labor, which is the same thing as slavery. So even though it was outlawed, many were still finishing loopholes to keep discrimination in America going and keep African Americans oppressed as they have always been in America up to this time. 

In conclusion, the 13th Amendment was a huge change that ultimately helped the lives of African Americans at the time in the United States and was a leading contributor to where we are today. Without the passing of this Amendment, there is no telling how long it would've been until slaves were free in the United States and what would've happened to our future. However, there was still tension across the South about slavery and many other states as well. The continuation of discrimination was still strong, and there were many problems to fix in the United States.