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gmiles21ahsgov · 3 years

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Blog Post #7: Legislative and Executive Action

GovTrack

Bill S. 2163: Commission on the Social Status of Black Men and Boys Act was passed on August 14, 2020

The bill originated in the Senate and passed on June 5, 2020. It then moved onto the House where it was passed on July 27, 2020.

This bill is placed in order to conduct a study of conditions affecting BIPOC (black indigenous people of color) within the US Commission on Civil Rights Office. This will impact my civic action issue of Racial Justice because this is diving into racism, and taking a look at how BIPOC are treated differently, and taking steps to acknowledge it and fix it.

Bill S. 2163: Commission on the Social Status of Black Men and Boys was sponsored by 12 Republicans and two Democrats. The bill has already passed, but by these sponsors, by guess would have been that it would be less likely to pass than if all (or majority) of the sponsors were Democrats.

The bill was assigned to Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

I would encourage my representatives to vote “yea” on this bill because to me, this bill helps to take the steps needed to recognize and eliminate racism. It takes the very first step in recognizing that BIPOC are treated differently, and then hopefully, from there, further changes will be made and new bills introduced.

U.S. Department of Justice

The Department of Justice manages the federal response to Racial Justice (my civic action issue). The Department of Justice’s mission statement is “to enforce the law and defend the interests of the United States according to the law; to ensure public safety against threats foreign and domestic; to provide federal leadership in preventing and controlling crime; to seek just punishment for those guilty of unlawful behavior; and to ensure fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans.” Their mission statement doesn’t directly reference Racial Justice, however, their last sentence (”justice for all Americans”) would include BIPOC, so it indirectly relates to my issue. The secretary of the Department of Justice is William Barr. He went to Columbia University and received his A.B in government, as well as his M.A. in government and Chinese studies. He serves as the Deputy Attorney General (1990-1991), the Assistant Attorney General of the Office of legal Counsel (1989-1990) and the 77th Attorney General of the US (1991-1993). To me, he seems professionally qualified to lead this department- he has been a part of many political organizations and seems to have a grasp on leadership. I don’t think you can be a part of so many and not have an idea of what you’re doing. In the description of Barr, there is no reference to Racial Justice, nor do I see any organizations that he was a part of that pertain to Racial Justice. This could be bad for people of color because if he doesn’t have any experience in any anti-racism organizations, then he may not have the proper experience needed to help make and anti-racist America.

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gmiles21ahsgov · 4 years

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Blog Post #6: California Proposition Assessment

Proposition 16: Affirmative Action in Public Education and Employment

Proposition 16 was designed to repeal Prop 209 (a proposition designed to ban the consideration of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in California public employment, education, and contracting in an attempt to create more opportunities/representation for minorities) which was passed in 1996. The passing of Prop 16 would mean that state and local entities would be able to create a wider range of policies/programs, making them more consistent with federal and state law related to equal protection

Proposition 16 would not have a direct fiscal effect on either state nor local entities. It wouldn’t make any change to current policies/programs. However, the potential fiscal effects are “highly uncertain.”

Prop 16 was voted not to pass with 9,390,915 votes for no and only 7,042,077 votes for yes. This doesn’t surprise me- the vote was relatively close, and I could see how some people would consider the repealing of Prop 209 to be a gateway for businesses to act on implicit bias or even racism/sexism/homophobia/etc.

Proposition 16 has a lot of lot of supporters, but some of the more commonly known ones are:

U.S. Senator Kamala Harris

Speaker of the U.S. House Nancy Pelosi

California NAACP State Conference

California Black Chamber of Commerce

Los Angeles County Board of Education

I was not surprised by any of these endorsements. I was, however, a little bit surprised at the idea of big companies coming out endorsing propositions in general. There are always going to be people who don’t support a proposition, and I would have though big companies would be worried about losing customers if they came out in support of a proposition. Knowing whether or not certain companies support Proposition 16 could help citizens make their decision. They could look at other propositions these companies support and see if they are in line with this proposition as well as what the person trying to decide supports.

Arguments for Prop 16

Creating opportunities for women and people of color to receive public contracts that should be available to all of us

Expands access to solid wages, good jobs, and quality schools for all Californians (regardless of gender, race, or ethnicity)

Improving access to quality education, both K-12 schools and high educations, for all of California’s kids

Taking action to prevent discrimination and ensure equal opportunity for all

Strong anti-discrimination laws remain in effect

Arguments Against Prop 16

“Is it right to give someone a job just because they are white, or black or green or yellow? Or just because they are male? Repealing Proposition 209 enacted by voters 24 years ago, is to repeal the prohibition of judgement based on race, sex, color, ethnicity and national origin. We are talking about legalizing racism and sexism” (Asm. Steven S. Choi).

“California is the most diverse state in the nation and must step up to the challenges that brings. The real solution for racial equality is comprehensive public-school reform in our K-12 system, not government sanctioned discriminations to create more losers than winners as Proposition 16 will do” (Former Senate Minority Leader Bob Huff).

“We’re definitely going to take a hard look at that and see whether it complies with the 14th Amendment, or whether it violates the constitutional principle of equality before the law. Racial preferences are wrong, no matter who they benefit” (Wen Fa, an attorney with the Pacific Legal Foundation).

I would have voted no on Proposition 16, because on one hand it seems like is aiming to abolish discrimination in the workplace/schools/contracting, however the way that Proposition 16 is worded, makes it confusing and I don’t fully understand every aspect of it. That being said, I would not vote yes on it because I don’t fully understand, and Ms. Anderson taught us to never vote yes on a proposition we don’t fully understand.

I thought it was interesting that there were $16,336,385.63 worth of contributions made in support of Proposition 16. That seems like a lot of money to be raised on a single proposition in one state (granted, I don’t know how much money was raised in support of any of the other propositions).

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gmiles21ahsgov · 4 years

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Blog Post #5: Political Interest Groups and PACs Assessment

NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People)

The NAACP wants remove racism and enforce equality for all. They also protect civil rights for African Americans as well as other minorities.

1. Urging citizens to vote in the 2020 presidential election as well as be active in the community

2. A list of ways citizens can get involved in politics and how it will affect African Americans throughout communities

3. Different ways to volunteer to contact and connect to voters and volunteering to encourage black voters (making black voices heard)

4. Discussing Black Battleground States and how people can volunteer to encourage voting in these states and help determine to outcome of the 2020 election

5. Volunteering to safely distribute materials in high traffic African American communities

NAACP endorsed a woman named Ann Kirkpatrick who is running as a democrat for the U.S. House in Arizona. She was rated 100% by the NAACP.

The NAACP has locations all over California. The nearest one is in Oakland. There is not an option to attend a meeting, nor do I see an option to join any Zoom meetings they hold. However, there are options to contact them through a phone number, active Monday-Friday. They also provide a list of addresses that people can send letters to, all over the U.S.

The NAACP Provides an extensive list of volunteer opportunities. There are ways for citizens to volunteer by contacting voters via phone or email, there are ways for citizens to volunteer in the process of going door-to-door; majority of volunteer opportunities consists of encouraging people to vote and emphasizing the significance of encouraging black voters and how that could determine the 2020 presidential election.

Our Future Is Black PAC

Our Future Is Black PAC does not advocate for any particular candidate. They do, however, raise the majority of their money for the Democrats (total of $340,870) and have raised $80,000 against Republicans. Their described viewpoint is seen as a liberal, however, most of the money goes to the Democratic party. In total, Our Future Is Black PAC has raised $114,870.

I was not too surprised to find that an organization that advocates for black Americans would not support our racist president. I thought it was interesting that PACs can post money against candidates. I also thought it was very interesting that they put up more money against Donald Trump then they did in the support of the Democratic Party. Our Future Is Black PAC supports the last racist party (democratic) and so then putting up money for the Democratic party is in line with the positions black owned PACs.

The only donor that I found to donate to Our Future Is Black PAC was The center for empowered politics, located in San Francisco. On February 28th, 2020, they donated $100,000 to Our Future Is Black PAC.

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gmiles21ahsgov · 4 years

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Blog Post #4: Election 2020 Presidential Candidates Assessment

Howie Hawkins/Angela Nicole Walker, Green

Green Party Candidate Howie Hawkins’ platform has a list of their issues, and what his party stands for and hopes to achieve; under social justice they have “enforce anti-discrimination laws; equality act; equal rights amendment; reparations for African-Americans; honor Indian treaty rights; legal status for undocumented immigrants” and a few others. However, these are the ones mainly pertaining to race and racial issues.

I agree with all of the stances that this party takes. I believe reparations for African Americans are important, despite being difficult to work out how they are distributed. Their promise to fight for an equal rights amendment is something that is hard to argue- how can someone not believe all people should be equal? All of these positions are positions that I can get behind and feel comfortable following.

Howie Hawkins’ stance fits the position that the Green Party stands by, dealing with reparations for African Americans, abolishing all racism and standing for equal rights for all. Hawkins’ platform page didn’t mention the removal of the Confederate Flag like the Green Party homepage did, however I would not find it hard to believe if its removal was something he and his party stood by.

Donald J. Trump/Michael R. Pence, Republican

The first thing I noticed upon opening Donald Trump’s platform page is that there is no obvious place to find his stance on racial injustices. The closest thing I could find to racial injustices was under Law and Justice, a section that read “Protecting the Rights of All Americans.” But there wasn’t a word of people of color, only “President Trump’s Department of Justice has supported students whose free speech rights have been under attack on university campuses.” I continued to search each section, typing “rights “African American” and “discrimination” into the search bar, but nothing else came up. I was sorely disappointed that our current president had absolutely no say on the African American community or what they are enduring in terms of racism. Unable to find anything else on the topic of racism in American, I made the decision to contact the Trump Administration:

Dear Mr. Donald Trump,

The issue I am concerned about is Racial Injustices. I am concerned about this issue because I searched through your platform and could not find anything addressing the topic and I would like to know where you stand on the topic of racism in America. I am currently a senior at Acalanes High School and I am researching this issue for my senior Government class. Please clarify your stance on this issue. Thank you so much for your time and good luck.

Sincerely,

Gwendolyn Miles

Gloria La Riva/Sunil Freeman, Peace and Freedom

The third topic that Gloria La Riva’s page has is to “End racism, police brutality and mass incarceration-Pay reparations to the African American community.” To me, the placing of this topic on her page comes off as it being a very important topic to her. She believes that reparations need to be paid to African Americans and Native communities for the genocides committed by white people. She also stands by the prosecution of all acts of police brutality and violence.

I absolutely agree with La Riva’s position on the changes that need to be made (reparations, prosecutions on police brutality, etc). It’s so often that I see on social media posts about Brianna Taylor or Elijah McClain or George Floyd, and know that the officers still have had no consequences for these brutal murders. Changes need to be made, and there needs to be consequences when a police officer kills innocent BIPOC.

Gloria La Riva’s stance fully supports the Peace and Freedom party platform; they share beliefs that police and prison officials who perform unnecessary brutality while on duty need to be prosecuted and punished.

Roque De La Fuente “Rocky” Guerra/Kanye Omari West, American Independent

I read through the entire website, searching for a statement on racial issues. I didn’t find a single sentence with the words “discrimination” “African American” or “racism.” To be quite honest, I was a little bit disappointed to not find anything regarding racial injustices on this page. I was also a bit surprised, considering his VP, Kanye West, is a black man.

Dear Mr. Roque De La Fuente,

The issue I am concerned about is Racial Injustices. I am concerned about this issue because I think it is very important for America to address racial issues. If you won this election, what would you do to help solve racism in America? I am currently a senior at Acalanes High School and I am researching this issue for my senior Government class. Please clarify your stance on this issue. Thank you so much for your time and good luck.

Sincerely,

Gwendolyn Miles

Jo Jorgensen/Jeremy “Spike” Cohen, Libertarian

It took a little bit of searching through Jorgensen’s page before finding a topic relating to race, but finally I found something under Criminal Justice Reform. Jorgensen references drug use in the African American community and begins listing statistics of drug offenses in relation to people of color. However, she does not make any claim as to how she will lower the amount of resist arrest in relation to drug-related crimes. She only describes her plan to federally decriminalize all drugs and encourage states to do the same. Jorgensen claims this will be one of her steps to ending the over-incarceration of people of color, but this is her only statement in regards to racism and how to begin a new, less racist America.

I agree with her position, however, I wish that she had put more on her page about her plans to lesson American racism. I suppose that I shouldn't have been too surprised that she didn't have many plans to remove racism from this country, considering her position as a Libertarian. It is most likely that she holds the belief that Americans need to learn how to be anti-racist on their own and not need push from the government. Libertarians often have the belief that there should not be a forceful and strong government.I disagree with her position in the fact that people need a push from the government to the anti-racist, and I believe that a potential president should be pushing people in this direction, and not having any say on the issue.

Jorgensen's stance on racism, or lack of a stance, is very similar to that of the Libertarian party platform. There was pretty much no statement in regards to racism or racial issues/injustices on either of the websites.

Joseph R. Biden/Kamala D. Harris, Democratic

One of the first issues on the Biden homepage is “THE BIDEN PLAN TO BUILD BACK BETTER BY ADVANCING RACIAL EQUITY ACROSS THE AMERICAN ECONOMY.” After scrolling down the page a little bit, I found a list of Biden’s promises if he is elected as the next POTUS. A few on the list are “Boost Retirement Security and Financial Wealth for Black, Brown, and Native Families; Ensure Workers of Color Are Compensated Fairly and Treated With Dignity; Strengthen the Federal Reserve’s Focus on Racial Economic Gaps.” Biden promises to give people of color equal rights if he becomes president.

I agree with Biden’s position- of course people of color should have equal rights and opportunities as white people. He wants to compensate BIPOC in the work place equally with white people; I believe this is incredibly important. This is why there are so many people of color living in poverty, is because they are not equally compensated in the work place. By having equal financial wealth and retirement security, we will be able to get some of these people out of poverty and into stable homes and financial situations.

The statements and promises Biden makes on his website for the most part support the statements made on the Democratic website. They both stand with the belief that there is extensive racism in the workplace and that we need to find a solution on how to fix that. Biden's page doesn't mention the removal of the Confederate flag or statues of Confederate leaders, however I believe if questioned on it, he would agree that they represent racism in America and should be removed from public properties.

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gmiles21ahsgov · 4 years

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Blog Post #3: Political Party Action

Republican:

Although possible I was not looking in the correct locations of the document, I did not find a section that addressed Racial Injustice. Every time I thought that I had found something that was going to reference the racial issues that we have in America, it turned out to be something else whether an introduction to the troops, terrorism, or something referencing schools. I even tried typing into the search bar the following: race, oppression, ethnicity, and even discrimination. I didn't get a single hit for any of them. To be honest, I was surprised that a party as significant and popular as the Republican Party didn't have anything regarding race, racism, or even discrimination. Though sexism isn’t my topic, I was surprised that there was not even a hit for discrimination in reference to women. My best guess as to why the Republican party did not put a section regarding race or Racial Injustice, would be because they have a belief that racism is not nearly as active in America as it actually is. I have heard time and time again almost always from Republicans the statement that ALL LIVES MATTER, or the statement “America isn't racist” but from cops murdering BIPOC and from constant microaggressions towards black people, I would say America is pretty damn racist. My other guess as to why the Republican platform did not address racism on their site could be because they know that their belief that racism is not active in America is extremely controversial, and they fear they may lose supporters if they make a statement on Racial Injustice one way or another.

Democratic:

It took a little bit of hunting, but after clicking on a link titled HEALING THE SOUL OF AMERICA, I found a section called Achieving Racial Justice and Equity. They begin the paragraph with the discussion of Native Americans and Jim Crow segregation. They then proceeded to say that Democrats are committed to standing up to racism and bigotry in laws, culture, politics, and society; they state their recognition of race-neutral policies not being sufficient to rectify race-based disparities. The Democratic website states that they believe there is no home in America for hate. They support the removal of the Confederate flag as well as statues of Confederate leaders from public properties. There are numerous paragraphs, generally stating different places where racism and Racial Injustice take place, and how they intend to remove it from these locations. I agree with the Democratic view on racism in America; I believe it is incredibly prominent even today, and there needs to be a change. I agree with the Democratic view of removing all Confederate flags and statues of Confederate leaders, and that we need to begin looking for microaggressions and racism everywhere from schools to in the government.

Libertarian:

The Libertarian Party website does not have a designated portion for Racial Injustice. They do, however, have a section that reads Rights and Discrimination. In this section, they briefly address that they stand in saying that government should not deny an individual’s right based on “sex, wealth, ethnicity, creed, age, national origin, personal habits, political preference, or sexual orientation”. However, nowhere in this section does it mention the word race and in doing this, it indicates they are not trying to take too strong of a stance in any one direction. Personally, I agree with the statement that the government should not deny anyone due to any of these reasons, but I also believe that the Libertarian Party should take a direct stance and feel comfortable making bold statements rather than vague generalizations. In this paragraph, they also address that they “condemned bigotry as a rational and repugnant”. This is a statement that I passionately agree with, and I think it is incredibly important that they reference that.

Green:

The Green Party has a category titled Social Justice, and underneath one of the subcategories is Civil Rights and Equal Rights. I clicked on that one and located a section called Reparations for United States Afrodescendants (i.e., Black Americans, African Americans). Here I read about the Green Party’s stance on Race. They blatantly state that they condemn white supremacy, and then continue to acknowledge the the violence and discrimination BIPOC have to endure. The Green Party states their commitment to full reparations to the African American community for the past 400+ years from genocide to land-loss. The Green Party wants to make efforts to abolish racism and overcome effects of 200+ years of racial discrimination. They want to call for the removal of the Confederate flag from all government buildings and condemn the practice of racial profiling by law enforcement agencies. Their site shows that in every sense, the Green Party condemns racism and wants to do everything in their power to remove it. I agree with the Green Party's position, I believe that racism is alive and active in America and that we need to immediately take all possible actions to become anti-racist. The Green Party emphasizes this as something that is radically important.

Peace and Freedom:

The first thing you see when you click on the Peace and Freedom Party is a picture that reads BLACK LIVES MATTER underneath a statement that reads PFP SUPPORTS. To me, this comes across as the Peace and Freedom Party having Racial Injustice as a greatly significant part of their campaign. As the reader scrolls through the Peace and Freedom website, you find a section that reads Equal Rights and Liberties and beneath that, you find a small blurb that reads Ending Racism and National Oppression. In this blurb, there are three bullet points that read “end all forms of racial discrimination” “ enforce non-discrimination in hiring and promotion with affirmative action where necessary” and “prosecute and punish police and prison officials who brutalized and murder”. Though a short list, these bullets are effective and to the point. I agree with the Peace and Freedom Party on their stances on Racial Injustice; despite their section on the issue not being even a fraction as long as the Green Party’s stances, I still agree with all of the points that they make.

The party position that I identify the most with is the Green Party. I'm not particularly surprised by this, I know that in the past I have supported Green Party ideas and candidates, but have not been old enough to vote. That being said I know that if I had been old enough to vote at the time, it would be almost pointless to vote for a Green Party candidate because it is extremely rare for them to make it to the end of the presidential race. Despite my agreement with the Green Party's beliefs and stances, I would not vote for a Green Party candidate because I know that there is a slim-to-none chance of them winning the presidential election.

Racial Injustice was brought up in the first Presidential Debate. Bottom-line, Trump does not believe in racism in America, he has the belief that police are doing their jobs correctly and that nothing should be changed. Biden on the other hand acknowledges that racism is prominent in America, and that something must be done about it. He does not believe in defending the police, he instead raises the point that police should show up on scene with a licensed psychologist who would be able to talk down the individual in crisis. Trump's debate message was right on par with his party platform in the fact that there was almost no reference to racism or any of the black individuals who were murdered at the hands of police. Biden's debate message was also on track with his party platform, in sending the message that racism in America needs to be torn down, and that things need to change. Biden wants to make a positive difference in America, Donald Trump believes that no change needs to be made.

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gmiles21ahsgov · 4 years

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Blog Post #2: Media Assessment of Racial Injustice

1. Liberal: Mother Jones https://www.motherjones.com/author/jessica-washington/

The main point this article is aiming to convey is to show what Syracuse University did to take steps to be anti-racist. The article references a number of racist incidents involving graffiti and threats, causing students and a number of staff members to feel unsafe. The author wants to convey how prevalent racism is in today’s society, but there are steps that education boards can take to be anti-racist and teach students anti-racism.

Jessica Washington authored this post; she graduated from University of Pennsylvania, studying in Political Science and Government. She is a woman of color, so my first assumption would be to believe she would have a left biased opinion.

This source was produced on November 21, 2019 on Mother Jones. This was almost a year ago, but it shows education boards were beginning to reform and will continue to in the present and future.

Mother Jones published this source. Mother Jones is a left leaning media outlet, so the intended audience would mostly be liberals, or people with liberal views. The information may be a little skewed right, and the author may have chosen certain quotes from interviews and statements in order to appeal more to liberal readers.

The article reads as mostly objective, however, with the knowledge that Mother Jones is more of a left biased news cite, I would want to do more research. I would want to go to a more conservative news cite and find the same story, and see if it is told differently. But, there is nothing in this article that makes it feel subjective. The only thing that is arguable subjective is the fact that Syracuse University is becoming more aware and acknowledging they need to educate professors more on how to teach as well as be anti-racist. This is something I very strongly agree with, and I find it hard to understand how someone could openly believe we should not try to dismantle racism whenever possible.

This author had a couple different quotes from some relatively important people, one of which was Syracuse Chancellor, Kent Syverud. There was also a quote taken from CNN. In addition, there were quotes from students who attended Syracuse University, speaking on behalf of their experiences with racism and racist actions towards them.

2. Objective: CBS News https://www.cbsnews.com/news/black-at-instagram-students-private-school-racism-social-media/

The main point this article is aiming to convey is the exposure of racism and traumatic experiences with racism on college campuses. Black Alumni as well as current students are trying to bring light to everyday racist actions from microaggressions to physical assault. The article addresses the discussion of racism in private schools on social media and using social media platforms as a form of group therapy. It has been made a safe place for students to speak out about their traumas and support one another.

Caitlin O’Kane authored this source, she is a digital content producer at CBS Interactive. She went to Fordham University and received a Bachelor’s degree. She majored in Communications and Media Studies, with a minor in Political Science.

This source was published September 14, 2020 on CBS News, so it is very recent, making it very reliable.

CBS News published the source; CBS News is a relatively objective news outlet, so I am inclined to believe that it is intended for all audiences, written with as little bias as possible. Not entirely without any bias at all, but written with an absolute minimum.

This text is objective; CBS News is a very reliable and an objective media outlet. There are a lot of quotes from students and professors at private schools. The author of the article (O’Kane) addresses different ways students are about to reach out through social media and the changes that are beginning to take place in schools. On another note, however, a filmmaker Michèle Stephenson said it’s a difficult path due to the resources it requires (time, money, access being heard, diving into deeper levels of structural racism). I agree with the side that says we need to make every effort to crack open racism and make it widely seen so that we can begin to heal from it and learn to be anti-racist. We need to be as extensive in teaching about racism as possible, regardless of resources.

The evidence used to support O’Kane’s claim is quotes from students and professors as well as statements from the Head of School from Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School, Dr. Bill Donohue.

3. Conservative: Washington Times https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/jul/4/students-alums-see-racist-culture-at-chicago-priva/

The main point this article is aiming to convey is the miraculous amounts of racism that show up in colleges, specifically private schools, all over the county. After describing a black student’s experience at Latin School of Chicago, the source continues on about changes the schools are making, and efforts that are being put in place to dismantle racism and white supremacy. The most prominent focus of this article is to express how schools can be more educational about exemplifying anti-racism.

Adeshina Emmanuel authored this source. I can’t find any information on him other than he has written a number of articles for Washington Times. Most of the articles he has written pertain to social and racial justice.

This source was published on July 4, 2020, which was only a few months ago. This means it is recent enough to show racism is still very prevalent in schools (especially private colleges). It also shows that if they have begun to work on being anti-racist and teaching anti-racism on campus, that likely there has been at least some progress made towards total inclusion and equality for all.

This source was published by Washington Times which is primarily a right-leaning media outlet and so I would expect the article to have conservative undertones. This may affect the reliability of the source because in my experience people who identify as conservative tend to downplay racist incidents and occurrences.

To the naked eye, this text reads as objective despite it coming from a primarily right-leaning media outlet. It makes the point that schools need to start teaching anti-racism in the classrooms and acknowledging the existence of it. Something that caught my eye was a comment at the bottom of the article by a man claiming that the stories written in the article were false. This is possible, Washington Times is a fairly reliable news source, and my guess is that this man is a conservative who wants to downplay racist acts or believes that racism is not as prevalent as it actually is (as I actually mentioned in the section above).

The primary evidence used to support the authors claim is first-hand stories from an African American student that attended the Latin School of Chicago. In addition, there are quotes from other students who attended private schools all over the country. These students experienced racism firsthand.

a) A main similarity between these three articles were the uses of personal stories and statements from both students as well as professors. Whether it was through experience or through witnessing racist acts, all three articles featured direct quotes regarding prominent racism on campus. I also noticed that for the most part the three articles read mainly as objective, which I found interesting because one of the sources came from a conservative news site and another one came from a more liberal viewing news site. A difference that I noticed was only the article from Washington Times (the conservative outlet) contained a comment with the accusation that the stories of racism were inaccurate. The other two articles didn't have anything along those lines in the comment section.

b) I identified the most with the liberal article which was Mother Jones. I believe it is incredibly important for schools to take steps to become anti-racist and specifically to acknowledge things such as graffiti. Some people may believe that racist graffiti is not as much of an issue assault, verbal insult or microaggressions, or anything along those lines;However I think that it's really important that Syracuse University took such drastic steps to correct the behavior and to make a change happen.

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gmiles21ahsgov · 4 years

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BLOG POST #1: CONCEPTUALIZING THE ISSUE AND ASSESSING TYPES OF ACTION

1. What civic action issue did you choose and why? I chose Racial Justice because recently I’ve begun to learn more about injustices that happen to people of color, and it’s infuriating. As a woman as well as a member of the LGBT+ community, I understand what it’s like to be discriminated against. I want to learn more about this issue and find ways to be anti-racist as well as help others to be educated.

2. Describe the issue in your own words and how it relates to government. This is a worldwide issue that affects everyone. All white people are inherently racist, or at the very least, have an implicit bias. People of color are treated differently; specifically discriminated against due to something out of their control. Whether it’s through the use of racial slurs, or a wage gap, we must make a change. Racial Justice relates to the government because it is stated in the Declaration of Independence that “all men are created equal.” The government has to follow their own words by making the United States a more safe and equal place for people of color, rather than allowing cops to murder them in the streets without consequences.

3. What type of action do you think needs to be taken to address this issue? There are many different types of actions that could be put into place to address racial justice. The first step that needs to be put in place, would be the nationwide acknowledgement of racism, and that it is active in ultimately all communities. How can that happen when when former United Nations Ambassador stated “America is not a racist country” at the Republican National Convention? It is highly unlikely for there to be a change while there are still people in the government who believe that there is not a race issue in America. We cannot expect change to happen if we can’t even acknowledge the problem at hand.

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