Prejudice and Racism: All Men are Equal, Unless They Are Black Essay

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Brian is a young African American male who has been pulled over by the police somewhere between twenty and thirty times and accused of committing a crime. The only problem is, he's never so much as jaywalked across a street. Brian is a hardworking, church-going man who is director of lighting at Black Entertainment Television in Washington, D.C. He has a spotless record. That matters little to the D.C. police. Time after time, the cops would pull Brian over to interrogate him for a recent murder, robbery, or assault. He would be yanked out of his car, thrown to the ground, and held until one of them figured out he was the wrong guy. -"Brian Anthony Harris is Not Wanted", by Michael Moore In his 1963 document, "Letter From Birmingham Jail", Martin Luther King Jr. prayed "in some not too distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all their scintillating beauty." To date, his prayers remain unanswered, and the radiant stars he dreamed of seem more remote and dim than ever. It seems impossible, in the wake of the Civil Rights movement of the Sixties, America would not take heed and make strides to erase the lines of inequality dividing its population. It hasn't. Superficial changes in race relations, like the halfhearted integration of schools, the ever-lessening concessions to affirmative action, and the few token minority Court and Cabinet appointments notwithstanding, the status-quo of American life illustrates the continuing failure of King's dream. In the 37 years since Martin Luther King Jr. sat in an Alabama jail cell, more black men have gone to jail than to college, and the black voice in America's democracy has quieted to a whisper. Black Americans are not m... ...anna Huffington. 10/01/00. http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2000/10/02/disenfranchised/index.html "Back to the Civil Rights Barricades", by Todd Gitlin. 12/04/00. http://www.salon.com/politics/feature/2000/12/04/democracy/index.html Justice Policy Institute/ Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice. Beatty, Holman, and Schiraldi, 2000 Poor Prescription: The Costs of Imprisoning Drug Offenders in the United States. Washington DC: The Justice Policy Institute. Accessed 5/20/01. http://www.cjcj.org/drug/drugpr.html "America's One Million Non-Violent Prisoners", by V. Schiraldi, J. Ziedenberg, and J Irwin, PhD.1999. Accessed 5/21/01. http://www.cjcj.org/jpi/onemillion.html United States Department of Justice. Prison and Jail Inmates at Midyear 1999. Allen J. Beck, Ph.D. Apr, 2000, Accessed 5/20/01. http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pubalp2.htm#pjmidyear

The Pueblo Revolt of 1680

Running head: PUEBLO REVOLT The Pueblo Revolt of 1680 Kelley Christy Grand Canyon University HIS 103 May 17, 2009 The Pueblo Revolt of 1680 The English and Spanish strategies at colonization in the late 1600’s were very different, resulting in very different outcomes. The English methods of displacement and extermination of the native populations led to wholesale destruction of the cultures targeted. On the other hand, the Spanish attempted to peacefully associate with the local populations. This lead to the creation of a hybrid culture of Spanish and Indian peoples. The birth of this new culture demonstrated the success the Spaniards had in the waning days of the century (Otermin, 2007). The Spaniards used the idea of converting the native populations to Christianity and forcing their values to match their own (Otermin, 2007). Eighty years after the establishment of the first colony in the Rio Grande Valley by Juan de Onate in 1598, Spanish missionaries had built thirty missions as well as thirty religious stations. The Pueblo tribes and the Spanish colonists coexisted but not without conflict. Thousands of Pueblos were converted to Christianity. The converts adopted the rituals of the Christians, such as the Christian form of marriage and baptism. They also practiced the Christian burial rituals. However, these converts also observed their native religious rituals. This straddling of both religions angered the Franciscan missionaries. This anger drove the Franciscans to destroy religious objects and shrines of the natives, and punish Indian ceremonial leaders (Otermin, 2007). In addition, the Spanish forced the natives to provide slave labor to build churches, as well as work in mines and farms for the encomenderos. These encomenderos were Spanish colonists whose role was to protect the local natives from hostile Indian tribes. Late in the seventeenth century, diseases imported by the Spaniards such as smallpox and measles, began to decimate the Indian population. Natural disasters such as crop failures and major droughts added to the misery of the natives. Attacks by the hostile Navajo and Apache tribes aggravated the strained relationship between the Spanish colonists and the Pueblos (Otermin, 2007). In 1670, a missionary claimed he was bewitched by a Pueblo community. Several Indians were executed and several more were beaten for this offense. From this, the seeds of revolt were planted. Ten years later, Pope, one of the beaten natives rose to lead a massive revolt. Pope’s united forces sought to drive all traces of Spanish influence from their lands. The Pueblo Revolt of 1680 was successful in ridding the Pueblos of the Spaniards for a decade. Pope’s efforts united the Pueblos against an oppressive Spaniard regime and gained their people a few more years of independence. Reference Otermin, D. A. Mexican American Voices: Resistance and accommodation in New Mexico. (2007). Digital History. Retrieved May 14, 2009, from: www. digitalhistory. uh. edu/mexican_voices/voices_display. cfm? id=24

The Tempest By William Shakespeare And Directed By Francis...

On Saturday, October 31st,, I went to see a play entitled The Tempest, written by William Shakespeare and directed by Francis Marion’s very own, Glen Gourley. The play was performed by students of the Francis Marion community, along with a few guest artists. The Tempest was a well-rounded play that attracted the audience attention right away with a dramatic opening, and gave the audience one heck of a ride throughout. The fact that it was Halloween night might have been a reason for me to enjoy the stage effects and costumes a little more than usual. The actors did a compelling job portraying the characters, and memorizing such difficult lines. Characters such as Ariel, Miranda and Caliban were my favorites of the night to watch evolve on stage. The play at first was very difficult to understand as the Shakespearian language was a challenge barrier, because at this day in age who really understands when someone uses thou, thus, or thy with every other word. The acting, scenery , lighting effects, costumes and among other things really helped make the play, and give the audience a better prospective or feel for the theme or purpose of The Tempest. The acting was phenomenal, as everyone brought their characters to life. Each actor owned their lines using great vocal skills, body language and facial expressions. The acting in The Tempest was very believable because the dictions and body language flowed with every movement and every encounter with each character within the