Today during work I and my students
(middle school) were talking about the Bill of Rights and why we have it. This
then led us to talk about the current situation in Baltimore. As an aspiring
politician, I’ve thought about the recent events that have happened this past
year. I’ve come to the conclusion that the best solution to improving our world
is having strong organizations and the other is time.
In “Letters from Birmingham Jail”,
Martin Luther King says that the oppressed won’t always be oppressed and eventually
the oppressed will act for freedom. In the very beginning, Martin Luther King
talks about the organization that he’s president of, and of other organizations
that are helping in the movement. A year later, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was
passed by the Johnson administration, which I think helped, but as we can see
today, there still needs to be lots of improvement. This compares to Malcom Gladwell’s
“Small Change: Why the Revolution will not be Tweeted” because Gladwell shows
that during this time period, the civil rights movement was a hierarchical institution
with many groups who had leaders and a chain of command. It was because of this
hierarchical structure that (at least tried to) prevents activist form acting Willy
nilly and doing something that would jeopardize the movement. It was also these
groups that weeded out those that were committed and willing to die to those
that weren’t. To bring this to more contemporary issues, Brit Bennett in “I don’t
know what to do with good white people” talks about deleting and unfriending a
racist friend for a post they made, shows that doing this was a minuscule move,
and proves Gladwell’s point about social media being a “weak tie” when trying
to organize a group.
When
Brit Bennett wrote her article, it was over 50 years when MLK wrote his. Bennett
uses her grandma as an example and MLK describes his time, shows that blacks
and whites had a terrible relationship, such as using dogs against activist and
police humiliating people. When Bennett talks about her conversation with her
friends she says that they look for the good in people and think that white people
mean well. This shows the change of mindset that people and society have gone through
these past 50 years and shows that even though there are faults, the wheels of
progress are slowly moving.
Even
after all of these readings and analysis, the moment with the biggest impact
was today with my students. Those 7th graders know that the death of
Freddy Grey in Baltimore was wrong and they admitted it, but it shows me that this
and the next generations don’t want to make the same mistakes that previous generations
have made. It’s when I see this, future generations can make this a stronger
and united America.
Improving the world isn’t something that will happen over night or within a couple months. This is something that will ultimately take a long time and a lot of people. The world needs to first realize the problems and accept them and then want to change them.
ReplyDeleteIn Martin Luther King Jr’s “Letters from Birmingham Jail” he talks about the movement and his wish for equality. Also how the oppressed wont always be that way and eventually things will change. Just like in “Small Change: Why the revolution will not be tweeted” by Malcolm Gladwell. This author starts off by sharing stories old and new about our society and things that have happened. It is also the same thing with “ I don’t Know what to do with good white people” by Britt Bennett. She also shares stories and her experiences with “good white people” and black people like her self. All these stories have in common is sharing similar experiences about our society and how they need to change. If people open their eyes to what is going on around them then maybe they can see that it is morally wrong and accept that a change needs to be made. In my personal opinion I think people should be more educated on different diverse groups of people. It should start with the younger youth so they don’t grow up thinking in a racist or prejudice manner. I believe that no one grows up like that, they are raised like that.
I believe that the best way to go about improving our world would be to educate children about the issues causing these problems. Starting from a young age I think it should be encouraged to start change. I believe that someone “unfriending” someone is not the correct way to start a change either. To start change we should start our own organizations for what we believe in, or join with an already established organization that has the same viewpoints. This scared view that people have over this subject should stop as well. As Brit Bennett mentions in “I don’t know what to do with good white people,” they congratulate themselves for the small amount of kindness that they should extend to every person. This in itself separates races. White people trying to make up for what their ancestors did pushes them further and further away. If people were to just in general act kindly to others without an end goal to be recognized for it then this problem would go away. However, I believe that most feel this way. So why is it that this problem cannot be fixed? There are those out there who still hold on to feelings from the past that did not happen to them and was not their fault. There will always be people that hold onto hatred, fear, or regret although this problem is lessening. As John mentioned time heals just about any wound. I do not feel that this historic injustice should be forgotten, but it should not be the root of our emotions against others.
ReplyDeleteI agree that time will help the world become better, but spreading awareness on things and exposing both sides of the issue(s) is crucial. It drives me insane that news will cover all these problems occurring around the world and it is obviously one sided. With exposure to all sides of the problem. I can say that I don't get my information from the tv news, but rather social media and that greatly affects how I react to things, like all the unjust shootings that appear with more frequency nowadays. I also agree with Preston that we should be educating children about any and all issues. These events may or may not be affecting them now, but will totally have an impact in their futures.
ReplyDeleteIn "Letter From Birmingham Jail", King says, "We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor;
it must be demanded by the oppressed." I agree with this 100% and I understand why all the protests have been happening across the United States. The protesters want justice. However, these nonviolent protests lead to riots, which defeats the purpose of what was trying to be accomplished. In Bennett's piece basically says that good white people expect a cookie for their good deed for black people. Again I agree with what Preston has said. Things are done by whites to make themselves better for the past when they could just be decent human beings without expecting some sort of pat on the back.
Ultimately, I believe to make the world better all sides must be reported (not on separate channels), children need to be more aware of what is happening, and people just need to stop being so shitty to each other.
The best way to improve the world is to inform people about the problems that exist and encourage immediate action to help solve those problems. As Martin Luther King Jr. pointed out in “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” waiting for the right moment to address an issue just results in the issue never being addressed. The only people who benefit from waiting for the perfect moment are those who are not significantly impacted by the situation, and can afford to wait. People also need to realize that their perspective on an issue is not the only one that is worth considering. Brit Bennett points out in “I Don’t Know What to Do with Good White People” that most white people that she knows mean well and are good people, but that they don’t seem to realize that racism is still a significant issue for many black people, and references multiple killings by police officers and the arrest of her father as examples of this. Brit also points out that many white people who try separating themselves from the actions of their ancestors seem to do so just as a means to congratulate themselves instead of in an attempt to actually help move society forward. In order for the world to actually become a better place, people need to believe that what they are doing will actually benefit everyone rather just doing it to feel better about themselves. The only way such a movement could succeed is if the people taking part in it truly believe in what they’re promoting.
ReplyDeleteIf you were to ask me, I would tell you that racism is still very much alive and not going away any time soon. It’s very prevalent in today’s society, without a doubt. Many news stories circling around prove that in every way. However America really has come a long way when it really comes down to it. To think 50 something years ago there were actual laws not allowing people of color to sit where they wanted to or walk where they wanted to. That was a bit ridiculous, and outlandish. So if people wanted to look at where we came from then yeah, America has improved a great deal, and many great leaders like MLK are to thank. Without people like him being so courageous and others down the line then, America might have a very different history. America still has a very long way to go, unfortunately.
ReplyDelete