The first thing that stood out to me from Dr. Angela Davis’s speech was that some African Americans feel that they are not even considered human. I did not realize that people felt that way and I do not think I will ever forget that statement. One thing I learned from many sociology classes is that I have white privilege which means I will never question my self-worth based on the color of my skin.
I know that economic and racial democracy does not exist, but I was not aware that Caucasian individuals earn thirteen dollars for every one dollar an African American earns. I was surprised by the large pay gap and I hope it continues to narrow over the years. Dr. Davis also pointed out that as labor unions decrease, incarceration increases. I did not know this, but it makes sense that more crimes are committed when people feel they have no other choice.
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Angela Davis mentioned it I had not thought about life without the possibly of parole as a second death sentence. However, she is right because either way the person dies in prison. Also, she talked about how African American males are incarcerated more than any other group of people, but the incarceration rate for women is increasing. Dr. Davis wants an end to incarceration as we know it, which I completely agree with; however, not having a prison system is not the answer in my opinion.
In conclusion, it was great to hear Dr. Angela Davis cover a topic she is passionate about. She ended her speech by saying that education should be a human right and therefore should be free. Dr. Davis received a round of applause for this statement and I agree with her. I am lucky enough to attend college, but I have created a large debt for myself and that is not
What was never presented was the point of view from the African Americans because it was seemingly dismissed. It was eye-opening to read about the experience from an African’s perspective because it brought a whole new light to my understanding of what it meant to be a slave and the struggles black Americans face here in the US, even
Well, Jesse Jackson experienced that, and he strongly believed it shouldn’t have been that way. Jesse Jackson showed potential to get rid of racial divides since he was little. Growing up, he was a very serious student, and athlete, who believed in all people having equal rights. Jackson is still a very important person today. He was on the balcony, when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was shot.
Eduardo Mendieta constructs an adequate response to Angela Davis’ Are Prisons Obsolete? in his article, The Prison Contract and Surplus Punishment: On Angela Y. Davis’ Abolitionism. While Mendieta discusses the pioneering abolitionist efforts of Angela Davis, the author begins to analyze Davis’ anti-prison narrative, ultimately agreeing with Davis’ polarizing stance. Due to the fact Mendieta is so quick to begin analyzing Davis’ work, the article’s author inadvertently makes several assumptions about readers of his piece. For instance, Mendieta assumes that readers will automatically be familiar with Angela Davis.
Another issue that was mentioned in your speech was about police brutality. African Americans fear the knowledge that police brutality towards other African American victims is happening around them. Like you said, “We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality.” Police brutality has gotten milder but it 's still out there and to be honest, you would like how the world turned out.
Our Distorted Reflection Growing up, I dreaded going to school. People shouting at me, people pointing at me, snickering at me. Never being ordinary. I would get home and go to the bathroom, staring at myself in the mirror, tasting salt water on the tip of my lips.
In the famous Angela Davis book, Freedom is a constant struggle, chapter seven she describes her powerful motivates and aspirations towards freedom in America. She speaks on Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin and the countless deaths of other African Americans and how she appreciates the Ferguson activist. Davis’ purpose in this novel is to express her feelings towards racial America, the different positive movements that have formed during the tragic times in America today. She creates connections between the violence in America and the injustice treatment throughout history and as well as around the world. Davis opens the chapter by speaking on the vicious, racism violence that has tainted America for many years.
Dr. king talk about a lot of hardships during this speech. The way that Dr. king showed the African Americans is by discrimination, racism and not getting any rights. For example Dr. king talks about a "Promissory note" which were suppose to give every person human rights but made them suffer more. Another example is "One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination" quoted by Dr. king. This shows that even after the "Promissory note" which is the declaration of independence they were stuck in this same place and being treated different because of their color.
Life sentences in America today stand at an unprecedented level: as of 2012, 159,520 people in prison were serving a life sentence and 49,081 (30.8%) of them have no possibility for parole. Nationally, one in every nine people in prison today are serving a life sentence (Hugo 132). The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) stated, “Life without parole provides swift, severe, and certain punishment. It provides justice to survivors of murdered victims and allows more resources to be invested into solving other murders and preventing violence. Sentencing people to die in prison is the sensible alternative for public safety and murdered victims’ families” (ACLU Hill vs
Martin Luther King Jr. inexplicably opened the eyes of Americans across the nation with his role in the movement and his use of resonating imagery, excellent emotional appeal, powerful voice, and evocation of logic in his “I Have a Dream” speech. With such an enthralling rhetoric he gained a vast amount of support and exponentially increased the pride in standing up for what’s righteous and just. Exemplifying the throes of being a colored person, King evoked sympathy whilst simultaneously applying the valid logic that no human should be subjected to lesser standards. His rhetoric wholly changed American history that day and thus conveyed his ability to maintain equanimity throughout all of the
The speech identifies the struggles African Americans faced due to discrimination, hence allowing readers insight into African American lives. The speech is inspirational and powerful due to the speaker exhibiting to the audience his anger regarding
This speech was delivered solely to benefit their future in America. Because he was an African American as well and his past mirrored what they were going through, people connected to him. He wasn’t living lavish and speaking on topics he knew nothing about. He has lived life and he was living the life of an African American. That title came with its own trials and tribulations that each of them related to.
The lecture on African Americans in the 1920s by Professor David Canton is very disturbing. His lecture was on the different unjust treatment that African Americans endured. The professor, to me, was trying to make the listener feel the anguish that African Americans did in the 1920s. In some sense he appeared passionate and at times angry about the treatment of African Americans. The government supported this hostile treatment because they believed African Americans were being subversive if they stood up and defended themselves.
In Letter From Birmingham Jail, the part I find most persuasive is when Dr. King tells why African-Americans can no longer wait to gain the justice and equality they deserve, and there is not a “right time” to try to gain this justice and equality. It is true that African-Americans cannot not just wait and hope that one day they will gain the equality they deserve. Instead, they must act to gain justice and equality. When people are comfortable, change is unlikely to occur. If African-Americans did not create any tension, they may have never gained the equality they have today.
This preconceived notion could not be farther from the truth. In reality, these reform movements are idiotically placing a bandaid over the tremendous issue that the prison system is. An imbalance of reforms between women and men, unrestrained sexual abuse in women’s prisons, and tyrannical gender roles are just three of countless examples of how prison reform movements only create more misfortune and fail to provide any real solution to worsening prison conditions. Perhaps instead of conjuring up additional ideas on how to reform prisons, America’s so-called democratic society should agree upon abolishing prisons as a whole. This being said, it is crucial to identify ongoing issues in today’s society, understand how they contribute to unlawful behavior, and seek a solution.
(pg 302) This speech was given in 1963 yet today people of color are still being oppressed. The fight for accepting every human being for who they are is an ongoing battle. Language has created stereotypes towards each race that have made them look low. Racial oppression is a social