Board. of Regents. v. Bakke

 Good Afternoon ladies and gentlemen and your honor, I stand here before you today as a representative with the Regents of the University of California. I am here today to talk today to all of you about the importance of diversity on college campuses and give a cultural background while also giving some examples from a diversity statement and why we should be able to consider race as a factor of getting admitted to a collgege campus and that a certain percentage of students should be diverse and this is based partly on diversity statements. 

One major reason that we should be able to let kids into college based on race is the fact that all campuses should have a diverse campus since diversity helps improve the educational experience and opens us up to more cultures. By having mixed groups of students, students are able to come together and are able to work together and learn different perspectives of life. It’s also very important that students are exposed to a wide range of different people so that students are exposed to these different perspectives. Diversity statements have said that based on inclusion 

Affirmative action should be used to let people into college as it also will make sure that no groups of people are underrepresented and that all groups are fairly represented within the educational experience. By still using affirmative action when admitting kids to college this has couteracted discrimination and helps create a wide and diverse population and with this, affirmative action gives them a fair chance and consideration at higher education. Affirmative action has also been over a long time helping with social mobility and socio-economic statuses and changes in family status for all college students and their respective families. 

Another major factor with still considering Affirmative Action and race as a factor for admission is that diversity is a key part of our society and schools have been still considering race as a factor to boost their diverse population. Schools are building and creating diversity statements and affirmative action is just as important as the diversity statements. Some schools' diversity statements including the University of California has said that: “diversity aims to broaden and deepen both the educational experience and the scholarly environment.” Diversity statements also encouraged schools to continue to use affirmative action and cite equal inclusion in selection in all groups of people.

In conclusion, Affirmative Action should still be used and has been helpful for society and because of affirmative action. Creating a diverse campus is an integral part of the education system and being exposed to different cultures is also important for communication and most of this starts with college age kids and with affirmative action this can be continued. This is also the case that really popularized the term diversity as it became more common after this case had happened and it has still been an important part of society and education and with affirmative action no group will ever go unrepresented again in higher education.

Image Sources:

https://ppaccone.medium.com/the-case-of-uc-davis-v-bakke-9f465534c0

https://firstamendment.mtsu.edu/article/affirmative-action/

https://www.thirteen.org/wnet/supremecourt/rights/landmark_regents.html

Driving Ms.Daisy Reaction

 Driving Ms.Daisy is one of the most celebrated widely recognized films of all time and it has garnered numerous accolades including Best Picture and Best Actress for Jessica Tandy who played Daisy. This film has been known as a classic and has been still widely watched and is regularly played on TV still. This movie was also the most recent PG rated movie to win Best Picture at the Oscars.

 The movie follows an old wealthy woman named Daisy drives her car into her neighbors yard her son Boolie hires a driver named Hoke to drive Daisy around. At first Daisy is not thrilled with this and at first refuses to accept the fact that she can't drive anymore. She is very stubborn when meeting Hoke for the first time and criticizes him in many ways at first for trying to be helpful and she doesn't accept his help even when he offers it. One day she needs to go to the local Piggly Wiggly for some groceries and she finally accepts his help. The two begin to get along and Ms.Daisy even helps Hoke to learn to read and write properly as she was a former teacher in her former years.

The movie tackles a variety of different subjects along the lines of prejudice as this movie takes place at a time when African-Americans were still separate but equal and this affects both Hoke and Daisy. Daisy comes to discover prejudice when her synagogue is bombed and starts to understand Hoke much more and she realizes that she was a victim like he was during this time which was during the Civil Rights period in the US. She ends up inviting him to a dinner where Martin Luther King Jr was speaking however he ends up not going as she does not invite him inside to the event. 

Over the years they have become closer and closer especially after the death of Daisy's maid and help Idella. She describes Hoke at one point as her best friend and he helps her out in later years especially since she has started to have signs of dementia and later he has issues with his vision and does not drive later and she moves into a retirement home. 

This movie really is a timepiece and expresses the time period that this movie takes place. This is really present with the prejudice touched on earlier especially when Hoke is pulled over on the side of the road by a Sheriff in the south because he is an African-American. This movie also explores the changes that have occurred in this time period especially with people like Miss Daisy overcoming their views of African-Americans and changing their opinions. This movie is a real progression of society and shows the change. Overall, this movie is a classic and a real statement of the time.

Brown v. Board Trial Reaction

 There were many different perspectives in the room on the points of Brown V. Board and many different feelings were expressed about both sides. There were also many different and unique points of view who argued in both the favor of the Board of Education and Brown.

The case originated in the town of Topeka, Kansas and Oliver Brown was declined enrollment and admission to a school that was close to their house. She was being forced to attend a school that had an entirely black student population.

I would say that one of the biggest arguments not in favor of segregation that I found was the argument made by Josh. This was because he used a very persuasive religious argument using a bible verse where he cited proverb 14:31 which had denounced the unfair treatment towards African Americans and said that this discrimination goes against the Cristian views of unity and togetherness. This was a very persuasive argument in my opinion as it came from a pure and historical text and I found it very informative piece of information from the side representing Brown. 

I would also say that another point of view from the Brown side of the argument that was very valid was Grace Ann's point of view with the economic side of the argument in that two of everything is bad. Her argument was also persuasive in that she described that if all people were not offered the same education it would be harmful to both sides because of operating costs and, consolidating resources could provide better utilities and resources for the students. 

In conclusion, people from both sides made great points while saying their arguments and I would have to say the arguments were all unique and creative. 

Image Source:

https://www.lawyerscommittee.org/lawyers-committee-for-civil-rights-under-law-recognizes-65-year-anniversary-of-brown-v-board-of-education-supreme-court-ruling/ 

EOTO: Mississppi Burning

 Good afternoon, I am here today to teach you all about the events of Mississippi Burning which involved the murders of three activists during the Civil Rights movement in the summer of 1964. The three victims include James Chaney, Michael Schwerner, and Andrew Goodman. During this time White supremacists had been bombing and murdering African-Americans and robbing them. In this EOTO I will be going over some of the details of Mississippi Burning and the murders of the three activists that were killed in the fire set by members of the Ku Klux Klan. The Ku Klux Klan was going after one of the activists named Michael Schwerner since he had been organizing some of the local boycotts of businesses that had been biased and also was working on voter registration. 

The event took place on June 21, 1964 where three members of the Congress of Radical Equality which is an African American Civil Rights organization had been involved. The three men had been heading to investigate a church fire and beating which the KKK had done. The events started to take place around 5 PM on June 21st 1964 where James Chaney, Michael Schwerner, and Andrew Goodman in Philadelphia, Mississippi where these three civil rights workers were arrested for supposedly speeding by a Neshoba County Deputy Sheriff by the name of Cecil Price. 

Later that night the three men were released and started heading towards Meridian, Mississippi late sometime between 10:30 and 11:00 PM and drove off in a blue station wagon. It was reported that some Ku Klux Klan members followed the activists and they were never heard of again. The burnt station wagon was later found two days later on June 23, 24 hours after the Department of Justice and FBI had gotten involved. 

Soon after the FBI launched an extensive search for the three bodies of Chaney, Schwerner, and Goodman which also involved the National Guard, and the FBI continued it’s investigation into the disappearance of the three men per request of President Lyndon Johnson and they ran this out of the field office in Jackson, Mississippi. This search lasted from June 23 until August 3 as on August 4 the bodies of Chaney, Schwerner, and Goodman were found. They were found in an earthen dam on a local farm. It was reported that Schwerner and Goodman had both taken a gunshot to the chest by a Ku Klux Klan member named Alton Wayne Roberts and Chaney was reportedly beaten to death. 

Edgar Ray Killen, the man who planned the murders was convicted along with seven other men including the Deputy Sheriff Cecil Price however, none of them were convicted or charged with murder. However, in 2005 the case was reopened and Edgar Ray Killen was charged by the state of Mississippi 41 years later for three counts of manslaughter and had been given a 60 year sentence. He would later die in prison on January 11, 2018. This event was one thing that negatively impacted African-Americans as these killings were another example of the brutality that people had experienced by speaking out. However, this event would later inspire further protection and rights for African Americans and this event was one event that inspired the Civil Rights Act that was signed in 1964.

EOTO Reaction

 After hearing some of the EOTO presentations from the Reconstruction era I was very impressed by the presentations and a lot of the information that was presented in them. I would say that I also was very impressed with the presentations to set the stage for the Reconstruction era and how these events would shape the future and impact all around the US.

After the Civil War ended, there were 4 million freed African-American men, women and children in the United States of America. These 4 million people had no possessions, and property. So to deal with this the United States government had decided to create an agency called the Freedmen’s Bureau to redistribute Confederate lands to new freedmen. 

By doing this they were doing this to provide shelter, food, and reunite slaves with long lost families who were separated during the Civil War. This Bureau was originally only supposed to last a year but Congress had overwhelmingly voted to continue this bureau since Congress had seen how well this worked. President Andrew Johnson had vetoed continuing this program and Congress had chosen not go through the process of overruling him and his veto. I had also learned about the fact that Andrew Johnson was giving pardons to Confederate leaders. 

A part of the EOTO’s that stood out to me was the backstory and history behind the Klu Klux Klan. I had not known much about the Klu Klux Klan other than they were against black people and the freedom of black people. The Klan was formed in 1886 in Tennessee which is something I had also not known previously. This stood out to me since all some people wanted was simple freedoms and Reconstruction. 

The KKK’s main target in going after African Americans was the Freedom Bureau I had mentioned earlier since the Freedom Bureau was trying to help African Americans get back on their feet. The KKK’s message and protests did some damage however the group started to fall apart a little while later. The KKK would later accept defeat as the main parts of the group would later slip away and African Americans would later get full freedom back.

Overall, the EOTO’s were very interesting and very informative. There were a lot of different and unique subjects that were discussed that I learned more in depth information about the Reconstruction era and some of its key events and actions. 

Image Source:

https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/emancipation/m-4363/

MOCK TRIAL Plessy v. Ferguson

 Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen and your honor, I am here representing Homer Plessy and I am here today to talk about some of the negative impacts having two train systems and cars segregated is not just unfair to African-Americans but it is also harmful to the economy of the state of Louisiana but also the United States of America. I am also going to touch on other economic factors with other businesses and places economically that have been affected by segregation.

Having two different segregated systems for trains is harmful to the economy. One thing that doesn’t help it is that the operating costs are very expensive for two different train systems to operate at the same time. That’s twice the cost of one train being operated which leads to higher costs. The segregation also does not allow for more employment and investment opportunities for African-Americans. If trains were to run under one system and all people were allowed in one train car and one system it would lower costs significantly and allow African-Americans to work together. 

One of the biggest economic downsides to segregation in railroads is also that it will not lead to greater economic opportunity for the country in the railroads systems because of high costs associated with maintaining trains and also maintaining two different rail lines for Whites and African-Americans. This would lead to longer waiting periods for development and new railroad systems which is revenue that could be lost from trains since if new railways are built then two different systems would have to be built which mean longer waiting periods for construction and less train routes added later. 

Also not just the segregation of train lines but also the segregation of train cars leads to African-Americans not being able to purchase as many tickets since the sections for African Americans were smaller and more dense which is an economic disadvantage since that is less revenue produced from the train operations since there are smaller sections. Since the areas were more dense, they didn't even have luggage racks in the section which meant that they would have to carry their baggage. 

It is also not the segregation of trains that is the only problem with segregation and the costs associated with it. The segregation of water fountains, schools, and other workplace jobs also has a problem with higher operating costs for businesses and schools and this requires double the employment on both sides because they are not 100% equal and together. This segregation also leads to lower employment numbers and further employment advancement opportunities in higher jobs due to segregation which can pose a challenge for both sides. 

In conclusion, two of everything with segregation has many negative financial effects that are present in railroads and other industries. Segregation has many negative economic effects and will continue to hurt the economy in Louisiana and the United States of America. Thank you for your time. 

Image Source:

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/neworleans-plessy-v-ferguson/

Reconstruction: America After the Civil War Video Reaction

 After watching the "Reconstruction: America After the Civil War" video I learned many different and unique things that I was previously not aware of some of the civil injustice African-Americans had to deal with even after the Civil War. One major area that I noticed was that President Andrew Johnson didn't help any of this.

I have to say one of the shocking moments to me was when Andrew Johnson was discussed in the video. This moment was when he was at his own presidential inauguration at he was approached by Frederick Douglass and was greeted with a rude and offensive tone but also, showed some very racist and offensive behavior. He said to Douglass that he was unwilling to shake his hand and speak to him just like everybody else. 

This would cause a major problem for African-Americans as treatment like this and still rules and laws about segregation made it harder for them to have any positions in power and also later in his career as he would make others beg for their jobs and themselves. Johnson happened to like this form of his views on his the lower classes. 

Another area of the Reconstruction area I didn't know was the Freedman's Bureau. The organization consisted of the attempts to give some of the former plantation lands. I was not aware that this organization had existed and I was not aware that the organization focused on helping some of the southerners who were displaced following the Civil War. This occurred mainly with African-Americans since some of them had no home after the Civil War the organization would give them some land that they could live on. 

I would learn after this that this would not last the longest due to Andrew Johnson's weak Reconstruction era policies this made the development and potential for African-Americans have a hard time advancing due to his views. This would continue to add years of hardships for African-Americans due to Andrew Johnson's feelings about African-Americans. 

Image Source: 

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Andrew-Johnson