Civil Wrongs (In font you can read)

The case of James Chaney, Michael Schwerner and Andrew Goodman is a famous case due to the massive scale of the investigation. This investigation stirred up a lot of hatred that was not widely seen throughout the country. Most northerners had never seen or heard of the hate filled acts that were committed almost every day in a small town of Mississippi. The three boys who were all Civil Rights activists were murdered by Klansman from the Ku-Klux-Klan. Chaney was a black boy and the other two were white which is where a lot of the controversy comes from, would the investigation had even happened had it been three black boys instead of one and two white kids.

The movie Mississippi Burning is a great film in its interpretation of the investigation of the case. The movie represents the case in an accurate way by showing the massive investigation as well as the feelings of many of the townsfolk during that time. It inaccurately represented the case by putting in several theatrical elements to create drama so that the movie was actually watchable. The movie also does not include the mafia involvement in the case. According to Linda Schiro her boyfriend who was involved in the mafia was given a gun and promise of cash in return for assistance. That member was able to find the whereabouts of the bodies by putting a gun in the mouth of a know Klansman and asking where the bodies were. (Reference)

Overall the film adds to our understanding of the Civil Rights. Before this movie I had no idea about this case however I did know of several similar case that caused a lot of the same commotion but this film is definitely a must in order to further one’s understanding of the Civil Rights time period.

Emit Till vs. Mississippi Burning

There have been many cases similar to that of the one portrayed in Mississippi Burning. One such example is the case of Emit Till. Emit was a fourteen year old black boy who was caught whistling at a white women in Mississippi. Emit was from Chicago, Illinois so he was not used to the violence of the south. Till was brutally murdered three days after the incident. His body was found three days after his murder in the Tallahatchie River. Till’s mother asked for an open casket so the world could see the brutality of his murder and maybe spark a change in the way things are done down south.

                This case is similar to Mississippi Burning because the victims of both cases were young boys. The boys were all innocent of any crime and were murdered because of simple things like supporting a civil rights movement to whistling at a white woman. These case are very different in several ways as well. One difference is that in the case portrayed in Mississippi Burning there were two white boys who were also murdered along with an African American boy. Some believe that this is why there was a massive investigation which leads to the next difference. The size of the investigation was much larger than that of Emit Till’s which was still quite large. Much of Till’s famousness comes from the thousands of people watching on the news that a black boy from the north was murdered in the south.

                This incident tells us a lot about the general feelings during the Civil Right Era. It shows the two very different opinions. The southern opinion was that African Americans are dirty, stupid and overall inferior to whites which meant segregation. The general northern opinion was just the opposite, African Americans are and should be equal under the constitution thus making segregation unconstitutional. 

Civil Wrongs

The case of James Chaney, Michael Schwerner and Andrew Goodman is a famous case due to the massive scale of the investigation. This investigation stirred up a lot of hatred that was not widely seen throughout the country. Most northerners had never seen or heard of the hate filled acts that were committed almost every day in a small town of Mississippi. The three boys who were all Civil Rights activists were murdered by Klansman from the Ku-Klux-Klan. Chaney was a black boy and the other two were white which is where a lot of the controversy comes from, would the investigation had even happened had it been three black boys instead of one and two white kids.

The movie Mississippi Burning is a great film in its interpretation of the investigation of the case. The movie represents the case in an accurate way by showing the massive investigation as well as the feelings of many of the townsfolk during that time. It inaccurately represented the case by putting in several theatrical elements to create drama so that the movie was actually watchable. The movie also does not include the mafia involvement in the case. According to Linda Schiro her boyfriend who was involved in the mafia was given a gun and promise of cash in return for assistance. That member was able to find the whereabouts of the bodies by putting a gun in the mouth of a know Klansman and asking where the bodies were. (Reference)

Overall the film adds to our understanding of the Civil Rights. Before this movie I had no idea about this case however I did know of several similar case that caused a lot of the same commotion but this film is definitely a must in order to further one’s understanding of the Civil Rights time period.

Dances With Geronimo

Geronimo or “the one who yawns” was a very famous Apache chief. He is famous for fighting against the westward expansion of the United States Army. He was born in what is now New Mexico into a family with four sisters and three brothers. He was married at the age of seventeen and he had three children. On March 6, 1858 while Geronimo and the rest of the men were in the town trading a group of four hundred Mexican soldiers attacked his town and among the dead where his wife, his mother and his children. He was given the name Geronimo by the Mexicans during a battle where he charged the Mexican soldiers with only a knife, ignoring the bullets being fired at him.

            Geronimo always thought of himself as more of a military leader than a chief. If there is one similar character in the movie Dances With Wolves I think it would be Wind in his Hair. Wind in his Hair is quick to jump to violence and intimidation which is similar to the philosophy of Geronimo who was always militarily inclined. In the movie Wind in his Hair says “We will shoot some arrows into the white man. If he truly has medicine, he will not be hurt. If he has no medicine, he will be dead.” This is a great example of Wind in his Hair jumping to violence and war before diplomacy. 

     These were my tasks: "You will complete three tasks: two brief questionnaires and an IAT in which you will sort words and pictures into categories as quickly as possible. You should be able to complete the tasks in less than 10 minutes total. When you finish, you will receive your results as well as more information about the test and the performance of others."
     This was my result: "Your data suggest a slight automatic preference for European American compared to African American." I somewhat disagree with this assessment of me personally but I think it is an accurate representation of my surroundings. I hold African Americans and European Americans at an equal level but maybe subconsciously I do not.
     I do not understand how the test makes it decision although the results were pretty accurate. Since I don't understand how this test works I am not able to fully answer the question because I am not sure how the test generates its results. Most of the mistakes I made was because I was trying to stay fast which in turn led to mistakes in my hand-brain coordination. 
     I do not believe that our true feelings are shown at a blink of an eye although some of the subconscious feelings are. If put in a situation that you must react quickly most of the time the result is subconscious and instinctual. However if given time to answer or react your thoughts are usually clearer and often but not always our true feelings. This is true for me but as for the rest of humankind I am unsure on how they would react if given time and allowed deep thought.    

Slave Narrative Analysis

    Walter Calloway was born in this country and as a young kid was sold to a plantation owner by the name of "Marse John Calloway at Snodoun in Montgomery County, ten miles south of de town of Montgomery." Marse bought both Walter and his mother. Walter recalls that Marse "treated us purty good, but we hab to wuk hard." By the time Walter was 10 he was already performing the duties of full grown men. One of the strongest memories Walter has of his time on the plantation was the time that a girl no more than 13 years old was whipped nearly to death. Walter was set free soon after some soldiers ransacked the plantation, took everything and burned the rest. Even though he was told that he was "free" he still had to work on another plantation and work even harder.

     American slavery is unique in that slaves were treated on average much worse than slaves from other countries. Walter Calloway remembers a black slave who was in charge of the whippings, "whupped a nigger gal 'bout thirteen years old so hard she nearly die, an' allus atterwa'ds she hab spells of fits or somp'n." This did not happen all to often in other countries but in America things like this were not uncommon. 

     Another unique attribute of American slavery that does not apply to most other cases around the world is the time period that this took place. All most every country had seen that slavery was bad and ended it with zero questions or bloodshed. That is the scariest part of American slavery, southern plantation owners did not see anything wrong with their black "property" was treated. They had no problem whipping a little girl almost to death. 

     Accounts like Walter's show us first hand accounts that textbooks and teachers cannot tell us. They give us the story from the people it happened to. This fact really allows the reader to get the closest possible feeling of what the black people went through for years. Textbooks cannot do this and teachers also cannot come near to this effect. The only other effective way to make this connection is showing these stories through film.    

Slave Narrative

http://xroads.virginia.edu/~hyper/wpa/callowa1.html

Walter Calloway was born in Richmond, Virginia, in 1848. Calloway and his mother and brother were purchased by John Calloway, who owned a plantation ten miles south of Montgomery, Alabama. By the time he was ten years old, Walter Calloway was doing a grown man's work. The white overseer used a black hand to administer the whippings; Calloway recalls seeing one thirteen-year-old girl whipped almost to death. Calloway also tells of worshipping in a brush arbor, the outbreak of the Civil War, and federal troops ransacking the plantation at war's end. He is pictured sitting on the front steps of his home in Birmingham, Alabama, where he worked for the city street department for twenty-five years.

Native American Terms and Sports Teams

                No, teams like the Kansas City Chiefs and the Atlanta Braves should not have to change their name because of the roots they have in Native American history. Many people argue that because of the way the Native Americans were treated in the past we should not be allowed to use names that make references to them as a people for things like sports teams. I disagree with this because despite what was done in the past they are simply names for teams. If anything I think it is good that teams pick these names because sports are Americas past time and people worship many of these teams and the players that play for them so in a way it is almost an honor to have you name used for something that everyone in America loves and watches.  While doing research I found this quote which I found explained my point quite well:

“Go out on the street and ask people, "What do you think of the Redskins?". If they give you an answer about a football team, then the name represents a football team. If they give you an answer about Native Americans, then the answer represents them. The football team took a derogatory and turned it into an honorable name.”

Yes, some names that were used for these teams are derogatory but many of these teams like the Redskins have turned these terms into less derogatory terms and made them honorable like the quotes says.