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AT ARM'S LENGTH, Sports Illustrated article by Jonathan Jones

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AT ARM'S LENGTH, Sports Illustrated article by Jonathan Jones

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Jonathan Jones talks about the protest that took place in the NFL regarding injustices involving people of color. Jones says this protest is the least effective. Linking arms “promotes the false ideal that we are one, that we are all treated the same and that we’re in this fight together.”. This is untrue. A lot of people do not want to admit it but whites and blacks are not treated equal and are not in the fight together. The protest did nothing for the cause. This supports my view on racism today of how America has gone sideways in terms of race and freedom. As a society, we try to make the situation better and create better equality, but it does not help very much. American thinks it is progressing forward by doing little things here and there but in the long run it is just not enough and racism still sets back society’s abilities today.

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What White America Must Do Next, Time article by Eddie S. Glaude Jr.

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What White America Must Do Next, Time article by Eddie S. Glaude Jr.

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In this article, it is proven racism is still present today. President Trump did not condemn the people in Charlottesville who were part of the white supremacist movement because they helped elect him. In my opinion, this is not a good choice on President Trump’s part. A lot of Americans do not support Trump as a president and not condemning a group of white supremacists will not help his image in the eyes of those people. Events like these bring up the question of how far have we progressed in terms of race and freedom? In the book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Jim runs away with Huck. during the day, Jim has to hide so people won’t find him and try to enslave him. We have progressed from these conditions and all men and women are free. However, Javon Johnson brings up a point in his poem “cuz he’s black”. People of color still feel they have to hide from law enforcement to avoid being thrown behind bars. Acts of white supremacism make it hard for people of color to feel safe in their country.

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Wells superintendent defends district after claims of racism at football game, Bangor Daily News article by Kathy Dion

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Wells superintendent defends district after claims of racism at football game, Bangor Daily News article by Kathy Dion

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Students from Wells were celebrating their school spirit but some found it very offensive to their culture. Dressing like Warriors (the Wells school mascot) and banging on drums seemed normal to fans of the Warriors but the opposing team found it was a “racial mockery of Native people.” There are definitely two sides to this story. I find that in todays society you have to be very careful about what you say and do because America is a very diverse country. Before make a comment regarding a race you are not familiar with, think about how it may be viewed by someone of that race. Wells students viewed their actions as school spirit and pride, however students of Native American decent viewed their actions as inaccurate and offensive. I think we have moved sideways in terms of freedom because people will still not feel totally comfortable in their community because of their race and people will still make hurtful comments about other races even if it is not intentional.

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TED Talk: "A celebration of natural hair" Cheyenne Cochrane

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TED Talk: "A celebration of natural hair" Cheyenne Cochrane

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In this TED Talk, Cheyenne Cochrane talks about the empowering movement of women of color embracing their natural hair patterns. In the early 1900s, women of color were taught that long, straight hair was beautiful and short curly hair was not. Cochrane says "...we let these false ideologies invaded our perception of ourselves, and they still continue to infect our cultural identity as African American women today." After the Civil War ended, slaves were free people. However, people still would not treat them as an equal individual. African Americans were identified more by their hair than by the color of their skin and a lot of women started to straighten their hair to look more appealing to the white folk. African American women still feel this routine is necessary to be successful in today's society. That is why Cochrane has started a movement for women of color to stop using harmful products in their hair and to let it grow naturally. This type of confidence is encouraged by society today. In The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, this type of behavior is not allowed. Jim submits to every white person he meets because if he tries to defend himself and his race he knows he will be lynched. He does not show he is offended when people use the n- word. That does not mean he is okay with it, it means he's trying to survive. Society has improved in many ways in terms of race and freedom, however there are still places where we lack any improvement at all. We have gone sideways.

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Javon Johnson performs his poem about the day he spent with his nephew. While driving through town, Johnson passes a cop and his nephew says "Aw man, Uncle...we gotta hide." This angers him because he knows its what his nephew was taught and its what he needs to be taught. Johnson brings up the point that they have to teach their children to hide from the police for their own safety. A very important part of this poem is how it is read. Johnson uses very strong emotion when he reads this which helps the listener realize the severity of the situations brought up. Emotional statements like "its about how poor, black boys are treated as problems well before we're treated as people" and "where I'm from, routine traffic stops are more like mine fields: any wrong move could very well mean your life" open the listeners eyes to the pain and fear Johnson and many more black families feel when in the presence of law enforcement. As Jim is traveling down the river, he feels much like Johnson does now. If he is spotted, his freedom will definitely be taken away and he will return to slavery. This shows the feeling of being unsafe and scared has not faded completely from our society.

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Naomi Shihab's poem Gate A-4 provides a different look at how different ethnicities are treated in today's society. At the airport, Naomi makes a new friend who shares her cookies with everyone and brings the whole flight together. Shihab says "Not a single person in that gate...seemed apprehensive about any other person." Everyone laughed and got along well in that gate. She believes there is hope and that "not everything is is lost." This is a good example of how society has progressed from what it used to be, but other sources show that we have not. The combination leads to the conclusion that we have gone sideways in terms of race and freedom.

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TED Talk: "Does racism affect how you vote?" Nate Silver

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TED Talk: "Does racism affect how you vote?" Nate Silver

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In this TED Talk, Nate Silver addresses the issue of race affecting who we vote for. He proposes the question: Is racism predictable? The answer is yes. After conducting research, it was determined that yes, racism is predictable based on some factors. Studies show that the factors that most commonly lead to racism is education and wether the person lives in an urban or rural environment. This study shows that racism is still very present in our world today and it interferes with important decisions such as electing the future president. As a society, we believe we have taken a step forward regarding race and freedom. However, we sometimes try to ignore the fact that we haven't gotten very far at all. For example, we elected an African American as our president but race was a big factor in the election.

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The people at work are extremely racist towards. Dre says to them, "You don't tell white people or Jewish people the they only deserve one holiday," and they reply "Well,  half that statement is true." They also mention how "Aloe Black has convinced us: slavery was a bad thing." The problem with this is that they did not know how bad it was before. This shows another view on racism in society that contrasts the view Robert provides in The N-Word. This episode shows that racism is still very present today and not enough people are educated about this section of history.

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"This Amazing, Troubling Book" by Toni Morrison

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"This Amazing, Troubling Book" by Toni Morrison

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Toni Morrison says her first read of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain evoked many feelings including anger. After many reads, she determined the source of her anger was the way Twain romanticized the relationship between Huck and Jim. Huck, being a young white boy, is taking a big risk by accepting Jim as his friend in their race-influenced society. Morrison describes this relationship as "discontinuous" and "doomed to separation" (Morrison 156). Through personal experience, she knows relationships shared by two children of different races are typically very hard to keep due to the differences driven between them by society. The book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn shows the horrible mistreatment of people of color during that time period. Compared to these conditions, society has improved a lot. However, we see that society has given Morrison a hard time due to her race and the color of her skin. Leading us in a sideways direction in terms of race and freedom.

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The N-Word: An Interactive Project to Explore a Singular Word "ROBERT AND DENYCE ON DISCUSSING THE WORD WITH THEIR KIDS"

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The N-Word: An Interactive Project to Explore a Singular Word "ROBERT AND DENYCE ON DISCUSSING THE WORD WITH THEIR KIDS"

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Denyce says she doesn't want to share her experiences as a woman of color with her daughter, Ella, because she wants Ella to have her own life experiences. Robert tells her that "we're at a particular place in time now and there has been some evolution in this society and Ella's experience is not gonna be your experience. She's not gonna have the things happen to her that you had when you were her age." I disagree with Robert. Denyce doesn't want her pain to interfere with Ella's life going forward and wants her to have a personal view on things without it being tainted by Denyce's poor treatment from others.  This shows one view of racism in today's society. Robert believes we have progressed from when Denyce and her mother were growing up.