https://padlet.com/ian_bryant1/elq5txnxx94j Honors English III en-us 2017-12-05 13:57:59 UTC 2026-02-28 18:09:15 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/icons/Ornamenttree.png ian_bryant1 https://padlet.com/ian_bryant1/elq5txnxx94j/wish/214381616 Required Text

Through this source, one can conclude that the n-word does not have as much meaning as it once possessed. A lot of the older generations still hold this word on a level of derogatory, never unseeing how malicious and hateful the word is. Younger generations, however, have an easier time saying it. Some could even argue it is a part of their slang. This shows how society has taken a step back as a whole, as I do not believe the n-word should be spoken under any circumstances. Teenagers and adults feel its okay to use the n-word in todays world because they do not realize what it means. They do not know the history of the word, how it was used to describe thousands of African Americans and how dehumanizing it was. People today just see the word as something to laugh and or something that goes well in a rap.


]]> 2017-12-08 04:02:46 UTC https://padlet.com/ian_bryant1/elq5txnxx94j/wish/214381616 ian_bryant1 https://padlet.com/ian_bryant1/elq5txnxx94j/wish/214383376 TED Talk

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn takes place in a time where black people are not seen as humans. You should never help or feel bad for them, let alone treat them as an equal white. Some people believe that, as a society, we have not grown far past this point. Today, black men are taken into custody, or even worse, shot, for reaching for the window in their car or for their license in their pocket. Numerous police brutality instances that have occurred in recent years back this up. The idea that a father fears for his son to play with water guns in the street is just terrible. Children are being taught how to survive in todays society, a white society. Some may question this, but in parts all across America, it can be evident that white men believe they are superior to black men. Once again, police cases will back this statement up. As shown in the TED talk, there is a presence of irrational fear of a black man and this contributes to issues of police brutality, and power struggles in today's world.]]> 2017-12-08 04:30:08 UTC https://padlet.com/ian_bryant1/elq5txnxx94j/wish/214383376 ian_bryant1 https://padlet.com/ian_bryant1/elq5txnxx94j/wish/214384363 Required Text

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a book that has a record of making people uncomfortable. Although, it is a classic, its themes and languages can sometimes lead to conflict. Toni Morrison's Work as well as the piece by the Washington Post show that race will always be an uncomfortable topic. Even Morrison herself admitted that reading the n-word in the book made her uncomfortable. I agree with Morrison on this, seeing the word in almost every chapter was a big jump from rarely hearing it in society. Despite the efforts of those who believe in equality, there are still racial issues and insensitivity within our country. Morrison's comment on the book being a classic show that some issues in our society have yet to be solved. 




]]> 2017-12-08 04:47:51 UTC https://padlet.com/ian_bryant1/elq5txnxx94j/wish/214384363 ian_bryant1 https://padlet.com/ian_bryant1/elq5txnxx94j/wish/215395677 Independent Research
Newspaper 

This newspaper article is about a mom telling the story about how a childrens book that involved racial discrimination really resonated with her daughter. This example shows growth in society over time. Not only are we trying to teach the younger generations the lessons of racial equality, in this instance it actually worked. Teaching these valuable life lessons in such an approachable way to kids is genius to me. The only way to stop racial discrimination is to stop raising children that believe in it, or have had experiences in their lives that cause them to. A childrens book, one that moves the emotions of its young readers, is just the thing to teach kids whats right and wrong in society. Obviously this can apply to a number of different issues, but this method is just so effective, and should be used more.]]> 2017-12-12 13:35:25 UTC https://padlet.com/ian_bryant1/elq5txnxx94j/wish/215395677 ian_bryant1 https://padlet.com/ian_bryant1/elq5txnxx94j/wish/216378729 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82VLGVn5P2YSlam Poetry 

"Niggers and spicks, the only trash on the street that talks. So don't call it police brutality, call it sanitation." This is one the quotes made by the man by the man pretending to be a white policeman. The man pretending to be Sean Bell tells the audience how he became voiceless when the bullets shot through his heart. Voiceless to protest the 50 shots aimed towards his chest. And when the white policeman says so many black people are filling our prisons that we can't tell the difference between escaped prisoners and black men, it's clear that the aim of this slam poetry is to comment on police brutality and racial profiling. Despite protests by many policeman, racial profiling is a real factor in investigations. However, only if the suspect is black or of any other race besides white. Because the assumption is made  that all black people look the same, everyone is a suspect. Therefore, police brutality becomes self defense. The racist policemen thought they were shooting at an armed suspect just because he was black and looked slightly similar to the real suspect. There are so many cases of police brutality within our country that it's illogical to believe there isn't something else going on. As black people see it, "they're trying to put us on the endangered species list." Black people hide from policemen because they're afraid for their lives. No matter what your truth about police is, the fact that is that fear exists. Whether or not real injustice against the black race is still present in our society, black people feel endangered. That fear cannot be taken away from them,  and because we, as white people, don't experience that same fear, we have no right to say racism doesn't still exist. However, we still feel the need to comment on the subject and how black people have overreactions to everything. Until the white race has developed the history and experiences black people go through everyday, we cannot deny that reactions to discrimination and racism are unwarranted. Because as a race we do this, our society has taken steps backwards in dealing with racism. ]]> 2017-12-15 04:15:49 UTC https://padlet.com/ian_bryant1/elq5txnxx94j/wish/216378729 ian_bryant1 https://padlet.com/ian_bryant1/elq5txnxx94j/wish/216828748 Scholarly Article

The author of this article is responding to a recent comment made by governor Paul LePage that was perceived as racist. While responding, the author touches on some of the history of Maine's history of racism. Maine is arguably one of the whitest states in the country. This means that its people aren't exposed to many different cultures, allowing racism to creep into people's lives, sometimes naturally. It also doesn't help that many Maine residents aren't taught about racism as a child. Topics dealing with racism are often left untouched in the Maine public education system. This lack of education has led to the younger generations possessing a false sense of dominance and superiority over other races and cultures. In my opinion, this racism in most cases is not malicious. I think a lot of it can be credited to lack of understanding and just straight ignorance. This does not have to permanent, I think it starts with our schooling. We must teach our children that all races are created equal and should be treated that way.


]]> 2017-12-18 01:44:18 UTC https://padlet.com/ian_bryant1/elq5txnxx94j/wish/216828748 ian_bryant1 https://padlet.com/ian_bryant1/elq5txnxx94j/wish/216830410 Scholarly Article 

This article deals on the issue of how to talk to students about racism. A strong point made by the author is that it is a child's human nature to categorize people by their differences. I see this applying to students, especially those in the younger grades. Kids tend to hang around with people that they have a lot in common with, this allows for some negativity to be released towards those who are different. This assumption of difference disallows the student to fully understand who that person really is. This can lead to stereotypes amongst different races and/or religions. This is not all the kids fault, however. Many of these children are raised in a community where their race has a dominant presence. This is a big factor in the stereotypes and racism of the younger generations of our world. ]]> 2017-12-18 02:10:16 UTC https://padlet.com/ian_bryant1/elq5txnxx94j/wish/216830410 ian_bryant1 https://padlet.com/ian_bryant1/elq5txnxx94j/wish/216831738 Youtube

Since the beginning, bullying has been a presence in our nations education system. Most of the time, the bully claims that what he or she did was just a joke and that the victim was just being oversensitive. Another issue in today's schools is social media. A lot of times social media is used for cyber bullying, but sometimes, it is used for justice. This was the case for Keaton Jones and his mother. Keaton's mom posted a video of her picking Keaton up from school at lunch. In the video, Keaton is hysterically crying, begging his mom for answers on why he was getting bullied and why people bully others in general. Keaton is asking these deep questions because he has been getting bullied at lunch, verbally and physically. This video went viral in the world of social media, attracting the attention of numerous celebrities and professional athletes. Examples of those who responded to Keaton are Justin Bieber and LeBron James. Following the loving responses, however, it was leaked to the world that Keaton's mother was a racist who has taken pictures with confederate flags on many occasions. This, along with a questionable go fund me page for Keaton have caused a lot of controversy. In my opinion, the fact or opinion that his mother is a racist should have no affect on him. Even if you are raised by a racist, it does not automatically make you one. And even if this was so, it does not make physical and verbal abuse okay. If one member of your family is known as a racist, that should not put a label on your family that you all are. Each person is their own individual and has a right to think what they want based off their morals and life experiences. Obviously, Keaton has had some dramatic ones so the country shouldn't ignore or laugh at his plead for help just because of his mother. ]]> 2017-12-18 02:29:05 UTC https://padlet.com/ian_bryant1/elq5txnxx94j/wish/216831738 ian_bryant1 https://padlet.com/ian_bryant1/elq5txnxx94j/wish/216836095 Song

"I'm Not A Racist". This famous song by Joyner Lucas touches on a lot of issues involving race. Lucas talks about how nobody should feel bad for black people. He says they shouldn't being saying the things they say about slavery because they weren't physically slaves. Lucas accuses blacks of being lazy, saying that they'd rather sell drugs then get a job. All of this above is the first verse of the song. It represents the white people of America, and their extreme views some have on the black race. In the second part of the song, you hear the other side of the argument, the black people of America. It discusses how racism affects them in their everyday lives and how it's unfair that white people run our country. It says that even though blacks today weren't physically slaves, that it doesn't mean that their family wasn't or that they aren't still affected by it. In the music video, the first verse is sung by white man, the second, a black man. After both verses, or sides, have been said, the two hug. What I take away from that ending is that the two sides of racism will never truly understand the other, but that we need to at least respect it. I believe this is the first step of helping minimize racism in our country. We do not need to fully understand why people do what they do, but we need to coexist as peacefully as possible to try to make our country as accepting a place to live as we can.]]> 2017-12-18 03:27:51 UTC https://padlet.com/ian_bryant1/elq5txnxx94j/wish/216836095 ian_bryant1 https://padlet.com/ian_bryant1/elq5txnxx94j/wish/216838784 NFL Article

In this article, former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick explains why he chose to sit for the national anthem. Although he eventually switched to kneeling, Kaepernick continued to protest the National Anthem before the start of his games. This action caused controversy because many Americans believed he was disrespecting our entire country, especially the veterans that fought for it. This was not the case in the NFL Quarterback's mind as his action was a protest of police brutality and racial injustice/inequality. People wanted him to stand, people wanted him kicked off the team and out of the league, and the NFL listened. I disagree. Kaepernick was not disrespecting our veterans, he even said it himself. He was simply using the platform that his football career provided him, and it got the message out there. Previous to the protests, police brutality had been a common occurrence in our country, so I think the protest was justified. People received his message, to this day players in the NFL kneel for the anthem. Some will show support for the cause in different way, like by putting your arm on the shoulder of your kneeling teammate. I think this entire situation shows that our country has gone backwards since The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The citizens of the United States did not even give Kaepernick a chance. They did not listen to what he had to say, they just jumped to the conclusion that would make him look the worse. It was not just the common citizen who did Kaepernick wrong, however, the National Football League did also. Despite his above average play, Kaepernick has not found himself on a single NFL roster this 2017 season. I can guarantee you, this is not by accident. Not a single NFL analyst can honestly tell you that there are 32 better quarterbacks in the league better then Kaeparnick. And even if this was so, he's definitely a worthy backup. This saddens me, as a sports fan, and as an American. This is so because an exciting young athlete has been forced out of the game because the common American is too stubborn to listen to what he was saying because they are afraid that he is right. ]]> 2017-12-18 04:08:26 UTC https://padlet.com/ian_bryant1/elq5txnxx94j/wish/216838784