https://padlet.com/jada_laflin/gun7auboyp1w American society has taken a step sideways in the idea of racism, meaning that racism has neither gotten better nor gotten worse over the course of American History. en-us 2017-12-06 16:34:55 UTC 2017-12-20 16:52:36 UTC hello@padlet.com jada_laflin https://padlet.com/jada_laflin/gun7auboyp1w/wish/213793818 This source really expresses from first-hand experiences on how the use of the n-word negatively impacts African Americans today. It really shows how there is still racism present in today's society. People are still referring to blacks as "n******"  and the effect that it has is terrible. Patricia Wilson and Lanita Jacob use the word "dehumanizing" when expressing how they felt about being call the n-word. I have realized that it is difficult, being a white person, to understand what it is really like to face such discrimination.  In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the dirogatory word is used all the time and it is mind blowing to think that there are still people using that word in today's world. ]]> 2017-12-06 16:46:57 UTC https://padlet.com/jada_laflin/gun7auboyp1w/wish/213793818 jada_laflin https://padlet.com/jada_laflin/gun7auboyp1w/wish/214525843 Bryan Stevenson, the man who gave the TED talk discussing the different injustices that Americans quite often face. He brought up some very good points that appear to agree with. Stevenson made a point about how in Germany they do not have the death penalty due to their reputation with killing people (World War IIcxxzcvvx and the Holocaust). This really made me think about how in the 1880's people, especially African Americans were killed left and right because of the color of their skin. He mentions how a third of America's  black male population has been imprisoned at some point in their life. One last point that Stevenson made that stuck with me is that America's history is rarely talked about and how things like innovation, technology, entertainment can be viewed as things to distract people from what is really going on the world. It shrouds people from dark things in the world like terrorism and racism. ]]> 2017-12-08 15:24:35 UTC https://padlet.com/jada_laflin/gun7auboyp1w/wish/214525843 jada_laflin https://padlet.com/jada_laflin/gun7auboyp1w/wish/214536077 This piece by Toni Morrison really made me think about the interpretation of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and how it can be easy to miss some of the big picture ideas that Mark Twain is trying to portray, but after rereading it it can be easier to pick up on them.  Morrison discusses how Huck is often fighting the morals of society versus his own morals and how they conflict when it comes to how Jim should be treated. I believe that Huck had a choice on how he should treat Jim, and he decided to treat him as equal. This relates to today because people have the option of treating African Americans as equals, but their personal morals tell them otherwise. They call them names and make comments aimed at discriminating their skin and heritage which shows that the people of today's modern era have really taken a step sideways on racial matters.]]> 2017-12-08 15:46:30 UTC https://padlet.com/jada_laflin/gun7auboyp1w/wish/214536077 https://padlet.com/jada_laflin/gun7auboyp1w/wish/215398049 As mentioned in this database, racism was a large portion of our country's history and continues to affect not only America, but other parts of the world too. Events similar to the Holocaust and the 1950's and 1960's where segregation between blacks and white are considered racist movements. Many people today deny the fact that racism is still present in today's modern society yet there are people making racial remarks and performing racist acts. I feel as though that if it were not for our global history, people in today's society would not feel the need to make these comments towards people. If people had not gotten the idea to do it in the first place, they wouldn't feel that way. ]]> 2017-12-12 13:41:03 UTC https://padlet.com/jada_laflin/gun7auboyp1w/wish/215398049 jada_laflin https://padlet.com/jada_laflin/gun7auboyp1w/wish/215476545 A man named Hank Aaron, also known as "The Hammer" set an Major League Baseball record with 755 home runs in his career, which broke Babe Ruth's record of 714 home runs in 1974. In this article by Jon Friedman on Time.com, he wrote about how Aron faced discrimination for the color of his skin. His life was made miserable due to the racism directed towards him while he should have been basking in his achievements. I feel the same way as the writer because with today's technology and constant use of social media, I feel as though he would have faced worse racism today as opposed to his generation. With all of the things that are going on today with people rallying and posting racist remarks, Hank Aaron would have faced worse racism today.]]> 2017-12-12 15:59:59 UTC https://padlet.com/jada_laflin/gun7auboyp1w/wish/215476545 jada_laflin https://padlet.com/jada_laflin/gun7auboyp1w/wish/215668509 The article shown below informs us that about 1,200 people gathered in Portland, Maine for a rally against racism. This occurred after the Charlottesville Attack. This is another piece of evidence that proves that racism and discrimination are here in today's society. My thought is that if there was not discrimination evident among people in America, then why are there people rallying about who's lives matter more? People would not rally against these kinds of issues if it was not a problem in the first place. Our world has merely taken a step sideways in the sense that America and other still have racial standpoints.]]> 2017-12-13 04:21:24 UTC https://padlet.com/jada_laflin/gun7auboyp1w/wish/215668509 jada_laflin https://padlet.com/jada_laflin/gun7auboyp1w/wish/215669013 A white-nationalist rally at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia leaves three people dead and thirty-three injured. A white-nationalist plowed his vehicle into a group of people counter-protesting the  rally. It was later discovered that the driver's Facebook page featured numerous posts referencing Nazism, white supremacy, and a picture of him with holding a symbol for Vanguard America (white supremacy group). This just shows that racism is still a pressing issue of today. People at the rally were chanting various things like "White lives matter" and "Jews will not replace us!", the question I am asking is why can't we all matter? Another thing that I find interesting is that people go around saying that there is no racism in America and everyone loves everyone, yet there are people rallying that whites are the supreme race. This is proof that racism is present today. ]]> 2017-12-13 04:27:27 UTC https://padlet.com/jada_laflin/gun7auboyp1w/wish/215669013 jada_laflin https://padlet.com/jada_laflin/gun7auboyp1w/wish/215903361 Coded Language, a slam poem created by Saul Williams, discusses how the writer feels about how people are capable of having their own original thoughts and feelings about issues in our culture, but the media and TV are providing information to people. This leads to people not having the ability to have their own original thoughts and opinions about things. Coded Language relates to racism because today with all of the social media in today's culture, people are unable to discover their own feelings and thoughts on issues of today such as racism. Social media, music, and people play a big role on the influence of people. There are countless numbers of songs that mention racist phrases and words, particularly hip-hop and rap songs like what Saul Williams mentioned. From personal experience with people, I have found that some people use the n-word when they listen to rap music, which can be severely offensive to many people and that person can be presumed as racist. Things that are around us a lot have a large amount of influence on us and will impact the things that we say, believe, and do. ]]> 2017-12-13 17:40:52 UTC https://padlet.com/jada_laflin/gun7auboyp1w/wish/215903361 jada_laflin https://padlet.com/jada_laflin/gun7auboyp1w/wish/216553907 2017-12-15 16:59:32 UTC https://padlet.com/jada_laflin/gun7auboyp1w/wish/216553907 jada_laflin https://padlet.com/jada_laflin/gun7auboyp1w/wish/216792629 This article from the National Public Radio (NPR) describes how most people in America believe that their own ethnic group faces discrimination according to a poll NPR created. The groups that were polled were whites, blacks, Latinos, Asian-Americans, Native Americans, and adults of LGBTQ. 55% of white Americans feel as though that they are discriminated against in the U.S. today. 32% of the African Americans polled said that they have encountered racial discrimination when going to the doctors while the other 22% do no even go to the doctors because they fear of being a victim of hate. Robert Blendon, the poll's director and also a professor at Harvard Chan School, said, "Most African-Americans believe that discrimination is due to the attitudes of individuals that they interact with, a smaller share believes it's actually government or institutional policies.". This parallels with what Saul Williams wrote in his slam poem Coded Language. This article proves that racism is not just here in America against blacks, it is against all types of groups. Usually when people think of the word racism, they think of whites discriminating blacks, but that is not always the case. The statistics are proof that America hasten a step sideways over the course of our countries history. Racism is still a really big problem in America affects people all over the country. ]]> 2017-12-17 18:55:19 UTC https://padlet.com/jada_laflin/gun7auboyp1w/wish/216792629 jada_laflin https://padlet.com/jada_laflin/gun7auboyp1w/wish/216797653 Jeff Nesbit, contributor to U.S. News, wrote an article in 2016 telling about how America has a big issue with race. He writes about how blacks are often killed as a result of police brutality or racist attacks caused by citizens. He also writes about how America as a whole has made progress since the time of the Jim Crow Laws, but that is about the most progress we have made. This I agree with. There are people in the South who show off the Confederate flag from the Civil War, which ended more than 150 years ago, with pride and as a symbol of heritage. A large majority of African Americans see the flag as a symbol of hatred towards blacks. It is not only the Southern states that show the Confederate flag out in the public, often when I am driving, I see the flag waving off of the back of someones truck. If I was an African American seeing this I would feel so scared and violated. It is not okay for African Americans to have to feel this way just going out in public. As mentioned in the title of the article, America does have a big problem regarding race and as we can see, the problem is not getting any better.]]> 2017-12-17 19:30:10 UTC https://padlet.com/jada_laflin/gun7auboyp1w/wish/216797653