Week 5: Blog Reflection

So far, I feel that a common theme among the readings has surfaced in the class, from civil rights, to racial injustice, to how far (or even how little...) we have come as a society in the fight for rights for minorities. From Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter From Birmingham Jail, to The Black Power Mixtape, these themes are explored more in depth. We take a closer look at the civil rights movement of MLK's time in the Letter From Birmingham Jail, where MLK uses his platform to convince eight white religious leaders as to why protesting is fair and needed, and why people of color are deserving of just the same civil rights as those who are white. He persuades his reader through uses of pathos, showing them how laws were unjust and immoral, how they were used to keep the people of color down. He questions American democracy, asking how democracy can even work in such a place where an entire race of people is constantly downtrodden, kept even from the basic right to vote in a country that is supposedly free for all. He argues that change can only happen if everyone, including white people, get involved and demand it.

We then move onto Obama, and his time in office. He addressed the United States prior to leaving office, trying to instill hope into people when people felt that all hope was lost due to Trump winning the election. Trump winning the election was a direct response to Obama's presidency, from the misguided individuals in America that have deep-seated prejudice whether they acknowledge it or not. Obama's words were meant for not only those he was trying to soothe, but also for the aforementioned people. He told of his accomplishments in his eight years, showing that yes, he did make America a better place. He described that to preserve democracy, people must become active in the fight against discrimination, including those who had such misguided prejudice against people unlike themselves. This social activism can be paralleled to MLK, sadly because it seems not much has changed over the last decades when it comes to racial prejudice. This brings us to the movie Selma, and the documentary The Black Power Mixtape.

Selma explored the same idea MLK brought up about people of color being unable to vote in the state whose laws bullied them into being so segregated. This movie parallels current society, with police brutality and killing of people of color, as well as the voter ID issues states have had during the last election as well as local elections. Selma shows these issues as how they occurred decades ago, but really, it seems this issue was never resolved. We see Jimmie Lee Jackson killed just for peacefully protesting in the movie.This police brutality is so common in society today, that seemingly there is a story each day on the news that pertains to it. People of color cannot even turn their backs on police, unarmed, without fear of being killed. They cannot be pulled over for a routine traffic stop without being fearful.

This fear is brought up in The Black Power Mixtape as well, with the Black Panther Party and Angela Davis. The Black Panther Party was definitely more militant than MLK's movement, but it had its ideas in the right spot. And just because it was more militant in nature than MLK's movement, does not mean members deserved to be killed just for standing up for their race. It was an interesting watch, to see that again, not much has seemed to change between now and then. There is still rampant racism in our society that is being left unchecked, leading to what I believe is history repeating itself. Hopefully, we as a society will come out on the right side of history this time around, and live peacefully with equity for all.