The Civil Rights Movement

The Civil Rights Movement began in 1954, and went all the way until 1968. During this time, civil rights activists were trying to gain freedom for African Americans. Civil rights are "the rights of citizens to political and social freedom and equality." The problem in America at this time was that African Americans were not getting their civil rights. For example, lunch counters, especially in the South, were segregated. The segregation was so bad that black people weren't even allowed to go inside the lunch counters to order food. As a result of this, many civil rights activists organized sit-ins, or days when black people would go inside lunch counters and sit down at the counter. They would not leave until they were allowed to order food. Once the police figured out that this was happening, they came to the restaurants and told the protesters to leave. When they refused to do so, the police beat them. The protesters were nonviolent, so they took the beatings instead of fighting back. In the end, this forced the lunch counters to integrate, and soon after, blacks and whites were able to eat together.

Ella Baker

Although we have come a long way, there is still inequality in the world for all types of minority groups. Ella Baker made a name for herself despite all the things pushing her back. As a woman in the Civil Rights movemnt Ella Baker was often overlooked. She worked alongside many famous Civil Rights activists and leaders like; W.E.B Du Bois and Martin Luther King Jr.  She had different believes than a lot of others involved in the movement. She strongly believed in giving power to the people and letting them make decisions rather than having someone in a position of power do all of the work. Even though the Civil Rights movement came with a lot of progress there is still work to be done. Ella Baker was a figure in the movement that made the inclusion of more people in the movement easier.

Japanese Interment Camps

On February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt had Executive Order 9066 signed and issued that declared the internment of all Japanese Americans or those of Japanese descent would be interned in isolated camps on the West Coast as they were considered a threat to national security in the United States.

Many Japanese Families would be drastically affected by the Presidents decision to intern them until the end of the war. Many of these families were being told that it was for their own safety behind a camp that was fenced with barbed wire. Children and adults were moved to remote places where buildings that looked like they were made for livestock were now being converted into for the purpose of the families removed to live there from 1942 through 1945. The buildings they lived in were often not very good as they were once places where animals had lived and the sanitation was bad. The camps often included things such as schools, post offices, work facilities, farmland that was all protected in a camp surrounded by barbed wire. With these places, children and adults were limited to what they were able to in the camps to pass time until the war ended. There were assembly centers that gave an opportunity for some Japanese to go do work on a farm and there were cases of over 4,000 Japanese Americans who were allowed to attend college. At some of the camps, it was reported that violence occurred at Santa Anita facility where a riot broke out from overcrowding and not enough rations at the camp. Some even tried to escape being interned while they were sent to a camp. It often resulted in the person who tries to escape being shot and killed

In the Endo Vs. The United States case,  it was declared that the internment of Japanese Americans was unjust and that the US had no right to intern its own citizens. It was decided that the camps should be closed after the decision of the Supreme Court in 1945 decided to close the camps. It was reported that the last Japanse camp was closed in 1946. Many years would pass by until the United States government would acknowledge and take full responsibility for their wrongdoing in interning many of their Japanese American citizens.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929. When he grew up, he became the pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. Growing up, he went to segregated public schools in Georgia. When he was fifteen, he graduated from high school. King went to college at Morehouse College, which was a fancy African American school in Atlanta, Georgia. After he graduated, he studied theology for three years at Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania. Here, he was elected president of the senior class, which was mostly made up of white people.

He had been a civil rights activist for African Americans for many years. King was so involved, that he was a member of the executive committee of the NAACP. In December 1955, he became the leader of the first African American nonviolent demonstration in the United States. King became an icon for civil rights. He gave his "I have a dream" speech on at the Lincoln Memorial. In this speech, he talked about his dreams of an America without segregation, an America with equality, and most importantly, an America where people of all races and religions would live in harmony. This speech was the last speech Dr. King gave before his death. It was the night before he was to lead a protest march in sympathy with striking garbage workers of Memphis, Tennessee. On April 4, 1968, he was standing on the balcony of his motel room in the evening, and he was assassinated. Even after Dr. King's unfortunate death, the civil rights movement still lived on for years to come. 

PragerU Political Correctness

In this age of Political Correctness, it seems almost blasphemous to suggest that one culture might be superior to another. This is especially so if one asserts that it's the western culture which is superior. Yet that is precisely what PragerU does with this controversial, but thought-provoking, video.

According to Dinesh D'Souza, western culture (which of course forms the backdrop and context of the British Empire and the United States of America) is indeed superior to the other cultures of the world. However is this really the truth? Does the narrow-minded idea of a western society that is the creating an extreme divide within its own borders really result in a superior culture? My personal opinion is no, a culture that is causing itself to form a social and political divide is innately flawed and for this reason should be judged and dealt with with no blind eye to the obvious flaws it holds.

But that is just my opinion, what is yours? Let me know what you think in the comments ^_^

The Great Depression/Recession

Throughout our nation's history, there have been many flaws in our governmental system that have been exposed over the years. These exposures have been dubbed the name "recessions" as in the decline in the governments economic or political power due to such a flaw. The Great Depression was by far the worst of these with over 50% of the banks failing and over 25% unemployment. Since then, similar situations have been put into effect such as the Great recession however none of them have ever been as bad.

One fact that I personally learned and did not realize before is that these recessions actually had a global impact. Not only was the economy of America in a rapid decline, but this also had repercussions around the globe.

Women of the Civil Rights Movement: Fannie Lou Hamer

The Civil Rights Movement goal was to outlaw laws being racially against a certain race. It was all about equality. However, during this time period, women, no matter the color of her skin, was considered lower than men. Even within the Civil Rights Movement, the women were pacified. We don't hear about many of the women who contributed to the Civil Rights Movement. One woman in this movement was Fannie Lou Hamer. She was an American voting and women's rights activist. She was the co-founder and vice-chair of the Freedom Democratic Party, which she represented at the 1964 Democratic National Convention. She was known for her use of spiritual hymnals and quotes and her resilience in leading the civil rights movement for black women in Mississippi. She was extorted, threatened, harassed, shot at, and assaulted by white supremacists and police while trying to register for and exercise her right to vote. She later helped and encouraged thousands of African-Americans in Mississippi to become registered voters, and helped hundreds of disenfranchised people in her area through her work in programs like the Freedom Farm Cooperative. In 1993, she was put into the Women's Hall of Fame.