The individuals who composed and signed The Declaration of Independence were willing to lose everything and be tried as traitors to their country. With the idea of fighting for your beliefs and values in mind, consider issues that affect you. What are some social justice issues (local or global) that you feel strongly about and might inspire you to act? Consider the history that Layli Long Soldier covers in her poem “38.” Are there any incidents or chapters in US history that you think are not as visible as they should be, and that you think are important for people to learn about? Are there contemporary incidents that you think should be included in historical accounts of our era so people in the future can learn from them?
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Course Description: A course in effective essay writing and basic research techniques including use of the library. Demanding readings assigned for classroom discussion and as a basis for essay writing
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Ursula C. Schwerin Library
New York City College of Technology, C.U.N.Y
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Well for starters, people with my skin tone still aren’t treated and respected equally in certain parts of this country. That is a cause I’m willing to sacrifice for. Another would be shelter for all at least let’s get people off the streets in our country… Everyone deserves to have a roof over their head, something is better than nothing. There are many events of history involving this country that get glossed over/not taught in the scheme of things such as Black Wall Street bombing, MLK cheating on his wife (crazy how they include that in his movie but not Dakota 38 in Lincoln’s movie) Stanford experiment, Tuskegee study, taking Nazi research and in exchange freeing them for the knowledge they give etc. The list can go on and on and it is very important people educate themselves so we can stop getting taken advantage of. History will continue to repeat itself unless we as a people stand up and do something about it.
A contemporary issue that should be included in a historical account of this era is police brutality. A civil issue that has been a part of American history and continues to be. An issue defined by an excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or a group. And characterized by the systemic racism and unwarranted predujust present in our country.
In the beginning of the declaration it started off as a well intended group effort to help the future of America to strive and so it did. Many generations after, the government helped. This is learned through learning of American history, however, we are taught only the good things it has done. For example, we learn about how it helped during the Great Depression, Child Labor and acts that help fund money to the people who don’t. In a way this covers up the dirty acts, as well as blinding the people of the country with these good deeds. However, what we don’t learn alike stated in the poem “38” by Lalyi Song Solider, is the bad acts that the government/ president did to expand this nation. Not only was tricking the natives into treaties that were not respected/followed through, bringing their dome, kicked off their land, but when trying to create a up-rise due to there treatment, they were sent to be executed. Present day, we face similar struggles such as the discrimination of different races, crimes against these races, authority that are not providing enough protection and instead ignore it for a longer time because they are more worried about immigrants wanting to cross the boarder and although it is important they focus more in foreign problems instead of domestic issues.
A social justice issue that I feel strongly about is racism and the attacks caused by it towards people of color. As a person of color myself, I feel scared to be walking out on the streets everyday because of the stories I’ve seen on the media of people of color getting randomly attacked. There are a lot of chapters in US history that deal with racism and I believe that not everyone is equal because their race can strongly impact their lives. I feel like even if people learn about infamous events regarding racism, it is a thing that is never going to change.
Equality is still very far from what we have now. Whether it is based on race, gender, or age, there is not that much equality in the world. Women are still being paid an average of 17% less than men. Race is pretty self-explanatory, and plays a big role in how people are treated. As seen in books, the world, and history racism can strongly impact people’s lives. Immigrants are also really far from equality as they are struggling through life with the difficulties of education, healthcare, employment, etc.
A social justice issue that I personally feel strongly about is the racism and the sexism that is going on. As a human being I am always disturbed and disgusted by all the racism that takes place. I am tired of watching people getting attacked due to the color of their skin. I believe that not everyone is equal because some people will just judge you right away just by looking at the color of your skin. That is something that is completely unfair, and it is a high possibility that it will never end because there are a lot of people who think that there is nothing wrong with racism. There is a lot of history that talks about racism, but it isn’t talked about enough.
A social justice issue that I personally feel strongly about is the racism and sexism that is going on. Even though I have never really been told racist things or anything about my gender I did see some people being judged or attacked cause of their skin color or their gender. I believe that only few people are equal and that a lot of people judge them based on their skin color. There is a lot of history that talks about racism. But yet it never ends and I don’t think racism will ever end.