Amanda Moran

In class we watched a movie called  The Help .  This movie is a drama film that was made in 2011. It was directed by Tate Taylor. Its setting took place in Mississippi during the 1960s. The plot, was about a group of maids who were African American. Their jobs were taking care of children and helping care for them. One of the white women in the movie begins to write a book about the bad situations that the maids have been in. The book was later published, but the maids remained anonymous.  In my opinion, it is good a book like this was written. It helps bring light into these situations that probably a lot of other African American maids go through. I understand why the maids wanted to remain anonymous, because who knows the backlash they could get. Although, I do find it inspiring that the maids did not want any credit in a book they helped create. They decided to focus on the issue and main point of the book, instead of getting fame and attention from it.  I did enjoy this movie and

The Red Summer became the peek of growing tensions that surrounded the great migration of African Americans from the South into the cities of the North. An African American drowned at Lake Michigan soon after he violated the unofficial segregation Chicago’s beaches and was stoned by a group of white boys. This all took place on July 27, 1919. The police refused to take arrests towards to white men who caused it. This sparked a huge riot between black and white gangs. These riots concentrated on the South Side throughout the neighborhoods. The riots eventually ended on August 13. 15 whites, 23 blacks were killed, and over 500 people were injured. This also resulted in 1,000 black families losing their  homes.  

The Brown V. Board of Education case brought together 3 separate states. It is said that by law the schools were segregated between black and white schools. The schools for black children were poor, while the schools for white children were better and got better education. Brown is a parent of a black child who goes to the schools. He claims that having a law that forces children to be segregated violates the their 14th amendment rights.  The opposite side believed that white kids were farther ahead than black kids for education. They claim that colored students would not understand the concepts being taught in class. Also, during this time many blacks did not know how to properly read or write, so the students would need extra attention to be educated on reading and writing. A majority of white students already knew how to read and write, making them ahead of the black students who do not know.  Through my viewpoint, now this is seen as wrong and unfair. There is no equality or respec

One of the groups today in class presented a Supreme Court case called State vs Mann . The defendant John Mann shot his runaway slave, Lydia, in the back. She did end up surviving the shooting. Lydia was not owned by John Mann, she was a rented slave. North Carolina charged Mann with assault and charged 10 dollars. John believed he did not have to pay the 10 dollars, because he can do whatever he wants to his property on his owned land. The argument, also talked about how a loaned slave is still a slave with no rights and their "master" can control them however they want. The judge was then charged, because they believed that the charge was unwarrantable to the slave. The jury ended up convicting the defendant and Mann appealed the conviction.  In my opinion, the charge and assault seemed wrong. When law comes into the picture though, Mann had the right to control a slave. This is a controversial case, because Lydia was a runaway slave and owners are allowed to punish runaway

The first groups's presentation talked about the Reconstruction Era. The amendments for African Americans is what makes it called reconstruction amendment. The 13th amendment abolished slavery. The 14th amendment granted citizenship for the people of color here in the United States. “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside.” Hiram R. Revels was the first color man to serve as U.S Senate. He briefly served as Mississippi  State Senate before. Many of the people in the United States did not like the idea of a colored man having this high of a position in the government.  In the presentation, black colleges were discussed. There were only a few schools that offered education to blacks. The white teachers lacked a lot of motivation to teach them. One of the colleges mentioned was, Institute for Colored Youth. This school was the first high education institution

In class on Friday, we watched a movie called Gone With The Wind. The movie is a historical romance and was released in 1939. This film is considered controversial that was written by Margaret Mitchell. It was also taken place during the Civil War. The theme to this  movie, is survival. " What makes some people come through catastrophes and others, apparently just as able, strong, and brave, go under? It happens in every upheaval. Some people survive; others don't", states  Mitchell.  The movie starts off with the main  character   Scarlett. She was very flirtatious and wanted to find love. The man she loved was engaged, so this was very discouraging to her. Scarlett eventually marries another man to make Ashley Wilkes jealous. During the war, many of the men in Scarlett's town were killed. She took the job as a nurse and the job seemed so overwhelming. Scarlett eventually delivered her sisters' baby too.  I can see how this movie could be offensive to the black c

Each of my classmates  gave  a brief presentation about a  person  who  was  either anti  slavery  or pro  slavery .  It  was   very  interesting listening to each of their  presentations  about a  different  historical person.  One of the most interesting one to me was Abraham Lincoln being antislavery.  I  did  Abraham as proslavery which  explained  why the oral presentation  given   showed  how  Lincoln 's  viewpoint  changed throughout his  presidency .   Lincoln   was  against  slavery  and made a decision to  free  all  slaves  as he was  running  for  president .  In  comparison  to mine, Abraham  Lincoln   actually  wanted to  send  the  slaves  back to their own country since he  thought  they did not belong in America.   Lincoln  is  known  as the  president  who  freed  the  slaves  in the United States. Another  presentation  that I found  interesting ,  was  Fredrick Douglass.  He  escaped  from  slavery  in Maryland and then became a national leader of  abolitionist

I Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809 in Hodgenville Kentucky. My family and I moved to southern Indiana and worked constantly to support my family. When I entered politics, I soon won the election to the U.S House of Representatives in 1846. At that time I was not popular with Illinois voters, because of my beliefs against the Mexican-American War. In 1860, I won the election as the 16th president of the U.S over a divided democratic party. Douglas represented this party. I was reelected in 1864, which was a hard election for me to win. This time was also when I freed the slaves. My assassination later took place on April 15, 1865. I was only 42 days into my second term.  I grew up in a world where slavery was present and racism flourished. I did not know what should be done about slavery in America. I contemplated freeing the slaves and sending them back to their own native land called Liberia. I am not someone who criticizes the Southerners. African Americans in my eyes I

The theory "Promote Tolerance" about freedom of speech and extremist speech, resonates most with me. We have the freedom to say and believe in our own opinions towards the president or government. Everyone may not agree with each other and different beliefs form, but this may better the society and our country. Beliefs that someone may have might convince another persons viewpoint into a more open idea. Lee Bollinger wrote his view  on the "Tolerant Society".  He argues that protecting it could reduce racial tensions and the beliefs of other individuals in society. Lee Bollinger also argues tolerance in favor of protecting extremist speech. Bollinger states  "toleration helps to promote a stable and open society". In support of this, he believes that it could make individuals respectful of the rights of other.  I agree with these points. Toleration can help society by encouraging respect and openness to other people's beliefs. I believe that respecting

"Glory" is a war  movie  about the first African-American fighting unit of the American Civil War. It is a true story based off of the 54th Massachusetts Regiment. The blacks in "Glory" were viewed as men who were not considered good soldiers. The unit redeemed themselves by fighting a Confederate fort in Charleston, South Carolina. The attack was brutal, but the troops continued to march forward in the bloodiest battle. They proved society that they can fight proudly in battle and can be just as patriotic as white men.  I enjoyed the lesson of history in "Glory". I was never taught about this historical moment in high school, so I was grateful to have watched this movie in my seminar class here at High Point University. These men were so proud to wear that blue uniform and accepted the racism Americans and the other white soldiers gave them. One of my favorite scenes, was when they protested about their payment that was less than other soldiers. Robert Sh

In my seminar class I watched a video about the Supreme Court that explains how important it is and the job of justices. The Supreme Court is the most powerful court in the United States. There are over 100 justices that stay in place for about 16 years. These justices consider cases that they review once a week. There are 7,000 cases a year that get sent to the justices so they can be considered.  Once considered, the case is sent to the court where lawyers and judges are in place. After the court session the justices write opinions. Opinions are the most time-consuming and the goal is to persuade others to support their opinion. Later, a copy of the opinion releases into the press for the public to read. Judicial Review is the power of the court to check all actions in all parts of the government. It will be either constitutional or unconstitutional. Judicial Activism is constant change in the law. This also means that they can put a case down as unconstitutional. Judicial Res