Class Notes 5/9

At the beginning of class we started class with a presentation about mass incarnation. It talked about what 13^th had talked about as well. It discussed how people, especially African American’s were accused of things they didn’t do just because of their color. We then talked about Jordan Edwards and how to cope with his death, and how to view his death. We were shown a quote that talked about the death of Jordan Edwards and how his death should not be viewed as bad just because of how good of a person he was, but because he was a person. The quote also brought attention to the fact that through a Christian lens everyone is fearfully and wonderfully made, and that’s how we should talk about the death of people regardless if you felt they were worth killing or not.

We then moved on to talk about the poem, “Cells and Windows.” Professor West told us how this poem used institutionalized rhetoric. She spoke about the poem and how the author discusses a standardized test that is twisted so there are different right answers depending on what you believe. Dr. West also talked about how the author makes it seem that if this poem is a test she is refusing to follow the standardized rules. The author attempts to put the information in a box and categories and she proves that this does not work. The artist that the author is referring to also clumps things by colors and lines, and when referencing the artwork, the poet makes it known that we should not do that with people. She makes it known that this approach does not work. However, it has been seen all throughout history and still today, that people have been placed into certain categories due to their skin color or social class. This poem raises awareness to this issue, and the author wants the reader to know that approach does not work.

We then had a group discussion about the documentary 13^th. We all went around the room and discussed the impact that this film had on us. We talked about certain scenes and images that were most memorable to us, and many people stated how the film brought up different things about America, and politics that they had never known before. Some also stated that because this film discussed very current racial issues, it seems like nothing has changed from history in terms of racism. After this observation was mentioned Dr. West then told us about how it is easy to look at the film and think that very little has changed, and asked us how we as Christian’s can respond to that without just feeling helpless and in despair?

From this question the class talked about how society has changed, and as Christians we become more aware of what is wrong. We also talked about how there can be a redesigning of laws, rather than reforming of laws. This makes it hard to completely change everything. As Christians we can’t be surprised that the world is broken, we have to realize that evil is constantly changing its shape and when it finds a way that works, evil will redesigns itself.

Dr. West then put a verse up on the board from Hebrews that stated, “Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them; those who are being tortured, as though you yourselves were being tortured.” (Hebrews 13:3) The class then talked about how we must remember those who are in prison whether they should be, or because they are not able to go to trial, or because they simply can’t afford bail. As Christians we cannot look away from those hard things. Instead we should step up and do the hard work. As the verse states are all called to be aware to those who are hurting, and to weep with them. We also discussed how should think of the best justice we can hope for in sinful situations while being realistic, because this gives us a goal to strive for because there is no perfect solution. We then discussed how it is easy to feel hopeless, like we can’t do anything, but we should not just settle for that. But instead continue trying and not giving up, just as Christ did not give up on us.

Dr. West then told us a story about how her eyes were open to the ways in which the world is set up and how it is easy for some people to move around, and harder for others (comparing to people with wheelchairs vs. people on foot, and how there are more stairs than ramps).  This Literature and Human Rights class has opened our eyes similarly to her experience because it has shown us new ways that the world has been set up to advantage certain people and disadvantage other people. We then discussed how this does not mean that white people were in fact bad and hold a secret hate in their heart for African American’s it just means that there are certain instances that we are now able to look at and dissect with our knowledge through this course to decide whether or not it was intentional mistreatment, or due to societal norms and beliefs.

We wrapped up class discussing Coates, Between the World and Me and briefly talked about three main quotes from the text. The first being, “Remember that this consciousness can never ultimately be racial; it must be cosmic” (128). This was explained as consciousness being related to the world and largely hard to understand. Therefore there is more too it than just racism, but much more that is hard to understand and has more going into it. Then we talked about that part of our responsibility is to care for the earth. We discussed the quote,  “once the Dream’s parameters were caged by technology and by the limits of horsepower and wind… (150) Dr. West told us how part of what we are after in terms of justice is how we treat creation as well as how we treat one another. It is not about blaming all white people for what has happened, but to resist the dream that we could perhaps have some kind of life that doesn’t have consequences for other people. The last quote we talked about stated, “I often wonder if in that distance I’ve missed something, some notions of cosmic hope, some wisdom beyond my mean physical perception of the world, something beyond the body, that I might have transmitted to you” (139).  This resulted in us talking about how she can respond to the death of her son through the church and faith. This is because faith is what allows us to face these situations with hope and not despair and seeing the world as physical struggle, but it is because of God we are able to know about a world after this place of sin.

We ended class going over the final exam and talking about what is expected of us for our final take-home.

Resource Review - World Relief

(Just a disclaimer - I am doing this assignment in place of the class session summary notes, not because we were required to do it.)

World Relief is an organisation that relates to the problems discussed in our class because it deals with the violation and lack of basic human rights across the world. World Relief was started as a response to European devastation in 1944 from World War II. It shipped food and clothing from the United States and distributed it in Europe through a network of churches. When the Korean War started in the 1950’s, World Relief arrived and served about 31,000 hot meals every day across 140 centres. In the 60’s, World Relief expanded rapidly, bringing food to the world’s poorest regions, bringing aid to lepers in Taiwan, aid for orphans in Egypt, aid for earthquake survivors, and more. During that time, the organisation also started training programs and “food for work” programs to help people across the world. In the 70’s, World Relief provided aid for earthquake survivors in Peru, cyclone survivors in Bangladesh, and much more. Throughout the years up until the present, World Relief has continued to provide relief to many regions across the world in different ways.

In 2014, World Relief had its 70^th anniversary where it celebrated a total of 250,000 welcomed refugees in the United States from 80 countries. Today, World Relief serves over 10 million men, women, and children who have been displaced from their homes. In the United States, World Relief has 20 offices, each serving dependent refugees by making them independent. Refugees are provided with tools to help them secure housing, employment, and education, as well as counselling and legal clinics to help them become U.S. citizens.

Across the world, World relief is currently working in the following countries: Burundi, Cambodia, The Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Indonesia, Haiti, Mozambique, Rwanda, Malawi, Sudan, and South Sudan. In these countries, World Relief partners with churches to provide medical care and nutrition, as well as assistance with child development, agriculture, savings, and peacebuilding. Their goal is to transform regions by promoting self-reliance and a healthy community.

This organisation relates to our course in several ways. Primarily, the organisation relates to the course because it finds people whose human rights have been shattered, and helps them so that they can be confident in their human rights yet again. Specifically, the human right most often protected and reinforced by World Relief is found in Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “Everyone has the right to life, liberty, and security of person.” The current refugee crisis has tasked World Relief with a massive job. Millions of refugees across the world have been denied the rights presented in Article 3. They have been forced out of their homes, and therefore denied the right to security of person. By providing these people with the necessary resources to take refuge in America, World Relief is making it possible for them to do so, and they are enforcing the basic human right to security of person.

You can also make the claim that World Relief defends Article 8 of the Preamble, “Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.” For example, World Reliefs first project (bringing aid to war-torn Europe) defended this human right. The people of Europe had their property destroyed, wealth taken, and loved ones killed because of the war. By providing aid to Europe, World Relief brought it one step closer to healing and reimbursement, an “effective remedy” for those who needed it.

Obviously, our class is meant to educate us on problems facing the world regarding human rights. Education is very important, but it means nothing unless action is taken to solve the problems at hand. Today, we are facing major problems such as the refugee crisis and extreme hunger in Africa, which violate the human right of security of person. World Relief, by collecting donations and providing aid to those in need, is taking a step to solve these problems, and therefore protect human rights. Organisations like this are channels we can invest in to defend the human rights we have learned about, providing everyone with equal opportunities and security in their own lives. 

Colonialism in Africa

Colonnization of Africa

- 1870-1900 was when colonizatioon and colonialism took place in Africa
- Early 20th century: the conquest and colonization of Africa by European powers
- The capitalist Industrialization influenced the scramle, partition, and conquest of Africa
- The main factors for the colonization were Economic, Political, and Social. The most important one was Economic. The political factor was due to competition for political power, where European countries that had more territory had more power. The social factor was due to the European Industrialization, with social unenployment generating poverty, the European countries wanted to export those people to the colonies.
- The scramble of africa started to generate a fear of conflict and war, therefore, in the Berlin Conference of november 1884- february 1885, the Berlin Act was signed by European countries. The Berlin act allowed European inter-imperialist competition in Africa. The Act was signed without any African participation, and eventhough men were sent to the african countries to tell them what this was about, the wrong message was sent to them, therefore they wrongly signed a consent to the European countries.
- African countries did resist for a certain period of time, however, as the European countries were more developed in their weapons and civilization, they took down the Guerrilla and military engagement of the African countries.


British Colonialism in Nigeria

- Britain took over in 1884
- Nigerian people were first led by Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe
- British ruled for 76 years, until Nigeria got their independence back in October 1st, 1960
- The main sources Britain looked for were Palm Oil, and Palm Kemels
Negative effects of colonization 
- It caused divisions between ethnic groups
- Caused poverty in the country, partialy because the British stole raw materials and art pices
- New diseases came into the country
- Citizens became slaves
- Traditions were interrupted
Positive Effects of colonization
- Introduction of cash crops
- The british brought education
- The british also brought and intrduced some type of government structure
- International trade was also introduced

class notes - documentary 13th

The documentary 13^th is based on the racial disparities dating back to slavery that extend into the era of mass incarceration. Mass incarceration is an era that began in the early 1970’s and runs into the present. 13^th begins dialogue on the controversy of the loophole that is within the 13^th amendment which states "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." Beginning with slavery, the documentary unfolds the chain reaction that has led to the current era of mass incarceration. The opening statement in the documentary states this, “The United States is home to 5% of the worlds population but 25% of the worlds prisoners. ¼ prisoners in the world are locked up in the United States.” Unfortunately the issue is said to be from a chain reaction of events so large, reducing that number is nearly impossible. Because the 13^th amendment grants the legality of slavery through criminals, it has been used as a tool against the prison population for the greater benefit of the government and all who are associated. When slavery was abolished in 1865, the economic crisis began to take its toll on the people who had previously benefitted from the Africans who were forced to work for them. The American government now needed a new way to raise the economy in spite of this crisis and slavery seemed to be the best option. After the civil war, the 13^th amendment was exploited and people were being arrested for minor crimes such as loitering and vagrancy and criminalized for economic benefit. Because of the 13^th amendment loophole that granted the prospect of economic benefit through enslaving criminals, the African American people went from free people to slaves once again in a matter of seconds. The blacks were becoming this stereotype of criminal intent they did not deserve. This then became a notion perceived all too often we see today. The black Americans became these horrid figures that were perceived as criminal and with the up-rise of the KKK there was a series of lynching in the south that cause the African Americans to flee to the cities we see them today such as Chicago, Detroit, and Harlem. Segregation soon followed because of this fear of black people and civil rights activists began to start movements in up-rise against this oppression. Many ties we look at these activists as heroes but they were demonized and portrayed as criminals that violated the laws in the south. The civil rights movement began to pick up speed around the same time that crime rates began to rise in the United States giving politicians leverage allowing them to claim that somehow the movement had to do with these rising crime rates. President Nixon began the law and order era, which was a fight against crime turned fight against black political movements, and other liberation movements. Drug abuse became “America’s public enemy number 1” according to Nixon and was intended to disrupt the black community. When Ronald Reagan was elected, the war on drugs became literal in 1982 and the crisis in the economy was highly evident.  When crack cocaine became introduced into the market, it took over and the criminal penalties increased. The war on drugs influentially increased the prison population and provided profit for companies that are supplied by prison laborers.  Unfortunately the fact that corporations were benefitting from prisoners labor, this meant a lot of people wanted to keep [prisoners imprisoned. Innocent people await trial for long periods of time and are faced with the choice of pleading guilty to crimes they did not commit in order to avoid facing conviction of a longer sentence. The problem with t eh prison system is that people are being locked away and little to nothing is done to rehabilitate them. Instead, their liberty Is taken away, and they are punished for heir crimes. The prison system does not prepare people for the real world and many people end up living worse off than they were inside of the prison. In America it is not enough to repay your debt but you must be shunned from society and your past will follow you wherever you go.

Class Notes 5/2

Checklist for class today-

• Reading response to, between the world and me- How did it make you feel to read Between the World and Me and why?
• Understanding- Wealth and equality among African Americans and white Americans
• Red- negro concentration- category for whether a neighborhood was good or bad was based on race- 1930s-1940s
• FHA granting mortgages, would not finance a home in a red area- “Red lining”
• FHA refused to finance home in these red areas
• Return to groups- think about quotes in lens of the rest of the book
• Use quotes as a catalyst for discussion
• Have big discussion about quotes etc.
• Go in groups, chronologically, pausing to discuss what the groups have shared
• 1. Coates- Definition of racism- right quotes
• Whiteness becomes an idealized norm
• Race is a by product of racism
• Psychological perception of your own race
• White people held to a standard as well
• What does he mean by the people who believe that they are white? 42,98
• “In order to believe in your whiteness you have to ascribe to it”- Dr. West
• White Supremacy- language of cultural superiority
• 3. What role does innocence play in this story? Why does that matter? 96-97
• Flip side to innocence is naivety
• How do we determine who is guilty?- Dr. West
• Part of what Coates learns that he is not innocent and if he is flawed everyone is flawed.
• 2. Democracy and American Exceptionalism- What does American exceptionalism mean?
• Comparing our government to other countries- creates an allusion
• Fine print- involuntary capitalist exceptionalism
• 4. Because criminal justice system is flawed- it has potential to break someone
• We think about racism as individual acts of meanness”
• He is talking about systemic injustice/institutional injustice- Housing, jailing
• “I'm not a racist”- washes the hand of what inequality does exist
• we blame the victim
• 5. The dream-
• Intention- slave owners didn’t mean to be cruel or some were good to their slaves- the dream is a way in which we hope for a way of living without realizing the effects on other people, minorities- this white picket fence dream is not beneficial to all
• 6. What it means to be a writer-
• Means of recognizing- no one is really innocent
• Motive
• Pg. 29- writing as a means to getting an answer to the question at hand
• He learns he has a different way of seeing the world and wants to ask questions
• Personal Responses to the Book
• Who is the intended audience beyond his son?
• Dreamers who might not see themselves but might relate to the logic of cultural superiority

Dehumanization, which marks not only those whose humanity has been stolen, but also (though in a different way) those who have stolen it, is a distortion of the vocation of becoming more fully human” -  Paulo Freire Pedagogy of the Oppressed

Reading Response: Letters

We've now read several different pieces of epistolary literature (written in letter form), so for this response, I'd like for you to choose one of the final letters in The Fire This Time, "Message to My Daughters" or "This Far: Notes on Love and Revolution" and write your own letter in response. You can address the author, or someone you know, or me, or us as a class, and respond to the ideas in the letter you choose.  This response is due on May 9 by the end of the day (11:59 pm).

Reading Response: Open Poetry Explication

For this response, choose one poem, and dig deeply into it to explore what you think it's trying to get us to see or feel. Any poem from Of Poetry and Protest is an option, except for those that have been options for reading responses before. You can write about any poem in the collection except for the Emmett Till poems and the poems about Civil Rights (the ones about Rosa Parks and Fannie Lou Hamer). You are also welcome to read other poems by the poets you've encountered; the Poetry Foundation website is searchable by author if you'd like to look for one poet's work, or they also put together a list of poems for Black History Month by some of the authors we've read. Any of those are fair game as well.

If you have questions about whether or not you can write about a poem, let me know, but the point here is for you to offer your original ideas about how to interpret a poem that has spoken to you in some way. Make sure you identify the poem with title and author. This response is due on May 9, but the end of the day is fine (11:59 pm).