f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\12 Angry Men.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ A persons surroundings can influence him. In "12 Angry Men" by Reginald Rose a young mans life is held by twelve men with contrasing views. Eight a caring man, who wishes to talk about why the other jurors think that the boy is guilty, clashes with Three, a sadistic man who would pull the swith himselfto end the boys life. Accroding to Rose, several elements can infulence a jury's verdict, such as the emotional make-up of individual jurors. Many elements can change a jurors decision. Juror Three, who is convincd that the boy is guilty, is allied with Four who is eventually convicedEights showing of how the two testimonies given by the old woman and old man are lies, votes guilty. Three outraged by this exclames "A guilty man's gonna be walking the streets... he's got to die! Stay with me." (23) But Four sees the truth that Eight has brought into th light and still votes guilty. Eight tries to convince Three how the boy is not guilty beyond reasonable doubt but Three does not listen adn would rather see the boy die. "For this kid, you bet I'd pull the switch."(17) This shows how emotionally unstable Three is. He is a grown man living in a civilized community and would like to see a boy who he does not even know die by his own hands Eight does not think highly of Three for what he says about killing the boy and shouts "your a sadist."(17) which is the absolute truth about Three. The emotional make-up of a juror can change his desicision on wther or not to let a man live or die. When someone is asked judge someone else, shoud not you look at al the facts to be sure beyond a shoadow of a doubt that the man who cimmitted the crime is guilty? Yes, a juror should look at all the facts but some do not, they just judge the person on how that person feels. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\A Comparison of the Status of Women in Classical Athens and E.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ A Comparison of the Status of Women in Classical Athens and Early Christianity Since the beginning of time the treatment of women has improved dramatically. In the earliest of times women were mere slaves to men. Today women are near equals in almost all fields. In 411 B.C., when Lysistrata was written, men had many stunning advantages to that of their female counterparts. Although women's rights between 30 and 100 A.D., the time of the New Testament, were still not what they are today, the treatment of women was far better. Overall, the equality of women in the New Testament exceeds that of the women in Lysistrata in three major ways: physical mobility, society's view of women's nature, and women's public legal rights. Albeit in Lysistrata the women were shown as revolutionaries rising up against the men, women in classical Greece were never like that. Aristophanes created the play as a comedy, showing how the world might be in the times of the Peloponesian war if women tried to do something. It was the women's job to stay home and tend to the house, and never leave, unlike they did in the play, the women were shown as revolutionaries rising up against the men, women in classical Greece were never like that. The activities of women in Classical Athens were confined to "bearing children, spinning and weaving, and maybe managing the domestic arrangements. No wandering in the beautiful streets for them." The suppression of women went so far as to divide the house into separate areas for males and females. While the women stayed home, the men were usually out fighting, and when they weren't fighting, they were entertaining their friends and having sexual favors performed by courtesans. The rights of women in early Christianity were a far cry from today, although they were much better off than their Athenian counterparts. In the Christian church, women were treated as equals. The first evidence of this is when the woman with hemorrhages touches Jesus' clothing and he says that her faith has made her well (Mark 5:34). This shows that both sexes are treated equally in that eyes of god even though at this time the hemorrhages that the woman was having was a symbol of uncleanness, and that good things can happen to both if they have enough "faith." The rights of women are also extended in the New Testament when the rights of husband and wife are shown as equals. It is stated that each should show affection to their partner, and that each partner controls their mate's body (I Corinthians 7:3-4). This shows that each person should be equal in the marriage, unlike in Lysistrata where the man did whatever he wanted to whomever he wanted while the woman slaved at home . Women were also considered to be more "enpowered" in the times of the New Testament. This is displayed when the women nearly monopolize the practice of speaking in tongues, or even speaking at all (I Corinthians 14:36). Speaking in tongues was thought to be much like talking from the angels, which was considered to special talent. Overall the women of early Christianity had a better quality of life than those in classical Athens. They were not only allowed to leave the house more, but they were also treated more as equals in society's view of women, and their public rights. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\A time of prosperous change.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ A Time of Prosperous Change In the early nineteen hundreds when women used to be treated as objects who were only good for cooking and cleaning. These women were expected to stay home and do nothing but take care of the children. Authors were rarely women .Now in the present day a women is thought of as having a mind of her own. She is thought of as a independent, an individual who has a peace of mind of her own who is allowed to work and make a living as she pleases. Even we don't think of Weldon every time someone mentions a popular contemporary author we know she deserves to be mentioned. Both in the Critical Survey of Long Fiction and in Love and Marriage in the Novels of Anita Brookner and Fay Weldon Weldon is mentioned with great honor and respect. Anna Ericson uses more past situations in Fay Weldon's own life while contrasting her to Anita Brookner while in contrast the Critical Survey of Long Fiction criticizes the works without much comparison to others. Both the Magill and Anna Ericson have strong points on a women's individualism but Anna Ericson proves Weldon's choice of personality for the main character was one reflecting Weldon's own thoughts and morals. In the The Life and Loves of a She Devil Ruth is a character who is well developed who one can feel one with because of the fact that the author creates great depth to her as a character. In the Critical Survey of Long Fiction the author states that "In her fiction, Fay Weldon explores women's lives with wit and humor. She is caustic in her implicit condemnation of injustice but avoids preaching by characters say and what they do"(Magill 3474). On the other hand Ericson has more of a formula to Weldon's novels unlike the Critical Survey of Long Fiction. "The Weldon narrator is usually omniscient; she is wise, sad and cynical"(Ericson 1). which shows that the characters must be well developed to have such a personified personality. Magill rarely states how Ruth's personality had come about in The Life and Loves of a She Devil. Love was not an issue to Weldon when writing this novel this may be due to the lack of love in her very own life. Love was never thought of importance in the Critical Survey of Long Fiction. On the other hand in Love and Marriage in the Novels of Anita Brookner and Fay Weldon Ericson uses the subject of lack of love as the focus of his theories and that Weldon was a unwed mother who had to deal with the pressures of having a child instead of receiving love from his father. Even though Weldon wed eventually she later learned of what love was which gave her the experience to right about such a unloved character. Magill on the other hand focuses on their married relationship rather that the lack of love from Ruth and Bobo's relationship " The plot tells the story of a middle-class, suburban housewife, Ruth......."(Magill 3474). Weldon always makes the heroine hidden or makes her in hiding so the reader has to figure out for themselves which is being done. Ericson states "The general Weldon heroine is not so easily described"(Ericson 2). In The Life and Loves of a She Devil Weldon uses great technique to make her main character Ruth go in hiding she makes her hide not only her motives and desires but herself. The author uses great technique in making the reader choose for themselves if the main character is the antagonist of protagonist. In The Life and Loves of a She Devil Weldon makes Ruth out to be a helpless women who firsts depends on her husband Bobbo for everything but in a underhanded manner she steals her husbands money and gets him to be charged with embezzlement "But all the time he was planning his great flight, the new life, with someone altogether different, and on his client's money, too."(Weldon 226). The author goes to great distances to make Ruth's personality change in drastic manners. Ruth went from one extreme to another she was once dependent, and unsatisfied and later became dependent and satisfied by her husband's lack of composure. Ruth changed just as if times were changing from the early 1900's to the later 1900's. Weldon writes that: "It seemed to Ruth that at last the times had come to return to the High Tower. She could walk with ease, even run a little. She could life a two-pound weight in either hand. Her circulatory problems were under control. She no longer needed the Hermione Clinic. She no longer needed anyone. She danced with Mr.Ghengis in the dew of the morning, as the sun rose red and round over the escarpment, and with every step it was as if she trod on knives; but she thanked him for giving her life and told him she was going."(239). In both Criticisms the authors use reasoning to justify the use a almost happy ending to the novel. Ericson states "Strangely enough, I have yet to read a Fay Weldon novel without an almost unbelievably happy ending. Still , the happy ending is usually based on coincidence, fate or supernatural occurrences,. And practically never on the actions of the characters" (Ericson 3474). But on the other hand in The Life and Loves of a She Devil the author makes the main character achieve whatever is achieved by herself. Also in the Critical Survey of Long Fiction the author sums up the ending as so "Ruth is in command, while Bobbo has been humiliated and accepts his fate like owntrodden wife"(Ericson 3476). Both criticisms are unique in a way of their own. But I feel as if Ericson does a better point of proving how Weldon's life plays a major role in the development in her characters. Even though the author of Critical Survey of Long Fiction doesn't establish this he still has done a very concise job of stating his views. The Life and Loves of a She Devil is a very good novel showing the dramatic change of time contrasting with the life of Ruth the main character in The Life and Loves of a She Devil . Work Cited Ericson, Anna. Love and Marriage in the Novels of Anita Brookner and Fay Weldon. World Wide Web, The Internet. January 14 1997 Magill, N. Frank, ed. Critical Survey of Long Fiction. Pasedena: UP of California, 1991. Vol. 8 of English Language Series 8 vols. 1969-1994 Weldon, Fay. The Life and Loves of a She Devil. London: Coronet, 1983. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\A Womans Identity.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ A Woman's Identity Women lose their identity as soon as they get married and begin a family. Every little girl dreams of getting married and raising a family, because this is what women are taught to seek at an early age. When a woman achieves this goal, she loses her identity due to the many roles that she is now forced to play. Once married, a woman is expected to be a mother, nurturer, housekeeper, teacher, doctor, cook, chauffeur, and more increasingly, a career woman. Women are forced to carry out these roles because of society's traditional view of the role women should play, and young women are pressured to follow in their mother's footsteps. Because a woman's life revolves around her children and husband, her responsibilities are never far from thought. Consequently, women lose their identity because they are so caught up in being a wife and mother that they no longer have time to pursue their own desires and goals. Women are increasingly becoming career women, while raising a family at the same time. Despite the fact that women have the job of raising their family, many women also have full time careers because the extra income is often needed in the family. Some men criticize women for trying to act too much like men, but women are being forced by society to move between the traditional definitions of male and female roles, because of the many different tasks they have to carry out from day to day. For example, in order for women to enter the "male" world of work, they have to obtain "masculine" traits and leave their "feminine" traits at home. Bearing children is expected in today's society, because nurturing and child care are viewed as feminine traits. Women are conditioned at a young age to believe that once they are adults they will become mothers. If a middle aged, married woman doesn't have any children, people often assume that there is a biological reason for her lack of children. Motherhood is expected by society, but contrary to popular belief, many psychologists believe that it is not instinct, but a learned desire. In Betty Rollin's essay, "Motherhood: Who Needs It," one psychiatrist explains that, "women don't need to be mothers any more than they need spaghetti." Once a woman has children her life becomes an extension of her children's life. She has to provide for and take care of her children and she can no longer put herself first, because she is expected to always have her family's best interests in mind. Most women, if posed with the question, "Are you happy?" will say that they are, but after some soul searching it is evident that on the surface they appear to be, while on the inside they are unhappy and often feel suffocated. It isn't until things in life are going poorly, that women let themselves realize that they have feelings. Women have lost touch with who they are and are many times running away from their feelings, because they have been busy masking themselves in order to maintain their family. Women are imprisoned by the many roles they have to play, but it is essentially self-imposed. Although, this imprisonment wouldn't be self-imposed, if it weren't for society's pressure on women to fit into the traditional female mold. Due to these expectations that are placed on women, eventually a woman who is married and has children, will become only a empty and hollow image of a mother and wife, instead of a living and breathing person with feelings and a mind of her own. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Abortion 2.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Abortion In Roman times, abortion and the destruction of unwanted children was permissible, but as out civilization has aged, it seems that such acts were no longer acceptable by rational human beings, so that in 1948, Canada along with most other nations in the world signed a declaration of the United Nations promising every human being the right to life. The World Medical Association meeting in Geneve at the same time, stated that the utmost respect for human life was to be from the moment of conception. This declaration was re-affirmed when the World Medical Association met in Oslo in 1970. Should we go backwards in our concern for the life of an individual human being? The unborn human is still a human life and not all the wishful thinking of those advocating repeal of abortion laws, can alter this. Those of us who would seek to protect the human who is still to small to cry aloud for it's own protection, have been accused of having a 19th Century approach to life in the last third of the 20th Century. But who in reality is using arguments of a bygone Century? It is an incontrovertible fact of biological science - Make no Mistake - that from the moment of conception, a new human life has been created. Only those who allow their emotional passion to overide their knowledge, can deny it: only those who are irrational or ignorant of science, doubt that when a human sperm fertilizes a human ovum a new human being is created. A new human being who carries genes in its cells that make that human being uniquely different from any and other human being and yet, undeniably a member, as we all are, of the great human family. All the fetus needs to grow into a babe, a child, an old man, is time, nutrition and a suitable environment. It is determined at that very moment of conception whether the baby will be a boy or a girl; which of his parents he will look like; what blood type he will have. His whole heritage is forever fixed. Look at a human being 8 weeks after conception and you, yes every person here who can tell the difference between a man and a women, will be able to look at the fetus and tell me whether it is a baby boy or a girl. No, a fetus is not just another part of a women's body like an appendix or appendage. These appendages, these perfectly formed tiny feel belong to a 10 week developed baby, not to his or her mother. The fetus is distinct and different and has it's own heart beat. Do you know that the fetus' heart started beating just 18 days after a new life was created, beating before the mother even knew she was pregnant? By 3 months of pregnancy the developing baby is just small enough to be help in the palm of a man's hand but look closely at this 3 month old fetus. All his organs are formed and all his systems working. He swims, he grasps a pointer, he moves freely, he excretes urine. If you inject a sweet solution into the water around him, he will swallaw because he likes the taste. Inject a bitter solution and he will quit swallowing because he does not like the taste. By 16 weeks it is obvious to all, except those who have eyes but deliberately do not see, that this is a young human being. Who chooses life or death for this little one because abortion is the taking of a human life? This fact is undeniable; however much of the members of the Women's Liberation Movement, the new Feminists, Dr. Henry Morgentaler or the Canadian Medical Association President feel about it, does not alter the fact of the matter. An incontrovertible fact that cannot change as feelings change. If abortion is undeniably the taking of human life and yet sincere misguided people feel that it should be just a personal matter between a women and the doctor, there seems to be 2 choices open to them. (1) That they would believe that other acts of destruction of human beings such as infanticide and homicide should be of no concern of society and therefore, eliminate them from the criminal code. This I cannot believe is the thinking of the majority, although the tendency for doctors to respect the selfish desire of parents and not treat the newborn defective with a necessary lifesaving measure, is becoming increasingly more common. (2) But for the most part the only conclusion available to us is that those pressing for repeal of the abortion laws believe that there are different sorts of human beings and that by some arbitrary standard, they can place different values on the lives of there human beings. Of course, different human beings have different values to each of us as individuals: my mother means more to me than she does to you. But the right to life of all human beings is undeniable. I do not think this is negotiable. It is easy to be concerned with the welfare of those we know and love, while regarding everybody else as less important and somehow, less real. Most people would rather have heard of the death of thousands in the Honduras flooding disaster than of a serious accident involving a close friends or favourite relatives. That is why some are less disturbed by the slaughter of thousands of unborn children than by the personal problems of a pregnant women across the street. To rationalize this double standard, they pretend to themselves that the unborn child is a less valuable human life because it has no active social relationships and can therefore, be disposed of by others who have an arbitrary standard of their own for the value of a human life. I agree that the fetus has not developed it's full potential as a human being: but neither have any of us. Nor will any of us have reached that point: that point of perfect humaness, when we die. Because some of us may be less far along the path than others, does not give them the right to kill us. But those in favour of abortion, assume that they have that right, the standard being arbitrary. To say that a 10 week fetus has less value that a baby, means also that one must consider a baby of less value than a child, a young adult of less value than an old man. Surely one cannot believe this and still be civilized and human. A society that does not protect its individual members is on the lowest scale of civilized society. One of the measures of a more highly civilized society, is its attitude towards its weaker members. If the poor, the sick, the handicapped, the mentally ill, the helpless are not protected, the society is not as advanced as in a society where they are protected. The more mature the society is, the more there is respect for the dignity and rights of all human beings. The function of the laws of the society, is to protect and provide for all members so that no individual or group of individuals can be victimized by another individual group. Every member of Canadian society has a vital stake in what value system is adopted towards its weak, aged, cripple, it's helpless intra-uterine members; a vital stake in who chooses life or death. As some of you may know, in 1969, the abortion laws were changed in Canada, so that it became legal for a doctor to perform an abortion if a committee of 3 other doctors in an eccredited hospital deemed that continuation of the pregnancy constituted a severe threat to the life and health, mental or physical of the women. Threat to health was not defined and so it is variously interpreted to mean very real medical disease to anything that interferes with even social or economic well being, so that any unwanted or unplanned pregnancy thus qualifies. What really is the truth about the lasting effect of an unwanted pregnancy on the psyche of a womem? Of course there is a difference of opinion among psychiatrists, but if unbiased, prospective studies are examined certain facts become obvious. (1) The health of women who are mentally ill before they become pregnant, is not improved by an abortion. In fact in 1970 an official statement of the World Health Organization said, "Serious mental disorders arise more often in women previous mental problems. Thus the very women for whom legal abortion is considered justified on psychiatric grounds, are the ones who have the highest risk of post-abortion psychiatric disorders. (2) Most women who are mentally healthy before unwanted pregnancy, despite a temporary emotional upset during the early weeks for the pregnancy, are mentally healthy after the pregnancy whether they were aborted or carried through to term. Do we accept killing a human being because of a temporary, emotional upset? All obstetricians and gynaecologists know of many cases where the mother, be her single or married, has spoken of abortion early in the pregnancy and later on, has confessed her gratitude to those who have not performed the abortion. On the other hand, we have all seen women what have been troubled, consumed with guilt and development significant psychiatric problems following and because of abortion. I quote Ft. John L. Grady, Medical Examiner for Florida State Attorney's Office, "I believe it can be stated with certainty that abortion causes more deep-seated guilt, depression and mental illness than it ever cures". We used to hear a lot about the risk of suicide among those who threatened such action if their request for abortion was refused. How real is that risk - it is not - in fact, the suicide rate among pregnant women be they happy of unhappy about the pregnancy, is 1/4 of the rate among non-pregnant women in child-bearing years. An accurate 10 year study was done in England on unwed mothers who requested abortions and were refused. It was found that the suicide rate of this group was less than that average population. In Minnesota in a 15 year period, there were only 14 maternal suicides. 11 occurred after delivery. None were illegitimately pregnant. All were psychotic. In contrast, among the first 8 deaths of women aborted under the liberal law in the United Kingdon, 2 were from suicide directly following the abortion. Are there any medical indications for abortion?? Is it valid for a doctor to co-operate in the choice for abortion? The late Dr. Guttmacher, one of the world leaders of the pro-abortion movement, has stated: "Almost any women can be brought through pregnancy alive unless she suffers from cancer or leukemia, in which case abortion is unlikely to prolong her life much less save it." f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Abortion 3.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Abortion Abortion. What is it? Why do people do it? Is it killing a human life? What are the benefits for having an abortion? Should it be made illegal? These questions I will try and answer on the key issue right now on abortion. I will tell you my side and how I fell, and hope that after this you would agree with my opinion. Abortion is the killing of a child before the birth. They usually take a needle and put it into the mothers womb, and kill it. Although that is not the only way to do it. There are other ways also of killing a child. There is a abortion called have abortion. It comes out of the womb half way, then they kill it. To me that is just sick. I think that it is in humane to kill a live child. Just think, it is alive. It needs oxygen to breath. It needs food to live. And if you don't take care of the baby, it wouldn't come out. Like if you do drugs or alcohol, it will ruin the child. There is one exception that I would have is if the girl got raped. Even though I still wouldn't approve of it, I think there should be an exception. I think that if the woman had any brains, that she would want to have the loving child. Just think you come home from work one day, and all of the sudden your kid gives you a great big hug. That shows love. And after a long days work, wouldn't anybody want some love from a child. Yeah when they are little they scream, and kick, but they also give love, and affection, and can be the cutest thing. And if you abort, you wont get that will you? Some people also just want to make amends for what they have done. Maybe they have screwed up in their life and don't want there parents to know. Or maybe they just aren't ready for a kid. Well let me tell you, you should have thought about that before you had sex. My mom once told me and this has stuck in my mind, that the best kind of safe sex is no sex. That has stuck in my mind, and because of that, I will not have sex until I am married. That way I can have the love and affection of kids, and not have to worry about it. That is my opinion, and I plan on sticking to it. I think that in no circumstances it should be made legal. I am sure you have heard of Jack Covorkian and how he thinks it is all good and legal, but I don't see how he can't have feelings for the little kid. Don't you think that the kid would want to grow up in this world, and enjoy all the ups and downs of this world? I just think that he doesn't have a heart. But I could be wrong. From what I see, I don't think there are any benefits to having an abortion. You don't get love, or to see what your child could grow up to be, you would have to live with your self forever, wondering whether you made the right choice, and you will miss out on seeing a baby grow up. To me that would be the most wonderful experience there is. In conclusion you obviously know by now how I feel about abortion. I know not everyone thinks the way I do. If I changed just one persons mind in this essay, I feel I would have done my job. I feel I am in the right about this topic, and will never change my mind about it. Never, not even if I was forced into that situation. As a closing thought just remember this, What happens if your parents aborted you? What if they didn't want you? You wouldn't be here right now arguing. Do you like your life that much? Well give the opportunity for someone else to like life! f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\ABORTION 4.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ABORTION During the past quarter century, abortion has joined race and war as one of the most debatable subject of controversy in the United States. It discusses human interaction where ethics, emotions and law come together. Abortion poses a moral, social and medical dilemma that faces many individuals to create a emotional and violent atmosphere. There are many points of view toward abortion but the only two fine distinctions are "pro-choice" and "pro-life". A pro-choicer would feel that the decision to abort a pregnancy is that of the mothers and the state has no right to interfere. A pro-lifer would hold that from the moment of conception, the embryo or fetus is alive. This life imposes on us a moral obligation to preserve it and that abortion is tantamount to murder (Kolner 5). In the United States about 1.6 million pregnancies end in abortion. Women with incomes under eleven thousand are over three times more likely to abort than those with incomes above twenty-five thousand. Unmarried women are four to five times more likely to abort than married and the abortion rate has doubled for 18 and 19 year olds. Recently the U.S. rate dropped 6 percent overall but the rate of abortion among girls younger than 15 jumped 18 percent. The rate among minority teens climbed from 186 per 1,000 to 189 per 1,000. The most popular procedure involved in abortions is the vacuum aspiration which is done during the first trimester (three months or less since the women has become pregnant). A tube is simply inserted through the cervix and the contents of the uterus are vacuumed out. The most commonly used type of second trimester abortion is called dilation and evacuation. Since the fetus has bones, bulk and can move, second trimester is not as simple. When as much of the fetus and placenta are vacuumed out then tweezers are used to remove larger parts. After this, or the beginning of the fifth month abortion is serious and actually induced as childbirth. That is, the mother is given substances which puts her into labor and delivers the fetus as she would a full-term baby. About 40 percent of Americans believe that abortion should remain legal and 40 percent believe it should be banned except when the pregnancy threatens the life of the mother or is the result of rape or incest. Also 15 percent b eveit should be illegal in all cases. Although abortion is regarded as a women's right, it should be banned with exceptions because it's considered murder, has many psychological side effects and there is an alternative. Abortion is a women's own right and choice. In 1973 the Roe v. Wade decision proved this by recognizing abortion as a fundamental constitution right and made it legal in all states. The law now permits abortion at the request of the women without any restrictions in the first trimester and some restrictions in the second trimester to protect the women's health. The National Abortion Right Act League argues that without legal abortion women would be denied their constitutional right of privacy and liberty. The women's right to her own body subordinates those of the fetus and the U.S. Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade argued that the women's "right to privacy" overruled the fetus's right to life. If abortion was illegal it would force poor women to bear and raise children they can't afford to bring up. There would be a number of unsafe abortions in back allies. It would also force women to give up their dreams and stay home to bring up babies. Worst of all, it would condemn victims o apeand incest to carry and nurture the offspring of their rapist.(Kolner 5) Abortion is necessary for women to have control over their own bodies and life. One activist said, "If I hadn't had that abortion my life would have been a disaster. I wouldn't have made it to medical school. I was married at that point to a very ill man and it would have been terrible to have to have my baby. People who need abortions are in some kind of turmoil and it's really a life-saving thing."(Blender 4) To ignore the rights of others is selfish and injustice. Women must have the right to control the functions of their own bodies. Revern George Gardiner pastor of the college Hill United Methodist Church, told the council that the ordnance would have done little good. "Young women need the freedom to make choices for their reproductive life when their family can't guarantee them parental support."(Lynn B6-7) Women should not be forced to have babies they don't want. They must be able to decide what happe ns to them and have a safe plus legal way of doing so. Women are in control of their own bodies and lives. Legislators have no right to interfere. The practical assertion that since pregnancy involves a women's body, the choice of continuing that pregnancy must be hers alone. This was the first given buerful theoretical articulation and defense by Judith Thomson.(meilander 3) However, abortion is considered murder by half of all Americans. Pro-lifers believe that human life begins at the moment of conception. When the merge of the egg and sperm is complete, they are fertilized and known as the "zygote". The zygote contains a full set of 46 chromosomes which is required to create a human life. Scientists identify that at the moment of fertilization the ovum takes on a entirely different destiny, life. About 15,000 genes from the sperm and ovum form a unique combination. This is nothing less than a new human life at its earlier stage of life. In the United States many infants will not make it to puberty, old age or even their second birthday. Just because of their shortened life, it doesn't mean that it never existed. Dr. Nathanson stopped preforming abortions after becoming aware of the horrors he observed. "A woman has the right to go to bed with who she wants, but she can not choose death for her child. It's a direct violation of human rights." (Koval i grid c-7) Anthony Simpson has a photo of a aborted fetus and believes that abortion is nothing less but ruthless murder. In southern Kentucky, Robert Hollis brutally assaulted his wife in effort to abort the fetus he suspected wasn't his. He successfully did so and Caroll believed Hollis set out intentionally to kill that fetus and that is in fact murder. Kristina Kleg a graduate from high school has recently become pregnant and decided against abortion. She feels that it's an innocent child inside of her. It has a brain and a heart therefore it also has a right to life. "Abortion is the unnatural end of pregnancy. That child has a right to life that is equal to the mothers right. One cannot kill another human being just because they wished it wasn't around. Abortion is murder of the innocent practiced on a national scale." (Abortion: The Personal, Medical and Social Dilemma) Overall it has been proven that the fetus is a real person. It responds to noise, has feeling and fears. To h ave an abortion it will destroy an innocent life which is directly connected to murder. Scientific research has successfully shown that abortion causes many psychological side effects. It leaves the woman with many strong feelings about their desicion. They feel sadness, wishing things could have been different and grief for a lost life. Guilt arises because they know a fetus represents an independent life. Anger builds up towards other people having to do with their desicion. Sometimes the mother may feel that she has infact been abandoned. Most of all the mother feels ashamed and embarrassed about her action. People close to the mother may be angry at her for ending her pregnancy and make it difficult for her to deal with. Even years after the abortion, women tent to remember the regretful experience. They usually wonder what the baby would have looked like and its birthday. Thirty-three year old Michelle Urbain of south Florida has had five abortions so far. She realizes now that they all left emotional scares her that are unbearable. "It wasn't just a mass of cell t was children I was killing." (Kovaleski c-7) It maybe a month or a year but feelings do catch up with the mother. Symptoms like nightmares, panic attacts and flashbacks are signs of a recently discovered Post Abortion Syndrome (PAS). According to a study published by Association for Interdisciplinary Research in Valves and Social Change, one in five women studied had diagnosable stress disorders. (Lyons d-11) Also two in five had sleep disorders and flashbacks following abortion. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Abortion.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Abortion has been one of this country's most controversial topic on hand. But if one sees the constitutional infringement to women by the restriction of abortion, the torment to the unwanted child and the anguish society has to sustain,then this topic would not be so debatable. Too many people do not see the cause and effect of not being able to have abortions. All human beings are given some inalienable right guaranteed by the Constitution. One of those privilege is the right to pursue happiness. A baby can sometimes disrupt a woman's pursuit of happiness. Even if she decides to give it up for adoption, she still has the burden of carrying the fetus for nine months. Having the option to perform an abortion can solve that obstacle. Taking away this right would be invading on a woman's constitutional liberty. The unwanted child also suffers. Most of the time the mother of the unwanted child is very young and inexperienced or too poor to take care of the child. The child is usually malnourished, has no medical care, and gets very little attention or love. The foster care system isn't any better. Only a small percentage of the children are adopted by suitable parents. But the rest remain in the foster care system, where there is little or no personal care. In both cases, the child has a poor education because of the lack of attention and discipline. He grows up to be unproductive individual or a menace to society. Many get involved in drugs and crimes. These individuals are also very violent, lacking morality due small amount of care they received themselves. In the long run, not only does the child suffer but also society, who has to tolerate his violent behavior and crimes. An abortion can be seen as putting the child out of misery while he doesn't have the ability to reason or fear. In short, abortion allows a woman to retain her constitutional rights, it relieves a would be suffering child out of his distress and it establishes a safer and more peaceful society. On these grounds, abortion should be kept legal, and even encouraged to specific individuals, for benefits to all of us. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Affirmative Action.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson issued Executive Order #11246 at Howard University that required federal contractors to undertake affirmative action to increase the number of minorities that they employ. He wanted to ensure that minorities were recruited to have real opportunities to be hired and then eventually get a promotion. In 1969, the Department of Labor exposed widespread racial discrimination of the Construction Department so President Richard M. Nixon decided to encorporate a system of "goals and timetables" to evaluate federal construction companies according to affirmative action. This idea of "goals and timetables" provided guidelines for companies to follow and comply with affirmative action regulations. During the presidency of Gerald R. Ford, he extended affirmative action to people with disabilities (3) and Vietnam veterns (4) but there were no goals or timetables for these two groups. This type of affirmative action required recruitment efforts, accessability, accommodation and reviews of physical and mental job qualifications. President Jimmy Carter consolidated all federal agencies that were required by law to follow the affirmative action play into the Department of Labor. Before Carter did this, each agency handled affirmative action in its own individual way, some were not as consistant as other agencies were. He created the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Program (OFCCP) in 1978 to ensure compliance with the affirmative action policies. Affirmative action began to go downhill when Ronald Reagan and later George Bush came into office. Affirmative action lost some gains it had made and was mor or less ignored by the Republicans in the White House and in Congress. Affirmative action was silently being "killed" by our federal administrators. But among this destruction there was one positive aspect, the passage of Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (5). Finally to the Presidency of Bill Clinton. The Republicans are attempting to scare people into changing their party lines by misusing affirmative action. They are saying that affirmative action is nothing more than a quota (6) or reverse discrimination (7). As you can see, there have been many additions to the policy of affirmative action. People from the Vietnam War, people with disabilties, and minority groups have made gains in the workforce but more research needs to be conducted as to the qualifications of all of these people to make sure that race is not a determining factor in the giving and receiving of jobs. The best person for the job, no matter what race, should be given the job. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Affirmitive Action.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Affirmative action policies do not benefit those who are supposed to be helped in any way. Instead of Affirmative action decisions in their favor, minorities and females are entrenched in their status because of the lowering of standards and expectations imposed on them by businesses and educational institutions due to the cries of racism and sexism in standards by advocates of AA. Ernest Van Den Haag put it best, when he declares that. " Affirmative action has done as much injury to black scholars as to black students." Isn't it time to return to hiring people on individual merit, and return the millions spent on Affirmative action. That money could be better spent on bringing minority and female applicants up to standards. I believe the most qualified person should be awarded the job, regardless of race, ethnicity, or disability.Affirmative action policies do not benefit those who are supposed to be helped in any way. Instead of Affirmative action decisions in their favor, minorities and females are entrenched in their status because of the lowering of standards and expectations imposed on them by businesses and educational institutions due to the cries of racism and sexism in standards by advocates of AA. Ernest Van Den Haag put it best, when he declares that. " Affirmative action has done as much injury to black scholars as to black students." Isn't it time to return to hiring people on individual merit, and return the millions spent on Affirmative action. That money could be better spent on bringing minority and female applicants up to standards. I believe the most qualified person should be awarded the job, regardless of race, ethnicity, or disability. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\African Americans VS Caucasian Americans.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ At first glance some people might consider this paper to be on the racial side, however it was all written by observations made. There are many differences between African Americans and Caucasians, some people don't see the differences because of ignorance . You must read the paper with an open mind and take none of this to heart. African American and Caucasians function differently in public surroundings. When you see a young African American you usually see them in groups of four of more. However, when one of them gets into a disagreement five to ten more show up in their defense. They are a very close knit group of individuals. I have also noticed that when you see a young African American walking around they are usually singing, talking very loud or running around. Also when they are in groups they are very loud and take over the area that they occupy. On the other hand when you see Caucasians they are rarely in groups of three or more. To top it off when someone in one of their groups gets in trouble the rest of the group is nowhere to be found. Most times when you see young Caucasian people in a group they are for the most part within a normal speaking level. These two groups tend to act differently in the public due to their cultural differences. There are a number of differences between the churches of African Americans and Caucasians. At most typical African American churches there are no true sermons. The African American churches tend to do more entertaining rather than teaching. They also do a great deal of singing and dancing involved in there praising of God. They emphasize fellowship in their churches especially after church when they all gather and close the celebration with a meal together. However at a typical Caucasian church there are a few differences. To start it off when you first walk in you get a program detailing what will be happening through the service. They tend to structure the whole service around a sermon or story. The service every week is very predictable as to what will happen. The Caucasian churches are more there to teach the ways of the lord as they have interpreted it. Although not all the African American and Caucasian churches are along this line a majority of the main stream ones are. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\African and Native American Slavery.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Scot Ferguson 11-12-96 period 2 Essay African and Native American Slavery The 1500's, a time of discovery, was when the Europeans came to dominate most of the New World. The Europeans traveled to Africa and captured Africans to help develop their land and satisfy their need for power. I feel that the treatment of the Indians and Africans by the Europeans was completely unjustifiable. While the Indians and Africans were less technologically advanced and the Europeans were uneducated, in this particular field, nothing can compensate for the actions of the Europeans. As Europeans began to settle new lands they began their exploration of the foreign worlds. What they found was the opposite of what they expected. They found what they thought was a new breed of humans. In reality they were just Native Americans. These Indians were less technologically advanced than the Europeans. They also worshipped different and multiple gods and ate different foods. Europeans saw this as barbaric, so they treated them as barbarians. In the beginning Native Americans hadn't the faintest idea of what the Europeans had in mind when they said trade. They figured that when the White Man came and showed all that hospitality they meant it. Of course, they didn't, the Europeans captured the Indians to be used as slaves. They were also slaughtered and raped because of resistance to leave their land. If any Indians refused to leave their land they would be killed. The women were raped for sick and disgusting reasons. Europeans didn't feel that the women, or men for that matter, were worth anything as humans so they were beat and raped without any thought about what they might be doing. As we watched the movie Roots, I noticed a part in the movie where they were on a ship and a man brings in a black woman, who was a slave. The man offered her to the ship's captain and referred to her as a belly warmer. That got me to thinking what could be going on in that man's head as he said that. When I heard that I was shocked that a man could treat someone like that. People have feelings and cannot be treated as objects. Maybe the Europeans didn't realize that these people were, in fact people, and that drove them to this awful conclusion that they could treat people this way. As Europeans settled their land and began to build houses, farms and plantations, they realized that they needed servants to assist them in their farming. So people would travel to Africa capture blacks and then sell them to merchants and plantation owners. They would then beat them and put them to long, grueling work. They would treat them as they did the Indians, and for much the same reason. They figured that since the blacks were black and appeared to be less advanced then they must be less significant. People of the next generation whose parents owned slaves and grew up thinking slaves were okay is understandable. I just don't feel that anything could justify treating the slaves they way they did. they had absolutely no respect for them. They would savagely beat them to get them to work harder than humanly possible and they would rape the women. I don't think that I will ever know how any one could do such a thing. I conclusion I strongly feel that the way Europeans treated people that were less technologically advanced is completely and utterly wrong. It is difficult to contemplate what was going on in their heads as they were capturing them, killing them and even raping them. I can not believe how they could think that the color of someone's ones skin or religious beliefs could make them less human. I am glad I live in a country based on the belief that all men are created equal. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\America and Affirmative Action.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ America and Affirmative Action Affirmative action has been the subject of increasing debate and tension in American society. However, the debate over affirmative action has become ensnared in rhetoric that pits equality of opportunity against the equality of results. The debate has been more emotional than intellectual, and has generated more tension than shed light on the issue. Participants in the debate have over examined the ethical and moral issues that affirmative action raises while forgetting to scrutinize the system that has created the need for them. Too often, affirmative action is looked upon as the panacea for a nation once ill with, but now cured of, the virulent disease of racial discrimination. Affirmative action is, and should be seen as, a temporary, partial, and perhaps even flawed remedy for past and continuing discrimination against historically marginalized and disenfranchised groups in American society. Working as it should, it affords groups greater equality of opportunity in a social context marked by substantial inequalities and structural forces that impede a fair assessment of their capabilities. Perhaps the biggest complaint that one hears about affirmative action policies aimed at helping Black Americans is that they violate the 14th Amendment of the Constitution and the Civil Rights laws., The claim is that these programs distort what is now a level playing field and bestow preferential treatment on understanding minorities because of the color of their skin. While this view seems very logical on the surface, many contend that it lacks any historical support and is aimed more at preserving existing White privilege than establishing equality of opportunity for all. Any cursory look at the history of this country should provide a serious critique to the idea of a level playing field. Since the birth of this nation, Blacks have been enslaved, oppressed, and exploited people. Until 1954, when the Supreme Court handed down Brown v. Board, Blacks were legally pushed to the margin of society where many were left to dwell in poverty and powerlessness. The Brown decision removed the legal impediments that had so long kept Blacks in the impoverished peripheral. Despite this long awaited victory for Black Americans, the historic decision failed to provide adequate means for the deconstruction of White dominance and privilege, It merely allowed Blacks to enter the arena of competition. This recognized and established the status quo (White wealth and Black indigence, White employment and Black unemployment, White opportunity and Black disenfranchisement) as an acceptable and neutral baseline. Without the deconstruction of White power and privilege, how can we legitimately claim that the playing field is level? Does it not seem more logical and indeed fairer and more just, to actively deconstruct White privilege, rather than let it exist through hegemony? Another critique of affirmative action policies is that they stigmatize and call into question the credentials of the qualified minorities. And furthermore, that this doubt undermines their effectiveness. This has always been the most puzzling critique of affirmative action in my mind. The credentials, qualifications, character, and even the culture of minorities have always been in question and stigmatized in this country. When racial categories were created, simply being in question and stigmatized in this country. When racial categories were created, simply being labeled a minority carried with it quite a slanderous stigma. Even to this day Black Americans combat lingering racism an stereotypes about their intelligence, tendency toward violence, sexual prowess, etc.... The idea that affirmative action policies introduce stigmas that did not already exist into the life of minorities seems nonsensical. To those who claim that this stigma undermines the effectiveness of Blacks because their coworkers will not be cooperative, or because the minority will always doubt that he or she deserves to be there, I propose that affirmative action will only accomplish the continued exclusion of Black Americans from participation within American society and thus further ingrain stereotypes and stigmas. Another reason that the stigma critique of affirmative action confuses me, is because the discussion is always limited to race and gender based affirmative action policies. Where is the discussion about athletes and legacy students who are accorded preferential treatment in university admission decisions on a yearly basis? This focus on gender and race based policies only reinforces my point that the stigma minorities face has much more to do with persistent racism than the deleterious effects on affirmative action. Should affirmative action programs force people to hire unqualified minorities? No. But affirmative action programs should cause us as a society to re-evaluate how we access qualifications and how we measure merit. Let us become tenure Harvard Law School professors for just a moment. Suppose we have two applicants for an open associate professor position. The first candidate is White, a Harvard Law School graduate, has impressive board scores, served as editor of the Law Review, etc..., but has never practiced law before. The other candidate is Black, a Harvard Law School graduate, average board scores, has excellent person skills, and practiced law as the county defendant in an inner-city neighborhood. Under the traditional system of merit, the White Harvard graduate gets the appointment hands down. But under affirmative action policies, the Black Harvard graduate receives the job. Why is this the optimal situation? The Black lawyer brings non-traditional, but certainly valid, qualifications to the table that are not recognized under our current system of merit. In fact, common sense suggests that he is as. or even more, qualified to train lawyers of the future than his White counterpart. Allowing the Black Harvard graduate to have the job might very well call into question how we assess the qualifications we require to be law school professor. This challenge to traditional qualifications brought about by affirmative action appointments benefits all of society by forcing us be critical of how we assess the nebulous notion of merit. The critics that attack affirmative action are correct when they say that affirmative action corrupts the purity of the process. Extreme care must be taken in determining who receives affirmative action program benefits and how long and at what rate they receive them. I must, also, agree with my critics that affirmative action may destroy or motion of a "color-blind" society. But, the rights of Blacks and other minorities to have equal opportunity forces us to take these risks. In short, it has been recommended that broad-based affirmative action policies range from the workplace to the classroom. While they are not perfect and do raise some legitimate ethical concerns, they take us away from a system that is inherently unfair to some groups. The active deconstruction of the White privilege that grew out of virulent American racism affords Blacks a greater chance at equal opportunity and will have the side effect of forcing us to re-evaluate that unethically and immorally disadvantages minorities. These advantages outweigh the cost of the risks. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Andrea Dworkin A Detrement to the Feminist Movement.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Andrea Dworkin has been an influential write, speaker, and activist for over two decades. She claims to be a feminist, and that her ideas are beneficial to women. This paper will show that many of her most popular beliefs are not only detrimental to society, but also not in the best interests of women. In letters from a war zone, Andrea Dworkin presents a collection of speeches and short articles she has composed during her career as a writer and activist. Many of her articles deal with censorship and pornography. One claim is central to all of these, pornography is an act and not an idea, thus censorship is not relevant to it. In response to a New York Time Review of her 1981 book, Pornography: Men Possessing Women, Dworkin writes, "Pornography says the women want to be hurt, forced, and abused; pornography says women want to be raped, battered, kidnapped, maimed; pornography says women want to be humiliated, shamed, defamed, pornography says that women say no but mean yes - Yes to violence, yes to pain."(Dworkin p 203) In response to Dworkin's fiery rhetoric, Wendy Mcelroy writes that Dworkin has scientific backing and even cites evidence to the contrary. "In Japan, where pornography depicting violence is widely available, rape is much lower per capita than in the United States, where violence in porn is restricted." Mcelroy attacks the belief that pornography cause violence, stating that even if a correlation is present, is does not necessarily mean there is a causal relationship. (McElroy 102) Lynne Segal sees in inherent harm in trying to link the two together. She believes that feminists who try to do so are wasting valuable time that could be spent on other important issues. "In the end, anti-pornography campaigns, feminist or not, can only enlist today, as they have invariously enlisted before, guilt and anxiety around sex, as well as lifetimes of confusion in our personal experiences of sexual arousal and activity." "In contrast, campaigns which get to the heart of men's violence and sadism towards women must enlist the widest possible resources to empower socially." (Gibson 19) Another argument of Dworkin's is that pornography should not be protected as free speech under the first amendment. It is her contention that protecting what pornographers say, is protecting what pornography does. Pornography is more than words. They are acts against women. "Pornography happens to women." As a result, bans on such material are warranted, not only because it is harmfully and discriminatory to women, but also because there are no civil liberties that are violated in preventing an act. (Dworkin 185) Since it is uncertain whether there is even a correlation between violence against women and pornography, any attempt to ban it must be viewed as censorship. What ever it is referred to, it still has the same effect. In many of Dworkin's writings, she laments the silencing of women. She is partially responsible for this silencing. In 1992, The Canadian Supreme Court ruled in favor of a legal restriction on pornography based on the psychological damage it does women. "Ironically, this obscenity law has been used almost exclusively against gay, lesbian, and feminist material." (McElroy 87) The effect of censorship is absolutely detrimental the weaker voice, as is the case with the Butler decision. Dworkin herself fell victim, when her book, Pornography, was seized by Canadian customs officials. Censorship in contradictory to feminist goals, because freedom of speech is the most powerful weapon in the feminist arsenal. Medical journals used by medical students, and the testimony of women victimized by sexual abuse are prime targets of censorship. (Strossen 77) An episode involving Dworkin and her cohort in censorship, Catherine MacKinnon, demonstrates the dangers of censorship. At a symposium at A Michigan law school, at which Dworkin and MacKinnon were speaking, a group of feminists had prepared a series of documentaries of the topic of the conference, prostitution. Dworkin refused to speak at the symposium if adversarial speakers were there, so the documentaries were the only voice of opposition to them. When work got out that the documentaries could possibly pornographic, Dworkin and MacKinnon insisted on their removal. When the presenter refused, they coerced the students with threats of leaving, to force the removed of the documentary exhibit. What had started out as an academic symposium quickly turned into a forum for the exclusive advocacy of Dworkin ideals. Her action epitomized the danger of censorship to society and other feminists, she silenced the weaker voice. (Strossen 211-214) Dworkin's opinions on pornography are summed up nicely by Wendy McElroy; Pornography is morally wrong; Pornography leads directly to violence against women; Pornography, in and of itself, is violence against women. Five individual allegation are made based of the third point; Women are physically coerced into pornography; Women in porn who have not been coerced have been so traumatized by patriarchy that the cannot give real consent; Capitalism is a system of 'economic coercion' that forces women into pornography in order to make a living; Pornography is violence against women who consume it, and thereby re-enforcing their own oppression; Pornography is violence against women, as a class, who must live in fear because of the atmosphere of terror it creates. (Mcelroy 91) The first three allegations deal with coercion. The first claim is based on a few isolated cases and should not be used to characterize the entire industry. The second allegation is not only arrogant, but degrades women because it undermines a woman's ability to choose. "If women's choices are being trashed, why should radical feminists (i.e. Dworkin) fare better than other women?" This sends a dangerous message that woman lack full capacity to make choices. The third allegation fails in a similar manor as the second. Dworkin draws no line between consent and coercion, and thus she rejects a woman's right to contract. (McElroy 92-95) The fourth and fifth claim of Dworkin's are also in contradiction with women's best interests. The fourth claim completely ignores the possibility that women might actually enjoy pornography without falling victim to it. Allowing women access to a means of sexual expression with actual sex grants them increased sexual freedom. The final allegation is based on the notion that, "Women are not individuals, but members of a class with collective interests." In making this claim, Dworkin must destroy the notion of individuality, and condition unsuitable for not only women, but all humanity. (McElroy 96) Another criticism of Dworkin, is that many of her arguments contain logical inconsistencies or outright contradictions. For one thing, Dworkin wants to validate the experience of women who have be silenced by patriarchy yet refuses to accept the voices of women who participate in pornography. Dworkin also believes that pornography is the bastion of patriarchy, yet conservatives, tradition champion of patriarchy, also crusade against pornography. (McElroy 98) In one of writings of cesarean sections, Dworkin make staunch, graphic, remarks about the topic. It is laced with information about conspiracies and loaded with vulgarity. Such extreme language may work against the interests of women, because even though a problem might exist, it might be written of by readers due to Dworkin's 'hyperbolic harangue.' (Strossen 196) In general, Dworkin's writings while claiming to be feminist, are often in direct conflict with mainstream feminist agenda. Many of her views portray women as helpless victim incapable of rational thinking. In her support of censorship, she is also met be harsh resistance from prominent women's groups such as N.O.W.. Many of her view are seen as harmful to the cause of women's equality, and in this regard are more dangerous then anti-women's factions, because it is written under the banner of feminism. (Gibson 118) Andrea Dworkin's influence has created an environment where free speech and equality are compromised. Though she claims it to be in the best interest of society, this just is not true. Most feminists reject her ideas as counterproductive to their goals. Her writing are not only detrimental to women, however, everyone is affected. By advocating censorship, she undermines every principle that this country was founded on and every ideal that keeps it unified and free from oppression. Ironically, Dworkin seeks freedom from oppression for women, but in doing so advocates universal oppression for all people, women and men. Works Cited 1. Dworkin, Andrea Letters from a War Zone. Lawrence Hill 1993. 2. McElroy, Wendy A Woman's Right To Pornography St. Martin Press 1995 3. Gibson, Pamela Church and Gibson, Roma Dirty Looks British Film Institute 1993 4. Strossen, Nadine Defending Pornography Doubleday 1995 f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\anxiety and depression in africanamericans.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION IN AFRO-AMERICANS A major cause of mental health disorders such as depression and anxiety in individuals is stress. Defined stress is an internal response caused by the application of a stressor or anything that requires coping behaviour. For example the pressure of a job, supporting a family or getting an education are stressors that can result in depression and anxiety. Individuals and groups that have numerous resources or other coping mechanisms are better suited for coping with stress than are those who lack such resources. As a result, social and economic circumstances in North America suggest that the black and Latino communities have a higher risk for developing mental disorders than does the non-black make up of the United States. Hence this paper will attempt to demonstrate how due to socio-economic differences such as money, racism and increased exposure to violence, blacks have a greater chance to develop mental disorders such as depression and anxiety. Some definitions: Stress, Depression & Anxiety Stress is everywhere in our lives and it can be found in two forms. The life of Afro-Americans is filled with both eustress and distress, but it is the high rate of distress due to socio-economic circumstances that are responsible for higher rates of depression and anxiety amongst them. Depression is an emotional state characterized by extreme sadness, gloomy ruminations, feelings of worthlessness, loss of hope, and often apprehension, while anxiety is a generalized feeling of fear and apprehension. The number of reported cases combining both depression and anxiety with Afro-Americans has dramatically increased since the civil rights movement, when scientists began recording such causal relationships. In addition, statistics show that the rate of violence demonstrates a positive relationship of mental health disorders within the black community. Studies by Bell, Dixie-Bell and Thompson show that Afro-Americans have a 36% higher chance of developing depression than do non-blacks (Bell, Dixie-Bell, & Thompson, p.53). It is felt that a portion of these results can be attributed to the high incidence of violence and exposure within the black community. Economic Distress Poverty and unemployment are rampant in Afro-American communities in the United States. Approximately 65% of the black community in the U.S. live in poverty or are unemployed (Bell et al., p.53). In comparison to other ethnic groups, this is the highest rate with the exception of the Latino community at 68.7%. The closest group above the blacks are the Chinese at 35%. Not only are most blacks poor and unemployed but, the future does not look promising in terms of job opportunities for Afro-Americans. This rampant spread of poverty within the black community causes great distress within the family unit. Parents are unable to provide for their children basic necessities for living, such as food or proper shelter. In effect this distress causes individuals to demonstrate extreme sadness, feelings of worthiness and loss of hope. Their great anxiety is because there is, "no apparent way out of the situation."(Friedman, p.77) Socio-Cultural Distress Despite the feeling that some substantial progress in terms of race relations has been made since the civil rights movement of the 1960's, "afro- americans still feel that they are at the bottom of the race poll." (Fenton, p.13) Much racism and prejudice still exists in America today and with occurrence of certain events, racial tensions are definitely increasing. For example both the Rodney King and O.J. Simpson trials, ignited intense debate amongst the population about racial issues. Despite the conviction of Rodney Kings attackers and the acquittal of O.J. Simpson, blacks feel as though justice was not served. "White America is still appalled at the destruction the King verdict caused."(Harton, p.89) The reaction to the results of these two cases was caused by distress within the black community. In addition, it is this distress that will cause blacks to suffer from high rates of anxiety. Studies show that Afro-Americans demonstrate higher levels of fear and apprehension. When asked what their anxiety was caused by, Afro-American teens said that their fear comes from fear of dying before their 21 birthday and fear of losing a loved one to drugs or gang violence. When presented with the same question, white teens responded their greatest fears were not getting into grad school and not being considered popular at school. Thus it is evident, that the concerns of black teens are more about, "actual survival than they are about their image or position in life".(Friedman, p.63) However, it is important to realize that this does not mean that white teens can't develop high levels of anxiety, just that the fear for ones life may be considered more alarming than ones public image. Violence Exposure Studies by Bell and Jenkins (1991) found that, Afro-American teens living in the inner-city have high levels of exposure to violence and this exposure causes them to demonstrate high levels of stress and anxiety. The results found that by the age of 16, black teens had them selves been or knew somebody that had been shot, shot at, killed, beaten, robbed with a weapon, stabbed or raped.(Friedman, p.87) Of 13 girls who had been interviewed for this study, 11 had been raped. 83% of the teen had witnessed severe violence in the community. Conversely, the same study done in a suburban area found that only 21% of teen had actually witnessed extreme violence or known somebody to have been a victim. However, it is important to note that in the suburban case, of the students that had or new someone involved, "16% were afro- american".(Friedman, p.89) Evidently, blacks living in the States have a much higher exposure to violence than do non-blacks. This in turn leads to higher levels of anxiety blacks than in whites. Additional Factors... In addition to examining the relationship between socio-economic circumstances and violence exposure, researchers wanted to see if their were any other factors that contributed to higher rates of depression and anxiety in blacks. An examination found that higher levels of distress were correlated with alcohol and illicit drug use. Also, results showed a positive relationship for poor academic performance in school with exposure to violence and low socio- economic status (under poverty line). Again black youths demonstrated higher levels than in white youths for incarceration and pregnancy which were also listed as major stressors for black youths. Furthermore, black teens reported they did not feel safe at home, in their neighbourhood or at school. Therefore it is clear that blacks demonstrate a higher risk for developing a mental health disorder such as depression and or anxiety than do white youths. What should we do? There is a great deal of information and research on the topic of depression and anxiety in psychology. Much work has also been devoted to the causes and treatments of these two behaviours. Unfortunately, however not much work has been devoted to mental health from the Afro-American perspective. In order to reduce and control the rate of depression and anxiety within the Afro-American community much more research must be done in this field. Particularly this research must include Canadian samples because the effect that violence exposure and socio-economic stressors have on black Canadian is bound to differ than that of Afro-Americans slightly. In addition, research shows that blacks require different treatments than whites and that black patients react differently to the same drugs given to white patients. Conclusion The experience of the Afro-American patient is different than that of the white patient. Not only does the black patient have to deal with stereotypes as a patient but the causes of his disorders also differ than that of a white patient. Because of this, it is important that the health profession beware that Afro- American patients require a different kind of treatment than white patients. Furthermore, in depth research into this epidemic may provide blacks with new coping strategies thus reducing the amount of stressors in their live. Eventually this type of thinking and behaviour will lead to a healthier lifestyle that includes more eutress than distress. BIBLIOGRAPHY Bell, C.C., & Jenkins, E.J. (1991). Traumatic stress and children. Journal health care for poor and underserved, 1, 175-185. Brown, D.R., Gary, L.E., Greene, A., & Milburn, N.G. (1992). Patterns of social affiliation as predictors of depressive symptoms amoung urban blacks. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 33, 242-253 Carson, Robert and Butcher, James. Abnormal Psychology and Modern Life ninth Ed. New York: HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 1992 Craig, Kenneth and Dobson Keith (ed.). Anxiety and Depression in Adults and Children. California: Sage Publications, 1995. Kleinman, Arthur and Becker, Joseph (ed.). Psychosocial Aspects of Depression. New Jersey: Lawrence Erbaum Associates, Inc. , 1991. Lawson, W.B. (1986). Racial and ethnic factors in psychiatric research. Hospital & Community Psychiatry, 37, 50-54. Montgomery, Stuart. Anxiety and Depression. Hampshire: Wrightson Biomedical Publishing Ltd., 1990. Neighbors, H. (1985). Seeking professional help for personal problems: Black Americans' use of health and mental services. Community Mental Health Journal, 21, 156-166. Sartorius, N. and Davidson, H. Depressive Disorders in Different Cultures. Geneva: World Health Organization, 1983. Watson, Gillian and Byrne, Donn and Baron, Robert. Exploring Social Psychology. Scarbrough, Ontario: Allyn & Bacon, 1996. Wong, Frank and Duffy, Karen. Community Psychology. Massachusetts: Allyn & Bacon, 1996. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Athletes and Domestic Abuse.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Athletes and Domestic Violence A lady calls 911 and cries that her husband is beating her. She wants to file a report, but then asks the dispatcher if it is going to be in the paper the next day. When the dispatcher doesn't reply, she changes her mind about the report and hangs up (Cart). The lady was Sun Bonds, wife of all-star San Francisco Giant, Barry Bonds. Like the wives of other famous players, she was a victim of spousal abuse. Athletes are praised as heroes for what they do on the playing field, but what they do off the field is never mentioned. As a disappointed sports fan, I want to draw attention to the domestic violence cases that involve athletes. Athletes have been abusing their spouses since sports were created, but not until the OJ Simpson trial has domestic violence become "the issue du jour." When Simpson was arrested on New Years Day for beating his wife, none of the newspapers reported it. When he pleaded no contest five months later, there was a small brief in the second page of The Los Angeles Times' Metro Section (Cart). In the last three years alone the list of the accused included Dante Bichette, Barry Bonds, John Daly, Scottie Pippen, Jose Conseco, Bobby Cox, Mike Tyson, Warren Moon, Michael Cooper, Darryl Strawberry, Duane Causwell, Olden Polynice, Robert Parish, and OJ Simpson( Callahan, Sports Ilustrated). And these are only the pro athletes whose wives had the courage to report the violence. Madeline Popa, president of Nebraska National Organization for Women stated, "Athletes are role models to small children. [Viewers] worry about the violence on television, but generally that is make-believe. When [there are] real-life heroes [engaging in violence], the message to young boys and girls is, 'If you are a star athlete you can get away with things (qtd in L.A. Times).'" There is an act of domestic violence every eighteen seconds in the United States. One in every three women will experience it, according to a study done by The L.A. Times. Abuse is the number one cause of injury for women. About six million women are abused each year; four thousand are killed (Cart). Although the sports world is not involved with all of these statistics, they are an important factor as to why the numbers are so high. The survey found that in 1995 there were 252 incidents involving 345 active sports players. Another survey done by Sports Illustrated reveals that eight to twelve women a year are assaulted by their partners. More women die from abuse than from car accidents and muggings combined. A study done by the University of Massachusetts and Northeastern University revealed that out of 107 cases of sexual assault reported in various universities, most of them involved male student-athletes although they only make up 3.3% of the total male body (Callahan). This means that male student-athletes were six times more involved than males who were not student-athletes. Despite these studies some people believe that sports does not have a problem with the issue of domestic violence. Richard Lapchick, director of the Center on the Study of Sport in Society at Northeastern University believes, "These exaggerations [in studies] do not discount that there is solid evidence of a problem in sport" and "Athletes are not necessarily more prone to domestic violence than others (quoted from The L.A. Times and Sports Illustrated)." Marriah Burton Nelson, author of The Stronger Women Get, The More Men Like Football: Sexism and the American Culture of Sports, is one of the many people who disagree with Lapchick. She believes that sports create an aggression found in men who beat their wives. She says, It is not the sport themselves, but the culture of the sports in which male athlete and coaches talk about women with contempt. The culture of sports is a breeding ground. It begins with the little league coach saying, 'you throw like a girl.' This teaches boys to feel superior. Masculinity is defined as aggression and dominance. In order to be a man you have to be on top, to control, to dominate (qtd in L.A. Times). Dr. Myriam Miedzian author of Boys Will Be Boys: Breaking the Link Between Masculinity and Violence, agrees with Nelson. He thinks, "Athletes are taught to hurt people. Empathy has been knocked out of them" (qtd in American Health). Most coaches do not allow their players to have a real relationship because they are afraid that a female influence will "soften" a player. The athletes are taught not to "see the guy across the line as a human being, how can they see women as human beings? As long as you rear boys to be tough, dominant, in charge, they simply won't be prepared for contemporary women (Miedzian)." Most researchers agree that one of the main reasons athletes abuse their spouses is because they have grown accustomed to the mistreatment of women which surrounds sports. "Sports culture creates a negative attitude towards women, attitudes of superiority that could lead to violence," says Michael Messner, associate professor of sociology at USC (qtd in L.A. Times). Vance Johnson, a Denver Bronco wide receiver, admits that he did beat his first two wives. He blames his misconduct on himself and on the sports environment he lived in for teaching him that domestic violence is okay. He writes, "Everywhere I looked men abused women...All of the women were really battered and abused emotionally and physically. It was just the way of life no one ever did anything about it (qtd in Vance pg 83)." Jackson Katz of the Center for the Study of Sports in Society states, "[Athletes] believe they are entitled to have women serve their needs. It's part of being a man. It's the cultural construction of masculinity." "Elite athletes learn entitlement (L.A. Times)." It is this entitlement given by coaches and fans, who worship star sports figures, that allows an athlete to abuse his spouse without having to suffer the consequences. This sends a message to girls that "If [they] get hurt, nothing will happen to [the perpetrator]. Girls have to stand alone.(Popa)" This leaves women with a feeling of worthlessness. Athletes live with a different set of rules. Dr. Tom House, a Major League Baseball coach as well as a psychologist, believes, Athletes aren't bad people; they just don't have life skills. Many of these players simply have no thermostats on their behavior mechanisms. When they act out, they are seeking to find some balancing their environment, to see how far they can go. And as long as they can put up good numbers on the field, no one will create boundaries for them (qtd in American Health). 5, Cohen So what is being done to prevent domestic violence among athletes? Very little. The pro league still do not punish perpetrators for their actions. But they have created shelters and organized funds for victims of this problem. Men are now encouraged to see specialists to solve their problem. Newspapers are printing more articles of cases involving athletes. Now there are daily reports of spousal abuse next to the box scores (I don't know weather to consider this good or bad). "Many men particularly famous athletes, are being held accountable for behavior that was previously brushed aside (Cart)." Lawrence Phillips, a Heisman Trophy candidate last season, was suspended from his football team because he was charged with spousal abuse. This was done a day after Phillips rushed for 206 yards and scored four touchdowns to give his team the victory. His coach, Rick Osborne, was applauded for taking a stand. Things are definitely moving forward, but not at a quick enough pace. Rita Smith, coordinator of National Coalition Against Domestic Violence thinks, "Professional sports needs to take a very definitive stand against violence like [it] has with drugs(qtd in L.A. Times)." Alisa DelTufo, the founder of Sanctuaries for Families, a shelter for abused women, admits, "Domestic Violence is a very difficult cycle for a woman to break (qtd in Sports Illustrated)." And the cycle of abuse is even harder to break in court for a wife of an athlete. "The police often work harder collecting autographs than evidence. The media and the fans, including those on the jury, tend to side with the icon over the iconoclast (Callahan)." When Sun Bonds finally decided to file a divorce, the judge, who was a baseball fan, awarded her a sum of $7,500 per month, which is half of what she was supposed to receive. The biased judge then asked Bonds' for an autograph. We live in a world where men express their manliness by demeaning women. Where men are encouraged to act aggressive and dominant. Where men when asked, 'what are they going to do?' after they lost a game reply, 'I'm going home to beat my wife (all-star, Charles Barkley).' Unfortunately this is the reality we live in. Sport associations need to set rules and punishments for a player who abuses his spouse. They can punish an athlete for using drugs, why can't they do the same for perpetrators of domestic violence? I think coaches should discourage the bad-mouthing of women that takes place in the locker room, and encourage them to see counselors. The fact is as soon as an athlete puts on his uniform for the first time; he is viewed as a role model, whether he likes it or not. I agree that the recent attention means we are now taking domestic violence more seriously, but the victims of abuse want solutions, not publicity. Works Cited Callahan, Gerry. "Sports Dirty Secret." Sports Illustrated July 31, 1995: pgs 62-74. Cart, Julie. "Sex & Violence." The L.A. Times December 27, 1995: pgs C1-C3. Lipsyte, Robert. "O.J. Syndrome." American Health September, 1994: pgs 50-51. Johnson, Vance. The Vance: The Begining and the End copyrighted 1994: pg 83. All other quotes were t f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Ballad of Birmingham.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ In the poem Ballad of Birmingham, by Dudley Randall, written in 1969, Mr. Randall uses of irony to describes the events of the mothers decision, and also her concern for the welfare of her darling little child. It seems odd that this child would even know what a freedom march is, but this would be considered normal back in the early 1960's, when Mr. Martin Luther King Jr. had rallies and freedom marches to free the African American people from discrimination and segregation (Hunter 6). It also seems very ironic that the young child is acting like an adult in this particular situation (Hunter 12). I think the mother would be the one who would want to got to the march to free her people, not the child. In the poem "Ballad of Birmingham", by Dudley Randall, written in 1969, Mr. Randall uses tone and irony to describe the events of the mothers decisions, and as well as her concern for her child's well being. In the first stanza irony is used in order to make reading the poem more interesting. The situation in this first stanza is also very important. The little child is in a desperate situation and wants to help better the lives of the African Americans. Randall also focuses on specific culture here. The speaker is allowing the reader to make a mental picture of one specific march in Birmingham (Hunter 17). But, you know as well as I, that with peace marches and rallies comes violence and hostility. This is exactly what the little girls mother is afraid of, this is why she will not let her go to the march. It also seems weird that her mother is so sure that going to church, instead of going to the march, will be the best thing for her. (Hunter 19-20). Typically, a church is to be a very safe and sacred place where no-one would imagine a bombing or any other type of violence to happen. What is ironic about this is that going to church turns out to be the worst place for her to be (Hunter 21). Something else that strikes me funny is that her mother dresses her in her daughter in her best clothes to go to church with her. What is ironic here is that she ended up wearing them to her funeral instead (Hunter 26). There is also a shift in dialogue here in the fifth stanza(Hunter 27). Here the narrator starts to take over. The narrator's tone shows the reader the pride and joy that the mother takes in her child's appearance (Hunter 29). It also gives the reader some sense of reassurance and cleanliness as the mother is brushing her daughters night-dark hair. She also dresses her in the same fashion (Hunter 36). She tries to dress her all in white, which is the symbol for purity. But no matter how hard the mother tries to have her daughter conform to the "whites", they are ultimately the ones who kill her (Hunter 41). Something else that is ironic comes about in the sixth stanza. The mother smiled to know her child was in the sacred place, but that smile was the last smile to come upon her face. This gives the reader a sense of what is about to happen(Hunter 44). This stanza is ironic because if the mother thinks her daughter is going to be in a safe place, why would this be the last time she would ever smile? The figures of speech that Randall uses in this poem also give the poem a touch of irony. He uses two types of figures of speech, and he uses them very well. First, he uses the metaphor. A metaphor is a figure of speech in which one thing is likened to another, different thing by being spoken of as if it were that other; implied comparison. He uses this in stanza five to hint to the reader that the child is an African American female(Hunter 47). He also uses it in stanza seven to show how angry, afraid and worried her mother gets when she hears the explosion. The other figure of speech that Randall uses is repetition. He uses the saying, "No, baby, no, you may not go", in stanza two and then again in stanza four. This saying expresses the worries and fear that the mother has for her little girl. Another big factor in this poem is the use of tone. First, there is a tone of innocence in the first stanza (Hunter 51). The young child tries to act nice and innocent to her mother, in the case that her mother might let her go to the march(Hunter 55). Secondly, there is the tone of concern for her child's safety. Her mother tells her that there are dogs, clubs and hoses. These things were used on protesters and marchers to control the crowds when they grew too large and had gotten out of hand. Next, there is the tone of joy in the fifth stanza and in the first half of the sixth stanza. Her mother takes pride and joy in getting her daughter ready to go to church. She is also joyful that her daughter is going to church instead of going to the march (Hunter 59-61). But, if you notice, in the seventh stanza that tone of joy immediately turns to grief and loneliness. The move from the sixth to the seventh stanza is when the explosion occurs(Hunter 64). The mother doesn't know what to do. The mothers tone in the last two lines of the poem gives the reader a feeling of grief and guilt. The word baby the mother uses implies the mothers affection for her lost daughter. I don't know how, but for some reason her mother feels that something has happened to her child, so she runs through the streets of Birmingham, Alabama calling for her child. She clawed through bits of glass and brick, then lifted out her child's shoe. From this finding the mother knows that she has lost her daughter forever. In conclusion, I personally think that this poem was well written for the simple fact that Randall is not afraid to confront the problems that these two races had between them. He describes things that had happened in this time period to get his point across vividly to the reader. With that said, I leave you with one last question: If her mother had let her go to the march like she asked, would she still be alive? f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Beloved.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Beloved In the Novel Beloved, by Toni Morrison unmasks the horrors of slavery, and depicts its aftermath on African Americans. The story is perfect for all who did not experience nor could imagine how it was to be an African American in America circa the 1860's. Beloved lends a gateway to understanding the trials and tribulations of the modern African American. The Novel has many things that occur that are very striking, most of which have to deal with the treatment of the African Americans. The book as a whole is very disturbing, and even shows to what lengths African Americans were willing to go to avoid enslavement of themselves or their children. In the novel the most extreme case of someone avoiding enslavement comes from the main character when she attempts to kill her children. The main character , Sethe, is not willing to let her children end up re-enslaved and would rather see them dead and in Heaven then in an earthly hell of being slaves. I believe that from Sethe was justified in her actions. Slavery is a very harsh and horrible way to live, and living in chains and without freedom is not living as a human should. Slavery degraded African Americans from humans, to that of animals. They were not treated with any respect, or proper care. Even modern day criminals, those that have murdered large numbers of people are treated more humanly then the average slave ever was. The life that the children would of lived would of been one of complete servitude, they would of never of known what it was like to live on their own and make their own decisions. This all goes back to the fact that they would never be human or treated as humans, so based on this I believe that Sethe was justified in killing her children and preventing them from becoming enslaved. The fact that the slaves where treated like animals, and where traded and sold like cattle is well depicted in the book. This did not actually shock me, the items in the book that shocked me had to do with the living conditions, and punishments that the men where put through. What I am referring to in particular are the living conditions at the work camp in Georgia. The fact that the men were in little cubbie holes in a trench in the ground is very disturbing. The fact that when it rained "They squatted in muddy water, slept above it, peed in it(110)" was very shocking and unpleasant to me. The other thing that was really disturbing at the same camp was the "breakfast". This was disgusting and at the same time seemed very weird. The white men considered the African Americans to be animals, yet they still made them perform oral sex on them. This was quite possibly the most bothersome and abhorrent item that occurred to the slaves in the book. The treatment of the slaves has a lot to do with current African Americans and the many items they face. In the book, there is no such thing as a family, the slaves can not be married nor are they allowed to be "mothers" or "fathers" to their children. This carries over to modern America in that some African Americans still have problems with family structure and slavery can be held accountable for this. Another reason this book is helpful is that it explains why African Americans attempt to remove themselves from making close bonds with family, as Professor Jordan said they have to make fun of moms and learn that they can not protect the people they love from others. This goes back to the roots of slavery to the fact that families where split up and the slaves had not control, and thus could not protect the ones that they loved. To prevent themselves from being hurt by this they learned a way to form a protective barrier against it and that barrier is not to get close or expect to be able to protect the ones you love. The book Beloved, has many key points about slavery and brings to light many things that are not well known. The book helps to show the roots of African Americans and how those roots still affect their lives today. This helps the reader to better understand African Americans and how they relate to their past. It also brings to light the many cruelties inherent in slavery and the affect this had on an entire race of people and their development in the U.S. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Biography and History Harriet Jacobs The Life of a Slave .TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Biography and History -- Harriet Jacob's The Life of a Slave Girl To be a good writer, you must posess a careful balance between detachment and association, a delicate waltz where you are not so wrapped up in the events of a story that it alienates the reader, and yet not so far separated from the subject matter that the readers cannot get into it. This is espectially the case in an autobiographical narrative. In this case, it is very difficult to detach yourself from the main subject matter, that is, yourself. Yet it must remain a story, and the story at its heart is a reconstruction of facts from the memory of the author. In the case of Harriet Jacobs, it was also important that she make sure the readers understood slavery from a woman's perspective. The hardships she had to endure not only entailed the work and the punishments, but also the sexual aspect of being a slave-girl. Her task is difficult, because in order for the reader to really understand her position as a woman and a slave, she must make the story extremely personal. If it is too personal, however, the reader looses sight of the bigger picture, and does not relate all these hardships to the condition of the general female slave. She accomplishes this in two ways, through her writing style, and the writing content. The style that the novel is written varies from a dialogue to a narrative, depending on the subject matter being written about. For example, the dialogue where Mrs. Flint confronts Linda (Jocobs) and asks her what has been going on with her husband is handled very effectively, because as a conversation between two people, we are able to pick up on the nuances of meaning. Also, it makes the situation seem to the reader as very exhilarating, because we don't know what's going to happen next. Two paragraphs later, though, the story has turned back into narrative, because Jacobs is trying to examine the entire situation in her present day, as a free woman. She has to be detached from the conversation in order for her to draw any conclusions. The conclusion she draws is that even though they are in different circumstances, (Linda is a slave and Mrs. Flint is her mistress), they both have a shared problem as women -- that is, the problems of infedelity. This general topic cannot be dealt with effectively unless it is done at a distance, looking back with the experience she has gained. Jacobs does this a lot -- she takes her own present-day experiences and places them in the framework of her past. When she gives us an account of the Slaves' New Year's Day, she addresses the readers personally, whom are all free men and women. First she gives us the facts of the matter: the auction block, the anxious waiting before families are separated. Then she compares it to the present. In order to shock her readers and make this story hit closer to home, she asks us to compare our New Year's Day with the slaves'. While we are partying and enjoying ourselves, the slaves await the day when they will be sold. Mothers fear that their children will be taken from them, rebellious slaves fear they will be beaten. We just don't understand what slavery is unless we are given a direct contrast like this. Another method to get the readers to truly understand her problems is to try to compare feelings with situations. For example, at one point her style changes to rhetorical questions, aimed to catch the reader off-guard and make them think, not just read and comprehend. After she tells Mr. Flint about her intentions to marry a free black man, he tells her that she will never marry him, nor will she ever be free. This is written in a dialogue-style. Then, it quickly turns personal: she asks the readers, "Did you ever hate? I hope not. I never did but once..." She later accuses the readers of an almost blissful ignorance to this point: "But, O, ye happy women, whose purity has been sheltered from shildhood, who have been free to choose the objects of your affection, whose homes are protected by law, do not judge the poor desolate slave girl too severley!" In this manner, she asks the readers to forgive her for her sexual actions. Naturally, this is not really necessary, but it is an affective writing tool to get us to look on our own lives as easy in comparison to hers. As a writer, Jacobs has to make herself look more human and real to the readers, because they come into the book with pre-conceieved notions about slavery. She does this by writing occasional sarcastic comments, the kind that we all make in our lives. When her grandmother lends her mistress the money she has saved, she can only hope to get it back based on the word of the woman. "The honor of a slaveholder to a slave!" she remarks sarcastically. What is important to Jacobs is that the people reading the story really understand what's going on. It isn't enough that they be sorry for her, they must be enraged at the injustices. She chooses these small sections out of her life because she feels they will be the most influential over the reader. It is supposed to be a persuasive story, not some self-pitying account of her poor' life. "I draw no imaginary pictures of southern homes. I am telling you the plain truth," she explains. There is no intentional deceit in the chapters that she writes, because that would work against her. Her message is simple, she explains it in a dialogue with her brother: "He grew vexed, and asked if poverty and hardships with freedom, were not preferable to our treatment in slavery. Linda,' he continued, we are dogs here; foot-balls, cattle, every thing that's mean. No, I will not stay. Let them bring me back. We don't die but once.'" f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Biography Precis Black Boy.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Biography Precis -- Black Boy Black Boy , an autobiography by Richard Wright, is an account of a young African-American boy's thoughts and outlooks on life in the South while growing up. The novel is 288 pages, and was published by Harper and Row Publishers in (c)1996. The main subject, Richard Wright, who was born in 1908, opens the book with a description of himself as a four-year-old in Natchez, Mississippi, and his family's later move to Memphis. In addition it describes his early rebellion against parental authority, and his unsupervised life on the streets while his mother is at work. His family lives in poverty and faces constant hunger. As a result his family lives with his strict grandmother, a fervently religious woman. In spite of his frequent punishment and beatings, Wright remembers the pleasures of rural life. Richard then describes his family's move to Memphis in 1914. Though not always successful, Richard's rebellious nature pervades the novel. This is best illustrated by his rebellion against his father. He resents his father's the need for quiet during the day, when his father, a night porter, sleeps. When Mr. Wright tells Richard to kill a meowing kitten if that's the only way he can keep it quiet, Richard has found a way to rebel without being punished. He takes his father literally and hangs the kitten. But Richard's mother punishes him by making him bury the kitten and by filling him with guilt. Another theme is seen when his father deserts the family, and Richard faces severe hunger. For the first time, Richard sees himself as different from others, because he must assume some of the responsibilities of an adult. In contrast to his above characteristics, Richard soon shows his ability in learning, even before he starts school, which he begins at a later age than other boys because his mother couldn't afford his school clothes. Rebellion, hunger (for knowledge and food), and the sense of being different will continue with Richard throughout this book. In the following chapters the Wrights move to the home of Richard's Aunt Maggie. But their pleasant life there ends when whites kill Maggie's husband. Later the threat of violence by whites forces Maggie to flee again. Additional unfortunate events include Richard's mother having a stroke. As a result, Richard is sent to his Uncle Clark's, but he is unhappy there and insists on returning to his mother's. Later, Richard confronts his Aunt Addie, who teaches at the Seventh-Day Adventist church school. He also resists his grandmother's attempts to convert him to religious faith. He writes his first story and blossoms in a literary sense. Richard then gets a job selling newspapers but quits when he finds that the newspapers hold racist views. Soon after this incident, his grandfather dies. Richard publishes his first story. The reaction from his family is overwhelmingly negative, though they can do nothing to stop his interest in literature. When he graduates, Richard becomes class valedictorian. But he refuses to give the speech written for him by the principal. Upon entering the harsh world of actual adulthood, Richard has several terrifying confrontations with whites. In the most important of these confrontations, he is forced out of a job because he dares to ask to learn the skills of the trade. These same harsh realities of life also force Richard to learn to steal. By stealing he acquires enough money to leave the Deep South. Richard finds a place to stay in Memphis. The owner of his rooming house encourages him to marry her daughter, Bess. As a result of his inborn fear of intimacy, he refuses. Richard then takes another job with an optical company. The foreman tries to provoke a fight between him and a black employee of another company. In the culmination of Richard's interest in literature, he borrows a library card and discovers the hard-hitting style of columnist H. L. Mencken and begins to read voraciously. Finally, in the last chapter, Richard leaves for Chicago. When Richard tells his boss that he is leaving, he says that his departure is at his family's insistence. The white men at the factory are uneasy about a black man who wants to go north. They seem to consider that desire an implicit criticism of the South and thus of them. On the train north, Richard reflects on his life. He wonders why he believes that life could be lived more fully. His answer is that he acquired this belief from the books he read, which were critical of America and suggested that the country could be reshaped for the better. Wright seems to have wanted a different and better life long before he discovered Mencken and the other writers he read in Memphis. As Richard continues his reflections, he thinks the white South has allowed him only one honest path, that of rebellion. He argues to himself that the white South, and his own family, conforming to the dictates of whites, have not let him develop more than a portion of his personality. Yet he also thinks he is taking with him a part of the South. Here Wright focuses on the way his life in the South has been typical of other black lives, all stunted by racism. Wright's portrayal of himself growing up seems to be accurate; his personal feelings at the time of the book's composition, and during his childhood adding to the reader's understanding of the life and times of the author. Although an arguably confused and purposeless individual, Wright did achieve much in his strife against racism and its limits on his people. In becoming a community leader, he shared his perception about America, a perception of a part of America that was unknown territory. His admirable character allowed him to channel all the anger and ambiguities in his life and focus them to a good cause. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Black and White.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Black and White Following the Civil War, just prior to the turn of the century, many American novelist were writing more freely of the previous slave culture. Two of these writers being Mark Twain and Charles Chesnutt. Mark Twain was a popular "white" author by this time. Charles Chesnutt, the son of free blacks, decided to pursue a dream of becoming an author in order to remove the spirit of racism. By studying these authors in particular, the views of a white raised in the slave holding south are juxtaposed with the views of free black. Both Twain and Chesnutt satirize whites in different ways through their literature. Twain also displays some unfavorable preconceptions of blacks. This can be attributed to his own upbringing in the slave holding south. The main character of the Chesnutt stories is an old Negro man, previously a slave, who engages his new white employers in many tales about life on the plantation. Uncle Julius relays these stories with much detail. Though, at the conclusion of each, the reader is left wondering whether the tale was true or if Uncle Julius had conceived of it merely to satisfy his own desires. Chesnutt has added to the end of each story an ulterior motive of Uncle Julius that seems to be met by the telling of his tales. By doing this, Chesnutt discretely satirizes whites in general. In the first story, The Goophered Grapevine, Uncle Julius tells of a conjure woman putting a "goopher" on the grapevines, causing all blacks that eat the grapes to die within one year. This story is relayed upon the first meeting of the northern white couple (John and Annie) and the native South Carolinian. After telling his tale of Henry and the others that suffered from this spell, Uncle Julius concludes that these northerners should not buy this vineyard, adding conveniently that he is not afraid to eat the grapes because he know the "ole vimes fum de noo ones." John decides to buy the farm in spite of Uncle Julius's warnings, but he does offer him employment as a coachman. It seems as if Uncle Julius had been trying to guarantee his usefulness on the plantation even after its sale. Was white man tricked into believing Julius' knowledge would be useful in the renewing of the vineyards? Chesnutt lets the reader wonder, but regardless of his tale being the reason for his employment, Uncle Julius gets to stay on the land and receives a wage to compensate for any money he may have lost in the sale of the vineyard. As the family settles into their new home the wife sees a need for a new kitchen. There is an abandoned schoolhouse on the corner of the property that could serve for some of the wood to build with. Uncle Julius hears of the idea and is immediately reminded of another story. Chesnutt has titled this story Po' Sandy. In this story Uncle Julius tells of a strong, hardworking slave, Sandy, that was tired of being sent away to wok for the Master's grown children. His wife Tenie, conjure woman, places a spell on Sandy turning him into a tree. Sandy continued to have problems in this state. Tenie decides to turn him back and run off with him one night. Unfortunately, Tenie was sent to nurse her master's daughter-in-law and by the time she returned the tree had been sent to the mill. Sandy was used to build the kitchen, that later became the old schoolhouse at the corner of the plantation. Tenie died on the floor of that schoolhouse mourning her husband. This story so disturbed Annie that she refused to use any old lumber from the schoolhouse. At the conclusion Annie also admits that she has given Uncle Julius permission to use the old schoolhouse for meetings of the new Colored Baptist Church. Yet again Uncle Julius has received some sort of benefit from the telling of his tales. This leads the reader to believe that he had this ulterior motive in mind the entire time. Chesnutt seems to be satirizing the unknowing white woman. In the final selection chosen from the works of Chesnutt, Uncle Julius tells the story of Dave's Neckliss. Dave, a good Christian slave, is accused of stealing a ham from the smokehouse and forced to wear a ham chained around his neck for punishment. Wiley, the real thief, had set Dave up because he loved the girl that Dave had been going around with. When this was discovered, the master tried to make reconciliation by telling all the slaves. Dave had already lost his senses a little and thought he was a ham. Uncle Julius later found him hanging the smokehouse. Uncle Julius explains how he cannot eat more than two or three pounds of ham without having to stop and think about Dave. John asks for ham at breakfast the next morning. Annie first claims that ham was too heavy for breakfast, but admits that she had given it all to Uncle Julius. Annie has been outsmarted once more by a black man. These three example show Chesnutt is satirizing the whites. He shows, through Uncle Julius' stories, that blacks have the ability to beguile whites in order to have their own motives met. Thus Chesnutt portrays blacks possessing greater intelligence than many at the time accepted. He does this very discretely through the black folk stories of supernatural, but the surrounding satire is still apparent. Twain also satirizes whites in his novel Pudd'nhead Wilson, more specifically the whites of the slave holding south. This is brought out originally in the scene where Wilson receives his name. The serious attitudes of property prevents the white towns people from understanding the joke Wilson makes about the dog. For the reader it is apparent that Twain is pointing out the stupidity of the towns people rather than that of Wilson. Twain also shows Roxy as a black that is in a small way superior to the townsfolk. She is able to outsmart the entire town, including her own master, by switching her own child with her master's son. Ironically, the only white who figures out this scheme is Wilson, the person the townspeople labeled a "pudd'nhead." Here, Twain again satirizes the whites of the south by showing their ignorance. These people are so preoccupied with the idea of race, yet they cannot tell the difference between a person they would label "nigger" and a white. Twain also raises some questions regarding the nature of race. Are their innate qualities of race or does it depend entirely on ones upbringing? Twain questions nature versus nurture. In the story Tom is a white boy that possesses black blood and Chambers is "white." Twain spends some time comparing these boys as they grow up. He says, Tom "was a bad baby from the very beginning." He was given anything he desired. Tom grew to be small and weak, while Chambers grew big and strong. Twain points to the difference in diet and activity. Tom ate sweets and was waited on, while Chambers was "coarsely fed" and worked around the house. Although Twain states that Tom was bad from the start, the reader is left wondering what would have happened if he had received Chambers discipline, diet, and work load. At the conclusion of the book, the white townspeople of Dawson's Landing blame Tom's awful behavior on the drop of black blood that he possesses. Though, Twain seems to be saying that it was his white upbringing that made him into the man became. This also satirizes the whites of Dawson's Landing, showing them as simple minded. Twain also questions the self-concept of blacks. Here we see some of Twain's racist attitudes displayed. He tries to show the irony of the blacks view of themselves in the case of Roxy. Though Roxy has no physical characteristics that distinguish her as black in her own mind that is what she is. From the very start of her life she has worn that label and her personality has been patterned after that. Her dialect is poor and uneducated just as she herself is. She has not been schooled as to the proper manners of a lady and thus she is crass and vulgar at times. All of these outward facets of Roxy's personality expose her as black, though her features do not. Even being raised in this manner, Twain portrays Roxy as feeling superior to the other slaves because of her white heritage. At one time she says to Jasper, another slave, "I got somep'n' better to do den 'sociat'n' wid niggers as black as you is." This was all in jest, but throughout the book Twain shows Roxy as having a low view of blacks, especially her own black heritage. When scolding her son Tom for refusing to challenge the twins, Roxy blames his cowardice on "de nigger" in him. After noting all of the predominant white members of his pedigree, she concludes that "de nigger" is his soul. Twain seems to have some assumptions of his own that blacks have no pride in their own heritage. Twain and Chesnutt both satirize whites, but in different ways. Twain, being a white, satirizes the slave holding south, rather than whites in general. Chesnutt, on the other hand, uses a couple from the north in a story set in the free south. Chesnutt also is more descrete in his satire, while Twain pokes fun directly. Twain also displays some of his own prejudices, being a white trying to explain the black culture. On the contrary, Chesnutt honestly portrays blacks from an inside perspective. Roxy was ashamed of the black blood in her, while Uncle Julius seemed to be a proud old man, happy to tell of his black friends and past. From the analysis these literary selections we can gain a greater understanding of racial views but, one may say that everything is not as simple as black and white Black and White f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Black Civil Rights.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ More than a hundred years ago the Europeans brought slaves to North America. The blacks found themselves in the midst of prejudice whites with no way out. When the blacks came over Jim Crow laws were incorporated. With these laws it was near impossible for blacks to rise in the white world. Booker T. Washington was the first black to rise to any prominence in this time. In the early 1900's blacks however began to fight back. In 1909 black advancement organizations began to increase all over North America. Unfortunately with the rise of these groups also came the rise of racist white groups like the Ku Klux Klan and others brutally killing blacks. All blacks coming into N. America were being brought into a very hostile environment. The first sign of blacks becoming more equal was the blacks to fight in the World War. For the first time they were looked upon as war veterans instead of black slaves. Although progress was beginning a black man named Garvey believed that the whites would never change, because of this he started an association called "Back to Africa". At the coming of the Second World War, blacks participating in the war were being more important positions than ever before. Franklin Roosevelt was the first president to make a strong contribution to the Civil Rights movement. He had signed a declaration that stated no one could be discriminated in the work place and other areas based on race. Also the high court passed a law that enabled black children to have the same education opportunities as white children. It was in December 1955 that Rosa Parks made a big step for civil rights by doing a very small but courageous thing. She was arrested for not giving up her seat to a white man on a bus, which broke one of the many Jim Crow laws. With that one action black activist hired Martin Luther King Jr. to boycott the bus laws. This boycott of the Jim Crow transportation laws was a complete success, launching Martin Luther King Jr. into national stardom with the accomplishment. King often acted on and admired the ways of M. Gandhi. Soon blacks all over began to non-violently protest many segregated places. In turn many places were desegregated. President John F. Kennedy was a strong force also in the fight for black civil rights and his assassination in 1963 did cause setbacks. The blacks in the North felt that they had to do more than the blacks in the South to make a difference but they didn't have a voice. That was until Malcolm X joined the voice of Martin Luther King Jr. Malcolm X did make a difference but he was not liked by many whites and even was strongly disliked by black Muslims. Soon later black Muslims shot and killed Malcolm X, not much later Martin Luther King Jr. was also assassinated, and another great voice was silenced. Jesse Jackson arose the killing in 1965. He started many organizations to help support blacks and civil rights. Also to show that the equality between blacks and whites was getting stronger Jackson ran for President of the United States in both 1984 and 1988, not only becoming a threat in the civil rights movement but as a political icon also. His message was and still is well liked by both blacks and whites, as he sends the message of true equality and not just power to blacks. Poverty, education, and racism are still part of today's society and in political battle with each other, but the efforts of all the blacks are paying off for everyone. The world does seem to be getting better. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Black Like Me by John Griffin.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ All men are created equal... or are they? John Griffin's "Black Like Me" shows how racism is nothing more then the foolish misunderstanding of man. White's current superiority hangs in the balance as Blacks become tired of being the minority, in the late 1950's. Even though this struggle isn't as dreadful as it was then, it still exists. The certainty of racism can't be ignored but it will soon disappear as generations mix. Racial discrepancies challenge the unity of human civilization. John Griffin had a biting curiosity which he could no longer stand. What was life truly like, for a black man in the deep south? He sought the real answer to this by darkening his skin with extreme amounts of medication. A new skin color determines everything and John is now thrown into a new world that he was in no way prepared for. He was no longer John, an average but respected white novelist, he was a black man and that is all that mattered. Simple pleasers like a drink of water or the use of a restroom become near impossible. John, at first was puzzled by this, but soon realized that it was not his personality, his age, but his blackness that made him a disgrace in the eyes of an average white person. If he were white, a white store owner would have not hesitated in the slightest to allow such privileges. How could these people be so blind as to not see that a black person breathes the same air, eats the same food, and has the same internal functions as themselves? This misunderstanding stares them in the face and they can't see it. Their selfishness and fear is completely unnecessary but it remains because the whites have never been exposed to any other way of life. This is why the whites can not allow such common privileges to Mr. Griffin or any other black person. To treat a black as an equal was absolutely unheard of. Fatigued from rejection and many actions which would be declared unconstitutional, the blacks must do something so their future generations do not suffer the same. This desire for action only stirs a greater terror within the (racist) white community. People like, Martin Luther King Jr. begin to surface. He and many others aspire to show the blacks that they are equal human beings. Its strange to think that most blacks thought a white was better just because that is what they were brought up to believe. This new realization completely jeopardizes the supremacy of the white community. The book gives many examples of this fear/hatred such as, "The hate stare", the tone of peoples voices, and the over all rejection. Who could have thought that a black person could have the same job opportunities and the same living standards? For those racist whites who have a pathetic pride in there incomparable skin color and fear of change is why groups like the Ku Klux Klan exist. It is comforting to know that this despicable attitude is no longer holding the majority. Yes, certain racial beliefs were awful in the 50's and 60's but its not over yet, some still exist today. People who still feel they are fighting the Civil War, also believe in the segregation of the black community. Hate groups such as the KKK and Neo Nazis are around but don't expose themselves publicly as they had in the past for obvious reasons. Today racism isn't about little things that white people take for granted, such as drinking water or a nice place to stay for the night, its more about fair trial and equal job or education opportunities. The hard fact of our diverse country hinders most racial discrepancies. Most people anymore can no longer be called just black or just white but a mix of the two. If a person were to make a racist comment whether white or black, they will most likely be bashing their own ethnic origin. This will be even grater as generations continue. Racism won't disappear all together but can be diminished by the brotherhood of man. John Griffin took a chance and discovered something outrageous which he never expected. The real life for those in the deep south was concealed under a complete misunderstanding of each others feelings. Due to the unfair treatment to the blacks things begin to change. Now with changing generations and a greater diversity among people, things have changed and will continue to do so. The misconception of one race being any better then another perhaps, is the only thing that separates us from world peace. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Black Like Me.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin is a Multicultural story set in the south around the late 1950's in first person point of view about John Griffin in 1959 in the deep south of the east coast, who is a novelist that decides to get his skin temporarily darkened medically to black. What Griffin hopes to achieve is enough information about the relationships between blacks and whites to write a book about it.The overall main obstacle is society, and the racial divide in the south with the whites. John begins his journey in New Orleans where he gets his first taste of what it is like to be black. He meets a shoeshiner named Sterling Williams who gives Griffin friendship, and the opportunity to be incorporated in the African American society. While in New Orleans, Griffin discussed race issues with other African Americans. John was harassed by some white supremacists, while with Negroes, was treated with courtesies, even by strangers. When Griffin gets news that a white jury rejected a case of a black lynching, Griffin decides to go to the heart of the deep south, Mississippi to check it out. Even with the risk of his life, Griffin decides to take a bus to Hattiesburg into the deep south to check out the lynching case. At the bus station, Griffin acquired "hate stares " from many whites on the benches waiting for their buses. Griffin boarded the bus, and during the trip he conversed with a man named Christophe, and when the white passengers got off the bus during the rest stop, the bus driver prevented the Negro passengers from departing. The Negroes were about to urinate all over the bus, but they decided it would just be another thing for the whites to hold against blacks. They arrived in Hattiesburg and John took a cab to a hotel to rest. In the hotel, Griffin tried to write a letter to his family, but there were too many things blocking his mind. Afterwards, Griffin called P.D. East, a white friend who writes in a black newspaper in Mobile and visited his family for a while. Continuing his trip to Montgomery, he covered a long distance with the help from passing white drivers (some were perverted) who gave him rides during the night time. When Griffin was kicked off the car, he was left a far distance from everything. He reached a small convince store on the road, in which the owners would not let him in until he begged them. As he walked on, a young black male offered him a ride and a place to sleep in his house with his wife and six children. Later that evening, Griffin had a reoccurring nightmare about white men and women, with their faces of heartlessness staring at him. As Griffin was about to leave, he tried to give money to the family for his gratitude, but they would no accept it, so he just left the money there. Griffin then hitchhiked to a small bus station and bought a ticket to Montgomery. When he got to Montgomery, he called his wife and children and then changed back to white. Griffin also witnessed a skirmish on the bus when 2 blacks would not move into 1 seat, so a white women could sit down. A large white man was about to hurt someone, but the white women told him to stop. Griffin had enough of this and changed back to white in the station restroom. Afterwards, he called the Sepia ( A News Paper ) editors and made an appointment for a story in New Orleans with a photographer. After the story was done, he flew to Mansfield as a white man to be in an editorial conference. Then Griffin flew to Hollywood for a TV show, New York for an interview in Time magazine and many other places for stories. Griffin's mother started to get hate calls from some of the people in town, and the Griffins got police surveillance on their house just in case. When Griffin was kicked off the car, he was left a far distance from everything. He reached a small convince store on the road, in which the owners would not let him in until he begged them. As he walked on, a young black male offered him a ride and a place to sleep in his house with his wife and six children. Later that evening, Griffin had a reoccurring nightmare about white men and women, with their faces of heartlessness staring at him. As Griffin was about to leave, he tried to give money to the family for his gratitude, but they would no accept it, so he just left the money there. Griffin then hitchhiked to a small bus station and bought a ticket to Montgomery. When he got to Montgomery, he called his wife and children and then changed back to white. Griffin also witnessed a skirmish on the bus when 2 blacks would not move into 1 seat, so a white women could sit down. A large white man was about to hurt someone, but the white women told him to stop. Griffin had enough of this and changed back to white in the station restroom. Afterwards, he called the Sepia ( A News Paper ) editors and made an appointment for a story in New Orleans with a photographer. After the story was done, he flew to Mansfield as a white man to be in an editorial conference. Then Griffin flew to Hollywood for a TV show, New York for an interview in Time magazine and many other places for stories. Griffin's mother started to get hate calls from some of the people in town, and the Griffins got police surveillance on their house just in case. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Black Supremacy.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Black Supremacy Throughout history, white anglo-saxons have been notorious for mistreating all races other than it's own. Malcolm X felt "the white man had been actually nothing but a piratical opportunist who used Faustian machinations to make his own Christianity his initial wedge in criminal conquests"(563). The earth is burdened by the white man! That is the true meaning of what Malcolm X is stating; the words Faustian machinations, meaning evil plotting, implies the whole white population is out for the blood of other races. Many members of the black race are adopting the idea of Afrocentricity; some call it black pride, I call it black supremacy. Afrocentricists are supporting their ideas with religion and the need for liberation. The liberation of the black man is needed! Molefi Asante describes "the Afrocentric awareness [as] the total commitment to African liberation anywhere any everywhere by a consistent determined effort to repair any psychic, economic, physical, or cultural damage done to Africans"(50). Liberation from what...the white race? Molefi's statement is completely ludicrous; the first copy of his book with this statement was printed in 1988, in my opinion blacks were fairly liberated in 1988. Now the second part of his statement, repair what damage? Any psychic damage which has been thrust upon the black race has not occurred for quite some time: slavery...not in my lifetime nor separate bathrooms were in my lifetime. And I am not about to feel sorry about what happened before my time. Economic damage is not the white man's fault either. In this day anyone can do whatever he/she likes. The truth to the economic matter is that many of the "oppressed" races feel they now deserve a free ride. Absolutely no physical damage has occurred in my lifetime. As for as cultural damage, cultures evolve, they do not get damaged. Clearly all liberation of the black man has already occurred, therefore, there is know further need for reimbursement. Kennedy 2 The white race is evil! Further, the Afrocentric cause attempts to use religion to denounce the white race as heathens; according the Yakub myth, "the colour black...is the primal colour; other colours, consequently, are merely shades of black, except for white, which is the absence of black, hence the absence of perfection"(Davies 151). The statement declares the white race to be inferior; why should any one race be inferior? Oh yeah, it's to get back at the white race for all the years of hardship. The black race was called infidels for many years, and the black supremists just believe what goes around comes around. However, the truth to the matter is that all races are equally imperfect as the next statement will show. The Afrocentric religion goes on to state how the white race was formed, apparently, a "black scientist named Yakub rebelled against Allah by producing...a new creature with an excess of bad(white) genes...These evil creatures were alloted...six thousand years of rule (i.e., until almost the present day), after which...the oppressed blacks will be liberated from their bondage"(Davies 51). Note the use of words in this passage: new creature, bad(white) genes, evil creature, and once again the reoccurring oppressed blacks will be liberated. All the words directs one's attention to the idea that the white race is nothing more than devils roaming the earth in search of it's next prey. The black supremists are making the same arguments that the early whites made and are being reprimanded for. It seems this is a bit of a contradiction. Down with the white race! Feelings towards the white race are made apparent when "Elijah [Muhammad] felt that evil was inherent in the white race, and preached that the whites could not help themselves," Molifi Asante adds "we know now, of course, that the condition of evil in whites is not inherent, but inherited through history and environment"(15). The quote is quite harsh; directly saying that the white race is evil...no, not acting evil, is evil and will continue to stay this way. These words imply the need for eradication because evil is just the devil spelled without a "d". One must stand against the devil before anything drastic occurs beyond what has already happened, for instance; "an outburst of homosexuality among black men, fed by the prison breeding system, threatens Kennedy 3 to distort the relationship between friends...these gays live in the make-believe world of white gays"(Asante 57). The white race has already begun to corrupt the black race, according to black supremists, with the introduction of homosexuality, which is clearly a bad white habit. The word, "threatens", leads one to the idea of defense against these evil, plotting, gay, devils. Paraphrasing what was earlier said, the white race will cease to rule after six thousand years of rule, setting all blacks free from the oppression of the devils(Davies 51). That time is now and the black supremists want another holocaust, with the white race suffering. The black supremists feel it is their turn to rule. Violence is the only way to stop the white race! During a speech Malcolm X declared, "Twenty million ex-slaves must be permanently separated from our former slavemaster and placed on some land we can call our own. Then we can create our own jobs. Control our own economy. Solve our own problems instead of waiting on the American white man to solve our problems for us"(Perry 68-69). Clearly, in 1963, Malcolm X feels full segregation is in the best interest of the black race. The quote appears fairly peaceful, however, two years later, Malcolm X changes his mind about peaceful action: "We're for peace. But the people that we're up against are for violence. You can't be peaceful you're dealing with them"(Perry 159). A non-peaceful approach to further the black cause is being proposed by Malcolm Little (his more appropriate birth name, seeing how a "little" man resorts to violence). Eldridge Cleaver, leader of the Black Panther's, too felt violence is the best approach; "I became a rapist...It delighted me that I was defying and trampling upon the white man's law,...that I was defiling his women...I was getting revenge"(14). This about says it, he was putting a notch in the head board, winning one for the boys. Eldridge Cleaver has, in my opinion, ignorant, uncivilized revolutionary ideas. He only wants revenge for the fact he was in jail. Cleaver reveals that "Rather than owing and paying a debt to society, Negro prisoners feel that they are being abused, that their imprisonment is simply another form of the oppression which they have know all their lives"(58). The Black Supremists want revenge. Kennedy 4 Black supremists want nothing less than for the black race to rule the world. They shall use ideas of religion to back up their claims upon the world and call it the liberation of their people. But the truth of the matter is the tides are turning. How can it be called liberation? The white race had these ideas 100's of years ago and the black supremists called it evil. Now they have the same evil ideas and are calling it liberation. No, the human race will never learn from history; we will just repeat it. The main question is will their ever be racial harmony in the world? I just don't know. "We shall have our manhood. We shall have it or the earth will be leveled by our attempts to gain it." --Eldridge Cleaver Works Cited Asante, Molefi. Afrocentricity. Trenton: Africa WP, 1992. Cleaver, Eldridge. Soul on Ice. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1968. Davies, Alan. Infected Christianity: A Study of Modern Racism. Montreal: Mcgill-Queen's UP, 1988. Perry, Bruce, ed. Malcolm X: The Last Speeches. New York: Pathfinder, 1989. X, Malcolm. "Learning to Read." rpt. in Rereading America. ed. Gary Colombo, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle. Boston: Bedford Books, 1992. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\blacks and capital punishment.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The Effects of Race on Sentencing in Capital Punishment Cases Throughout history, minorities have been ill-represented in the criminal justice system, particularly in cases where the possible outcome is death. In early America, blacks were lynched for the slightest violation of informal laws and many of these killings occurred without any type of due process. As the judicial system has matured, minorities have found better representation but it is not completely unbiased. In the past twenty years strict controls have been implemented but the system still has symptoms of racial bias. This racial bias was first recognized by the Supreme Court in Fruman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238 (1972). The Supreme Court Justices decide that the death penalty was being handed out unfairly and according to Gest (1996) the Supreme Court felt the death penalty was being imposed "freakishly" and "wantonly" and "most often on blacks" Several years later in Gregg v. Georgia, 428 U.S. 153 (1976), the Supreme Court decided, with efficient controls, the death penalty could be used constitutionally. Yet, even with these various controls, the system does not effectively eliminate racial bias. Since Gregg v. Georgia the total population of all 36 death rows has grown as has the number of judicial controls used by each state. Of the 3,122 people on death row 41% are black while 48% are white (Gest, 1996, 41). This figure may be acceptable at first glance but one must take into account the fact that only 12% of the U.S. population is black (Smolowe, 1991, 68). Carolyn Snurkowski of the Florida attorney generals office believes that the disproportionate number of blacks on death row can be explained by the fact that, "Many black murders result from barroom brawls that wouldn't call for the death penalty, but many white murders occur on top of another offense, such as robbery" (As cited in Gest, 1986, 25). This may be true but the Washington Legal Foundation offers their own explanation by arguing that "blacks are arrested for murder at a higher rate than are whites. When arrest totals are factored in, 'the probability of a white murderer ending up on death row is 33 percent greater than in the case of a black murderer (As cited in Gest, 1986, 25). According to Professor Steven Goldstein of Florida State University, "There are so many discretionary stages: whether the prosecutor decides to seek the death penalty, whether the jury recommends it, whether the judge gives it" (As cited in Smolowe, 1991, 68). It is in these discretionary stages that racial biases can infect the system of dealing out death sentences. Smolowe (1991) shows this infection by giving examples of two cases decided in February of 1991, both in Columbus. The first example is a white defendant named James Robert Caldwell who was convicted of stabbing his 10 year old son repeatedly and raping and killing his 12 year old daughter. The second example is of a black man, Jerry Walker, convicted of killing a 22-year-old white man while robbing a convenience-store. Caldwells trial lasted three times as long as Walkers and Caldwell received a life sentence while Walker received a death sentence. In these examples, it is believed that not only the race of the victims, but also the value of the victims, biased the sentencing decisions. The 22-year-old man killed by Walker was the son of a Army commander at Fort Benning while Caldwells victims were not influential in the community. In examples such as these, it becomes evident that racial bias, in any or all of the discretionary stages, becomes racial injustice in the end. Smolowe (1991) also makes the point that Columbus is not alone: "A 1990 report prepared by the governments General Accounting Office found a pattern of evidence indicating racial disparities in the charging, sentencing and imposition of the death penalty." In an article by Seligman (1994), Professor Joseph Katz of Georgia State "and other scholars have made a separate point about bias claims based on the devalued lives of murder victims." Seligman also asserts that those claiming bias believe that it is in the race of the victim and not the race of the defendant, and because the lives of blacks have been devalued, people who murder blacks are less likely to receive death sentences than those who murder whites (Seligman, 1994, 113). An Iowa Law Professor, David Baldus, also found that juries put a premium on the lives of victims (As cited in Lacayo, 1987, 80). In a study of more than 2,000 Georgia murder cases, Baldus found that "those who killed whites were 4.3 times as likely to receive the death penalty as those who killed blacks. And blacks who killed whites were most likely of all to be condemned to die" (As cited in Lacayo, 1987, 80). According to Gest (1996), of those executed since the reinstatement of the death penalty, 80% have murdered whites, while only 12% of those executed in the same time period have had black victims. These figures show an obvious trend of racial bias against those who murdered whites. Could these disparities be because, as sociologist Michael Radelet put it, "Prosecutors are political animals, they are influenced by community outrage, which is subtly influenced by race," or is it because "it is built into the system that those in the predominant race will be more concerned about crime victims of their own race," as stated by Welsh White of the University of Pittsburgh Law School (As cited in Gest, 1986, 25). Because of the immense possibility of discrimination in sentencing in capital punishment cases, each stage of prosecution must be controlled as much as possible. Although these offenders are the worst the criminal justice system has to offer, prosecutors must be encouraged to consider the crime and not the race of the victim or offender and the judge must attempt to exclude the same racial issue when deciding the punishment. I believe Justice Brennan said it best when he wrote the dissenting opinion in a capital punishment appeal. He wrote, "It is tempting to pretend that minorities on death row share a fate in no way connected to our own, that our treatment of them sounds no echoes beyond the chambers in which they die. Such an illusion is ultimately corrosive, for the reverberations of injustice are not so easily confined" (As cited in Lacayo, 1987, 80). With great effort, the judicial controls can begin to battle the racial bias of Americas Judicial system but to completely eliminate such a bias, the people involved in the judicial process must learn to look past the race of the offender or the value of the victim, and instead focus on circumstances of the crime. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\BLACKS PRISON AND INSTITUTIONAL RACISM.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ BLACKS, PRISON, AND INSTITUTIONAL RACISM Description: The title pretty much says it all in this one. This paper addresses the issue of blacks in prison and explores the socio-economic causes and solutions. This paper uses many govermentally commissioned reports. Blacks, Prison, and Institutional Racism Introduction Criminal justice and security is one of the largest industries in the United States. Such a statistic is (and rightly so) of great concern to Afro-Americans because a disproportionate percentage of individuals under the control of the US Criminal Justice System are from the Black community. This paper will look at the alarming statistics and attempt to trace the roots of the disparity. It will then consider the affects and explore possible solutions to the expanding problem. The Imprisoned Black Youth Black communities throughout the U.S. are witnessing the institutionalization of their youth. Of course institutionalization is nothing new to Afro-Americans, it is something Blacks have faced since their existence in this country. In the beginning Blacks were forced into the institution of slavery. After the abolition of slavery Blacks faced institutional racism, that is, racism legitimated by the whole of society directed against the few of society. As a facet of that institutional racism Blacks are now forced to persevere the increasing trend of control by the US Criminal Justice System. Control by the USCJS includes the probation, parole, imprisonment, and death of Blacks. A study conducted by the Sentencing Project in 1989 found tat more than one-fourth of all Blacks between the age of 20 and 29 are under the control of the USCJS . This alarming figure becomes more so when you consider their are more Blacks in prison in this age group than their are all Blacks in college . This clearly reveals what is meant by the institutionalization of our Black youth. Black communities are being legally robbed of their youth by a system that locks up those who pose a threat to the status quo of institutional racism. The consequences of this are detrimental indeed. The children are the future, but what future does a community have whose children are all locked up. By virtue of robbing the Black community of their youth, the USCJS robs Black communities of their future leaders and role models . With such a condition at hand entire communities are lost and the ills of the urban ghettos are augmented. To help explain why Blacks are being locked up, and what part of imprisonment plays in institutional racism it would be helpful to first look at the roots of institutional racism. Institutional Racism And It's Roots Institutional racism was a term first coined by Stokley Carmichael in his book Black Power. Concerning racism, Carmichael and co-author Charles V. Hamilton made the following observation: Racism is both overt and covert. It takes two, closely related forms; individual Whites acting against individual Blacks, and acts by the total of White community against the Black community. We call these individual racism and institutional racism. The authors go on to state that it is the covertness of the second type, the institutional racism, that makes it so dangerous. Because institutional racism is less obvious and it is less apparent were it is emanating from (and it is emanating from everywhere) creeps up on you and overwhelms you when you are not looking . Institutional racism, though coined by Carmichael, existed long before it was conceived of in Black Power. As I have stated it has existed since Blacks were first brought to this country. The leaders of early America sought intentionally to oppress Blacks and do so legally. Of course back then they did not bother with probation, parole or even long prison sentences. Back then Blacks who went against the grain and objected to his treatment in even the slightest was simply killed. Public lynching were a crowd drawer and a crowd pleaser in the early American South. Blacks were not imprisoned as much because they were seen as either useful our useless. A good "field hands" or "house niggers" tended to their chores, did as they were told, and never caused a problem, and were therefore worth their weight in gold. An "uppity nigger" was no good to anyone and was either beaten into submission or put to death . This reveals a very important aspect about the imprisonment of Blacks today. During the period of slavery in the US Blacks were needed as workers and were therefore used as so . What are Blacks needed for now? Despite the many accomplishments of such great inventors as Granville T. Woods and Benjamin Bannicker, it would seem that White society would have no use for Blacks. During the period of slavery Blacks deemed useless were killed. In today's society Blacks are less often killed, but are very often imprisoned. And by virtue of doing so Blacks are again used. As I stated in the beginning criminal justice and security is one of the largest industries in the US. The prison system is a multi-billion dollar industry and it is rapidly increasing. So in an attempt to isolate and control the pariah, the poor Black, an economic niche was filled. There is almost an incentive to lock up Blacks because in doing so two birds are killed with one stone; the threat to status quo and its members is contained and a buck is made in the process. It seems the US has matriculated very little from the barbarism of the early 19th century. Again White society is using Blacks for economic gain, again the system is legitimated and legalized by the US Government, and again the burden on Blacks is severely great. The Value Of Black Life Slavery in the 90's? A scary, but none the less real condition. But what about when Blacks go beyond their usefulness. What about when the threat that Blacks pose is a greater consideration than the economic prosperity they bring? Just as in the period of slavery Blacks are killed. A study conducted by the United States General Accounting Office (USGAO) found that the death of Whites was the single greatest determinant in imposing capital punishment . In other words, you are more likely to be legally killed, if you murder a White man than if you kill a Black man. It would seem then that the value of a White life is diametrically greater than that of a Black life. To fully understand this you must look at it from all vantage points. If you kill a White you are worth more dead; if you kill a Black you are worth more alive. Another way to view the perceived greater wealth of a White life is this: a White man who kills a Black man has a greater chance of living. A Black man who kills a White man has a greater chance of dying. From every vantage point the value of White life is greater than that of Black life. This is the single most fundamental aspect of institutional racism. The belief that White life is greater than Black life is the source of the problem. So much effort is put into maintaining this status quo that Blacks find themselves time and time again put in the position of subjection they are in today, and have been in since they first arrived in the United States 400 years ago. Looking For Solution Solutions to the problem of the institutionalization of Black youth will not come easy. To plea for White society to stop imprisoning our future leaders would likely fall on deaf ears. Most leaders do not look past their term of government so they take the time to consider the long term implications of their legislation. In other words, leaders do not consider the results of having the future leaders of the Black communities imprisoned. Also most do not care. In the sentencing project it was pointed out that the "get tough" approach to crime in which there was an increase of arrests, convictions and lengthy sentences has decreased victimization rates less than 5% since 1973 . Despite the statistics the "get tough" trend, which is disproportionately aimed against Blacks, has continued. What I feel the only solution is, degrading as it may be, is for Blacks to prove their worth. Blacks must prove that they are worth something to White society beyond the economic niche they help fill in prison. Blacks must prove that they are a benefit which Whites cannot do without. Once We have established ourselves as benefactors then We can begin to break down the walls of institutional racism, stop the digression of our communities, and truly advance. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Bleeding Ireland and Black America.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Bleeding Ireland and Black America Fall Road is deserted. Only a few dirt-caked, barefoot, Irishmen can be seen shivering in the adjacent park. We walk past the Catholic neighborhoods knowing, at any moment, buildings might explode and automatic weapon fire could lacerate the air on every side of us. Belfast is charming, apart from the harsh reality of guerrilla warfare and terrorism being common occurrences. For the first time, throughout my three month tour of seventeen different European countries, I feel truly threatened. The tension carries itself into a nearby pub where an old man asks "Are you jus daft? Or do ya have relatives here?" His words hinted at my grandfather's blunt, yet kindly, expression concerning his birthplace in N. Ireland, "If you haven't been there yet, don't go there." I can remember the lyrics of a Naughty by Nature song blaring over my car radio, "If you have never been to the ghetto, don't ever come to the ghetto," as I put in a tape. My thought stream continues as it takes me to another place where guerrilla warfare and terrorism are a part of daily life. The gunshots and unruly pitbull barking registers over the calm of the wet playground. Trash strings the streets and every dwelling has an eight foot, black, metal fence circuitously about it. Two white faces gape over the hood of a parked Cadillac. Besides the police parked down the block, they are probably the only Caucasians in a five mile square radius. Two companies of drug dealers fire at will scrambling for control of a superior capital making outpost. Even at nine o'clock in the morning the combat tract roars on. I was one of those faces peering over the car hood with horror and revolution in my eyes. N. Richmond is a product of the same type of oppression and violence that hacks deep into the people of N. Ireland. In the logical evolution of an oppressed people a civil rights movement was essential. "It was necessary to bravely confront our most explosive issues as a people: Racial[religious, gender, class...] hierarchy and the maldistribution of wealth and power." 1If only for a brief moment we achieved this, at least it happened. We must study the past in order to get to the future. If you don't know where you came from, how can you possibly figure out where you are going and that is why many people stay rooted in the same place. For centuries, England has kept Ireland under its colonial thumb, starving its people and manipulating them as slave labor. England stole much of Ireland's homeland and gave it to the Protestants allies from Scotland. Earlier this century, England divided Ireland into two, claiming the six northernmost counties as its own. The large number of Protestants, who remain loyal to the Crown of England, have created a system of oppression similar to the Jim Crow laws of the US. Oppression and second-class citizenship have limited the Catholics of N. Irelands opportunities and taken many lives. A Civil Rights movement was the only logical step. But first, we must discuss what lead up to this logical step-the history. In January 1919, the Anglo-Irish War began with the first shots being fired at Solobeghead. Over the next year, the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC-British Loyalists) became the target of a Sinn Fein (The beginning roots of the IRA) terror campaign By mid-1919, the IRB (Irish Republican Brotherhood-Part of Sinn Fein) had infiltrated the leadership of the Volunteers (Irish Militia) and were directing its pace on the violence. In an effort to assert control of the group, Volunteers declared the Army of the Irish Republic. Britain responded with violence. Special forces were sent over to impose curfews and martial law on the Irish. These forces became known as the Black and Tans after a popular Limerick hunt group, and because of their dark green and khaki uniforms. Another force of veterans from the Great War, called the Auxiliaries, joined them. Thus began a pattern of assassination and reprisal. The IRA employed guerrilla tactics, using duck and cover strategies to attack British troops. Their knowledge of the countryside made up for their lack of arms. On 21 November 1920 IRA squad assassinated 14 British officers, effectively destroying the British Secret Service in Ireland. In reprisal, the Black and Tans fired on a crowd watching a football match at Croke Park. Twelve people were killed, including one of the team players. The day became known as Bloody Sunday. After several months of mass bloodshed, a compromise was met and a 'Treaty of Allegiance to England' was signed by Ireland. This split the IRA into pro-Treaty or anti-Treaty forces. Treaty loyal troops became the Free State Army, while the anti-Treaty forces became known as the Irregulars. On 6 July 1922, Opponents of the Treaty rallied to the cause. Fighting brakes out in Dublin-the ten-month civil war had begun. The first phase was bloody and brief. The Civil war ends with many of the irregulars still controlling the South. Logically, when the country was split the south was free and the six northern most counties were taken by England and the Northern Protestants. The Catholic minority of the north suffered greatly during the next twenty years of oppression. The IRA was still at work, only it moved more cautiously due to its growing Communist/Marxist nature and some ideological dissension between its members.2 Data exhibits, just as the inner cities of the US, that the rates of poverty, unemployment, serious crime, single-female headed families and welfare dependency in N. Irelands Catholic slums, rose drastically during this time. There was an increase in drugs, alcoholism (in Ireland?!), guns, bombings (from both sides)3 which all created a virtual hell as ravaging as any N. Richmond/E. Oakland-Hunterspoint/if not worse in its own way. Structural discrimination in employment has remained a feature of British government rule in the Six Counties. Discrimination has, in fact, been synonymous with British rule. Unionist loyalty (Northern Protestant)-the rockbed of the British presence - is in part, conditional on the maintenance of the economic privilege, often marginal, which employment discrimination has conferred on unionists.4 In one aspect, unemployment, the situation of Catholics has actually deteriorated. Unemployment in the Six Counties in April 1989 officially stood at 107,623, representing 15.6% of the workforce. Almost half of that figure is Catholic while they only represent less than 20% of the population.5 Discontent with the apartheid system began to emerge in the late `60s and led to the formation of the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (The CRA which was secretly back by the IRA). Its moderate demands were aimed at trying to reform and democratize the state. The issue of partition was not part of its agenda. Unionists, however, interpreted any form of political dissent, however moderate, as a threat to their privileged position and the union with Britain.6 Peaceful civil rights supporters were, due to Protestant paranoia, viciously attacked by the RUC and B-Specials (Both 'English Suppresser Groups 'which came out of RIC and the Black and Tans). The violent reaction of the state shocked the world as television cameras relayed scenes of unprovoked attacks on civil rights marches and demonstrations. The British government was not prepared to allow its financial interests to be compromised by widespread political unrest. At 5 p.m. on August 14th, 1969, substantial numbers of British soldiers moved into Belfast and Derry. The British army was injected into the situation under the pagoda cover of being a peace-keeping force deployed "to keep the warring factions apart". The 'religious war' myth was regenerated as justification for the occupation. In reality, it had been introduced as a life-support unit to sustain a state which was under threat of collapse. The bad dream of partition was about to be come the 'nationalist nightmare'. Within a relatively short period, the British army's real job became apparent. With the unionist government acting like they still were in control, the actual power behind the throne was the British government's agent, the British army. Some two decades ago, people in the Six Counties were marching for civil rights, Justice, equality and self-respect. The moderate and just demands of the Civil Rights movement were: One man, one vote (sic); An end to the gerrymandered local government boundaries; An end to discrimination in the allocation of housing; An end to discrimination in employment; and The repeal of the Special Powers Act (SPA). Pursuit of those demands and the North Protestant regime's reaction to it brought the state to a point of collapse. In one year the civil rights movement had done more to end injustice than fifty years of anti-partion policies had begun to do.7 But, it wasn't enough and people began to riots; tearing apart the major cities of N. Ireland. Only the life-support system was provided by the British army warded off the collapse, and in the process of attempting to sustain the state they have exacerbated the situation. The protests got rid of the SPA but three equally, if not more, repressive laws have replaced it. Since its birth, the Six-county state has been continuously governed by totalitarian apartheid legislation which continually causes descent among the factions. The provisions and effect of these and other pieces of repressive legislation has meant that: Anyone can be stopped by British forces anywhere, at any time. They must give their name, address, where they are coming from, where they are going to. Anyone can be arrested anywhere, at any time. A detainee can be held for up to seven days for interrogation. More than 60,000 arrests have thus taken place. No further legal action was taken against the overwhelming majority of those arrested. Powers of arrest, therefore, are used largely for purposes of gathering information and intimidation. Some 7,000 people have been charged with politically motivated offenses. A substantial percentage were charged solely on the basis of statements of admission extracted through torture and maltreatment. More than 2,000 people were interned without charge or trial between 1971 and 1975. Extensive powers to search have led to the searching of hundreds of thousands of premises.8 Residences, schools, industrial premises, sports grounds and farmland have been seized for use as military installations due to the British government over extending its powers. Rubber and plastic bullets have been used as a means of intimidating and deterring demonstrations. Since 1973, more than 50 thousand of these lethal projectiles have been fired at the civilian population. Seventeen people, eight of them young children, have been killed, most in circumstances which amount to murder. Hundreds have been seriously injured. Injuries include serious mental and physical disablement. Over 300, mainly unarmed, nationalists have been killed by members of the various security agencies, the British army and the RUC. British forces have been given virtual immunity from conviction. In 20 years, only one British soldier has been convicted for murder while on duty. Despite receiving a life sentence, the soldier was released after serving only two years and three months, and was immediately reinstated in the army.9 As well as the unjust trauma and suffering on the streets, nationalist opponents of British rule in Ireland were selected for very special treatment inside British prisons. The struggle for decent conditions, dignity and recognition as political prisoners has been constant throughout the past 20 years and continues today. Of all the prison campaigns, the most publicized, because of the numbers involved and because of the toll of lives extracted, was the `blanket protest' which consummated during the hunger-strikes of 1980 and 1981. Deprived of political status in 1975, republican prisoners refused to wear prison uniforms and clad themselves in blankets. Within a short period, the punitive actions of the regime forced them to live in their cells surrounded by their own excrement. Beatings and degradation were used, in an attempt to break the prisoners' will. For four years, the prisoners persevered in the most awful conditions. On October 27th 1980, a hunger-strike began which was to last 53 Days. It extracted sufficient concessions from the British government to make a settlement possible. Having secured the end of the hunger-strike, the British said they would give in-they lied. A second hunger-strike was initiated on March 1st 1981. It lasted 217 days, ending on October 3rd where the prisoners were given 'international political status' and entitled to more rights, which Britain ignores to this day. Civil Rights in Ireland did not accomplish its goals. Since the British government undemocratically and violently created the State of Northern Ireland in 1920, Catholics have been discriminated against in almost every way, particularly in employment. All their many protests failed because the effectiveness of protests depended on the good faith of the British government. That good faith was not there then, it is still not there today. The marching and fasting didn't work and as of last year- it is back to IRA bombs in London. As W.E.B DuBois put it: "The Irish resist, as they have for hundreds of years, various and exasperating forms of British [colonial] oppression. Their resistance is called crime and under ordinary conditions would be crime; in retaliation not only the 'guilty' but the innocent among them are murdered and robbed and public property is burned by English 'guardians of the Peace'!"10 No one else should be able to understand the history of Ireland better than a black man in the US. It works like this: You kick a man in the head and you have him arrested for assault. You kill a man and hang the corpse for murder. From 1776-1964, 188 years, blacks endured theses conditions all over the United States. It still happens today when the 'guardians of peace', the police, abuse their powers and racially biased legislation is passed. Since Irish and African Americans have so much in common, why haven't they been the best of friends? Commonality often leads to conflict. No people in the world have in the past gone with blither spirits to "kill niggers" from Kingston to Delhi and from Kumassi to Fiji.11 Noel Ignatiev's "How the Irish Became White" explains the history of how the Irish immigrant rose from racially oppressed to racial oppressor. The oppressed themselves, have continually been used to further domination over others that are oppressed, in the interest of the universal oppressor. This is the only book I know of, to focus not on how the Irish were assimilated but how they assimilated as "whites." Utilizing newspaper chronicles, memoirs, biographies, and official accounts, Ignatiev traces the history of Irish and African-American relations, revealing how the Irish in America used unions, the Catholic Church and the Democratic party to help gain and secure their newly found place in the 'White Republic' and continued to oppress blacks. On their arrival in America, the Irish were thrown together with black people on jobs and in neighborhoods, with predictable results. The Census of 1850 was the first to include a class called "mulattoes"; it enumerated 406,000 nationwide.12 The interaction between Irish and Afro-Americans was not limited to sexual affairs: in New Orleans Irish moved into the black district, and frequented "Black Rookeries"; the Twelfth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia was presided over after 1837 by an Afro-American minister and baptismal records for the next twenty years suggest that one-third of the members were Irish.13 But things rapidly changed and "instead of the Irish love of liberty warming America," the winds of republican slavery blew back to Ireland. The Irish had faded from Green to white, bleached by, as Daniel O'Connell (head of IRA in 1920's and known throughout Ireland as 'the Liberator') put it, something in the "atmosphere" of "America". Cornel West puts this "atmosphere" into a clear statement: "Without the presence of black people in America, European-Americans would not be "white"-they would only be Irish, Italians, Poles, Welsh, and others engaged in class, ethnic, and gender struggles over resources and identity...White poverty could be ignored and whites' paranoia of each other could be overlooked primarily owing to the distinctive American feature: the basic racial divide of black and white people."14 This "racial divide" is what caused the evolution of the black Civil Rights movement. The Civil Rights Movement was the first mass movement to evolve in the 60's. But it was not the first time that African Americans had waged struggle against racial oppression. It was the first time that a mass movement emerged under a non-violent ideology. Slave revolts occurred on plantations and even aboard the ships that brought them here from Africa. The Civil War happened to take over the South, not to free the slaves. The northern government didn't really care about the slave so after the After the Civil War, African Americans lived in a system of neo-apartheid in the South. Whites had developed a system of oppression with total white economic control, exclusion on black people from the political system, racial segregation and the general notion that blacks were inferior to whites. Separate drinking fountains for whites and blacks. "Colored balconies" in movie theaters. Seats in the back of the bus. It may be difficult to believe these were examples of conditions in America less than 40 years ago. The struggle to change these conditions, and to win equal protection under the law for citizens of all races, formed the backdrop of the civil rights movement. What follows is a brief, far from comprehensive timeline of the black civil rights movement in the US. In 1954 the momentous Brown vs. Board of Education U.S. Supreme Court, banned segregation in public schools. The NAACP put this up in court and beat the white supremacist laws down. Then in 1955 the murder of a black youth named Emmett Till, for allegedly whistling at a white woman, triggered black an, for the first time, placed white supremacy in the South in check. Also n 1955 the bus boycott is launched in Montgomery, Alabama after Rosa Parks is arrested on December 1 for refusing to give up her seat to a white person on the bus. She was not the first to do this, but was the first to have received publicity for it because she was the secretary for the local NAACP. In 1956 on December 21 after more than a year of boycotting the buses and a legal fight, the Montgomery buses are desegregate. In 1957, At a previously all-white Central High, Little Rock, Arkansas, 1,000 paratroopers are called by President Eisenhower to restore order and escort "The Little Rock Nine" to attend school. In 1960, the sit-in protest movement begins in February at a Woolworth's lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina and spreads across the nation. The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) is formed at a meeting organized by Rosa Parks. The SNCC would become a major force throughout the 1960's. Later, leaders like Stokely Carmichael, would lead blacks into the Black Power Movement which was spawned from Malcom X and the urban ghettos. Then, in 1961 the 'freedom rides' begin from Washington, DC, where groups of black and white people ride buses through the South to challenge segregation. Two people are killed, many injured in riots in response to the freedom rides as James Meredith is enrolled as the first black at University of Mississippi. In 1963, police arrest Martin Luther King and many others demonstrating in Birmingham, Alabama, then Bull Connor (police chief) orders fire hoses and police dogs turned on the nonviolent marchers. That same year Medgar Evers, NAACP leader, is murdered June 12 as he enters his home in Jackson, Mississippi. 250,000 people attend the March on Washington, DC urging support for pending civil-rights legislation. The event was highlighted by King's "I have a dream" speech. On September 15th four girls killed in bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. In1964, SNNC and much of the youth of America are unable to agree on which ideology to follow: direct action or revolutionary politics. Three civil-rights workers are murdered that year leading to a more violent opposition by protesters. On July 2, president Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Malcolm X is murdered Feb. 21, 1965. On August 6. President Johnson signs the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The act, which King and SNCC, registered qualified voters and suspended devices such as literacy tests that aimed to prevent African Americans from voting. During August 11-16 the Watts riots leave 34 dead in Los Angeles. Then in 1968 The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, unleashing violence in more than 100 cities. In order to diversify university enrollment priorities are given to underrepresented minorities. In more resent years, the U.S. Supreme Court outlaws racial quotas in a suit brought by Allan Bakke, a white man who had been turned down by the medical school at University of California, Davis.1989 Douglas Wilder of Virginia becomes the nation's first African American to be elected state governor. Four years ago, in 1992, the first racially based riots in years erupt in Los Angeles and other cities after a jury acquits LA police officers in the videotape beating of Rodney King, a black man. The Civil Rights Movement made some changes except they all seem to fall short when we look at their results today. The movement was happening in the midst of war over ideology (capitalist vs. socialist) and people felt the need to stick with their country even if it didn't them serve them and exploited them. The US government continual undermined the movement while it pretended to be helping it. Many of the people involved put their faith in the system and never thought of a revolution to change the system. From the Montgomery bus boycott to the sit-ins to the violent rebellions, black people are still not equal to whites. "Black infants die in America at twice the rate of white infants. (Despite the increased numbers of the middle class blacks, the rates are diverging, with black rates actually rising.) One out of every two black children lives below the poverty line (as compared with one out of every seven white children). Nearly four times as many black families exist below the poverty line as white families. More than 50 percent of African American families have incomes below $25,000 dollars. Among black youth under age twenty, death by murder occurs nearly ten times as often as among whites. Over 60 percent of birth to black mothers occur out of wedlock , more than four time the rate of white mothers. The net worth of the typical white household is ten times that of the typical black household. In many states, five to ten times as many blacks as whites age eighteen to thirty are in prison."15 Although the US civil rights movement sparked advantageous legislation to be passed, data exhibits that the inner-city, of our country are more hazardous and deplorable residences then ever. The rates of poverty, unemployment, serious crime, single-female headed families, welfare dependency and non-marriage child birth have continued to rise until reaching the combat zones of today. These bullet hole and blood spattered places are growing and are now four to five times bigger than their original sizes in almost all major cities of the United States.16 Death has become an accepted, even expected result of life in the ghetto. In North Richmond and other places like it, children live a life of want, of deeply segregated and ill equipped schools, of gang violence and limited hope. Young men, some as young as 11 and 12, accept with shrugging shoulders that reaching adulthood is not a guarantee. Violent expiration is the swift undercurrent of poverty and hopelessness: it has become an inartistic trait absorbed seamlessly into the weave of culture.17 Killing or being killed are the ultimate signs of status. Those who kill command the most respect. Those who die are revered and memorialized beyond anything they could hope for in life, which isn't much, considering only a small group of people will treasure their short lives; they truly become 'just another statistic'. In the slum a pager beacons the message of death: three numbers- 187 those three numbers are self explanatory, their appearance chilling. They represent the penal code designation for murder as well as who is marked for assassination on the street. It is written on the walls. It gives the music its beat. In the ghetto; death is life. Poverty, oppression, and colonization all produce violence and oppression. According to Munoz the only difference between external and internal colonization is the legal status of the colony. A colony can be considered "internal" if the colonized people has the same formal legal status as any other group of citizens, and external if it is placed in a separate legal category.18 According to this definition, African Americans are an internally colonized people while Northern Ireland is an external colony. Both are oppressed people living under exploited conditions maintained by maintained by discriminatory legislation, exclusion from the political system, segregation and violence. Neither has control over the institutions which affect their lives. The result is a community that find itself unhappy, powerless and it people are regarded as second class citizens. From Ireland to America the movements failed to resolve most of the problems they faced. The question is, why? Both movements had the same goal of freedom and equality. Both movements used nonviolent as well as violence to achieve their goals. The nonviolence worked better then the violence in both countries, but the results still fell short of what the people need. Both protesters had internal ideological differences which weakened their sprit and results. Both groups were 'lead to the far left' and back again with a group of former participants fighting it all the time. Their communist ideas where not supported by the rest of the populous and this stifled their results. The people of the western world have a very negative view of socialism and without the populations support the movement would die. Both organizations gave up on communism and went back to just plain violence and rioting. All their many protests failed because the effectiveness of protests depended on the good faith of the government. That good faith was not there then, it is still not there today. Laws might of been past to stop the unrest, but laws do not always mean change in a colonial system. To contrast the two movements, besides the obvious religion vs. race, external vs. internal colonization and Britain vs. the United States. The outside views of the movements were probably the main difference that had any affects on the movements. The IRA has always been seen as a terrorist organization rather than a revolutionary one while the most radical Civil Rights organizations in America were always seen as just radical groups. Another important difference to note is the Irish have had very little help from the outside while the American movement had many financial supporters. The cultural differences of both of the oppressing countries also affected the treatment of the people that were incarcerated during the movements. The British government was more open in its outright assassination of movement leader than the US was. The FBI and its CIONTEL program was much more secretive in its sabotage of Civil Right s organizations than the British Army. Both Civil Rights Movements showed that social change could be made by a mass of unskilled, resource-less, people. Even if the changes were small, at least it allowed associations to see that a transformation could be accomplished. You will not find a 'solution' in the past; maybe the beginning of a path, but everyone must be willing to walk down it . Only the people of today can change things for the better. History simply shows us how the problem(s) came into being and how the people became what they are. Other disciplines such as psychology, sociology, economics, and even plain common sense may help but in the end human beings in society, as in their private lives, have to work thing out for themselves. We all have a measure choice when it comes to altering their own personal lives. If blame is to be appointed for today's situation in Ireland as well as America, it should be laid not on the heads of men of today but of history. If a personal villain is sought then perhaps it should be placed on the successive governments of Britain and America who, racked by past events, aborted their responsibilities in Northern Ireland and the ghettos of America. We are all prisoners of history and the views we have learned from it. History is a difficult prison to escape from and the history of America and Ireland are as difficult as any. The Civil Rights Movements were a brief moment of looking past prison walls and coming to the realization of change. But it didn't last long. As the 'black rage' and 'white backlash' increased in f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Blind Conformity.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Tony Franklin ENC 1101 D.J. Henry 2/3/97 Blind Conformity In today's world it is often difficult to adjust to one type of lifestyle or another. The constant bombardment of outside opinions hamper our ability, as humans, to choose and be comfortable with a certain way of living. Our way of living may consist of a look, a way of thinking, a religion, or any facet of our personalities that may not conform with whatever is the norm or the accepted at a given time. When this is the case, we sometimes feel forced to change, thus we are susceptible to blind conformity. The word conformity comes from the Latin words con, which means with or together, and forma, which means to shape or mold. Therefore, blind conformity is actually a molding of ourselves together with what is said to be normal in society instead of using our differences to enhance ourselves as humans. Known for having strong opinions, Malcolm X seems to be an unlikely victim of blind conformity. However, as shown in his essay, My First Conk, Malcolm X, in fact, was victimized by this malignant disease. Straightening black hair, though, is just one impulse that is bought on by blind conformity. Changing one's self to look or behave like another because it is more desired by the public is due to a disregarding of one's self-claimed morals and values, an over emphasis of the media and outside opinions, and an insecurity which most of us unfortunately have. In My First Conk, Malcolm X assured that black people were being brainwashed to believe that they actually were inferior to white people, thus they conked their hair. They were, essentially, giving up what they were fighting for as far as civil rights- the right to be who they were and also be accepted by society. Therefore, the conking of their hair was a hypocrisy and a contradiction of all their morals and values. Blind conformity caused them to disregard their strongest beliefs which should be the most powerful driving forces in all of our lives. If we can not depend on our own morals and values, our engines, to dictate our lives, we are simply empty vehicles being pushed down life's roads. Especially in today's society, there is a dire over emphasis of the media. Television and other types of media display certain lifestyles and ideas and then the public automatically conforms. Having the media, which is something so optional, control us is a reprehensible sacrilege. It is imperative that we learn to either admire or dislike an idea without feeling the need to immerse ourselves so fully into it. The media was a prime culprit in so much black people conking their hair in Malcolm X's day. Seeing mostly white people as celebrities, and the few blacks who were celebrities trying to look as if they were white, made black people feel obligated to change. It made them terribly insecure. Insecurity chokes any self-esteem that a person has that might otherwise make them feel less obligated to conform. For example, a teenager who feels he or she is ugly is much more likely to take drastic measures to change themself, such as straightening or dyeing their hair, than one who feels he or she is pretty. Accordingly, it is extremely important for us to be taught from an early age to be proud of who we are. Who is to say that soft hair is prettier than coarse hair? Who is to say that skinny is prettier than fat? Who is to say that white is better than black or black is better than white? Defeating insecurity is knowing that there is no better one in these situations, but that they are simply differences. Blind conformity is such a strong force among humans that they will even undergo extreme pain to fulfill it. Black people, including Malcolm X, actually burned holes in their heads in order to conform. Countless people today are even conforming not to conform by painfully probing metal rods through unlikely parts of their bodies. What is this force that is driving us to hurt ourselves? It would be extremely beneficial if we sit back and ask ourselves if it is really worth it. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Book Review of The Color Purple.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ THE COLOR PURPLE, by Alice Walker The Color Purple, by Alice Walker, is a very intense book to read. By intense, I mean it is a book touching very difficult and hard aspects of life of a poor, black oppressed woman in the early twentieth century. Walker does social criticism in her novel, mostly criticizing the way black women were treated in the early twentieth century. Walker uses the life experiences of Celie to illustrate her social criticism. The Color Purple is not written in the style of most novels. The author does not tell us everything about the characters, the setting, and why the characters behave the way they do. The novel is written in a series of letters, not dated. There are large gaps between some letters, but this is not revealed by the author; we have to figure it out ourselves. The letters are written in what Walker calls black folk language, which also reduces the easiness of the reading. When the novel opens, Celie is a young black girl living in Georgia in the early years of the twentieth century. She in an uneducated girl, and writes her letters in common language. Celie is entering her adolescence believing she was raped by her father and that he killed both of their children. She writes to God, because she has no one else to write to. She feels that what happened to her is so terrible that she can only talk about it to someone she feels loves her. She knows her sister Nettie loves her, but she is too young to understand. Celie believe only to God may she talk honestly and openly about her suffering. Celie is not, however, at this point, complaining to God, she is simply confiding in him. Celie was born into a poor family; her mother was sick most of the time, mentally and physically; there were too many children in the family; and Celie was abused by the man she believed was her father. Celie feels used and abused, but does not understand why. So many bad things have happened to Celie that she lacks self esteem and confidence. Celie does not even feel she is worth enough to sign her name at the end of the letters. Slowly, Celie evolves into a mature woman with great confidence, but not before her sister Nettie is taken away from her, and she marries a cruel man who really wanted to marry Nettie. For a long time, Celie is almost a slave to her husband, until her husband's mistress comes to live with them to recuperate from a sickness, and Celie becomes her nurse. Shug is a strong woman, and encourages Celie to grow stronger. At the same time, Sofia, Celie's daughter in law, shows Celie to stand up for herself and fight prejudice and injustice, and fight. By the end of the novel, Celie's new strength pays off, because she is able to live happily with the people she loves. She reunites with Nettie and her two children, who have been raised by Nettie. Celie learned to fight, to stand up for herself, and she was rewarded. Celie was able to survive physically and spiritually, and is able to mature into a full, modern twentieth century woman. In The Color Purple, Alice Walker is able to illustrate the abuse, neglect, and oppression a black woman had to go through in the early twentieth century, but she also illustrate how a woman must fight back to regain the self esteem and confidence lost way back in the early adolescent years. The Color Purple is a story about growth, endurance, and fight, all nurtured by love. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Book Review The Study of a Negro Policeman.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Book Review Black In Blue A Study of the Negro Policeman by Nicholas Alex Appleton-Century-Crofts Copyright 1969 210 pages Intro. Criminal Justice December 2, 1996 Nicholas Alex, assistant professor of sociology at The City University of New York, holds a Ph.D. from the New School for Social Research and a B.S. from the Wharton School. He was formerly a research assistant with the Russell Sage Foundation, an instructor at Adelphi University, and has had working experience in his academic specialty-the sociology of professions and occupations-while an industrial engineer in the aircraft industry, later as business manager of the Walden School. This is his first book. In this book Alex made an effort to examine the peculiar problems of Negro policemen who live in an age which has not yet resolved to problem of inequality in an assertedly democratic society. He drawn heavily on the reflections of forty-one Negro policemen who made plain to me the difficulties involved in being black in blue. Alex was concerned with the ways in which the men were recruited into the police, the nature of their relations in regard to their immediate clientele, their counterparts, and the rest of society. In the broadest terms, the book examines the special problems that Negro policemen face in their efforts to reconcile their race with their work in the present framework of American values and beliefs. The research for the study was based on intensive interviews collected over a period of eleven months, from December 1964 to October 1965. During that time the author talked with Negro police engaged in different types of police specialties, and men of different rank and backgrounds. Alex was interested in preserving their anonymity, and substituted code numbers for names. The language in which their thoughts were expressed is unchanged. Most of the interviews were obtained either at the policeman's home or the authors. Some were held in parks, playgrounds, and luncheonettes. All of the interviews were open-ended. All the policemen refused to have there conversations taped. "I know too well what tapes can do to you," said one. "I can refute what you write down on that pad, but I can't if it's taped. We use tapes too, you know." The author was dealing with a highly expressive and literate group of men who thought of the study as a way in which they could make themselves heard. This book is organized very well. It consist of eight chapters, and each chapter is broken into subdivisions. The first chapter talks about the policemen in the community. Within this chapter mainly describes the police as and occupation, and states how the policemen's job is uncertain. The second chapter deals with the recruitment of Negroes for police work. It talks about the need for Negro policemen, and the reasons for entering the police work. The author states in this chapter that most Negro policemen applied for police work only as one possibility among other similar civil service jobs. The next chapter describes the police image and the difference between good cops and bad cops. The author describes a good cop as someone who knows his job, has a well-integrated personality, and someone who tries to understand the particular problems in the community that he works. He describes a bad cop as the guy who puts on a uniform and becomes 10 feet tall. In my community there is a cop that relates to that statement. The only reason he is tough is because he has a badge on his shirt. I would like to meet him in a dark alley when no one else is around, and without him wearing his badge. Then we can see who is the tough guy. The next chapter is a very interesting one. It deals with the Negro policemen and his white counter part. It talks about how the Negro policemen feel they are viewed by white policemen. They feel that the white cops look at them as an oddity. It also talks about how the Negro police men feel about the white cops. The Negro policemen interviewed feel that most whites are narrow minded, bigoted and opinionated , middle class in their thinking. The fifth chapter is about the Negro policemen and the white community. One policemen interview said, "From a personal point of view I don't feel as comfortable as I would in a Negro neighborhood." The sixth chapter deals with the Negro community. It talks about the different social classes within the community. It also talks about the Negro policeman and the civil rights movement. The last chapter deals with the police uniform and how it is a symbol of the authority, power, and legal status of the police. It also talks about how it can be considered a target for the department. The most interesting subject targeted in this chapter is how the Negro policeman out of uniform faces all the humiliations of being a Negro, especially when he leaves the ghetto. This book consist of a great deal of information. The author could have presented the data in a different manner. He did not present both sides of the issue. He only took forty-one Negro police officers and based his information on that. The author should at least included a chapter on how white police officers feel about Negro policemen. Also in chapter six he only discusses how the Negro policemen think the white community feels about them. He should have interview residents in the white community and ask how they feel about Negroes patrolling their town. Alex presented findings in and interesting manor. He includes mostly all of the questions he asked, and then paraphrased different answers from different policemen. The audience most likely to read this book is the black community. I believe that this book is written in a one sided manor As I previously wrote the author only interviewed black policemen. He should have at least found out how the whites feel about the Negro policemen. The information in this book is very outdated. I would like to see the author or one of his colleagues write a similar book dealing with today's society. I believe it would be very interesting. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Buffalo Soldiers.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Buffalo Soldiers "Buffalo Soldiers" was the name given to African-American cavalrymen by their native-American antagonists during the Indian Wars in the post-Civil War American West. The first men to serve in all-black army units did so in the Union Army, during the Civil War. The initial all-black regiment, the 54th Massachusetts, trained by its white commander, Col. Robert G. Shaw, suffered heavy casualties in a heroic, though unsuccessful attempt to capture Fort Wagner at Charleston (S.C.) harbor in July 1863. In all, about 209,000 ex-slaves and free blacks served in the Union Army, and more than 68,000 of them died in battle or from wounds or disease. After the Civil War, Congress authorized two cavalry regiments and four infantry regiments of black troops, who were led by white officers. The 9th and 10th cavalry regiments were formed in 1866 and were used to control "hostile" Indian tribes in the West for the next 25 years. Despite prejudicial treatment by some army officers, as well as open prejudice displayed by many civilians in frontier towns, the black regiments performed effectively. They fought innumerable skirmishes and running battles with Indian warriors in the Great Plains, western Texas, the southwestern desert, and the mountains of Colorado. One company of the 9th regiment fought in the last battle of the Indian Wars, at Wounded Knee, S. Dak., in December 1890. The black troops were proud to be called Buffalo Soldiers; in fact, the regimental crest of the 10th cavalry bore the figure of a buffalo. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\changing gender roles.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Children learn from their parents and society the conception of "feminine" and "masculine." Much about these conceptions is not biological at all but cultural. The way we tend to think about men and women and their gender roles in society constitute the prevailing paradigm that influences out thinking. Riane Eisler points out that the prevailing paradigm makes it difficult for us to analyze properly the roles of men and women in prehistory "we have a cultural bias that we bring to the effort and that colors our decision-making processes." Sexism is the result of that bias imposed by our process of acculturation. Gender roles in Western societies have been changing rapidly in recent years, with the changes created both by evolutionary changes in society, including economic shifts which have altered the way people work and indeed which people work as more and more women enter the workforce, and by perhaps pressure brought to make changes because of the perception that the traditional social structure was inequitable. Gender relations are a part of the socialization process, the initiation given the young by society, teaching them certain values and creating in them certain behavior patterns acceptable to their social roles. These roles have been in a state of flux in American society in recent years, and men and women today can be seen as having expanded their roles in society, with women entering formerly male dominions and men finding new ways to relate to and function in the family unit. When I was growing up a woman was never heard of having a job other than a school teacher or seamstress. Our(women's)job was to take care of the house. We had a big garden out back from which we got most of our vegetables...A garden is a lot of work you know...We also had to make clothes when there were none to be had(hand-me- downs) Gender can be defined as a social identity consisting of the role a person is to play because of his or her sex. There is a diversity in male and female roles, making it impossible to define gender in terms of narrow male and female roles. Gender is culturally defined, with significant differences from culture to culture. These differences are studied by anthropologists to ascertain the range of behaviors that have developed to define gender and on the forces at work in the creation of these roles. The role of women in American society was conditioned by religious attitudes and by the conditions of life that prevailed through much of American history. The culture of Europe and America was based for centuries on a patriarchal system in which exclusive ownership of the female by a given male was considered important, with the result that women were regulated to the role of property with no voice in their own fate. The girl-child was trained from birth to fit the role awaiting her, and as long as compensations were adequate, women were relatively content: "For Example, if in return for being a man's property a woman receives economic security, a full emotional life centering around husband and children, and an opportunity to express her capacities in the management of her home, she has little cause for discontent." While this statement is arguable in the way it assumes that women are not discontented under such circumstances, it is clear that for most of history women were expected to be content with this sort of life and were trained for that purpose. Clearly, circumstances of family life have changed in the modern era. Industry has been taken out of the home, and large families are no longer economically possible or socially desired. The home is no longer the center of the husband's life, and for the traditional wife there is only a narrowing of interests and possibilities for development: "Increasingly, the woman finds herself without an occupation and with an unsatisfactory emotional life." The change in sex roles that can be discerned in society is closely tied with changes in the structure of the family. Changes in both family structure and sex roles over the last century have produced the ferment we still see today, and one of the problems with the changing role of women is the degree to which society perceives this is causing unwanted changes in the family, though it is just as true that changes in the family have altered the roles of women. As women entered the early 1990s, they faced a number of problems. Most of these problems have been around for some time, and women have challenged them and even alleviated them without solving them completely. They are encountered in the workplace, in the home, in every facet of life. Women have made advances toward the equality they seek only to encounter a backlash in the form of religious fundamentalism, claims of reverse discrimination by males, and hostility from a public that thinks the women's movement has won everything it wanted and should thus now be silent. Both the needs of women today and the backlash that has developed derive from the changes in social and sexual roles that have taken place in the period since World War II. These changes involve the new ability of women to break out of the gender roles created for them by a patriarchal society. The desperation women feel has been fed throughout history by the practice of keeping women in their place by limiting their options. This was accomplished on one level by preventing women from gaining their the sort of education offered to men, and while this has changed to a great extent, there are still inequalities in the opportunities offered to men as opposed to women. Susan Brownmiller writes: The sad history of prohibitions on women's learning is too well known to be recorded here. . . In much of the world women are barred from advanced knowledge and technical training Yet opening the world of business with new opportunities for women does not dissipate much of this frustration because both men and women continue to be ruled by their early training, by the acculturation process which decides for them what sort of existence they will have. This can result in feelings of guilt when their reality and the image they have been taught from childhood do not mesh. It would be a mistake to see changing gender roles in society as threatening only to males who dominate that society. Such changes also threaten many women who have accepted more traditional roles and see change as a threat. "I don't know how your mother does it all. . . I think time are harder for women these days. . . so many choices." This response is not new. When women first united for the right to vote at the beginning of this century, they were opposed by women's groups who wanted things to remain as they were. Many of these women were ladies of means and social position in society: The main burden of their argument was that woman suffrage placed an additional and unbearable burden on women, whose place was in the home. . . These arguments are heard today from religious fundamentalists who believe that the women's movement is a threat to the family. The fact is that the family has changed and that the traditional family structure of homemaker, husband as breadwinner, and children bow constitutes only 10 percent of families. The role for women has expanded with more women in the workplace and with a variety of family structures with new roles for all members of the family. Business has been slow to change and to acknowledge the new family, and for all the complaints about the women's movement as anti-family, the movement has instead followed the trend of placing the family in the forefront of addressing family issues as vital to women. There is much evidence that boys and girls are treated differently form birth, and this fact has been noted in every world culture: It may never be possible to separate out the precise effects of physiology and cultural conditioning on human beings. Not only do they individually influence people but they interact with each other and with each person's unique essence to affect human behavior. To accord with the reality of this complex interplay of factors, and to accord with an increasingly complex external world, feminists ask simply for options in life styles. Those stuck in sexism, however, cannot grant even the simple request to ask why women are inferior. The reason sexism exists at all is because of an acculturation process which subtly creates it, and it is perpetuated in part for that reason and also because perceived changes in the roles and status of women create a backlash based on fear of change. Surveys have shown that identical resumes or scholarly articles are rated lower if the applicant is though to be a woman rather than a man: "Man's success is more likely to be attributed to ability and woman's to luck." While advances have been made over the last decade, the challenge remains for the next, and "as long as women constitute small minorities in nontraditional employment contexts, substantial obstacles will remain." The women in the workplace must work harder to succeed than their male counterparts, and once they have succeeded they have to deal with the envy and anxiety this arouses. Women who do not advance only confirm the stereotype for others: The perception remains that women can't make it by conventional standards, or are less committed to doing so. In either event, they do not seem to warrant the same investment in training, assistance, and promotion opportunities as their male counterparts. Feminist theorists have been calling for some time for a change in the political climate. They want more than just more women in office and the political arena; they want a new type of political thinking, one that empowers people rather than government and that addresses the issues that are of importance to men and women: If we can eliminate the false polarities and appreciate the limits and true potential of women's power, we will be able to join with men --follow or lead-in the new human politics that must emerge beyond reaction. This new human liberation will enable us to take back the day and the night, and use the precious and limited resources of our earth and the limitless resources of our human capital to erect new kinds of homes for all our dreams. . . The perception the public has had on the role of men and women is outdated and has been for some time, but public attitudes change slowly even in the face of overwhelming evidence. More than 40 years ago, anthropologist Margaret Mead noted the way the West had developed its concept of male and female: There has long been a habit in Western civilization of men to have a picture of womanhood to which women reluctantly conformed, and for women to make demands on man to which men adjusted even more reluctantly. This has been a accurate picture of the way in which we have structured our society, with women as keepers of the house who insist that the man wipe their feet on the door-mat, and men as keepers of women in the house who insist that their wives should stay modestly indoors. Today, people are far less willing to accept these artificial roles even reluctantly, and this includes the provision keeping women in the home and out of the public arena. To have more women in office it is necessary to have more women run. As noted, public views change more slowly than the reality of gender roles. They will continue to change slowly as long as we continue acculturating children with the same sexual stereotypes that have so long prevailed. It is necessary that we address this issue from early childhood, with parents demonstrating a different view of gender and sexual roles just as the school and church should take a part in eliminating the old stereotypes in favor of a more reasonable and equitable way to view both men and women. Children learn from their parents and society the conception of "feminine" and "masculine." Much about these conceptions is not biological at all but cultural. The way we tend to think about men and women and their gender roles in society constitute the prevailing paradigm that influences out thinking. Riane Eisler points out that the prevailing paradigm makes it difficult for us to analyze properly the roles of men and women in prehistory "we have a cultural bias that we bring to the effort and that colors our decision-making processes." Sexism is the result of that bias imposed by our process of acculturation. Gender roles in Western societies have been changing rapidly in recent years, with the changes created both by evolutionary changes in society, including economic shifts which have altered the way people work and indeed which people work as more and more women enter the workforce, and by perhaps pressure brought to make changes because of the perception that the traditional social structure was inequitable. Gender relations are a part of the socialization process, the initiation given the young by society, teaching them certain values and creating in them certain behavior patterns acceptable to their social roles. These roles have been in a state of flux in American society in recent years, and men and women today can be seen as having expanded their roles in society, with women entering formerly male dominions and men finding new ways to relate to and function in the family unit. When I was growing up a woman was never heard of having a job other than a school teacher or seamstress. Our(women's)job was to take care of the house. We had a big garden out back from which we got most of our vegetables...A garden is a lot of work you know...We also had to make clothes when there were none to be had(hand-me- downs) Gender can be defined as a social identity consisting of the role a person is to play because of his or her sex. There is a diversity in male and female roles, making it impossible to define gender in terms of narrow male and female roles. Gender is culturally defined, with significant differences from culture to culture. These differences are studied by anthropologists to ascertain the range of behaviors that have developed to define gender and on the forces at work in the creation of these roles. The role of women in American society was conditioned by religious attitudes and by the conditions of life that prevailed through much of American history. The culture of Europe and America was based for centuries on a patriarchal system in which exclusive ownership of the female by a given male was considered important, with the result that women were regulated to the role of property with no voice in their own fate. The girl-child was trained from birth to fit the role awaiting her, and as long as compensations were adequate, women were relatively content: "For Example, if in return for being a man's property a woman receives economic security, a full emotional life centering around husband and children, and an opportunity to express her capacities in the management of her home, she has little cause for discontent." While this statement is arguable in the way it assumes that women are not discontented under such circumstances, it is clear that for most of history women were expected to be content with this sort of life and were trained for that purpose. Clearly, circumstances of family life have changed in the modern era. Industry has been taken out of the home, and large families are no longer economically possible or socially desired. The home is no longer the center of the husband's life, and for the traditional wife there is only a narrowing of interests and possibilities for development: "Increasingly, the woman finds herself without an occupation and with an unsatisfactory emotional life." The change in sex roles that can be discerned in society is closely tied with changes in the structure of the family. Changes in both family structure and sex roles over the last century have produced the ferment we still see today, and one of the problems with the changing role of women is the degree to which society perceives this is causing unwanted changes in the family, though it is just as true that changes in the family have altered the roles of women. As women entered the early 1990s, they faced a number of problems. Most of these problems have been around for some time, and women have challenged them and even alleviated them without solving them completely. They are encountered in the workplace, in the home, in every facet of life. Women have made advances toward the equality they seek only to encounter a backlash in the form of religious fundamentalism, claims of reverse discrimination by males, and hostility from a public that thinks the women's movement has won everything it wanted and should thus now be silent. Both the needs of women today and the backlash that has developed derive from the changes in social and sexual roles that have taken place in the period since World War II. These changes involve the new ability of women to break out of the gender roles created for them by a patriarchal society. The desperation women feel has been fed throughout history by the practice of keeping women in their place by limiting their options. This was accomplished on one level by preventing women from gaining their the sort of education offered to men, and while this has changed to a great extent, there are still inequalities in the opportunities offered to men as opposed to women. Susan Brownmiller writes: The sad history of prohibitions on women's learning is too well known to be recorded here. . . In much of the world women are barred from advanced knowledge and technical training Yet opening the world of business with new opportunities for women does not dissipate much of this frustration because both men and women continue to be ruled by their early training, by the acculturation process which decides for them what sort of existence they will have. This can result in feelings of guilt when their reality and the image they have been taught from childhood do not mesh. It would be a mistake to see changing gender roles in society as threatening only to males who dominate that society. Such changes also threaten many women who have accepted more traditional roles and see change as a threat. "I don't know how your mother does it all. . . I think time are harder for women these days. . . so many choices." This response is not new. When women first united for the right to vote at the beginning of this century, they were opposed by women's groups who wanted things to remain as they were. Many of these women were ladies of means and social position in society: The main burden of their argument was that woman suffrage placed an additional and unbearable burden on women, whose place was in the home. . . These arguments are heard today from religious fundamentalists who believe that the women's movement is a threat to the family. The fact is that the family has changed and that the traditional family structure of homemaker, husband as breadwinner, and children bow constitutes only 10 percent of families. The role for women has expanded with more women in the workplace and with a variety of family structures with new roles for all members of the family. Business has been slow to change and to acknowledge the new family, and for all the complaints about the women's movement as anti-family, the movement has instead followed the trend of placing the family in the forefront of addressing family issues as vital to women. There is much evidence that boys and girls are treated differently form birth, and this fact has been noted in every world culture: It may never be possible to separate out the precise effects of physiology and cultural conditioning on human beings. Not only do they individually influence people but they interact with each other and with each person's unique essence to affect human behavior. To accord with the reality of this complex interplay of factors, and to accord with an increasingly complex external world, feminists ask simply for options in life styles. Those stuck in sexism, however, cannot grant even the simple request to ask why women are inferior. The reason sexism exists at all is because of an acculturation process which subtly creates it, and it is perpetuated in part for that reason and also because perceived changes in the roles and status of women create a backlash based on fear of change. Surveys have shown that identical resumes or scholarly articles are rated lower if the applicant is though to be a woman rather than a man: "Man's success is more likely to be attributed to ability and woman's to luck." While advances have been made over the last decade, the challenge remains for the next, and "as long as women constitute small minorities in nontraditional employment contexts, substantial obstacles will remain." The women in the workplace must work harder to succeed than their male counterparts, and once they have succeeded they have to deal with the envy and anxiety this arouses. Women who do not advance only confirm the stereotype for others: The perception remains that women can't make it by conventional standards, or are less committed to doing so. In either event, they do not seem to warrant the same investment in training, assistance, and promotion opportunities as their male counterparts. Feminist theorists have been calling for some time for a change in the political climate. They want more than just more women in office and the political arena; they want a new type of political thinking, one that empowers people rather than government and that addresses the issues that are of importance to men and women: If we can eliminate the false polarities and appreciate the limits and true potential of women's power, we will be able to join with men --follow or lead-in the new human politics that must emerge beyond reaction. This new human liberation will enable us to take back the day and the night, and use the precious and limited resources of our earth and the limitless resources of our human capital to erect new kinds of homes for all our dreams. . . The perception the public has had on the role of men and women is outdated and has been for some time, but public attitudes change slowly even in the face of overwhelming evidence. More than 40 years ago, anthropologist Margaret Mead noted the way the West had developed its concept of male and female: There has long been a habit in Western civilization of men to have a picture of womanhood to which women reluctantly conformed, and for women to make demands on man to which men adjusted even more reluctantly. This has been a accurate picture of the way in which we have structured our society, with women as keepers of the house who insist that the man wipe their feet on the door-mat, and men as keepers of women in the house who insist that their wives should stay modestly indoors. Today, people are far less willing to accept these artificial roles even reluctantly, and this includes the provision keeping women in the home and out of the public arena. To have more women in office it is necessary to have more women run. As noted, public views change more slowly than the reality of gender roles. They will continue to change slowly as long as we continue acculturating children with the same sexual stereotypes that have so long prevailed. It is necessary that we address this issue from early childhood, with parents demonstrating a different view of gender and sexual roles just as the school and church should take a part in eliminating the old stereotypes in favor of a more reasonable and equitable way to view both men and women. Children learn from their parents and society the conception of "feminine" and "masculine." Much about these conceptions is not biological at all but cultural. The way we tend to think about men and women and their gender roles in society constitute the prevailing paradigm that influences out thinking. Riane Eisler points out that the prevailing paradigm makes it difficult for us to analyze properly the roles of men and women in prehistory "we have a cultural bias that we bring to the effort and that colors our decision-making processes." Sexism is the result of that bias imposed by our process of acculturation. Gender roles in Western societies have been changing rapidly in recent years, with the changes created both by evolutionary changes in society, including economic shifts which have altered the way people work and indeed which people work as more and more women enter the workforce, and by perhaps pressure brought to make changes because of the perception that the traditional social structure was inequitable. Gender relations are a part of the socialization process, the initiation given the young by society, teaching them certain values and creating in them certain behavior patterns acceptable to their social roles. These roles have been in a state of flux in American society in recent years, and men and women today can be seen as having expanded their roles in society, with women entering formerly male dominions and men finding new ways to relate to and function in the family unit. When I was growing up a woman was never heard of having a job other than a school teacher or seamstress. Our(women's)job was to take care of the house. We had a big garden out back from which we got most of our vegetables...A garden is a lot of work you know...We also had to make clothes when there were none to be had(hand-me- downs) Gender can be defined as a social identity consisting of the role a person is to play because of his or her sex. There is a diversity in male and female roles, making it impossible to define gender in terms of narrow male and female roles. Gender is culturally defined, with significant differences from culture to culture. These differences are studied by anthropologists to ascertain the range of behaviors that have developed to define gender and on the forces at work in the creation of these roles. The role of women in American society was conditioned by religious attitudes and by the conditions of life that prevailed through much of American history. The culture of Europe and America was based for centuries on a patriarchal system in which exclusive ownership of the female by a given male was considered important, with the result that women were regulated to the role of property with no voice in their own fate. The girl-child was trained from birth to fit the role awaiting her, and as long as compensations were adequate, women were relatively content: "For Example, if in return for being a man's property a woman receives economic security, a full emotional life centering around husband and children, and an opportunity to express her capacities in the management of her home, she has little cause for discontent." While this statement is arguable in the way it assumes that women are not discontented under such circumstances, it is clear that for most of history women were expected to be content with this sort of life and were trained for that purpose. Clearly, circumstances of family life have changed in the modern era. Industry has been taken out of the home, and large families are no longer economically possible or socially desired. The home is no longer the center of the husband's life, and for the traditional wife there is only a narrowing of interests and possibilities for development: "Increasingly, the woman finds herself without an occupation and with an unsatisfactory emotional life." The change in sex roles that can be discerned in society is closely tied with changes in the structure of the family. Changes in both family structure and sex roles over the last century have produced the ferment we still see today, and one of the problems with the changing role of women is the degree to which society perceives this is causing unwanted changes in the family, though it is just as true that changes in the family have altered the roles of women. As women entered the early 1990s, they faced a number of problems. Most of these problems have been around for some time, and women have challenged them and even alleviated them without solving them completely. They are encountered in the workplace, in the home, in every facet of life. Women have made advances toward the equality they seek only to encounter a backlash in the form of religious fundamentalism, claims of reverse discrimination by males, and hostility from a public that thinks the women's movement has won everything it wanted and should thus now be silent. Both the needs of women today and the backlash that has developed derive from the changes in social and sexual roles that have taken place in the period since World War II. These changes involve the new ability of women to break out of the gender roles created for them by a patriarchal society. The desperation women feel has been fed throughout history by the practice of keeping women in their place by limiting their options. This was accomplished on one level by preventing women from gaining their the sort of education offered to men, and while this has changed to a great extent, there are still inequalities in the opportunities offered to men as opposed to women. Susan Brownmiller writes: The sad history of prohibitions on women's learning is too well known to be recorded here. . . In much of the world women are barred from advanced knowledge and technical training f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Clay Beats Liston February 25 1964.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ "Clay Beats Liston: February 25, 1964" From the accounts of various Kentucky newspapers, I was able to learn a few facts about Cassius Clay, later known as Muhammad Ali, as well as the attitudes of his fellow Kentuckians. The first thing I noticed in all the newspapers that I viewed was that almost all the articles written about the fight were written by writers from either the Associated Press (AP) or United Press International (UPI). This displayed three things about the Kentucky press, first the belief that Clay's fight was not important enough to cover themselves, secondly that the newspapers probably did not make enough money to send their own reporters down to Miami Beach, and finally the localization of the newspapers' audiences. Another aspect of the fight is the effect it had on Kentucky society, especially the sports scene. I primarily noticed that almost all the papers used reports from the Associated Press and the United Press International, even the (Louisville) Courier-Journal, one of Clay's hometown newspapers, used reports from the Associated Press. The only articles that were not written by a member of the Associated Press were the very rare editorials written about the fight. The use of reports from the AP and the UPI shows that most newspapers did not think the fight was very newsworthy. Only one newspaper published an article that was not written by a member of the Associated Press or the United Press International, however that one article was an editorial about Cassius Clay's new found wealth and not the actual fight. The lack of coverage also proves that even though blacks were supposed to be equal to whites, that in reality achievements by blacks and whites were treated differently. None of the newspapers that I read displayed a large picture or headline proclaiming that Cassius Clay was the new heavyweight champion of the world. Most newspapers had an average sized headline stating that Clay was the new champion, but none had an article about him on the front page. This further illustrates that achievements by blacks were believed to be less important than the achievements of whites. I saw almost the same amount of articles on high school basketball, as I did on the fight. Although I am not surprised by the fact that high school basketball received almost a page of coverage, I am alarmed by the fact that this one page of coverage on basketball was the same amount of coverage for the boxing match. The stories by Associated Press and United Press International illustrate two more facts about Kentucky during the 1960's, primarily that most of Kentucky's newspapers were too poor to send their own reporters to Miami Beach, and furthermore that the audience was very localized to events either in their own city or the state of Kentucky. Although I am not surprised that newspapers such as the Paducah Sun-Democrat or Bowling Green's Park City Daily News did not send reporters to Miami, I was surprised that newspapers like Louisville's Courier-Journal and the Lexington Herald, which have a much larger circulation, did not send even one reporter from their staff to cover the fight. The absence of reporters from the (Louisville) Courier-Journal and the Lexington Herald proves that even the newspapers from the major cities in Kentucky had a very localized audience. The localization of news often prevented readers from learning about the world that surrounds them, especially from affairs of other towns. For example, if the Lexington Herald only wrote reports about the events effecting the city and a few major events that would effect the entire state, it would be possible that something occurred in Paducah that might not be reported in Lexington for several days, even months. The localization in rural areas such as Paducah and Bowling Green is not surprising, but when urban places like Louisville and Lexington localize their news many important events in other areas of the state could not be reported for an extended period of time. The most important effect of Cassius Clay defeating Sonny Liston is the placement of Kentucky, and specifically Louisville on the map of boxing. For many years there were numerous boxing gyms in and around Louisville that produced great amateur fighters. Unfortunately, they were ignored by the national media until Cassius Clay, who was a product of such gyms, defeated Sonny Liston for the heavyweight championship. When Clay won the gold medal in the 178-pounds division in the 1960 Rome Olympics Louisville's gyms gained some recognition for producing Clay, however they were not fully recognized until 1964 when Clay beat Liston. Clay's victory made the gyms in Louisville more popular as more and more youths flocked to the gyms in the hopes of one day becoming heavyweight champion of the world. Although none of these kids would ever win the heavyweight championship, their efforts in the ring made Louisville one of the centers of amateur boxing. Overall from my research I learned about the different attitudes of people in the 1960's versus the 1990's. I also realized that Kentucky newspapers almost always localize their news and hardly publish national or international news articles that do not come from the Associated Press or some other news agency. I now understand why Kentucky is so far behind the other states, it is because Kentuckians are only exposed to news that affects them and nobody else. Most Kentuckians could not care about what is occurring in Bosnia, nor do the newspapers report what is occurring there, which isolates Kentucky from the rest of the world. Bibliography (1) Courier-Journal, [Louisville], Feb. 26, 1964, p. 3. (2) Lexington Herald, Feb. 26, 1964, p. 9. (3) Paducah Sun-Democrat, Feb. 26, 1964, p. 10-B. (4) Park City Daily News, [Bowling Green] Feb. 26, 1964, p. 9, 20. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Contras of millays LAment and Cummings since feeling is .TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Millay vs Cummings "lament" by Edna St. Vincent Millay and "Since Felling Is First by e.e. Cummings are two very different poems. The poems are diiferent in style and tone. In Millay's poem "Lmaent" the theme is dealing with death an ho we must act in order to accept it. In "since Feeling Is First, Cumming's theme is just the opposite. Cummings is saying we should enjoy life by acting like a fool and not talin things seriously. Millay stresses the unimportance of feelin. "life must go on,/ And the dead by forgotten" (15-16). Cummmings attitude is totally different. He believes that feelings are very important. Cummings streeses that being foolish is better than being smart and serious: "and kisses are better fate/ than wisdom."(8-9) Millay uses simple language, where as cummings uses more complete language. In "Lament," Millay stresses her point by usingan unusual style of writing. Teh tone in "lament" is very somber. Millay is writing about the death of a woman's husband and how the wife feels that "Life must go on". (21) although she has forgotton just why. The wife is trying to forget about her husbands death: "and the dead be forgottne" (16). The tone of (since feeling is first" is a happy tone. A man is telling his girlfriend to enjoy life and stop being so serious. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Date Rape.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ In an ideal world, all men would be caring , respectful, and protective. This is not an ideal world; every woman has a responsibility to herself and to understand the risks and to protect herself fagainst them (Date Rape: The Danger is Not From a Stranger 13). One of the biggest risks from a male to a female is date rape. Date rape is the crime in which the victim, most of them women, is forced in to having sexual intercourse by someone they are familiar with (1). 1 in 4 women will be raped in their life time. This is a very scary, yet true statistic. Women need to understand what is going on with the situation of date rape, and be looked on less as the problem, so more women will come out and report the incident. It is not in any way the woman's fault for being the victim of date rape, but it is the fault of the rapist, and the rapist should pay the consequences. The question might come up...why would a man force a woman to have sex, or why would a woman doubt that it happened, or that she was forced? Well, there are many reasons. A lot of these reasons having to do with how American kids are raised. Boys are brought up thinking they are strong and aggressive, while on the other hand, girls are brought up being passive and "what you say goes" (Shuker- Haines and Stark 23) . This shouldn't be going on in our society...not with the advancements we have made in our country. It is sometimes said that the woman who was the victim of rape shared fault for the rape for wearing a skirt too short, or maybe if she stops over at his house. It shouldn't matter what women wear, or where they are. If a woman says no to sexual activity, then everything should stop. There are also ways that men "mis- interperate" things women say. For instance, when women say "no", they mean "not yet...keep trying", or men think it is okay to be rough, as long as there is no injury, or if the women agrees to kidding, necking, etc...then she wants intercourse. Some men also look at women as "fair game" if the woman is not a virgin. There seems to also be confusion whether rape was commited in instances like when a sexually active couple had been drinking and the woman says no to having sex, but is too drunk to do anything so sex occurs. Or perhaps earlier in the date she said okay, and then change her mind, or maybe the woman said no, and the man persuaded her to. Are these instances rape? More women then men say yes. There are no laws to destinquish these situations (Date Rape: The Danger in Not From the Stranger 6). There shouldn't have to be laws to say when it is rape. If a woman says "no", she means "no". No one should ever force shomeone else to have sex against their will. That's rape. And rape is the fault of the rapist, not the victim (qtd. in Shucker-Haines and Stark 22). It is hard enough for a woman to come out and admit her story of being raped, but it is harder when she tells her story and it isn't even given two glances. In San Jose, California, a girl was raped by her boyfriend and when sh came out and talked about it, the school ignored the issue (Herald 2). The school stated that they should stay out of it because it was too hard to prove, and that it was only her word against his (2). The crime of rape should not be over- looked in such a way. Rape is looked as a crime of assult. Like other assults rape causes physical and mental injuries. It especially causes a long and painful emotional aftermath for the victim. The rapist who caused all of this for his victim has a chance of serving jail terms, perhpas lasting for years, but so many times rapists walk because "there wasn't proof". In these situations like that judges look at what kind of people the man and the woman are, and what their relationship is. That's called sterotyping. We are taught not to sterotype (Date Rape: The Danger is Not From the Stranger 3). In some cases, women take a stand, and when the case is being looked at, and possibly proved, women will come back to the police and ask to drop the charges saying things like "I was wrong...we were making love" (Hennessy 3). Women need to be strong as well as be educated with what date rape is. They can't back down on their gaurd. Rapists need to pay for how they abuse women, both externally as well as internally. A 1988 study showed that more than half the female teens surveyed thought there were times when it would be acceptable for a man to force sex (Date Rape: The Danger is Not From the Stranger 10). This is terrible! It is not a woman's fault that she was forced into sex! In the 1993-94 law enforcement records, 35% of the women who reported thier rapes dropped or diverted the charges for "various reasons" (4). Women need to face the situation head on and be independent...realizing what happened to her is not okay...and things need to be done. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Delayed Economic and Education Progress.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 4/4/97 The Conflicts of the Black Race: Delayed Economic and Educational Progress In the 1960's, blacks, led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., fought for their civil rights and equal opportunities. Although they had only been out of slavery for less than a century, they felt the time was way past due for them to receive the same treatment as other American citizens. Our people struggled to receive decent education programs for their youth for the right to earn a decent living, and to receive respect from other racial groups. Fortunately for our generation, their fight ended in victory. However, 30 years later, despite the progress made then, our community does not seem to have kept up with our ancestor's rate of self-improvement. Not only are blacks still disrespected by other races, problems also plague us such as poverty, drugs, and miseducation. To make matters even worse, we also have a serious lack of unity. Some of us feel as though it is not our responsibility to help other blacks when they are in need. Another major problem is the existence of racism. This negative attitude leads to many physical and psychological problems within the black community. Therefore, lack of unity within the black community and the effects of racism are two major factors when contribute to the slow progress of black people. Before the Civil Rights movement racism was so blatant that not knowing it existed would have been difficult. Presently, it is so subtle that some argue we cannot blame racism for our problems. Unfortunately, they are wrong. The effects of racism can be seen in the segregation of our neighborhoods and in our high unemployment rates. White people want to keep their contact with us to a minimum. In 1991, USA Today reported that the 1990 census "concluded that 'the majority of the nation's 30 million black people are as segregated now as they were . . . in the '60s' " (Smith 104). This proves that although some blacks' incomes have increased, they do not always live in neighborhoods they can afford because the area is usually predominately white. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development found that anti-black discrimination was widespread in the housing industry in 1992 (Smith 105). This practice can be found in the workplace. Ed Smith, Ph.D. found that "blacks with college degrees had a 13 percent unemployment rate in 1987 compared to five percent for whites" (Smith 112). Many studies exist that prove that college-educated blacks are not much better off than high-school graduates. The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights admitted that "'lack of education is not the reason for high minority unemployment' " (Smith 112). The only explanation which justifies these figures is racism. As long as anti-black racism exists, blacks probably could not progress at the same rate as other minority groups. It is a well-known fact that white people have more control than minorities in this country. They have the power to deny blacks housing and unemployment. Because of white people's prejudices, blacks have found it difficult to move up on the social and economic ladder. Also, exposure to constant discrimination causes some people to believe that they are worthless and incapable of succeeding. In order to overcome this obstacle, we have to take control of our own minds and lives. Until we as a people become aware and begin to raise our self-esteem, we will continue to let racism be a plague to our race. The slow progress of our race has led many blacks to become pessimistic. They lose their self-respect because they believe that everything is against them. Therefore they give up on trying to better themselves and on helping their fellow brothers and sisters. These thoughts are picked up by youth who grow up believing that there is no way out of the ghetto. When young black men are asked why they commit crimes and drop out of school, they place the blame on society. Instead of disagreeing with them, more people need to try to understand why they are saying this. A black inner city minister commented that "you can't be what you ain't seen" (Smith 101). The only professionals that many inner-city youth meet are police officers, judges, and social workers. Because these meetings are usually the result of a negative event, there is no incentive for the youth to better themselves. Unless older blacks become better role models for our youth, the cycle of welfare and unemployment will continue. Although every black person is not in this particular situation, the ones who are will hinder the progress of the whole race. Racism has many negative effects on blacks. The list goes on and on. If we continue to fall victim to these effects, our progress will never be fully achieved. We, as a people, must take action and start to help ourselves. If that means pooling our money together and providing better schools and more jobs, then so be it. In order to progress we must do whatever is necessary. Our main dilemma is not that we are not aware of our problems. It is our inability to deal with them. Whenever we come up with solutions to the problem, we start complaining about how difficult it is, or how much money it is going to cost. It is very sad when a person can spend $500 on an outfit, but cannot even contribute $100 to help further a child's education. It is a pitiful sight when we settle for a job that we are overqualified for instead of getting together with our fellow brothers and sisters and starting our own business. We need to stop saying that we "can't" and start following Clark Atlanta University's motto "I'll find a way or make one." An example is a program called "Friends Helping Friends" where people put their money together and give it to one person. It works in the form of a pyramid. There are eight people on the bottom, then four, then two, and then one on top. The person on top gets the money from the eight people on the bottom. That person then moves off the top and the pyramid splits into two and each start all over again by building up the bottom eight spots. As long as people keep contributing everyone will receive eight times the amount that each individual puts in. This is an excellent way to help others without having to put yourself in a risky situation. If we could get all neighborhoods to participate in this program, we could easily build our own schools and businesses. Just because our progress has declined in the past 30 years does not mean we have to sit back and wait to hit rock bottom. To accomplish the task of taking control of ourselves, we have to work together as one. If we continue trying to work alone, we will never reach our goals. Yet if we work as a union, we can conquer our failures and continue to move upward and forward. REFERENCES Smith, Ed. Not Yet Over the Hump. Fairbank, Alaska: JAED, 1994. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Domestic abuse.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ DOMESTIC VIOLENCE Found at the scene of the crime two dead bodies stabbed brutally, and left to die at their house. This was the story that shocked the country in 1991. This was the start of the O.J. Simpson domestic abuse case that is still going on today. Unfortunately events like this happen many times over everyday in many setting all over the United states; however the victims of the other cases don't get nearly as much publicity. Some facts about domestic abuse An average of nine out of 10 women have to be turned away from shelters on. The reason so few cases get assigned initially is the police usually don't have enough officers to meet the demand At the Portland Women's Crisis Line, where calls have doubled since the killings of Nicole Simpson and Ronald Goldman, they welcome the increased attention. From July 19,through March 31, 1993 a total of 3,665 domestic violence cases were reviewed in Portland Oregon. Of those, only 281 cases resulted in some action taken against the accused abuser. Some of this is because there is not enough police, but it is mostly because the abused person is scared. for the last six months of 1993 and the first three months of 1994 Portland averaged about 1,000 calls each month or 12,000 calls a year. In January 1992, 30 criminal domestic violence complaints were issued. For January 1994, the number was more than 100. Nationally, estimates range from 2 to 4 million women assaults each year. Some studies show that 20 to 30 percent of all women who seek help at hospital emergency rooms are there because of domestic violence. Kyra Woods never made it to the emergency room. Whoever killed her saw to that. She suffered 13 stab wounds to the back five of them so violent the knife came out the other side of her body. Wood's mother, Mable, and two aunts wept quietly in a back row of the courtroom as the prosecution argued against bail for Woods' former boyfriend Jackson. Rod Underhill, the prosecutor, painted a picture of domestic violence. He told of a dramatic moment after the killing, when Woods' 4-year-old son, holding a teddy bear, re- enacted the attack. "He put his hands around the neck of the bear and shook it," Underhill said. "He began to pound it with a closed fist and slug it." Mable Woods said that her daughter never told her much about any abuse. Neighbors, however, told police of hearing the couple fight violently. According to police reports, one neighbor said, "They fought so hard the pictures on the wall shook back and forth." Jackson has pleaded innocent. His attorney, Angel Lopez, points out that no murder weapon has been found. He said the account from the 4-year-old boy could not be matched with any others, and he pointed out inconsistencies in the boy's statements. Bail was denied. Jackson was accused of killing his former girlfriend, Kyra Woods, by stabbing her 13 times. His bail hearing normally would have merited little public attention. What brought out the cameras and reporter was the Simpson case. Children are often the unseen victims of domestic abuse. they see one of their parents being harmed and this leads to high stress. Boys tend to be much more hostile when raised in a broken home. They are also ten times more likely to be abusive when they grow up. Girls raised in an abusive family tend to be very shy and afraid of boys. When they grow up they are 50 times more likely to marry an abusive husband. The effect of domestic abuse on society is negative, but unfortunately it does not get much publicity unless it involves a figure that is well known such as O.J. Simpson. Another sad thing is that people often shrug off domestic abuse calling it a personal matter because they don't want to get involved or they are afraid of what people will think about them Survivors have found the emotional strength to break from their abusers through different means: a hot-line number remembered from a restroom wall, a wallet card of crisis numbers from a pediatrician who would not overlook a mother's black eye. A grown child begging her mother to flee--and a shelter with an open bed. The women, some with their identities changed to protect their privacy, talked about shame, guilt, fear of triggering even greater violence, low self-worth, isolation, embarrassment, numbing depression, concern for children, foiled escapes, a unrealistic sense of reality, a walking-on-eggshells existence and, perhaps above all, an illogical hope that something would change. "the abuser can make everything sound so good," says Florence A. Reid, 45, now living in transitional housing through Bradley- Angle House after 10 years in a violent marriage and another 13 year relationship, in an abusive relationship both with men who were full of promises after the pummelings. Even now, 25 years later, after dozens of broken ribs, a broken jaw, pushes downstairs, and out a car, and thrice-weekly bouts with her husband sometimes drunk, sometimes sober--kicking with his work boots as she lay on the floor; even now, Reid has pipe dreams of living happily with this teen-age love, of sitting on a front porch and talking about the old days. "Wouldn't that be nice?" asks Reid. "Just live a normal life with the father of my children." "The first time I tried leaving my husband was 1972. I took the kids to a friend's house," she remembers. "He found me and brought a gun with him. Of course, I just went back." In 1992, after dozens of tries, Ruth left for the last time, with the help of a daughter, and ended up at West Women's & Children's Shelter. Ruth, who now works part-time at a bank, sighs. "I don't know. For years, my excuse was the kids. And of course, I realize that was probably the worst thing I did for them. And I always thought, `Things will get better if I do this.'" Other women clung to similar fantasies, sure the goodness and charm would return--if they could love him better, do everything right. When someone abuses another person they often have a certain attitude such as thinking that it is the abused persons fault and that they brought it upon themselves. extensive studies have shown this. The abuser often blames the person who was abused for their troubles. Abusers often have a hard time communicating. Unfortunately the abuser is rarely gets action taken against them. But when they do it is often very serious. The least that could happen is that the abuser gets a restraining order. In more serious cases there can be a number of penalties ranging from short prison term to a life sentence. This is the information that I found when I looked up domestic abuse. As you can see some of these facts are rather grim but people are becoming more open to ideas and people are reporting more than ever. I hope that this stops being the most un reported crime in the United States so that we can get the problem under control. The Homepage of the Committee Against Family Violence NO EXCUSE FOR ABUSE webpage Bibliography: Breiner, S., Slaughter of the Innocents (1990); deMause, L., The History of Childhood (1988); Kempe, H., and Helfer, R., The Battered Child, 4th ed. (1987); Kempe, Ruth S. and C. Henry, Sexual Abuse of Children and Adolescents (1984); Moorehead, C., ed., Betrayal (1990); Wexler, R., Wounded Innocents (1990). Domestic Abuse Metro Nashville Police Department Evaluation of the "Surviving Together" Support Group for Women and Children (Women's Group) For Health and Community Services July 1995 By Christine Szikla EASTWOOD, S. "Parenting After The Violence" in Parent Help Program: News & Information Number 8, November 1992, The Australian Council for Educational Research Limited, Hawthorn: Victoria. (p.4) WARD, J. How to Research Community Issues: The Grounded Community Development Research Method. Partnership Press in Association with Deakin University, Melbourne: 1993. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\domestic violence.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Somewhere in America at this very moment, a woman is being abused. She will be left with bruises, cuts, broken bones, and scars. The scars that last forever are not physical; however, they are ones of mental anguish. Her abuser is not a stranger, rather her husband or boyfriend. In this country, domestic violence is almost as common as giving birth. There is, however, hope for these women; help is available. Domestic violence occurs way too often in American society. There are many reasons why people need to speak out against domestic violence. One reason is that statistics show that most abusers will continue to abuse until they are arrested. Another reason is that domestic violence doesn't only physically harm a woman; it also mentally harms the woman and any children involved. The third reason is that help is available. A man who physically abuses a woman can not be stopped unless he is given counseling, jailed, or killed. He will continue to abuse until he is stopped, and ignoring the problem will definitely not help it go away. Husbands and boyfriends send more women to the hospital each year than strangers do (Campbell 95). The US Surgeon General reports that, "domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to American women between the ages of fifteen and forty-four" (Briggs and Davis 94) . Abusers need to be stopped before its too late for their victims. Women are not the only victims of abuse. Children who live in a situation where domestic violence is prevalent suffer in many ways. The psychological impact of witnessing violence among many children is just as severe as if they had been the victims of physical or sexual abuse themselves (Krueger 94). These children who witness abuse at home suffer in many unseen ways, and too often their pain goes untreated (Krueger 94). If an abused woman does not have the guts to stand up for her own safety, the least she can do is protect her children. An abused woman an innocent victim, but the children are even more innocent victims. Many women feel that there is no one to help them escape domestic violence. This assumption is extremely wrong. There are many organizations designed especially to help abused women. A group called Violence Against Women gives out grants that are used to create specialized police and prosecution units to deal with domestic violence (Campbell 95). In addition to Violence Against Women grants, the government issued grants to forty-nine of the fifty states of $426,000 to train police officers to develop more effective strategies to prevent violent crimes against women (Campbell 95). It is up to the abused women to stand up and use their power to make there abuser pay for their physical and mental violence. Help is out there, it is up to the abused woman to reach out for it. If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, help is available. This help can be received by calling the local Women's Center at 784-6631. The fight against domestic violence has just begun. There has been much progress towards stopping the violence in the past couple of years, but the violence is still too prevalent. If more people speak out against this violence, the world would be a much safer place. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Dual Career Marriages.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Karen and Ross have been married for six years. During these years, each has had to make decisions concerning their careers to accommodate each other. Two companies have now confronted Ross with a career opportunity, those being California Energy Systems and Petrolia Oil. He must decide by September 28 what opportunity to act upon, taking into account the effects it will have on his career, Karen's career, and their marriage. Situational Analysis Both individuals come from traditional families and are career orientated people. Karen believes the women in her life were career women but this is not entirely true. Her father held an executive job that forced continuous movement. Where as her mother held a 'traditional' position as a school teacher and she was not permitted to have work "interfere with home life and child- rearing responsibilities". On the other hand, Ross had a mother who devoted herself to the well-being of her husband and son. Where as his father was a business man that earned a high income, allowing the family to live in a comfortable home with a luxury lifestyle. Karen and Ross appear to be leading a life that is different from their parents but this is not entirely true. It is noteworthy to mention, that each has a traditional role within the marriage. For example, Ross is responsible for the financial aspects of the home while Karen is responsible for the household chores. At the beginning of the marriage, they attempted to have a "weekend marriage" but this was a great strain and Karen sacrificed her career by finding a job closer to Ross. This demonstrates they are traditional within the marriage, although Karen has an untraditional career. Career Opportunities As both Karen and Ross hold dual citizenship in Canada and the United States, they have frequently discussed the possibility of working in Canada. They concluded the Canadian market is less competitive and offers more options than California. However, Karen considers Canadian culture to be slower than U.S. culture concerning the treatment toward women. In June 1990, a Canadian utility company asked Karen to consider the possibility of joining their company. Upon consideration, Karen became less enthusiastic about the position and decided to decline the offer. Then in mid September, California Randle Corporation offered her a job in the organizational development department. This position would provide an increase in salary, double responsibility, and a great opportunity to learn and advance. The Bank of Ontario also interviewed her for a junior position and told Karen an opportunity might open later in the year. Simultaneously, Ross reluctantly extended his own job search to Ontario. Both the Bank of Ontario and Petrolia Oil offered him positions. The position at Petrolia Oil offered a major salary increase, a chance to work in a new and challenging field, and a request to begin work November 1. At the same time, he received an offer from Cal Eng. to join the Personnel Department. This position would represent a sizeable pay increase but only a lateral move in responsibility. Considerations In all dual career marriages, problems or issues must be considered. One issue that arises between dual career partners transportation. Who is going to take the car to work and how will the other get to work? This is only a minor concern and can easily be resolved. Another concern is the increase in money they will earn. Karen and Ross must consider who will be responsible for managing the funds. For example, will each maintain their own income or is it pooled together. Presently, Ross manages the finances for the home but each maintains their own accounts, contributing equally to the home. They must then decide where the money will be spent and invested. Again this is only a minor concern and can easily be addressed. However, there are more serious issues and problems that must be considered in dual-career marriages. To begin, Karen and Ross must arrange how they will divide the household responsibilities. As both partners are busy with work, they must divide the responsibilities evenly. For example, the couple must decide who will be responsible for the laundry, grocery shopping, cleanliness of the house, and meals. The division of responsibilities should not leave one feeling as if they are holding down two jobs. Today, jobs are demanding and stressful. This leaves a twofold affect on dual-career marriages. First, employers expect employees to work sixty to seventy hours a week, leaving little time for oneself. If two people are working this many hours, it makes it difficult to spend quality time with each other. Luckily , Karen and Ross realize the need for time together and take the time to plan quality time with each other. The other side of jobs today is the increase in stress among individuals. Since both partners are experiencing this stress, it is necessary for them to learn to cope with the stress and prevent it from entering the marriage. With both people working in the marriage, they can assume that each will have different goals, aspirations, and missions. Recognizing and accepting the differences between each other's is important. If both parties want to be successful with their careers, while maintaining their marriage, they must support each others goals, aspirations and missions. If they do not support each other, then one may have to give up part of their career or the marriage may end. The final issue that must be considered in dual-career marriages is children. At this time, Karen does not have any children and Ross has one from a previous marriage. Talking about what will happen if Karen becomes pregnant is important and they must take time to discuss this issue. They must consider areas such as who will stay home with the child after birth, will the children go to day care, and whose career desires will have to be put on hold when the child is born. All of these issues must be considered before any couple marries to prevent problems from arising later. Both Karen and Ross have already been through one marriage and they can attribute this to the work styles each hold. Unfortunately, they only dated for a short time before marriage and there was no indication these factors were considered. Before Ross makes any decision about his career, it is important they discuss these issues. Alternatives There are many options available to Ross in respect to his career. To begin, he could choose to accept the job with Cal Eng. This job will provide him with a sizeable pay increase but will only be a lateral move in his career. The advantages of this option are the increases in pay and the ability to remain in California. As his parents are in the Bay area, the job with Cal Eng. will permit him to remain close to them. Another positive side to this option is Karen's career. As California Randle Corporation has offered Karen a position, this will provide her with the opportunity to further her career. At the same time, she will have the opportunity to learn, advance her career, and receive an increase in salary. An additional option available to Ross is accepting the job with Petrolia Oil in Toronto. In respect to his career, this position will provide him with a new and challenging field, while receiving an increase in pay. Unfortunately, this alternative may or may not further Karen's career. At this time, a utility firm has offered her a position and the Bank of Ontario has interviewed her for a junior position. After considering the offer from the utilities firm, she has concluded she would not like to work with the company and the position with the Bank of Ontario is not definite. Also, as stated before, Karen finds the treatment of women in Canada to be behind that of the United States. On a positive note, OD field in Canada is less competitive and therefore provides more options than in California. Another possible alternative for Ross is to decline the offer with Cal Eng. Instead, he could remain at his present job while looking for another. This will allow Karen to accept the position with Randle Corporation and permit Ross to remain close to his family. Unfortunately, this option may leave Ross feeling unsatisfied with his career, which could lead to problems within the marriage. Recommendation Ideally, it is recommended Ross either take the job with Cal Eng. or remain at his current job, continuing his job hunt. This will allow him to remain in California and close to his parents. In addition, this will allow Karen to further her career. Unfortunately, this is probably not what Ross will choose. As mentioned earlier, both Karen and Ross come from traditional families. It is evident their upbringing is playing a significant role in their lives today. For example, within the home Karen is responsible for the household chores while Ross is responsible for the household finances. Therefore, it can be predicted that Ross will decline the offer from Cal Eng. and accept the offer with Petrolia Oil in Toronto. Since Karen already sacrificed her career when she moved closer to Ross, it can be anticipated she will do the same in this situation. Although Karen sacrificed her career before, this alternative will probably lead to long term problems. To begin, Karen does not know if she definitely has a job in Toronto and therefore might not want to relocate in Canada. However, Ross can probably convince her of the benefits that exist in Toronto. For example, he can point out the OD market in Canada is less competitive and therefore can provide her with ample opportunities. Once she gets to Canada, she may not find a job that suits her desires. This in turn may leave her feeling unhappy with her career, which could lead to her resenting Ross for moving to Toronto. If this does happen, the marriage will probably end. On a positive note, she might be able to find a suitable job in Canada since competition is lower and she is highly qualified. Also, the lifestyle in Canada is slower than the United States lifestyle. This will allow Karen and Ross to get their marriage back on track as the two began their marriage with a weekend marriage. Even though this later changed, the two do not appear to be spending a great deal of time together. In conclusion, it is recommended Ross and Karen sit down and discuss the problems and issues that arise in dual-career marriages. From this, they should decide together what Ross should do. This will allow a win/win situation and thus both should be satisfied with the outcome. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Ebonics in Schools.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Ebonics in Schools Many black individuals have played their part in America's history. Has the Oakland School gone too far by wanting to teach a black slang language in school. In this paper, you will see the peoples, teachers, and the student's opinion as well as the Senate. A lot of people are speaking out on the subject, especially actors. Arsenio Hall replied to reporters "When I heard somebody from Oakland say the word genetic, on TV, I ran into the kitchen so I didn't have to be mad at anybody." James McDaniel of ABC's NYPD Blue and S. Epatha Merkerson of NBC's Law and Order described the Oakland School Board's decision on Ebonics as a distinct genetically based language (Shister, p.1). Civil Rights leader Jesse Jackson defended Oakland's school over a controversial plan to recognize black English in the classroom (N.A., p.1). On December 18, 1996 the Oakland School Board approved a policy affirming Standard American English language development for all students. This policy covers the effectiveness of the strategies that must be utilized to ensure that every child will achieve English language Proficiency (Hawkins, p.1). This policy is based on the work of a broad-based Task-Force, convened six months ago to review the district-wide achievement data and to make recommendations regarding the effective practices that will enhance the opportunity for all students to successfully achieve the standards of all students. The data shows the low levels of the student performance and lack of students in the Advanced Placement Education Program. These recommendations focus on the unique language stature of the African American Students (Shister, p.2). One of the programs recommended is the Standard English Proficiency Program, which is a state of California model program. Which promotes English-language development for African-American students. The S.E.P. (Standard English Proficiency) training enables teachers and administrators to respect and acknowledge the history culture, and language that the African American student brings to school (Cambell, p.2). Recently a "Superliteracy" component was added to ensure the development of high levels of reading, writing, and speaking skills. The policy further requires strengthening pre-school education and parent and community parcipitation in the education process of the District (Hawkins, p.1). In the following, there are findings on African Americans in school: 53% of the total Oakland School's enrollment were black, 71% of the students enrolled in the Special Education were black, 37% of the students enrolled in Gate classes were black, and the average Grade Point Average of black's in school was 1.80, which is the lowest in the District (Hawkins, p.2). Also, 64% of the students held back were African American, 71% of the African American Males attended school on a regular basis, 19% of Senior African Americans did not graduate, and 80% of all students suspended were black (Shister, p.2). While Ebonics rages as a hot topic in the spotlight of American media, so called Black English has played a quiet role in an Atlanta area school district for more than a decade. About 600 students in the Dekalb School District just east of Atlanta is taking a course known as "bi-dialectal communication." In Dekalb County Ebonics is not considered a language, but a dialect. Specifically, it's appropriate for the classroom. The course focuses on more than just the non-standard English of Ebonics. The students learn they must project, enunciate and gesture properly to communicate. This is the 11th year of the federally funded bi-dialectal program. Administrators cite rising test scores in language arts and reading as evidence that it works. Parents also seem to approve. One parent said if they had something like that when she was growing up, she would've made it farther (Cambell, p.2). On the Internet, Ebonics isn't necessarily a black vs. white thing. It's more a matter of justice vs. joke. Should Ebonics be considered a second language requiring special treatment by school teachers, or is it merely a different form of English, to be corrected but not accommodated. The debate has played out on the editorial pages, TV shows and talk radio across America, but for several reasons, it's a subject perfectly suited for the Internet. For 1 thing, the Net's anonymity can cloak your racial background or identity, loosening tight stereotypes. For another, you can find a virtual community that matches your take in the issue. On the World Wide Web, you can read tightly reasoned analyses of black history and listen to people making cruel fun of the whole issue through such rewritten works. Some sites offer to translate e-mail messages into Ebonics. But the liveliest Internet offerings have to do with the back-and-forth discussions, whether via news groups or web chat pages. Sheila Green has cited studies supporting the validity of the schoolboard's approach in several newsgroup posts. The Ebonics debate has served to highlight a growing number of online services focusing on black cultural prospective (Boyle, p.1). Oakland's School Superintendent Carolyn Getridge, School Board President Jean Quan, and board member Toni Cook are going to testify before the Senate. They will speak about the district's recent decision to recognize Ebonics in the classroom. Other witnesses scheduled to testify at the hearing include Robert Williams, originator of the term Ebonics and Amos Brown of the Civil Rights Commission of the National Baptist Convention (N.A., p.1). The national debate on Ebonics reached Capitol Hill January 23, 1996 as a Senate subcommittee took up the provocative question of whether using African American dialect can help black children learn Standard English, and whether it deserves Federal support. The hearing began on a combative note. Senator Lauch Faircloth denounced Ebonics as absurd and said that the Oakland school board's decision to have teachers recognize it in classes struck him. But Oakland school officials, joined by Rep. Maxine Waters adamantly defended the Ebonics policy and insisted that it had been misinterpreted as an attempt to lead students away from Standard English. School officials said they simply want Oakland teachers to devote more time to students who rely on black English and help them better understand the difference between their language patterns and standard English. Many other schools are trying to teach Ebonics such as San Diego and Los Angeles, who are considering on creating plans to teach it (Shanchez, p.1). The controversy is still going on in Capitol Hill and has not been resolved yet. The solution may come soon. Or it may be a long time from now. Either way some people will be upset with the final decision. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Ebonics.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ INTRODUCTION This is an English exam paper prepared for the EVU2-EDB course at Niuernermik Ilinniarfik, Nuuk. The main topic of this paper is the USA, and I have chosen to concentrate on a fairly new issue, the language know as Ebonics. There have always been changes in the English language. This is how the language came about and evolved from standard British English to American English. During the last few years, as the world has become more sensitive to the rights of minorities, women, animals, etc. a new form of changes has taken place. These changes have become known as Political Correctness. Ebonics is the political correct version of Afro-American English. I intend to show that - and comment on how - racialism and competition affects a society and how this, in the case of Ebonics, is actually happening in today's America. Nuuk February 1997 Ral Fleischer THE QUESTIONS ASKED I will attempt to answer the following questions about Ebonics; n what is Ebonics? n what are the underlying reasons behind Ebonics? n who is prospering from Ebonics? What is Ebonics? Most people outside of America have at most but a vague idea of what Ebonics is all about. Apart from being a buzzword in American media since December 1996 what are the fundamental concepts behind this expression? Where, how and when did it start, and who started it? What are the underlying reasons behind Ebonics? To fully understand Ebonics, some historical background is needed. One has to have some knowledge on how the English language has developed in America. Furthermore one has to be aware how the American society is loaded down with the influence of stereotypical thinking, racialism and competition. In his autobiography, the famous black spokesman, Minister Malcolm X, portrays the undisguised hostility that exists between white and black people in America. He illustrates this conflict with the following words: "...You cannot find one black man, I do not care who he is, who has not been personally damaged in some way by the devilish acts of the ... white man!. The greatest miracle ... in America is that the black ... has not grown violent ... they would have been justified by all moral criteria, and even by the democratic tradition" (The Autobiography of Malcolm X, page 371 & 349) Is Ebonics simply the democratic consequence, a black non-violent upraise against the "devilish acts of the white man" as as foreseen by Malcolm X? Who is prospering from Ebonics? What advantages is meant to be attained - and for whom - with Ebonics? DESCRIPTION OF THE MATERIAL Although the introduction of Ebonics has excited more debate than almost any other philosophical issue in recent years, only a very small amount of written material - apart from newspaper articles - about this subject has reached Greenland so far. This, because Ebonics is a rather new and first and foremost an all American phenomenon. Newspaper Articles The majority of the material collected for this paper consists consequently of various newspaper articles. I was able to follow the discussion about Ebonics in the American newspaper 'the Washington Post' via the Internet and have as a result chosen the following articles as the basis of my inquiry into the matter of Ebonics: n Ebonics: A Way to Close the Learning Gap? n Among Linguists, Black English Gets Respect n Ebonics Debate Comes to Capitol Hill Magazine Articles All of the above listed articles are from the Washington Post. I also managed to find a few articles in 'Time Magazine' and 'Newsweek' from which I chose: n Hooked on Ebonics The contents of these articles have given me an impression of how the American public "officially" interpret the concept of Ebonics. Internet Web-sites Furthermore two Internet web-sites (computerised electronic billboards) have been of incredible help, the first by providing me with the original 'Declaration of Ebonics', the other by broadening my understanding of the fundamental concepts of Ebonics together with giving the viewpoint on the subject by a common American. These two Internet web-sites are: n Oakland Unified School District Web Page n EBONICS Pseudo-Intellectualism for the masses Interview An interview was performed via the Internet Chess-server "Caissa.com" in the form of a correspondence with my good friend edfdo from New York. A discussion about chess-ratings ended up becoming a cursory go trough on various different subjects, in which edfdo revealed his very own personal reaction towards Ebonics. Books Finally the following books have been of use: n Two Nations, Black and White, Separate, Hostile, Unequal n The Autobiography of Malcolm X n Race, Culture and Intelligence The first two by giving an insight into the divided 'soul and heart' of the American society, and by presenting to me some of the historical background that preceded Ebonics and allowed it to come into existence. The latter by further deepening my understanding of the essential idea behind racialism and competition among races. DISCUSSION What is Ebonics? Technically speaking, Ebonics is the vernacular style of The English language spoken by Afro-Americans. The word Ebonics, origins from the words "Ebony" and "Phonics", the name referring to the colour black and to the representation of sounds with symbols. The word Ebonics was invented in 1973 as to describe an Afro-American speech pattern with roots in West Africa, but it was not until 18 December 1997 - when the Californian Oakland School Board released its declaration on language development policy - Ebonics suddenly came into instant fame. An excerpt of the revised declaration is enclosed in appendix 1. In a formal statement, the Oakland School Board recognises Ebonics as the primary language of many of its students and announces their intention of teaching their students in this primary language, in order to help the student to master standard English. The statement included this controversial sentence "...African Language Systems are genetically based and not a dialect of English", a remark that immediately raised a public outcry: The old confrontation of comparing race and intelligence flared up in the American media once again. The Oakland School Board accuse opponents of the Ebonics movement of ignorant misrepresentation and corruption of concepts. But the uproar has since prompted the Oakland school officials to retreat from parts of their resolution, even as they argue that their intentions have been misinterpreted, and that their goal with the Ebonics declaration is solely to promote standard English. Yo Bro', 'name's edfdo! With various newspaper articles as the only source of information, different people reading about Ebonics could end up with some very different opinions on what the main concept really is about. In order to clarify things, nothing is better than to discuss your opinion on the subject with another person. The following excerpt from "edfdo on Ebonics, an Internet Interview with edfdo from New York" provides us with a good firsthand impression of Ebonics: "...lotsa talk 'n stuff about chess deleted. Ral: It created a big fuss (at least in the washington post, i'm reading it via the net) but it seems like it [the idea] already is worn out? edfdo: Probably. A lot of people were upset that school would be teaching "bad" English. Not a lot of info about the decision was publicized. people reacted emotionally, on both sides of the issue. It seems to have died down a bit. Ral: I thought [that] the main issue was about a DIFFERENT English, that people didn't liked to accept the idea of a bi-lingual society? How do YOU feel about it? edfdo: It's not a different language, though, just a slang or dialect of English. The problem isn't people using both languages; it's people only knowing "ebonics" and being unable to read/speak "normal" English. Ebonics isn't like Spanish or French-a true second language. Ral: I only know ebonics from movies and the post, is it so different from normal english, that ebonic-speaking people don't really understand it? edfdo: Ebonics speakers understand normal English, and they use it's vocabulary. They just put sentences together diofferently (in some cases) and use slang words. They would say "He be fraid" for example, instead of "He is afraid." Ral: So the main issue is/was really "bad" english. How many schools have actually introduced ebonics, is it only that single one in california? edfdo: Well, "bad" is judgmental. It's certainly nonstandard. As far as I know, it was only proposed by the school board in Oakland CA. It is, though, studiesd by professional linguists because it has interesting patterns. " (edfdo on Ebonics, an Internet Interview with edfdo from New York; Tournament #D38) According to edfdo, Ebonics is nothing but the politically correct term for a slang dialect of standard English, a dialect being characteristic of not conjugating the verb "to be". A dialect or a language? Much of the present discussion is concentrated on whether to view Ebonics as a dialect of standard English or as different language, a question long debated between linguists. According to many Afro-American liberals Ebonics is solely the official name for the "African Language Systems" or "Pan African Communications Behaviours". A distinct language with its own grammatical rules, and with a speech pattern to a degree, influenced by African roots. Opponents on the other hand, often people with a different ideological opinion, believe that Ebonics is not a language . Although standard English speakers unfamiliar with ebonics may have trouble understanding some Ebonic words or phrases, the similarity far outweighs the differences. Recently linguistic researchers have shown Ebonics to be very similar to Old English, Irish and Welsh dialects, and have chosen to classify Ebonics as a Social Dialect. A dialect of a language, spoken by minorities, often discriminated cultural or social groups. Some quite contrasting views on the concept of Ebonics, often dividing along ideological lines, which provides us with a most disturbing message; The opinion lies in the skin colour of the beholder. What are the underlying reasons behind Ebonics? In a racially complex and volatile society like The United States of America, opportunities for different groups to impose their own kind of justice, to send a message, happen all the time. Yet the Oakland School board resolution, sparked an unfamiliar discussion about race. Ever since the abolition of slavery, separatist Caucasian-American society have discriminated a large number of its Afro-American population, forced them into living in poverty, in a separate culture, both social and language wise. Given the current distribution of wealth in the American society, and the fact that the foundation of this wealth is mainly due to the work of black slaves - who are the ancestors to the remaining Afro-American population in America - today's American society is fundamentally unfair. There is a similar inequality in the distribution of the "intellectual wealth". In a 1963 study, Caucasian-American scientists measured a difference in average IQ of 21,1 points, between Afro-American and Caucasian-American children. It is no wonder that many Afro-American citizens feel themselves vulnerable to humiliation and seek ways to distinguish themselves from their oppressors, the Caucasian Americans. The Caucasian-Americans means' to distinguish themselves from the descendants of the slaves - today's' Afro-Americans - can be summed up in a single word. That word of course, is "nigger" . Its persistence reminds the Afro-Americans that they are still perceived as a degraded species of humanity, a level to which Caucasian- Americans can never descend. Some view Ebonics as black liberals' attempt to counterattack the language based discrimination of Afro-Americans. One person puts it this way: "The cancer of Afro-centrism has once again reached a new low ...in Oakland California ...instead of educating its children has....voted to institutionalise the legitimacy of gutter language and slang. ...The underlying ...motivations are ... largely based upon the typical paranoid delusions which self-proclaimed black community leaders have claimed before. Specifically it appears to come from a resentment towards Asian immigrants in California who learn English from federally funded programs" (Ebonics Pseudo-Intellectualism for the masses, 1997) The issue about federal funds, is by many seen as one of the primary reason behind the Oakland School Boards decision. Even some of the Oakland school officials says they wanted to use the Ebonics resolution as a license to seek and receive federal and state funds for bilingual education . One could say that the Afro-American liberal leaders have learned to fight back. Mimicking the economical oppression of former days, they are now turning the weapons back on their oppressors, using the most sacred American dollar in a democratic upraise against the reigning competitors, the Caucasian-Americans. Who is prospering from Ebonics? Racial issues are finally making it to the top of the American consciousness. Attention have been focused where it has not been and where in this case it badly needs to be. Different groups with different ideologies get a chance to discuss their opinions, and the American society will definitely prosper from this exchange of views. Both Afro-American liberal groups as well as Caucasian-American racialist groups feel that they gain benefit from this discussion. The liberals because they believe that the claim of a separate and equal Afro-American culture with its own original language is being taken serious at last. The racialists because they like to show that Afro-Americans are dumb and unable to learn proper English. But the really important question in this case is this: Will the students end up more proficient in English? The children in Oakland Unified School District are challenged indeed. As of in the summer of 1996 ; n 71 % of the students enrolled in Special Education were Afro-American. n 19 % of the 12th grade Afro-American students did not graduate n 80% of all suspended students were Afro-American The evidence about the effectiveness of Ebonics - taking care to respect the different use of the English language among certain groups of Afro-Americans, usually the poor and uneducated, is still limited . Why don't I like the word genetically based? I sense a inner aversion when I read the sentence "genetically-based language", hatred and stupidity have long enough ruled this world. As an individual brought up in a culture different from that of my racial heritage, I have come to realise that ones' language proficiency is, apparently NOT linked to racial ancestry. The Ebonics movement is worthwhile in many ways, and I must say that I fully back up the meant intention behind the movement. But the one-track minded focus on genetically-based language is creating a reverse effect of ridicule that does not serve the original purpose of Ebonics. Most of the arguments against Ebonics boil down to the main belief that the English language is being totally ruined by people with linguistically inadequate abilities. This fear of a repulsive "Bad English" cover up - in my opinion - an unspoken repressed racialism that is threatening the American valuable freedom of speech. Not in such a way that some people are afraid of what they say, but how they say it, or rather that they are afraid of being insensitive to others' opinions. An old saying reads "One should prefer a good enemy to a bad friend". Although it is my deepest hope that the aim for a just and equal society can be reached with the mentioned approach of repressing "bad" feelings, I sincerely doubt this can be accomplished. As I see it, that kind of "reverse discrimination" is a key element of the Ebonics movement, strengthening the anti-achievement, anti-self mentality in poor Afro- American communities, consequently encouraging people to accept themselves as members of oppressed and aggrieved groups, rather than as individuals who have the power to improve their own lives. CONCLUSION As it turns out, Ebonics is nothing but an old problem, given a new name. We all like to believe that we have the freedom to choose what to think. But the very system behind language occurrences like Ebonics seems to be a kind of naturally working social regularity in any given society at any given time. A social regularity that we just recently have become aware of. The occurrence of separatism in societies seems inevitable. What caused Ebonics seems to be the fact that a large number of the Afro- American population, by being kept isolated and discriminated, have been forced into living in a separate language culture, a culture elsewhere since long time extinct. The underlying idea behind Ebonics, that Afro-American citizens in all ways need to distinguish themselves from their oppressors - the Caucasian-Americans - has evolved from a larger movement to distinguish ethic and moral diseases, Political Correctness. And the resemblance in character of the Political Correct and the Ebonics movements is revealing. Both movements are based on a genuine desire to induce an awareness of respect, to make a more dignified world. There is a need for movements and organisations who is willing to fight for respect and justice among races and societies. Sadly, the Afro-American movement's odious means to obtain recognition and respect seem to have undermined its goals. The wanted respect is not gained by marking children speaking a dialect as bilingual. I have, in my discussion of this topic, felt it necessary to disclose my honest point of view in this matter. And YES, I have cherished my 'demagogue' role. If I have revealed any meaningful truth that will help to destroy the ignorance that is causing the lamentable situations haunting this earthly world, then all the credit is due to my friend, Jesus. Only the mistakes have been mine. LIST OF LITERATURE Fleischer, Ral; edfdo on Ebonics, an Internet Interview with edfdo from New York; Correspondence Interview via the Internet, Nuuk/New York, 6-10 march 1997 Hacker, Andrew; Two Nations Black and White, Separate, Hostile, Unequal; Ballantine Books, New York; 1992 Leeland, John et al.; Hooked on Ebonics; Newsweek, page 50-51, 13 January 1997 Oakland Unified School District Board of education; SYNOPSIS OF THE ADOPTED POLICY ON STANDARD AMERICAN ENGLISH LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT; link from http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/3070/ebonics.html; 08 January 1997 Richardson, Ken et al.; Race, Culture and Intelligence; Penguin Books, Harmondsworth; 1972 Sanchez, Rene; Ebonics: A way to Close the Learning Gap?; The Washington Post, page A01, 06 January 1997 Ebonics Debate Comes to Capitol Hill; The Washington Post, page A15, 24 January 1997 Shkirenko, Alexander; Ebonics Pseudo-Intellectualism for the masses; http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/3070/ebonics.html; 08 January 1997 Weiss, Rick; Among linguists, Black English Gets Respect; The Washington Post, page A10, 06 January 1997 X, Malcolm; The Autobiography of Malcolm X; Penguin Books, Harmondsworth; 196 APPENDIX : Excerpt from the original 'Declaration of Ebonics': OAKLAND UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT SYNOPSIS OF THE ADOPTED POLICY ON STANDARD AMERICAN ENGLISH LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT On December 18, 1996 the Oakland Unified School District Board of Education approved a policy affirming Standard American English language development for all students. This policy mandates that effective instructional strategies must be utilized in order to ensure that every child has the opportunity to achieve English language proficiency. Language development for African American students, who comprise 53% of the students in the Oakland schools, will be enhanced with the recognition and understanding of the language structures unique to African American students. This language has been studied for several decades and is variously referred to as Ebonics (literally "Black sounds"), or "Pan-African Communication Behaviors," or "African Language Systems." This policy is based on the work of a broad-based Task Force, convened six months ago to review the district-wide achievement data (see Appendix 1) and to make recommendations regarding effective practices that would enhance the opportunity for all students to successfully achieve the standards of the core curriculum (see Appendix 2). The data show low levels of student performance, disproportionately high representation in special education, and under-representation in Advanced Placement courses and in the Gifted and Talented Education Program. The recommendations (see Appendix 3), based on academic research, focus on te unique language stature of African American pupils, the direct connection of English language proficiency to student achievement, and the education of parents and the community to support academic achievement (see bibliography in Appendix 4). One of the programs recommended is the Standard English Proficiency Program (S.E.P.), a State of California model program, which promotes English-language development for African-American students. The S.E.P. training enables teachers and administrators to respect and acknowledge the history, culture, and language that the African American student brings to school. Recently a "Superliteracy" component was added to ensure the development of high levels of reading, writing, and speaking skills. The policy further requires strengthening pre-school education and parent and community participation in the educational processes of the District. The recommendations of the Task Force establish English language proficiency as the foundation for competency in all academic areas. Passage of this policy is a clear demonstration that te Oakland Unified School District is committed to take significant actions to turn around the educational attainment of its African-American students. The Board of Education adopted a policy on teaching English, not Ebonics. Unfortunately, because of misconceptions in the resulting press stories, the actions of the Board of Education have been publically misunderstood. Misconceptions include: Oakland School District has decided to teach Ebonics in place of English. The District is trying to classify Ebonics (i.e. "Black English,") speaking students as Bilingual. OUSD is only attempting to pilfer federal and state funds. OUSD is trying to create a system of perverse incentives that reward failure and lower standards. Oakland is condoning the use of Slang. Oakland has gone too far. Ebonics further segregates an already racially divided school district. There is no statistical evidence to support this approach or that this approach will improve student achievement. Nothing could be further from the truth. 1). The Oakland Unified School District is not replacing the teaching of Standard American English with any other language. The District is not teaching Ebonics. The District emphasizes teaching Standard American English and has set a high standard of excellence for all its students. 2). Oakland Unified School District is providing its teachers and parents with the tools to address the diverse languages the children bring into the classroom. 3). The District's objective is to build on the language skills that African-American students bring to the classroom without devaluing students and their diversity. We have directly connected English language proficiency to student achievement. 4). The term "genetically-based" is synonymous with genesis. In the clause, "African Language Systems are genetically based and not a dialect of English," the term "genetically based" is used according to the standard dictionary definition of "has origins in." It is not used to refer to human biology. Hooked on Ebonics, p. 50 Ebonics: A Way to Close the Learning Gap?, p. A01 Among Linguists, Black English Gets Respect, p. A10 Race, Culture and Intelligence, p. 104 Two Nations, Black and White, Separate, Hostile, Unequal, p.42 Ebonics: A Way to Close the Learning Gap?, p. A01 Synopsis of the adopted policy on standard American English Language development, appendix 1 Ebonics: A Way to Close the Learning Gap?, p. A01 f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Elizabeht Cady Stanton.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucy Stone, and Susan B. Anthony were all leaders of the early women's rights movement. Select one of these women and discuss her contribution to the movement and the difficulties she encountered. Elizabeth Cady Stanton was born November 12, 1815, in Johnstown, New York. She was the fourth of six children. Later she would meet and marry Henry B. Stanton, a prominent abolitionist. Together they would have seven children. Although Elizabeth never went to college she was very learned in Greek and mathematics. During her life, Elizabeth was a very important person to the women's rights movement. This paper will present to you the difficulties she encountered and her major contributions. Nothing is easy when you are trying to change the opinion of the world. In the nineteenth century it was only harder if you were a woman. Elizabeth Stanton not only faced opposition from the outside world but also from those closest to her. After her only brother died she tried to please her father by studying and doing the things that her brother had done. Her father's response was that he wished she had been a boy. Her high hope of working with her husband to abolish slavery was shattered when she was not allowed to enter into the conventions. She, as a woman, was told to keep silent and to do her work quietly. Who better than her husband, who champions the rights of black people, should understand and applaud her work. However, that was not the case. During the Seneca Falls convention that she had organized, her husband left town rather than witness here propose the idea of women's suffrage to the group. When she lectured she was often booed and hissed at. She suffered much at the hands of the media. The only support that she ever received was from her fellow suffragists. This did not stop her from continuing her work and becoming an integral part to the early women's rights movement. With seven children and an entire household to manage, Elizabeth Cady Stanton somehow found time to help found the women's rights movement. Her contributions were considerable. After attending an abolitionist convention in London she decided to concentrate her work on the rights of women. Her first cause was that of Divorce. She believed that people ought to be able to obtain a divorce on any grounds. She also championed the married women's property act. Perhaps one of her greatest contribution she had was the Seneca Falls convention. There she helped draft the Declaration of Sentiments. This was a list of twelve items that were unfair to women. The twelfth, concerning women's right to vote, would probably have not been included if it was not for Elizabeth. She later published the Women's Bible in two volumes. These books refuted the idea that God had set man to rule over women. Elizabeth Cady Stanton worked hard for a thankless task. She received opposition from every where, even the women whom she was championing. She never saw the results of the fire that she lit. There is no doubt that the women's rights movement would have started without her but it would probably not have started when it did. It would also have lacked some of its fire. Without Elizabeth Cady Stanton we might not have some of the rights that we enjoy today. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Ellisons Battle Royal.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Reader Response Ellison's "Battle Royal" In Battle Royal, Ellison shows us various things to bring our attention to the pain the minority group suffered. In doing this Ellison shows us relationships between the torment they felt to our feelings for them. When the boys enter the boxing ring, they are shown off like animals. The woman dancing represents the sick pleasure derived from the boys' torture. Ellison shows us a picture of the human mind, in seeing something to lust after then watching young men being beaten nearly to death as a form of entertainment. He does this to show us a view of human nature. In oppression to the torment the boys developed a sort of counter attack. The boys were so eager for the the fake money that they suffered electric shocks to grab it. I think this sort of surprised the audience, beings that the boys never gave up the fight. It was as thought giving up would have meant giving up much more than money or a boxing match. It would have been a loss of dignity and pride, none of them wanted to lose that. Also, by the time the boys were given the chance to chase the money, they were numb from pain. I don't think the new torture methods were really affecting the boys. Their bodies became somewhat immune to the blows after awhile. My battle royal was a little bit different from the boys in the story. I did not really suffer from outside torment. The battle I faced was mostly inside myself. People didn't have to say anything and I would be judging myself and putting myself down. Like the boys in the boxing ring fighting one another, I would have to fight with my own feelings to overcome things. Each time I made a decision I had to be critical about what was good and bad for myself. Even if I didn't do anything wrong I blamed myself for things that would go wrong. My battle with low self esteem was an ongoing problem. It pretty much got to the point where I didn't even realize I was doing it to myself anymore. The words I said, although not all true, I believed completely. I had put myself down so much, that complements were never taken seriously. I tried to break my habit of putting myself down by setting goals for myself. This helped a little but I honestly don't think I wanted help back then. Finally it got to the point where I knew I had to do something. This was the time when I felt most powerless. I didn't think I had any control over how I felt. Half the time I couldn't decipher whether I was happy or sad. I began to scare myself because of it. I would think, does this make me happy. I couldn't even think of an answer, it was the strangest feeling I have ever had. Not knowing if you are happy or sad, seems odd I know. One day I came to the realization that either I had to fight what was going on inside me or it was going to get me. I started out by setting goals for myself. Fairly small things, but very important goals to me. I feel it is best to set attainable goals for yourself, but also challenge yourself to do better. Once I began to think about how good life was, and all it has to offer, things started to change. I know that this is just a start and the main problem lies ahead. Today, I am a lot better than I used to be. I have goals for myself and there are many things I want to do and have a right to do before I leave this Earth. I guess to a point I became immune to the feelings I would let run through my mind. I became immune to all the pain those feelings caused.. This time around I am trying to face the feelings instead of ignore them. This is helpful in that I know the problem right when it arises, and I can deal with it before something else happens. If I ever get into a situation now where I feel powerless, I either leave the situation or turn to a friend for help. As in the story, I am also rewarded if I don't give up. I am able to enjoy life and be happy, instead of walk around depressed a lot of the time. The first time I realized I had to do something was my speech. That was my turn to tell myself that I had to get over the low self esteem and overcome it. My prize for this was happiness, I really had nothing to lose. This was my honest attempt at winning the battle with my feelings. Each day I know I am getting better. Now, if I get the feeling I push them out of my mind. Don't have time to deal with sad feelings anymore. The message I used to live by was to run and hide from my feelings. This could possibly be the worst thing to do. It scared me to face them, so I wouldn't. My whole life was an act, putting on a happy face when I really felt down. Telling everyone I was fine, when in reality I was far from it. It became much easier to tell people what they wanted to hear rather than face what was going on inside me. Then came a day when I couldn't hide from others and myself any longer. It just didn't work anymore, the feelings became stronger and there was nothing I could do, but face them. Everybody has to deal with something in their life. My battle was dealing with the pain I brought onto myself. Although there was never any physical abuse that went on, the emotional is hard to deal with as well. My battle becomes easier with each day, and I can safely say now that I am better. Makes me happy just thinking like this, knowing I got over it. It took me this long to realize you don't need someone else to make you happy, we all possess the same qualities in order to do that within ourselves. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Elsa .TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Gabrielle Roy, the author of Windflower, shows us through her main character, Elsa Kumachuck, that isolation can have unfortunate effects on an individual and the people around them. We, as readers, are in the beginning given the impression that Elsa is a fit mother who is responsible and knows how to raise her child properly. Later on though, we realize that it's the influence of other people in her life and the experience of isolation later on that lead her to make the decisions that she does. Elsa Kumachuck was at one time just a carefree teenager, going to the theater to watch movies, laughing with her friends, and discussing sex. Her whole life changes in one night though, when Elsa is raped by a GI soldier, and as a result, gets pregnant. Elsa experiences a very dramatic change in herself, both physically and emotionally, and seems to lose all interest in the things that she used to enjoy. When her baby, Jimmy, is born however, she appears to be herself again. She snaps out of her depression as she observes the little boy she has given birth to. The unique little boy with blond hair and blue eyes takes her breath away. It seemed that in giving life to her child she had restored her own life to herself. Although Jimmy is a joy and a blessing to Elsa, he also creates a conflict for her. She does not know whether she should raise him as an Eskimo like herself, or white like the father. Elsa takes advice from a lady she once worked for, named Madame Beaulieu, the only white woman she knew. Elsa is soon dressing Jimmy as the white do, and is keeping her hut clean and tidy. The people from the Eskimo society are in awe at the beautiful baby with blond, curly hair, and the ways in which Elsa is raising him. They always want to borrow Jimmy and they even start to bathe their children as Elsa does, at the same time every day. Elsa is proud to be the mother of the baby whom everybody seems to want, and she tries to make decisions that are in the best interest of her child. These decisions however, anger her mother, Winnie. Winnie believes that Jimmy should be raised according to the ways of the Intuit only. So when Elsa decided to go back to work for Madame Beaulieu to support her child, Winnie breaks all of the habits that Elsa has set for Jimmy. Winnie felt it was wrong to disipline a child or restrict him from doing certain things. Soon Jimmy gets too attached to his grandmother and Elsa decides to take him and leave her village and go to Old Fort Chimo. When they arrive at their destination, Elsa and Jimmy settle in and make a wonderful home for themselves. They never hear from anyone back home for anumber of years until Jimmy's father contacts them and moves in with them. He is was a jerk before but both Elsa and Jimmy decide to give him a chance. The two get married and have another child, a girl. And everyone lives happily for the rest of their time. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\emancipation proclamation.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ "EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION" The emancipation proclamation was issued by Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the American Civil War, declaring all "slaves within any State, or designated part of a State... then... in rebellion,... shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free." The states affected were enumerated in the proclamation; specifically exempted were slaves in parts of the South then held by Union armies. Lincoln's issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation marked a radical change in his policy. After out break of the Civil War, the slavery issue was made acute by the flight to Union lines of large numbers of slaves who volunteered to fight for there freedom and that of there fellow slaves. In these circumstances, a strict application of established policy would have required return of fugitive slaves to their masters. Abolitionists had long been urging Lincoln to free all slaves, and public opinion suported that view. Lincoln moved slowly and cautiously nonethe less; on March 13, 1862, the federal government fforbade all Union Army officers to return fugitive slaves, thus annulling in effect the fugitive slave laws. On April 10, on Lincoln's initiative, congress declared the federal government would compenste slave owners who freed their slaves. All slaves in the District of Columbia were freed in this way on April 16, 1862 . On June 19, 1862, Congress enacted a measure prohibiting slavery in United States territories, thus defying the supreme court decision in the Dred Scott case, which ruled that Congress was powerless to regulate slavery in the territories. Finaly, after the union victory in the battle of antietam, Lincoln issued a preliminary proclamation on September 22, declaring his intention of promulgating another proclamathion in 100 days, freeing the slaves in the states deemed in rebellion at that time. On January 1, 1863 he issued the Emancipation proclamation, conferring liberty on about 3,120,000 slaves. With the enactment of the 13th ammendment to the U.S. Constitution in effect in 1865, slavery was completely abolished. The results of the Emancipation Proclamation were far-reahcing. From then on, sympathy with the Confederacy was identified with support of slavery. As further result of the proclamation, the Republican party became unified in principle and i f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Equality.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ In 1890, less then one half of one percent of women were employed gainfully outside of the home. Over the next hundred years, women have not only gained access to jobs outside of the home, but also fought for equality in the work place. These struggles have not been easy by any means. Women have overcome many obstacles in there journey into the work force, none grater then the views of their male piers. Many males thought and continue to think that there is no place for women in the work place. Women made there strides into the work force by not only following examples of their courageous pioneers, but also by banding together to show their strength. During the mid 1800's a small number of women begin their assault on, what were at the time considered, male-only jobs. Fields such as teaching, preaching, medicine, and law were all jobs domenated by men. Women had made some progress in the work force before the 1850's. In the mid nineteenth century women were the majority for grade school teachers, up from the ten percent of elementary teachers, that were teachers in the colonial period. This can be largely attributed not to the fact that men were more accepting of the idea that women belonged in the work place, but rather men were drown to the higher paying and more socially appreciated managerial jobs brought on by the industrial revolution. School boards did not mind these talented leaving because they could higher a "less qualified women" for as low as one fifth of males salary for the same job. Susan B. Anthony was the first women to publicly speak out against this gross injustice towards women. After being fired to "replace a male teacher fired for incompetence,she was paid one third of the salary he had received,"(Reifert 74)she went to the state teachers convention of 1853 to register a protest. After being hushed once and a half hour of debate she was finally allowed to speak her peace. Although nothing became of her first encounter with the women's movement, she quit teaching and went on to become one of the great leaders of the women's movement. Antoinette Brown was anther women that was not happy with the status quo of women in society. She started, in 1846, by attending Oberlin college, which only nine years before had become the first co-educational college. Oberlin, although being very receptive of women in their women's department, they did not let women take any courses besides the ones offered in the women department. This lead to a conflict when Brown made her intentions of obtaining a theology degree known. Brown won the battle to attend the classes she needed for her degree, but this was by far not the last battle for equality she would have to fight. Oberlan "refused to grant her a students license to preach.," and after her course work was completed Oberlan would not " allow her to take part in the graduation ceremony, be licensed, ordained, or even have her name registered on the class roll."(Reifert 76) It took three years, of hard looking for Brown to find a Protestant Church that would allow her to be ordained. Finally after all of her struggles Antoinette Brown was ordained the first protestant female minister in America. "Women in the early 1800's were discriminated against both as practitioner and as patient."(Reifert 77) Women were thought that it was wrong for them to seek help from doctors for any problems that had anything remotely to do with their reproductive system. It was also thought that Women were to fragile to deal with the work that goes with being a doctor. Elizabeth Blackwell saw first hand the effects of the first problem mentioned. She watched a family friend die because she was embarrassed to bring her problem to the attention of her male doctor. Blackwell was not detoured by the Idea that no medical school would take her, because she could not compete with males. After all almost everyone at the time believed that "the female brain was different then the male brain."(Reifert 78) Blackwell finally gained admittance to Geneva College after a unanimous vote of the student body to let her in. This vote should not be taken as a sign that men were becoming more accepting of women infiltrating what was formally known as male only territory. It should be noted that most of the students believed that either the vote was a joke or that Blackwell would not stay around long. Blackwell proved all the skeptics wrong by graduating in the top of her class, but still no hospital in the United States would allow her to intern. For her internship Blackwell went to Paris. When She got back to the United States Blackwell found that no hospital would allow her to use their facilities. In 1857 she secured enough money to turn facility into a hospital. Similar to doctors, nurses were largely male until the 1850's. Nursing followed a similar path as elementary teachers, as more higher paid jobs opened up, it left room for women to take over less glamorous jobs. In the early nineteenth century lawyers were thought by apprenticeship. This was a very big problem for women that had an interest in this field, because no men lawyers would ever dream of having a female apprentice. The emergence of law schools made the job of a lawyer remotely accessible, but by no means easy. Such is the case of Myra Bradwell, who graduated from Chicago School of law, but was refused a license to practice law by the Illinois State Bar. She took her battle to the Supreme Court, by was ruled against. After her ruling was overturned in 1890 at the age of 59, she became a licensed lawyer and two years latter practiced law in front of the same court that had refused her rights 23 years earlier. Before these women had broken into these previously all male jobs women's jobs four general limitations. They are "(1) that women perform work similar to that of the home; (2) that no great skill be involved...; (3) that no great physical strength be required...; (4) that the work should not involve contacts with the rougher male sex..."(Riegel 135) Contrary to the Desires of their employers to maintain their workers femininity, the women, they provided their employees with very adverse working conditions. "The conditions under which most women were described by an on looker : girls take off their street suits and put on an old skirts and waists matted with glue dirt, in which the spend ten hours a day scorning, cutting and sniping, wetting great sheets of paper and paste... at a few cents a day" (Cantarow xxvii) Women at time made around half of what their male counterparts made. While male unions were proving very successful in the advancement in working conditions for men, but most unions had little interest in helping women's causes. For this reason,in 1903 the WTUL (Women's trade Union league) was launched. This helped Women unite to achieve better working conditions. The WTUL was very influential in the organization and support of the major women's strikes. Women fought many hard battles to gain access to areas that were at on time strictly off limits to them and fought hard to improve their working conditions. With out the struggles of these women other women might not have the rights they have today. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Excellence is the best key to fighting racism.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Excellence is Your Best Weapon for Fighting Racism The Bible says that "the poor will always be with us." An similar statement is that racism will always be with us. So, the question is, "What should we do about it?" There are many ways to fight racism: you might march, protest, complain, or beg the government for help. Some of these methods have worked well in the past. However, I think the best and most effective weapon today for fighting racism is excellence. Excellence will bring down more racial barriers than all the marching and shouting in the world. To develop the weapon of excellence, we must take advantage of all the educational opportunities that are available to us. Even though the doors of opportunity are not always opened equally to everyone, there are still ways to be what you want to be, go where you want to go, and have what you want to have. And it does not matter where you live, how poor you are. You still have the ability to succeed. As long as you have your health and can think, success is possible. Accepting the fact that the doors of opportunity are not opened equally to everyone, one thing that is equal for everyone is time. There is the same number of hours in the day for all of us. How you use these hours is your choice. You can use them on the playground or you can use them to play the books. Playing on the playground might give you some hours of immediate enjoyment, but playing the books will give you long-term gratification. African Americans and other minorities can no longer use the excuses of being poor or living in a bad neighborhood or small town to keep us from achieving excellence through education. In some cases, the poorer you are the more educational opportunities that are available to you. Poverty should not be an excuse for not working up to your potential. No matter how poor you think you are, there is always someone who is poorer. Please do not be embarrassed by or ashamed of the size your home town. Many individuals from small towns have become very successful and risen to the top of their professions. If President Clinton can change his address from Hope, Arkansas to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, D.C., then you know it is possible to fulfill your aspirations, whatever they might be. President Clinton's rise to the top of his profession suggests to me that whether you are a big time runner from New York City, or a guy who runs around the block in Fall City, Washington, the formula for success in life is still the same. That formula is hard work, dedication, determination, and a small amount of recreation. Like any good recipe, some ingredients are more important than others. If you are making a cake, you use a lot more sugar than salt. And if you want to have a life of cake, hard work should be your sugar and recreation your salt. For those African Americans and other minorities who are attending mainly white schools, you should use the scientific approach to problem solving. When scientists and engineers solve problems, they always state what is given and what is assumed. It can be given that a particular professor or teacher is racist, or you can assume that he or she is a racist. Either way, you must find a solution to the problem. I am not advocating in the classroom, but you should choose the right weapon for the right occasion. In this case, making an "A" in the course is the best weapon. If you think racism is bad now, just imagine how things were 30 years ago. Every time I hear someone mention how bad racism is today, I am reminded of a movie I once saw, when a young black teenage boy and his grandfather were going to town one morning in a small southern town. As the boy and his grandfather drove through a stoplight, a policeman saw them run the light and pulled them over. The policeman walked up to the car and asked: "Boy, why did you run that red light?" The grandfather's reply was, "Captain, I saw the white folks going on the green light so I thought the red light was for us." At least we have progressed to the point that we can now go on the yellow light. Let me restate, you should not let racism or any other kind of "isms" keep you from being successful. Often you will hear some minority students at mainly white schools make the statement, "If this place were not so racist I would do better in school." Our nation is way off of being successful, because all racism will never be removed from our schools or society. The likelihood of this happening is about the same as finding elephants roosting in trees. You should remember that when you are educating the field to success, you will hit a few rocks. Some of the rocks will be black, some will be white, and others will be all colors in between. Regardless of whether the rocks are black or white, if you want to cut a good harvest, you had better keep plowing. It is the seed you scatter that decides what your harvest is going to look like. You cannot plant corn and expect to harvest tomatoes. Let's face it everyone, many of you have not worked up to your full potential. If the police were to arrest some of you today based on the effort you put into your school work, they would have to release you due to a lack of evidence. Academically, if you are going in the wrong direction, for whatever reasons, I want you to know that it is not illegal to make a U-turn. As you view your horizon, in your vision lie the problems of today and the successes of tomorrow. What do you see? f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Executive Women An Article Review.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Executive Women: Substance Plus Style PSYC 4310 Executive Women: Substance Plus Style The article "Executive Women: Substance Plus Style" deals with the issue of whether the "abilities and attitudes of male managers are different from those of female managers" and that these differences have been used to keep women out of managerial positions. Furthermore, it suggests that it has now become "fashionable" to state that these differences are favorable and complement the business environment. Lastly, the article focused on several strategies that women should follow in order to succeed as a middle or upper level manager within a large corporation. The authors refute the notion that the differences between male and female managers are great. They mention that "the few studies that have looked at women and men in comparable managerial roles have discovered more similarities than differences across sexes" (Catalyst, 1986). A test bank from "thousands of managers and professionals in management development programs from 1978 to 1986" was cited as another reason why they believe there are few differences between male and female executives. The tests revealed that executive men and women scored equally on most areas and that executive women are just as capable at leading, influencing, and motivating groups, as well as analyzing problems. The authors go on to show that, despite these similarities, women are disproportionately represented in the ranks of Fortune 500 company executives. Repeated references are made to studies that were conducted with 22 people, 16 men and 6 women, whose job is to select executives for top jobs. These people are continually referred to as "savvy insiders" throughout the article. These so called savvy insiders were tasked with providing an example of what they considered to be a woman who "made it" and one who "derailed". They describe what basically amounts to a woman who utilizes characteristics of both masculine and feminine personalities. They came up with these four contradictory sets of expectations that women must overcome: take risks, but be consistently outstanding; be tough, but don't be macho; be ambitious, but don't expect equal treatment; and take responsibility, but follow others' advice. The research was based on a comparison between male and female managers and by tests that measured personality dimensions, intelligence, and behavior in problem-solving groups. As I had learned in a previous psychology class, personality tests are not really an effective measure of personality, nor is an intelligence test necessarily an accurate means of determining ones' success in the future. I would have been more convinced by experimental research rather than by a review of tests or an interview with 76 people. I have noticed a trend that has been occurring in the military in which many for women are being promoted to the upper officer ranks than at any time before. The Admiral in charge of all Navy training, Vice Admiral Tracy, seems to embody the principles that were discussed in the article. To me, she epitomizes, what I would consider to be, the quintessential executive woman. She is tough but not overbearing; she is firm, but will listen to others' advice; and she never seems to shed her feminine qualities. It appears that the social dominance of males in our society is a difficult obstacle to overcome for women who are attempting to climb the corporate ladder. While the article states that men and women have more similarities than differences, the differences are hard to ignore. As stated in our textbook, Social Psychology, "men's style of communicating undergirds their social power, men tend to be directive and women tend to be democratic". I believe that the past gender role of women in our society is still affecting what is happening today. As long as the perception that women should fulfill a subservient role persists, I believe it will be difficult for women to achieve equal numbers in upper management in the foreseeable future. While it is apparent that women need to adjust their behavior to become successful, perhaps it is time that men adjust their own behavior to better integrate what constitutes the other half of the population of our society. It would be interesting to see the outcome of an experimental study that observed how role reversal training could possibly affect the attitudes of male business leaders. References 1. Morrison, A.R., White, R.P., Van Elsor, E. (1987 August). Executive Women: Substance Plus Style. Psychology Today, 18-26. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Female Discrimination in the Labor Force.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Female Discrimination in the Labor Force In the past decades there has been a dramatic increase in the number of women participating in the labor force. This expansion has unfortunately shown how women are still being treated as inferior citizens when comparing their wages and the jobs they are hired for to that of men. Many women in similar occupations as men, and having the same qualifications are only paid a fraction of what their male counterparts are paid. The only reasonable explanation that can be found for this income gap is discrimination. This unfair treatment shown throughout the handouts illustrate how far people still have to go before equal treatment becomes standard. The increase in female participation started occurring during the 1970's. The number of women in the civilian labor force jumped from 23 million in the 1960's to 31 million in the 1970's. This leap would continue and increase in the 1980's and on into the 1990's. The result, in 1995, is a female labor force that numbers over 60 million. This comprised 46 percent of the civilian work force (10). A reason for the rise in participation by women may be in the way women saw marriage and children. Fewer women saw marriage as a settling down. Women who had children began to return to their jobs. The number of working women that were either married or had children or both increased dramatically. In 1965, women with children under 18 years of age numbered 35.0 percent of the labor force. This number increased to 47.4 percent in 1975. In ten years it was 62.1 percent and finally in 1995 it had grown to 69.7 percent (7). This showed that the female attitude towards having children and marriage has changed. According to the handouts, in 1970 women were paid poorly when compared to their male counterparts. The female worker had a median yearly earning of 19, 101 dollars. This was only 59.4 percent of what the males made. This does start to change in the 1980's as female earnings rose to 60.2 percent of men's. Five years later it had reached 64.6 percent. By 1990, the female's earnings had risen to 71.6 percent of what a man would make (2). Women in the workplace have always been discriminated against. Ever since the first women started to work, they got paid less in the same positions that men held before them. In 1995, the top level managerial and professional specialty jobs were held by 7 million men and 5 million women. Those women made a weekly salary of 570 dollars while those men made 833 dollars. This is also true in many other occupations such as sales and technical operations (6). Some would say that this is the case because men are better qualified and more competent in their jobs. Since the year 1981, women have graduated from college in greater numbers than men. Women had 465, 000 graduates while men had 470, 000 in 1980. This gap would be closed and eclipsed by women in 1981. That year 480, 000 women earned a bachelors' degree while men only had 473, 000 (4). The gap in the number of college graduates is increasing in favor of women. So, it would seem that there are more highly qualified women out there than there are men. Then why is it that men are still being paid more? Discrimination seems the only viable answer to the earnings gap. When one looks at the mean income of year-round workers in 1994, men with only some college experience still made more than women with a bachelors' degree. This gap increases as the level of educational accomplishment rises. Men with a master's degree made an average yearly salary of 62, 368 dollars while women with the same degree made only 43, 601 dollars (5). These numbers seem to greatly support the discrimination case. When women first entered the labor force they were hassled by the males because they were traditionally supposed to only work in the house and take care of the family. This is one of the reasons why women are still to this day paid less than men. Male disapproval of female workers is reflected in their low wages and the small number of women in managerial positions. In 1986 only 23.7 percent of the female working population held managerial positions. The number increased to only 29.4 percent in 1995 (8). This stagnation shows that women are still not making inroads into the upper echelon of businesses. Another reason for the earnings gap between men and women may be because of the types of jobs women typically hold. Of the 57 million female workers employed in 1994, a majority worked in technical, sales, and clerical occupations. These jobs are typically low paying jobs that have been traditionally filled by female workers. However, in the past few years, substantial progress has been made by women in obtaining jobs in the managerial and professional specialties . Even with the increases, women are still employed mostly for technical, sales, and administrative support positions (3). Even with these reasons, women are still being paid less than men in the same jobs. In almost every occupational category, women are paid less than men. In 1995 women in managerial and professional specialties were paid a median weekly earning of 605 dollars where men made 829 dollars. Even in jobs that are traditionally dominated by females, men make more. In 1995, there were 3 million male workers and 10 million female workers in the clerical and administrative support fields. Yet the median weekly earnings of these full-time workers were much higher on the men's side. They made on average 489 dollars while the females made only 384 dollars (6). With this in mind, one can see that men are being paid more than women no matter what the job. Since 1970, statistics drawn by the Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census has shown that the earnings gap between men and women has been closing. In 1970 women made 59.4 percent of what men made. In 1985, this number increased to 64.6 percent and in 1990 would become 71.6 percent. In the same period men have seen a slight drop in the amount of pay they got (2). However, this is in no way a justification for the unfair wage practices that male heads of businesses have been practicing over the last few decades. The female labor force is seen as an inferior working force. When looking at earnings and job distribution, a person could assume that women were in some way not as accomplished or competent as men. Yet, a more in depth investigation would show that women are just as qualified, if not more so, than men. A principal of equal pay for equal work should be employed by all businesses and would definitely close the income gap. Most people want to correct the unequal treatment of women in the work force. One method that can be used to support equality would be to introduce a federal legislation to guarantee equal pay for equal work if there isn't one already. The logistical problem with this solution though would be great. How would people measure the value of one person's work to another's? Who would decide this and how would it be implemented? Much still has to be done before this important issue is laid to rest. People's attitudes towards women in the work force is slowly starting to change. More opportunities are appearing for women workers. The unequal treatment of working women will take years to change, but change is occurring. This topic will remain until the day people are treated and paid equally based upon their abilities and not anything else. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Frederick Douglass Dream for Freedom.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Frederick Douglass' Dream for Equality Abolition stopped Frederick Douglass dead in his tracks and forced him to reinvent himself. He learned the hard central truth about abolition. Once he learned what that truth was, he was compelled to tell it in his speeches and writings even if it meant giving away the most secret truth about himself. From then on, he accepted abolition for what it was and rode the fates. The truth he learned about abolition was that it was a white enterprise. It was a fight between whites. Blacks joined abolition only on sufferance. They also joined at their own risks. For a long time, Douglass, a man of pride and artfulness, denied this fact. For years there had been disagreements among many abolitionists. Everyone had their own beliefs towards abolition. There was especially great bitterness between Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison, dating from the early 1850's when Douglass had repudiated Garrisonian Disunionism. Garrisonians supported the idea of disunion. Disunion would have relieved the North of responsibility for the sin of slavery. It would have also ended the North's obligation to enforce the fugitive slave law, and encourage a greater exodus of fugitive slaves from the South. (161,162 Perry) Douglass did not support this idea because it would not result in the complete abolition of slavery. Blacks deserved just as much freedom as whites. He believed that the South had committed treason, and the Union must rebel by force if necessary. Astonished by Garrison's thoughts, Douglass realized that abolition was truly a war between whites. Garrison, and many others, had failed to see the slaves as human beings. Were blacks then supposed to be irretrievably black in a white world ? Where is the freedom and hope if all great things are privilege only to the whites? Douglass resolved never again to risk himself to betrayal. Troubled, Douglass did not lose faith in his beliefs of abolishing slavery. However, he did reinvent his thinking. Douglass eventually made his way with what amounted to the applied ideas of Alexis de Tocqueville and Fancis Grund, both of which were writing at the time when Douglass realized the truth about abolition. Grund and Tocqueville celebrated the "new man," the "self-made" men who were breaking through old restraints. These restraints included monopolized privileges, restricted franchises, and the basic refusal of the main chance of equal opportunity. The blacks were confronted by the most vicious and deadly restraints any "new man" had been compelled to face in the United States. This was horrendous, but it was not insurmountable. Douglass decided that the separation between whites was an advantage to his cause. He could then make allies with one of the disputants in the fight and exploit the alliance to yield guarantees of access to the devices of power and mobility the "new man" had historically sought. In conclusion, he and his allies would not share any common causes except that "your enemy is my enemy." Influenced by Grund's and Tocqueville's beliefs, this was Douglass' new political strategy and social goal. William Garrison continued to hounded Douglass. He once said, "I regard him as thoroughly base and selfish....He reveals himself more and more to me as destitute of every principle of honor, ungrateful to the last degree....He is not worthy of respect, confidence, or countenance." (Garrison Papers) But in 1862, during wartime, Douglass was ready to bury their differences and implement his new political strategy. "Every man who is ready to work for the overthrow of slavery, whether a voter or non-voter, a Garrisonian or a Gerrit Smith man, black or white, is both clansman and kinsman of ours. Whatever political or personal differences, which have in other days divided and distracted us, a common object and a common emergency makes us for the time at least, forget those differences. No class of men are doing more according to their numbers, to conduct this great war to the Emancipation of the slaves than Mr. Garrison and the American Anti-Slavery Society." (Frederick Douglass, Monthly of March 1862). Raising the free black regiments for service in the Union Army was a policy intended to give blacks a sturdy claim on the state and prove that they were citizens of the United States. Frederick Douglass was extremely active, and his own sons were the first recruits from New York. In March 1863, he published the stirring Men of Color, To Arms! "Liberty won by white men would lack half its luster. "Who would be free themselves must strike the blow," proclaimed Douglass. "The chance is now given you to end in a day the bondage of centuries, and to rise in one bound from social degradation to the plane of common equality with all other varieties of men....Action! action! not criticism, is the plain duty of this hour." Soon, two black regiments were formed. After learning the truth about abolition, Douglass never deceived himself by thinking that the blacks were anything but the nation's foster children, taken into the "family" as a result of accident and necessity. Although they were not of the nation, they were in the nation. They, the black race, were citizens of the United States, and they were on equal terms. The laws of the national state guaranteed that. By 1870, Douglass and his allies had made considerable progress. Most of the measures they had originally advocated had been adopted: the immediate and universal abolition of slavery, the enlistment of black soldiers, the creation of a Freedmen's Bureau, and most importantly, the incorporation of the black man's civil and political equality into the law of the land (Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth amendments). But the next decade proved to be a very frustrating one for Douglass and many of his supporters. Many of the achievements of the Civil War and Reconstruction were not concrete. It became expedient for northern political and business interests to conciliate southern whites, and an end to federal enforcement of black equality in the South was the price of conciliation. Frederick Douglass declared that "as the war for the Union recedes into the misty shadows of the past, and the Negro is not longer needed to assault forts and stop rebel bullets, he is . . . of less importance. Peace with the old master class has been war to the Negro. As the one has risen, the other has fallen." The Reconstruction guarantees of the national state were broken. The ugly truth was now exposed. Abolition was a war between whites, and blacks joined only on sufferance. Douglass knew this early on, but now everyone knew. It may sound depressing, but Douglass, and many others like him, did build the foundation for later equality movements by Martin Luther King. Today, we are still working up to the ideals of Douglass' crusade. Bibliography The Frederick Douglass Papers Volumes I-V Editor: John Blassingame, Yale University Press 1985 Radical Abolition, Anarchy and the Government of God in Antislavery Thought Lewis Perry, Cornell University 1973 William Lloyd Garrison and the Humanitarian Reformers Editor: Oscar Handlin, Little Brown and Company, 1955 f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Frederick Douglass.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ On an unknown date in 1817, on a slave plantation in Tuckahoe Maryland, Frederick August Washington Bailey was born. Frederick was raised in a house on the plantation with all the other slave children. At the age of seven, like many other slaves, Frederick was put to work in the fields. As a young child he would wonder why he was a slave, and why everyone can't be equal. His thoughts frequently came back to him, leaving him with a great hatred for slavery. In 1836, Frederick had finally had enough of his imprisonment, and attempted an escape with many other slaves. The escape was not successful, Frederick and the other slaves were sent to work in a shipyard hauling crates. Frederick worked the shipyard for two years until he had another great escape idea, this one would work though. The sailing papers of a sailor had been borrowed, and disguised as a sailor, Frederick Douglass made his escape to New Bedford, Massachusetts. Upon his arrival, Frederick took up his new assumed last name Douglass, to escape being captured. In 1841, Frederick attended an anti-slavery convention in Nantucket Massachusetts. Here, his impromptu speech he gave showed him to be a great speaker. The opponents of Frederick believed that he was never a slave, because of his great speaking skills and knowledge. In response to this, Frederick wrote his life story in his book _Life and Times of Frederick Douglass_. Frederick made a fatal mistake though, he had used the name of his old master on the slave plantation. Upon learning of this, his old master sent slave catchers to New England to bring him back. Fearing a life of slavery again, Frederick fled to England. Here in England, he gave many lectures on the abolitionists movement, and earned sufficient funds to buy his freedom in America. In 1847, Frederick became the "station master" of the Underground Railroad in Rochester, New York. Here he also began publishing his anti-slavery newspaper, The North Star. During these publishing years, Frederick became good friends with John Brown. John had a vision of training groups of men to help slaves escape via the Underground Railroad. However, in 1859, Douglass learned it was Brown's intention to raid the Federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry. He was sure this would bring disastrous results, and took no part in the raid. Following the raid, Douglass fled to Europe, fearing the government would hold him responsible for what had happened. He stayed for six months, until finally returning to America to campaign for Abraham Lincoln during the Presidential election of 1860. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Frederick helped raise the regiment of the Massachusetts 54th. This group of soldiers fought hard, and Douglass was respected as a leader of ex-slaves. Frederick soon fought for the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments for the U.S. Constitution, which gave rights to everyone. He became U.S marshal for the District of Columbia (1877-81), recorder of deeds for the District of Columbia (1881-86) and U.S. minister to the Republic of Haiti (1889-91). After his death in 1895, people mourned the loss of one of the great freedom fighters of the 1800's. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Gang Violence.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Gangs are becoming a growing problem in American society. More young people are turning to gangs to solve problems in there lives. When youths join gangs they drop social activities with family, friends and school. Members fall behind their classmates in school and do not try. A study shows that less than 1% of gang bangers is literate1. Gangs destroy teenager lives and destroy their chances for a good education and happy life. Gangs are now a haven for rats. Teenagers are joining gangs every day. They join gangs for many reasons. A former gang member known as G-Ball was very young when he joined a his gang. He and a friend would play a game. They would pose as gang members to be cool. Then police arrested him and other gang members for stealing cars. G-Ball never wanted to be a gang member he wanted to act and dress like one. Another former gang member, Alonzo, age 17 wanted to join a gang because he had nothing to do after school. Both he and G-Ball joined a gang by choice. Keith, age 17 was forced into a gang. If he didn't join, he'd be hunted down and killed by the gang members. When older family member already in a gang, younger siblings are often forced in. Many gangs use graffiti to show their power and to mark their turf. "Everywhere you go you see graffiti." Professor Allen Walker Read of Columbia University said, "The pen is mightier than the sword." Gangs in Parma are very active with the pen. They "tag" their property buildings and houses everywhere. Police want to know where all the parents are. Why aren't they doing anything about this? Many people in Parma want to know the answer to the same questions. Cincinnati also has active gangs. "Graffiti is a creeping problem in every neighborhood and in and on public buildings" said Mayor Roxanne Qualls of Cincinnati said. Graffiti is so bad that Star Bank has donated $25,000 to have students to help clean up all the graffiti.2 The city made a group called the "E-Racers". These people are ready to clean up all the graffiti. The gangs set school buses on fire, tear-up park benches, and drive across lawns including the police station lawns. Graffiti comes in many forms. Pictures are used to mark property (turf) but you may also see strange writing below it. They say to other gangs that they're the best, the number 1 gang, and to stay away from them. Here are some writings found in California. ` Many gang members wear similar clothes or color. A school in Baytown, Texas has banned its students from wearing the following "gang clothing" -Solid red or black shirt with pants or skirt -Solid red or white shirt over a black shirt -Red and black flannel shirt or jacket -Blue and black flannel shirt or jacket -Clothing with Chicago Bulls, White Sox, Los Angles Raiders, Kings, University of Nevada-Las Vegas, or University of Miami Logos Everyone believes these types of clothes are worn by gang members. "But what if they start wearing 3-piece suits or Mickey Mouse T-shirts? When will it end." Richard Sallivan, 40.3 Many gangs use hand signs (like sign language). Signs are flashed to gang members or to rival gangs. These signs say we are number one, or Power. They also have signs to show victory and a primo sign after a fight or gang war. Signs can represent gang names. Some examples are Mafia Crips, Athens Park Boys, or the Underground crip. Signs are shown below. While gangs grow and get more powerful, what is being done? City police departments play a big role in stopping violence and drugs. The most popular program for school aged children is the D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education). D.A.R.E. teaches kids that violence and drugs are not a good way of life. This program takes place in grades' 4-8. In the Phoenix Police Department they support the G.R.E.A.T. Program. It teaches children avoidance of drugs and gangs. It shows children other ways to have power and belonging. In G.R.E.A.T. they have 3rd and 4th grade summer session and a 7th and 8th grade school program. 3 Cindy Horswell, Gangs Get a Dress Down (March 28, 1992) Houston Chronicle. There are many ways the government and police try to control gangs. Many cities that have large gang problems have special gang units. The National government is stepping in to help. During National Gang Violence Prevention, 1994 (September 12- 16) President Clinton of The United States sent out a proclamation. He urged communities and citizens to come together to stop violence. The President is working on two time offenders, gun bands, more police, and harder punishments. While violence increases along with awareness why won't it stop? ? Associated Press. "Quick response teams fight graffiti." The Plain Dealer 30 Jun. 1994. Breckenridge, Tom. "Gang graffiti makes its mark on Parma." The Plain Dealer 26 May 1994. Clinton, William J. "National Gang Violence Orivencion Week, 1994." The White House: Office of the President of the United States Sept. 10,1994 Internet. Delgado, Robert. "Anti-Gang Movement" Doug's Home Page Sept. 28, 1995. Internet. Gillispie, Mark. "Chicago gangs still thrive in the city of their birth" The Plain Dealer 12 Jan. 1992. Gillispie, Mark. "Federal agencies shift concentration to gangs" The Plain Dealer 19 Jan. 1992. Gillispie, Mark; Shepard, Paul. "Former gang members recall `gentler times`." The Plain Dealer 12 Jan, 1992. Gillispie, Mark; Shepard, Paul. "Suburban police hoping to nip gangs in the bud." The Plain Dealer 17 Jan 1992. Horswell, Cindy. "Gangs get a dressing down." Houston Chronicle 28 March 1992:1A+ Marrison, Benjamin. "Mayor seeks `New Cleveland`." The Plain Dealer 1 Feb., 1992. Neff, Jon. "On-line Guide to Gang Signs and Graffiti" Highway 51 1995 Internet Phoenix Police Department -- G.R.E.A.T. Phoenix Police Department Home Page 1994 Internet. Welson, Roger. "Off the wall" Natural History May 1993 f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Gender Roles in Education.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The issue of gender inequality is one which has been publicly reverberating through society for decades. The problem of inequality in employment being one of the most pressing issues today. In order to examine this situation one must try to get to the root of the problem and must understand the sociological factors that cause women to have a much more difficult time getting the same benefits, wages, and job opportunities as their male counterparts. The society in which we live has been shaped historically by males. The policy-makers have consistently been male and therefore it is not surprising that our society reflects those biases which exist as a result of this male-domination. It is important to examine all facets of this problem, but in order to fully tackle the issue one must recognize that this inequality in the workforce is rooted in what shapes future employees and employers-- education. This paper will examine the inequalities in policy, actual teaching situations, admission to post-secondary institutions, hiring, and job benefits and wages. It will also tackle what is being done to solve this problem and what can be done to remedy the situation. The late 1960s brought on the first real indication that feminist groups were concerned with the education system in North America. The focus of these feminist groups captured the attention of teachers, parents, and students. At first the evidence for inequality in schooling was based on no more than specific case studies and anecdotal references to support their claims but as more people began to show concern for the situation, more conclusive research was done to show that the claims of inequality were in fact valid and definitely indicated a problem with the way that schools were educating the future adults of society. One of the problems which became apparent was the fact that the policy-makers set a curriculum which, as shown specifically through textbooks, was sexist and for the most part still is. Textbooks are one of the most important tools used in educating students whether they are elementary school storybooks or university medical textbooks. It is therefore no surprise that these books are some of the most crucial information sources that a student has throughout their schooling. Many studies have been done examining the contents of these books to reveal the amount of sexism displayed in these educational tools. The results clearly show that gender inequality definitely runs rampant in textbooks some of the sexism subtle and some overt. To begin with, it is apparent that historical texts show a distorted view of women by portraying them unfairly and inaccurately and neglecting to mention important female figures, instead opting to describe their sometimes less influential male counterparts. Elementary and secondary school textbooks are also guilty of gender bias. In elementary and secondary school textbooks, sexism takes many forms. Boys predominate in stories for children; they outnumber girls 5 to 2. When girls are present in texts, they are almost always younger than the boys they are interacting with, which thus makes them foils for the boys' greater experience and knowledge-- a situation commonly referred to as the 'ninny sister syndrome.' Girls are shown to be far more passive than are boys and to engage in fewer activities. In fact, sometimes grown women are portrayed who rely on small boys (often their young sons) to help them out of difficulty. (Fishel and Pottker 1977. p. 8) Surprisingly it is not only these hidden forms of sexism that appear in textbooks. One study found sixty-five stories that openly belittled girls (two were found that belittled boys). Another study pointed out an instance where Mark, of the Harper & Row 'Mark and Janet' series, states: 'Just look at her. She is just like a girl. She gives up.' Male characters said, in another story, 'We much prefer to work with men.' This type of material on the treatment of girls would seem to have little social or educational value, and its widespread use is difficult to understand. (ibid, p.8) In the long run, the ideas put in students heads through textbooks, perhaps through the lack of female role models, can affect the choices they make in the future with regards to employment. Actual teaching situations are also prone to sexism. For the most part teachers do not try to be sexist but, for sociological reasons, can not help it. For the sake of this paper, it will be assumed that these situations occur mostly in co-educational schools, but single sex schools are in no way immune to the same problems. A perfect example of society's male-dominance interfering in education unintentionally is when teachers assign projects to their students. The teachers may hand out lists of acceptable topics ranging, in a history class for example, from fashion to transportation. The teachers then give the students a choice as to which topic they would like to do the project on. The underlying problem with this is that girls tend to choose what could be considered more "feminine" topics while the boys will choose the more "masculine" ones. "Offered to the pupils as free choice, such selections are self-perpetuating, leading to the expected choices and amplifying any differences there may have been in attitudes." (Marland 1983, p. 152) The reason for this could be that society, through the media and other modes of communication, has pre-conceived notions as to what issues are "male", "female", or unisex. Another example of how females are prone to gender inequality in the classroom is during class discussion and also what the teacher decides to talk about in the class. Classroom behaviour is a major focal point for those who identify examples of inequality. There are many differences in the way that females and males present themselves at school. It is apparent that in classroom situations males talk more, interrupt more, they define the topic, and women tend to support them. It is generally believed in our society that this is the proper way to act in classroom situations, that males have it "right" and females don't, they are just "pushovers" and don't have enough confidence. This, however is a big assumption to make. Some research has been done in this field that could, however, begin to refute this stereotype. It is frequently assumed that males use language which is forceful confident and masterful (all values which are regarded as positive). Females on the other hand, it is assumed, use language that is more hesitant, qualified, and tentative. One can look at the example of the use of tag questions, which are statements with questions tagged onto the end such as "I'm going to the store, all right?" It is obvious that if the above assumptions about the use of language were true, this hesitant, asking for approval type of question would be more frequently used by women. ". . . studies were carried out to determine whether women used more tag questions than men. It was found that they did not. Betty Lou Dubois and Isabel Crouch (1975) found that men used more tag questions than women." (ibid p. 100) The end of high school brings about more obstacles for women on the way to achieving equality in the workplace. One of the most important steps in achieving a high paying, high status job is post-secondary education. It is apparent that even today women are being encouraged to follow certain educational paths. This is shown very simply by the fact that even here at Queen's University, men vastly outnumber women as both students and faculty members in such programs as Applied Science, while women greatly outnumber men in the programs of nursing and concurrent education. Women have historically been encouraged to enter into what could be considered "caring professions" such as nursing, teaching, and social work. This is shown very crudely in the book Careers for Women in Canada which was published in 1946 and written by a woman. The book devotes almost 200 pages to pursuing careers in such fields as catering, sewing, being a secretary, interior decorating, the arts, teaching, and nursing while it only allocates 30 pages to medicine, law, dentistry, engineering, optometry, and more combined. The following quote clearly illustrates the beliefs of the more liberal people of that time. "Some women have specialized in surgery. There can be no doubt but that a capable woman may operate very successfully on women and children, though it is doubtful whether a man would call in the services of a female surgeon except in an emergency. (Carriere 1946, p. 234) Although much has improved since the 1940s, the enrollment numbers in university programs clearly indicate that women still have a long way to go before gender is not an issue. After choosing a career path, women enter the workplace with a disadvantage. They have the same financial responsibilities as men with regards to supporting families and themselves and much of the time they have an even heavier burden because there are many women in today's society who are single mothers. Given that there is no question that the need for money is identical it can, therefore, be concluded that there is a major problem with the wage structure in today's jobs. The wage gap clearly shows that society as a whole puts more value on the work of males than on the same work done by females. The facts that have been displayed above showing that education is itself a sexist institution perhaps explain why there is this inequality once schooling is finished. The fact that textbooks show males as being more successful than females, that teachers set assignments which reinforce gender stereotypes and sex roles, the fact that "masculine" behaviour is reinforced while "feminine" behaviour is condemned, and the fact that women are encouraged to choose certain career paths all validate the claim that the gender inequality in employment situations can be directly related to the way that children are educated. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\GI Jane.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ GI JANE In today's society, with affirmative action full out in most industries and businesses, and the equal rights movement having made great progress; there is finally a snag in the nylons of woman activists. The question of whether women should have to serve in combat is upon us. And I am all to happy to give my whole hearted no. If you have kept up with the news in recent years, women have been fighting their way into the top military academies, the Citadel being the most recent case. These woman have claimed being just as tough as men, which is scientifically incorrect, but hey it's a defense. They have, through grueling court battles, made their way into the elite schools of our great military, where our best men have been serving us for generations. While claiming to be every bit as good as the men, they have for a most part failed once they got in. Ms. Faulkner won her legal battle to enter the Citadel, breaking a 152 year tradition of training men only. On August 14, 1995, during her first day of military training, she collapsed from heat exhaustion. Within days, she abruptly withdrew from the college, forced to admit that she could not withstand the rigors of "hell week." Ms. Faulkner, fighting back tears, explained that two and a half years of stress had "all crashed in" on her in the first days there. After not quite making the cut, and surviving the stress and trials of these places, they say that it is because the men were too hard on them. "Too hard" is not a valid sentence in the military, you are either tough enough or you fail. I am not a sexist, don't get me wrong. I know many woman who are my intellectual superiors whom I admire. I have even met a few that I probably would not want to mess with. What I am trying to show is that while in some cases they can function in combat; they are, for the most part, detrimental to military efficiency. Chairman of the Department of Military Science at the University of Michigan, who conducted a test of Army officer candidates, and found that: The top 20 percent of women at West Point achieved scores on the Army Physical Fitness Test equivalent to the bottom 20 percent of male cadets. Only seven percent of women can meet a score of 60 on the push-up test, while 78 percent of men exceed it. A 20- to 30-year-old woman has the same aerobic capacity as a 50-year- old man. Only one woman out of 100 could meet a physical standard achieved by 60 out of 100 men. Woman by nature are smaller and slower, and have 40% less upper body strength. Those statistics being fresh in your mind I would like to give a few examples of women in combat from a government report on woman in combat. The day before the Feb. 24, 1991, assault by U.S. ground forces in the Gulf War, CNN focused international attention on Army Maj. Marie Rossi because of her status as one of the first women helicopter pilots to fly in a combat zone. Just a few days after CNN televised the Rossi story she was dead, she flew the helicopter into a 375-foot microwave tower in Northern Saudi Arabia, killing herself and all her crew. Lt. Kara Hultgreen, 29, who was the first woman to fly an F-14 fighter and one of two women who qualified for navy carrier operations, crashed into the sea and was killed in October 1994 while attempting a daylight landing on the carrier USS Abraham Lincoln. Her navigator pilot ejected, he was fast enough, she wasn't. There is much justifiable concern about the high probability that all females captured by the enemy will be sexually violated and raped. Army Major Rhonda Cornum, captured when her helicopter was shot down over Iraq, initially told the press she was treated "exactly the same" as male prisoners during her brief captivity, only to recant a year later. Maj. Corium admitted that both she and the other captured U.S. woman prisoners were sexually violated by the Iraqis, a fact the Pentagon had also kept secret for a year. She told the commission that being raped by the enemy should be considered "an occupational hazard of going to war." Regardless of claims to the contrary, rape is "gender specific" and has never been an "occupational hazard" for combat pilots or any other men associated with combat duty until now. Women may have a spot in the military, but as we have seen combat is not the place for them to be. Works Cited Presidential Commission on the Assignment of Women in the Armed Forces, Report to the President, November 15, 1992, pp.24-27, 36-37. GI JANE In today's society, with affirmative action full out in most industries and businesses, and the equal rights movement having made great progress; there is finally a snag in the nylons of woman activists. The question of whether women should have to serve in combat is upon us. And I am all to happy to give my whole hearted no. If you have kept up with the news in recent years, women have been fighting their way into the top military academies, the Citadel being the most recent case. These woman have claimed being just as tough as men, which is scientifically incorrect, but hey it's a defense. They have, through grueling court battles, made their way into the elite schools of our great military, where our best men have been serving us for generations. While claiming to be every bit as good as the men, they have for a most part failed once they got in. Ms. Faulkner won her legal battle to enter the Citadel, breaking a 152 year tradition of training men only. On August 14, 1995, during her first day of military training, she collapsed from heat exhaustion. Within days, she abruptly withdrew from the college, forced to admit that she could not withstand the rigors of "hell week." Ms. Faulkner, fighting back tears, explained that two and a half years of stress had "all crashed in" on her in the first days there. After not quite making the cut, and surviving the stress and trials of these places, they say that it is because the men were too hard on them. "Too hard" is not a valid sentence in the military, you are either tough enough or you fail. I am not a sexist, don't get me wrong. I know many woman who are my intellectual superiors whom I admire. I have even met a few that I probably would not want to mess with. What I am trying to show is that while in some cases they can function in combat; they are, for the most part, detrimental to military efficiency. Chairman of the Department of Military Science at the University of Michigan, who conducted a test of Army officer candidates, and found that: The top 20 percent of women at West Point achieved scores on the Army Physical Fitness Test equivalent to the bottom 20 percent of male cadets. Only seven percent of women can meet a score of 60 on the push-up test, while 78 percent of men exceed it. A 20- to 30-year-old woman has the same aerobic capacity as a 50-year- old man. Only one woman out of 100 could meet a physical standard achieved by 60 out of 100 men. Woman by nature are smaller and slower, and have 40% less upper body strength. Those statistics being fresh in your mind I would like to give a few examples of women in combat from a government report on woman in combat. The day before the Feb. 24, 1991, assault by U.S. ground forces in the Gulf War, CNN focused international attention on Army Maj. Marie Rossi because of her status as one of the first women helicopter pilots to fly in a combat zone. Just a few days after CNN televised the Rossi story she was dead, she flew the helicopter into a 375-foot microwave tower in Northern Saudi Arabia, killing herself and all her crew. Lt. Kara Hultgreen, 29, who was the first woman to fly an F-14 fighter and one of two women who qualified for navy carrier operations, crashed into the sea and was killed in October 1994 while attempting a daylight landing on the carrier USS Abraham Lincoln. Her navigator pilot ejected, he was fast enough, she wasn't. There is much justifiable concern about the high probability that all females captured by the enemy will be sexually violated and raped. Army Major Rhonda Cornum, captured when her helicopter was shot down over Iraq, initially told the press she was treated "exactly the same" as male prisoners during her brief captivity, only to recant a year later. Maj. Corium admitted that both she and the other captured U.S. woman prisoners were sexually violated by the Iraqis, a fact the Pentagon had also kept secret for a year. She told the commission that being raped by the enemy should be considered "an occupational hazard of going to war." Regardless of claims to the contrary, rape is "gender specific" and has never been an "occupational hazard" for combat pilots or any other men associated with combat duty until now. Women may have a spot in the military, but as we have seen combat is not the place for them to be. Works Cited Presidential Commission on the Assignment of Women in the Armed Forces, Report to the President, November 15, 1992, pp.24-27, 36-37. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\I Too Am America.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ I, Too, Am America by kooshla America, the melting pot of the world, and yet its different races have so much trouble melding together. According to statistics, in all probability, I have a higher chance than any other race teenager of not graduating from high school. By stereotype, all I do is eat fried chicken, sell drugs, and play basketball. In society, I might work twice as hard as the next man and not get the promotion. I am a part of the percentage who chooses to defy the probability, break the stereotype, and change society. I, Too, Am America. Unfortunately, in my experience through junior and senior high, the common black attitude towards education has been one of neglect. Not caring about one "F," or the other, careening through high school with a gpa of 1.5. However, there are those who really care about their grades, earning the respect of their peers and friends. I strive to be in the latter group, so that I can better myself. For every black student who makes that extra effort, that better grade, there will be another person who becomes more enlightened to the facts and not the fiction of black life in America. In the act of improving my mind, I am not only helping myself but furthering the cause for complete equality throughout the nation. As part of America's black youth, I must grow up in a world of racism, no matter what supposed "huge steps" have been made. It is up to me not to use this as an excuse but as an obstacle to surmount. In my lifetime I will be faced with prejudice which may hinder my progress. This opposition must not be met with excuses for substandard work, or inadequate job qualification. It must be met with a serious work ethic, justly qualified applicants, and intelligence so not to be denied for any reason. Through this procedure black people will gain equality and vanquish the racist mentality. I will be one of those people to meet the adversary with full force of mind. I am a black teenager who plays soccer and tennis. Sometimes I am ridiculed for playing these sports by other blacks. I also face ridicule when I make good grades and care about my school work. There will be times when I will have to fight against my own race to get where I want to be in life. My high school career is one of those times. I am and will continue to be myself. I will not stray from my path. Without education and self- respect the black youth are being held down by themselves. I and others like me struggle for change, but it will take more than our struggle to change an entire nation. "I, Too, Am America?" I am part of the intelligent, strong generation that will one day run this country. I am part of the heartfelt, determined black youth which will one day end the racist mentality. I am true to my obligation by being myself, educating myself, and standing for what I believe in. "I, Too, Am America?" I and others like me are the heart, body, and soul of what America is, should be, and will be. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Incidents In the Life of A Slave Girl.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Incidents in the Life Of A Slave Girl Linda Brent CHAPTER I The conditions of this master-slave relationship are that the slave (Linda) is there to do work for her mistress, or master, which is now her sister's daughter. Linda is supposed to take care her new owner's five year old daughter, help plant things, take care of any animals and anything else she is told. As a slave, she should also do everything else she is told by her master. "After a brief period of suspense, the will of my mistress was read, and we learned that she had bequeathed me to her sister's daughter, a child of five years old." I think that before her former master died and she was sent to her master's sister's daughter, the conditions were different. Linda's master taught her how to read and spell, which was a privilege, because most slaves were not taught how to do this. "While I was with her, she taught me to read and spell; and for this privilege, which so rarely falls to the lot of a slave, I bless her memory." Chapter II The author's purpose for including this chapter is to show just how unfairly, and cruelly slaves (she) were treated. People saw the slaves as scapegoats and were blamed for everything. She gives many examples of situations in which someone (one of the masters or mistresses) wasn't happy with something and blamed it on the slave(s), forcing them to deal with the harsh consequences. An example is when the cook sends dinner out to Dr. Flint. Sometimes, when he does not like a dish, the cook gets whipped, other times he shoves all the food down the her throat until she chokes. I feel that this is very offensive treatment because that is not a justified reason to do something, as severe as choking someone. Even though she was one of his slaves, instead of doing that, he could have just told her, or even yelled, to cook something different-she would have gotten the point. I guess Dr. Flint, just like many other whites, felt he had to use violence to punish her (even though I totally, strongly, disagree with his decision, it was probably a "regular" thing to do during that time period. She being a slave, was probably used to it. Chapter V Linda shows her strong moral character in many ways. When she was a young girl, and pre-teen, she was offered many of the same things that the mistress's children were offered. Even though she thought this as only fair, she still offered her help to the members of the family in return for their kindness. Linda also knew that people were to be treated with respect. When Dr. Flint, repeatedly called her bitter names, and abused her, deep down she knew it wasn't right, and felt he was corrupting her and her pure mind, but chose not to say anything for fear of her serious consequences, even death. She just keeps going on with her life, helping him and his family, deep down inside knowing what he was doing was unjust and cruel. CHAPTER VIII I think that it was very ignorant of the slaveholders to tell their slaves vicious lies about the North. First of all, some of the slaves could read. Being able to read meant being informed (newspapers) of worldly news, such as what was occurring in the North. Did some of the slaveholders really think that their slaves would believe these stories? In Linda's case, a slaveholder once told her that one of her friends, also being a slave, was in horrendous shape, pleading to be returned to her master. Linda later found out this whole story was untrue, and that this former slave never wished to return to slavery. I'm sure that many slaveholders did this as a tactic to get slaves to think that they had it "good". The slaveholders probably thought that if they could make the North sound terrible, and impossible to survive in, their slaves wouldn't want to run away. Although this may have worked in some cases, I'm sure the slaves weren't that naive. CHAPTER XI After her son was born, Linda has mixed emotions of love and pain. In one sense she loves her son very much and wants his life to continue. She said that when she was sad or depressed, all she had to do was look at him, or watch him "slumber" and she would be happy. In the other sense, she felt like she was hurting her son and wished he had died in infancy. She felt this because he had been born a slave. Born subject to disrespect, cruelty, abuse, and everything else that came with being a slavery. She had once prayed that he would died, and then when he became sick, she prayed that he would become well again. Linda felt that death was better than slavery and didn't want her son to have to go through the horror that she went through. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Information On Black Libraries .TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ BASLER AFRIKA BIBLIOGRAPHIEN Namibia Resource Centre Southern Africa Library The Library The library's collection of books focuses primarily on southern Africa and publications originating from the region. Its holdings of publications printed in Namibia since the early 1950s are probably the most extensive outside Africa. The collection contains publications in European and African languages and emphasises the social sciences and humanities. The rare-book collection of early accounts of European explorations covers the whole of sub-Saharan Africa. Special attention is being given to material documenting the history of the Swiss in Africa. The collection of periodicals includes both colonial and current titles, some of which are not to be found in other institutions in Switzerland. Current periodicals from southern Africa include newspapers, community newsletters, business bulletins and scientific journals. The collection of bibliographies is intended to cover all major geographic regions and subject issues concerning sub-Saharan Africa. They enable us to maintain the original purpose of the institution, i.e. to provide bibliographical information to researchers and others interested in Africa. The Archives The archival collection consists of several sections. One section primarily holds personal papers of individuals from Namibia and Switzerland. Another section consists of press cuttings and grey literature (pamphlets, reports, posters, etc.) from southern Africa and includes material from various Anti-Apartheid movements. Printed material concerning "SWAPO of Namibia" is regarded as extensive. In addition, a small collection of historical photographs from Namibia is being kept. The map collection contains 800 maps on Namibia, at present on loan to the Institute of Geography of the University of Basel. Reference guides on all archival holdings are available to researchers. The Publications Our own publications form part of our effort to promote knowledge and encourage research on Africa. Since 1971 more than 70 titles have been published, some of which are now considered to be standard texts on their subject. The series published by the BAB are: "Communications from the Basel Africa Bibliography" "Beitraege zur Afrikakunde" "Geomethodica" Reference guides on the archival holdings of the BAB. Occasional publications include dissertations, reprints, and working papers. Bibliophiles will find out second-hand bookshop particularly attractive. It has become a meeting point of people interested in Africa and a window ot the street inviting passers-by to come in, browse through the shelves and have a chat. Basler Afrika Bibliographien The Basler Afrika Bibliographien (BAB) houses the only Namibia Resource Centre in Europe and the only Southern Africa Library in Switzerland. Established in 1971 by Carl Schlettwein as a private research institution, it forms today part of a foundation whose aim it is to encourage research on Africa in general and southern Africa in particular. Our institution collects a wide range of published and unpublished materials and publishes scholarly works on Africa. We maintain links with scholars and institutions in and outside Africa and regularly invite researchers for lectures. Opening Hours The premises of the Basler Afrika Bibliographien are open to the public: Tuesday - Friday: 14:00 - 18:00 By prior arrangement the premises can be visited at other times as well. All materials from the library and archives must be used on the premises. Books are not issued on loan. On request, the staff will photocopy material. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Interacial Relations Marriages.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Outline Thesis statement,: The United States has witnessed a considerable social and cultural desegregation of Black and Caucasian Americans. However, despite years of desegregation, racial and cultural differences still exist. I show these differences still exist in the institution of marriage. 1. Americans have been and are continually moving slowly away from segregation. A. Since the 1960's Blacks have been allowed to move into mainly Caucasian neighborhoods. B. Integration on campuses is now more apparent then ever before. 1. Students cat together. 2. Students study together, C. Black and Caucasian issues have converged. 11, notwithstanding these examples of desegregation, there are still signs, most clearly is apparent in the institution of marriage between Black and Caucasians. Ill. One of the major barrier.-, of interracial marriages lies in the family of the couples. A. Louis, a Caucasian women, and Chuck, a Black man, were married in 1960. 1 . They have no prejudice about each other. 2@ Both have mixed group of friends. 3, They had problems with family. a) Louis mother had asked her why she could not marry her own kind. b) This conflict finally caused the ties between mother and daughter to break. B. Mama, a Caucasian Jewish, married a Black. I . None of her family members attended her wedding except her mother. 2. Her father told her that he could not believe that she married a Black. Nevertheless, she survived her family disapproval. IV. An unlikely source of problems for interracial married couples comes from religion. A. The majority of interracial married couples involved in Christian churches before marriage discontinue church membership and attendance after marriage. B. Couples search for churches that are like home. C. They are met with resistance from religious people who have been reported to have said that if their children married a Black person, they would kill them. D. Every couple has their own crisis, but for some, the church officials who are against divorce will turn around and recommend a separation.... because the couple are a Black and a Caucasian. V. These churches need to face a growing phenomenon. 1. In the Old Testament, God strongly opposes intermarriage. a) Ezra and Nehemiah challenge the people to repent over intermarriage. They describe it as Israel's most sinful offense. 2. A closer look at the passage reveals something else. a) Opposition to intermarriage arises when people of God marry those who worship a God other then Yahweh- B. The church must repent not only from bad theology but also for failing to protest racist laws in the past. VI. The law is equally to blame for the segregation, by causing tensions. A. Edgar and Jean and had twice stopped by the police because they were walking hand in hand, but more so, because they were Black and Caucasian. B. Law that supports the "one drop" theory. vii. The problems of interracial married couples also extends to their children. A. The Bronzes had sent their daughter to a pajama party at a Black families place. When they picked their daughter up the host family was surprised to see that her father was Caucasian. B. Older children of interracial married parents also face problems. 1. They have to decided which parents' culture to adopt. 2. They have to decided if they are Black or Caucasian. With all these problems, what brings these Black and Caucasian people together? A. Opportunity that an educated partner provides. B. How the partner perceives the beauty of the other. C. The ability to communicate. D. The main reason, love. ix. It can be seen quite clearly that there are still attitudes that support segregation. A. It could possibly be true that the only way to make changes involving segregation, is through marriage. Interracial Relations: Marriages The United States has witnessed a considerable amount of social and cultural desegregation of Blacks and Caucasians. However, despite years of desegregation, social and cultural differences still exists. These differences still exist in the institution of marriage. Americans have been and are continually moving slowly away from segregation. In the past forty years a multitude of changes have transformed schools, jobs, voting booths, neighborhoods, hotels, restaurants and even the wedding altar, facilitating tolerance for racial diversity ( Norman 108 ). Since the 1960's, when housing discrimination was outlawed, many Blacks moved into mainly Caucasian neighborhoods. The steadily growing areas in the west and south-west are least segregated, because these areas never had the entrenched Black and Caucasian sections of town ( "Up For separatist' 30 ). Even more visible signs of desegregation can be seen in the areas of education. A study done by the University of Michigan shows that integration on campuses occur on a regular basis. The racial line are crossed routinely; about 50% of Blacks and 15% of Caucasians reportedly study together. Eating patterns also share the same similarities. At a social level there has been a steady convergence of opinion on a variety of racial issues. Since 1972, surveys have asked whether the respondent would favor a law making inter-racial marriages illegal. In 11980 the results showed that 3 0, I% of Caucasians and 18.3% of Blacks favor such a law. By 1994, the collected data showed 14.7% and 3.2% respectively. Similar trends have also been observed in busing and even integrated social clubs ( "Up For Separatist' 3 0 ). A simple analysis shows that on the surface desegregation is moving in the right direction. Notwithstanding these examples of desegregation, a deeper analysis shows that there are still signs of racial discriminations; most apparently seen in the institution of marriage between Blacks and Caucasians. The United States bureau of the Census reported that in 1987 over 827,000 interracial married couples existed in America, of which fewer than 200,000 of them were between Blacks and Caucasians ( Herring 29 ). These numbers ( census ) do not reflect the spread of desegregation very well. If there is such a large spread of desegregation between Blacks and Caucasians from the past to the present, then the numbers should reflect a much larger count of interracial marriages between these races. This however, is untrue; therefore there are less apparent barriers Black and Caucasian couples face. One of the major barriers that face these couples does not come from themselves but rather from family disapproval. Lois, a Caucasian women, and her husband Chuck Bronz, a Black man, were married in 1960. They have no prejudice about each other and they share the comfortable rhythm of any long married couple. They had no problems with friends because they had a good mix of them from different races; friends who looked at the person not the color. However, they had problems with other people, namely Lois's mother. Her mother had sat her down and asked her why she could not marry her own kind. Lois, of course, stood firm and married Chuck, which unfortunately resulted in the ties between her mother and herself breaking Kantrowitz 40 Rebun, a Black Jewish man, married Mama, a Caucasian Lutheran women. None of Mama's relatives attended the wedding, except for her mother. Mama's father was finious that he was expected to accept a Black, and a Jew, into the family ( Aunapu, Monroe, Sachs and Taylor 65 ). It is not the disfavor of strangers that hurts these couples the most, but rather the disfavor of family. Territa, a Black women, had broken up with Todd, her Caucasian husband, several times before getting married because of the initial reaction of Todd's family ( Randolph 154 ). These people nevertheless survived their family disapproval. Fred and Anita Prinzing, both Caucasians, know the troubles of interracial marriage. Both their son and daughter married Blacks. Fred and Anita responded that they thought that they were not prejudiced, and were proud of it; but when it came to their children, they could not explain their prejudice towards their children marrying Blacks. The best explanation they could give is that their prejudice is the left over residue of their parents ( Gilbereath 32 ). Another major barrier that Black and Caucasian couples encounter comes from an unlikely source, religion. In Earnest Porterfield's classic survey of interracial marriages, one fact stands out. The majority of couples actively involved in Christian churches before marriage, discontinue church membership and attendance after marriage. A growing number of couples in America are crossing racial and cultural lines to many. Every couple has their own crisis but, for some, church officials who are against divorce will turn around and recommend a separation simply because the couple are Black and Caucasian. In several books of the Old Testament, intermarriage is strongly opposed by God and his prophets. Ezra and Nehemiah, two of Israel's God-ordained leaders, challenged the people to repent over intermarriage and encouraged divorce en masse. They describe intermarriage with those who do not revere God as one of Israel's most offense crimes. A closer look at the Old Testament, however, reveals misinterpretation. Opposition to intermarriage arises when people of God many those who worship a God other than Yahweh. These couples are searching for churches that feel like home. If national trends are any indication, the American churches need to be prepared to face a growing phenomenon. Until that happens interracial married couples will meet with resistance from religious people who have been reported as saying that if their own children married Blacks, they would kill them ( Perkins 30 ). The church must repent not only for bad theology but also for failing to protest racist laws in the past ( Myra 18 ). The law is equally to blame for causing unnecessary tension. A study of thirty nine "fiddle class Black--Caucasian couples in New York found that most of these couples had experienced being pulled over by police who suspected either the Black women to be a prostitute or the Black man to be a rapist ( Perldns 30 ). Edger, a Caucasian Jewish man , and Jean, a Black Baptist women, on more than one occasion have been stopped and arrested by police because they were walking arm in arm ( Aunapu, Monroe, Sachs and Taylor 65 ). Races have mixed, Going back to the Colonial days. Over time, other races have blended with Caucasians without question. Black mixing, however, has been accountable for the "one drop" theory which has defined a way to permanently separate Blacks. The "one drop" theory was reinforced in the landmark Plessy vs. Ferguson Supreme Court ruling in 1986. The Plaintiff, Homer Plessy, argued that segregation was wrong and he should not be discriminated against because, after all, he was only one-eighth Black. The justices, however, ruled that he must ride in the "separate but equal" coaches reserved for "coloreds." Almost I 00 years later, in 1986, the Supreme Court, upheld a decision forcing a Louisiana woman who was only one-thirty second Black, to be legally declared as Black. ( Norinen 108 ). Troubles do not stop here for interracial married couples. The problems that are faced by interracial parents are mirrored in their children. On one occasion the Bronzes had sent their daughter, Shelly, who looks Black, to a pajama party. The Bronzes had never met the family, who are Black, that put up the pajama party and decided that one of them should go to say hello. So Chuck, Shelly's dad, knocked on the door and was met with disbelief The family was surprised that Shelly's father was a Black ( Kantrowitz 40 ). Older children of interracial marriage parents also face problems. They have to make a choice as to which parent's culture to adopt. Halle Beny stated that it is important that multicultural individuals make a choice about race early in the life because even if they identify themselves as interracial they will still be discriminated against as a person of color in this country ( Norman 108 ). Knowing all these barriers and problems, what brings Black and Caucasian people together? According to a study done by Matthijis K@jin, a factor that is consistently associated with intermarriage is social class or status. Black outmarriage becomes gradually more common when moving up the occupational scale and more common among higher educated Blacks. Among Caucasians the pattern is reversed. It is believed that Caucasians are more likely to many a Black spouse when it allows them to many a partner of high socioeconomic prestige ( 119 ). The appreciation of a partner's beauty and the common; the ability to communicate, and the main reason for marriage, love is what bring them together (Randolph 154 It can be seen conclusively, that parents, religion and the attitudes of people, in general, are the main causes to the friction in interracial relationships and marriages. It is difficult, if not impossible, to change the attitude of parents, the older generation, to influence the churches to accepting the patterns of new thought and identity. The older generation will not change because their ideas and thoughts have been ingrained in them. The current generation, who are also guilty of causing friction, and the next generation must be educated to understand and accept these patterns of new thought, interracial marriages. Until these. attitudes, that support segregation, are suppressed and eventually i ab] hat the only way to make changes involving segregation i 8 ). Children of interracial married couples learn tolerance within the family, which allows these children to ad their experiences to others, in one way or another. 7 Works Cited Aunapu, Greg., et al., eds. " Intermarried ... With Children." Time. Fall 1993: 64-68. Gilbereath, Edward. " How Our Children Surprise Us. " Christianity T d@a . 7 Mar. 1994: 32-34. Herring. Roger D. " Development Biracial Ethnic Identity: A Review Of The Increasing Dilemma. " Journal Of Muliticul tral C)unseline & Development, 23.1 (Jan. 1995): 29-39. Kalniijin, Matthijis. " Trends in Black/White Intermarriage. " Social Forces. Sep. 1993: 119-147. Kantro@tz, Barbara. "Colorblind Love." Newsweek. 7 Mar 1988: 40-42. Nfira, Harold. " Love In Black And White. " Christianitv Tod4y. 7 Mar. 1994: 18-20. Norman, Lynn. " Am I Black, White Or In Between. " Ebony. Aug. 1995: 108-110. Perkins, Mtaii. " Guess Who Is Confing To Church. " Christianity T d@a . 7 Mar. 1994: 30-32. Randolph, Laura B. " Black Women/White Man: What's Going On? " EboLny. Mar. 1989: 154-158. " Up for Separatism. " Economist. 21 Oct. 1995: 30. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Introduction to Human services.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Introduction to Human services Final examine #1 Jeffrey, "A Human Services Professional is someone who is a facilitator for someone who is not able or not yet able to deal with issues in a healthy way. I am taking classes so that I can learn how to best help empower people change their situation by believing in themselves. I believe that people have the answers within themselves, but may need help getting in touch with their spiritual or intuitive self. As human services providers, we hopefully strive to model healthy behavior, including the fact that we are human, need support from our peers, and can make mistakes." "When a client is ready, we educate them to give them an idea of what is destructive behavior, bring to their attention possible consequences of their actions, and suggest ideas or alternatives. Usually a client already knows all this, they just never knew a better way or thought their way of dealing with life was normal. I work on accepting each person where they are in their life, which takes strength. I may be saying in my mind, 'Can't you see your way out of the prison you're in?', but then I remember that I used to be in the same place, and it took years to find my way out. I still struggle with my addiction, and it still affects me, just not so profoundly." "What I would like to do is work with teenagers. As a teenager, I was befriended by a Young Life leader. He was a man in his 40's and didn't want anything from me but to be my friend. When I drank beer at lunch, he didn't tell me to not drink. I don't remember his words so much as the feeling I got when we were together. He was like a father/friend to me. He seemed to care about me unconditionally. He looked at me like a real human person, which made me uncomfortable, which now looking back, was probably because I wasn't used to that. My own father lived in the same house with me, but he was not emotionally available to me. My own father seemed to think that all women are good for is sex and housekeeping. That scares me when I think of that now. My first husband thought of me only as good for sex, baby making, and housekeeping. I am grateful that I have wised up since then. My passion is to work in the alternative schools as a tutor or mentor, to help give kids some kind of an idea what life can be about. I may not see results right away, but I do believe that 'being there' for kids is an investment. They may not realize until years later as I did, that someone had a positive affect on their lives." 2 One of my coworkers from Vietnam told me that in her country, the prisoners work for their food. I thought to myself, as I am sure many people have before, that we should try that here in this country. I do not think that sitting in prison really helps anybody. I have heard that there are work camps where the inmates learn a skill or trade so that when the inmates are released into society, they at least have marketable job skills working in their favor. I think community service should be required as an alternative to jail or prison in some cases. Picking up garbage may seem demeaning, but I know of a city employee who makes a good salary picking up garbage around my neighborhood. Maybe if the people who threw the garbage on the ground had to pick it up, they would care. Taking classes, GED or college, is popular in prison also. I have a friend who learned computer skills in prison and is now working toward a degree in computer engineering. He is grateful he had the opportunity to take college classes in prison, otherwise he may have never found out how much he enjoys programming computers. It seems to help his self esteem, because he seems gifted in this area and people often ask for his help and advice concerning computers. I suppose that providing housing for convicted criminals would not cost more than incarceration. It does not seem that imprisonment is much of a deterrent to crime. A Settlement House may seem idealistic, but is more feasible than some may think. Sex offenders are often released into the community. A new program has been implemented in which parole officers and police officers regularly visit released offenders. A step in the right direction was made when our community invited a psychologist from a sex offender treatment facility to educate us about this population, rather than ignoring the problem and hoping it will go away. The psychologist told us that serious offenders are psychopathic; they do not know and do not care what is right and wrong, nor do they care who they hurt. They have no feelings or emotions. Even so, I do not think that terrorizing or intimidating released sex offenders, as I have heard of in some cities, helps anybody. I think many criminals would be better off with the awareness and support of the community. It is often difficult for former prison inmates to find shelter, and a transitional community setting may help resolve many problems. I have wondered if support from the community would help some offenders. Sometimes people fall into addictions because of something missing in his or her life. If we combine resources of therapy, job training, supervision, and community involvement, maybe we would see some positive changes. It certainly wouldn't hurt to be more open minded. 3 Children in grade school used to say I was weird. I eventually realized that my way of thinking is different from that of many people. In high school I would verbally express my thoughts and people would say to me with amazement, "I have never met a person like you." I guess some of my ideas and thoughts were quite creative and abstract. I like to think of myself as eccentric. Now that I am older, I tell myself that only narrow minded people would think I am strange. I used to feel like I was born in the wrong century or wrong country. A positive aspect is that my way of thinking allows me to be sensitive and open minded. I know how it feels to feel out of place. Not just in a group of people, but in this dimension we call "life on planet Earth". I have become proud of my nonconformity. My way thinking is, "Why be normal?" What I have learned is to get in touch with my spiritual self. I can feel a connection with people on this level. Sometimes I feel threatened or uncomfortable with people because of the vibrations I feel from them. I think about how this will affect my career. Will I be afraid of someone for no tangible reason? Will I favor some people because of how I respond to them emotionally? Being different sometimes makes people stronger. Sometimes it makes people suicidal. I have been to both places. I feel that because of situations I have been faced with, I can relate to people with a variety of challenges and help emotionally support them through tough times. Personally, I feel that I have survived by the grace of God. Some people think it is impossible to be saved by God, but they also told me they don't believe in God. This is interesting to me because I never believed in God until I received therapy for an addiction I am recovering from. It makes me wonder if God only blesses people who are begging for healing, as I was. I guess I was ready to accept a power greater than myself. As a human service provider, I hope that I can help people in some way, otherwise it is not worth it. I would like to think I haven't gone through all this stuff for nothing. 4 When I learned about Maslow's theory in my psychology class, it made sense to me because I have experienced self-actualization in my life. I experience more of what I call spiritual awareness every day. I believe that when a person feels he or she is in a safe environment, he can spend more time on personal growth and awareness instead of wasting energy defending himself. Accepting people as a philosophy, I make a conscienscious decision every time I communicate with people to be aware that what I see as a destructive behavior is most likely a mode of survival for them. Being addicted to something is a desperate hunger for wholeness. I think the process of life is so painful for some people, they opt for suicide. Death is seen as instant spiritual freedom and an end to human suffering. Emotional growth can be painful and can take a lot of strength. We gain strength from our experiences which makes us stronger for more growth. It is all a process. Sometimes the challenges are so overwhelming, we need the support and strength of someone who has experienced difficulties and believes there will be a light at the end of the tunnel. Learning about Erickson's theories helps me understand how people may pass through stages in life. I do think that many needs not met in childhood can be met later in life. I know someone who said he didn't need anybody and he was better on his own, but as I got to know him better, he told me that he gets lonely and is afraid of getting hurt. As a young child, he was sent to live with his grandmother because his stepfather was abusive. He felt guilty that he could not be there to protect his mother. Because of these experiences, he is very protective of his children and is very close to his mother. To protect himself from pain, he refused to become emotionally attached to someone unless he knew her well enough to know she would not abandon him. In my opinion, it would be therapeutic for him to be in a long-term relationship. 6 It's the 90's. Diversification is expected. Networking is important. When I worked in the Community College Wellness Center, I would visit some of the local agencies offering services. I would rather refer someone to an agency if I knew of its integrity. Not only is my credibility on the line, but I am not doing a client a favor by giving him or her a referral which may lead to disappointment. In the 90's, there are more trained mental health professionals than ever before in the history of civilization. Therefore, we are each allowed to develop a specific skill rather than knowing a little of each area of need. From what I have read about history, people were first concerned about basic survival. Hopefully, by helping people meet basic needs, we can go beyond mere survival. It seems that people are seeking more meaning in their lives. I have read that a goal for a woman up to the 1960's, was to find a husband who would be a good provider and not abusive, but now women (and men) want intellectual stimulation, someone they can have an intelligent conversation with. Marriage and family counselors are more acceptable now than when I was growing up. It used to be that people would be ashamed to admit they were even thinking about counseling, where now I here people almost bragging about it - learning to communicate with your family, if you did not grow up freely expressing your thoughts, feels wonderful. I plan to learn more about my field before I call myself a specialist. Being able to work with teenagers will probably require me to be a specialist in several fields, including juvenile, domestic violence and chemical dependency. My goal is to receive a well rounded education. From the creativity and insight of teenagers to the wisdom and insight of senior citizens, my horizons are broadened when I converse with people from different backgrounds. Whether we are advocates, educators, or directors, we are each trained to use our individual talents to create a functional system of human service workers. 7 Get a job! Permanent birth control now mandated for every woman on the dole! I admit, sometimes these thoughts cross my mind. But I am also one of these women. What began as my American Dream ended as quickly as it began. My husband was in the Navy. I thought I would live a life of adventure, see new places, meet new people. What really happened is that I ended up on an isolated military base, with a man who didn't really care about me or his child. Being that I have felt the need for independence from a man, I do not think there are any simple solutions such as 'stay married', or 'get a job'. In my opinion it is unfair to ask a mother of a baby to go to work and put her baby in a daycare. I think children should be four or five years of age before put in daycare. Many populations are in need of assistance. Sometimes I envy the women who live in ( ). They drive Mazda Minivans, take up hobbies, and don't need to work. Sometimes I wonder how many are unhappily trapped in that life. They know they could be one day away from losing their children, their home, everything. When I think of drastic welfare reform, what scares me is the control someone can have over you when he knows that without him, you have nothing. I consider myself a capitalist, but I can't but help think about CEOs who make salaries in the millions. And about disabled people who live on a few hundred a month. I think opportunities for education should be funded. Without education, many people have no marketable skills to earn an adequate living. 10 It's not just a job, it's an adventure! In a job you'll get burned out. If you find a career you love, you will use a lot of energy, but the rewards will keep you motivated. At the public library, there are many books to give you ideas and help you decide on a career. I found a group of books in the Community College Library issued by the US Department of Labor in which the author suggests listing a few things you would be interested in doing as a career. I also found a set of four books called Encyclopedia of Careers and Vocational Guidance. Then decide which ideas would be a practical for you to earn a living. If you have a gift or ability, it feels good to use it to help people. Volunteering is a good way to find out where your talents lie. I have been fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to be employed as a work-study student by several departments on my college campus. I found out by on the job experience what I love to do. Is it possible to go to school or receive on the job training? Sometimes where there is a will, there is a way. I know some people who manage apartments, therefore do not need to pay rent for a place to live. They receive financial aid and food stamps while they are in school. What some people do is find out which professions are in demand, or will be in the future. These trends can be found in publications such as government statistical manuals. If there is something you think you would like to explore, maybe you could talk to people who are willing to take the time to explain how they carry out their responsibilities for their work. Bring a list of questions so the person you are interviewing has an idea of what specific aspects of their career you are curious about. People who are happy with their careers are usually quite willing to talk about themselves in this way. I know someone who owns his own business. He began as a backyard mechanic and now ten years later runs a very successful auto repair shop. For him it means long hours, but he is very proud of his accomplishments. He says there is nothing like being your own boss. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Marriage The Perfect Ending to Pride and Prejudice.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Marriage: The Perfect Ending to Pride and Prejudice American and British Literature January 27, 1995 An individual often finds himself in a conflict with the rules of society. Occasionally, rebelling is the path to happiness. However, usually, the real path to happiness is through compromise. This is the case in the early nineteenth century England setting of Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen. In the novel, Miss Elizabeth Bennet is a lively, independent woman, whose family's financial situation and whose strong mindedness suggest that she may never marry. Mr. Darcy, is a rigid and proper man, who falls in love with Elizabeth, despite their differences. By the end of the novel, Elizabeth and Darcy learn to compromise, and, in doing so, become truly happy. In marrying, they not only fulfill themselves as individual, but also affirm the principle values of society. As in many of her novels, this marriage at the end of the novel shows us Jane Austen's ideal view of marriage as a social institution. The novel Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen gives us the reader a very good idea of how she views marriage, as well as society. The theme of marriage is set in the very opening sentence of Pride and Prejudice; "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife" (Austen, 1) As Norman Sherry points out, this is Austen's way of implying that 'a single man in possession of a good fortune' is automatically destined to be the object of desire for all unmarried women. The statement opens the subject of the romantic novel; courtship and marriage. The sentence also introduces the issue of what the reasons for marrying are. She implies here that many young women marry for money. The question the reader must ask himself is, does Jane Austen think this is moral? Sherry shows us that Austen was not particularly romantic. She reveals these sentiments through Charlotte remarks concerning her marriage to Mr. Collins. "I am not romantic you know. I never was. I ask only a comfortable home; and considering Mr. Collin's character, connections, and situation in life, I am convinced that my chance of happiness is as fair, as most people can boast on entering the marriage state." (Austen, 95) Elizabeth, as Sherry points out, is not particularly romantic either, however unlike Charlotte, Elizabeth has a certain picture of an ideal marriage in her mind, and therefore would never marry for reasons other than love. We assume that since Elizabeth is the main character, this is how Jane Austen sees marriage. Since Elizabeth would not marry without love, we can also assume that Jane Austen sees what Charlotte does as immoral. Elizabeth also feels that marriages formed by passion alone are just as bad as marriages formed without love. Elizabeth reflects on her sister Lydia's marriage; "But how little permanent happiness could belong to a couple who were only brought together because their passions were stronger then their virtue, she could easily conjecture" (Austen, 232) We again see reasons besides love as the reason for marriage. Jane Austen is not very optimistic about marriage, in fact there are almost no happy marriages in the novel at all. Mr. Bennet and Mrs. Bennet, Lydia and Wickham, and Charlotte and Mr. Collins are examples of the ill-matched and unsuccessful marriages in Pride and Prejudice. The characters in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice are not all miserable by the end of the novel. Happy marriages in Austen's novels do occur. Sherry illustrates this point. The right people eventually come together, for example, Elizabeth and Darcy, the hero and heroine. The development of the relationship between Elizabeth and Darcy is the most important proof of the whole overall theme of compromise. This relationship took work, it did not just occur. Elizabeth has to learn to control her prejudices. She forms her opinions very quickly and does not change them easily. Darcy has to learn to evaluate people on characteristics other than social rank. He is too proud of himself, as well as his high social class, and it affects his ability to relate to other people. Both Elizabeth and Darcy have to change a little and come to understand each other before they can be together. In the novel, the theme of pride and prejudice is first introduced in chapter three at the dance. Darcy, acting on his own pride, insults Elizabeth. He claims that she is not handsome enough to tempt him. Elizabeth, overhearing his insult, considers his remark as a direct stab at her own pride. This succeeds in invoking a prejudice in her, against him that remains for the greater part of the novel. She feels that he is far too arrogant and proud. When Charlotte points out to Elizabeth that Darcy has a right to be proud Elizabeth replies; "That is very true, and I could easily forgive his pride if he had not mortified mine". (Austen 13) The entire novel consists of the forming of pride and prejudice. The climax of pride and prejudice, as Sherry sees it, is the first marriage proposal. It is the height of pride on Darcy's part, and the height of prejudice on Elizabeth's part. The rest of the novel is a sort of anti-climax, in which they begin to compromise and learn how to relate to one another. The theme of pride is built up in many different ways. One method Austen uses to emphasize Darcy's extreme pride is by surrounding him with characters with similar faults, although, their pride is much more severe and much more insulting. The character in the story who represents an extension of Darcy's pride is his aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh. s hen Lady de Bourgh meets someone she sees only their rank and class in society. She does not appreciate anyone for any other aspect of themselves. Sherry proves this by pointing out the fact that she believes Darcy and her daughter should be married. She bases her thoughts on their compatibility in ranks, neglecting the concept of love. "My daughter and my nephew are formed for each other. They are descended on the maternal side, from the same noble line; and on the father's, from respectable, honourable, and ancient, though untitled families. Their fortune on both sides is splendid. They are destined for each other by the voice of every member of their respective houses...." (Austen, 266) Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley, also represent the pride which Darcy possesses. The fact that they feel entitled to think of themselves well and other badly is proof of this, as Marilyn Butler points out. Examples of their snobbishness is the condescension they show towards Elizabeth when she tells of her walk to Netherfield. "That she should have walked three miles so early in the day, in such dirty weather, and by herself was almost incredulous to Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley; and Elizabeth was convinced they held her in contempt for it." (Austen, 24) Unlike the others, however, Darcy's pride is humbled. Elizabeth manages this hefty task by rejecting his marriage proposal. We see the development of the theme of prejudice, right from the beginning of the novel, when we have the pleasure of meeting Miss Elizabeth. "Elizabeth's corresponding sin is much more subtle and her enlightenment takes up the space of the whole book".(Butler, 206) As Butler shows, the readers usually see the love between Elizabeth and Darcy as a love between two opposites, because of the differences in attitudes and of course in rank in society. However there are in actuality characteristics, although mainly faults, in which there is a striking similarity between the two characters. This is Austen's way of emphasizing to the reader Elizabeth's fault of extreme prejudice. Whenever Elizabeth complains of Darcy's faults, she also touches upon one of her own. For example, Darcy's disapproval of Wickham is very similar to Elizabeth's disapproval of Darcy. Elizabeth is quick to see the faults of others, however she is reluctant to see her own faults. Her first clue that she has allowed her prejudices to stand in the way of judgement is that she was wrong about Mr. Wickham, which consequently makes her wrong about Mr. Darcy. Elizabeth knows that she must learn to be less prejudiced. By getting together, they benefit each other. Elizabeth makes Darcy realize his faults and vice-versa. Other ways of looking at the novel come to the same basic conclusion of compromise. " Pride and Prejudice uses the familiar anti-thesis between art and nature as the ground of the book's action. Elizabeth is portrayed on the side of nature, feeling, impulse, originality, spontaneity....it wasn't possible for Jane Austen to deprecate art all together.. the movement of the book is compromise, as Elizabeth learns to take class into account, Darcy comes to share Elizabeth's genius for treating all people with respect for their natural dignities"(Klinger, Jane Austen and the war of ideas, 199) The difference between Pride and Prejudice and other eighteenth century novels, is that the heroines differ. "Instead of the innocent, impulsive fallible girl, the heroine of Pride and Prejudice dislikes, teases, and ends in part by debunking the hero... Where other heroines were sycophants of social and masculine prerogative, Elizabeth Bennet is fearless and independent." (Butler, 199) The difference in the novel, is in Austen's approach to Elizabeth. By making her as independent, and lively as she does, perhaps she is trying to show society that this is acceptable. If society would learn to compromise and lose a bit of it's rigidness, as Darcy did, then people would be able to fully appreciate characters like Elizabeth Bennet. Marriage is the only logical conclusion to this novel. Had the novel ended any other way, it would have had no point. As said before, the movement of the novel is towards compromise. Through marriage, Elizabeth and Darcy are making the ultimate compromise. They are both changing a little about themselves, so that their marriage can be successful. Had the novel ended without marriage, then the realizations on both Elizabeth, and Darcy's behalf would have been for nothing. Also, through the novel we see that Jane Austen is using marriage as a way of representing society. An ideal marriage is representative of an ideal society. If people used the same methods as a couple would use to obtain an ideal marriage, then perhaps we would be able to obtain an ideal society. By researching Jane Austen we know that most of the heros and heroines end up at the end of the story in an ideal marriage; "to do all her heroines justice, we must conclude that they all marry for love, and not for other considerations. As to the social and monetary aspects of their marriages, Jane Austen makes them 'all right'." (Sherry, 92) By having Darcy and Elizabeth end the novel engaged in an ideal marriage is a significant detail. Jane Austen, in doing this is suggesting that society would be better if it followed Elizabeth and Darcy's example. By controlling pride and prejudice, and by learning that compromise is sometimes the best way to happiness, society can hope to improve itself. Marriage in the end, is the perfect ending, since it is both an affirmation of the values of society as well as a personal fulfillment, which it is for both Elizabeth and Darcy since they improve themselves by being together. WORKS CITED 1. Austen, Jane. "Pride and Prejudice. New York. Bantam Books, 1813,1981. 2. Butler, Marilyn. Jane Austen and the War of Ideas. Oxford. Claredon Press, 1975 3. Sherry, Norman. Jane Austen. London. Montegue House, 1966 f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Martin Luther King Civil Rights Patriot.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Nearly three centuries ago, African slaves were brought to the New World and put into slavery. They were treated more cruelly in the United States than in any other country that had ever practiced slavery, and ever since its prohibition, African-Americans have fought oppression. Martin Luther King Jr., would aid immensely in this fight. He was born in Atlanta Georgia in 1929. His father, Martin Luther King Sr. Was a Baptist minister and also preached for civil rights. By the time he was 17 he had decided to follow his fathers footsteps, so he himself was ordained as a minister. After his graduation from the Crozer Theological Seminary, when he began postgraduate work at Boston University, he studied the works of Indian nationalist Mohandas Gandhi, from whom he derived his own philosophy of nonviolent protest. He moved to Alabama to become pastor for a Baptist church. Just after he received his Ph.D. in 1955, King was asked to lead a bus boycott in Montgomery. It had been formed after Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give her seat to a white passenger. Throughout the 381 days which the boycott lasted, he was arrested and jailed, repeatedly threatened, and his home was bombed. The boycott ended later that year when the Supreme Court outlawed segregation in public transportation. This was his first victory and alone made Dr. King a highly respected leader. When he went to India in 1959, he studied Gandhi's principle of "Satyagraha" or nonviolent persuasion, which he planned to use for his social protests. In the following year he decided to move back to Atlanta to become copastor with his father. In 1963 he was back in Birmingham, Alabama, where he led a massive civil rights campaign, organizing drives for black voter registration, desegregation, and better education throughout the South. During that time he led the unforgettable March on Washington where he delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech to millions of viewers across the nation. The next year he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. He went on to launching his first major northern campaign in Chicago. Black Baptists were there opposing him, and a mob of club carrying Ku Klux Klan members and Neo-Nazis met his marchers. With all that he had said and done, on April 3, 1983 he said "I have been to the mountain top and seen the promise land." This was the day prior to his demise. Sadly, the following day he was shot to death in Memphis Tennessee. Nearly 500,000 of his loyal admirers attended his funeral. It was the end of his civil rights crusade. "A man who won't die for something is not fit to live" he had once said. That day he died for civil rights, he died for his dream. Prejudices have always and will always exist among people. The prejudices this nation faces now, and has faced for years is racial oppression and segregation. Martin Luther King had a dream. He didn't want people to be "judged by the color of their skin, but the content of their character." He was determined that the dream would become a reality, and in most ways it did. The rights of the people are now equal. Any person, regardless of his race can do anything. No longer is the African-American community limited in their rights or segregated from society. We have all grown closer to racial unity. Despite all of this, racism remains in the minds of people, and hate crimes as well as white supremacist organizations still exist. If racism itself is ever eliminated, it will only fade away with time, being replaced by another prejudice belittling a part of society. Prejudices have proven to be inevitable in human society and will continue until the end of time. Martin Luther King Jr. played a major part in today's problem, and will have an impact on what is to come. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Martin Luther King Jr .TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Martin Luther The reformation began within the Catholic Church . On Oct. 31, 1517 , Martin Luther a professor and a monk of theology, posted his 95 Theses on the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany . This theses were series that attacked the sale of indulgences . Luther criticized what he considered other abuses in the church . Luther taught that God justifies human beings . What Luther meant was that God makes them righteous through His kindness to the people . In Jan. 1521, Pope leo X excommunicated Luther and declared him a heretic . Emperor Charles V and the members of the imperial diet ordered Luther to appear before the diet in the Worms, Germany .In May 1521 , the emperor signed the Edict of the Worms , a document which declared Luther to be an outlaw whom anyone could kill without protest . Frederick the Wise protected Luther. Luther continued to the Protestant movement until his death in 1546. Reformation Reformation was a religious movement of the 1500's that led to Protestantism . This movement had an impact on social, political, and economic life . Before the reformation , Europe had been held together by the universalism of the Catholic Church and the claim of the Holy Roman emperor . After the reformation Europe had several large Prostant churches and smaller Protestant religious groups . From the result of the Reformation ,Europe was divided btwn the Catholic counties of the south and the Protestant countries of the north. This diversity of religious life created a mood of religious toleration and the respect for the importance of individual conscience . The Reformation also stimulated many reforms within the Catholic Church . Martin Luther believed that he can change something that he believed in . Martin protested some of the practices in the Catholic church . He stood up for what he wanted to change . He had enough guts to stand and protest what was wrong . People around the world protest for what they believe in and stand up for their rights . Our past history influence us everyday . We go through the same things they went through . f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\MARTIN LUTHER KING.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ "Martin Luther King, Jr." The reason we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. day is because Martin Luther King Jr., a Clergy and Civil Rights Activist, made it clear to all Americans that all men are equal, white or black. Rosa Parks was on a bus one day when a white man asked her to move and give him her seat. She was arrested after she constantly refused to let the man have the seat. This formed the beginning of a boycott. Martin Luther King Jr. was chosen to lead the bus boycott. The boycott was held because black people were forced to sit in the back of the bus. He told all the black people not to ride the bus. Martin Luther King Jr. was sent to jail for this 381-day boycott. His house was bombed, and he was constantly threatened by death. Then, he made his famous "I have a dream" speech, which motivated thousands of people around the United States. Martin Luther King was assasinated in 1968. Martin Luther King Jr. is not only remembered for his acts, but also because he fought back non-violently, and also stopped many black riots. For all of this, we remember him on Martin Luther King Jr.'s Day. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Mary Astell extreme solutions.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Discussion Question: Why did Mary Astell suggest such extreme solutions as a learning environment for woman, and is it necessary? In Mary Astell's From A Serious Proposal to the Ladies is a plea for intellectual equality among the sexes. The author was tired of the oppressive nature of man, which kept her and her sisters from developing their minds. She felt that females back then should have the same rights as women have achieved through the Civil Rights Movement today. Her answer to this was "A Religious Retirement." It is Mary Astell's ideal place to end her intellectual suffering and open new doors for the female mind. I feel that Mary went a little to far with this idea. She wanted to segregate males and females, live in a convent, and find alternates to marriage for women, which, I guess, would be the same as living in a convent. Mary was a feminist which I feel lead her to be so aggressive in this proposal, but I can understand why she is mad. I would feel the same way if I was not aloud to attend Florida State because of some ridiculous stereotype, for example, due to the fact I am a male. I guess I would also want a separate place to learn if society shunned me for who I am and what I wanted to do with my mind, but I would not exclude people to the same degree that Mary wanted to. So these places that Mary Astell wanted to create do have some merit to them. For without them, women of that time, unless rich, would not have been able to be educated. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Masculine Perception of Females Research Paper.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Research Paper My research paper is going to consist of both a research paper and a album containing pictures that was collected. My research paper is going to provide information on what two guys imagine and think about when they think of women. These two guys are Mike, my friend and Timmy, my cousin. These guys are basically the guinea pigs in my experiment and their findings will be collected in the album. The other half of the research project is the paper that will not only explain the project but give information on the pressure that has been put on so many women to look like perfect and in many ways models. With the experiment, I handed both Mike and Timmy four magazines: two Mademoiselles and two Allures. I then asked them to go through them and rip out the pictures that they would want "their women" to look like. The collection of their ideal women is in the first half of the album. Notice that the pictures are mostly of models that are half dressed, thin and in provactedly positioned posies. The makeup on these women are all perfect and their hair is obviously not out of place. The selection of pictures not surprisingly were of women who not only were half dressed but also in their undergarments. The second half of the experiment was basically done in the same way; but this time I asked for them to tear out pictures that they would want their wives to look like. With four different magazines they tore out pictures Quach pg.2 of more conservetly dressed women. Their selection still consisted of beautiful women, only this time they were wearing clothes that the average person would be able to wear on the streets and not be called a dirty name. The women were still beautifully made up the a hair and makeup but this time it wasn't so dramatic; their poises were also "innocent"; I'm not surprised. But what did surprise me though was that their style in pajamas totally changed. In the first part of the experiment the two guys picked out the pictures of the women wearing what I would consider "tacky" nightgowns, but for their wives they picked out the pictures where "softer" and a lot less "showy" I guess at that point they did take into consideration that comfort is more important then what it looks like. These two guys, the guinea pigs, is a very small of a large majority of men with these expectations. From the information that I gathered from the guys, Mike and Timmy, the expectations that they have for women is "to always look their best, and to do whatever that is possible to make them (men) happy."(I personally think that they are still living in their dream world.) Men, for some unknown reason, feel and want "their women" to always look perfect. They show their desire for these perfect creatures but also in real everyday life. For example in the movie "Pretty Women" Julia Roberts portrayed a prostitute who was dressed up transformed into the "perfect women" by Richard Gere. He not only bought all name brand Quach pg.3 clothes to dress her up in but also was taught how to act like a "proper women" with all the lessons in etiquette. The movie not only gave the message that women should be "transformed" into what the men desire; but also sent the message that some women are willing to change in order to live up to the man's expectations. The men's expectations has also developed into really big problems for us, the everyday women. The problem that many women have is the problem with our weight: we are either underweight or overweight. In an article of the Mademoiselle magazine, a writer wrote in that, "My friend won't stop talking about her new diet plan. She's absolutely obsessed with food. I want to be supportive of her efforts, but I'm bored to tears. What do I do?"(pg.46) The problem with diet plans is that there are so many drinks, methods, and diet food out there that many feel that once they use these "miracle products" and it doesn't work, they start to feel hopeless, which would lead to depression. There are many men out there that are blind to the fact that not everybody can be as slim as they want. The expectations that many men have for their girlfriends and at times their wives came from not only the magazines but from movies and billboards. It was written that "Vain is Victoria Principal, who according to rumor makes sure that the light reflects a pinpoint gleam in her eyes. Vain Quach pg.4 is Julio Iglesias, who supposedly has a towel man to position the singer-suntan artists towel so that he's always in optimal rays." (Allure, 1995,pg.158) This is an illustration that celebrities have to use methods: lighting, makeup artists, and computer techniques before we see the finish product. Many men seem to think that what they see in the magazines and in movies of "their perfect women" is what they look like everyday. I admit that some celebrities do always look good, but then again the have the money to get the plastic surgery; which is another topic on it's own. In a "Reflections" article (Allure,1996 pg.168) an unanymous reader wrote in that, "What I am is worried. I am worried that I'm not tall enough, not thin enough, that my teeth aren't white enough, and that my hair is just all wrong. It seems that everyday I discover another body part to worry about." This reader later wrote that the problems that she had developed over the years starting from high school. She had these worries and was facing them on her own because she felt that of she told anybody, they would think that she was crazy. This reader, like many other women, feel that what they were born with is: not enough or isn't perfect. In the world that we live in today, the majority of men view a women as two things: a possession and a bearer of babies. In the Handmaid's Tale,(Atwood,1986,backcover) Offred, "must lie on her back once a month and pray that the Commander makes her pregnant, because in the age of declining births, Offred and other Handmaids are valued only if their ovaries Quach pg.5 are viable." The description basically summarized the theory that many men believe and pass on to later generations, that women are only good for making babies. My research paper hopefully opened up some people's eyes on the subject of natural beauty and artificial beauty. Everybody was born with imperfections and flaws; there is nobody that is absolutely perfect! Throughout history men have categorized women as sex objects, bearers of babies, and the person that they want to look perfect on their side when they walk into a gathering. These category expectations are just that, expectations. Who ever said that you can always get what you want? Men have taken it upon themselves from way back when, that they are superior to women and what they say goes. This decision was obviously made by the male majority but it's the female majority that has allowed for this obscured thinking to continue. "Ultimately, it's our decisions, not the conditions of our lives that determine our destiny." (Anthony Robbins, Notes from a Friend, pg.78) This statement, is what I feel women should start pounding into their heads. Men have taken it upon themselves to create the foundations of how a women should live and be viewed, but we the women have the ability to change what goes on the foundation, like the statement says: A women can never make up her mind." Research Paper My research paper is going to consist of both a research paper and a album containing pictures that was collected. My research paper is going to provide information on what two guys imagine and think about when they think of women. These two guys are Mike, my friend and Timmy, my cousin. These guys are basically the guinea pigs in my experiment and their findings will be collected in the album. The other half of the research project is the paper that will not only explain the project but give information on the pressure that has been put on so many women to look like perfect and in many ways models. With the experiment, I handed both Mike and Timmy four magazines: two Mademoiselles and two Allures. I then asked them to go through them and rip out the pictures that they would want "their women" to look like. The collection of their ideal women is in the first half of the album. Notice that the pictures are mostly of models that are half dressed, thin and in provactedly positioned posies. The makeup on these women are all perfect and their hair is obviously not out of place. The selection of pictures not surprisingly were of women who not only were half dressed but also in their undergarments. The second half of the experiment was basically done in the same way; but this time I asked for them to tear out pictures that they would want their wives to look like. With four different magazines they tore out pictures Quach pg.2 of more conservetly dressed women. Their selection still consisted of beautiful women, only this time they were wearing clothes that the average person would be able to wear on the streets and not be called a dirty name. The women were still beautifully made up the a hair and makeup but this time it wasn't so dramatic; their poises were also "innocent"; I'm not surprised. But what did surprise me though was that their style in pajamas totally changed. In the first part of the experiment the two guys picked out the pictures of the women wearing what I would consider "tacky" nightgowns, but for their wives they picked out the pictures where "softer" and a lot less "showy" I guess at that point they did take into consideration that comfort is more important then what it looks like. These two guys, the guinea pigs, is a very small of a large majority of men with these expectations. From the information that I gathered from the guys, Mike and Timmy, the expectations that they have for women is "to always look their best, and to do whatever that is possible to make them (men) happy."(I personally think that they are still living in their dream world.) Men, for some unknown reason, feel and want "their women" to always look perfect. They show their desire for these perfect creatures but also in real everyday life. For example in the movie "Pretty Women" Julia Roberts portrayed a prostitute who was dressed up transformed into the "perfect women" by Richard Gere. He not only bought all name brand Quach pg.3 clothes to dress her up in but also was taught how to act like a "proper women" with all the lessons in etiquette. The movie not only gave the message that women should be "transformed" into what the men desire; but also sent the message that some women are willing to change in order to live up to the man's expectations. The men's expectations has also developed into really big problems for us, the everyday women. The problem that many women have is the problem with our weight: we are either underweight or overweight. In an article of the Mademoiselle magazine, a writer wrote in that, "My friend won't stop talking about her new diet plan. She's absolutely obsessed with food. I want to be supportive of her efforts, but I'm bored to tears. What do I do?"(pg.46) The problem with diet plans is that there are so many drinks, methods, and diet food out there that many feel that once they use these "miracle products" and it doesn't work, they start to feel hopeless, which would lead to depression. There are many men out there that are blind to the fact that not everybody can be as slim as they want. The expectations that many men have for their girlfriends and at times their wives came from not only the magazines but from movies and billboards. It was written that "Vain is Victoria Principal, who according to rumor makes sure that the light reflects a pinpoint gleam in her eyes. Vain Quach pg.4 is Julio Iglesias, who supposedly has a towel man to position the singer-suntan artists towel so that he's always in optimal rays." (Allure, 1995,pg.158) This is an illustration that celebrities have to use methods: lighting, makeup artists, and computer techniques before we see the finish product. Many men seem to think that what they see in the magazines and in movies of "their perfect women" is what they look like everyday. I admit that some celebrities do always look good, but then again the have the money to get the plastic surgery; which is another topic on it's own. In a "Reflections" article (Allure,1996 pg.168) an unanymous reader wrote in that, "What I am is worried. I am worried that I'm not tall enough, not thin enough, that my teeth aren't white enough, and that my hair is just all wrong. It seems that everyday I discover another body part to worry about." This reader later wrote that the problems that she had developed over the years starting from high school. She had these worries and was facing them on her own because she felt that of she told anybody, they would think that she was crazy. This reader, like many other women, feel that what they were born with is: not enough or isn't perfect. In the world that we live in today, the majority of men view a women as two things: a possession and a bearer of babies. In the Handmaid's Tale,(Atwood,1986,backcover) Offred, "must lie on her back once a month and pray that the Commander makes her pregnant, because in the age of declining births, Offred and other Handmaids are valued only if their ovaries Quach pg.5 are viable." The description basically summarized the theory that many men believe and pass on to later generations, that women are only good for making babies. My research paper hopefully opened up some people's eyes on the subject of natural beauty and artificial beauty. Everybody was born with imperfections and flaws; there is nobody that is absolutely perfect! Throughout history men have categorized women as sex objects, bearers of babies, and the person that they want to look perfect on their side when they walk into a gathering. These category expectations are just that, expectations. Who ever said that you can always get what you want? Men have taken it upon themselves from way back when, that they are superior to women and what they say goes. This decision was obviously made by the male majority but it's the female majority that has allowed for this obscured thinking to continue. "Ultimately, it's our decisions, not the conditions of our lives that determine our destiny." (Anthony Robbins, Notes from a Friend, pg.78) This statement, is what I feel women should start pounding into their heads. Men have taken it upon themselves to create the foundations of how a women should live and be viewed, but we the women have the ability to change what goes on the foundation, like the statement says: A women can never make up her mind." f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Middle Class Blacks Burden.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Today in America there are many who assume that racism does not exist as it did in the forties, fifties, and sixties. Racism today is not as dangerous as it once was, but that does not mean that it does not hurt people just as much. There are many who think we have solved our racial problems and that African Americans live freely. However, there are many African Americans who work extremely hard to benefit society and all some people still see is their skin color. Malcolm X once said, "If you're born in America with a black skin, you're born in a prison." From reading Lenita McClain's "The Middle Class Black's Burden" and Shelby Steele's "On Being Black and Middle Class" the reader concludes that middle class blacks are judged unfairly by whites and other blacks through an examination of: 1)white people thinking blacks cannot do an adequate job, 2)lower class blacks who criticize middle and upper class blacks, and 3)victimization. Racism today exists in many different forms. There are many people who, all their lives, were brought up to believe that black people are of a lesser standard. It is no wonder that many people think African Americans perform inadequately even though these African Americans produce a high quality satisfaction. The people that doubt the work of an African American can obviously be seeing only the skin color. Lenita McClain states, "I am burdened daily with showing whites that blacks are people." Shelby Steele asks, "After all, since when had white Americans taken note of anything but color when it came it blacks?" Our nation, which is supposed to preserve equal rights to everyone, is weakened when certain Americans feel they are judged on a day to day basis by their skin color. Some might argue that blacks and whites are equal, but it is obvious through these essays that this is not so. If being stereotyped by some white people is not enough, many middle class blacks are ridiculed by many lower class blacks. It seems that some financially unstable African Americans consider middle and upper class African Americans to be ignorant of black culture. Discussing this issue, McClain says that some lower class blacks think, "We have forsaken the revolution, we are told, we have sold out." Being treated in such a way must surely aggravate or maybe depress an African American who has worked tirelessly for their status. Steele says that many think, "...that the purest black was the poorest black." Perhaps some lower class blacks have been taught, all their lives, that African Americans were supposed to be on the bottom of the financial scale, and now when they see their colleagues cracking that barrier, they become jealous and stoop to ridicule. Financial matters should not take precedence over culture. Just because one person is richer than another does not mean that the latter is any less culturally diverse. Everyone needs to stand together, be it white and black, black and black, or white and white. A person should not judged because of skin color or financial standing. A person should be judged on the content of his or her inner morals and character. Victimization has caused much sorrow in the lives of many African Americans. Many blacks are made to feel that there is no place of serenity. Many whites make them feel uncomfortable for earning money while at the same time many blacks make them feel the same way. Steele says, "...when it came to race we were now being asked to identify with images of lower class blacks and to see whites, middle class or other otherwise, as victimizers." McClain adds, "I am a member of the black middle class who has had it with being patted on the head by white hands and slapped in the face by black hands for my success." Many blacks today still fight for their rights, one of which is the right not to be victimized. Much to often blacks are judged unfairly by whites and other blacks. Sadly enough, many middle class blacks are forced to walk that fine line between wanting to succeed and being ridiculed for not remembering their heritage. In today's society there needs to be less victimizing and more accepting. America is made up of different languages and cultures, and though we are different in heritage we need to unite as a country. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\MLK.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ There are many important things that shape the delivery of your speech. Among the most important parts of delivery involved are voice production and articulation. Other important parts of delivery include methods, gestures, eye contact, and the clothing that you wear. Martin Luther King Jr. is considered one of the most influential speakers of this century. The delivery and language of King's speeches has earned him this label. In the next paragraph I shall examine King's delivery and why he is considered such a great speaker. If your audience cannot hear you, your speech servers very little purpose. King's most famous speech took place in nineteen sixty three during a March on Washington. I'm sure King was concerned with his voice production and articulation. Without these mechanisms of speech King would have gone unheard of. However, King had no trouble with these mechanisms of speech. I feel that everyone has gestures that are unique and King was no different. He moved around during his speeches and used his hand to emphasize points throughout his speeches. I cannot decide whether king used the memorization or extemporaneous method. If I was to choose one I would choose the memorization method. During the speeches of King we viewed he never losses eye contact with the audience. This is one of the reasons why I choose the memorization method. I also feel King's speeches came straight from his heart. King was a Baptist minister and was without a doubt filled with the spirit of god. I feel King's speeches were influenced by the spirit that lived within his heart. The book states that your appearance should be in harmony with your message. King's speeches were all based on serious spiritual and political issues and a suit and tie were the attire that he choose to wear. King was a educated man and was without a doubt educated in the area of fundamental speech skills. The textbook states that the most effective language was simple, clear, and direct. King practiced all three of these when performing his speeches. King's language was simple in that the people he was speaking to could comprehend what he was speaking about. He was very clear about the points in which he was speaking about. He also came directly to the reason why he was speaking, he did not beat around the bush. King used emotions to sway people to see things his way. King made sure he used the language that fitted his personality. King's language was important to his effectiveness as a public speaker. King was a very well rounded speaker. He was effective in both the areas of delivery and language. These are just two of the things that made Martin Luther King Jr. one of the most influential speakers of this country . f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Montgomery Bus Boycott.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The Montgomery bus boycott changed the way people lived and reacted to each other. The American civil rights movement began a long time ago, as early as the seventeenth century, with blacks and whites all protesting slavery together. The peak of the civil rights movement came in the 1950's starting with the successful bus boycott in Montgomery Alabama. The civil rights movement was lead by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who preached nonviolence and love for your enemy. "Love your enemies, we do not mean to love them as a friend or intimate. We mean what the Greeks called agape-a disinterested love for all mankind. This love is our regulating ideal and beloved community our ultimate goal. As we struggle here in Montgomery, we are cognizant that we have cosmic companionship and that the universe bends toward justice. We are moving from the black night of segregation to the bright daybreak of joy, from the midnight of Egyptian captivity to the glittering light of Canaan freedom " explained Dr. King. In the Cradle of the Confederacy, life for the white and the colored citizens was completely segregated. Segregated schools, restaurants, public water fountains, amusement parks, and city buses were part of everyday life in Montgomery, Alabama. "Every person operating a bus line should provide equal accommodations...in such a manner as to separate the white people from Negroes." On Montgomery's buses, black passengers were required by city law to sit in the back of the segregated bus. Negroes were required to pay their fare at the front of the bus, then get off and reboard from the rear of the bus. The front row seats were reserved for white people, which left the back of the bus or no man's land for the black's. There was no sign declaring the seating arrangements of the buses, but everyone knew them. The Montgomery bus boycott started one of the greatest fights for civil rights in the history of America. Here in the old capital of the Confederacy, "inspired by one women's courage; mobilized and organized by scores of grass-roots leaders in churches, community organizations, and political clubs; called to new visions of their best possibilities by a young black preacher named Martin Luther King, Jr., a people was reawakening to its destiny. " In 1953, the black community of Baton Rouge, Louisiana successfully petitioned their city council to end segregated seating on public buses. The new ordinance allowed the city buses to be seated on a first-come, first-served basis, with the blacks still beginning their seating at the rear of the bus. The bus drivers, who were all white, ignored the new ordinance and continued to save seats in front of the bus for white passengers. In an effort to demand that the city follow the new ordinance, the black community staged a one-day boycott of Baton Rouge's buses. By the end of the day, Louisiana's attorney general decided that the new ordinance was illegal and ruled that the bus drivers did not have to change the seating arrangements on the buses. Three months later a second bus boycott was started by Reverend T.J. Jemison. The new boycott lasted about one week, and yet it forced the city officials to compromise. The compromise was to change the seating on the buses to first-come, first-served seating with two side seats up front reserved for whites, and one long seat in the back for the blacks. The bus boycott in Baton Rouge was one of the first times a community of blacks had organized direct action against segregation and won. The victory in Baton Rouge was a small one in comparison to other civil right battles and victories. The hard work of Reverend Jemison and other organizers of the boycott, had far reaching implications on a movement that was just starting to take root in America. In 1954 the landmark case of Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka descion by the Supreme Court overshadowed Baton Rouge, but the ideas and lessons were not forgotten. They were soon used 400 miles away in Montgomery, Alabama, where the most important boycott of the civil rights movement was about to begin. The idea of separate but equal started in 1896 with a case called Plessy v. Ferguson 163 U.S. 537 (1896). On June 2, 1896 Homer Adolph Plessy, who was one-eighth Negro and appeared to be white, boarded and took a vacant seat in a coach reserved for white people on the East Louisiana railroad in New Orleans bound for Covington, Louisiana. The conductor ordered Plessy to move to a coach reserved for colored people, but Plessy refused. With the aid of a police officer , Plessy was forcibly ejected from the train, locked up in the New Orleans jail, and was taken before Judge Ferguson on the charge of violating Louisiana's state segregation laws. In affirming Plessy's conviction, the Supreme Court of Louisiana upheld the state law. Plessy then took the case to the Supreme Court of America on a writ of error ( an older form of appeal that was abolished in 1929) saying that Louisiana's segregation law was "unconstitutional as a denial of the Thirteenth Amendment and equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. " The Plessy v. Ferguson case descion stated that separate but equal was fine as long as the accommodations were equal in standard. Case after case the "separate but equal " doctrine was followed but not reexamined. The equal part of the doctrine had no real meaning, because the Supreme Court refused to look beyond any lower court holdings to find if the segregated facilities for Negroes were equal to those for whites. Many Negro accommodations were said to be equal when in fact they were definitely inferior. The separate but equal doctrine "is one of the outstanding myths of American history for it is almost always true that while indeed separate, these facilities are far from equal. Throughout the segregated public institutions, Negroes have been denied equal share of tax supported service and facilities " stated President Truman's Committee on Civil Rights in 1947. In Topeka, Kansas the Brown's, a Negro family, lived only four blacks from the white Sumner Elementary School. Linda Carol Brown, an eight year old girl had to attend a segregated school twenty-one blocks from her home because Kansas's state segregation laws allowed cities to segregate Negro and white students in public elementary schools. Oliver Brown and twelve other parents of Negro children asked that their children be admitted to the all-white Sumner School, which was much closer to home. The principle refused them admission, and the parents filed a suit in a federal district court against the Topeka Board of Education. The suit contended that the refusal to admit the children to the school was a denial of the "equal protection clause " of the Fourteenth Amendment. The descion of the principle lead to the birth of the most influential and important case of the Twentieth Century, Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954). The federal district court was sympathetic to the Negro cause and agreed that segregation in public schools had a negative effect on Negro children, but the court felt binded by the descion in Plessy v. Ferguson, and refused to declare segregation unconstitutional. Mr. Brown then took the case directly to the Supreme Court of the United States. Other cases involving school segregation were making there way to the Supreme Court from three different states-Delaware, Virginia, South Carolina-and the District of Columbia. All of the cases arrived around the same time as the Brown case. The cases all raised the same issue, and the state consolidated them under Brown v. Board of Education. The equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment is a restriction that applies only to the states, so the case from the District of Columbia was "rested on the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment which is applicable to the Federal government ". The case was called Bolling v. Sharpe, 349 U.S. 294 (1955), and had the same outcome as the Brown case. In front of the Supreme Court the arguments against segregation were presented by Thurgood Marshall, council for the National Association for the Advancement for Colored People (NAACP). The NAACP is an organization which had directed five cases through the courts and which had won many legal cases for American Negroes. The states relied on primarily Plessy v. Ferguson in arguing for the continuation of segregation in public schools. The Supreme Court Opinion statement delivered by Mr. Chief Justice Warren stated that "We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine of "separate but equal" has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal. Therefore, we hold that the plaintiffs and others of the similarly situated for whom the actions have been brought are, by reason of the segregation complained, deprived of the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment. This disposition makes unnecessary any discussion whether such segregation also violates the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. " The Brown case was necessary in clearing the way towards full equality for the Negroes in America. Though the Brown case did not directly overturn the Plessy case descion, it made it perfectly clear that segregation in areas other than public education could not continue. The Brown case enabled Negroes to fight peacefully for their freedom through sit-ins, demonstrations, boycotts, and the exercise of their voting rights. With the Brown case descion and the end of school segregation came the start of the fall of white supremacy. On December 1, 1955, the action of Mrs. Rosa Parks gave rise to a form of protest that lead the civil rights movement-nonviolent action. Mrs. Parks worked at a Montgomery department store pinning up hems, raising waistlines. When the store closed, Mrs. Parks boarded a Cleveland Avenue bus, and took a seat behind the white section in row eleven. The bus was half full when Rosa Parks boarded, but soon was filled leaving a white man standing. "Y'all better make it light on yourself and let me have those seats," said the bus driver James Blake as he ordered the black passengers in row eleven to move. Everyone except Mrs. Parks moved to the rear of the bus. "When he saw me still sitting, he asked if I was going to stand up, and I said, 'No I'm not.'" recalled Mrs. Rosa Parks. James Blake replied "Well, if you don't stand up, I'm going to call the police and have you arrested," with Rosa Parks bravely replaying "You may do that." Mrs. Rosa Parks was arrested for violating the Municipal code separating the races in Montgomery, Alabama. Rosa Parks was taken to the city jail in a police car where she was booked for "violating the law banning integration ". At the police station she longed for a drink of water to soothe her dry throat, "but they wouldn't permit me to drink out of the water fountain, it was for whites only. " Rosa Parks was convicted and fined ten dollars plus four dollars in court cost. The arrest of Rosa Parks in 1955 was not the first time Mrs. Parks had challenged the Jim Crow laws of the South. In 1943, the same bus driver who arrested her in 1955, James Blake threw her off the bus for violating the segregation laws. During the 1940's the quiet, dignified older lady refused on several different occasions to submit to segregation laws. "My resistance to being mistreated on the buses and anywhere else was just a regular thing with me and not just that day "stated Rosa after she was arrested. Mrs. Parks was an active member in organizations that fought for the equality of races. She was the first secretary for the Alabama State Conference of NAACP Branches, and she helped organize an NAACP Youth Council chapter in Montgomery. News of Mrs. Parks arrest soon reached E.D. Nixon, the man who headed the NAACP when Mrs. Parks was its secretary. Nixon tried to call one of the cities two black lawyers, Fred Gray, but Gray was not at home, so Mr. Nixon called Clifford Durr. Clifford Durr was member of the Federal Communications Commission, and had recently returned to Montgomery from Washington DC. "About six o' clock that night the telephone rang, and Mr. Nixon said that he understood that Mrs. Parks was arrested, and he had called the jail, but they wouldn't tell him why she had been arrested. So they thought that if Cliff called, a white lawyer, they might tell him. Cliff called, and they said she's been arrested under the segregation laws...so Mr. Nixon raised the bond and signed the paper and got Mrs. Parks out, " recalled Virginia Durr. "Mrs. Parks, with your permission we can break down segregation on the bus with your case, "E.D. Nixon asked Rosa Parks. Parks consulted her mother and husband, and deiced to let Mr. Nixon make her case into a cause, stating "I'll go along with you Mr. Nixon. " Nixon, at home was making a list of black ministers in Montgomery, who would help support their boycott. Lacking the influence he once had in the NAACP, because of his background, Nixon deiced that the church would be better to go through to reach people, "because they(the church) had their hands on the masses. " Progressive minister, Reverend Ralph Abernnathy, who E.D. Nixon knew through his work at the NAACP would be the first to receive the call to mobilize people. At five A.M. Friday morning, the next day, Nixon called Rev. Abernathy, who knew most of the other minister and black leaders in Montgomery. After discussing the situation Nixon called eighteen other ministers and arranged a meeting for Friday evening to discuss Parks arrest and the actions they wanted to take. Fred Gray called Jo Ann Robinson Thursday night and told her about the arrest of Rosa Parks. Robinson knew Parks from the Colvin case and believed she would be the ideal person to go through a test case to challenge segregation. Robinson then proceeded to call the leaders of the Women's Political Council, who urged her to start the boycott in support of Rosa Parks starting on Monday, Parks' trail date. Jo Ann Robinson made leaflets that described the boycott and had her students help her hand them out. "This is for Monday, Dec. 5, 1955-Another Negro women has been arrested and thrown in jail because she refused to get up out of her seat on the bus and give it to a white person. It is the second time since the Claudette Colvin case that a Negro women has been arrested for the same thing. This has to be stopped. The women's case will come up Monday. We are therefor asking every Negro to stay off the buses Monday in protest of the arrest and trail. Don't ride the buses to work, to schools, or anywhere on Monday... " Thousands of the anonymous leaflets were passed secretly through Montgomery's black neighborhoods. By the time the ministers and civil rights leaders met on Friday evening, word of the boycott had spread through the city. Reverend L. Roy Bennett, president of the Interdenominational Ministers Alliance, headed the meeting. Rev. Bennett wanted to start the boycott on the following Monday because he feared that there was no time to waste, he also wanted the ministers to start organizing committees to lead the boycott. Some of the black leaders objected, calling for a debate on the pros and cons of having a boycott. Almost half of the leaders left in frustration before a descion was reached, will those remaining agreed to spread the word about the one-day boycott at their Sunday mass meeting. E.D. Nixon did not attend the meeting on Friday evening that he arranged because he was at work, but before Nixon left he took one of Jo Ann Robinson's leaflets and called Joe Azbell, a white reporter at the Montgomery Advertiser. "He said, 'I've got a big story for you and I want you to meet me,' now E.D. doesn't talk in long sentences, he's very short and brusque...He said, 'Can you meet me?' I said, 'Yeah I can meet you.' So we met down at Union Station and he showed me one of these leaflets. And he said, 'I want to tell you what we are going to do. We're gonna boycott these buses. We're tired of them fooling around with our women-they done it for the last time.' So I said 'Okay', Nixon said, 'You gonna put this on the front page?' And I said 'yeah I'm gonna try to. " recalled Joe Azbell. The story of the upcoming boycott was on the front page of Sunday's morning edition, spreading the word to all the Negroes in Montgomery. The piece Azbell ran on the boycott accused the NAACP of "planting that Parks women " on the bus to stir things up and cause trouble. The Montgomery Advertiser said that the Negroes were about to "embrace the same negative solutions " as the hated White Citizens Council. The ministers reinforced the call of the boycott at the pulpit that Sunday morning, but doubt remained in the minds of the boycott organizers. Would Montgomery's black community unite for the boycott? Or would they ride the buses in fear of white retaliation? The clergymen had barely been able to agree on the one-day boycott, so why would the people follow them? To add to their worries it looked like it might rain. On Monday morning the sky was very dark with huge rain clouds covering the sun. City police were on the watch for black "goon squads" that would keep black people off the buses. The police chief even went as far as to have two motorcycle cops follow each bus. By 5:30 A.M. Monday, a torn off piece of cardboard appeared on a bus shelter at Court Square, one of the main downtown bus stops. The sign read "PEOPLE DON'T RIDE THE BUSES TODAY. DON'T RIDE IT FOR FREEDOM " In the house of young Dr. Martian Luther King Jr. on Monday, December 4th, Dr. King was making coffee in his kitchen. The Friday night meeting had taken place at his church in Montgomery and he feared that the boycott would fail. Dr. Reverend King took his coffee and sat down and waited for the first bus on the South Jackson l0 line to go by his house at 6:00 A.M. The South Jackson line carried more Negroes than any other line in town; "the first bus was usually jammed full with Negro domestics on their way to work ". Dr. King was still in the kitchen when his wife Coretta cried "Martin, Martin, come quickly! " Martin just made it to the window in time to see an empty bus go by. In a state of high excitement, King waited for the next bus to go by. It was empty. So was the third one. With sprits soaring high Dr. King drove over to Abernathy's house in his car and the two of them drove all over town looking at the buses. All over Montgomery the buses were empty of black people. It looked like the boycott would be one hundred percent effective. There were black students gladly hitchhiking to Alabama State. There were old man and women walking as far as twelve miles to their downtown jobs. People were riding mules, cows, horses and driving horse-drawn buggies to work. Not one single person stood at a bus stop that wanted to ride the buses, just groups of young people who stood there cheering and singing "No riders today! " as the buses pulled away from the stop. Montgomery's eighteen black-owned taxi companies had agreed to transport blacks for the same fare as they would pay on the bus-ten cents-on Monday morning the cabs were crammed with people. In the Alabama Journal a reporter described that first Monday. "Negroes were on almost every street corner in the downtown area, silent, waiting for rides or moving about to keep warm, but few got on buses...scores of Negroes were walking, their lunches were in brown paper sacks under their arms. None spoke to white people. They exchanged little talk among themselves. It was an almost solemn event. " A local black historian who had watched the days events unfolded stated that "the 'old unlearned Negroes' were confused. It seemed they could not figure out if the police (ridding along the buses) would arrest them or protect them if they attempted to ride the buses...the few Negroes that rode the buses were more confused. They found it difficult to get off without being embarrassed by other Negroes who waited at the bus stops throughout the city. Some were even seen ducking in the aisles as the buses passed various stops. " At 3:00 P.M. that afternoon King and other leaders of the boycott met to set up a permanent organization to run the boycott. At Abernathy's suggestion they called it the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA), to "stress the positive, uplift approach of their movement. " The meeting was also called to elect officers. Rufus Lewis saw the election as a way to move the "well-entrenched " Bennett aside in a diplomatic way. Quickly Lewis nominated King as president. Lewis attended King's church and heard him speak often and knew he was a master speaker, also Dr. King was new in town. "Rev. King was a young man, a very intelligent man. He had not been here long enough for the city fathers to put their hands on him. Usually they'd find some young man just come to town...pat him on the back and tell him what a nice church he got. They'd say 'Reverend, your suit don't look so nice to represent so-and-so Baptist Church'...and they'd get him a suit...you'd have to watch out for that kind of thing " recalls E.D. Nixon, about how officials in Montgomery treated black leaders. With Rev. King as the new leader of the boycott, the organizers had to deiced whether or not to have the bus boycott extend beyond Monday. The one-day boycott had shown a strength that was never seen before in Montgomery. To extend the boycott would be a direct assault by blacks on the Jim Crow system. A serious and potentially dangerous event. Several of the ministers were suggesting to leave the boycott as a one-day success, they said the boycott might fall apart if it rained or if the police started to arrest people. No one thought that it would last till the end of the work week, which was four days away. E.D. Nixon in a thundering voice said that they should confront the whites no matter what. The time had come to take a stand! "What is the matter with you people? Here you have been living off the sweat of these washwomen all these years and you have never done anything for them. Now you have a chance to pay them back, and you're to damn scared to stand on your feet and be counted! The time has come to be grown man or scared boys " said Nixon gesturing his big hands at the group of boycott leaders when they wanted to quit. Nixon was mad because his successor at the head of the NAACP in Alabama had refused to help or support the boycott unless he got approval from the national office. "The man who was the President of the NAACP, said at that time, 'Brother Nixon, I'll have to wait until I talk to New York ( NAACP headquarters) to find out what they think of it.' I said 'Man we ain't got time for that.' He believed in doing everything by the book. And the book stated that you had to notify New York before you take a step like that. " recalled E.D. Nixon on how the NAACP responded when he asked them for support. The group agreed to wait until that night's meeting and let the people decided if the boycott was to continue. The meeting was to be held at the Holt Street Baptist Church, because it was in a black section of town. They figured that Negroes would probably feel safer if they didn't have to travel through white neighborhoods to get to the meeting. Newly elected leader of the MIA, Dr. King had about twenty minuets to prepare a speech which he later called one of the most important speeches in his life. It took Doctor King fifteen minuets to park his car and make his way to the church at 7:00 P.M. There were no empty seats in the church and people were spilled into the aisles and through the doorways in the back, the church had been packed since five that afternoon. Outside the church thousands stood to listen to the speeches and preaching that was going on inside through loudspeakers. The meeting opened with "Onward Christian Soldiers", followed by speeches from the boycott leaders. Joe Azbell again covered the boycott story saying that "the Holt Street Baptist Church was probably the most fired up, enthusiastic gathering of human beings that I've ever seen. I came down the street and I couldn't believe there were so many cars. I parked many blocks from the church just to get a place for my car. I went up to the church, and they made way for me because I was the first white person there...I was two minutes late and they were already preaching, and that audience was so on fire that the preacher would get up and say, 'Do you want your freedom?' And they'd say, 'Yeah, I want my freedom!' The preacher would say, 'Are you for what we are doing?; 'Yeah, go ahead, go ahead!'...and they were so excited...I've never heard singing like that...they were on fire for freedom. There was a sprit there no one could capture again...it was so powerful. And then King stood up, and most of them didn't know how he was. And yet he was a master speaker...I went back and I wrote a special column, I wrote that this was the beginning of a flame that would go across America. " Doctor King approached the podium with only a mental outline of his speech. If he choked in front of all of these people it would be the end of the boycott, but if he inspired them there was no telling what they could do together. "We're here this evening for serious business. We're here in a general sense because first and foremost, we are American citizens, and we are determined to acquire our citizenship to the fullness of its meaning...There comes a time when people get tired...tired of being segregated and humiliated; tired of being kicked about the brutal feet of oppression. We have no alternative but to protest. For many years, we have shown amazing patience. We have sometimes given our white brothers the feeling that we liked the way we were being treated. But we come here tonight to be saved, to be saved from patience that makes us patient with anything less than freedom and justice....If we are wrong then the Supreme Court of this nation is wrong. If we are wrong then the Constitution of the United States is wrong. If we are wrong, God almighty is wrong. " The crowd roared with 'yeas' and 'right ons', all through Dr. Kings speech. The strongest show of emotion and applause came when Rev. King bravely noted that "If you protest courageously and yet with dignity and Christian love, when the history books are written in future generations the historians will pause and say 'There lived a great people-a black people-who injected new meaning and dignity into the veins of civilization'...We will not retreat one inch in our fight to secure and hold our American citizenship. " The church roared in approval of Kings speech which was followed with an introduction of Rosa Parks that received a standing ovation. Then Rev. Abernathy proceeded to recite the three demands of the boycott. 1)Courteous treatment of passengers on the buses. 2)Change the seating to a first-come, first-served basis with blacks starting at the rear, and whites starting at the front. 3)The hiring of black bus drivers on predominantly black routes. Rev. Abernathy asked the people attending the meeting to vote and descied whether or not the boycott should continue. Throughout the church people began to stand. At first in ones and twos. Soon every person was standing in the Holt Street Church approving the continuation of the boycott. The thousands of people standing outside cheered in a resounding "YES!" "The fear left that had shackled us across the years-all left suddenly when we were in that church together " recalled Abernathy on how people left the church unafraid, but how they were uncertain on how the city's white leaders would respond to their boycott. The Montgomery police were their main concern. A white police officer had a few months earlier shot a black man who had refused a bus driver order to get off the bus and reboard from the rear. The man demanded his dime back, and the police officer suddenly fired his gun, instantly killing the man. The dreaded Montgomery police were already harassing blacks who were peacefully waiting for the taxis. Four days later the MIA, including King and attorney Fred Gray, met with the city commissioners and representatives of the bus company. The MIA presented their three demands, with King making it clear that they were not seeking an end to segregation through the boycott. The bus company's manger, James H. Bagely and its attorney, Jack Crenshaw frantically denied that the bus drivers were regularly discourteous to black passengers. They rejected the idea of hiring black bus drivers and stated that the proposed seating plan was in violation of the state statue and city code. Attorney Gray responded by showing that the seating plan was in no way a violation against the already existing segregation laws. The seating arrangements proposed was already in practice in another Alabama city, Mobil. The Mobil bus company was also run by the same bus company as the Montgomery bus line. Attorney Crenshaw was adamant about the seating proposal. Commissioner Frank was ready to give in and accept the seating proposal, but Crenshaw argued "I don't see how we can do it within the law. If it were legal I would be the first to go along with it, but it just isn't legal. The only way that it can be done is to change the segregation laws. " Commissioner Clyde Sellers who was staunchly opposed to segregation was not about to compromise. Crenshaw did not help the MIA in stating that "If we granted the Negroes these demands, they would f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Mothers With a Divided Heart.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ April 3, 1997 Comparative Essay Mothers With A Divided Heart The importance of raising children to be productive members of a rapidly evolving, achievement oriented society, is paramount to the success of the family and the global economy. At the same time, the stresses of every day individual economic and personal fulfillment needs are a significant counter force. This force works against the available time and effort required for mothers to successfully nurture their young. It has resulted in societal "Mommy Wars", pitting the working mom against the stay-at-home mom, in a battle over which model offers the clearest path to nurturing success. Bridging the gap requires each to accept that there is not one right choice for every family and to understand and respect each individual decision. All moms have one thing in common: they make sacrifices to do what is best for their families. To a working mom, this means not spending as much time with her children, and for stay-at-home moms, this means not getting much time to herself. Being home or not with the children is not as important as creating an environment where the children can thrive and feel loved. Stay-at-home moms are often viewed as ³soap-opera-watching couch potatoes² with no ambition. Rather than being praised for their decision to stay home, they often feel they need to defend it. Society talks so much about family values, yet gives little respect or value to stay-at-home moms who raise the families. In addition, stay-at-home moms find it challenging to provide a social setting for their children when being at home all day is the only stimulation they have. Furthermore, the strain of not bringing in money for a better standard of living can lead to self-doubt and isolation. That feeling of insecurity can be put to rest, however, with the peace-of-mind that comes from knowing that the child is being well taken care of. Stay-at-home moms have the opportunity to become more involved in the children¹s school activities as well. This can be important to both because it shows interest in the child and that leads to higher self-esteem for the child. This way of living is beneficial for the children as well because there is only one set of rules to follow. The children feel a constant unconditional love from their own parents that is unlike any other love. Children can thrive with a routine and rely on the stability they feel when they have mom to count on ³being there² all the time. Staying home to raise a family is healthy for the family to grow together and to support each other¹s roles. Family support is important, however, working moms are often viewed as deserting their children in order to have nicer cars and homes. They are said to ³want it all.² Yet at times, they are denied ³it all² in the work place specifically because they are moms. Working moms experience the stress of being pulled in so many directions, it is like living with a divided heart. The pressure of economics that force many single mothers into the workplace makes the choice a limited one and creates a sense of guilt. The guilt about not ³being there² for the children and the fear that they are not being well taken care of adds to the stressful decisions working moms need to make. The guilt multiplies when there is a feeling of selfishness wanting to pursue a career and wanting ³more² for the children and the family. In spite of these drawbacks, working moms have many benefits. They have the luxury of learning and growing every day independent of their families. The mental satisfaction of knowing that they contribute to the success of their company is very satisfying. It is rewarding to know the children are learning how to play, share and laugh with others. Working moms are so anxious to see their children after a day at work, it creates a sense of bonding when they get home. Moms and kids have the evenings to really focus on each other and learn about each other. They are also pulling their own weight with an income of their own, and this builds personal self-confidence which is healthy for the whole family. Financially, it is easier to provide a larger home and a higher education for the children. The advantages to the children lie in the social skills they Page two of two Comparative Essay Kathy O¹Reilly acquire being in different settings and interacting with other people. If the children are in a daycare setting, they can learn how to adapt to change, share with other children, and prepare for school which is important for their roles as future adults. Working moms should feel proud of their accomplishments and good about themselves for giving their children the gift of independence, self confidence and love. Happy, healthy children is the common goal for every mom. The environment mothers place them in is up to each individual. Both kinds of moms have a lot in common: both miss what the other has, both make sacrifices, and both find themselves having to justify their decisions. Dr. Jacqueline Lerner, a psychologist at Penn State, did a study of each group and found that ³the most poorly adjusted children were those with mothers who wanted to work but were staying home, and those with working mothers who felt they really should be home.² Although it makes sense that happy mothers will raise well-adjusted children, the problem for many mothers is the guilt and worry they feel no matter which route they take. Moms should be proud of the work they do and confident that they are doing what is best for the family. After all, children are unconditionally accepting, and all they ever want is to be loved. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\mtv and the madonna phenomenon.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ MTV and THE MADONNA PHENOMENON "Madonna's intuitive grasp on the televisual world in which we live- of the medium's possibilities for engaging spectators in diverse ways- that in part accounts for her success. She is the supreme television heroine." (E. Ann Kaplan 271) "What are the main theories which we have studied so far and how have they affected how you view television?"- This is the question which this paper is supposed to answer. Obviously there is not enough time or space in which to discuss every theory which we have touched on. As a compromise I decided to write about a topic to which almost every theory that we have discussed can be applied: MTV and the "Madonna Phenomenon". As E. Ann Kaplan stated in her article on feminist criticism, Madonna is truly the ultimate television heroine. A discussion on contemporary popular culture and especially on media culture could never be complete without bringing up Madonna. She can be discussed in terms of feminism, ideology, hegemony and commercialism as seen in both Kaplan's as well as in John Fiske's article on British Cultural Studies. In order to properly explain how the "Madonna Phenomenon" has become such an important concept in media studies, one must look first at how influential MTV (music television) has become in the last decade. MTV addresses the "desires, fantasies, and anxieties" of young people(Kaplan 270) who have, like myself, grown up in a decade when all the traditional institutions and theories that were always respected, are being questioned. It has become the center of discussions of many young people who have grown up idolizing the figures shown on the network. MTV is a culture in itself. With it's own news, fashion and music programs it can easily be the considered the basis for the formation of thought of an entire generation. The images depicted in music videos, of androgynous stars and situations have aided in rendering the clear line between the genders rather blurry. This makes MTV an important aspect in the study of post-modern theories. Videos are often quite abstract and it is hard to figure out their true meanings. Unlike other television programming, videos are usually not made up of clear parts or scenes which produce an easily identifiable and readable image. It is often hard to tell, for example whether a music video is sexist or whether it is simply making a parody of earlier, sexist, Hollywood productions. Looking at videos of fully clothed men , singing about love while bleach-blond girls in bikinis dance around them can be quite confusing at times. Is it possible that these videos are actually daring to be so blatantly sexist? It is highly doubtful. The people behind the Music Video industry have quite brilliantly built up an entirely new television and music empire, complete with it's own stars. They have managed to use a form much like that of television commercials to glorify their products which are in this case the singers. There are those stars who are now known more for their videos than for their music. At times these video stars are not even close to being good singers but have such strong innovative videos that they manage to become successful without the possession of talent. These stars must be analyzed not only as people but also as industries. Their personas have been meticulously constructed and they have been promoted as well as a can of "Coca-Cola Classic". This brings us to the world of Madonna Veronica Louisa Ciconne Penn, or rather Madonna- the most powerful woman in the Music Video world. Madonna is the perfect object of analysis, if one wishes to look inside the MTV world. She is the subject of numerous discourses. There are both differing feminist constructions of Madonna as well as Madonna's constructions of herself. The main topic which will be dealt with in this essay is Madonna's place in the world of feminism. There are four categories of feminism which are usually considered: Liberal feminism, Radical feminism, Marxist feminism and Post-Modern Feminism. The "Madonna Phenomenon" can be looked at in terms of both the third and fourth categories, and is often criticized by those who follow the radical feminist theory. Madonna herself said, in bashing her radical feminist critics: "Tell Gloria Steinem and the gang...to lighten up, get a sense of humor. And look at my video that goes with Material Girl. The guy who gets me in the end is the sensitive one with no money." The first theory which I am going to discuss in relation to Madonna is Marxist Feminism. Marxist feminism is based on the principle of how women as a group are manipulated by economic and political factors which are out of their control. In terms of television viewing, Marxist feminism explores the portrayal of women on television focusing on how they are shown in the workforce. The theory behind Marxist feminist television analysis is that if women are needed in the workforce at a given time than television will portray women in the workforce. On the other hand if women are not needed in the work force than it will be economically beneficial to portray women as housewives or holders of mediocre or "unimportant" jobs. One may ask how Marxist feminism relates to Madonna. In plain terms, Madonna has defied the constraints which usually define how women are portrayed on television. In times when many women on television and especially in music videos are shown as mere sex symbols and rather inanimate objects of desire, Madonna has proved herself to be a strong independent woman. One may dispute this by pointing out that Madonna uses her body to promote herself. Indeed her persona is based mainly on her sexuality, but Madonna is not your average sex symbol. She is a brilliant woman who has used a patriarchal society which takes advantage of women and manipulated it so that it works to her advantage. More than a singer Madonna is a business woman. Madonna has not let society and politics influence how she portrays herself or how she lives at all. Madonna does what she wants, and perhaps if other women did the same than Marxist feminists would not have so much to complain about when they analyzed women on television. When it comes to money making- the key to Marxism Madonna is a genius. Combining the "Madonna Phenomenon" with Marxist feminism has been one of the main ideas which has influenced my opinion of Madonna as a person. When watching her videos I no longer see a woman dancing around in her underwear for money. I see someone who knows well that women are easily controlled by the patriarchal society and economy. She has obviously studied how women are shown on television and made a mockery out of it. People are offended by her because they know well that she is one of the few women who has been strong enough and has had enough courage to stand up for what she thinks is right, and has been extremely successful in doing so. Madonna could have marketed herself as many other female stars do: as helpless victims of man, torn apart by love gone wrong. Instead she has shown, to the advantage of her many young female fans, that women do not have to be victims. In her music video "Express Yourself" Madonna actually plays with the idea that in the career world men are the bosses and women their workers. Based on early German expressionistic films the video shows Madonna as the performer, but also as the director and narrator. She is the female heroine of the video but also presides over the text before it begins, heralding it as dedicated to women in retaliation to the male address in the German films. The video empowers women and influences them to take control of their lives. The Post-Modernist feminist view is almost always discussed in relation to Madonna. E. Ann Kaplan writes about Madonna in relation to post-modernist feminism in bringing up another one of her more famous videos, "Justify my Love". This video perhaps took Madonna's post-modernist daring to it's furthest. It was banned by MTV as obscene yet it sticks out as one of Madonna's most brilliant works and career steps to date. American viewers (who are probably not used to anything more artistic than "Tool Time") misunderstood Madonna's fantastical depiction of 1920's Germany. It is a ornate, stylized vision. This video forces the viewer to look past the images that they may see as obscene in order to question the confines of "gender constructs and the cultural constraints on sexual themes and sexual fantasies" (Kaplan 275). Madonna has explored female fantasy and in this respect, she is to be regarded as someone who tries the limits of social codes, in a time when the dominant culture is revolting against the challenges of the 1960s. She reacts against American sexual mores and explores women's sexual alternatives from lesbianism to sadomasochism. Madonna as a feminist has proved herself to be a useful, rebellious role model for young women who have the need to look up to someone who is powerful and self-promoting. She enables girls to see that female sexuality can be used to their advantage, and that their subjectivities do not have to be totally determined by the dominant patriarchy. British Cultural studies also provide an opening for a discussion on the "Madonna Phenomenon'. Her success has been due in great part to television and music videos, and many critics will dispute her musical talent but will concede to the fact that Madonna has one of the most powerful "looks" in history. These critics might say the Madonna has made her fortune by using her sexuality to manipulate young girls. As Fiske writes, however, this theory could only be true if one thought of all Madonna fans as so-called "cultural dupes" (Fiske 304). There is a great deal of evidence to support this theory. Madonna may be seen as just another female star who aims to show herself as the embodiment of male sexual desires, this would propose that she is attempting to teach young female fans that they are simply "feminine subjects within patriarchy and as such is an agent of patriarchal hegemony" (Fiske 305). I choose to believe as Fiske does that this is not the case. The young girls choose to imitate and in fact idolize Madonna rather than anyone else because she goes against ideological control and allows her fans to construct meanings that relate with their personal social experiences. The girls do not see her as someone who has conformed to the dominant ideology of women but rather as someone who has offered opportunities to resist it. "Her image becomes, then, not an ideological role model for patriarchy, but a site of semiotic struggle between the forces of patriarchal control and feminine resistance...". Madonna attempts to instill in girls the ability to keep their care-free feelings towards exhibitionism and self-expression that society tries to take away from them when they reach womanhood. She recognizes the significance of sexual identity in determining our social relations and experiences. In working various meanings into her texts she points out their role in male hegemony. She shows that women may be either "worshipped and adored by man or used and despised by him." Madonna is a woman who has greatly influenced the thoughts of many contemporary women. Some may hate her and some may love her but all must admit that the packaging and industry that is "Madonna" is monumental. In answering the question "how have these theories affected the way you view television?" I can sum up everything which I have just written about. Were it not for my studying of the "Madonna Phenomenon" I would look at the women on television (and in particular those in music videos) quite differently. I would see them,, as I had in the past as victims of the dominant ideology and the patriarchal society which we live in. Madonna proves that women can fight against the regulations which are forced onto women: that if they are sexual beings than they are nothing more than sex symbols, and that society determines how women are portrayed on television. If I could go as far as to describe Madonna in one word it would be "strong". I not only enjoy her work but admire her ability to do what she feels like doing, even if she completely disregards society's definitions of decency. She is one of the few women in history who has never asked others to accept or like what she does. To conclude I would like to quote Madonna herself in order to demonstrate her atypical way of thinking which has brought her such undeniable success: "Poor is the man whose pleasures depend on the permission of another" -Madonna "Justify my Love" f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\My GreatGrandmother was not a Person.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ My Great-Grandmother was not a Person My Great-Grandmother was not a person. Neither was yours. Up until about 67 years ago no females were. We were supposed to be pregnant and barefoot in the kitchen. At least that's the perception that the laws enforced. (For ex: The Election Act of the Dominion of Canada and The Common Law of England) As part of the British Commonwealth many of our laws were the same as England's and enforced by British parliament. One such law from the Common Law of England stated that "A woman is not a person in matters of rights and privileges, but she is a person in matters of pains and penalties." This gave women second class citizenship. Women were not recognized as equals to men, even though the expectations of women were such that the work load was equal if not greater. As pioneer women we built homes, raised families, maintained the homestead, hunted food, fought natives, made clothes, cooked, cleaned, as well as the many manual labour jobs that men held. For example, women worked in coal mines, armories, and aided the war effort via the manufacturing industry, such as factorys. If this is what is determeined as equality then women were getting the short end of the stick and men were receiving all of the benifit. This perception still holds strong today, although not as strongly. Men said that women were to fragile to vote. Yet no man has ever experienced labor pains. Furthermore no man has fought any battle that was as hard as the one the famous five women have fought. The Election Act of the Dominion of Canada states that "No woman, idiot, lunatic, or criminal shall vote." So women are equal to criminals? It's not a crime to be a woman. We should not be judged by our sex. On April 19, 1916 women in Alberta were granted the right to vote. A small battle was won. Five Canadian women have conquered countries and nations for their rights. When questionning the wording of "qualified persons to the senate" the Supreme Court of Canada rejected that the word "persons" included women. This battle was lost but the war was won when the Privy Council of England (the highest court in the land) ruled that the word "persons" included women. That was the 18th of October, 1929. The famous five women are: Irene Perlby, Nellie McClung, Henrietta Muir Edwards, Louise McKinney, and Emily Murphy. These women have fought a battle of sexism that is of historic importance. Millions of women in Canada have these five women to thank for the past 67 years of equality' Today the battle of the sexes still rages on where equality is still an issue in our daily lives. "Despite all my rage / I'm still just a rat in a cage" B. Corgan Smashing Pumpkins The views of society are that women are the inferior sex even though the law recognizes women as equals. Not until such time that women start becoming a predominant force in government, the workplace and can educate this equality to everybody; then will the battle of the sexes end. Today's woman can use her energies to fight the destructive forces of the marketing machine. Men can help too. Large corporations, fashions, Hollywood, Disney, Mattel and every sort of advertising that exploits women have a destructive message for society, that women are not perceived as equals. By educating out children and the following generations that gender equality is an important value that society should respect. The Famous Five fought the legal war that recognizes women as equals. It's time for us to fight society's gender war. We are here as humans, as people, as equals, as persons. I'll leave you with this closing thought... "No woman can become or remain degraded without all women suffering." E. Murphy f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\NAACP.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Born from the Niagara Movement, led by William E. B. DuBois, the NAACP has had a volatile birth and a lively history (Beifuss 17:E4). The impetus for the creation of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People came in the summer of 1908. Severe race riots in Springfield, Illinois, prompted William English Walling to write articles questioning the treatment of the Negro. Reading the articles, Mary White Ovington and Dr. Henry Moskowitz were compelled to meet with Walling. Consequently, the three along with a group of black and white citizens had considered the present state of the Negro, disfranchised in the South and taxed while going unrepresented in the government, a national conference needed to be held to answer the "Negro Question" (Jenkins). It was then that the idea of NAACP was created. February 12, 1909, Lincoln's birthday, a conference to review the progress that the nation made since Emancipation Proclamation and to celebrate Lincoln's birthday took place; Thereupon, a statement, now known as "The Call", was released. This statement reiterated the treatment of the black race since 1865. Many notable figures in history signed "The Call" , e.g., Ida Wells Barnett, Jane Adams, W.E.B. DuBois and John Dewey. In a matter of two months, another conference was held. As a result of that conference, the NAACP was born. A distinct factor of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, which set it apart from its congruent movement, the Niagara Movement, was involvement of both races. The early success was due in large part to the interracial membership (Franklin 91). A large part of the membership consisted of white socialist and liberals (Franklin). For some time the NAACP was white-led. In time the Association became black dominated; Specifically, under the guidance of James Weldon Johnson. During the rule of Johnson, the NAACP began to form its reputation for using litigation. Although many of the NAACP's landmark cases did not occur until the 1950's and 1960's, the foundation was laid in the 1920's and 1930's. In short the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People transformed from a white dominated, infantile organization too the first black led organization, which influenced Congressional legislation under Harding's administration. During the next twenty years, the NAACP would be embattled in court cases which changed the face of America. One of the landmark cases that occurred, Brown v. Board was argued by lead attorney Thurgood Marshall (Lang F12). Another case which created opportunities for blacks, was Open Housing Act of 1968. Under this law it became illegal to refuse to sell property solely based on race. Since that time in which the blacks truly gained their civil rights, the NAACP tried to register 3 million voters throughout the South (Jenkins). Indeed the most productive period of National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in the courts was the 1950's and 1960's. As civil rights that the NAACP and leaders fought for, were attained. The involvement of the Association in the courts decreased. However, the NAACP played a key role in persuading the United States to pose economic sanctions against South Africa (Lang F12). In the past decade the NAACP made it presence known during the passage of the Fair Housing Act of 1988 (Lang). Besides these two major examples, NAACP spent most of its time dealing with retirement of Benjamin L. Hooks and finding an adequate replacement. Furthermore, the Association was plagued with internal scorn, lack of leadership and scandals that drove the NAACP into debt. For example, Benjamin Chavis's wasteful spending and using $324,400 of NAACP funds as hush money in a sexual discrimination suit, cost him his job (Cose 27). Despite the above, a new executive leader was chosen which gives promise to the future of the NAACP. Everly Evers, spouse of the late Medger Evers who was the NAACP's field secretary during the 1950's, brought a fresh blood into the NAACP. The focus of the Association shifted from civil rights to personal gains; in all, the future of the NAACP is similar to its beginning, uncertain. In a personal opinion, future depends upon the competency of Mrs. Evers, her independence, and her ability to surround herself with people that are able to provide leadership to an organization that once led. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Native Son Essay.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Native Son, by Richard Wright, was hailed by reviewers as an instant classic upon its release in 1940. The novel was an instant bestseller, having been included in the book-of-the-month-club. Due to its proto revolutionary themes it was the subject of many reviews. Two such reviewers are Clifton Fadiman and Malcolm Cowley. Clifton Fadiman, writer for The New Yorker declared that Native Son was the most powerful American novel since the Grapes of Wrath. He is positive that anyone who reads this book has to know what it means to be a Negro, especially being a Negro in the U.S. over seventy years after the Emancipation Proclamation. Fadiman then goes on to compare the novel to Theodore Dreiser's An American Tragedy, declaring that his novel did for the American white as Native Son did for the Negro. Fadiman begins criticizing Bigger Thomas, the main character in the novel. He feels that Bigger is just a stupid fool, having done everything possible to actually get himself caught. Fadiman also writes that Bigger "...knew that the moment he allowed what his life meant to enter fully into his consciousness, he would either kill himself or somebody else." Fadiman then goes on by criticizing Wright stating that he is too explicit, repetitive, and overdoes his melodrama from time to time. Fadiman does not believe Wright to be a finished writer just yet. However, he does think that Wright possesses the two absolute necessities of the first-rate novelist, passion and intelligence. He also understands that Wright must have been greatly affected by the labor movement, which may have contributed to Native Son. At the conclusion of his review, Fadiman once again compares Native Son to An American Tragedy. He says that the two novels tell almost the same story. Although He feels that Dreiser's novel is filled with better, more controlled knowledge; he feels that Wright's novel will have the same affect on the reader if they are not afraid of a challenge. By saying "afraid," Fadiman means that Native Son is not merely a story but a deep experience. The next review that we will look at is one done by Malcolm Cowley, writer for The New Republic. Cowley immediately compares Native Son to Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, stating that the books resemble each other by both having grown out of the radical movements of the 1930s. Cowley feels that Wright was moved by the wrongs he had suffered in his own person, which made him hate people with whiter skin than his own. This aided in Wright's writing Native Son. He then goes on to say that Wright's feelings were clearly evident in his first novel, Uncle Tom's Children. However, with Native Son, Wright's sympathies have broadened and he has become less resentful. Cowley feels that Wright's purpose for writing Native Son was simple. He seems to be saying "Listen, you white folks, I want to tell you all about the Negroes in America. I want to tell you how they live and how they feel. I want you to change your mind about them before it is too late to prevent a worse disaster than any we have known. I speak for my own people, but I speak for America too." (Gates, 9) Cowley then goes on to talk about Bigger, and how he had been trained from the beginning of his life to be a bad citizen. How had he been taught America ideals of life, but was never be able to achieve them. Whatever Bigger wanted to do, such as fly an airplane, was reserved for the whites. Basically, Cowley is saying that the whites made Bigger the way he was. If he had the chance to be a good person then he would taken it, but he was never given this chance, so he was always bad. As he concludes his review, Cowley states that Wright had written a better novel than he had planned. He was able to make his readers feel that it was Bagger's only claim to human courage and dignity to die. Wright also made Bigger be a human rather than just a racial symbol. This was an important concept in the novel that attributed to its great success. Each of the reviewers had many interesting opinions which were relevant to the novel. Having been compared to Grapes of Wrath and An American Tragedy , it is evident that Native Son is a great work of literature. The main point that the reviewers made was that Wright really had a great idea for a story and presented it extremely well. He was not too personal in his writings, yet he gave us, the readers a novel which we could apply personal experiences to and enjoy as well. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\numbers versus reality.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ More and more women are being elected to the House of Commons today. However, this does not mean that there is an increase in the mobilization of women's issues. There is a need for a "critical mass" to be achieved before the voices of women shall be heard in elite politics. This "critical mass" theory say that when the number of women reach 30% then they become a real force in politics. Having more women visible in the media is making the idea of becoming a politician more and more feasible to young people. Role models are extremely important. Presently, women compose of 19% of the House of Commons. Who knows, maybe five years from now, the "critical mass" of 30% shall be achieved. Then, women's voices shall really be heard and the increase in representation will amount to an increase in policy. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\OJ.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ O.J. This paper attempts to prove that O.J. Simpson is guilty by giving evidence from both sides, and statements made by witnesses. On June 12, 1994, two people were brutally killed. Those two people were Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. Nicole was O.J. Simpson's ex-wife. O.J. was arrested the next day and charged with double homicide. O.J. pled innocent to murder chargers against him and went to trial in criminal court. The trial lasted a year, and caused worldwide media excitement. There was so much evidence against him, it seemed almost impossible for him to be that he'd be found innocent. For example, the famous bloody glove found behind the guest house was proven by DNA testing to have O.J.'s blood and hair, Nicole's blood and hair, and Ron's blood and hair. DNA testing is 99.9 percent accurate. Fibers were also found on the glove that came from O.J.'s shirt and his Bronco(Trudau, 122). Other evidence included a bloody footprint which matched O.J.'s shoes, blood on O.J.'s Bronco door, on the console, on the interior side of the door, a bloody footprint in the Bronco, bloody socks in O.J.'s house, O.J.'s injured finger, blood found at Nicole's condo that matched O.J.'s, and so on(Posner,64). The defense claimed that the evidence had been planted. On June 30th, Allen Wattenberg, a knife store owner, testified during the preliminary hearing that O.J. bought a 14-inch Stiletto knife from his store. On June 12, O.J.'s limo driver arrived to drive O.J. to the airport and saw a black man, with the same build as O.J. sprinting across the lawn towards O.J.'s house. Yet when O.J. answered the door, he said he'd been napping(Biema, 56). O.J. also acted guilty: he wrote a suicide note, and led police on a chase through L.A. that ended at his Brentwood mansion with his surrender and arrest. Despite all this evidence, the jury found O.J. not guilty. By all accounts, the prosecution did a poor job presenting the evidence. O.J.'s defense, called "The Dream Team," took advantage of the prosecutions incompetence and created reasonable doubt in the jurors minds(Posner, 62). O.J.'s time in court is not over yet, however, he is now fighting 2 civil cases, one for the custody of his children, and the other against the Browns and the Goldmans for "wrongful death." The same evidence that was used in the criminal case is being presented much more effectively in the civil case, and it's expected the he will be found guilty. The "court of popular opinion" has already found O.J. guilty, and his days as a celebrity and corporate pitch man are over forever(Posner, 64). And if he is found guilty in his civil trials, shouldn't that logically mean that he is guilty of the murders, even though he was found "not guilty" on legal technicalities and incompetence. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Paul Laurence Dunbar.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Paul Laurence Dunbar by ************** English 102 August 4, 1995 Outline Thesis: The major accomplishments of Paul Laurence Dunbar's life during 1872 to 1938 label him as being an American poet, short story writer, and novelist. I. Introduction II. American poet A. Literary English B. Dialect poet 1. "Oak and Ivy" 2. "Majors and Minors" 3. "Lyrics of Lowly Life" 4. "Lyrics of the Hearthside" 5. "Sympathy" III. Short story writer A. Folks from Dixie (1898) B. The Strength of Gideon and Other Stories (1900) C. The Heart of Happy Hollow (1904) IV. Novelist A. The Uncalled (1898) B. The Love of Landry (1900) C. The Fanatics (1901) D. The Sport of the Gods (1902) V. Conclusion Paul Laurence Dunbar Paul Laurence Dunbar attended grade schools and Central High School in Dayton, Ohio. He was editor of the High School Times and president of Philomathean Literary Society in his senior year. Despite Dunbar's growing reputation in the then small town of Dayton, writing jobs were closed to black applicants and the money to further his education was scarce. In 1891, Dunbar graduated from Central High School and was unable to find a decent job. Desperate for employment, he settled for a job as an elevator operator in the Callahan Building in Dayton. The major accomplishments of Paul Laurence Dunbar's life during 1872 to 1938 labeled him as an American poet. Dunbar had two poetic identities. He was first a Victorian poet writing in a comparatively formal style of literary English. Dunbar's other identity was that of the dialect poet, writing lighter, usually humorous or sentimental work not merely in the Negro dialect but in other varieties as well: Irish, once in German, but very frequently in the hoosier dialect of Indiana. There is good reason to assert, however, that the sources of Dunbar's dialect verse were in the real language of the people. The basic charge of this criticism can be stated in the words of a recent critic, Jean Wagner. Dunbar's dialect is, he says, "at best a secondhand instrument, irredeemably blemished by the degrading things imposed upon it by the enemies of the Black people" (Revell, Paul Laurence Dunbar, pg. 84). One of the most popular of Dunbar's dialect poems was and is "When Malindy Sings" which builds upon the natural ability of the race in song and is acknowledged to be Dunbar's tribute to his mother's spontaneous outbursts of singing as she worked in the kitchen. The message of the poem is of praise for simplicity of spirit and the love of God. Another of Dunbar's superb poems is entitled "Sympathy", written in 1895: I know what the caged bird feels, alas! When the sun is bright on the upland slopes; When the wind stirs soft through the springing grass, And the river flows like a stream of glass; When the first bird sings and the first bud opens And the faint perfume from its chalice steals- I know what the caged bird feels! I know why the caged bird beats his wing Till its blood is red on the cruel bars; For he must fly back to his perch and cling When he fain would be on the bough a-swing; And a pain still throbs in the old, old scars And they pulse again with a keener sting- I know why he beats his wings! I know why the caged bird sings at me, When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore,- When he beats his bars and he would be free; It is not a carol of joy or glee, But a prayer that he sends from his heart's deep core, But a plea, that upward to Heaven he flings- I know why the caged bird sings! "Sympathy" ("sym" meaning with and "pathy" meaning feeling) is a very emotional poem about a caged bird trapped with no way to escape. "A poem like 'Sympathy'- with its repeated line, 'I know why the caged bird feels, alas!'- can be read as a cry against slavery, but was probably written out of the feeling that the poet's talent was imprisoned in the conventions of his time and the exigencies of the literary marketplace" (Revell, Paul Laurence Dunbar, 73). Dunbar's first stanza in the poem uses the word 'alas' to mean anxiety. Throughout "Sympathy" the caged bird is enduring distress due to his life's limitations. "And the faint perfume from its chalice steals- I know what the caged bird feels!" These two lines from "Sympathy" express the caged bird's thought of someone stealing his ideas and thoughts. "I know why the caged bird beats his wing till its blood is red on the cruel bars" expresses rage the caged bird feels and the physical abuse the caged bird endures trying to escape. During this period in Dunbar's life, he met George Washington Carver in Dayton, James Whitcomb Riley in Indianapolis, and he became lifelong friends with Dr. H.A. Tobey, a Toledo psychiatrist. The major accomplishments of Paul Laurence Dunbar's life during 1872 to 1906 also labeled him as being a short story writer. Although Dunbar experienced much criticism in his early career, he also enjoyed a good deal of success. These successes, unfortunately, did not come without some personal sacrifices and tribulations. He encountered rifts with his closest friends and associates, often the result of his business and artistic decisions. One such confrontation occurred when Dunbar decided to sell certain works to George Horace Lorimer of the Saturday Evening Post and Harrison Smith Morris of Lippincott's, two longtime friends of Dunbar, to the dissatisfaction of his agent. Dunbar responded by explaining: Both are my personal friends and I should feel myself rather niggardly if I should withhold from them first sight of the things that are in their line merely because now that my things are selling I could get better prices elsewhere... I feel a sense of honor and obligation towards these men which is a little beyond price. (Revell 108) This determination of Dunbar to have his works printed in major literary publications showed his sincere desire to have his more serious, non-dialect short stories to be exposed to the public. Dunbar's short stories include the works "Folks from Dixie", "The Strength of Gideon and Other Short Stories", "The Heart of Happy Hollow" and others. The last artistic accomplishment of Paul Laurence Dunbar's life was labeled as a serious novelist. Dunbar wrote four novels between 1897 and 1901. The first two of these works, The Uncalled (1898) and The Love of Landry (1900) are "white" novels in which all the characters are white and no reference is made to the presence of Black people. The other two novels, The Fanatics (1901) and The Sport of the Gods (1902) are considered to be "black" novels. Dunbar's first novel, The Uncalled, was written in England in 1897, and was published to little commercial success. Critic Benjamin Brawley considers the work "only partly a success" and remarks quite unjustly upon "the lack of local color and the mediocre quality of the English" (qtd. in Revel p. 65). Robert Bone opines that it is Dunbar's most successful novel and remarks misleadingly that it is "widely regarded as his spiritual autobiography" (Bone, pg. 39). The Uncalled is the story of the childhood and young manhood of Frederick Brent. The story opens with the death of his mother in circumstances of poverty. She has been abandoned by her drunken husband and sells her soul to the devil. The plot thickens when the question arises as to who will take care of young Frederick. The Love of Landry, Dunbar's second novel, was a major commercial disappointment. The writing in this book is fairly relevant to the circumstances that brought Dunbar to Colorado and his experiences there. In The Fanatics Dunbar tries to bring out the essential human values of brotherly love, love between man and woman, family loyalty, tolerance, and forgiveness that underlie and finally resolve the conflicts of fanatical devotion to a cause. The Sport of the Gods is an attempt by Dunbar to depict Black Americans living in social currents of his time. Dunbar proved to be very disheartened by the fact that his audiences and publishers relished so heavily on his works of dialect poetry. He felt that acceptance of his serious work- primarily his standard English poetry- faltered because of the demand for his dialect pieces. It is commonly felt that Dunbar's perception of the severity of plantation life for slaves was diffused and diluted by the stories he heard from his mother as a youngster. His mother, like his father, was a former slave, and her stories often failed to express the more brutal aspects of plantation life. Dunbar's works have often been widely criticized because of this "watering down" of the atrocities of slavery (Revell). Dunbar's poems in literary English, his short stories and novels all rely more or less on traditional forms and conventional characterization. Works Cited Baker, Houston A. Jr. "Paul Laurence Dunbar: An Evaluation." Black World. 21 Nov. 1971: 30-37. Brawley, Benjamin. Paul Laurence Dunbar: Poet of his People. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1936. Cunningham, Virginia. Paul Laurence Dunbar and his Song. New York: Dodd, Mead, 1947. Metcalfe, E.W.,Jr. Paul Laurence Dunbar: A Bibliography. Metachen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1975. Revell, Peter. Paul Laurence Dunbar. Twayne Publishers: 1979. Works Cited Revell. Peter. Paul Laurence Dunbar. Boston, Twayne Publishers: 1979. Pg. 84. Ibid, pg. 37. Ibid, pg. 73. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\preferential hiring.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ No other democratic society in the world permits personal freedoms to the degree of the United States of America. Within the last sixty years, American courts, especially the Supreme Court, have developed a set of legal doctrines that thoroughly protect all forms of the freedom of expression. When it comes to evaluating the degree to which we take advantage of the opportunity to express our opinions, some members of society may be guilty of violating the bounds of the First Amendment by publicly offending others through obscenity or racism. Americans have developed a distinct disposition toward the freedom of expression throughout history. The First Amendment clearly voices a great American respect toward the freedom of religion. It also prevents the government from "abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." Since the early history of our country, the protection of basic freedoms has been of the utmost importance to Americans. In Langston Hughes' poem, "Freedom," he emphasizes the struggle to enjoy the freedoms that he knows are rightfully his. He reflects the American desire for freedom now when he says, "I do not need my freedom when I'm dead. I cannot live on tomorrow's bread." He recognizes the need for freedom in its entirety without compromise or fear. I think Langston Hughes captures the essence of the American immigrants' quest for freedom in his poem, "Freedom's Plow." He accurately describes American's as arriving with nothing but dreams and building America with the hopes of finding greater freedom or freedom for the first time. He depicts how people of all backgrounds worked together for one cause: freedom. I selected Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 as a fictitious example of the evils of censorship in a world that is becoming illiterate. In this book, the government convinces the public that book reading is evil because it spreads harmful opinions and agitates people against the government. The vast majority of people accept this censorship of expression without question and are content to see and hear only the government's propaganda. I found this disturbing yet realistic. Bradbury's hidden opposition to this form of censorship was apparent throughout the book and finally prevailed in the end when his main character rebelled against the practice of burning books. Among the many forms of protests are pickets, strikes, public speeches and rallies. Recently in New Jersey, more than a thousand community activists rallied to draft a "human" budget that puts the needs of the poor and handicapped as a top priority. Rallies are an effective means for people to use their freedoms effectively to bring about change from the government. Freedom of speech is constantly being challenged as is evidenced in a recent court case where a Gloucester County school district censored reviews of two R-rated movies from a school newspaper. Superior Court Judge, Robert E. Francis ruled that the student's rights were violated under the state Constitution. I feel this is a major break through for students' rights because it limits editorial control of school newspapers by educators and allows students to print what they feel is important. A newly proposed bill (A-557) would prevent school officials from controlling the content of student publications. Critics of the bill feel that "student journalists may be too young to understand the responsibilities that come with free speech." This is a valid point; however, it would provide an excellent opportunity for them to learn about their First Amendment rights that guarantees free speech and freedom of the press. In his commencement address to Monmouth College graduates, Professor Alan Dershowitz of Harvard Law School defended the broad right to free speech. He stated, "My message to you graduates is to assert your rights, to use them responsibly and boldly, to oppose racism, to oppose sexism, to oppose homophobia and bigotry of all kinds and to do so within the spirit of the First Amendment, not by creating an exception to it." I agree that one should feel free to speak openly as long as it does not directly or indirectly lead to the harm of others. One of the more controversial issues was the recent 2 Live Crew incident involving obscenity in rap music. Their record, "As Nasty as They Wanna Be," was ruled obscene in federal court. They were acquitted of the charges and quickly became a free speech martyr. Although many stores pulled the album, over two million copies sold as a result of the incident. I feel that in this case the principles of free speech have been abused because young children can purchase and listen to this obscene music. The American flag, symbol of our country's history and patriotism, has also become a topic of controversy. The controversy was over the right to burn the flag without punishment. Supreme Court Justice William Brennan offered the response that "if there is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment, it is that the Government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable." Burning the flag is considered a form of symbolic speech and therefore is protected under the First Amendment. As in the 2 Live Crew case, I feel that we are protecting the wrong people in this case. The minority is given precedence at the sacrifice of the majority. The book, American Voices, is a collection of essays on the freedom of speech and censorship. I chose to put this collection of essays into my book because they represent the strong central theme of freedom of expression as the cornerstone of American government, culture and life. Each essay strongly defends a case for free commercial speech. Each was generally in favor of fewer limitations on freedom of expression. The American voice on freedom has been shaped throughout the course of history by the initial democratic notions of the immigrants to the same desire for greater freedom that we have today. The freedom of speech has constantly been challenged and will continue to be challenged in the future. It is important that we learn from the precedented cases of the past of our constitutionally protected rights so that in the future authority will not violate our freedoms or oppress our liberty. Ever since colonial times, the protection of personal freedoms in the United States has been significantly important. Even in the early stages of American history there was an urge to put legally protected freedoms into written government documents. The result was the drafting of the first ten amendments to the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, by James Madison. The applications of the personal freedoms described in the Bill of Rights, particularly the freedom of speech, have been challenged repeatedly in American courts of law and elsewhere. These incidents and challenges of authority reflect the defensive American attitude toward the ever important freedom of expression and the growing significance of personal rights throughout American history. In Colonial America, members of diverse nationalities had opposing views on government, religion, and other subjects of interest. Serious confrontations were prevented because of the vast lands that separated groups of varying opinions. A person could easily settle in with other like believers and be untouched by the prejudices and oppression of others. For this reason, Unitarians avoided Anglican or Puritan communities. Quakers and Anabaptists were confined to Pennsylvania and Rhode Island while Catholics were mainly concentrated in Maryland. As the United States grew larger and larger, these diverse groups were forced to live together. This may have caused individual liberties to be violated because of the distrust and hostile feelings between ethnic and religious groups. Most of the initial assemblies among the colonies considered themselves immune from criticism. They actually issued warrants of arrest, interrogated, fined, and imprisoned anyone accused of libeling the assembly as a whole or any of its members. Many people were tracked down for writing or speaking works of offense. The first assembly to meet in America, the Virginia House of Burgesses, stripped Captain Henry Spellman of his rank when he was found guilty of "treasonable words." Even in the most tolerant colonies, printing was strictly regulated. The press of William Bradford was seized by the government when he printed up a copy of the colony's charter. He was charged with seditious libel and spent more than a year in prison. A more famous incident was the trial of John Peter Zenger which established the principle of a free press. In his newspaper he published satirical ballads regarding William Cosby, the unpopular governor, and his council. His media was described "as having in them many things tending to raise seditions and tumults among the people of this province, and to fill their minds with a contempt for his majesty's government." The grand jury did not indict Zenger and the General Assembly refused to take action. The defendant was acquitted on the basis that in cases of libel the jury should judge both law and the facts. James Alexander was the first colonial writer to develop a philosophy on the freedom of speech. He founded the American Philosophical Society and masterminded the Zenger defense. Alexander's chief conviction was "Freedom of speech is a principal pillar in a free government: when this support is taken away, the constitution is dissolved and tyranny is erected on its ruins." The original Constitution did not contain a bill of rights because the convention delegates felt that individual rights were in no danger and would be protected by the states. However, the lack of a bill of rights was the strongest objection to the ratification of the Constitution. Less than a decade after the Bill of Rights had been adopted it met its first serious challenge. In 1798, there was a threat of war with France and thousands of French refugees were living in the United States. Many radicals supported the French cause and were considered "incompatible with social order." This hysteria led Congress to enact several alien and sedition laws. One law forbade the publication of false, scandalous or malicious writing against the government, Congress or the President. The penalty for this crime was a $2,000 fine and two years in prison. The public was enraged at these laws. Thomas Jefferson and James Madison pleaded for freedom of speech and the press. The alien and sedition laws became a prime issue in the presidential election of 1800. Soon after Jefferson was elected, the Sedition Act expired and those who had been convicted under it were immediately pardoned. The next attack on the First Amendment occurred in 1835. President Andrew Jackson proposed a law that would prohibit the use of mail for "incendiary publications intended to instigate the slaves to insurrection." John C. Calhoun of South Carolina led a special committee that opposed the proposal on grounds that it conflicted with the First Amendment. The proposal was defeated because it was a form of censorship. The next violation of the principles contained in the First Amendment came on January 2, 1920. Under the direction of A. Mitchell Palmer, Woodrow Wilson's Attorney General, about 500 FBI agents and police raided 3,000 Russians and other European immigrants, looking for Communists to deport. The victims were arrested without warrants, homes were ransacked, personal property was seized, and they were hauled off to jail. An even more vicious episode was known as "McCarthyism," an incident in the 1950's when Senator Joseph R. McCarthy of Wisconsin proclaimed that the federal government had been thoroughly infiltrated by Communist agents. His attacks on United States information libraries abroad led to the burning of some books accused of being Communist propaganda. Reduced congressional support caused many librarians to resign and the closing of libraries. On the morning of December 16, 1965, thirteen year old Mary Beth Tinker went to school in Des Moines, Iowa. She and her fifteen year old brother, John, had decided to wear black armbands as a protest to the Vietnam War. In advance to their arrival, the principal had decided that any student wearing an arm- band would be told to remove it, stating that, "The schools are no place for demonstrations." If the student refused, he would be suspended until the armband was permanently removed. On December 16, the Tinkers refused to remove their armbands. They were suspended and did not return to school until after January 1, when by a previous decision the protest had ended. The students brought suit in federal court to confirm their First Amendment right to wear the black armbands. They lost in The Federal District Court on grounds that this type of symbolic expression might disturb school discipline. The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit was divided equally (4-4) so the decision remained unchanged. On February 24, 1969, the United States Supreme Court decided in the students' favor by a vote of 7 to 2. The Tinker v. Des Moines Independent School District decision was a landmark case for students' rights and liberties. Speaking for the majority of the Court, Justice Abe Fortas wrote, "It can hardly be argued that either students or teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate." During the sixties and early seventies a new wave of court battles for First Amendment freedoms emerged. The freedom of speech was recognized as a vital element in a democratic society. Censorship and the infringement of First Amendment rights, especially among students and their newspapers, could not and would not be tolerated. American citizens took a firm stand against the government and authority at important times when they could have yielded to the oppressive violations of their rights. ENDNOTES "Amendments to the Constitution." Collier's Encyclopedia, 1965 ed. Langston Hughes, The Panther and the Lash (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1967), 55. Langston Hughes, Selected Poems (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1981), 291-293. Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451 (New York: Ballantine Books, 1973). Donna Leusner, "Social Services Advocates Rally for 'Human' Touch in State Budget," The Star Ledger, 9 April 1991: A-3. "Student Wins Freedom of Speech Case," Daily Record, 24 April 1991: A-2. Bob McHugh, "'Free Speech' Moves for School Newspapers," The Star Ledger, 4 May 1991: A-3. Cathy Bugman, "Monmouth Grads Hear Top Lawyer Defend Broad Right to Free Speech," The Star Ledger, 27 May 1991: A-9. David Gates, "The Importance of Being Nasty," Newsweek, 2 July 1990: 52. Walter Isaacson, "O'er the Land of the Free," Time, 3 July 1989: 14-15. American Voices (New York: Phillip Morris, 1987). The First Freedom Today (Chicago: American Library, 1984), 3. The First Freedom Today, 4. The First Freedom Today. The First Freedom Today, 5. The First Freedom Today. American Voices (New York: Phillip Morris, 1987), 292. The First Freedom Today, 5. The First Freedom Today, 7. Nat Hentoff, The First Freedom (New York: Dell Publishing Co., 1980), 4. Hentoff, 5. BIBLIOGRAPHY "Amendments to the Constitution." Collier's Encyclopedia. 1965 ed. American Voices. New York: Phillip Morris, 1987. Bollinger, Lee. C. The Tolerant Society. New York: Oxford University Press, 1986. Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Ballantine Books, 1973. Bugman, Cathy. "Monmouth Grads Hear Top Lawyer Defend Broad Right to Free Speech." The Star Ledger, 27 May 1991: A-9. First Freedom Today, The. Chicago: American Library Association, 1984. Gates, David. "The Importance of Being Nasty." Newsweek, 2 July 1990: 52. Hentoff, Nat. The First Freedom. New York: Dell Publishing Co., 1980. Hughes, Langston. The Panther and the Lash. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1967. Hughes, Langston. Selected Poems. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1981. Isaacson, Walter. "O'er the Land of the Free." Time, 3 July 1989: 14-15. Kalven, Harry, Jr. A Worthy Tradition. New York: Harper and Row, 1988. Leusner, Donna. "Social Services Advocates Rally for 'Human' Touch in State Budget." The Star Ledger, 9 April 1991: A-3. McHugh, Bob. "'Free Speech' Moves for School Newspapers." The Star Ledger, 4 May 1991: A-3. "Student Wins Freedom of Speech Case." Daily Record, 24 April 1991: A-2. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Prevelant Issues in Surrogate Parenting.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The Prevalent Issues of Surrogate Parenting Surrogate parenting refers to an arrangement between a married couple who is unable to have a child because of the wife's infertility and a fertile woman who agrees to conceive the husband's child through artificial insemination, carry it to term, then surrender all parental rights in the child. Often, the surrogate mother receives compensation for her services. The final step in the process is typically the father's acknowledgment of paternity and adoption, with his wife, of the child. Through surrogate motherhood, a couple desiring a child need not wait an indefinite number of years for an adoptable baby, as generally happens at the present time. The married couple obtains a child who is the husband's biological offspring- a child for whose existence both husband and wife can feel responsible. Surrogate parenting is highly controversial by its very nature. Nevertheless, surrogate parenting is attracting wide spread attention as a viable alternative for infertile couples intent on having a child. Contract surrogacy is officially little more than ten years old, although surrogate mothering is a practice that has been known since biblical times. In 1986 alone 500 babies had been born to mothers who gave them up to sperm donor fathers for a fee, and the practice is growing rapidly. For this reason there are many questions and doubts that arise from this subject. Often there are many legal difficulties that come about with surrogate parenting. In some states the contracts that insure the infertile couple the baby of the surrogate mother mean nothing. This, in turn, can cause huge problems if the surrogate mother were to change her mind about giving up her child. Who has the rights to the child in this awful situation? Surrogate parenting is a wonderful alternative for infertile couples as long as all party's involved are educated on the subject and are fully aware of the pros and cons of this risky business transaction. Unfortunately laws on surrogate parenting aren't very helpful. Increasing numbers of surrogate custody cases are finding their way into the courtrooms. The most dramatic problem arises when the surrogate mother decides she wants to keep the baby.Whether she decides early or late in the pregnancy, at birth, or after the child is born, the ultimate issue is whether she or the infertile couple have parental rights. How is the law to respond to this kind of problem? Normally people would agree that a contract is a contract and therefore the infertile couple should be the ones to receive the baby. Unfortunately for some of us more sympathetic people this decision is not that simple. By changing her mind the surrogate mother is showing maternal feelings that are surely not reprehensible. Although she has promised to give up the baby her change of heart seems more understandable than dishonorable. After all how can a woman truly be expected to know how it will feel to give birth to a child and then have to give it up? These are very good questions that tend to leave one undecided as to which party's demand is justifiable and should be upheld. Instead of deciding surrogacy issues on the basis of the law and policy of the states, judges could look for guidance from the U.S. Constitution. Constitutional arguments can be made on both sides of the classic surrogacy dispute involving the mother who changes her mind about giving up her child. Resolution of the constitutional issues will depend ultimately upon assessing and weighing the various factors at stake. Like decisions based on contract and criminal law, constitutional decisions will take account of the party's interests, the child's interests, society's interests, and the effectiveness of legalization and regulation as opposed to prohibition. Many Americans remained unaware of these dramas, but virtually everyone in the United States became aquainted during 1987 with the plight of Mary Beth Whitehead and "Baby M". Mrs. Whitehead was a twenty-nine year old house wife. She already had two children, and decided she would be the surrogate mother for a couple by the name of Mr. and Mrs. William and Elizabeth Stern. The Sterns were 40 and 41 years old. They had been married for 12 years and were childless. Mrs. Stern had a mild case of multiple sclerosis and was unable to bare any children. Although Whitehead promised in the contract that she would form no bond with the baby, she knew in the delivery room she could not give up her child. Whitehead ended up kidnapping the new born. The case proceeded to a much-publicized trial entailing six weeks of testimony and half a million dollars in legal bills. Unfortunately many surrogate agreements end with a tragic conclusion similar to this one. These awful outcomes could be completely avoided if the law would include in its many clauses, unconditional protection against any infringement upon the contract between the surrogate mother and the infertile parents. In order for surrogacy to work with its initial intent, there can be no exceptions to this law. Although there will be cases in which the enforcement of these laws may be seemingly harsh and apathetic, it is the only way that this wonderful alternative for infertile parents can rightfully continue, without potentially ruining the lives of all parties involved, most importantly the child's. Although the rights of the infertile couple should be first and foremost, it is important not to overlook the grievances of the surrogate mother. Preparation via support groups and individual therapy should be offered to the surrogate mother before the birth, not only to inform her of the enormous feat that lay ahead of her, but also to prepare her to deal with the traumas that can accompany the loss of a child. The importance of informing the surrogate mother in full that the contract she is to agree to is not reversible, is immense. Not all cases involving surrogate parenting result in battles for custody. Ironically, in some cases the battle is to decide which party will be forced to take the child as their own. One example of this unusual incidence occurred in 1982. Judy Stiver, a twenty-six year old house wife agreed to bare a child for forty-six year old Alexander Malahoff and his wife for a fee of $10,000 dollars. The Malahoffs had wanted a child to strengthen their marriage, but the couple separated during the pregnancy. It was then found that the baby would be born with microcephaly- a handicap that not only left the child with an abnormally small head (which is usually indicative of retardation), but the infant was also left without a home to be released into. The natural mother said that she felt no maternal bond with the baby but she agreed to the intravenous antibiotics to combat the baby's life-threatening infection. Malahoff, however, instructed the medical staff to take no steps or measures to treat the strep infection or otherwise care for the infant. Both sets of parents then went on to renounce their responsibility for the child. The hospital obtained a court order authorizing doctors to treat the baby, and the infection was cured. The baby, however, had no home to be released into from the hospital and was consequently placed in foster care. The case became an example of the horrible possibilities such arrangements can entail when a baby is born with a handicap. This type of incident should be avoided by making it infinitely clear in the beginning of the process of the surrogacy agreement that, under no condition will there be a breech of contract. Although it may seem that all cases end in tragedy, there are in fact many cases in which the end result is precisely the way all deciding parties had intended it to be, with the child being placed in a happy and loving environment. However, despite these many success stories, there are still groups that advocate the prohibition of surrogacy. One such group is the National Committee for Adoption. The NCA has been a consistent and outspoken critic of surrogacy and wants it to be outlawed. They argue that the availability of surrogacy would cut back on the adoption of existing babies. Perhaps if infertile couples were unable to employ a surrogate to have a child for them, they would go about getting a child in some other way, one that would be much more beneficial to society. They might decide to adopt a child already in existence, or a child who will be born in any event and who is in need of a home and family. Fulfilling their parental urges in that way, they would perform an important service to the child and to society. Although this is a valid argument, for some couples adoption seems unavailable. Many couples today are waiting longer before attempting to conceive and thus are older when they discover that they have a problem. Especially if they take time to undergo fertility treatments before turning to adoption, they may find that they are too old to be acceptable to conventional adoption agencies, which prefer couples under the age of thirty-five. Moreover, adoption is not as easy today as it has been in the past, and there is a definite shortage of healthy newborns available for adoption in this country. Infertile couples would argue that the chance to have a "normal" child, and a child as biologically connected to them as possible, is not afforded by special needs adoption or even the adoption of healthy newborns, and that although it benefits society more for them to adopt an existing child than to conceive a new one, the same is true for fertile couples, who nonetheless are permitted to reproduce without any restriction by the state. Surrogate motherhood is growing in popularity because it meets the urgently felt needs of those who resort to it better than any of the alternatives as they see them. As a consentual arrangement it is as worthy of legal protection as many others which, formerly suspect, are now taken for granted. Subject to reasonable regulation, it deserves to take a place among the growing array of methods available to individuals for the ordering of their own marital and reproductive lives. Doctrines fitted to other circumstances should not be allowed to bar the legality or enforcement of surrogate motherhood agreements. Works Cited Chesler, Phyllis. Sacred Bond. New York: Times Books, 1988. Field, Martha A. Surrogate Motherhood. Massachussetts: Harvard University Press, 1988. Keane, Noel P., and Dennis L. Breo. The Surrogate Mother. New York: Everest House, 1981. Overvold, Amy Zuckerman. Surrogate Parenting. New York: Pharos Books, 1988. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Public Contaversy.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Public Controversy The Awakening, written by Kate Chopin, was a book that was truly ahead of its time. The author of the book was truly a genius in her right, but yet she was seen as a scoundrel. At the time, it was "a world that values only her performance as a mother, whose highest expectations for women are self sacrifice and self- effacement." ( ? ) The people of that era were not ready to admit or accept the simple but hidden feelings of intimacy or sexuality and the true nature of womanhood. Kate Chopin's book portrayed a woman of that time in a quite unorthodox way. In fact, [ When she wrote the book in 1899, she ] "achieved what was to prove her literary masterpiece and her ultimate break with popular taste" ( Cully, Intro. ) That book was written in 1899. During this era women were seen as very proper and sophisticated individuals who were considered caretakers of the home. They wore an excessive amount of clothing and never exposed themselves in public or otherwise. If a woman was caught exposing herself in public, would be shunned and looked down upon. Loyalty and commitment to the family was very important during this time. Regardless of their family problems, they were expected to endure and stay faithful. [ In fact, ] " the nineteenth century's message of the supremacy of motherhood was so strong and so intense that it was absorbed into the systems of it's women - even women like Edna [ ,a character in Chopin's book, ] who were not maternally inclined." ( ? ) You could almost say that women were considered symbols of everything that is pure in the society in which they lived. Anything short of that was considered unacceptable. Because of the time that Chopin lived in: " The Appearance in print of her most recent work had brought her harsh criticism and condemnation, as well as ostracism from many of those who had always formed a close-knit world of St. Louis society" ( Cully , vii ). Her book was seen as a vile and disgusting piece of literature. One critic of that time stated : "One cannot refrain from regret that so beautiful a style and so much refinement of taste have been spent by Miss Chopin on an essentially vulgar story."( ? ). Most critics and readers of that era felt the same way as this critic did. People were not willing to put up with what they felt was a trashy novel. Thusly, it was banned for approximately 50 years. All of her colleagues shunned her and put her on a black list of sorts for writers. Her friends did not acknowledge her existence and she became an outcast in society. In 1904, Chopin died a lonely death. The only thing that survived to keep her memory alive was her writings. Not only did her writings survive, but as timed passed on, people began to see Chopin's true Genius. The appreciation for the novel grew and it became one of the more well known, and well loved novels of the time. Why did this happen? Well maybe it was because of the contravercy it introduced. To tell the truth, " the misunderstanding that surrounds Edna's personal history, as well as the history of Chopin's novel itself, attests to the greatness of both Edna and her creator." ( ? ) Chopin went from being known as an outcast of society to a pioneer of the feminist movement. She was one of the first women to express herself fully without conformity to societies pressures. All of this happened because of her book. This book was named The Awakening. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Racial Discrimination.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ "KAFFIR". When you see or hear this word, what runs through your mind? Do you picture a man with skin the color of the midnight sky, do you see him bending his muscular body down to the dry earth to pick cotton from thorn-ridden plants? Can you feel the heat of the sun beating down on his charred back? Perhaps you can even taste the beads of sweat swelling from his forehead and arms. Or maybe you are more inclined to visualize a dark-skinned woman with creases in her forehead made by many years of hard work and endless worrying. You watch her as she puts the breakfast dishes on the table and addresses her owners with a "yes sah" or "yes ma'am". There is nobody to cater to her needs. She spends each day taking care of everyone but herself. Pain. Sorrow. Anguish. Agony. Is this what comes to your mind when you hear the word "KAFFIR"? Well, it shouldn't because the word "kaffir" has nothing to do with the color of your skin. The word "kaffir" is just that; a word. It is a term that sprouted out of ignorance and continues to be used to this day exclusively by ignorant people. A kaffir isn't a slang term for an African; it is a word that describes the person that uses it. This type of person is one who feeds his ego by dehumanizing those around him when he feels they are not equal to him. He may regard those of different races or nationalities as "bad" or "dirty" because they do not have the same skin color as he does or they may cherish beliefs that are contrary to the ones by which he lives his life. These qualities describe the man who tells his son that it is okay to make fun of people who are different because differences are bad. A child who is repeatedly told such things will believe them because "mom and dad never lie". This idea, inculcated in them as children, is like a grain of sand caught in the clutches of an oyster. It eats away at their minds until it becomes part of them. Instead of forming into a pearl, it creates a whole new individual that is as ignorant as the parents who raised him. And so this vicious cycle of ignorance continues. Children need to be taught from infancy that people of other races and nationalities are human too. They think like the rest of us. They have feelings, hopes, and aspirations. They are intelligent. Sometimes they forget to put the cap on the toothpaste or they might leave the toilet seat up. We are all human and we are lucky to have such diversity in the world. Diversity does not exist to enable us to learn tolerance. It exists for the same reason we have such a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. If the only thing you eat is apples, you will get tired of them. Try pears they are just as good. If our world consisted of white-skinned, blond- haired, blue-eyed people, our eyes would get bored. Differences are inviting and intriguing - a spice of life. It is a tragedy that so many people are too ignorant to experience these finer fruits in life. We learn so much from each other. Yes, we are now making progress but at such an insubstantial pace, the damage is done and will take decades to repair. We can only hope and pray that we will rise up and overcome all discrimination, and the only instrument we can use is that of love. Without love, we are divided. Love is a perfect bond of union. With it, we can accomplish all things, but - we must be willing to give up the hate before we can cultivate the love. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Racism in America.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ In America there seems to be a major problem. It has hindered this country since America was founded. It has been used against Native Americans, Japanese, and Black Americans. The problem is racism. If this country wants to become truly great racism must be eliminated. Racism began when someone thought they were better than someone else. One source said, " Racism began during the Enlightenment Period in Europe" ( D' Sourza 87). Now organizations like the Ku Klux Klan and the Islamic movement are promoting and continuing the terrible problem. As a consequence, a bad effect on this country is inevitable. Racism has had a bad effect on this country. Incidents like the Rodney King beating and the O. J. Simpson verdict have practically split this country into two sides. " When white policemen routinely stop black people for traffic violations, they feel a deep resentment for the O. J. Simpson verdict and look for any reason to take out their anger on the unlucky black victim" ( Kennedy 72). The only solution to this problem is to eliminate racism. No one can deny the effect racism has had on America; so we must do our best to stop it.. to end racism we must be able to understand each other. " In a recent poll, 11% of whites thought that blacks were lazy, yet 76% of blacks think whites think they are lazy" ("color" 41). It is this kind of misunderstanding that racism thrives on. If we work harder to understand each other better, racism would have a harder time existing. There is no doubt that we need to find a solution to racism. It has torn this country apart, and the aftermath of this invisible enemy will be devastating if something is not done to stop it. Before this country can become truly great, a solution must be found and racism eliminated. In America there seems to be a major problem. It has hindered this country since America was founded. It has been used against Native Americans, Japanese, and Black Americans. The problem is racism. If this country wants to become truly great racism must be eliminated. Racism began when someone thought they were better than someone else. One source said, " Racism began during the Enlightenment Period in Europe" ( D' Sourza 87). Now organizations like the Ku Klux Klan and the Islamic movement are promoting and continuing the terrible problem. As a consequence, a bad effect on this country is inevitable. Racism has had a bad effect on this country. Incidents like the Rodney King beating and the O. J. Simpson verdict have practically split this country into two sides. " When white policemen routinely stop black people for traffic violations, they feel a deep resentment for the O. J. Simpson verdict and look for any reason to take out their anger on the unlucky black victim" ( Kennedy 72). The only solution to this problem is to eliminate racism. No one can deny the effect racism has had on America; so we must do our best to stop it.. to end racism we must be able to understand each other. " In a recent poll, 11% of whites thought that blacks were lazy, yet 76% of blacks think whites think they are lazy" ("color" 41). It is this kind of misunderstanding that racism thrives on. If we work harder to understand each other better, racism would have a harder time existing. There is no doubt that we need to find a solution to racism. It has torn this country apart, and the aftermath of this invisible enemy will be devastating if something is not done to stop it. Before this country can become truly great, a solution must be found and racism eliminated. In America there seems to be a major problem. It has hindered this country since America was founded. It has been used against Native Americans, Japanese, and Black Americans. The problem is racism. If this country wants to become truly great racism must be eliminated. Racism began when someone thought they were better than someone else. One source said, " Racism began during the Enlightenment Period in Europe" ( D' Sourza 87). Now organizations like the Ku Klux Klan and the Islamic movement are promoting and continuing the terrible problem. As a consequence, a bad effect on this country is inevitable. Racism has had a bad effect on this country. Incidents like the Rodney King beating and the O. J. Simpson verdict have practically split this country into two sides. " When white policemen routinely stop black people for traffic violations, they feel a deep resentment for the O. J. Simpson verdict and look for any reason to take out their anger on the unlucky black victim" ( Kennedy 72). The only solution to this problem is to eliminate racism. No one can deny the effect racism has had on America; so we must do our best to stop it.. to end racism we must be able to understand each other. " In a recent poll, 11% of whites thought that blacks were lazy, yet 76% of blacks think whites think they are lazy" ("color" 41). It is this kind of misunderstanding that racism thrives on. If we work harder to understand each other better, racism would have a harder time existing. There is no doubt that we need to find a solution to racism. It has torn this country apart, and the aftermath of this invisible enemy will be devastating if something is not done to stop it. Before this country can become truly great, a solution must be found and racism eliminated. In America there seems to be a major problem. It has hindered this country since America was founded. It has been used against Native Americans, Japanese, and Black Americans. The problem is racism. If this country wants to become truly great racism must be eliminated. Racism began when someone thought they were better than someone else. One source said, " Racism began during the Enlightenment Period in Europe" ( D' Sourza 87). Now organizations like the Ku Klux Klan and the Islamic movement are promoting and continuing the terrible problem. As a consequence, a bad effect on this country is inevitable. Racism has had a bad effect on this country. Incidents like the Rodney King beating and the O. J. Simpson verdict have practically split this country into two sides. " When white policemen routinely stop black people for traffic violations, they feel a deep resentment for the O. J. Simpson verdict and look for any reason to take out their anger on the unlucky black victim" ( Kennedy 72). The only solution to this problem is to eliminate racism. No one can deny the effect racism has had on America; so we must do our best to stop it.. to end racism we must be able to understand each other. " In a recent poll, 11% of whites thought that blacks were lazy, yet 76% of blacks think whites think they are lazy" ("color" 41). It is this kind of misunderstanding that racism thrives on. If we work harder to understand each other better, racism would have a harder time existing. There is no doubt that we need to find a solution to racism. It has torn this country apart, and the aftermath of this invisible enemy will be devastating if something is not done to stop it. Before this country can become truly great, a solution must be found and racism eliminated. In America there seems to be a major problem. It has hindered this country since America was founded. It has been used against Native Americans, Japanese, and Black Americans. The problem is racism. If this country wants to become truly great racism must be eliminated. Racism began when someone thought they were better than someone else. One source said, " Racism began during the Enlightenment Period in Europe" ( D' Sourza 87). Now organizations like the Ku Klux Klan and the Islamic movement are promoting and continuing the terrible problem. As a consequence, a bad effect on this country is inevitable. Racism has had a bad effect on this country. Incidents like the Rodney King beating and the O. J. Simpson verdict have practically split this country into two sides. " When white policemen routinely stop black people for traffic violations, they feel a deep resentment for the O. J. Simpson verdict and look for any reason to take out their anger on the unlucky black victim" ( Kennedy 72). The only solution to this problem is to eliminate racism. No one can deny the effect racism has had on America; so we must do our best to stop it.. to end racism we must be able to understand each other. " In a recent poll, 11% of whites thought that blacks were lazy, yet 76% of blacks think whites think they are lazy" ("color" 41). It is this kind of misunderstanding that racism thrives on. If we work harder to understand each other better, racism would have a harder time existing. There is no doubt that we need to find a solution to racism. It has torn this country apart, and the aftermath of this invisible enemy will be devastating if something is not done to stop it. Before this country can become truly great, a solution must be found and racism eliminated. In America there seems to be a major problem. It has hindered this country since America was founded. It has been used against Native Americans, Japanese, and Black Americans. The problem is racism. If this country wants to become truly great racism must be eliminated. Racism began when someone thought they were better than someone else. One source said, " Racism began during the Enlightenment Period in Europe" ( D' Sourza 87). Now organizations like the Ku Klux Klan and the Islamic movement are promoting and continuing the terrible problem. As a consequence, a bad effect on this country is inevitable. Racism has had a bad effect on this country. Incidents like the Rodney King beating and the O. J. Simpson verdict have practically split this country into two sides. " When white policemen routinely stop black people for traffic violations, they feel a deep resentment for the O. J. Simpson verdict and look for any reason to take out their anger on the unlucky black victim" ( Kennedy 72). The only solution to this problem is to eliminate racism. No one can deny the effect racism has had on America; so we must do our best to stop it.. to end racism we must be able to understand each other. " In a recent poll, 11% of whites thought that blacks were lazy, yet 76% of blacks think whites think they are lazy" ("color" 41). It is this kind of misunderstanding that racism thrives on. If we work harder to understand each other better, racism would have a harder time existing. There is no doubt that we need to find a solution to racism. It has torn this country apart, and the aftermath of this invisible enemy will be devastating if something is not done to stop it. Before this country can become truly great, a solution must be found and racism eliminated. In America there seems to be a major problem. It has hindered this country since America was founded. It has been used against Native Americans, Japa f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Racism in Our Colleges.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Racism has been a steady problem all through time. One of the most troublesome areas of racism is in places of education. Finding a cure for this would be a major step towards ending racism in general. No one has ever thought of a solution yet, and racism will be strong as long as there isn't one. It all started back when the colonists traded certain goods for slaves. They had never seen a black person before and thought of them as lower human beings because they did all of the colonists' work for them. Since blacks were so low, they were never given a good education. This lack of education continued throughout the centuries. Even in the 1700's slaves were never taught how to read or write. In the 1800's everyone's feelings about slavery, good or bad, culminated in one big war, the American Civil War. During this period, the slaves really tried to break free from their past stereotypes. A small percentage of them taught themselves to read and write and they began to teach others. Some blacks even fought in the Civil War. The most educated were selected and several black units were formed. Once the North had defeated the South in the war, the slaves were freed from bondage, however, that did not mean that they would be free from the terrible prejudice that still permeated the country. Schools sprang up in all black areas but were not given the public funding that they needed and deserved. They were usually only one room and very dirty. They were given the oldest and most worn out books and equipment that were available. There weren't even many teachers who were qualified and were willing to teach at an all black school. Even though education was instituted for African Americans, which was a step in the right direction, it was a very small step and still didn't give blacks the education they deserved. This treatment prevailed for many years after the Civil War. A new concept, segregation , evolved and was predominant from the late 1800's through the first half of the 1900's. Whites assumed that they were better than black people and didn't want to be around them in anything they did. For example, in buses, whites were given privileged seating in front; but blacks had to sit in the back. Moreover, if there were not enough front seats whites could preempt blacks from their back seats. There were separate restrooms, drinking fountains, stores and, of course, schools. Segregation remained the same for many years until one day in 1955 a black woman named Rosa Parks sat down in the front of a bus where all of the white people were sitting. When she was told to move to the back of the bus, she refused to budge. This action set off an uproar among blacks who questioned their rights for the first time. In the 1960's, the governor of Alabama, George Wallace, was a militant supporter of segregation. In 1963 two blacks, Vivian Jones and James Hood, sought admission to the traditionally segregated University of Alabama. According to legislation at the time, they had every right to go there; but since the governor was so anti-black and pro segregation, he didn't like it one bit. As the two black students prepared to enter the college, George Wallace stood in the doorway, blocking their way addressing the need for segregation. He refused to move, so the national guard was called in to restore order and admit Jones and Hood to the University of Alabama. This was an important moment in black history because it marked the first time a black person had been admitted into an all white college. Although laws pertaining to civil rights were enacted that ended segregation, hatred and racism still continued; and it appears to be even stronger now than it ever has been. Today there is no legal segregation in colleges but a recent study revealed that most southern colleges remain segregated. In this day and age, there are many diverse ethnic groups and cultural backgrounds that populate the same colleges. With this great amount of people, there is naturally much tension between the many groups. From this tension arises the hate groups on college campuses. Whether they are against whites, blacks or any other groups, they cause many problems in the steady flow of education. Although everyone has the freedom of speech, even if the majority disagrees with it, they do not have the freedom to do whatever they want to fellow human beings. These hate groups become uncontrollable when they assault or desecrate things that other races value. In October 1995, two black students from Rowan College in New Jersey were beaten on the college campus by a couple of white football players. The fight occurred at the Study Hall pub when racial slurs were used against the black students. When the black students asked them to quit with the verbal assault, the football players drug them out to the football field and began to beat them until someone saw it happening. It was stopped immediately and the football players were escorted away. The two students suffered minor injuries and have recovered. The football players were kicked off the team and may even be suspended from the college if charges are filed. This is just one example of the racial prejudice in colleges, even in a small college of 9,000 students. In a larger school the problems are understandably magnified. At Rutgers University in February, the school was racked with controversy. The president of Rutgers, Francis L. Lawrence, was caught saying that black students do worse on the SAT tests because they are genetically inferior to other students, particularly white ones. This incident spurred a protest on the floor of a basketball game between Rutgers and UMass at half-time. Soon hundreds of classmates streamed onto the court, forcing the suspension of the game. The one black woman, who started it, is now known as the Rosa Parks of Rutgers. Lawrence was not reprimanded for his comments but this shows that even the leaders of schools are not free of prejudice. But, most of the time it does not matter how large the school is, just how many students are involved in the riots. Probably one of the biggest school riots in history was at the University of Massachusetts on October 27, 1986. The World Series had just ended, where the New York Mets beat the Boston Red Sox. Hundreds of students, many of them drunk, came pouring out of their dorms. White Red Sox fans began taunting and shoving black Mets fans. After a while, a huge mob of 3,000 whites were running all over the campus, chasing and beating anyone they saw who was black. Luckily, only ten of the black students were severely injured, but that was ten too many. Black students now are facing the same oppression in schools as there was many years ago. Groups such as the Nazi skinheads make it very difficult for blacks to get a good education because they are constantly worried about being verbally or even physically assaulted. This, however, could be part of the problem says Shelby Steele, a black professor of English at San Jose State University. He says that because of black feelings of inferiority, people have exaggerated the level of racism on some campuses and that blacks should try to move on with their lives rather than be pulled down to a lower level of petty fighting. "Instead of demonstrating for a black 'theme house,' black students might be better off spending their time reading and studying." This kind of hatred is not peculiar to the colleges alone. Many teenagers who are either in the hate groups or have a lack of faith in equality are made this way through their high schools. Many high schools are either all black or all white and influence the way that teens think. The all black schools even resemble the schools of old. They have minimal funding and substandard equipment. They are always in the worst neighborhoods and are filled with drugs and violence. In all white high schools, on the other hand, students are not accustomed to being around blacks. This might be one of the reasons that blacks and whites do not mix well in colleges. In 1994, a principal from an Alabama high school opposed interracial couples' attending his school's prom. The students and parents protested, saying that the kids had the right to take whoever they wanted to prom. Although he was fired as principal, his ideas have left their mark, that students should stay away from other races. He probably isn't the only principal or authority figure that thinks this way. When students learn this behavior from high school and their parents they take it on to college with them. When these diverse backgrounds get mixed together in college, many confrontations occur. The movie Higher Learning is a great example of the way many college campuses are today. There are many groups of students going to the same school, ranging from whites to blacks to Asians and different religions such as Catholics, Jews, Muslims, etc. Of course, there are even hate groups. In the movie, a group of neo-nazis do not want to have anything to do with the blacks or Jews who go to that college. Usually the blacks tend to stay away from the group so as not to be a part of a fight but one can only take so much. There are numerous beatings and verbal assaults against the blacks; and, when they try to fight back the police always take for granted who started the fighting, and arrest the black "troublemakers". By the end of the movie, there is a peace march on the campus and the nazis don't like it. The group persuades one of the members to go to the top of a large building with a gun and open fire on the peace marchers. He does and a black woman ends up getting shot. Her boyfriend runs to the top of the building and proceeds to beat the nazi. The cops find them both, drag the black man off and start to beat him as if he just picked a fight for no reason! As the cops approach the white student, he becomes frightened and sticks the gun in his mouth. He says if they come any closer he will shoot himself. The movie ends with him actually shooting himself, which goes to show the confusion that most of these people have. Most of them probably don't even know why they hate, they just know that is what they were brought up to think so it must be right. Obviously that is not the case. Even though this movie was fiction, the type of college campus it portrays is not. These kind of things are happening everywhere, and most of them aren't even publicized. When one goes to college one would expect to go there to learn but that is not always the case, as often seen on the news. Although there is widespread violence in college, it does not go unpunished. Many of these beatings and riots that are going on in recent times are broken up by the police before anyone seriously gets hurt. The people who partook in the crimes are usually apprehended and punished for their actions. Some people would say that the offenders are not punished well enough, because there has not been a decline in violence as of late. The court system has done little in improving the life on college campuses. A lot of the cases brought up are simply forgotten about because of "more important matters." It is just a mere excuse on their behalf to support these kind of racist actions. "University administrators at many campuses prefer to ignore racial incidents or keep them out of the news." This kind of thinking is increasing the gap between races and putting more fuel on the fire of racism. This is not always the case, as seen in the Rowan College, Rutgers and UMass events. But, even when they show some action toward ending racism through fair decisions, there is a limit to what they can do. According to the first amendment, the hate groups that are formed do have a right to march, protest and show what they believe in. There is no law against having a nazi flag or being a skinhead, but there are laws to prevent slander and violence. That is where the human nature of peacemaking comes in to play. Nearly every human wishes deep in their heart for peace on earth, with the exception of those who take part in the hateful actions mentioned before. Past peacemakers such as Martin Luther King Jr. have struggled and even given their lives for the cause of peace; and because of this, blacks have a lot more rights and a higher acceptance in society than they did 30 or 40 years ago. But they still do not have the full respect they deserve as fellow human beings, so more work is needed. Although nothing can be done about existing hate groups existence, there is hope for the next generation of people to be a lot more open-minded. The only way for that hope to be realized is if all the people of the nation, and even the world, band together and stop racism before it starts. By educating young children and bringing them up to know the difference between reality and ignorance. Programs are already in place in most schools that are not bias against other races or genders. If there is a school that is predominantly black or Spanish, courses are set up to meet the needs of the children. Spanish and Spanish History are taught to Spanish children and black culture and history are taught to black children. "Even in colleges, many students are encouraged to take a course in ethnic studies or cultural diversity which are often taught by newly hired minority faculty members." If these children are taught the correct values that should have been taught a long time ago, then they can grow up to be leaders of a new, equal nation that gives everyone an even chance at life and free from hatred. In the meantime, the laws should be increased against any kind of hate crime, especially in schools. To many of these offenses are slipping through the cracks of the court system without any kind of punishment whatsoever. No form of racial abuse should be tolerated in the slightest and if offenders knew this, then maybe it would mark the beginning of the end of racial injustice. Today's current status is, sadly to say, very much unchanged from the eighties and early nineties when a lot of the bad incidents occurred. There is still much to be done and hopefully much to look forward to. I, for one, would like to see an end to all of this violence and hatred that is ripping the country apart. If everyone could put aside their differences and look at their similarities they have with other people, then this world would be a better place. I think it is really unfortunate what is going on with today's schools. School is supposed to be a place where people are educated and taught so that they would not be ignorant to all areas of learning, not a place where ignorance thrives and real education is only handed out to those who have white skin, or those who are fortunate enough to afford a good college. No one should have to put up with any form of abuse, especially when they are trying to learn and make something of themselves so that they can have an equal chance for success in the future. Perhaps if everyone would have a positive outlook on this problem in the future, there will be an end to all of the violence and hatred in our nation's schools and everywhere else that this pestilence exists. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\RACISM TODAY.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ RACISM TODAY "...Everybody jumped on him, beat the hell out of him... Everybody was hitting him or kicking him. One guy was kicking at his spine. Another guy hitting on the side of the face... He was unconscious. He was bleeding. Everybody had blood on their forearms. We ran back up the hill laughing... He should have died... He lost so much blood he turned white. He got what he deserved" (Ridgeway 167.) The skinheads who performed this random act of racial violence in 1990, had no reason to brutally beat their victim other than the fact that he was Mexican (Ridgeway 167). Racism is objectively defined as any practice of ethnic discrimination or segregation. Fortunately, racial violence is steadily declining as the turn of the century approaches. Now a new form of racism, covert racism, has recently sprung from the pressures of political correctness. This new form of racism, although slowly declining, still shows signs of strong support (Piazza 86). Covert racism assumes a form of civil disobedience against politically correct thought and speech. Essentially, covert racism is a "hidden" racism, or a racism not easily detected (Piazza 78). "Racism is still strongly prevalent in today's society" (Gudorf 3). The three different basic forms of racism, open racism, violent racism, and covert racism all express forms of hatred towards distinct ethnic groups (Bender 47). These basic forms of racism, although different in form, all have the same main purpose, to promote racism. Open racism expresses freedom of racial thought and speech. Open racists promote their views through strictly persuasionary tactics. This form of racism is allowed in our society because of the First Amendment. Open racism is currently almost nonexistent and steadily declining, because it is considered politically incorrect and socially unacceptable. Violent racism promotes racism through violence, fear, and persuasionary tactics (Leone 49) This form of racism is not protected by the First Amendment because it promotes violence to express its ideas. Unfortunately many violent racial groups claim they do not promote violence, and therefore these groups are protected by the First Amendment because not enough sufficient evidence exists to prove their violent intent (Ridgeway 123). Covert racism expresses ideas of racism in disguised forms; sometimes the covert racist is not even aware of the fact that he is racist. "Racism, it is asserted, is no longer blatant: people nowadays are reluctant to express openly their dislike of and contempt for minorities, indeed are not prepared to express publicly a sentiment that could be interpretted as racist. Racism, it is said, is subtle: it is disguised, kept out of sight" (Enrlich 73) "The suggestion that there is a new racism--a racism that has a new strength precisely because it doesn't appear to be racism--deserves serious consideration" (Piazza 66). Avoiding minorities on the street and denial of a public benefit to a minority which would be awarded to a white are examples of covert racism. "Since it is no longer politically correct to openly express one's racist views, people therefore favor disguised, indirect ways to express their bigotry" (Piazza 68). Covert racism is the most abundant form of racism in our society today. What causes racism? Unfortunately, the answer is much longer and detailed than the question. The three main causes for racism are: racism has become part of our heritage, right-wing racial and political groups, and pride in one's own race. Practically since the dawn of man's existence man has undoubtedly noticed differences between races. "Racism's presence throughout the formation of our culture is quite evident" (Tucker 17). Frequently throughout history the ethnic group with the most power has assumed that its race and culture are superior to others. The same incident even occurred in America with the introduction of slaves. Throughout American history, racism has been strongly prevalent. "Racism's roots lie deep within the foundation of our society" (Tucker 19). These roots undoubtedly are the source for a great many of the racist groups and covert racism ideas found throughout our society. Extremist social and political groups, particularly those advocating right-wing policies of racial inequality, promote racism as well. These groups serve as the epitome of racial thought and speech (Ridgeway 10). The following represent various racist groups found throughout the United States: John Birch Society, Ku Klux Klan, Knights of the KKK, Invisible Empire, NAAWP, White Aryan Resistance, American Front, Nazi Skinheads, Posse Comitatus, Aryan Nations, The Order, and National Alliance (Ridgeway 15). All of these groups are given the freedom to express their ideas of racism because of the First Amendment (CIEQ 16). Although the First Amendment protects the speech of these groups, many none the less find it necessary to use violence to promote their cause. Racist groups now make extensive use of covert racism to extend their message of racism throughout our society. This form of racism has proven quite effective, in the past ten years, at persuading others to adopt racist ideas (Piazza 69). These groups serve as a symbol of racism itself to many in our society (Ridgeway 29). A large source of the racism present in our society stems from one's pride in his own race. Many people, especially those associated with racist groups, find it necessary to put down other ethnic groups in an attempt to strengthen their own (Bender 113). This mode of thought and reasoning usually results in extreme hatred of other races and an overall sense of bigotry. Reasoning in this manner equates to many associated with racist groups. Pride in one's race may eventually lead to covert racism thought (Piazza 87). Covert racism affects our society in a variety of different manners. "Indeed it should be said that covert racism has permanently scarred our society, both politically and socially" (Piazza 1). Racial politics have changed since the era of the civil rights movement, when the issue of race, at its heart, came down fundamentally to whether whites were prepared to accept other races as their equals (Bloom 29). "Now, however, the issue of race has become more complex^×more complex because there are now multiple agendas including affirmative action, quotas, and set-asides" (Piazza 34). The main agenda revolves around affirmative action, steps taken by an employer, school, or other institution to expand oppurtunities for blacks, hispanic people, women or other minority groups. "The clear implications of the most recent Supreme Court decisions on affirmative action programs is that such programs will be upheld in certain circumstances to remedy past discrimination" (Bloom 48). However, many whites view this special treatment of minorities for past discrimination as discrimination towards themselves. This "reverse discrimination" has lead to many debates and controversies concerning race and racial politics (Piazza 30). Unfortunately this sort of political environment encourages covert racism in many whites as a counterattack against affirmative action. Our political system must first become racially unbiased before our society may become more ethnically diverse. If all men are created equal, then why should differences in race matter? Unfortunately our society has not lived up to the standards set by its forefathers. Racism, especially covert racism, still affects our society socially. Covert racism is a form of civil disobedience for racists to spread ideas of racism throughout our society (Piazza 68). Word Count: 1,201 f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Racism.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Destroying Racism As the snow covered the house that my grandma occupies, I looked out the window to the neighbor's front door, their mailbox, and the circular driveway they had. It was just another home, where kids could build a snowman or throw snowballs on the front lawn. But there where no children or snowmen here. And beneath the snow, the word "N-I-G-G-E-R" was written in the grass. A family- a home- where they had bothered no one. One night someone decided to take weed killer and burn it in giant letters into their lawn. This is why our nation, the melting pot of many races, needs to confront the problem and deal with what really is in front of us. When I first really thought about this, I thought, this is not Mississippi, or Alabama; this is Michigan, and it's in my grandma's neighborhood. And the thing is, their a normal family, just like any other. They went on trips in the summer, and spring, and this time came back to a message on the lawn. I sat there that day watching cars go by their house as if it were haunted or something. I guess it can happen anywhere. But this snow- covered house is still a reflection of America, white on top with a hatred burning underneath. I go to a college, where the races meet every day. Colored man helps white man; white man helps colored man. Doesn't sound right ? That's how bad our society has gotten. Disturbing? Of course. But what is more disturbing is, lately when these issues of racism have come up, there seems to be impatience and annoyance. "Does everything have to be racism?" people ask. And they're always complaining that "It's just a little thing." No, it's not. People are always saying that there is little prejudice. But how is that true ? It's like saying you're a little pregnant; can't happen. But this is nothing new. How many times have you heard "He's fast; for a white guy." Or "White men can't jump," Or "All black guys can jump and dance." And in reality these are all hateful things to say. As whites, we are the majority, and don't always realize it. And whenever there's racist complaints, we say "OK, we'll change" with a sigh. It's the white's who go crazy to get black athlete's autographs. They say "We love you!" yet how many would let them date your daughter? Although I say this, I do believe that some progress has been made. But I do think that when you're the majority, you do have to guard against insensitivity. But you can't drag it half way up a hill and then abandon it, because it will fall down. I believe that "we," as a society, have made a considerable effort to decrease racism, but no matter how hard you try get rid of it, there will always be prejudice brewing in the air. And even though we would like to forget about the problem, we can no longer avoid it. Racism is an issue that should to talked about and explained, so that people with little understanding to the issue can finally open their eyes. The next time I went to my grandma's, I walked her dog down the street past the neighbor's house. A lady was out in her garden, and I yelled "HELLO!" She smiled and waved. I felt awfully good after that, like I had done something, something good. It wasn't much, a simple "Hello" but it felt like a thousand words. But as I walked past the house, the snow reminded me of what was beneath it, the message spelled out in weed killer. A message so horrible and torturing, that people don't realize what it's like until your put in their skin, in their situations, in their minority, in their minds, and live the experience. But this doesn't mean, however, that they should be treated better or differently than anyone else because they're a minority; I believe in equal opportunity for everyone and that terrorizing or vandalizing a different race than your own shouldn't be tolerated. To put race into terms, I believe "racism" and "prejudice" intertwine with each other. You basically pre-judge a person because they're not the same as you, wether it be their color, how they speak, or even the way they walk or go about their everyday life as a human being. We then treat the people who look the least like us differently, like they're from some other planet. But this is not so; we need to understand that because America is the melting pot for many kinds of races, we, as a nation need to take more care, to be a little more sensitive to others, so that all the ingredients can be melted together as one, instead of the whole batch separating from each other and eventually ending up with a mess rather than an example for other nations to follow on. Although I speak strongly on the fact we need to sharpen up as a nation, I don't think it's up to a particular race or group of people to set the standards for the rest of us. In order for racism to dissipate, it has to be a decision we all want to contribute to. I think we are still a long ways from getting everyone on the same page, although we have made great progress from what we were, we still have many miles to go before someone can say "What is racism"? For being racist isn't power, it's ignorance, and if you could be of a different race for a day, you probably would never say a bad thing again. Racism has become one the biggest issues in society today, and many people--from the President to a kid off the block-- are trying desperately to be heard, and make that difference come to life. Many people don't actually think about racism they just use it, as an excuse or as a way out of dealing with what the actual problem is. Most of us know the problem, but it's up to us to try to find the ingredience to solve it, it's a case that you can't let slip from under your arms or it will get away on you, quickly. But we must first face reality, and deal with what we can day by day and step by step. For it's the only way to try dissipate the bold strength of the word "racism". f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Rape.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Rape This paper will focus on the social and cultural conditions that intensify or perpetuate rape. The causes and reasons for rape are deeply entrenched in our social structure. We can explore some of the motivations and circumstances which lead men to rape. We have learned that some men rape out of anger and a need to overpower, dominate, and humiliate. We can also look at some of the historical attitudes from which today's beliefs and stereotypes have evolved. However, we must look beyond both rapists' motivations and history if we are to truly understand the act of rape. Why does rape exist and what causes it? What is it about our society that makes rape one of the fastest growing violent crimes in this country? One way we have tried to deal with this problem is through rape prevention. These techniques are very important in decreasing the vulnerability of individuals, but in order to eliminate the occurrence of rape from our society, we must first examine its causes more deeply so that we can take collective action. We must understand the sociology of rape in order to effectively work towards the elimination of it. Despite the necessity for rape prevention, it must focus on eliminating the conditions in society which make women easy targets for rape. Victim control teaches women to avoid rape, but doesn't reduce the threat of rape. Furthermore, rape cannot always be avoided, no matter what precautions the woman takes. It also puts part of the responsibility and blame for rape on the victim. Rapist control confuses prosecutions with prevention. There is little evidence that punishment serves as a deterrent. Besides, very few rapist are ever incarcerated. From very early ages, men and women are conditioned to accept different roles. Women are raised to be passive and men are raised to be aggressive. We are conditioned to accept certain attitudes, values and behaviors. Our conditioning is continuously and relentlessly encouraged and reinforced by the popular media, cultural attitudes and the educational system. The media is a major contributor to gender-based attitudes and values. The media provides women with a complete list of behaviors that precipitate rape. Social training about what is proper, as well as what is powerful and macho, teaches women to be victims and men to be aggressors. The high incidence of rape in this country is a result of the power imbalance between men and women. Women are expected to assume a subordinate relationship to men. Consequently, rape can be seen as a logical extension of the typical interactions between women and men. Women's vulnerability to rape is a result of this subordinate relationship. There are a number of sexist dictates that serve to maintain this subordinate relationship one of which is: Rape as a means of control over women. Rape plays a role in maintaining patriarchy by perpetrating the threat of violence. The acts of just a few violent men can terrorize all women and can control women's lives. The indifference of other men reinforces this effect. A strategy for eliminating women's vulnerability to rape involves altering the power relationship between women and men. Women's vulnerability will not end with individual change alone; there have to be social change as well. Society trains females to be physically and emotionally unequipped to respond effectively to danger. Training begins at an early age. Boys and girls are channeled into different physical activities, because of the believed differences in physical and muscular development and stamina. Consequently, as adults, females are unable to gauge both their own bodies' resistance to injury, and their own strength and power. Learning self-defense in schools and on the job would be a step towards alleviating women's vulnerability, as would providing girls and women with equal opportunities and encouragement to engage in sports. I was glad to hear that MIT set up a self-defense class for women. How many women will actually take the time to take it, who knows? We haven¹t been taught that we need to be aggressive and protect our own bodies. The emotional training women receive also contributes to their inability to successfully fight back. Women learn to be passive, nurturing, accepting and compliant. Most rapists select victims they can intimidate and overpower. Most women are reluctant to challenge men's offensive behavior because of their emotional training and conditioning. Frequently, women psychologically distance themselves from the issue of rape and from each other by adopting the attitude that, "It can't happen to me," or, "Only immoral women are raped." Because there are many factors which enforce the belief that "a woman's place is in the home², women tend to be displaced from the mainstream of community action and decision making. One of the most important societal changes deals with how our justice system deals with rape. In other words, when a woman is raped, it is not uncommon that some of the blame and responsibility for the rape is put on her. This is probably one reason for the incredibly low conviction rate of rapists. Our criminal justice system reflects the prevailing societal attitude that women are partially responsible for rape. Consequently, juries rarely find a man charged with rape as guilty. Rape must be viewed as a political issue, not just another crime or mental health problem. It must be seen as an issue which affects all women. Rape is not just a women's problem--it is a community problem. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Reparations.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Proposal for Reparations... Teresa Burk Due to the fact that many African-Americans cannot trace their genealogy back more than three generations, It would be extremely difficult to distinguish between those who are descended from Freemen and those descended from Slaves. Therefore, although it should have some impact on reparations, we must take into account those who cannot trace their genealogy( approximately 3/4th of African-Americans). We also must remember that in essence, no African- Americans were completely free. Many blacks, Freeman and Slaves alike were lynched, falsely imprisoned, raped, murdered, and subject to sub-human treatment. It is almost impossible to estimate the economic hardship caused by slavery and the aftermath that followed. To this day the African-American family still suffers from the aftermath of slavery. We see it in the form of Poverty, under- education, Discrimination, and Black on Black crime. Consider that Blacks are seriously under-represented in many of our nations top fields. Less than .05 percent of African-Americans are CEO's in corporate America. Blacks are also a rarity in Law, Medicine, and higher education, What follows is my estimation of the reparations needed. 1st generation descendant of slave: 500,000 of Freeman: 350,000 2nd generation descendant of slave: 350,000 of Freeman: 225,000 3rd generation descendant of slave: 225,000 of Freeman: 180,000 4th generation descendant of slave : 180,000 of Freeman: 120,000 5th generation descendant of slave: 120,000 of Freeman: 90,000 6th generation descendant of slave: 90,000 of Freeman: 60,000 7th generation descendant of slave: 60,000 of Freeman: 30,000 Additional Moneys. Family member lynched: 60,000 per family Family member raped by slave master: 20,000 Family member falsely imprisoned: 6,000 It is important to note that in the event that it cannot be determined whether a family descended from Freemen or Slaves, an average should be taken from the two. Also, in the event that a generation has no living survivors, that money shall not be awarded and is not subject to inheritance. As for Moneys for family menders lynched, raped, or falsely imprisoned, this must be a direct result of slavery and most be proven beyond a preponderance of the evidence. Therefore, each state shall appoint a committee of six members, at least three of them being African-Americans. These committees will be responsible for investigating all claims on an individual basis and awarding money. If, for example, a member of the 3rd generation starts a claim and dies before the moneys are awarded than that money shall be subject to inheritance. The committee will have a period of five years to investigate and award all moneys. In the event that a family wants to appeal their award or lack there of, their claims shall be directed to the State supreme court. The court will have three years to render decisions on all claims. In order to ensure the financial stability of the United States, these payments shall be made over a period of 15 yrs. However, in the case of persons who have been awarded moneys and are over the age of 55, they will have the option of taking a discounted lump sum of 40% of the moneys owed. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Republicans! Unfavorable acts caused the rise of the Ku Klux .TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ REPUBLICANS! UNFAVORABLE ACTS CAUSED THE RISE OF THE KU KLUX KLAN The years after the civil war were frustrating times for the Americans. New laws and rules were posted for which to abide by and due to the outcome of the civil war, the people from the south had now to accept the new slavery laws issued by the political parties and congress. This created turmoil amongst both northerners, who mostly were against slavery, and southerners. This was also true for both political parties that consisted of the Republicans and the Democratics. Again the issue was always on the rights of blacks. The battles with certain individuals who felt it their duty to stand up for their idea of what the American way was. In 1866, just a year after the civil war, six confederate veterans formed a social club in the small town of Pulaski Tennessee. These men were set out to perpetuate white supremacy through out the south. The social club became official. The members came up with the name of Ku Klux Klan. It was a name taken from the Greek word "Kuklos" which means circle. They came up with rituals copied from college fraternities. They also assigned positions to special members. They were composed of the Grand Cyclop, The President, the Grand Magi, the vice- president, and the Grand Exchequer, the treasurer. The Klansmen adopt a uniform. The uniforms were white, long robes, White masks, And high pointed hats. ( Ingalls, Hoods 3 ) Adopted during 1866-67, the Republican party's Reconstruction program threatened to turn southern society upside down. The promise of equal rights for blacks flew in the face of the widely held opinion of the white Southerners that the black race was innately inferior. This deep-seated racist belief had served to justify slavery, and it remained a major obstacle to uplifting blacks after the civil war. Indeed, Antiblack hatred drove some whites to extreme measures to resist Reconstruction. ( Ingalls, Hoods 6 ) The Republicans feared that barrings the blacks from politics would make the Democratics Party dominant again in the south and in congress. Congress divided the south into five military districts controlled by martial law. It took the vote away from large numbers of rebel whites. It declared that all black men could vote and hold office. And it ordered the rebel states to write new and democratic constitutions. Since Tennessee had become the first southern state to give black men and freed slaves the right to vote, it became most affected. ( Meltzer, 23 ) With the republican party controlling state government, exconfederates began to take up arms to oppose Reconstruction. Intimidation and violence were increasingly used against blacks and their supporters in the Republican party. ( Ingalls, Hoods 11 ) These rampages of brutal acts were mostly the work of the dreaded Ku Klux Klan. In 1867, Klansmen met in Nashville where they adopted a prescript, or constitution. This permitted the Klan to spread across the south. Prescript set an initiation fee, a dollar a member. Sworn to secrecy, recruits pledged to 'protect the weak, the innocent, and the defenseless, from the indignities wrongs, and outrages of the lawless, the violent and the brutal. The Ku Klux Klan became widespread. Klan leaders proved unable to control their many followers and their harmless pranks turn into a lawless reign of terror. This leads us back to the turmoil caused by the republican's Reconstruction. The Klansmen's prime targets were either almost always black or if white, associated with the hated republican party. (Ingalls, Hoods 12-15) Klansmen invaded homes of blacks at night for their alleged wrong doings. These pertained of insulting whites to voting for republicans. Blacks were forced not to vote for Republican candidates. The Klan's political emphasis also led to threats and attacks against white Republicans, particularly those who were public officials. Directed at Republicans "carpetbaggers" who came from the north and southern "scalawags" who cooperated with them, the Klan's campaign of terror was designed to keep them from getting elected and to force their resignation if they won. (Ingalls, Hoods 17-18) The Klu Klux Klan came up with a new vengeance, this was the Secret order. The Secret order spread to the Confederate states from Virginia to Texas. just like in Tennessee, The Klan's growth was ignited by the enforcement of reconstruction, which extended legal rights, especially the vote, to blacks. Newspapers sympathetic to the democratic party, spread the word about this new antiblack and anti-republic organization along within Klan officials. (Ingalls, Hoods 23) Huge numbers of people of both races in the south, now, for the first time, held political power. And that was the signal for the Klan and several other secret organizations to combine their terror in an attempt to destroy Radical Reconstruction. Blacks at some point held political offices but gradually the black people lost what little power they had to defend themselves. They saw most of their white allies drop out of the Republican Party. (Meltzer, 36) In Georgia, a mob of masked men murdered George W. Ashburn who was a white Republican. He was active in state politics. The Klan's campaign of terror peaked during the election campaign of 1868, when the purpose of the violence was clearly to defeat Republicans and elect democrats. Thousands of black and white Republicans fell victim not only to beating but also to murder. (Cook, 45-46) Although Democrats still denied that the Ku Klux Klan was a problem, Republicans officials started prosecuting Klansmen in federal court due to Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 that congress passed at the beginning in 1870. This declined the Klan's terrorists acts, even though some violent acts were still being practiced, it was only in isolated areas. Long after its death, the Reconstruction Klan lived on in southern legend. Its opposition to black equality and Republican rule made the Ku Klux Klan appear a heroic defender of "the southern way of life" in the eyes of many law-abiding whites who never joined the Klan but still despised Reconstruction. (Ingalls, Hoods 44) In conclusion, the shift of power to the Republican party after the civil war created a hostile environment for the Confederates. Reconstruction, brought upon by the Republicans, set fire to the racism of the people. This statement thereby coincides with my theory which Republicans' unfavorable acts caused the rise of the Ku Klux Klan. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Revolution GirlStyle Now!.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ "Revolution Girl-Style Now!" Riot Grrrls were originally born out of the "Punk" scene where rebellion was expressed in attitude, appearance, style, and music. Defining Riot Grrrl is much like defining Punk. There is no central organization, no authoritive definition, just an attitude concerned with pointing out social hypocrisy and empowering people to "do it yourself", creating a culture of their own when they see that the mainstream media does not reflect their concerns or provide outlets for their efforts. Riot Grrrl is a supportive environment for girls and young women which is concerned with feminist issues such as rape, abortion rights, bulimia/anorexia, sexism, sexuality, double standards, self-defense, fat oppression, classism, and racism. Riot Grrrl is a network of fanzines that are produced by the angry "girl revolutionaries" who identify with the music that is associated with Riot Grrrl. The fanzines, self-designed and self-written, uncensored and uninhibited photocopied publications, are often intensely personal. That personal outlet is translated to larger political action when the fanzines are available to the public, bringing people together for conventions and other consciousness-raising activities. The ethos is about supporting each other and empowering each other. In actuality, Riot Grrrl is a frame of mind. It's a way for them to come together in a common cause: "Revolution Girl-Style Now!". Since no specific person or people claim they created it, Riot Grrrl has meant many things to many people. Most girls do not attempt to define it anymore. "EVERY GRRRL IS A RIOT GRRRL. All you need is a healthy dose of pissed-of-ness at the treatment of womyn in our society. We are NOT all punk, all white, all lesbians, all musicians, all fanzine editors, all vegetarians, all victims of abuse, all straight edge. There is no 'stereotypical' Riot Grrrl." (Knight 9) The early Riot Grrrl scene was a "loose-knit" affiliation of feminist Punks, formed circa 1991 in Olympia, Washington and Washington D.C. The philosophy of "do it yourself" and "you can do anything" seemed to apply mostly to boys, who were the ones making the music and dictating the styles. By the early '90s, more and more girl bands started springing up, but ironically they found themselves battling sexism and discrimination within a movement originally based in a consciousness about youth and oppression. With the rallying cry, "Revolution Girl-Style Now!" bands like Bikini Kill formed a small movement to combat the male dominance of the Punk Scene and, by extension, the rest of the world. Inevitably, Riot Grrrl was born: So there's this revolution happening all across the country and all across other countries and it's the revolution girl style and as a girl revolutionary I want to say something about it... ...This revolution is so real and so deep for me, it is something I have been waiting for my whole life, something that I think is imperative to my survival, or at least my sanity. this revolution is in my heart and my soul, and it's in the heart and souls of other girls/women I know, and fuck you it's valid, and fuck you it's for real...(Carlip 33) Over the past few years, magazines, newspapers, and news shows have begun to pay a great deal of attention to Riot Grrrls. At first, most Riot Grrrls were open to use the media as a way to spread the word to other girls. Soon, though, feeling that they had been misinterpreted, commercialized, and made into a new fad and trend, Riot Grrrls changed their minds: ...I'm sick to death of defending riot grrrl every time I turn around, I don't even know why it should have to be defended. Riot grrrl is not what Seventeen, Newsweek or the LA Weekly make it out to be or any other media thing. The media attention has taken riot grrrl and twisted it distorted the name to mean little if anything of importance. No person can speak for all riot grrrls, they can only simply give their opinion (like I am) and it should be taken as such...(34) After the height of mainstream media coverage, many of the more productive and popular chapters such as Olympia and D.C. decided to "close" down. Refusing to answer most of their mail, rejecting interview requests, changing meeting locations or canceling them all together seemed like the only way to stop further exploitation, misquoting, and such. "If a barrette wearing, magic marked, thirteen year old looking 20 year old was what the words 'Riot Grrrl' would be translated as they didn't want it" (Spirit 1). The mainstream media-what seemed like the best medium for communication, and the best way to spread "girl-love"-had failed. While lots of girls had been inspired by the idea of Riot Grrrl after having heard about it through a magazine or a television show, they began to question, challenge, create, demand...Others have learned nothing more than a hot, new, cute way to dress. Riot Grrrl activities includes the annual Pussystock festival in New York City, National Riot Grrrl conventions all over the country, and the distribution of fanzines. Riot Grrrl conventions hold gatherings of over 100 young women from all over the country who come together to empower themselves and each other. During these conventions, girls have the opportunity to meet other girls, share fanzines, perform in their all-girl bands, perform spoken-word pieces, talk, scream, cry, laugh, complain, enlighten, and educate though workshops that focus on several issues, including rape, racism, sexuality, and animal rights (many Riot Grrrls are vegan-strict vegetarians). Fanzines are filled with girlish drawings and cartoons; poems and dreams; music, book, and other fanzine reviews, and vegetarian recipes. Fanzines are an opportunity to express fully without fear of judgement. They are also a way to inspire: Lately, I've been getting quite a few great zines...An explosion, if you will. And what I've got to say about them is that they all are incredible. Everyone's got something to say, everyone is motivated to make change, everyone is excited, ready to get involved, make a difference. And they have. Just by going out and doing a zine says something-it means that this thing called "empowerment" is in effect. Time to make a statement. And it ain't no feeble attempt. These zines scream "I AM MAKING A DIFFERENCE." How much more rad can it get? I'm excited to find out...(38) Through meetings and fanzines, Riot Grrrls have created their own support system, who are there for each other's survival and well-being. Due to class and race, although somewhat mixed, the majority of Riot Grrrls are White and recognize that they are "privileged". Through the advantage of education, Riot Grrrls are aware of a vital survival tool: expression. By getting out their frustrations, shame, hopelessness, and rage, through singing, drawing, performing "spoken word" and especially writing can be a catharsis (healing process). "...Our rage is our power don't let it fade don't let it die feed it to your daughters kill all confusion but teach her don't hate too easily because hate cancels out the power rage supplies." (Wilson 3). Rage can be defined as a feeling of intense anger. Anger can be defined as a feeling of great annoyance as the result of rage. One may ask what do girls under twenty have to be angry about? There are a lot of girls who feel like outcasts, with no one to relate to. These young women see hate around them and are angry about it. They want to end rape, violence, prejudism, homophobia, and sexism. With Riot Grrrl, they are finding out something vital: that it's okay to be angry (hence the grrr in Grrrls). One girl says that she doesn't need to prove herself worthy of respect: Okay I've had it and the keys of my typewriter will feel the anger and rage that you should be receiving right now. But you have no clue. You probably never will-but that won't stop me. I can scream on paper when you brush me off, when you bind my tongue... I won't shut up. I won't be intimidated. I WILL tell you when you are hurting ME, when you hurt ALL girls with what you say and do. I WILL tell you NOT to use words like slutwhorebitch. I WILL NOT shut my mouth just so you can be nice and secure in your opinion, an opinion which includes sexist jokes, racist remarks, homophobic comments, gender pride, oppressive ideology, and blind hate blind hate blind hate. You know who you are you because when you read this you are thinking that this "feminist" should SHUT UP STOP LOOKING FOR TROUBLE SHE'S PROBABLY PREMENSTRUAL OR HATES MEN IT'S NO BIG DEAL EVERYONE LAUGHED AT THE JOKE ABOUT THE BLOND PROSTITUTE THIS GIRL IS MAKING A BIG DEAL OVER NOTHING SHE DOESN'T KNOW WHAT SHE IS TALKING ABOUT ANYWAYS. Yeah, you know exactly who you are. You aren't all of mankind, or one person alone, but you make up a big and power- hold-ing part of society...AND IT"S ABOUT TIME YOU FOUND OUT THAT THE WAY YOU ACT SOMETIMES IS NOT RIGHT, IS NOT ACCEPTABLE TO ME OR MY FRIENDS. It's about respect. And no I won't shut up. (Carlip 40) In addition to rage, it is clear that a lot of girls continually feel disrespected, especially by acts of violation and humiliation. These acts come in all forms, mental, physical, and verbal abuse, and rape. One out of three women will be raped in her lifetime and four out of five victims know their attacker. These are the facts Riot Grrrls are painfully aware of: listen up, daddy, and listen good. you broke my heart, daddy. you ruined my life. you keep us women under control and you think your male power will keep you outta trouble. i hate you. if i thought i could get away with killing you, i would. not just for me, for mom and for all the other women you mindfuck daily. you better watch your ass, 'cause someday i'm gonna come up from behind and boy are you gonna be sorry you hurt me. don't even try to be friends like you think i don't remember. i remember. i wake up screaming and i remember your eyes looking at me and your fist beating me and your dick raping me and my mind is reeling and wanting everything to stop now now now now now now now. i'm so angry when i see your face, i want to vomit. when i can't even fuck without you there, without crying. when i can't look in a mirror without your voice telling me how ugly i am, telling me what kind of a girl I am. when i look at my mother in fucking poverty while you bask in your wealth, i feel sick. you make me sick. you made me hate myself. you took my little girl self and you fucked her all up. she loved you, but i don't. i might hate myself, but I hate you more. (43) Though Riot Grrrls are united in speaking out against rape, abuse, and other injustices, they also (like all adolescent girls) struggle with friends, relationships and boys. While many express their boy concerns, others are finding courage to adopt a lifestyle that is simply unexceptable to so many. The controversy over whether homosexuality is a choice or a biological fact is not the issue. Like many Riot Grrrls declare "I want the freedom to define my own sexuality": the spanish inquisition was held in my bedroom when information leaked to the authorities that i had slept with a boy. "people ask us what's up with you because you say you're a lesbian, but then you like boys." i asked to be more precise in my terminology. i disagree that i have an obligation to make sure everyone understands my sexual preferences. i want the freedom to define my own sexuality. that freedom is my right. there is this idea that bi-sexuality is a transition between gay and straight-it's just a phase, it's not a serious lifestyle. i refuse to answer gays who don't think i'm gay enough or straights who don't think i'm straight enough...i will not answer to anyone. (95) Self-image is a topic every girl struggles with. " i hate mirrors. i really do. i cant stand my reflection, my face. i know i'm not ugly...i feel ugly" (Madhu 1). There are stacks of studies which show that girls lose their sense of power as they approach adolescence. These studies show that 53 percent of school girls are unhappy with their bodies by the age of thirteen, and that 78 percent are unhappy with their bodies by the age of eighteen. Many Riot Grrrls fight back against society and the media which "plays on your insecurities" and try to set standards that maybe not everyone can follow (Pipher 183-185). "'one size fits all' is just one more way society has of telling me I do not exist"(Sam 11). One of the many Riot Grrrl principles is to accept parts of self that have traditionally been crushed, judged, and ridiculed, and to actually glorify them, trans forming these newly formed attributes into something that is cool: i am not a size 6. or size 8 or 10 or 12. i am size 14. i am 5'11" and i weigh 178 lbs. no matter how hard i try, i will never be supermodel skinny. (and i have tried). nor do i want to be. i have "big" thighs. i have stretchmarks. i have a big belly. and i am finally learning to like it. i am finally trying to accept myself. after all the pain, all the fat torment, all the "you'd be so pretty if you just lost 15 pounds!" i finally don't care. i am beautiful. beautiful to nobody's standards but my own. i am not 36-24-36. i am 38-32-38. here I am. i will never do ads for victoria's secret. i bet her secret is that she can't wear her own designs without feeling gross. call me fat...whatever. i'll eat it up. because i don't count calories, and your words are zeros anyway (9-10). Glorifying is quite evident in the Riot Grrrls appearance, style and appreciation for childhood and childlike things. From wearing cat-eye glasses and mismatched clothes to carrying Sesame Street lunch boxes as purses and wearing brightly colored barrettes in their hair we have also seen a growth of girlness epitomized in high and low fashion. From the runways of Paris to urban thrift stores, baby doll T-shirts and dresses, little patent leather shoes, plastic barrettes in the shape of teddy bears and tiny bows have brought girl-style to the for front of trendy fashion. It's a style, however, that carries with it a serious attitude. There is definitely an attitude that goes with it-much more confident, not caring what society or what men think about it (Orviro 2). The whisperings of the girl movement started coming out of the underground a few years ago. Across the Xeroxed pages of fanzines, were the screams from the Punk stages through the mouths of Babes in Toyland, Bratmobile, and L7. Just take a look at the names: Bikini Kill, 7 Year Bitch, Hole-all fierce rockers who took the language used against women and co-opted it to work in their favor, twisting insults into strengths. These musicians put this anger into their music and drew hordes of young women "to bathe in the shower of their wrath". These women told girls that anger is all right, that screaming for attention is a good thing, that girls don not have to sacrifice to get what they want, because "Revolution Girl-Style Now" was in effect. As the Riot Grrrl music scene took off, girls found their voices once again in fanzines raving about the bands and what they had to say. "It was a liberation" one girl says, the first time she saw Babes in Toyland screaming their guts out on stage (Spirit 2). Most Riot Grrrl bands like Babes in Toyland or L7-unlike major lable bands-stick to independent record labels, especially Olympia's K, and have maintained a commitment to cheap all-age shows. One cannot define Riot Grrrl because it has meant many things to many people. The "girl revolutionary" was conceived during the "Punk" era where being a rebel was expressed in your attitude, appearance, style, and music. Conventions, fanzines and all-girl bands, ways they have expressed themselves, gave these angry young women a voice they yearned for. Going beyond the fanzines and music, there is a style that goes with Riot Grrrl as well. The most inaccurate image of a Riot Grrrl was that of a lesbian, man hating, ignorant, violent, bitter, bitch, an image that has followed feminism even before it was feminism. Lying somewhere between the media creation and a genuine post-feminist movement, comes a commitment to change. Riot Grrrls have come together in a common cause: "Revolution Girl-Style Now!". Bibliography Carlip, Hillary. Girl Power: Young women speak out. New York: Warner Books, Inc., 1995 "Grrrls kick ass!". Online. Available HTTP: http://www. Micoks.net:80/~tiffani/girl.html Hanok, Emily. The Girl Within. New York:Fawcett Books, 1989 Knight, Zain. Luster fanzine. San Fransisco. Madhu.. "Riot Grrrl". Online. Available HTTP: http://www.angelfire.com/nj/alienshe/grrrl.html Orviro, Rachel. "I Am a Girl". Online. Available HTTP: http://www. voiceofwomen.com/sac/girl.html. Pipher, Mary, Ph.D. Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls. New York: Ballantine Books, 1995 "REVOLUTION GIRL STYLE NOW!". Online. Available HTTP: http://www. Smu.edu/~hnovales/girl.html Sam. "I AM XL & PROUD". Kingfish fanzine. SanDiego. Spirit. "What is a Riot Grrrl anyway?". Online. Available HTTP: http://www. columbia.edu:80/~ril 3/music-html/bikini kill/girl.html "So what the heck is Riot Grrrl?". Online. Available HTTP: http://www. indieweb.com/riotgrrrl/rg-perplexed.html Wilson, Jodi. Crisco fanzine. San Fransisco. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Rosa Parks.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Rosa Parks is an extraordinary person because she stood up against racism and stood up for herself. It was even harder for her because she is a woman, and in those days, things were much harder for woman. Rosa Parks hated the ways of her life. She had always dreamed of having freedom in her life. As she grew up, she went through different experiences that gave her courage and strength. One day, Rosa Parks had so much courage and strength that when her bus arrived to pick her up, she got on the bus, put her money in the slot, and sat in the front of the bus. Black people were supposed to sit in the back. The bus driver told her to move to the back, but she just sat there and refused to move. The driver called the police and they arrested Rosa Parks. The next day, Raymond Parks went to pick up Rosa from jail. When they got home, Rosa spoke about her time in jail. She had stood up to get a drink of water and the guard told her the drinking fountain was only for white people. This made her furious. On December 5, 1955 Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Jr. and JoAnn Robinson looked out of their windows, and stood on street corners watching all of the yellow buses drive by. There were hardly any black riders since Rosa Park's arrest. It was a miracle. People stopped riding the buses all because of Rosa Parks. Soon, the police were informed of the people standing on the street corners watching the buses drive by. The police watched the streets to make sure that the black people were not bothering the other bus riders. They tried guarding the bus stops. The police failed and the boycott was a success. A few months later, Rosa Parks once again started to climb aboard a bus. She stopped when she noticed a sign that read, "People don't ride the bus today. Don't ride the bus for freedom." Finally the rules for riding the buses were changed. 1. Black and white people could sit wherever they wanted to sit. 2. Bus drivers were to respect all riders. 3. Black people were now allowed to apply for driver positions. A lot of people wrote hate mail to Rosa Parks. Some people called and threatened her and her family. She and her family were scared. They knew they were in serious danger, but, Rosa Parks would not give up. Rosa Parks became a great hero. In 1979, Rosa Parks received the Spingarn medal. In 1980, at the 25th anniversary celebration of the bus Boycott, Rosa Parks was awarded the Martin Luther King, Jr. nonviolent-peace prize. In 1984, Rosa Parks was given the Eleanor Roosevelt Woman of Courage award. Rosa Parks is known as a national hero and as a shy girl who stood up against racism and fought for freedom. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Sarah and Angelina Grimke Sisters of Abolitionism.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Sarah (Moore) and Angelina (Emily) Grimke Sarah is the eldest of the Grimke sisters, born in Charleston South Carolina in November of 1792. Angelina, the youngest, was born in Massachusetts in February of 1805. The Grimke family consisted of the sisters, an aristocratic, slave owning father, Judge John Faucherand and Mother, Mary Smith Grimke. Sarah had the overwhelming desire to practice law, though due to her status as a women, she was not admitted, or allowed to attend any Universities that were available at the time. This was only the beginning to the discrimination and humiliation she was to experience in her fight against sexism. Both Sarah and Angelina joined the Society of Friends (a.k.a. Quakers) in Philadelphia in their early twenties. Their time there strengthened their independent thinking skills. The sisters were unhappy with the Society of Friends, due to the strict regulations they lived under. Soon afterward both sisters moved to North Carolina to join the Anti-Slavery movement. In 1835 Angelina wrote a letter of support to Abolitionist leader William Lloyd Garrison who published it in his newspaper The Liberator. The following year, 1836, she composed a thirty page pamphlet entitled An Appeal to the Christian Women of the South. This pamphlet urged southern women to persuade their influential husbands to re-examine the morality of the slavery institution. A similar plea was made towards the Southern Church institutions months later in An Epistle to the Clergy of the Southern States. Though praised by other abolitionists in the free states, officials in South Carolina burned copies and threatened imprisonment to the authors should they return to that state. During this time the sisters released their own family slaves after they were apportioned to them as part of the family estate. Angelina also began the sister's speaking career in the private homes of Philadelphia women. The sisters moved to New York in 1836 where they addressed the larger audiences of Churches and public halls. With all their good efforts the sisters were brought under fire from the General Association of Congregational Ministers of Massachusetts and scalded by authority figures. These actions further inflamed the anger of the sister's discrimination, resulting in further efforts made in the way of sexist reform. Angelina married Theodore Dwight Weld, a famous Abolitionist in 1838. Soon afterward she became ill and retired public speaking. Her sister, Sarah joined her in her retirement. Both sisters along with Weld started and supported Liberal schools in New Jersey. Eventually the sisters moved to Massachusetts, continuing to support Abolitionism and Women's Rights. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\SexBased Generalization in Freud.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ In "Boys and girls: The development of gender roles," Beale gives us revealing overview of Freud's personality theory. Beale point out both strengths and weaknesses of his answer to the questions of "Why" and "How" in gender development, but still leaves a chance for a reader to make up her/his own mind about whether or not to accept Freud's theory. It is relatively easy, however, to find oneself torn between openheartedly going along with Freud's idea about the existence of a dynamic system (or libido) in us, and reacting against the ease and assurance with which Freud writes about castration fear in boys and penis envy in girls. Freud's view of personality as a dynamic system of psychological energy is a very complex, yet insightful approach to the development of personality. The nature of the id, ego, and superego, and the psychosexual stages that these three structures focus on during a course of one's development, give a plethora of reasons to believe in the existence of a critical period in gender development. Freud's theory suggests that the way in which the id, ego, and superego evolve and the way in which they proliferate in the first six years of a child's life will influence the child's emotional attachment to her/his parent of the same sex and, as consequence, the child's gender identification. I would agree with Freud's statement that children undergo a certain emotional crisis after becoming aware of their genitals. It must be somewhat frustrating for, e.g., a three year-old to realize that reaching a pleasurable emotional state does not necessarily have to originate from her/his mother. Unable to cognitively create an explanation to a new, unexpected flow of circumstances and feelings, the child is most likely to end up confused. This confusion will inevitably provoke anxiety, and the anxiety will build up an emotional tension. However, I would dare to argue at this point that the reason for a child to seek identification with one of the parents might come not from castration fear in boys or penis envy in girls, but rather from the child's belief that the person of the same sex (father for boys and mother for girls) will know how to protect them from the tension. If we perceive male and female infants' cognitive development to have the same starting point, then it is find to accept that boys and girls will react so very differently (according to Freud) to the awareness of their own genitals. If boys have reason to fear castration, why would girls not fear penis "implantation," instead of envy (as Freud proposes)? I am not questioning in this paper whether girls and boys go through an emotional crisis around age of three, but rather whether there is a reason for us to believe that girls necessarily have to play out their confusion through envy, whereas boys have to play out their confusion through fear. Perhaps it could be argued that majority of children are genetically predisposed to act in that particular way in order for nature to secure the existence of human species. It is not Freud's belief about the id, ego, and superego that raises our eyebrow, but rather his rigid sex-based generalization of gender development. His generalization seems to underestimate the impact of genetics and broader social cues, and to overestimate children's cognitive capabilities during the preoperational stage and the impact of the child-parent relationship on children's gender development. There is no doubt that Freud gave us some priceless insight into human personality development. However, by postulation that development of one's gender in the particular way he describes is inevitable, he leaves us, on this verge of the 21st century, very little reason not to contradict him. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Sexual Harassment A Cry for Help or a Money Making Scheme .TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Zaccarello 1 "Sexual harassment is not about sex, it is about power." -Gretchen Morgenson An unwanted sexual advance, an offensive touch, and suggestive comments illustrate examples of sexual harassment. Sexual harassment is defined by Stephanie Riger as, "unwanted sexually oriented behavior in a work context." However, sexual harassment does not only appear in an occupational environment, and this form of harassment is not limited to a specific race, a specific gender, or any certain lifestyle. Today, throughout the United States, men and women are filing sexual harassment lawsuits as if sexual harassment were no great matter. A line needs to be drawn to distinguish what is and is not sexual harassment, but since sexual harassment is so subjective, a simple line becomes harder to draw. Some people want punishment for hostile environment harassment, but what constitutes a hostile environment? According to Morgenson a hostile environment includes "hazing, joking, and sexually suggestive talk between men and women who work alongside them." Lately, it seems that Americans are making sexual harassment an excuse. People are crying sexual harassment like the little boy who cried wolf. Sexual harassment has become such an issue due to the large number of cases presented. When Anita Hill, law professor at the University of Oklahoma, brought allegations of sexual Zaccarello 2 harassment against Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, the whole world started listening. This case was "the most celebrated sexual harassment case of our time," according to Martha Chamallas, and "Hill's revelations prompted women to tell about their own encounters with sexually harassing behavior-both in private and in public." This case gave women a reason to report sexual harassment, and sexual harassment would no longer be overlooked. Women would no longer have to "flatter" their bosses, as Erica Jong had to. Consequently, since Anita Hill came out and voiced her opinion, it seems that the issue of sexual harassment has become a security blanket for men and women, and filing lawsuits of sexual harassment have created a new money making scheme. In 1996 my place of employment received two allegations of sexual harassment. In the case I testified in court that I never saw any event of sexual harassment that the lady in question described. The jury threw out her sexual allegations against our employer, and she was sentenced for embezzlement. In this case, sexual harassment was her security blanket against her employer. When she heard that she was being charged with embezzlement, she decided that she might be able to plea bargain if she proved that sexual harassment took place. When allegations of sexual harassment hit home, it has become clear to me that something needs to be done. Employers need to safeguard themselves by understanding the definition of sexual harassment. Employers need to know their employees and be Zaccarello 3 aware of their employees' values. Knowing that sexual harassment is an issue of power and not sex, women need to prove to men that they are not submissive objects. Jong states "just as men can use sexuality for power, women can use anti-sexuality for political power," and I agree with her. The issue that women should be lobbying for is equality. If women cannot stand up to their bosses and show them that they too are powerful, then women will never achieve equality. Similar to my story, in the Supreme Court case of Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson, Sidney Taylor was accused of sexual harassment by a former employee, Michelle Vinson. Michelle testified that in order to advance in her occupation she had to have sex with her supervisor. Undoubtedly, she did have sexual relations with her supervisor, but she never refused his advances, according to her affidavit. In Taylor's testimony, he told the court that he never made advances or even had sexual relations with her. Furthermore, Taylor testified that Vinson's accusations were the result of an earlier dispute over business. The court found that even if a sexual relationship had taken place, that Michelle acted willingly, and that this relationship had nothing to do with her employment to the bank. This is another example of how the issue of sexual harassment has become grounds for a lawsuit and a money making scheme. Not only are women making money out of sexual harassment cases, but "peddlers of sex harassment advice have, of course, their own money making agenda," according to Morgenson. "There Zaccarello 4 are a lot of bad consultants taking advantage of the fact that sexual harassment is in vogue." In fact, the government has granted aid to certain agencies whose job is to try and combat sexual harassment. The irony is that in Morgenson's view, sexual harassment is decreasing, while the number of sexual harassment consultants has increased. Jennifer Coplon, a consultant, believes that the number of consultants has increased because sexual harassment is overall employment issues, the biggest concern among cooperations. If women would not use sexual harassment as a cry for help, then maybe cooperations would not have to pay consultants to educate businesses. Prevention is the hardest phase of sexual harassment because it is almost impossible to understand what one considers harassment. Morgenson described it best when she pointed out that "Behavior that one woman may consider harassment could be seen by another as a non-threatening gag." Riger suggests that policy makers and employers need to "think like a woman" in order to define sexual harassment. By understanding what might be offensive and suggestive to a woman, employers can safeguard themselves against law suits. Since feminists have forced the court to believe that sexual harassment is a form of sexual discrimination, then equal opportunities for employment need to be implemented. Also, prevention can be accomplished by installing organizational mechanisms, such as hierarchies. If more women were in higher levels of authority, then cries of sexual harassment will be reduced. The key to prevention is Zaccarello 5 education, and as long as the employer knows his employees, then the chance of sexual harassment is diminished. Even though there are almost too many cases of sexual harassment reported, one cannot afford to overlook one case as a false allegation. At the University of Oklahoma, an international student who made accusations of sexual harassment was recently expelled from school. Since the University failed to act upon her allegations, she decided to take the matter into her own hands, which ended her education at the University of Oklahoma. It will never be known whether or not that her allegations were true. Sexual harassment is an issue that cannot be overlooked. With proper knowledge and education, prevention is necessary. Maybe, punishment for wrong allegations should be drafted into legislation. I agree with Erica Jong when she suggested that "sexual hot- button issues like harassment serve to distract us from focusing, for instance, on the fact that women continue to be underpaid." Until something is done to prevent sexual harassment, women and men will use sexual harassment as their security blankets and money making schemes. I want to emphasize to women that sexual harassment is not a money making game, and by crying sexual harassment out loud, women lose their power. As Jong demonstrates, "If we take our power and use it as badly as men have used theirs throughout the centuries, we will not have brought about the world of equality we seek." f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Speech.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ I have a vision, that all people be treated equally. Race, religion, sex, age, and other petty differences should not mater. Every one has a rite to me here, on Earth. Everyone has a rite to be heard. I hope that some day, when a person looks at another they won¹t judge them until they actually meet them. Race, religion, sex, and age doesn¹t make someone any less of a person. Age should not mater. Both young and old have a rite to be heard. As long as a person is educated about something, they have a rite to form an opinion about it. Children are no less of people because they are young. Sex should not mater. Both men and women are people, therefore, they should be treated with respect. Many men and women are harassed every day by the opposite sex. People should realize that without the opposite sex, it would mean the end of the human race. So both men and women are just as important as the other. Religion should not mater. A person is raised to believe something. No religion is wrong. Any person could argue that another religion is wrong. So if you tell someone that they are believing the wrong thing, they could same to you. No religion is wrong. Reverse discrimination is also wrong. It isn¹t a person¹s fault that people of their race and sex usually get a brake. Reverse discrimination is still discrimination, and all discrimination is wrong. All discrimination is the same. No one should discriminate against another ever. Especially if I it is to bring them self up. I hope that all people will learn to go about things in a peaceful way. So many people have died in the past because someone was trying to make a statement. None of these people should have died. In society today we kill and will continue to kill to bring justice. Will we ever learn that as long as we keep trying to get people back for what others have done to us, there will never be peace. In conclusion, people are people, discrimination is discrimination, and what¹s wrong is wrong. No one is any better than anyone else. I hope that someday people will stop trying to get back at one another. Until this happens there will never be peace. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Stephen Biko.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Stephen Bantu Biko Stephen Biko is known internationally as the founder of the South African Students' Organization (SASO), and a leading force in the South Africa Black Consciousness movement. He fought against the separation between black and whites, called apartheid (the Afrikaans term for separateness). His childhood experiences and character, lead him to became a powerful leader. Steve Biko was born on December 18, 1946, in King William's Town, South Africa. He father was a clerk and his mother was a housemaid. Following the Sharpeville massacre in 1960, Biko was just 17 years old when he became a political activist. He started to become active when he got expelled from Lovedale High School and his brother was arrested in a nationwide police crackdown on political activists. He ended up graduating in 1966 at a boarding school in Natal named St. Francis College. By then, his mind and character were those of a leader. He had a quick brain with huge mental force and ideas. He had the gift to cut through to the core of a problem and find the best solution. "His mind was a tool to chisel out sense and truth and order" (Woods 78). Biko was thoughtful, sensitive and had a good sense of humor. He was motivated by the search for good and truth. At the University of Natal Medicine in 1968, he became involved in the multiracial National Union of South African Students. He was known by peers and adults as a student leader This organization fought for black rights, except he claimed that, "the white [were] doing all the talking and the blacks listening" (Biko 210). Biko wanted the blacks to have as much say and participation as the whites, so in 1968 he became the co-founder and first president of he South African Students' Organization (SASO). This was an all-black organization, which aim was to raise self respect and reliance to all blacks. He said, "Black liberation starts with psychological self reliance. This can only be initiated in isolation from allies whose good intentions are an obstacle to such self-realization" (Woods 63). This organization helped the foundation of another movement and convention, known as the South African Students' Movement, and the Black Peoples' Convention (BPC). This movement also became known as the Black Consciousness Movement. The movements he founded were headed towards students, because they were the ones that might change their minds, unlike the older people, who have already made up their minds. He published Black Review, which was a political journal for the black community. These movements and publications raised so much controversy that the black man is as worthy as any other person, that large numbers of people on school campuses and their community took part in protest, marches, and strikes against the government. This lead to banning of all SASO and BPC members in February 1973. The banning was when members were put on close watch by the police, restricting their associations, locations, movements, and public statements. Biko was restricted to the King William Town area. After the banning took place, Biko secretly organization what he called the Zimele Trust Fund in 1975 to help political prisoners and their families. That year and the next he was arrested repeatedly without a charge or trial. In 1976, he played a lead role in a trail which involved nine blacks prosecuted from "Alleged Subversion by Intent," which means their thought and ideas were put on trial. Like Nelson Mandela, who was a generation before, he used the trial in the courtroom as a platform for the articulation of his philosophies and of black grievance. It turned out that the nine blacks were convicted and sentenced to prison for a minimum of five years. Black anger against white rule was now terrorism against the state and fair game for police intervention. In August 18, 1977 he and another fellow activist were arrested as security threats at a Security Police roadblock. They were put into jail at Port Elizabeth. For the next 24 days after his arrest, he was beaten and tortured. From this torturing, he suffered permanent brain damage, from blows to the head. He was then driven, while unconscious, 740 miles to a prison in Pretoria on September 11. He later died the next day at an age of 30. An autopsy showed that he died of untreated head injuries, but the police denied all of this. The death was not blamed on anyone. The movie Trading Places, with Eddie Murphy, demonstrates Stephen Biko's theory that a black man can do just as good as a white man, he just needs to be given the chance, and the correct environment. There is a movie made on the book Biko, by Donald Woods, called Cry Freedom distributed by Universal Pictures. This movie shows the relationship between a white news reporter, Donald Woods, and the black activist Stephen Biko. It shows the inequality that blacks go through everyday (Cry Freedom). His death shocked the nation and people internationally. This was a turning point for South Africa. None of the rest of the world would buy goods or trade with South Africa. The new prime minister was quick to change laws, because if he didn't act fast there could have been lots of riots, and South Africa might be shut off from the rest of the world forever. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Style and Theme in For colored girls who have considered sui.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Lorin Hobart AML 2604 11-25-96 Ms. Hunt Style and Theme in For Colored Girls who Have Considered Suicide/ When the Rainbow is Enuf For Colored Girls who Have Considered Suicide/ When the Rainbow is Enuf is a piece of work written by Ntozake Shange. It is written in an unusual style that is called a choreopoem. This style is very effective when done by a skilled poet such as Shange. She uses a combination of rhyming lyrics and a play like format to captivate the reader. The subject matter of her work is very powerful as well. The entire collection revolves around how black women are oppressed and their courage throughout many trials. Using the combination of a unique style and riveting content Ntozake Shange sends a message of hope and pride to her fellow black women in her work For Colored Girls who Have Considered Suicide/ When the Rainbow is Enuf. First of all, Shange writes in the form a choreopoem. A choreopoem is a piece of work that is written as a poem but is intended to be acted out on stage sort of like an opera. It is constructed in such a way that it flows just as well on paper as it does on stage. She either writes in all capital letters or all lower case letters and never mixes them. This creates a style that she is personally known for. It sets her apart from other writers and makes her work original. None of the characters have names or any type of identity except for the color of their clothes. When the piece is done on stage the characters are never introduced they are just eventually recognized by the color of their dresses. This makes it a little difficult to follow for the reader or spectator at first but after the work is under way each individual may find they relate to a certain color and begin to follow the specific character wearing that certain color. This is another literary tactic that Shange uses to separate herself from other writers. Shange writes much of her work from personal experience which makes her writing twice as interesting and powerful. She writes several different poems and has them all flow together as one, incredible piece of work. Shange epitomizes the choreopoem style of writing. The theme of Colored Girls is mainly Shange's view of other women of her own race. She writes of dreams that all black women had during her time. Dreams of love and of the good life were the only things that kept many women going according to Shange. Despite all of the dreams and the steps that black women took to reach them they always seemed to be shattered by some heartless lover or destroyed at the hand of the white folk. Shange writes with such passion that anyone no matter what their background can receive the message in her writing and benefit from it. "i cant now i cant be nice to nobody nice is such a rip-off" This exert from the book shows Shange's view of life and social issues after she moved to Harlem. She has obviously lost all confidence and respect for everyone around her. Throughout the book Shange continually bashes men and the way they treated women in Harlem. She talks about the oppression that women had to endure when they gave everything that they were to a man and then that man took it all away without a second thought. Obviously there is a lot of unhealthy feelings held by black women when they can not even afford to be nice to anyone for fear of being hurt or even raped for no reason. The message or theme that Shange wants everyone, not only other black women, who reads her work to get is her description of what it means to be a black woman in a world of harsh streets, deceitful men, and aching loss. She wants people to know that black women do not want their pity but their applaud for the courage that it took to live through those difficult times. Shange felt that people should know what things were like for colored women and that it wasn't a walk in the park to endure what they had to endure. She is seeking respect from everyone who reads her writing. Shange accomplishes her goal by combining her captivating style and touching content in her work For Colored Girls who Have Considered Suicide/ When the Rainbow is Enuf. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\The Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr .TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ "One of the world's best known advocates of non-violent social change strategies, Martin Luther King, Jr. synthesized ideas drawn from many different cultural traditions." (Carson 1). However, these protest strategies only furthered racial segregation, resulting in the eventual death of King. Michael King, who was later known as Martin Luther King, Jr. was born January 15, 1929, at 501 Auburn Avenue in Atlanta, Georgia. His roots were in the African-American Baptist church. After his junior year at Morehouse College, Benjamin Mays influenced him to become a minister, the president of Morehouse College. (Smith 1). He studied theologies at Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania, and at Boston University, where he earned a doctorate in systematic theologies in 1955. (Carson 1). While he was completing his Ph. D. requirements, Martin Luther King, Jr. decided to return to the south. He became the pastor of Dextor Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. (Smith 2). Five days after Rosa Parks refused to obey the city's rules concerning bus segregation, African-American residents of Montgomery, Alabama launched a bus boycott. They elected Martin Luther King, Jr. as president of the Montgomery Improvement Association. (Phillips 3). King received national prominence as the boycott continued, due to his personal courage and exceptional oratical skills. (Carson 2). On charges on conspiracy, Martin Luther King, they bombed Jr.'s house, and they arrested him along with other boycott leaders. (Mark 3). Despite these actions taken against the boycott, Montgomery buses were desegregated in December of 1956. The Supreme Court had declared Alabama's laws of segregation unconstitutional. During 1957, Martin Luther King, Jr. and other African-American ministers established the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). As president of the organization, King emphasized the importance of African-American voting rights. (Phillips 5). King published his first book, Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story. In 1959, he toured India to increase his knowledge and understanding of Gandhian non-violent strategies. By the end of that year, King relinquished the pastorate of Dextor, and returned to Atlanta, where the Southern Christian Leadership Conference headquarters was located. (Carson 2). Martin Luther King, Jr. did not arrange any mass protest activities during the first five years to follow the Montgomery bus boycott. While King was cautious, southern, African-American college students took the initiative, launching many sit-in protests during the winter and spring of 1960. (Itory 3). Conflicts between Martin Luther King, Jr. and the younger protestors were evident when the Southern Christian Leadership Conference assisted the Albany Movement's campaign both of mass protest during December of 1961 and during the summer of 1962. (Phillips 2). In 1963 Martin Luther King, Jr. and his staff guided mass demonstrations in Birmingham, Alabama, where local, white police officials were known for their anti-black attitudes. President Kennedy reacted to the protests by submitting civil rights legislations to Congress, which passed the Civil Rights Act of 1963. (Mark 5). In 1963 he delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, attracting 250,000 protestors. (Phillips 4). In 1966, while participating in a march, he encountered strong criticism from Stokely Carmichael. Shortly afterwards white counter protestors stabbed him. -2- in the Chicago area. Despite these conflicts, King still used non-violent protesting techniques. (Phillips 5). Martin Luther King, Jr.'s effectiveness was not only limited by divisions among African-Americans, but by national political leaders. As urban racial violence escalated in the south, and King criticized American intervention in the Vietnam War, King lost the support of many white liberals. His relations with the Lyndon Johnson administration were at a low pont when Martin Luther Ling, Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968, while seeking to assist a garbage worker's strike in Memphis. (Itory 5). Martin Luther King, Jr. was a man who believed that all people were created equally. His methods were unconventional; his beliefs were insurgent. However, time has proven that all progress has been made only when unconventional methods were employed. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s aspires and crusades went against those of political authorities and other prominent people. Because of this, he was considered dangerous. His assassins committed an act of cowardice. Selfish people assassinated him, who could not see the truth in King's words. White people were not the only ones who objected. Northern, African-Americans did not agree with Martin Luther King, Jr. either. "After his death, King remained a controversial symbol of the Afrcian-American civil rights struggle, revered by many for his martyrdom on behalf of non-violence and condemned by others for his militancy and insurgent views." (Carson 3). f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\The Benign Development of Ancient Egyptian Patriarchy.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Throughout written history, women have experienced status subservient to the men they lived with. Generally, most cultures known to modern historians followed a standard pattern of males assigned the role of protector and provider while women were assigned roles of domestic servitude. Scholars speculate endlessly at the cause: biology, religion, social custom. Nevertheless, the women were always subordinated to the men in their culture. Through their artwork, tomb inscriptions, and papyrus and leather scrolls, preserved in the dry, desert air, Ancient Egyptians left evidence for scholars suggesting that Egypt was once a peculiar exception to this pattern. Anthropological evidence suggests that unusual circumstances in Ancient Egyptian culture provided for women to be given equal status to their male counterparts: notably, matrilineal inheritance and emphasis on the joy of family life over maintaining ethnic purity. Legally, women in Ancient Egypt held the same legal rights as men. A woman could own property and manage it as she saw fit. One example of this, the Inscription of Mes, provided scholars with proof that women could manage property, institute litigation, and could act as a witness before a court of law. Surviving court documents not only showed that women were free to take action with the court, but the documents also show that they frequently won their cases. They could also enter contracts and travel freely, unescorted, throughout the state. This is a great contrast to women in Greece, who were required to act through a male representative. Interestingly, property and its administration was passed from mother to daughter, matrilineally. The Egyptians relied on matrilineal heritage, based on the assumption that maternal ancestors are less disputable than paternal ones. The effect of legal equality in writing and practice coupled with the ownership and administration of property led to an ensured equality. The rights and egalitarian conditions enjoyed by Egyptian women shocked the conquering Greeks. In 450 BC, Greek historian Herodotus noted: They Egyptians, in their manners and customs, seem to have reversed the ordinary practices of mankind. For instance, women attend market and are employed in trade, while men stay at home and do the weaving. Athenian Democracy mandated that the female's role in the domestic economy was the production of heirs and service of the family. The Egyptian state took no direct part in either marriage nor divorce and made no efforts to regulate the family. The purpose of the Egyptian family was apparently not the production of heirs for the patriarchal head of household, but the shared life and the pleasures and comfort it had to offer. The legal subjugation of women in other societies seems to have been designed to ensure that women were denied sexual freedom to prevent them from indiscriminate breeding. Often, this was a direct result of the need to provide a pure ruling elite and to restrict the dispersal of family assets within a caste. The unique position of the god-king and the absence of a strictly defined "citizen" class made similar considerations irrelevant in Egypt. Modern Scholars are thoroughly aware that Egypt was greatly mixed, racially, and that no written evidence exists of racial tensions or bias. This was most likely the cause of lax sexual restrictions. The Egyptians simply did not care about maintaining racial purity. With the exception of the Pharaoh, all marriages were monogamous and women had the right to arrange the terms of the marriage contract. Realistically, marriages were not polygamous. Many records survive of men raising children born to them of the household servants. Social stigma against married men having affairs was mild, yet married women were socially obligated to be faithful to their husbands. Unlike most societies, however, men having sex with married women were persecuted more severely than their partners. Egyptian Art tells us the primarily of the women in the upper castes. Grave murals and reliefs depict wives standing next to their husbands. Archaeologist have yet to discover any evidence of domestic constriction. Daughters and Wives were free to live independently of male dominance of influence. It is believed from various murals, however, that women were also "put on a pedestal" by their culture. Egyptian art was reflective of their conservative culture where art was Artistic convention of Egyptian and Aegean art depicts women as fairer skinned than their male companions. Generally, art historians have concluded that this was a both and artistic convention expressing the social ideals of the vigorous male with a more refined female and representation of the fact that women were often relieved of working out in the hot, Egyptian sun. Unfortunately, the privilege of Ancient Egyptian women does not constitute the modern connotation of true freedom. Women were officially denied positions of public office although surviving records indicated that many women help low-profile positions during time of need in Middle Kingdom. Also, positions in business and government were patrilineally passed from father to son because of the domestic role expected of the woman. The population of Ancient Egypt was frequently in decline due to disease and periodic famines. The life expectancy for the average Egyptian was a little higher than 40 years. Such a low life-expectancy coupled with a high infant mortality rate ingrained a notion of the transience of life in the mind of the Egyptian. Childbirth was such a national priority that Pharaohs, such as Akhenaton, began representing scenes of their domestic life as acts of royal propaganda to increase the birth rate (Tansey, 91) Fertility was a prime obsession in the Ancient Egyptian mind. A fertile woman was a successful woman. The low life-expectancy and mortality rate for pregnancies made childbearing the most attractive trait a women could offer. However, unlike their Greek and Roman successors, the Egyptians conceived children for the joys of parenthood, not the continuity of male lineage. The expectant mother was greeted with desire from men and envy from other women. Upon proving her fertility, the Egyptian also enjoyed an elevation in status to the highly esteemed level of "mother." Mothers had an important and respected role within the family, and were frequently represented in positions of honor in the tombs of both their husband and sons. Parenthood is so stressed in Egyptian culture that parents would take the name of their eldest son (father/mother of....). Fertility obsession was equally stressed on the males. Ancient Egyptian men were sometimes known to commit suicide, rather than admit to being unable to conceive a child. Joyce Tyldesley expresses it best in her book , Daughters of Isis: Both husband and wife appear to have loved their offspring dearly, and Egyptian men had no misplaced macho feelings that made them embarrassed or ashamed of showing affection towards their progeny. (Tyldesley, 47) Understandably, not every Egyptologist shares Tydeslesy's idealistic view of ancient Egyptian culture. The reliability of surviving records from Ancient Egypt is frequently questioned by most Egyptologists. With such a complex writing system, the majority of the population was illiterate. All presently discovered surviving scrolls were written by professional male scribes. While the legal documents accurately reflect the legal status of women, the more personal writing and historical documents are more likely to carry a male-bias. Much of the poetry and musical lyrics describe women as lustful, loyal, yet beautiful. They often reflect male fantasies of helplessly love-stricken beauties and are only marginally used to build an understanding of the Egyptian culture. Egyptian secular literature typically views women in a less positive light. Written for an all-male audience, women play secondary or antagonistic parts to a male hero in every surviving tale but one. The one exception involves a helpless man continuously saved by his wife's swift thinking. Mythological literature, considering the greater expanse of its audience, portrays women in a more egalitarian light. Collected Egyptian mythology, with a greater variety of characters than Greek and Roman combined, portrays many goddesses in every role imaginable. The most popular goddess, Isis, personified the ideal wife and mother in her never-ending love for her family and resourcefulness in protecting her son from her husband's murderer. Contemporary Christian iconography is believed to be derived from images of Isis, holding her son, Horus, in her lap. In conclusion, the woman of Ancient Egypt held rights and maintained liberties enviable to many women today. Legal equality and land ownership gave women political power and financial independence while the devastation of disease and high mortality rates made motherhood a respected and appreciated institution. Domestic subjugation was avoided by the absence of a notion of racial purity, freeing the woman's sexuality and preventing external interference of the family. Although few of the records left are accurate enough to give us an undisputable perception of Ancient Egyptian culture, historians generally agree that the Egyptian woman had much more freedom than her contemporaries. The necessity for children locked many women in full-time motherhood, yet records indicated that they were appreciated for the happiness they brought to the home and the children they brought into the family. The study of Ancient Egypt takes relevance today in modern life because it provides suggestions towards the origins of modern patriarchy by providing scholars with an examples of conditions that brought about a particularly benign development of male-dominance in Ancient Egypt. Sources Cited: Tansey, Richard. Gardner's Art Through the Ages. Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace Publishers, 1996 91-93. Tyldesley, Joyce. Daughters of Isis. New York: Penguin Books Ltd, 1994. Bibliography Ahmed, Leila. Women and gender in Islam: historical roots of a modern debate. London: Yale University Press, 1992. Lesko, Barbara S. Women's Earliest Records. Atlanta, GA: Scholar's Press, 1989. Piccione, Peter A. "The Status of Women in Ancient Egyptian Society" History of Ancient Egypt Page. http://www.library.nwu.edu/class/history/B94/B94women.html 16 Oct, 1996 Robins, Gay. Women in Ancient Egypt. London: British Museum Publications, 1993. Tucker, Judith E. Arab Women: Old Boundaries, New Frontiers. Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1993. Tyldesley, Joyce. Daughters of Isis. New York: Penguin Books Ltd, 1994. Unesco. Social Science Research and Women in the Arab World. London: Frances Pinter, 1984. Watterson, Barbara. Women in Ancient Egypt. Great Britain: Alan Sutton Publishing, 1991. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\The Bible and Womens Emancipation.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The Bible and the church have been the greatest stumbling blocks in the way of woman's emancipation. A famous 19th century feminist named Elizabeth Cady Stanton voiced this about her struggle for women's freedom. Women, considered a lower class than the men, wanted this subjugation changed. Part of the reason for the subjugation of women is that the Bible could be interpreted in many different ways to suit the needs of the interpreter. These interpretations of the Bible are in part responsible for the belief that women are of a lower class than men. The reason this belief is present in our society is that approximately 85% of Americans are Judeo-Christian. We see examples of these beliefs when we look at the church, the daily lives of women, and the media. Looking at 1 Timothy 2:11-12, we see why our religious society could interpret the Bible this way: Let a woman learn in silence with all submission, and do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence. We must look at the historical context of the passage. Written approximately 2000 years ago, many parts of the Bible seem outdated. The passage portrays a time when women were property and were "trained" to be weak and fragile. This stopped only about 30 years ago. Before this time, society taught women from birth to be submissive to men. What does this mean to us today? It means that although American Society is no longer training women to be submissive, the problem is still present in our belief system. Many churches do not believe that women should be part of the clergy. This is because they interpret parts of the Bible, such as 1 Timothy 2:11-12, as saying that only men should preach. In 1848, women made a retaliation to these sentiments. At the Seneca Falls convention, women (including Elizabeth Cady Stanton) signed a Declaration of Sentiments. In the declaration it states: He allows her in church, as well as state, but a subordinate position, claiming apostolic authority for her exclusion from the ministry, and, with some exceptions, from any public participation in the affairs of the church (Declaration 1) The people that these women fought against, including other women, believe that it is the duty of a woman to be quiet and submissive. I have experienced this anti-freedom dogma growing up in the Church of Christ community. I experience this dogma when I talk with my grandmother, a woman who lives by the Word. My grandmother states that I should "be a good girl and keep my mouth shut and clean." She says that if I am quiet and do not tell my opinions, people will like me better that way. My grandmother tries to teach the same submissive qualities that were taught to her when she was young. We, as a society, also see this in media. In the November 5, 1996 airing of the sitcom Cybil, the future stepmother of Cybil's daughter was giving advice to the daughter. The advice was that women should let men win arguments. Cybil, enraged, made told her daughter that she did not have to submit. Along with the belief that women must be submissive and silent, there is also the belief that women are the cause of men's downfall and therefore are evil. The last two verses we look at talk about the story of the fall of Adam and Eve. In the story of Adam and Eve, God tells Adam and Eve that there is one tree in the garden of which they must not eat. Deceived by the devil, Eve eats fruit from the tree and then persuades Adam to eat it. This act historically displays the deception of man by woman and has put women in a very bad light. I Timothy 2:13-14 states: For Adam was formed from Eve, and Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression. Meant for a different time, the basic belief that women are the cause of men's downfall is obsolete. Some people say that this belief is not present in our society. I have heard men say that the reason that they are "in the mess they are in" is because of women's "folly." Many popular Hollywood movies today reflect these misogynistic attitudes and use themes that portray women as evil and deceiving. In these films, women want nothing else but to destroy men and the order of society. One popular movie called Eve of Destruction, portrays a woman named Eve as a mechanical tool of destruction that destroys anything that gets in her path. The name Eve in this film indicates a link to the Eve of the Bible, connotating treachery and deception and seen as a bane to man's existence. Not all the Bible portrays women as submissive and evil. Many still believe that women must obey their husbands and live a life of subservience. If people look to this interpretation of the Bible for guidance, women will remain treated as inferior. I am not saying that we need to get rid of the Bible, I am saying that we need to get rid of interpretations of the Bible that are derogatory towards women; like the belief that women are not equal. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\The Brave Jem Finch.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The Brave Jem Finchƒ Á  ÁThe book ? ?To Kill a Mockingbird- -, by Harper Lee, has manycharacters and themes. The main themes are racism and theinteraction of colored and white people in the south. The settingis Maycomb County, Alabama. The main characters are the Finchfamily; father Atticus, daughter and narrater Jean Louise (Scout),and her older brother, Jem Finch. -???Á  Á Jem was a brave boy. He was brave enough to stand up and dothe things he had to, even if they scared him. An example is whenhe had to help cure Mrs. Dubose's drug problem. -  ¤Á??Á` ` Á"The following Monday Jem and I climbed the steep Á(#(#KÁÁ  Áfront steps to Mrs. Dubose's house..." -  ¤Á Á` ` Á"So, you brought that dirty little sister of yours, Á  Ádid you?" was her greeting. -  ¤ÁÁ` ` ÁJem said quietly, "My sister isn't dirty and I ain't Á  Áscared of you," although I noticed his knees shaking.-? Á  ÁJem Finch's bravery had many ways of showing itself. He oftengot scared but he didn't want anyone (especially Scout) to know it. He would often do things even if he really didn't want to, becausehe was brave and proud. This pride was for himself and his family.His father was very important to him; Jem thought it was his dutyto stick up for his father when others in the town said thingsabout him. -  ¤ÁÁ` ` ÁÁ¸ ¸ Á"Jem," he said, "are you responsible for this?"-? Á  ÁÁ` ` ÁÁ¸ ¸ Á"Yes sir." Á  ÁÁ` ` ÁÁ¸ ¸ Á"Why'd you do it?" ??Á  ¤Á Jem said softly, "She said you lawed for niggers and trash." Á  ÁJems bravery was also evident in other character traits;emotions were a large part of his life. Because Atticus was alawyer, Jem often went to the court room and noticed the variety ofstrong emotions that are invoked by the pressure and atmosphere ofthe courtroom. Jems bravery makes him conscious of his emotionsand he doesn't always want others to know how he feels. Scoutknows that he always waits until he thinks it is the right time toreveal his emotions. -  ¤ÁÁ` ` Á"I can get the janitor to let you in...Scout?" Á  ÁÁ` ` Á"Hm?" -  ¤ÁÁ` ` Á"Nothing." Á  ÁÁ` ` ÁJem hadn't started like that in a long time. IÁ  ÁÁ` ` Áwondered what he was thinking. -  ¤ÁJust as the plot is very complex and can't be described in onesentence, so are the characters. A main character like Jem Finchis very complex and it would be impossible to elaborate on all ofhis traits in just one page. Jems bravery is evident in hislifestyle, his pride, and his emotions. The Brave Jem Finchƒ Á  ÁThe book ? ?To Kill a Mockingbird- -, by Harper Lee, has manycharacters and themes. The main themes are racism and theinteraction of colored and white people in the south. The settingis Maycomb County, Alabama. The main characters are the Finchfamily; father Atticus, daughter and narrater Jean Louise (Scout),and her older brother, Jem Finch. -???Á  Á Jem was a brave boy. He was brave enough to stand up and dothe things he had to, even if they scared him. An example is whenhe had to help cure Mrs. Dubose's drug problem. -  ¤Á??Á` ` Á"The following Monday Jem and I climbed the steep Á(#(#KÁÁ  Áfront steps to Mrs. Dubose's house..." -  ¤Á Á` ` Á"So, you brought that dirty little sister of yours, Á  Ádid you?" was her greeting. -  ¤ÁÁ` ` ÁJem said quietly, "My sister isn't dirty and I ain't Á  Áscared of you," although I noticed his knees shaking.-? Á  ÁJem Finch's bravery had many ways of showing itself. He oftengot scared but he didn't want anyone (especially Scout) to know it. He would often do things even if he really didn't want to, becausehe was brave and proud. This pride was for himself and his family.His father was very important to him; Jem thought it was his dutyto stick up for his father when others in the town said thingsabout him. -  ¤ÁÁ` ` ÁÁ¸ ¸ Á"Jem," he said, "are you responsible for this?"-? Á  ÁÁ` ` ÁÁ¸ ¸ Á"Yes sir." Á  ÁÁ` ` ÁÁ¸ ¸ Á"Why'd you do it?" ??Á  ¤Á Jem said softly, "She said you lawed for niggers and trash." Á  ÁJems bravery was also evident in other character traits;emotions were a large part of his life. Because Atticus was alawyer, Jem often went to the court room and noticed the variety ofstrong emotions that are invoked by the pressure and atmosphere ofthe courtroom. Jems bravery makes him conscious of his emotionsand he doesn't always want others to know how he feels. Scoutknows that he always waits until he thinks it is the right time toreveal his emotions. -  ¤ÁÁ` ` Á"I can get the janitor to let you in...Scout?" Á  ÁÁ` ` Á"Hm?" -  ¤ÁÁ` ` Á"Nothing." Á  ÁÁ` ` ÁJem hadn't started like that in a long time. IÁ  ÁÁ` ` Áwondered what he was thinking. -  ¤ÁJust as the plot is very complex and can't be described in onesentence, so are the characters. A main character like Jem Finchis very complex and it would be impossible to elaborate on all ofhis traits in just one page. Jems bravery is evident in hislifestyle, his pride, and his emotions. The Brave Jem Finchƒ Á  ÁThe book ? ?To Kill a Mockingbird- -, by Harper Lee, has manycharacters and themes. The main themes are racism and theinteraction of colored and white people in the south. The settingis Maycomb County, Alabama. The main characters are the Finchfamily; father Atticus, daughter and narrater Jean Louise (Scout),and her older brother, Jem Finch. -???Á  Á Jem was a brave boy. He was brave enough to stand up and dothe things he had to, even if they scared him. An example is whenhe had to help cure Mrs. Dubose's drug problem. -  ¤Á??Á` ` Á"The following Monday Jem and I climbed the steep Á(#(#KÁÁ  Áfront steps to Mrs. Dubose's house..." -  ¤Á Á` ` Á"So, you brought that dirty little sister of yours, Á  Ádid you?" was her greeting. -  ¤ÁÁ` ` ÁJem said quietly, "My sister isn't dirty and I ain't Á  Áscared of you," although I noticed his knees shaking.-? Á  ÁJem Finch's bravery had many ways of showing itself. He oftengot scared but he didn't want anyone (especially Scout) to know it. He would often do things even if he really didn't want to, becausehe was brave and proud. This pride was for himself and his family.His father was very important to him; Jem thought it was his dutyto stick up for his father when others in the town said thingsabout him. -  ¤ÁÁ` ` ÁÁ¸ ¸ Á"Jem," he said, "are you responsible for this?"-? Á  ÁÁ` ` ÁÁ¸ ¸ Á"Yes sir." Á  ÁÁ` ` ÁÁ¸ ¸ Á"Why'd you do it?" ??Á  ¤Á Jem said softly, "She said you lawed for niggers and trash." Á  ÁJems bravery was also evident in other character traits;emotions were a large part of his life. Because Atticus was alawyer, Jem often went to the court room and noticed the variety ofstrong emotions that are invoked by the pressure and atmosphere ofthe courtroom. Jems bravery makes him conscious of his emotionsand he doesn't always want others to know how he feels. Scoutknows that he always waits until he thinks it is the right time toreveal his emotions. -  ¤ÁÁ` ` Á"I can get the janitor to let you in...Scout?" Á  ÁÁ` ` Á"Hm?" -  ¤ÁÁ` ` Á"Nothing." Á  ÁÁ` ` ÁJem hadn't started like that in a long time. IÁ  ÁÁ` ` Áwondered what he was thinking. -  ¤ÁJust as the plot is very complex and can't be described in onesentence, so are the characters. A main character like Jem Finchis very complex and it would be impossible to elaborate on all ofhis traits in just one page. Jems bravery is evident in hislifestyle, his pride, and his emotions. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\The Civil Rights Movement in the US.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Civil Rights Movement in the United States, political, legal, and social struggle by black Americans to gain full citizenship rights and to achieve racial equality. The civil rights movement was first and foremost a challenge to segregation, the system of laws and customs separating blacks and whites that whites used to control blacks after slavery was abolished in the 1860s. During the civil rights movement, individuals and civil rights organizations challenged segregation and discrimination with a variety of activities, including protest marches, boycotts, and refusal to abide by segregation laws. Many believe that the movement began with the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955 and ended with the Voting Rights Act of 1965, though there is debate about when it began and whether it has ended yet. The civil rights movement has also been called the Black Freedom Movement, the Negro Revolution, and the Second Reconstruction. Segregation Segregation was an attempt by white Southerners to separate the races in every sphere of life and to achieve supremacy over blacks. Segregation was often called the Jim Crow system, after a minstrel show character from the 1830s who was an old, crippled, black slave who embodied negative stereotypes of blacks. Segregation became common in Southern states following the end of Reconstruction in 1877. During Reconstruction, which followed the Civil War (1861-1865), Republican governments in the Southern states were run by blacks, Northerners, and some sympathetic Southerners. The Reconstruction governments had passed laws opening up economic and political opportunities for blacks. By 1877 the Democratic Party had gained control of government in the Southern states, and these Southern Democrats wanted to reverse black advances made during Reconstruction. To that end, they began to pass local and state laws that specified certain places "For Whites Only" and others for "Colored." Blacks had separate schools, transportation, restaurants, and parks, many of which were poorly funded and inferior to those of whites. Over the next 75 years, Jim Crow signs went up to separate the races in every possible place. The system of segregation also included the denial of voting rights, known as disfranchisement. Between 1890 and 1910 all Southern states passed laws imposing requirements for voting that were used to prevent blacks from voting, in spite of the 15th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which had been designed to protect black voting rights. These requirements included: the ability to read and write, which disqualified the many blacks who had not had access to education; property ownership, something few blacks were able to acquire; and paying a poll tax, which was too great a burden on most Southern blacks, who were very poor. As a final insult, the few blacks who made it over all these hurdles could not vote in the Democratic primaries that chose the candidates because they were open only to whites in most Southern states. Because blacks could not vote, they were virtually powerless to prevent whites from segregating all aspects of Southern life. They could do little to stop discrimination in public accommodations, education, economic opportunities, or housing. The ability to struggle for equality was even undermined by the prevalent Jim Crow signs, which constantly reminded blacks of their inferior status in Southern society. Segregation was an all encompassing system. Conditions for blacks in Northern states were somewhat better, though up to 1910 only about 10 percent of blacks lived in the North, and prior to World War II (1939-1945), very few blacks lived in the West. Blacks were usually free to vote in the North, but there were so few blacks that their voices were barely heard. Segregated facilities were not as common in the North, but blacks were usually denied entrance to the best hotels and restaurants. Schools in New England were usually integrated, but those in the Midwest generally were not. Perhaps the most difficult part of Northern life was the intense economic discrimination against blacks. They had to compete with large numbers of recent European immigrants for job opportunities and almost always lost. Early Black Resistance to Segregation Blacks fought against discrimination whenever possible. In the late 1800s blacks sued in court to stop separate seating in railroad cars, states' disfranchisement of voters, and denial of access to schools and restaurants. One of the cases against segregated rail travel was Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that "separate but equal" accommodations were constitutional. In fact, separate was almost never equal, but the Plessy doctrine provided constitutional protection for segregation for the next 50 years. To protest segregation, blacks created new national organizations. The National Afro-American League was formed in 1890; the Niagara Movement in 1905; and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1909. In 1910 the National Urban League was created to help blacks make the transition to urban, industrial life. The NAACP became one of the most important black protest organizations of the 20th century. It relied mainly on a legal strategy that challenged segregation and discrimination in courts to obtain equal treatment for blacks. An early leader of the NAACP was the historian and sociologist W. E. B. Du Bois, who starting in 1910 made powerful arguments in favor of protesting segregation as editor of the NAACP magazine, The Crisis. NAACP lawyers won court victories over voter disfranchisement in 1915 and residential segregation in 1917, but failed to have lynching outlawed by the Congress of the United States in the 1920s and 1930s. These cases laid the foundation for a legal and social challenge to segregation although they did little to change everyday life. In 1935 Charles H. Houston, the NAACP's chief legal counsel, won the first Supreme Court case argued by exclusively black counsel representing the NAACP. This win invigorated the NAACP's legal efforts against segregation, mainly by convincing courts that segregated facilities, especially schools, were not equal. In 1939 the NAACP created a separate organization called the NAACP Legal Defense Fund that had a nonprofit, tax-exempt status that was denied to the NAACP because it lobbied the U.S. Congress. Houston's chief aide and later his successor, Thurgood Marshall, a brilliant young lawyer who would become a justice on the U.S. Supreme Court, began to challenge segregation as a lawyer for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. World War I When World War I (1914-1918) began, blacks enlisted to fight for their country. However, black soldiers were segregated, denied the opportunity to be leaders, and were subjected to racism within the armed forces. During the war, hundreds of thousands of Southern blacks migrated northward in 1916 and 1917 to take advantage of job openings in Northern cities created by the war. This great migration of Southern blacks continued into the 1950s. Along with the great migration, blacks in both the North and South became increasingly urbanized during the 20th century. In 1890, about 85 percent of all Southern blacks lived in rural areas; by 1960 that percentage had decreased to about 42 percent. In the North, about 95 percent of all blacks lived in urban areas in 1960. The combination of the great migration and the urbanization of blacks resulted in black communities in the North that had a strong political presence. The black communities began to exert pressure on politicians, voting for those who supported civil rights. These Northern black communities, and the politicians that they elected, helped Southern blacks struggling against segregation by using political influence and money. The 1930s The Great Depression of the 1930s increased black protests against discrimination, especially in Northern cities. Blacks protested the refusal of white-owned businesses in all-black neighborhoods to hire black salespersons. Using the slogan "Don't Buy Where You Can't Work," these campaigns persuaded blacks to boycott those businesses and revealed a new militancy. During the same years, blacks organized school boycotts in Northern cities to protest discriminatory treatment of black children. The black protest activities of the 1930s were encouraged by the expanding role of government in the economy and society. During the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt the federal government created federal programs, such as Social Security, to assure the welfare of individual citizens. Roosevelt himself was not an outspoken supporter of black rights, but his wife Eleanor became an open advocate for fairness to blacks, as did other leaders in the administration. The Roosevelt Administration opened federal jobs to blacks and turned the federal judiciary away from its preoccupation with protecting the freedom of business corporations and toward the protection of individual rights, especially those of the poor and minority groups. Beginning with his appointment of Hugo Black to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1937, Roosevelt chose judges who favored black rights. As early as 1938, the courts displayed a new attitude toward black rights; that year the Supreme Court ruled that the state of Missouri was obligated to provide access to a public law school for blacks just as it provided for whites-a new emphasis on the equal part of the Plessy doctrine. Blacks sensed that the national government might again be their ally, as it had been during the Civil War. World War II When World War II began in Europe in 1939, blacks demanded better treatment than they had experienced in World War I. Black newspaper editors insisted during 1939 and 1940 that black support for this war effort would depend on fair treatment. They demanded that black soldiers be trained in all military roles and that black civilians have equal opportunities to work in war industries at home. In 1941 A. Philip Randolph, head of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, a union whose members were mainly black railroad workers, planned a March on Washington to demand that the federal government require defense contractors to hire blacks on an equal basis with whites. To forestall the march, President Roosevelt issued an executive order to that effect and created the federal Fair Employment Practices Committee (FEPC) to enforce it. The FEPC did not prevent discrimination in war industries, but it did provide a lesson to blacks about how the threat of protest could result in new federal commitments to civil rights. During World War II, blacks composed about one-eighth of the U.S. armed forces, which matched their presence in the general population. Although a disproportionately high number of blacks were put in noncombat, support positions in the military, many did fight. The Army Air Corps trained blacks as pilots in a controversial segregated arrangement in Tuskegee, Alabama. During the war, all the armed services moved toward equal treatment of blacks, though none flatly rejected segregation. In the early war years, hundreds of thousands of blacks left Southern farms for war jobs in Northern and Western cities. In fact more blacks migrated to the North and the West during World War II than had left during the previous war. Although there was racial tension and conflict in their new homes, blacks were free of the worst racial oppression, and they enjoyed much larger incomes. After the war blacks in the North and West used their economic and political influence to support civil rights for Southern blacks. Blacks continued to work against discrimination during the war, challenging voting registrars in Southern courthouses and suing school boards for equal educational provisions. The membership of the NAACP grew from 50,000 to about 500,000. In 1944 the NAACP won a major victory in Smith v. Allwright, which outlawed the white primary. A new organization, the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), was founded in 1942 to challenge segregation in public accommodations in the North. During the war, black newspapers campaigned for a Double V, victories over both fascism in Europe and racism at home. The war experience gave about one million blacks the opportunity to fight racism in Europe and Asia, a fact that black veterans would remember during the struggle against racism at home after the war. Perhaps just as important, almost ten times that many white Americans witnessed the patriotic service of black Americans. Many of them would object to the continued denial of civil rights to the men and women beside whom they had fought. After World War II the momentum for racial change continued. Black soldiers returned home with determination to have full civil rights. President Harry Truman ordered the final desegregation of the armed forces in 1948. He also committed to a domestic civil rights policy favoring voting rights and equal employment, but the U.S. Congress rejected his proposals. School Desegregation In the postwar years, the NAACP's legal strategy for civil rights continued to succeed. Led by Thurgood Marshall, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund challenged and overturned many forms of discrimination, but their main thrust was equal educational opportunities. For example, in Sweat v. Painter (1950), the Supreme Court decided that the University of Texas had to integrate its law school. Marshall and the Defense Fund worked with Southern plaintiffs to challenge the Plessy doctrine directly, arguing in effect that separate was inherently unequal. The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments on five cases that challenged elementary- and secondary-school segregation, and in May 1954 issued its landmark ruling in Brown v. Board of Education that stated that racially segregated education was unconstitutional. White Southerners received the Brown decision first with shock and, in some instances, with expressions of goodwill. By 1955, however, white opposition in the South had grown into massive resistance, a strategy to persuade all whites to resist compliance with the desegregation orders. It was believed that if enough people refused to cooperate with the federal court order, it could not be enforced. Tactics included firing school employees who showed willingness to seek integration, closing public schools rather than desegregating, and boycotting all public education that was integrated. The White Citizens Council was formed and led opposition to school desegregation all over the South. The Citizens Council called for economic coercion of blacks who favored integrated schools, such as firing them from jobs, and the creation of private, all-white schools. Virtually no schools in the South were desegregated in the first years after the Brown decision. In Virginia one county did indeed close its public schools. In Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957, Governor Orval Faubus defied a federal court order to admit nine black students to Central High School, and President Dwight Eisenhower sent federal troops to enforce desegregation. The event was covered by the national media, and the fate of the Little Rock Nine, the students attempting to integrate the school, dramatized the seriousness of the school desegregation issue to many Americans. Although not all school desegregation was as dramatic as in Little Rock, the desegregation process did proceed-gradually. Frequently schools were desegregated only in theory, because racially segregated neighborhoods led to segregated schools. To overcome this problem, some school districts in the 1970s tried busing students to schools outside of their neighborhoods. As desegregation progressed, the membership of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) grew. The KKK used violence or threats against anyone who was suspected of favoring desegregation or black civil rights. Klan terror, including intimidation and murder, was widespread in the South in the 1950s and 1960s, though Klan activities were not always reported in the media. One terrorist act that did receive national attention was the 1955 murder of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old black boy slain in Mississippi by whites who believed he had flirted with a white woman. The trial and acquittal of the men accused of Till's murder were covered in the national media, demonstrating the continuing racial bigotry of Southern whites. Political Protest Montgomery Bus Boycott Despite the threats and violence, the struggle quickly moved beyond school desegregation to challenge segregation in other areas. On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, a member of the Montgomery, Alabama, branch of the NAACP, was told to give up her seat on a city bus to a white person. When Parks refused to move, she was arrested. The local NAACP, led by Edgar D. Nixon, recognized that the arrest of Parks might rally local blacks to protest segregated buses. Montgomery's black community had long been angry about their mistreatment on city buses where white drivers were often rude and abusive. The community had previously considered a boycott of the buses, and almost overnight one was organized. The Montgomery bus boycott was an immediate success, with virtually unanimous support from the 50,000 blacks in Montgomery. It lasted for more than a year and dramatized to the American public the determination of blacks in the South to end segregation. A federal court ordered Montgomery's buses desegregated in November 1956, and the boycott ended in triumph. A young Baptist minister named Martin Luther King, Jr., was president of the Montgomery Improvement Association, the organization that directed the boycott. The protest made King a national figure. His eloquent appeals to Christian brotherhood and American idealism created a positive impression on people both inside and outside the South. King became the president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) when it was founded in 1957. SCLC wanted to complement the NAACP legal strategy by encouraging the use of nonviolent, direct action to protest segregation. These activities included marches, demonstrations, and boycotts. The violent white response to black direct action eventually forced the federal government to confront the issues of injustice and racism in the South. In addition to his large following among blacks, King had a powerful appeal to liberal Northerners that helped him influence national public opinion. His advocacy of nonviolence attracted supporters among peace activists. He forged alliances in the American Jewish community and developed strong ties to the ministers of wealthy, influential Protestant congregations in Northern cities. King often preached to those congregations, where he raised funds for SCLC. The Sit-Ins On February 1, 1960, four black college students at North Carolina A&T University began protesting racial segregation in restaurants by sitting at "white-only" lunch counters and waiting to be served. This was not a new form of protest, but the response to the sit-ins in North Carolina was unique. Within days sit-ins had spread throughout North Carolina, and within weeks they were taking place in cities across the South. Many restaurants were desegregated. The sit-in movement also demonstrated clearly to blacks and whites alike that young blacks were determined to reject segregation openly. In April 1960 the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) was founded in Raleigh, North Carolina, to help organize and direct the student sit-in movement. King encouraged SNCC's creation, but the most important early advisor to the students was Ella Baker, who had worked for both the NAACP and SCLC. She believed that SNCC should not be part of SCLC but a separate, independent organization run by the students. She also believed that civil rights activities should be based in individual black communities. SNCC adopted Baker's approach and focused on making changes in local communities, rather than striving for national change. This goal differed from that of SCLC which worked to change national laws. During the civil rights movement, tensions occasionally arose between SCLC and SNCC because of their different methods. Freedom Riders After the sit-ins, some SNCC members participated in the 1961 Freedom Rides organized by CORE. The Freedom Riders, both black and white, traveled around the South in buses to test the effectiveness of a 1960 Supreme Court decision. This decision had declared that segregation was illegal in bus stations that were open to interstate travel. The Freedom Rides began in Washington, D.C. Except for some violence in Rock Hill, South Carolina, the trip southward was peaceful until they reached Alabama, where violence erupted. At Anniston one bus was burned and some riders were beaten. In Birmingham, a mob attacked the riders when they got off the bus. They suffered even more severe beatings by a mob in Montgomery, Alabama. The violence brought national attention to the Freedom Riders and fierce condemnation of Alabama officials for allowing the violence. The administration of President John Kennedy interceded to protect the Freedom Riders when it became clear that Alabama state officials would not guarantee safe travel. The riders continued on to Jackson, Mississippi, where they were arrested and imprisoned at the state penitentiary, ending the protest. The Freedom Rides did result in the desegregation of some bus stations, but more importantly, they demonstrated to the American public how far civil rights workers would go to achieve their goals. SCLC Campaigns SCLC's greatest contribution to the civil rights movement was a series of highly publicized protest campaigns in Southern cities during the early 1960s. These protests were intended to create such public disorder that local white officials and business leaders would end segregation in order to restore normal business activity. The demonstrations required the mobilization of hundreds, even thousands, of protesters who were willing to participate in protest marches as long as necessary to achieve their goal and who were also willing to be arrested and sent to jail. The first SCLC direct-action campaign began in 1961 in Albany, Georgia, where the organization joined local demonstrations against segregated public accommodations. The presence of SCLC and King escalated the Albany protests by bringing national attention and additional people to the demonstrations, but the demonstrations did not force negotiations to end segregation. During months of protest, Albany's police chief continued to jail demonstrators without a show of police violence. The Albany protests ended in failure. In the spring of 1963, however, the direct-action strategy worked in Birmingham, Alabama. SCLC joined the Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth, a local civil rights leader, who believed that the Birmingham police commissioner, Eugene "Bull" Connor, would meet protesters with violence. In May the SCLC staff stepped up antisegregation marches by persuading teenagers and school children to join. The singing and chanting adolescents who filled the streets of Birmingham caused Connor to abandon restraint. He ordered police to attack demonstrators with dogs and firefighters to turn high-pressure water hoses on them. The ensuing scenes of violence were shown throughout the nation and the world in newspapers, magazines, and most importantly, on television. Much of the world was shocked by the events in Birmingham, and the reaction to the violence increased support for black civil rights. In Birmingham white leaders promised to negotiate an end to some segregation practices. Business leaders agreed to hire and promote more black employees and to desegregate some public accommodations. More important, however, the Birmingham demonstrations built support for national legislation against segregation. Desegregating Southern Universities In 1962 a black man from Mississippi, James Meredith, applied for admission to University of Mississippi. His action was an example of how the struggle for civil rights belonged to individuals acting alone as well as to organizations. The university attempted to block Meredith's admission, and he filed suit. After working through the state courts, Meredith was successful when a federal court ordered the university to desegregate and accept Meredith as a student. The governor of Mississippi, Ross Barnett, defied the court order and tried to prevent Meredith from enrolling. In response, the administration of President Kennedy intervened to uphold the court order. Kennedy sent federal marshals with Meredith when he attempted to enroll. During his first night on campus, a riot broke out when whites began to harass the federal marshals. In the end, 2 people were killed, and about 375 people were wounded. When the governor of Alabama, George C. Wallace, threatened a similar stand, trying to block the desegregation of the University of Alabama in 1963, the Kennedy Administration responded with the full power of the federal government, including the U.S. Army, to prevent violence and enforce desegregation. The showdowns with Barnett and Wallace pushed Kennedy, whose support for civil rights up to that time had been tentative, into a full commitment to end segregation. The March on Washington The national civil rights leadership decided to keep pressure on both the Kennedy administration and the Congress to pass civil rights legislation by planning a March on Washington for August 1963. It was a conscious revival of A. Philip Randolph's planned 1941 march, which had yielded a commitment to fair employment during World War II. Randolph was there in 1963, along with the leaders of the NAACP, CORE, SCLC, the Urban League, and SNCC. Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered the keynote address to an audience of more than 200,000 civil rights supporters. His "I Have a Dream" speech in front of the giant sculpture of the Great Emancipator, Abraham Lincoln, became famous for how it expressed the ideals of the civil rights movement. Partly as a result of the March on Washington, President Kennedy proposed a new civil rights law. After Kennedy was assassinated in November 1963, the new president, Lyndon Johnson, strongly urged its passage as a tribute to Kennedy's memory. Over fierce opposition from Southern legislators, Johnson pushed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 through Congress. It prohibited segregation in public accommodations and discrimination in education and employment. It also gave the executive branch of government the power to enforce the act's provisions. Voter Registration The year 1964 was the culmination of SNCC's commitment to civil rights activism at the community level. Starting in 1961 SNCC and CORE organized voter registration campaigns in heavily black, rural counties of Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia. SNCC concentrated on voter registration, believing that voting was a way to empower blacks so that they could change racist policies in the South. SNCC worked to register blacks to vote by teaching them the necessary skills-such as reading and writing-and the correct answers to the voter registration application. SNCC worker Robert Moses led a voter registration effort in McComb, Mississippi, in 1961, and in 1962 and 1963 SNCC worked to register voters in the Mississippi Delta, where it found local supporters like the farm-worker and activist Fannie Lou Hamer. These civil rights activities caused violent reactions from Mississippi's white supremacists. Moses faced constant terrorism that included threats, arrests, and beatings. In June 1963 Medgar Evers, NAACP field secretary in Mississippi, was shot and killed in front of his home. In 1964 SNCC workers organized the Mississippi Summer Project to register blacks to vote in that state. SNCC leaders also hoped to focus national attention on Mississippi's racism. They recruited Northern college students, teachers, artists, and clergy-both black and white-to work on the project, because they believed that the participation of these people would make the country more concerned about discrimination and violence in Mississippi. The project did receive national attention, especially after three participants, two of whom were white, disappeared in June and were later found murdered and buried near Philadelphia, Mississippi. By the end of the summer, the project had helped thousands of blacks attempt to register, and about 1000 had actually become registered voters. The Summer Project increased the number of blacks who were politically active and led to the creation of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP). When white Democrats in Mississippi refused to accept black members in their delegation to the Democratic National Convention of 1964, Hamer and others went to the convention to challenge the white Democrats' right to represent Mississippi. In a televised interview, Hamer detailed the harassment and abuse experienced by black Mississippians when they tried to register to vote. Her testimony attracted much media attention, and President Johnson was upset by the disturbance at the convention where he expected to be nominated for president. National Democratic Party officials offered the black Mississippians two convention seats, but the MFDP rejected the compromise offer and went home. Later, however, the MFDP challenge did result in more support for blacks and other minorities in the Democratic Party. In early 1965 SCLC employed its direct-action techniques in a voting-rights protest initiated by SNCC in Selma, Alabama. When protests at the local courthouse were unsuccessful, protesters began a march to Montgomery, the state capital. As the marchers were leaving Selma, mounted police beat and tear-gassed them. Televised scenes of that violence, called Bloody Sunday, s f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\The Emmitt Zone.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 4-18-97 Book Report Steve Delsohn's, The Emmitt Zone, was a fascinating book. It gave insight into the life of an NFL player, as well as to the life of Emmitt Smith. It was a non-fiction book. Telling of Emmitts life ever since he was big enough to hold a football, to the present day. Emmitt Smith came from the town of Pensacola in Florida. In his family were his two brothers and his sister. Since his parents did not make that much money, and Emmitt wanted to go to college, he knew he was going to have to pay his own way. However, his football skills permitted him to attend college on a full-ride scholarship. No one in Emmitt's family had ever been to college. So it was a great accomplishment for him as well as his family for Emmitt to be able to attend FSU and eventually graduate from there. After setting many collegiate football records as a top-notched, blue chip running back, he was drafted by a skeptical Dallas Cowboys football team. Jimmy Johnson, the head coach, knew that he would develop into the type of team leader and player the cowboys needed. Even though owner Jerry Jones was skeptical about the draft choice that Johnson was quietly pursuing. Emmitt proved to coach Jimmy Johnson that he had made the right pick by setting a record, three straight NFL rushing titles. Not even the great Walter Payton or Jim Brown had ever done this. This is what labeled Emmitt Smith as one of the best football players ever to step onto a turf or grass field. He was quoted by Jimmy Johnson saying, "Emmitt makes everyone around him a better player just by his presence." All in all, this was a good book. I learned all about the kind of records Emmitt Smith set. I learned that not all people are as fortunate as Emmitt to have a great skill and be able to take it on. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\The End of Integration.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 2/19/97 Why The End of Integration? After four decades of school integration America has given up, and the question is: "Why?". I believe the answer is because absolutely nothing worked! Bussing was a hassle, most magnet schools were set up for false reasons, and everything was very costly. With everything they tried there were still no significant changes in the test scores of the minority students. So now here we are in the late 21st century and it can all be summed up with what Chris Hansen of the American Civil Liberties Union in New York City believes the courts are saying, "We still agree with the goal of school desegregation, but it's too hard, and we're tired of it, and we give up." It all started with Brown v. Board of Education saying "Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." There began a plan to desegregate public schools across America. The first plan was bussing when Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education stated that federal courts could order bussing to desegregate schools. However in most cases bussing became much more of a hassle than a helper. There were many revolts from parents making situations even more horrible. Most students wanted to go to their neighborhood schools and not be bussed for long trips to attend a 'better' school. In Seattle the school board unanimously voted to "avoid race-based school assignment and increase enrollment in schools closer to home."(Lilly) The busing plan was not working and soon many schools were trying to deactivate this maneuver. "There is evidence that federal courts are realizing that the 25-year-old policy of busing to achieve racial balance in schools has not worked as a means for ending segregation or improving the academic performance of minority students."(NCPA) Busing did not work out as planned; scores for minority students were not higher and neither was their happiness. Peter Schmidt opinion is that "after seeing some districts' labyrinthine busing maps, that mandating the integration of classrooms has cost a good number of students any chance of a fair and quality education." Another reason why plans for integration stopped was that many believed they were morally wrong. Mr. Symington, a Republican, said, " The education of Arizona's children should not be held prisoner by a racial quota system." While Edward Newsome feels it's just patronizing to blacks, "that the courts are so willing to assume that anything that is predominately black must be inferior." There were also problems with magnet school programs. Most were designed to attract white students to predominately black schools and vice versa. The communities were using magnet schools to lure whites away from private schools. Along with being unjust the magnet school plan also did not work. In 1985 one district was 73.6% minority, 11 years later the district is now 75.9% minority. Missouri v. Jenkins stopped the unjustness of Judge Clark and his magnet schools when they ordered it was wrong of him to pay for a plan just to attract suburban students. Plus last June The Supreme Court said the district court had no right to order expenditures aimed at attracting suburban whites.(Kunen) The systems to integrate schools were also very costly. On average the cost for one student per year to be bussed is between $300 and $400. Kansas City spent $1.5 billion on magnet schools in town, a 10 year failure. San Francisco spent $200 million since 1982 to improve desegregation and after found it lacked "even modest overall improvement." (NCPA) John F. Huppenthal, the Republican chairman of the Senate's education committee said, "It is evil to hold them in a system which isn't doing much for them, particularly when it is so damn expensive."(Schmidt) The huge amount of money they used to pay for these methods came out of what could have gone to improving general schools or improving academic standards. My opinion is that the plans for integration stopped because their maneuvers were not working. I believe those maneuvers should have stopped. They should spend more time improving the schools than integrating the students. There should be more schools like the J.S. Chick elementary school that doesn't look down upon it's 98% African American school. In that school the students outscore many of the magnet schools' students on the standardized tests. Minorities don't score lower on tests because there are all minorities sitting around them, they score poorly because the school is poor. I go along with J. Anthony Lukas when he states, " Our task is to educate the kids who're here, instead of yearning for those who have left. And, who knows, perhaps if we do a good enough job, some of those who have left may start trickling back." I believe some of the plans were a little immoral and wrong. So after four decades of trying to desegregate schools, the plans failed and the country is giving up. Over the time most standardized tests showed minor improvement in minority scoring. The plans cost a lot of money but at least some schools were improved. The intents ended because the costly plans were not working. Neither busing nor magnet schools raised minorities academic performances, so the country has stopped the integration plans. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\The Feminine Mystique.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The Feminine Mystique is the title of a book written by Betty Friedan who also founded The National Organization for Women (NOW) to help US women gain equal rights. She describes the "feminine mystique" as the heightened awareness of the expectations of women and how each woman has to fit a certain role as a little girl, an uneducated and unemployed teenager, and finally as a wife and mother who is to happily clean the kitchen and cook things all day. After World War II, a lot of women's organizations began to appear with the goal of bringing the issues of equal rights into the limelight. The stereotype even came down to the color of a woman's hair. Many women wished that they could be blonde because that was the ideal hair color. In The Feminine Mystique, Friedan writes that "across America, three out of every ten women dyed their hair blonde " (Kerber/DeHart 514). This serves as an example of how there was such a push for women to fit a certain mold which was portrayed as the role of women. Blacks were naturally excluded from the notion of ideal women and they suffered additional discrimination which was even greater than that which the white women suffered from. In addition to hair color, women often went to great lengths to achieve a thin figure. The look that women were striving for was the look of the thin model. Many women wore tight, uncomfortable clothing in order to create the illusion of being thinner and some even took pills that were supposed to make them lose weight. The role of women was to find a husband to support the family that they would raise. Many women dropped out of college or never went in the first place because they were lead to believe that working outside of the home was for men and that it would not be feminine for them to get jobs and be single without a husband or children to take care of. An enormous problem for women was the psychological stress of dealing with this role that was presented to them. The happily married, perpetually baking, eternally mopping, Donna Reed that lived in every house on the block with her hard working husband and her twelve children that existed in the media made women feel that there was something wrong with them if they didn't enjoy their housewife lifestyle. And it was not easy for women to deal with this problem. As Betty Friedan writes in The Feminine Mystique, "For over fifteen years women in America found it harder to talk about this problem than about sex. (Kerber/DeHart 515)." Many psychiatrists were baffled and the problem was often ignored with no known solution because everyone found it to not make any sense. Women of low economic status also struggled a great deal because they had to deal with the problems associated with a single income household which could become very frustrating when she has every reason to get a job, but cannot. It is also harder to raise children with a low income and provide for the family as she was expected to. It is interesting to apply the notion of the feminine mystique to modern culture and see that it often still exists. Though there are many women who are getting jobs, there are still a lot of families that fit the mold of the traditional family with the breadwinner and the bread baker with bunch of kids running around. The benefits which arose from this oppression were that women began to fight back. NOW activists began to use both traditional and non-traditional means to push for social change. They have done and continue to do extensive electoral and lobbying work in addition to organizing mass marches, rallies, pickets, and counter-demonstrations. NOW re-instituted mass marches for women's rights in the face of conventional wisdom that marches were a technique that died out with the 1960s. A march in support of the Equal Rights Amendment drew more than 100,000 people to Washington, DC in 1978. NOW's March for Women's Lives in 1992 became the largest protest ever in the capital. One of the ways that women's lives and experiences have been divided is through discrimination based on sexual orientation. The 1960's fueled a lot of strong movements and the Gay Rights Movement was one of the many that came out of this decade. Gaining a lot of momentum from the ideas of acceptance and equality sparked by the Civil Rights Movement, the Gay Rights Movement set out to achieve acceptance in the general population. A primary historical event involving homosexuality is the Stonewall Riot which grew out of a police raid in a gay bar in June of 1969. This event sparked a chain reaction which resulted in the Gay Rights Movement. The effects of the Gay Rights Movement still exist today with a wider acceptance of homosexuality and the existence of many homosexual organizations which promote homosexual support. The basic goals of the movement were to eliminate the laws which prohibited homosexual activity, provide equal housing and employment opportunities for homosexuals, and to create a wider acceptance among the heterosexual community. Still there was a lot of opposition to those who accepted homosexuality. Still there was a lot of oppression felt by lesbian women, even among the homosexual realm. In 1971 NOW became the first major national women's organization to support lesbian rights. It has been one of the organization's priority issues since 1975, and was the theme of national conferences in 1984 and 1988. Through the years, NOW activists have challenged anti-lesbian and gay laws and ballot initiatives in many states. Over 15 years ago, NOW gave strong support to a landmark 1979 case, Belmont v. Belmont, that defined lesbian partners as a nurturing family and awarded a lesbian mother custody of her two children. The plaintiff in that case, Rosemary Dempsey, is NOW's Action Vice-President. A lot of people still are afraid to show support for homosexual organizations. Within the religious community lies the largest of debates regarding the issue of homosexuality. The majority of the Christian leaders reject homosexuality and define it as a sin that must be dealt with. Yet the greatest debate exists between disagreeing Christian leaders. Some denominations permit homosexual pastors to lead their churches, which is offensive to those who are opposed to it, while others neither condone nor reject the issue. This is especially important for lesbian women who wish to be church leaders because they have to face those who claim that, not only should they forbid homosexual pastors, but that women should not be allowed to take leadership positions in the church. When the era of the Gay Rights Movement is compared with the silence that was required of homosexuals during the colonial period, it becomes apparent that there have been great advances through history. Lesbian women were forced to repress their sexuality and get married in order to live a "normal" life. Even after homosexuality began it's emergence in the 1970s, lesbianism was often forgotten somewhere among the controversy. In the words of feminist author Kate Millett in her book, Sexual Politics which was written in 1970, "'Lesbianism' would appear to be so little a threat at the moment that it is hardly ever mentioned... Whatever its potentiality in sexual politics, female homosexuality is currently so dead an issue that while male homosexuality gains a grudging tolerance, in women the event is observed in scorn or in silence (pt. 3, ch. 8)." There seems to be no distinction made between homosexual men and homosexual women in the media and this causes another form of separation. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\The Influence of Black Slave Culture on Early America.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The Black slaves of colonial America brought their own culture from Africa to the new land. Despite their persecution, the "slave culture" has contributed greatly to the development of America's own music, dance, art, and clothing. Music It is understandable that when Africans were torn from their homes and families, lashed into submission , and forced into lifelong slave labor, they would be, on the most part, resentful and angry. Various forms of expression, clandestine yet lucent, developed out of these feelings. One such form was music. Native African music consisted mainly of wind and string melodies punctuated by hand clapping, xylophones, and drum beats. Along those lines, an early type of slave music was the spiritual, which has its roots in Protestant hymns taught to the slaves. Spirituals were "long thought to be the spontaneous creation of African-American slaves and the only original folk music of the U.S." Spirituals told tales of suffering and struggle, but these true meanings were often hidden. An example is in the song "Gospel Train" with the lyrics, "Get on board, little children/There's room for many a-more/The gospel train's a-leavin'..." The "gospel train" of the song likely represented an escape method, such as the Underground Railroad. Another type of music distinct to African slaves was gospel. These songs originated in plantation fields as work songs, and were later sung in churches of Black congregations. They were intended to enliven a crowd, and employed bright music and joyful lyrics. Gospel music contributed to the development of musical genres historically considered "white", such as rock'n'roll and country and western. Religion Before Blacks came to America, they had their own highly developed religious beliefs. Most cultures believed in one almighty God, and the ideas of good and evil. They also practiced "ancestor worship", believing that dead family members could influence aspects of their lives. A main difference between African and Christian religions, however, is that Africans did not find it necessary to convert all other cultures to their religion. Thus Africans were rather resistant to the preaching of Christian ministers when they came to America. The Christian ideas they did absorb, however, were indoctrinated into their lives with the addition of culture such as gospel music (see Music). Later, a minister of mainly of African-American congregations would use distinctly "Black" preaching methods, as when "he begins to employ numerous stock phrases and ideas," and, "Midway in the message the preacher begins to chant his words rhythmically." Art 17th-century Africans had art forms that would be considered advanced even today. Most of their expression was religious in nature. But when they were brought to the New World, "...[slaves] could not do this because Protestants had always frowned upon religious imagery in the church as being worldly. Thus, there was little opportunity for the slave to express his creativity in graphic and plastic art for the church as he had done in Africa where religion and art were inseparable. Moreover, the slave was afforded few opportunities to carve on his own or his master's time." This repression of the slave's creativity doubtlessly impeded the development of an African-American art standard. Although slaves could be trained in the practical arts, such as typesetting or furniture making , they could really not fully express themselves until released from the bonds of servitude. Incidentally, there was an outpouring of African-American art after emancipation. This was a time when former slaves could finally put their creativity to use, and the results were a genre individual in itself, yet complimentary to American art as a whole. Blacks became sculptors, painters, block printers, actors, and architects. But it would be a long time yet before Black art could be fully appreciated, or even accepted as mainstream. Science America's earliest African-American scientists and inventors are largely unknown -- their contributions to America buried in anonymity...While historians increasingly recognize that blacks had a significant impact on the design and construction of plantations and public buildings in the South and that rice farming in the Carolinas might not have been possible without Blacks, the individuals who spearheaded these accomplishments remain anonymous. The previous excerpt from The African-American Almanac describes an all too-common situation in African-American history: the accomplishments of Blacks are claimed as those of whites, or not recognized at all. Some scientific discoveries, however, are duly attributed to famous African-Americans. One such invention was the grain harvester, historically credited to Cyrus McCormick. Though, as new research tells us, "Jo Anderson, one of McCormick's slaves, is believed to have played a major role in the creation of the McCormick harvester..." On the other hand, much more credit for invention was given to freed slaves, such as Henry Blair, the patent-holder for a seed planter, and Augustus Jackson, for the invention of ice cream. The sad truth of the matter is, as with accomplishments in art, early inventions and scientific discoveries by Blacks were simply not heralded with interest. It was not until much later, after the slaves were freed, that Blacks would be respected as scientists. It may be that Africans had scientific methods native to Africa that they brought to the New World, but these were overlooked by supremacist slave-owners and gradually disappeared. Linguistics Of course, African slaves had their own language before they came to America. But what happened to this language when they were taken from their homeland and immersed in English-speaking society? As would be expected, they adapted to the English language retaining distinctly African subtleties. The changes made to English by Black slaves are still seen today in the African-American vernacular. This altered language is sometimes referred to as "Black English," and is said to be "spoken at times by as many as 80% to 90% of African-Americans." "Much in Black English that seems grammatically incorrect actually represents the consistent application of African structural principles." In other words, phrases such as "ain't" and "wasn't" that are wrong in English would have made perfect sense in an African language. Considering that they had to start as slaves and "work their way up", the contributions of Black Americans are astounding. Their advancements in music, art, religion, language, and science have helped shape American culture as a whole. Bibliography Angel, Stephen W. The African-American Almanac, v.4. Harper Publishing, San Francisco, 1984. Internet: http://genesis.acu.edu Internet: http://users.iol.it Internet: The Black Experience @gopher://wiretap.spies.com Microsoft Bookshelf Encyclopedia. Columbia University Press, Chicago, 1995. Rampling, Anne. Exit To Eden. Dell Publishing, New York, 1989 World Book Encyclopedia. World Book Inc., Chicago, 1992. Footnotes f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\The Injustice of Slavery.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The Injustice of Slavery Slaves were people who were taken from their home land in Africa and brought to America, to serve as servants on farms, doing household chores, etc. Slaves were used from the beginning of time, by people like the Egyptians. Now a days it is illegal to own slaves, but it still happens. And to this day African Americans are discriminated. In my opinion, that is just not fair, they did not ask to come over to our country, we brought them here. We are the ones to blame. Yet, they have to pay. If you were a black man and had a trial with a white jury, you will probably be guilty. If you are a black man, many white people will try to steer clear of you, or look at you in a funny way. How did slaves actually become free, you might be asking yourself. It all began with a man named Abraham Lincoln, he wanted to set slaves free. But the southern states had large plantations and needed slaves to help, so this was not a good idea, in their opinion. This controversy led to the Civil War, which was eventually won by the north, and slaves were set free in America. But people discriminated slaves very much, and that was not good. Discrimination of African Americans is not that big now a days, but it is still out there. Discrimination sort of died out when a man named Martin Luther King, Jr. expressed some of his thoughts about discrimination. His famous speech was entitled "I Have a Dream". Back before his speech, African Americans were not treated as people. They had to stand at the back of the bus, they had to live in a certain area of town, they could not use the white restrooms or white drinking fountains, they could not even eat in the same restaurants as white people. Thanks to many people like Martin Luther King Jr. this is non-existent today. To conclude my report, I would like to say how bad I think slavery actually was. To just take these people from their homelands and take them to a place where they would be mistreated, beaten, and even killed, is just totally un-ethical. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\The Mists of Avalon.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Kate Wrigley period 3 The Women Behind King Arthur The Mists of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley, is not only an example of a Medieval Romance, but also tells the story of the women who stood behind King Arthur during his infamous reign in the Middle Ages. This novel explains the reasoning and decisions that Arthur made in the women¹s perspective. The Mists of Avalon is a twist on the Arthurian tales as told by the four women instrumental to the story: Gwenhwyfar, his wife; Igraine, his mother; Viviane, the Lady of the Lake, High Priestess of Avalon; and his sister and lover, heiress to Avalon, Morgaine. The story is told by each, as they saw it happen. The struggle between Christianity and the religion of Avalon is a central part of the story, and Arthur's loyalty to and betrayal of Avalon another part. In this novel, the legend of King Arthur is for the first time told through the lives, the visions, and the perceptions of the women central to it. The Arthurian world of Avalon and Camelot with all its passions and adventures is revealed as it might have been experienced by its heroines: by Queen Gwenhwyfar, Arthur's wife; by Igraine, his mother; by Viviane, the majestic Lady of the Lake, High Priestess of Avalon; and, most important, by Arthur's sister, Morgaine, who has come down to us as Morgaine of the Fairies, a sorceress who, in this epic retelling of the story, plays a crucial role both in Arthur's crowning and destruction. Above all it is a story of profound conflict between Christianity and the old religion of Avalon. The term ³Medieval Romance² does not necessarily mean that the piece using it contains any sort of ³romance.² Most Medieval Romance pieces told the tales differently from those of the realistic novel. In other words, the plots, like those of the romance, (1) divide into sharply separate episodes that often do not seem joined in in any obvious causal fashion and (2) generally take the form of tests that they must pass to attain some goal. Frequently, (3) the generally male protagonist fails tests, which often involve acts of moral and spiritual perception, until such point that he finally follows advice. Also, the pieces stress honor and courage, but use much emphasis on the characters rather than the over-all plot. Instead of concentrating on the women and the ³peasant folk,² or poor people, the piece concentrates on the ³gallant² knights or the kings and their courts. They also do not span over the entire life of a certain individual. This book contains the certain traits that a Medieval Romance contains. It has a heroine, in this case the female , Morgaine. It also contains the supernatural powers that were believed in during the Middle Ages. Also it has activity and adventure that the knights of the round table take part in. Though it is written in an entirely differently fashion than most Medieval Romances, I would consider it an example because over-all, it contains most of the important traits that those types of pieces contain. Even though,The Mists of Avalon also contradicts many of these typical traits that are commanly used/defined as writings of the Arthurian legends. The Mists of Avalon, as stated before, tells the story of the women behind Arthur¹s throne, but in a different way. In this novel, the women have the strength and power to control their men, and unlike any other Arthurian legend/story, they are also the heroes. However, this novel does contain quests and the same heroes as most of the Medieval Romance stories, but the women are portrayed as the heroes over the strong and brave knights that actually did control High Britain in that era. The four women that tell most of the story, Morgaine, Igraine, Viviane, and Gwenhwyfar, feel that they are the reason why the men, who were greatly honored back then, had positions in society as high as they did. Most Medieval Romance novels only tell the story of certain individuals (males) and their great accomplishments either in battle or on a great quest. They do not follow a story over the years of many characters lives. They do not even follow the typical ³plot² where there is an introduction, a rising action, a climax, a falling action, and a resolution. This novel does, as it introduces all the main characters where were supposably alive during the Arthur reign. In the beginning we meet not only the women who tell the story, but also the important knights that we learn of today. We learn of the love and jealousy that Morgaine and Gwenhwyfar feel towards each other, each having something the other wants. We also discover that, as a climax, Arthur will have no children by Gwenhwyfar and Avalon will lose its trust in Arthur and will begin to go against him so that his strength as a great king will not be as strong. In the end, we learn how Arthur pays for his sins of incest in the Christian world, but also how the people of Avalon defeat him and make him aware of his broken promise to remain to true to Avalon. Arthur, who was born later in the first or four books in The Mists of Avalon, grows up to be High King of Britain after his father, Uther Pendragon, dies. In this Era, there were two religions that the people studied. One was under the Christian vows, or the one God, that we know today. The other was under the Goddess, who the people in the mysterical world of Avalon believed was responsible for man and all of its creations. In the Christian beliefs, the women were believed to be the ultimate sinners for first deceiving and disobeying the Lord¹s world. Under this belief, they were always made to feel as though they had sinned, while the men could do no wrong. In the beliefs of Avalon, the Goddess was not male as God was believed to be, and the followers of the Goddess believed that the women were good and should be the leaders of the lands. In the Christian beliefs there were ³priests,² and in the Avalon beliefs, there were ³priestesses.² The males were, obviously, the priests, as the females were priestesses. Even though the believers in Avalon thought well of the Christians, the Christians despised the people from Avalon and thought of them as evil. Viviane, the High Priestess of Avalon (can be compared to the Bishop, who is male), also Arthur¹s grandmother, thought the reason Arthur came to be king was because of the people of Avalon. She believes that the reason he has lived through as many battles as he has, and because he remains king was because of the magic of Avalon. the Christians, however, feel that it was by the faith of God that Arthur has reigned so long with only minor injuries in his battles. Viviane, as well as Morgaine when she becomes a priestess, think that it was because of the women that Arthur remained so strong. In typical Arthurian legends, only the Christian male beliefs were talked about, because the women were not important. In the old Avalon ways, the heir of the throne was given to the sister¹s first born son. In the Christian ways, the rights were given to the father¹s first born son. Once again, in the old Arthurian legends, the ways of Avalon were not mentioned simply because the women were not the heroes, nor did they play a major part in the legends. In The Mists of Avalon, Morgaine was brought up as a believer in the Goddess, and her virginity was given to a young man in a sacrifice called the ³Great Marriage.² Morgaine¹s great marriage was with a young man whom she thought she had known, but was not sure. When they were ³done,² the young man recognized her as his sister whom he had not seen in many years. Morgaine¹s virginity was given in sacrifice to her younger brother Arthur. After she realized what she had done, not by her choice, she fled from Avalon. Unbeknownst to her the reason why Viviane had arranged this with her, Morgaine fled to the custody of her older sister Morgause. She was pregnant with Arthur¹s child, a child that she did not want. Viviane had purposely done this to Morgaine so that the old ways of Avalon could be protected, so that the sister¹s first born son would be king. Morgaine was not aware of this. She had the child, and then she left it to grow up in Morgause¹s kingdom to be fostered as one of Morgause¹s own children. As time grew on, the boy, Gwydion, grew strong and eventually became one of Arthur¹s nights, but no one knew of Arthur¹s only son except for Viviane, Morgaine, and Morgause. Morgaine wanted to keep it this way, lest the court finds out of the incest, not thought of as incest in Avalon, but thought of incest in the Christian beliefs. So, Arthur reigned as king with no sons as Gwenhwyfar was barren. Gwenhwyfar meanwhile, thought that the reason she could not have children was because of a mysterious sin of Arthur¹s or hers. Arthur just thought that maybe he could not ³plant the seed² properly. Even though Gwenhwyfar tried, she could not bare a child to Arthur. She did not even love Arthur, but she cared for him greatly. Instead her love was for Sir Lancelet, a famous night we know of today even. Arthur knew of this love, and therefore allowed Gwenhwyfar to pursue it only because he wanted a son that he could call his own. In the falling action, Arthur learns of his son, and he also pays for his sinning by doing Christian penance, further betraying Avalon. After this, Morgaine must decide how to either make Arthur realize what he has done, or overthrow him. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\The Role of Women in the Church.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The Role of Women in the Church With the advent of the feminist movement, the role of women in all parts of society has come under increasing scrutiny. One area of recent controversy is the role of women in the Christian Church. Some churches whose traditions and practices are less rigidly tied to Biblical doctrines have begun placing women in leadership positions such as pastor or teacher. Other churches which interpret the Bible more literally have been slow to adopt such changes. Much of the confusion is based on attempts to interpret scriptures pertaining to women. In this essay, we will use the Bible to understand the role of women in the church of the first century and apply that understanding to the church of the twentieth century. Many people would dispute the Bible's relevance to contemporary thought in general, and in particular to the role of women in worship. If the Bible were not written under divine inspiration, a person or practice is not bound by its teachings. He or she can therefor pick and choose whatever corresponds to his/her point of view. However, if the Bible is of divine inspiration, then a cautious consideration of passages relevant to a particular issue must be undertaken. Traditions and customs that have arisen after the Bible was written may thus be carefully scrutinized. Such practices may or may not prove sound after comparison with scripture. Before we discuss specific issues concerning women in worship, we should consider principles derived from the relationship of Adam and Eve as described in Genesis chapter one. The Apostle Paul frequently uses this passage as a guideline when discussing women and women's issues. Genesis 1 verse 27 states: "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." Most Commentators agree that man and woman are both equally a reflection of God's image; the word "man" here is used as a synonym for humanity. Adam and Eve were also given joint dominion over creation. But the fact that Adam was created before Eve has significance to Paul and other Old Testament scholars; it signifies role distinction between the two sexes. The role of the man is leadership, while the role of woman is as a source of strength and support. In the letter to the Ephesians, Paul states: "For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church. . ." (Eph. 5:23) This is an important analogy. If a person wants to understand the Christian authority of a man over his wife, he must consider how Christ demonstrated his leadership as head over the Church. Primarily, he gave his life for his church, not using force or coercion for her submission. When considering mens and woman's ministry in the church, it is important to keep in mind this role distinction. Lets examine the public ministry of women in the Church. Two major passages give specific instructions regarding women during worship in the letters of the Apostle Paul. These two passages are used frequently when denying women a public role in church life. The first is in I Corinthians chapter 14 verses 33 - 35, this passage commands women to be silent during worship service. Similarly but with more details, I Timothy 2 verses 8 - 15 not only contains a command to be silent but also instruction on authority along with a reference to the fall of Adam and Eve for further explanation. Here is the passage in its entirety using the NIV (New International Version) Bible translation: I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing. I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God. A women should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. But women will be kept safe through childbirth, if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety. A woman raised in the U.S. in this day and age, reading the letter for the first time, may be quite taken aback by its apparent chauvinism. However, there are some specific historical and cultural references that must be taken into account when considering the meaning and intent of this passage. First of all, this was a letter written by Paul to a young preacher named Timothy. Timothy was presumably preaching at the church in the city of Ephesus. Paul starts out the letter by telling him to stay in Ephesus and correct false teachers who were creating a disruption in the church. Various commentators have tried to re-create some of the heresies of these false teachers. This can be a difficult task since there is not a record of exactly what was being said, so only remarks made in the text itself can give a clue. One probable heresy was the idea of asceticism as a way to achieve spirituality. The ascetic practices being recommended consisted of; abstinence from certain foods, from marriage, and sex. Add to all of this physical training as an additional means of spirituality. It was thought that through these practices, one could achieve something akin to heaven on earth. In other words, there was possibly a denial of a future physical resurrection being taught in favor of a spiritual one that could be achieved in their present lifetimes. It seems also from Paul's remarks that many women in the church had been converted to this message and they were being persuaded to renounce their traditional roles in favor of a more egalitarian way of life in line with their new-found spirituality. This would explain the strong words Paul makes in reference to Eve, reminding the women that she was indeed led into sin, and that bearing children and raising them was a good thing, not unspiritual as they were being taught. Yet, the other parts of this passage that admonish women not to teach and not to have authority over a man have been agreed upon by many, if not most, commentators to have timeless application; the words and grammar in Greek do not lend themselves to any cultural reference. The teaching that Paul is concerned about here is specifically the truths of the faith while the authority in question refers to women in governing or leadership positions of the church. But, before making conclusions on a Biblical truth it is important to see if the truth holds fast throughout the whole of scripture. Let's consider some other passages. In Galations 3 verse 28, Paul states: "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." Some commentators have suggested that this teaching could have had some influence in the false teachings that were encountered in Ephesus and Corinth in regard to women. Christ himself taught that in the afterlife, men and women would not be given in marriage and they would be like the angels. Thus, the women were being encouraged, by some misguided teachers, to renounce their traditional roles. Without taking this radical extreme, the modern reader is at least inclined to ask what it means that men and women are one in Christ Jesus? It must certainly mean that there is not one sex inferior to the other. Beyond this, their are clear examples in the book of Acts that may shed some light by way of documented practice, on the command not to have authority over men. First of all, there were prophetesses. In Acts 21: 8 - 9, Philip, one of the seven deacons, is said to have four daughters who prophesied. Prophesying was not primarily divination of the future but also the conveying of Gods Word to his people, i. e. teaching. Furthermore, in 1 Corinthians 11: 4 - 5 Paul states, "Every woman who prays or prophesies. . ." Clearly women in Corinth were praying and prophesying during the worship service. There is also the case of Precilla and Aquila described in Acts Chapter 18. Many Commentators feel it is significant that whenever this couple are mentioned in the Bible, Precilla, the women, is mentioned first because of her great knowledge. It appears that they worked together as a teaching team and their effectiveness is demonstrated when they taught Apollos "the ways of the Lord more adequately" (Acts 18: 26). Apollos is described as a learned man who came to Ephesus and began teaching from the scriptures in a knowledgeable way although lacking in one of the fundamental teachings. Another Case in point is a business woman named Lydia who lived in Philippi. She accepted the Gospel message from Paul and Silas while at a place of prayer. After this incident is recorded, a strong church is mentioned in Philippi later in the Bible. We can only surmise that she played a significant part in the growth of this church, since no men were initially converted. These passages all call into question the real nature of the moratorium on teaching and the meaning of no authority mentioned in 1st Timothy. That women were teaching men is obvious, although at times they may have been co-teaching with male teachers. The case of the prophetesses is also compelling because although most churches do not recognize prophecy as being a modern gift, teaching certainly is and this was one of the important functions of a prophet. Some Commentators in discussing women's ministry in the New Testament have brought to light the customs of the day regarding women. Paul's main concern was the spread of the Gospel and that the message could be made attractive in every way. For this reason Paul encourages women in other passages to continue observing social customs such as the wearing of a veil; otherwise people might criticize them as loose or immoral and belittle the Gospel message. This is, I believe, a valid thought not only in 1st century times but in our culture today. Consider, for example, what non believing women in the US think upon entering a Christian assembly for the first time and seeing a service that appears to be run completely by men? They may conclude that women are being suppressed and that the gospel message makes women inferior to men. In conclusion, we can say that although there is no sanction in scripture for women to take roles of leadership, public ministry and teaching are not as clearly forbidden and a degree of latitude in interpretation is warranted. More importantly, if women are not allowed to have a voice or some kind of input, the church could be loosing a valuable resource. If a husband does not consider his wives thoughts and ideas as being important or valid, his family is surely incomplete, dysfunctional and doomed to failure. Therefore, as the church strives to realize Gods purpose for women, we must remember the truths of the scripture and apply them to our present day culture. This will allow men and women to present the Christian message to our world in the most powerful way. That is exactly what the Apostle Paul desired along with all of the New Testament leaders and it is what we should desire as we consider the path of the modern church. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\The Slave Trade and its Effects on Early America.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Slavery played an important role in the development of the American colonies. It was introduced to the colonies in 1619, and spanned until the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. The trading of slaves in America in the seventeenth century was a large industry. Slaves were captured from their homes in Africa, shipped to America under extremely poor conditions, and then sold to the highest bidder, put to work, and forced to live with the new conditions of America. There was no mercy for the slaves and their families as they were captured from their homes and forced onto slave ships. Most of the Africans who were captured lived in small villages in West Africa. A typical village takeover would occur early in the morning. An enemy tribe would raid the village, and then burn the huts to the ground. Most of the people who were taken by surprise were killed or captured; few escaped. The captured Africans were now on their way to the slave ships. "Bound together two by two with heavy wooden yokes fastened around their necks, a long line of black men and women plodded down a well-worn path through the dense forest. Most of the men were burdened with huge elephants' tusks. Others, and many of the women too, bore baskets or bales of food. Little boys and girls trudged along beside their parents, eyes wide in fear and wonder" (McCague, 14). After they were marched often hundreds of miles, it was time for them to be shipped off to sea, so that they could be sold as cheap labor to help harvest the new world. But before they were shipped off, they had to pass through a slave-trading station. The slave trade, which was first controlled by Portugal, was now controlled by other European nations. In the late 1600's, Spain, Holland, England, France and Denmark were all sending ships to West Africa. The slave trade was becoming big business (Goodman, 7). Selection of the slaves by the traders was a painstaking process. Ships from England would pull up on the coast of Africa, and the captains would set off towards the coast on small ships. "If the slave trader was a black chief, there always had to be a certain amount of palaver, or talk, before getting down to business. As a rule, the chief would expect some presents, or dash" (Stampp, 26). Once the palaver was over, the slaves had to be inspected. The captain of the ship usually had a doctor who would check the condition of the slaves. They would carefully examine the slaves, looking in their mouths, poking at their bodies, and making them jump around. This was done so that the doctor could see how physically fit the slaves were. If the slaves were not of the doctors standards, they were either killed or kept to see if another ship would take them. In the 1600's, the journey across the Atlantic for the African slaves was a horrible one. It was extremely disease-ridden, and many slaves did not survive the journey. The people were simply thrown into the bottom of the ship and had to survive the best they could. Often, many slaves had to wait in the bottom of the ship while they were still docked at the harbor, so that the traders could gather up more and more slaves. There were usually 220 to 250 slaves in each ship. Then they had to stay down there for the long trip across the Atlantic Ocean to the New World. "Women and children were allowed to roam at large, but the men were attached by leg irons to chains that ran along the ship's bulwarks. After a breakfast of rice or cornmeal or yams, with perhaps a scrap of meat thrown in, and a little water, there came the ceremony of "dancing the slaves" -a compulsory form of exercise designed, it was said, for the captive's physical and mental well being" (Howard, 23). Even though there was ventilation, the air in the crowded hold area quickly grew foul and stinking. Fierce tropical heat also added to the misery of the slaves. Seasickness was also a problem. Conditions on the ships improved as the slave trade continued, but thousands of Africans still lost their lives on the journey to the new world. When slaves would try to rebel on the ship, they were immediately killed and thrown overboard. Some slaves preferred death over slavery. Watching their chance while on deck, they often jumped overboard to drown themselves (Davis, 67). Africans were brought to America to work. "They worked the cotton plantations of Mississippi and in the tobacco fields of Virginia, in Alabama's rich black belt, in Louisiana's sugar parishes, and in the disease-ridden rice swamps of Georgia and South Carolina" (Buckmaster, 153). Most slaves were worked extremely hard, because they had the job of cultivating the crops on the plantations. It began before daybreak and lasted until dark, five and sometimes six days a week. "An Alabama man said 'Sunup to sundown was for field Negroes.' Men and women alike were roused at four or five a.m., generally by the blowing of a horn or the ringing of a bell" (Goodman, 18). By daybreak, the slaves were already working under the control of Negro drivers and white overseers. They plowed, hoed, picked, and performed the labors appropriate to the season of whatever they were harvesting. For example, during the harvest season on a sugar plantation, slaves were worked sixteen to eighteen hours a day, seven days a week. That is longer hours than convicts were permitted to work in several of the Southern states (DuBois, 35). This was not only limited to sugar. Cotton and tobacco workers had the same harsh hours in the hot southern sun. Even children were put to work on the plantations. "By the age of six or seven, children were ready to do odd jobs around the plantation-picking up trash in the yard, raking leaves, tending a garden patch, minding babies, carrying water to the fields. By the age of ten, they were likely to be in the fields themselves, classed as "quarter hands" (McCague, 35). Often there were health problems among the slaves in early America. "The combination of hard, sometimes exhausting toil and inferior diet, scanty clothing and unsanitary housing led, predictably, to health problems" (Goodman, 31). This caused a problem for slave owners, because they wanted the most efficiency out of their slaves as possible. In some places doctors were called in to treat blacks as well as whites. The slave trade played an important role in the growth of the American colonies. Without the trading of slaves in the seventeenth century, American plantations would not have prospered into the export empire that they were. Works Cited Buckmaster, Henrietta. Let My People Go. Boston: Beacon Press, 1941. Davis, David Brion. Slavery and Human Progress. New York: Oxford University Press, 1984. DuBois, William Edward Burghardt. The Suppression of the African Slave-Trade to the United States of America. New York: Schocken Books, 1969. Goodman, Walter. Black Bondage: the Life of Slaves in the South. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1969. Howard, Richard. Black Cargo. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1972. McCague, James. The Long Bondage 1441-1815. Illinois: Garrard Publishing Company, 1972. Stampp, Kenneth M. The Peculiar Institution. New York: Borzoi Books, 1982. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Three Chinese Conributions.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ THREE CONTRIBUTIONS OF CHINESE IMMIGRANTS The Chinese started immigrating to the United States in 1849. They left China in search of a better life. Life in China in the 1800's was very hard. There wasn't enough food, money and the cities were overpopulated. They heard about the United States and believed there was an opportunity to start over again. They hoped to find jobs on the railroad or to strike gold. When they arrived in the United States, life was difficult. Laws were made which discriminated against them. However, eventually they became a respected part of our society. They are responsible for many contributions which are part of American life today. This essay will describe three of these contributions: two products, ginseng and tea, and one method of medicine, acupuncture. Ginseng is a perennial herb grown in China and other Asian countries. It is also grown in North American, but the Asian variety is thought to be more valuable. There are many legends and superstitions surrounding ginseng. The Chinese have long believed that the ginseng is a cure for many aliments and can even make one live longer. However, Western researchers are have been unable to prove this. Today, many manufacturers add ginseng to such products as hair tonics, shampoos, skin creams and even soft drinks. Also ginseng can be bought over the counter in drug stores under such names as "Ginkoba" and "Ginsana". "Ginkoba" is supposed to increase mental alertness. "Ginsana" is supposed to increase physical energy. Tea was first used during the reign of Emperor Shen Nung in about 2737 B.C. This was a very long time ago. It is thought that tea was first cultivated in China. Then the China tea plant was taken to Japan in about 800A.D. In Japan, tea was used for medical purposes. When green tea was developed in Chine, tea became a popular beverage. Tea was introduced into England in about 1660. It was a gift from the British East India Tea Company. The Company became a monopoly. It controlled the trade of tea from China and from India. Soon, tea was introduced to the rest of Europe and became a very popular beverage. Tea is made from young leaves and leaf buds of a type of evergreen plant known as Camellia sinensis. The name really means Chinese camellia. The name is because there are so many different types of teas. A Chinese writer said there were "a thousand and ten teas". Tea is considered black, green or oolong. Most of the international trade today is in black tea. Today, tea is drank all over the world, including the United States. Tea is produced in about 30 countries, but China is still the largest exporter of tea. Acupuncture is an ancient Chinese medical technique used to relieve pain, cure disease and improve general health. This medical technique consists of inserting hair-thin needles through particular spots of the skin. These spots are called neuroreceptors. The points are then stimulated by twirling, by heat or by use of a weak electrical current. Acupuncture has been practiced in China for over 4,000 years. It was practiced by the Chinese immigrant doctors who first came to the United States. However, it was only in 1972 that acupuncture received publicity. This happened when a newspaper correspondent who was with Nixon his trip to China had to have an emergency appendectomy. The correspondent got pain relief through acupuncture. Since that time, many American physicians and dentists have been trained to use acupuncture and learned about its benefits. The Chinese, like many immigrant groups, suffered difficult beginnings in their new life in the United States. However, many of them eventually succeeded in making a better life for themselves and their families. In addition, the Chinese are responsible for important and lasting contributions to American life. This essay describes three of these contributions. They are ginseng, tea and acupuncture. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Tiger Woods.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Tiger's Real Name: Eldrick Woods. The nick-name "Tiger" was given to him by his father. It's the same nick-name of a South Vietnamese combat buddy, Nguyen Phong, who saved Tiger's father's life a few times in the Vietnam War. Rumor had it that Tiger was planning to official change his name to Tiger Woods when he turned 21 this past December but sources say he didn't do it for some reason. Tiger's Dad: Green Beret Lieutenant Colonel Earl Woods served 2 Tours of Duty in the Vietnam War. Tiger's Mother: Kultida (Tida) Woods. Her maiden name is Kultida Punsawad. Tiger's parents met in Bangkok, Thailand. They got married in 1969. Tiger Born: December 30, 1975 Long Beach, California. Tiger now lives in a new home in Isleworth, Florida. Near the west side of Orlando. Tiger moved to Florida because of the great golf weather and because he is always flying and time zone changes tired him out as he alway lost time when having to fly back to California. Tiger's Ethnicity: African, Thai, Chinese, American Indian, and European. Tiger's Religion: Tiger believes in Buddism. Not every aspect, but most of it. Tiger was 11-months old when he first started swinging a sawed off golf club in his garage. Some sources say he was actually 10-months old. Tiger's Education: In the 7th grade Tiger had a GPA of 3.86! (Now there's the real important stuff.) Tiger spent 2 years at Stanford University in California majoring in Business. Tiger has 2 half brothers and 1 half sister from his fathers first marriage. Tiger loves McDonalds (CheeseBurgers) and Taco Bell. Tiger's Caddy (Guy who carries Tiger's clubs for him): Mike "Fluff" Cowan, used to caddy for another pro, Peter Jacobsen. Tiger's Driver (Big Golf Club) is only 43-inches long, an inch shorter than most clubs used by other professionals. Tiger's Driver Club head is moving at an average speed of 122 mph at impact with the ball. Tiger uses a soft-covered three piece golf ball. My source says he uses the Titleist Pro 100. Others say he also uses the Titleist Pro 90. Tiger has a 35-inch sleeve length. (I know everything!) Tiger has a 28-inch waist size. (He's much stronger than he looks!) Tiger's Golf Coach: Butch Harmon Tiger's Agent: Hughes Norton of International Management Group Most Recent Award: ESPY (ESPN) Award "Breakthrough Athlete of the Year" Tiger is working on 2 golf books with Warner-Books he's getting paid $2.2 Million for them. Tiger's first professional win was the 1996 Las Vegas Invitational. He won $297,000. Tiger's Girlfriend: NONE. Actually, rumor has it that Tyra Banks (The SuperModel) is interested in him. It's was rumored that Kelli Kuehne (Great young female golfer that Tiger played with at the JCPenney Classic) might be in the running but I've been told that she just got engaged to someone else. Tiger continues to suggest that he wants to stay single though. Tiger Woods is Michael Jordan's hero! This is a quote from Michael Jordan that is taken from the book Tiger Woods 'The Makings of a Champion', by Tim Rosaforte. "I admire [Tiger] for what he's done thus far because for so long it was truly a game that a lot of minorities couldn't play ...so in that sense he's carrying an extra burden along with him, to succeed and expand across all racial barriers." To this quote author Tim Rosaforte added, "I admire him, too, for establishing a new plateau, a higher ground, if you will. I really do believe he was put here for a bigger reason than just to play golf. I don't think that he is a god, but I do believe that he was sent by One." f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Underground to Canada Mammy Salleys version.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Underground to Canada : Mammy Sally's Version As Mammy Sally was cooking this lady called Nina who also worded in the kitchen said "I found a passage way out o' here." Mammy Sally looked shocker. "But if we get caught Massa Simms gonna whip us until our day are done workin'. "Said Mammy Sally. But, Nina was Strong and Fearless and said "I don't care I'm sick of the way those people treat us I goin' to Canada. Mammy Sally stood there for a while and in came Massa Simms with his whip. And said "You ladies gonna be standin' for a while" Mammy Sally looked frightened and said "No sir we were just talking about what's for diner," "So Said Massa Simms "what's for dinner", "well" said Mammy Sally "potatoes and corn" "what else" said Massa Simms Mammy Sally had a scared look on her face "What else"?! Yelled mass Simms" well I guess I can cook some bread" said Mammy Sally, "Same bread that would be nice" Some break that would be nice" Said Massa Simms. A Couple of hours passed and Mammy Sally getting ready to set the table for dinner when in came Nina and she said "So have you thought it yet" " no" said Mammy Sally. The next day Nina woke up early she put on here rags and took some food from the kitchen and woke up Mammy Sally and Mammy Sally said "if we get caught "I know I know" interrupted Nina " we gonna get whipped tell our days are done working." Well at least you know" said " Mammy Sally and they left. "So said Mammy Sally" Where is this secret passage you were talking about" you'll see" said Nina. When they got to the secret passage Mammy Sally said, "We aint gonna get out with out getting caught. Nina looked awkwardly at Mammy Sally and said "she is safer than the underground railway" "how can you ? it "said Mammy Sally. The secret passage was a hole through the ground and first went Mammy Sally after went Nina. When they got out Nina said " Smell the fresh air of freedom." "yes soon we will be back there and we wont be working in the kitchen we'll be getten whipped." It was getting and Mammy Sally and Nina were walking all day and they were very tired, so they decided to stop and rest. After they rested they ate and began walking again. It was down when they came to a cabin and the knocked on the door they were surprised to sea a black man answer the door. The man said "come in the ladies Nina asked "what is your name sir." He said "My name is Malcolm." " What are you doing in here''? asked Mammy Sally. "I live here , said Malcolm. Mammy Sally and Nina looked shocked at Malcolm. They never saw a free black man. Malcolm said Why have you never seen a free black man? Because we are black , doesn't mean we don't have rights. "But we have to listen to Massa Simms or we gonna get whipped real hard." After they rested and talked to Malcolm , they continued their journey to Canada. In the afternoon they came to another cabin in Boston. When they knocked on the door , an old woman holding a shot gun , opened the door, and said " What are you niggers doing here ? Are you not supposed to be getting whipped or working very hard?" No said Nina, we are not going to work for any white folks in USA. "So get off my property, you useless blacks." "Hey lady who do you think you are? We are human just like you and we get angry. And we are getting angrier, so don't be messing wit us or we gonna get really angry. So watch out lady, and yes were leaving 'cause we don't wanna look at yer ugly mug no more." "Get out now." They left that old hags home and continued walking down the road searching for a ride. They had finished eating their food and were getting mighty hungry. They stopped by a shelter for some food. "We may be desperate Mammy, but I'm not going in no homeless shelter." "Shut yer mouth Nina, there's good eatin'." They went in after all. "Hey were not letting any coloured people in here." "Were hungry and we have no food, you cant let us eat just because of the colour of our skin?" "Hey don't talk back to me, nigger, now get out" "Were going, were going." They're stomachs were grumbling pretty badly and it was getting dark. They laid down in an alley to sleep for the night. In the morning they continued their journey to Canada. When they were walking they met this man and his name was Thompson Mcrian. Thompson Mcrian was a tall man with long Black hair and Brown eyes. The girls thought he was at least 10 feet tall. When Thompson came up to them he said "What are you girls doing on White man's land ? We are goin' to Canada" said Nina . Do you want a ride to Cincinnati? Yes sir . So in 2 hours they arrived in Cincinnati . When they came they herd of a man named Jeb Brown he was a man who helped people get to Canada. So they went to his house and spoke to him and he arranged for someone to take them to Canada. One week passed and they were off to Canada. On the way they saw different colours of leafs and they couldn't stop talking about how different life would be. So they came to Canada and got jobs in generals stores and started new lives and told everyone their story of how they got to Canada. This is what you have just read. THE END By: Brigitte Krasner f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\User or Victim.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Robert L. Dye Jr. English 1013 Women in Films User or Victim? Designed to prove that a woman can be anybody she desires to be, the legendary film, Evita, is now shown to millions of movie viewers. Alan Parker=s Evita is a reflection of the much-publicized images of two popular self-made heroines of different era, Evita and Madonna. The discussion of this essay will show us how these ladies got far and revered once by their followers. The life of Evita Peron is almost like a dramatization of a romantic fiction, about the tale of a young and poor illegitimate girl, who escapes the cruelty and poverty of her hometown, and Aflees to the big city to become a movie star, fights her way to the top through succession of men, marries her country=s president, only to die at a young age of 33" (Harbinson 154). Eva was born illegitimate in a small remote town of Argentina, and spent most of her childhood life under a cloud of illegitimacy. Besides being poor, Eva and her sisters were regarded as bastard children , and for this reason, they were Alooked upon as >brats= and often prevented from associating with the other children of thevillage. This sense of rejection and the ridicules that young Eva and her family received from the other villagers, formed the basis of her hatred of Argentinas middle and upper classes@ (19). Eva grew up to be an intelligent, beautiful, and glamorous teen-ager, who attracted many men=s attention. Aside from her good looks, Eva had the charm that could get her all the things she wanted, the character of a woman who never gave into negative circumstances, and a determination so strong, she found her way to the balcony of the presidential palace of Argentina. The painful rejection, and the traumatic events of her father=s funeral, when she and her family were refused entry by his legal wife, were still in Eva=s mind when she left her hometown for the big city to seek a better life. Despite her blighted childhood and early personal loss, AEvita never let herself be a victim, and instead, used her deprivations as a motivating machine. She developed a strong courage, a ruthless ambition, and a hunger for success and power@ (185-186). Armed with all the good looks, strong character, determination to succeed, and, the secret resentment she nurtured against the ruling classes of Argentina who looked down on her family, Evita was ready to change her life. Upon arrival in Buenos Aires, Evita found out that rich and poor people do exist in the big cities. But this sight did not discourage Eva, and she went on to become a film and radio performer. Although Evita had the glamour and talent to become successful, she was also aware of the Acrushing limitations imposed upon Argentinean women of relentless male chauvinism. It was the men who had the freedom and earned the money to use it@(25). But Evita was determined not to be a victim, she instead, use men as a stepping stone to her success as she did to Augustine Magaldi to escape out of her hometown. In the film, Evita, Alan Parker portrays Madonna as if it was meant for her to be born to portray the role. Significantly indeed, Madonna=s life is almost a replica of Evita=s life: a rags- to-riches tale in which Aearly personal loss is a motivating factor, and in which, once success is achieved, ruthless will is deployed to sustain it@ (163). Madonna=a childhood background resembles Evita=s in many ways. Both came from a working-class background, both lost a parent at an early age (Evita=s father and Madonna=s mother), and both ladies were impoverished as little girls. Evita=s fight for success made her a role model to Madonna, admiring the way she overcame her loss in early life. Despite all hurdles, Evita used her early tragic experience as a motivating factor to seek what life has denied her. Madonna, on the other hand, also used her own childhood loss and fears as springboards to personal freedom. Like Evita, Madonna left her hometown to seek a better life. Similarly, Madonna too, was obliged to used men to get what she wanted (185). According to a review by Ken Mandelbaum, Madonna does not only have the perfect look for the role of Evita--stunning, tough, enigmatic--but the persona has much in common with that of the woman she is playing. Both ladies got far on glamour, detemination, controversy, the ability to influence styles and play a crowd, and somewhat limited skills. In addition, he stated that Madonna is a legend-in-her-time playing another one (26). As the film opens with the contrasting funerals of Eva=s father and her own, we are introduced to Che (Antonio Banderas), the floating narrator who represents all the feelings held against Eva as politician and woman. He then takes us through a journey. First, a young and ambitious Eva, seeking riches and fame. Eva is fifteen years old when she met a nightclub singer, Augustine Magaldi, and begs him to take her to Buenos Aires. Although Eva finds out that the big city of her dreams is not exactly what she dreamed about, she carves out a career as a radio and film actress, becomes popular, and Aslowly bounces up the social ladder with the help of her escorts@ (Parker 38). She then meets the poltical bravado Juan Peron (Jonathan Pryce), whom she instantly charms, and leaves the concert with him. Eva eventually moves into Peron=s residence and shows the door to Peron=s mistress. Consequently, Eva becomes Peron=s strongest ally despite numerous criticisms by the military and the Oligarchy (ruling classes) who Aview her as a whore@ (Harbinson 157). Then the journey takes us to a confident and adored Eva. Now, with a dignity to her face, Eva looks stunning and beautiful standing next to her husband and the newly -elected President, Juan Peron. As Harbinson would put it, The carnality and the dignity combined turned her into a common dream. Those lips had to know fellatio. Those dark eyes had to know what suffering meant. Thus her beauty speaks to all and bridges two worlds. On the one hand is the flesh that learnt its lessons, on the other is that nobility, that transcendent, outpouring love that turns the most sinful woman into a saint. Evita was now a saint. She had paid her dues and emerged trimphant. (105) The scene at the balcony of Casa Rosada is not a very pleasant view for the Oligarchs who considers Eva as a ruthless woman. Although the privileged Argentineans and the ruling classes fear her (on the grounds of vengeance); the masses of people, majority of whom are underprivileged working class, worshipped Eva, now known as Evita. Evita is finally on top of the world. Her followers revere her, as she has finally defeated the Oligarchy, she uplifted the living standards of the working classes and Evita has given the Argentinean women the A right to vote, set up homes for unmarried working girls, and stimulated the idea of women in careers - all these in a country where women had never had a role before (106). And the last journey, a stricken Evita. According to Alan Parker, for eleven eleven months, Argentina witnessed Eva=s slow and public dying. Eva fell into a steep and sudden decline, and on July 26, 1952, she died of cancer at the age of 33 (13). Evita, once a poor girl, became Argentina=s most beloved heroine, and the most hated enemy to the ruling Oligarchs. Accused of being a >whore= and a>ruthless adventuress,= by the well-to-do, Evita is considered a >saint= by her followers. She became the saviour of the underprivileged Argentineans, and above all, she changed the cultural stereotype of women in Argentina. Ruthless or not, her memory will always remain to the suppressed of Argentina. Whether these two ladies, Evita and Madonna, used men to get to the top or not, it is a tribute to their iron will, to their already highly developed sense of survival, to their strong fighting spirit, and to their determination to succeed, that they became what they wanted to be. Evita and Madonna may not exactly be the role models some mothers would want their daughters to follow, but many women would love to have the strong characters they possessed which made them heroines. Works Cited Evita. Writ. Alan Parker and Oliver Stone. Sir. Alan Parker. Hollywood Pictures, 1996 Harbin, W. A. Evita: Saint or Sinner? New York: St. Martin, 1996 Mandelbaum, Ken. "Review: Evita." Theatre Week. 30 Dec. 1996: 26 Parker, Alan. The Making of Evita. Canada: Collins Publishers. 1996 Robert L. Dye Jr. English 1013 Women in Films User or Victim? Designed to prove that a woman can be anybody she desires to be, the legendary film, Evita, is now shown to millions of movie viewers. Alan Parker=s Evita is a reflection of the much-publicized images of two popular self-made heroines of different era, Evita and Madonna. The discussion of this essay will show us how these ladies got far and revered once by their followers. The life of Evita Peron is almost like a dramatization of a romantic fiction, about the tale of a young and poor illegitimate girl, who escapes the cruelty and poverty of her hometown, and Aflees to the big city to become a movie star, fights her way to the top through succession of men, marries her country=s president, only to die at a young age of 33" (Harbinson 154). Eva was born illegitimate in a small remote town of Argentina, and spent most of her childhood life under a cloud of illegitimacy. Besides being poor, Eva and her sisters were regarded as bastard children , and for this reason, they were Alooked upon as >brats= and often prevented from associating with the other children of thevillage. This sense of rejection and the ridicules that young Eva and her family received from the other villagers, formed the basis of her hatred of Argentinas middle and upper classes@ (19). Eva grew up to be an intelligent, beautiful, and glamorous teen-ager, who attracted many men=s attention. Aside from her good looks, Eva had the charm that could get her all the things she wanted, the character of a woman who never gave into negative circumstances, and a determination so strong, she found her way to the balcony of the presidential palace of Argentina. The painful rejection, and the traumatic events of her father=s funeral, when she and her family were refused entry by his legal wife, were still in Eva=s mind when she left her hometown for the big city to seek a better life. Despite her blighted childhood and early personal loss, AEvita never let herself be a victim, and instead, used her deprivations as a motivating machine. She developed a strong courage, a ruthless ambition, and a hunger for success and power@ (185-186). Armed with all the good looks, strong character, determination to succeed, and, the secret resentment she nurtured against the ruling classes of Argentina who looked down on her family, Evita was ready to change her life. Upon arrival in Buenos Aires, Evita found out that rich and poor people do exist in the big cities. But this sight did not discourage Eva, and she went on to become a film and radio performer. Although Evita had the glamour and talent to become successful, she was also aware of the Acrushing limitations imposed upon Argentinean women of relentless male chauvinism. It was the men who had the freedom and earned the money to use it@(25). But Evita was determined not to be a victim, she instead, use men as a stepping stone to her success as she did to Augustine Magaldi to escape out of her hometown. In the film, Evita, Alan Parker portrays Madonna as if it was meant for her to be born to portray the role. Significantly indeed, Madonna=s life is almost a replica of Evita=s life: a rags- to-riches tale in which Aearly personal loss is a motivating factor, and in which, once success is achieved, ruthless will is deployed to sustain it@ (163). Madonna=a childhood background resembles Evita=s in many ways. Both came from a working-class background, both lost a parent at an early age (Evita=s father and Madonna=s mother), and both ladies were impoverished as little girls. Evita=s fight for success made her a role model to Madonna, admiring the way she overcame her loss in early life. Despite all hurdles, Evita used her early tragic experience as a motivating factor to seek what life has denied her. Madonna, on the other hand, also used her own childhood loss and fears as springboards to personal freedom. Like Evita, Madonna left her hometown to seek a better life. Similarly, Madonna too, was obliged to used men to get what she wanted (185). According to a review by Ken Mandelbaum, Madonna does not only have the perfect look for the role of Evita--stunning, tough, enigmatic--but the persona has much in common with that of the woman she is playing. Both ladies got far on glamour, detemination, controversy, the ability to influence styles and play a crowd, and somewhat limited skills. In addition, he stated that Madonna is a legend-in-her-time playing another one (26). As the film opens with the contrasting funerals of Eva=s father and her own, we are introduced to Che (Antonio Banderas), the floating narrator who represents all the feelings held against Eva as politician and woman. He then takes us through a journey. First, a young and ambitious Eva, seeking riches and fame. Eva is fifteen years old when she met a nightclub singer, Augustine Magaldi, and begs him to take her to Buenos Aires. Although Eva finds out that the big city of her dreams is not exactly what she dreamed about, she carves out a career as a radio and film actress, becomes popular, and Aslowly bounces up the social ladder with the help of her escorts@ (Parker 38). She then meets the poltical bravado Juan Peron (Jonathan Pryce), whom she instantly charms, and leaves the concert with him. Eva eventually moves into Peron=s residence and shows the door to Peron=s mistress. Consequently, Eva becomes Peron=s strongest ally despite numerous criticisms by the military and the Oligarchy (ruling classes) who Aview her as a whore@ (Harbinson 157). Then the journey takes us to a confident and adored Eva. Now, with a dignity to her face, Eva looks stunning and beautiful standing next to her husband and the newly -elected President, Juan Peron. As Harbinson would put it, The carnality and the dignity combined turned her into a common dream. Those lips had to know fellatio. Those dark eyes had to know what suffering meant. Thus her beauty speaks to all and bridges two worlds. On the one hand is the flesh that learnt its lessons, on the other is that nobility, that transcendent, outpouring love that turns the most sinful woman into a saint. Evita was now a saint. She had paid her dues and emerged trimphant. (105) The scene at the balcony of Casa Rosada is not a very pleasant view for the Oligarchs who considers Eva as a ruthless woman. Although the privileged Argentineans and the ruling classes fear her (on the grounds of vengeance); the masses of people, majority of whom are underprivileged working class, worshipped Eva, now known as Evita. Evita is finally on top of the world. Her followers revere her, as she has finally defeated the Oligarchy, she uplifted the living standards of the working classes and Evita has given the Argentinean women the A right to vote, set up homes for unmarried working girls, and stimulated the idea of women in careers - all these in a country where women had never had a role before (106). And the last journey, a stricken Evita. According to Alan Parker, for eleven eleven months, Argentina witnessed Eva=s slow and public dying. Eva fell into a steep and sudden decline, and on July 26, 1952, she died of cancer at the age of 33 (13). Evita, once a poor girl, became Argentina=s most beloved heroine, and the most hated enemy to the ruling Oligarchs. Accused of being a >whore= and a>ruthless adventuress,= by the well-to-do, Evita is considered a >saint= by her followers. She became the saviour of the underprivileged Argentineans, and above all, she changed the cultural stereotype of women in Argentina. Ruthless or not, her memory will always remain to the suppressed of Argentina. Whether these two ladies, Evita and Madonna, used men to get to the top or not, it is a tribute to their iron will, to their already highly developed sense of survival, to their strong fighting spirit, and to their determination to succeed, that they became what they wanted to be. Evita and Madonna may not exactly be the role models some mothers would want their daughters to follow, but many women would love to have the strong characters they possessed which made them heroines. Works Cited Evita. Writ. Alan Parker and Oliver Stone. Sir. Alan Parker. Hollywood Pictures, 1996 Harbin, W. A. Evita: Saint or Sinner? New York: St. Martin, 1996 Mandelbaum, Ken. "Review: Evita." Theatre Week. 30 Dec. 1996: 26 Parker, Alan. The Making of Evita. Canada: Collins Publishers. 1996 Robert L. Dye Jr. English 1013 Women in Films User or Victim? Designed to prove that a woman can be anybody she desires to be, the legendary film, Evita, is now shown to millions of movie viewers. Alan Parker=s Evita is a reflection of the much-publicized images of two popular self-made heroines of different era, Evita and Madonna. The discussion of this essay will show us how these ladies got far and revered once by their followers. The life of Evita Peron is almost like a dramatization of a romantic fiction, about the tale of a young and poor illegitimate girl, who escapes the cruelty and poverty of her hometown, and Aflees to the big city to become a movie star, fights her way to the top through succession of men, marries her country=s president, only to die at a young age of 33" (Harbinson 154). Eva was born illegitimate in a small remote town of Argentina, and spent most of her childhood life under a cloud of illegitimacy. Besides being poor, Eva and her sisters were regarded as bastard children , and for this reason, they were Alooked upon as >brats= and often prevented from associating with the other children of thevillage. This sense of rejection and the ridicules that young Eva and her family received from the other villagers, formed the basis of her hatred of Argentinas middle and upper classes@ (19). Eva grew up to be an intelligent, beautiful, and glamorous teen-ager, who attracted many men=s attention. Aside from her good looks, Eva had the charm that could get her all the things she wanted, the character of a woman who never gave into negative circumstances, and a determination so strong, she found her way to the balcony of the presidential palace of Argentina. The painful rejection, and the traumatic events of her father=s funeral, when she and her family were refused entry by his legal wife, were still in Eva=s mind when she left her hometown for the big city to seek a better life. Despite her blighted childhood and early personal loss, AEvita never let herself be a victim, and instead, used her deprivations as a motivating machine. She developed a strong courage, a ruthless ambition, and a hunger for success and power@ (185-186). Armed with all the good looks, strong character, determination to succeed, and, the secret resentment she nurtured against the ruling classes of Argentina who looked down on her family, Evita was ready to change her life. Upon arrival in Buenos Aires, Evita found out that rich and poor people do exist in the big cities. But this sight did not discourage Eva, and she went on to become a film and radio performer. Although Evita had the glamour and talent to become successful, she was also aware of the Acrushing limitations imposed upon Argentinean women of relentless male chauvinism. It was the men who had the freedom and earned the money to use it@(25). But Evita was determined not to be a victim, she instead, use men as a stepping stone to her success as she did to Augustine Magaldi to escape out of her hometown. In the film, Evita, Alan Parker portrays Madonna as if it was meant for her to be born to portray the role. Significantly indeed, Madonna=s life is almost a replica of Evita=s life: a rags- to-riches tale in which Aearly personal loss is a motivating factor, and in which, once success is achieved, ruthless will is deployed to sustain it@ (163). Madonna=a childhood background resembles Evita=s in many ways. Both came from a working-class background, both lost a parent at an early age (Evita=s father and Madonna=s mother), and both ladies were impoverished as little girls. Evita=s fight for success made her a role model to Madonna, admiring the way she overcame her loss in early life. Despite all hurdles, Evita used her early tragic experience as a motivating factor to seek what life has denied her. Madonna, on the other hand, also used her own childhood loss and fears as springboards to personal freedom. Like Evita, Madonna left her hometown to seek a better life. Similarly, Madonna too, was obliged to used men to get what she wanted (185). According to a review by Ken Mandelbaum, Madonna does not only have the perfect look for the role of Evita--stunning, tough, enigmatic--but the persona has much in common with that of the woman she is playing. Both ladies got far on glamour, detemination, controversy, the ability to influence styles and play a crowd, and somewhat limited skills. In addition, he stated that Madonna is a legend-in-her-time playing another one (26). As the film opens with the contrasting funerals of Eva=s father and her own, we are introduced to Che (Antonio Banderas), the floating narrator who represents all the feelings held against Eva as politician and woman. He then takes us through a journey. First, a young and ambitious Eva, seeking riches and fame. Eva is fifteen years old when she met a nightclub singer, Augustine Magaldi, and begs him to take her to Buenos Aires. Although Eva finds out that the big city of her dreams is not exactly what she dreamed about, she carves out a career as a radio and film actress, becomes popular, and Aslowly bounces up the social ladder with the help of her escorts@ (Parker 38). She then meets the poltical bravado Juan Peron (Jonathan Pryce), whom she instantly charms, and leaves the concert with him. Eva eventually moves into Peron=s residence and shows the door to Peron=s mistress. Consequently, Eva becomes Peron=s strongest ally despite numerous criticisms by the military and the Oligarchy (ruling classes) who Aview her as a whore@ (Harbinson 157). Then the journey takes us to a confident and adored Eva. Now, with a dignity to her face, Eva looks stunning and beautiful standing next to her husband and the newly -elected President, Juan Peron. As Harbinson would put it, The carnality and the dignity combined turned her into a common dream. Those lips had to know fellatio. Those dark eyes had to know what suffering meant. Thus her beauty speaks to all and bridges two worlds. On the one hand is the flesh that learnt its lessons, on the other is that nobility, that transcendent, outpouring love that turns the most sinful woman into a saint. Evita was now a saint. She had paid her dues and emerged trimphant. (105) The scene at the balcony of Casa Rosada is not a very pleasant view for the Oligarchs who considers Eva as a ruthless woman. Although the privileged Argentineans and the ruling classes fear her (on the grounds of vengeance); the masses of people, majority of whom are underprivileged working class, worshipped Eva, now known as Evita. Evita is finally on top of the world. Her followers revere her, as she has finally defeated the Oligarchy, she uplifted the living standards of the working classes and Evita has given the Argentinean women the A right to vote, set up homes for unmarried working girls, and stimulated the idea of women in careers - all these in a country where women had never had a role before (106). And the last journey, a stricken Evita. According to Alan Parker, for eleven eleven months, Argentina witnessed Eva=s slow and public dying. Eva fell into a steep and sudden decline, and on July 26, 1952, she died of cancer at the age of 33 (13). Evita, once a poor girl, became Argentina=s most beloved heroine, and the most hated enemy to the ruling Oligarchs. Accused of being a >whore= and a>ruthless adventuress,= by the well-to-do, Evita is considered a >saint= by her followers. She became the saviour of the underprivileged Argentineans, and above all, she changed the cultural stereotype of women in Argentina. Ruthless or not, her memory will always remain to the suppressed of Argentina. Whether these two ladies, Evita and Madonna, used men to get to the top or not, it is a tribute to their iron will, to their already highly developed sense of survival, to their strong fighting spirit, and to their determination to succeed, that they became what they wanted to be. Evita and Madonna may not exactly be the role models some mothers would want their daughters to follow, but many women would love to have the strong characters they possessed which made them heroines. Works Cited Evita. Writ. Alan Parker and Oliver Stone. Sir. Alan Parker. Hollywood Pictures, 1996 Harbin, W. A. Evita: Saint or Sinner? New York: St. Martin, 1996 Mandelbaum, Ken. "Review: Evita." Theatre Week. 30 Dec. 1996: 26 Parker, Alan. The Making of Evita. Canada: Collins Publishers. 1996 f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Voodoo.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Fon is spoken by over half the people of Benin and it is the mother tongue of voodoo. In Fon the root word for voodoo is vodoun that means spirit or god. Voodoo had its origins over 350 years ago in West Africa. In fact Allada, a small town in Benin, is often called the 'cradle of voodoo'. In 1996, January 10th became National Voodoo Day in honor of its followers that make up 65% of Benin population. The religion Vodoun was a by-product of the slave trade. This Yoruban religion was carried to Haiti in a slave trade from Dahomey, which is currently called Benin. Once in Haiti, the slaves were forced to adopt Catholicism. Desiring to keep their native practices, the slaves continued to perform their rituals in private. They transposed Catholic saints onto the tribal deities, called loa, to please their owners. Instead of hindering the faith of the slaves, the incorporation of the saints added something new to their religion. Because of this they included into their rituals statues of the saints, candles, and other Christian relics. It is combinations like this that form religions such as Santeria, a blend of Voodoo and Spanish Catholicism, that proves what a malleable religion it is. Voodoo has spread throughout the world into major communities on Rio de Janeiro, New Orleans, Miami, and New York city. Vodoun has as many as 50 million followers throughout the world now. Although varieties of this religion occur in different regions there are some basic tenets common among them. They all believe that the pulse of life resides in nature's elements like fire or wind. This force is also in union with the dead and thus fosters a belief that they should be respected through rituals. They believe that all things are the creation of the loa, and at the same time part of the lao and are to be servants to them. The loa take part in our world and act as intermediaries between human being and the higher god, Bodye. The practitioners of Vodoun believe that when a soul dies it become a sprit or loa. These spirits often 'posses' the living during rituals. When 'possessed' the believer dances, offers animal sacrifices, falls into a trance, or may even disappear. When these rituals are performed a group (societe) come together in a sanctuary (hounfort) where they are revolved around a priest (hougan) or priestess (mamba). These societes are crucial in the structure within small Haitian villages. They are positive forces in establishing communal cohesion and over-riding gender barriers. For whatever good is served, Voodoo can also bring evil. The followers of the faith hold that it is a balancing act mush like the karma of the Buddhists. Bad things come to those who are not good. This is often how the dark side of Voodoo is assimilated. It is believed to be brought out in both the humans and the spirits. This 'black magic' is thought to have been released on the world when the demonic spirit of Petro came to give the traded slaves of Haiti, Cuba and the Americas a warrior fervor and the ability to cast spells on their captures. Currently, black magic is practiced by priests called bokors in small rebel sects that are the main source for the misconceptions about Voodoo. These notions about cannibals, zombies, curses and pin dolls, are the portrait of Voodoo that is typically displayed in movies and literature. It is because of the explorations that many people outside of that culture have a great fear of a religion seemingly filled with evil 'witch doctors'. Bibliography "An Intoduction to Vodoun" Infoseek, Online. 1996. "Voodoo Comes Out of the Dark in its African Birthplace" Infoseek. Online. 1996. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\What wrongs have white administrators done to .TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Presentation Assignment. What wrongs have white administrators done to Aborginal people in the past? Have all wrong been righted? Even though Hardy wrote his book in 1968, he gives a good definition of how the Aborigines were treated in that time. A very bias 'opinion' based difinition of the treatment of Aborigines: "To this day the Aborigine is treated as less than a man, his situation isapalling. His destiny and very identity is decided by his white superiors. He can live only on terms dictated by the people, who despise him. He is paid less, educated less, segregated, rendered landless, discriminated against, insulted, deprived of dignity, his women molested." (Hardy 1968) The Aborgiines have been unfairly treated since European settlement. Children have been taken from their parents, they have been humiliated. They have shot down until not one Aborgine was left in Tasmania. Even though all te worst of it has been over for the Aborigines - but has all wrongs been righted? One of the most inhumane practices of white settlement in Australia would be the taking of the Aboriginal children from their families. Some Aboriginal children were brought up to feel ashamed of their race and heir colour. "In a deliberate and callous attempt to conceal their cultural identity," Aboriginal children were taken from the families an forcibly placed in an institution and were denied further contact with their families. (Aboriginal legal service, 1995 pp ii) For white Australia, the feeling of responsibility, shame, apologetic and sympathetic for what their past people have done to the Aboriginals. The Aboriginals feeling anguished, rejected and feeling in a sence made "different" from the Europeans. "For Aboriginal participants a catharsis for feelings of sorrow and rage, and it encourages as to anticipate that, after generations of neglect, white Australia is finally prepared to own the shame of its past, and to accept the responsibility of effecting real and substancial reparation in the future." (Aboriginal legal service, 1995 pp ii) Aboriginal children in Western Australia were removed from their families until the 1960's. The children were taken from police and 'welfare offices' to be raised as white children for the purpose of assimilation. (Aboriginal Legal Service, 1995 pp ii) Surveys have been conducted from Aboriginal people. They were asked about the effects the assimilation had on them. (See Appendix A) "It is not only the intence impact of removal from families and culture which has contributed to long lasting effects. Life at the missions, faster care, or other institutions was for may a harsh experience which exacerbated the dislocation, alienation, lonliness and pain felt from being rem,oved from families and culture." (Aboriginal Legal Service, 1995, pp 5) Emotional, physical and sexual abuse were taking place apon Aboriginal children in institutions and dormatories. "Spiritual hurt has also suffered the Aboriginal children from the removal from their families. The following list shows how Aboriginal children were abused. (Aboriginal Legal Service 1995, pp 5) (See Appendix B) The often forcilde take of Aboriginal children from their families were taken into orphanages, missions, and foster care. Aboriginal children were assimulated and integrated and were in control of white people "allowing those in control to educate and rear Aboriginal children in a manner they saw fit. In most cases that up-bringing was informed by the opinion that "it was in the (Aborigines) best interest to be something other than Aboriginal." (Aboriginal Legal Service 1995 pp 10) "The goal of assimilating children of mixed Aboriginal blodd 'into the white community'.... was an attempt to 'breed out' the Aboriginal race. It amounted to genocide" (Aboriginal Legal Service 1995 pp 1 & 2) Their has been two deliberate attempts in history where certain person or race has tried to commit genocide. Hitler and his soldiers as well as the white Australians. The germans were defeated in the war and Australia helped prevent the extermination of the Jewish race. Maybe white Australian thought that was a horrible cold cold blodded war. Did they actually think that they did the same in their own country. " White Australia was able to persue its crime until not one Aborigine remained alive on the island of Tasmania." (Hardy 1968) (See Appendix C ) Five thousand Aborigines occupied the island of Tasmania in 1803. Just 21 years later only 500 remained. By 1876 the last of the Tasmanians, Traganinc, were dead, here body dissected and her skeleton articulated for examination by the pseudo-scientists. In truth we have one of the first examples in modern times of the 'final solution' - the genocide of an entire group of people in a specific area." (Bessant 1978 pp 12) The Tasmanian Island had the worst conflicts of all. "The most vicious of all colonial administrations" and the most brutal of all convicts. Governor George Arthur arrived in Tasmania in 1824 and was warning to end the killings of the Aboriginals. "He intended to introduce a new policy of conciliation" and civilise the Aborigines to make them like white families. In 1826, the governor concluded that "Aboriginals were beyond salvation. The Aboriginals started to fight back, obtaining firearms "and adopting kelly-type raiding techniques... They were refusing to recognise the superiority of the Europeans." The governor onve hought of the Aboriginals as childish and then regarded them "as an evil it was duty to destroy" (Bessant 1978 pp 12) Arguments have been expressed about the contraversy of whether all worngs have been righted. Aboriginals even today are not treated completely equal by all white Australians. Even though the Government has allowed Aboriginals to vote, receive pensions and the same benefits as all other Australians, they still have problems with getting employment. "The European settlers wanted land. Because the Aborigines did not cultivate the ground or make permenant dwellings or settlements, the new comers did not realize or care, that the land was owned and occupied... and so the question of Aboriginal right to that land hardly concerned them at all" (Brendt) The Mabo issue has in some sence been righted. Alot of sacred land has been cultivatedm, and settlements have taken place. Therefore it is too late to give this land back to the Aboriginals. Some land has been given back,to the Aboriginals,and this land is under conservation by the Aboriginals. Other problems cannot be righted, such as the worngs with the dislocation of Aboriginal children and the genocide in Tasmania. Problems such as these are impossible to be righted. But they can be apoogised by the white Australian Government. The Government has taken responsibility for their actions, and now look down with shame. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\white lilacs book prog .TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ White Lilacs by Carolyn Meyer I predict that . . . the Jefferson family will have many more harsh times ahead. I think this because they are already struggling to bring home enough money to get by. And I also think that Henrys attitude will get him in trouble and put more stress on the family. If this was a movie I'd title it . . . Freedom, unless it was narrated then I would use White Lilacs because you would need to here Rose Lee¹s thoughts to understand the title White Lilacs. I also think that the movie would be more interesting if it was narrated. If you reversed . . . the point of view from Rose Lee to Catherine Jane the story wouldn¹t be as interesting. This would happen because the story would be about a black community from a white perspective. The protagonist in WHITE LILACS is Rose Lee Jefferson. CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE ? The antagonist in WHITE LILACS it the whole white community except Catherine Jane and Emily Frith. CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE ? In WHITE LILACS the main conflict is weither the black community in Dentin, Texas will have to move to another place against their will. the secondary conflicts are: - Rose Lee had to learn to set the table right. If she did not she would be fired. - Henry was mouthing off white people. This eventually led to him being tared and feathered. His family had to find a place for him to hide so nothing else would happen to him. - The citizens of the black community (Freedom) had to find a new place to go to school because the white people had burned the colored school down. This happened because of the fact that no people were moving out of Freedom. - Rose Lee¹s parents had a harder time getting enough money to survive. This is after they moved out of Freedom. - Grandfather Jim had a hard time replanting his ³Garden Of Eden² after they moved. Not just because of the poor soil conditions but he never could replace the real ³Garden Of Eden² - The close friends and family of Rose Lee had a great morning to overcome. Due to the death of Grandfather Jim and the fact that they had lost so much. The time of the book is in the spring through the fall in the year of 1921. This is until the end when Rose Lee grows up and moves away. The place the story is set in is Dentin, Texas mostly in Freedom (until it is destroyed) or in Mr. and Mrs. Bells house or yard. The mood of WHITE LILACS is a combination of anger, confusion, despair, hopelessness, sorrow, joy and being belittled. The theme of WHITE LILACS is that ³you should not take things for granted things could get worse soon². Or it can be a cold cruel world out there especially if you are black. PLOT SUMMARY In the beginning of the book WHITE LILACS you meet Roes lee Jefferson. - Rose Lee has to go work for Mrs. Bell because other sister being pregnant - She over hears a conversation to get of the black community and replace it with a park. - Rose Lee tells her parents of what she heard and soon the whole black community is filled with anger, confusion, despair, and hopelessness. - Dentin has a vote to see if there will be a park but rig it so that only property owners can vote. this gives about three to one odds for the park. The decision is made and the town buys the properties of Freedom at a fraction of their worth, and moves the houses in freedom to another part of town. There is a brief overview of the rest of Rose Lees life, and trails off talking about of her grandfathers prized white lilac. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\William Handy.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ W. History - 05 W. History - 05 2/22/97 Hey I cant get the essay to paste up could I just email you the essay? let me know William Christopher Handy Handy was an American black composer and compiler of "BLUES" music. He was born in Florence, Alabama. He was educated at the Negro Agricultural and Mechanical College near Huntsville, Alabama. He was the son of former slaves. He was educated in the public schools and by his father and paternal grandfather, both of whom were clergymen. Handy was the first to bring the African- American blues to the general publics attention with the publication of his MEMPHIS BLUES in 1912. He began his musical career as a cornet soloist and bandmaster with minstrel shows; one of his earislst engagements was with the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. Handy also founded a music publishing house and edited and wrote several books , including the autobiographical Father of the Blues (1941). Originally, the blues were a type of black folk song little known beyond the southern United States. Handy's songs brought the blues to international attention. Handy's career was rooted in popular music. He began his career in 1896 as a minstrel show and vaudville corntist and bandleader and then became one of the first publishers of music by black composers. William Christopher Handy was born on Nov,16, 1873, in Florence, Ala, the son of former slaves . As a 15-year-old he left home to work in a traveling minstrel show, but he soon returned when his money ran out. He attended Teachers Agreicultural & Mechanical College in Huntsville, Alabama, and worked as a school teacher and bandmaster. In 1893, during an economic depression, he formed a quartet to perform at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. For several years afterward he drifted around the country working at different jobs. Eventually he settled in Memphas, Tenn. Although he lost his eyesight at age 30, after WW1 he conducted his own orchestra from 1903 intill 1921. His eyesight partially returned, but he became completely blind after a fall from a subway platform in 1943. Handy wrote music during the period of transition from ragtime to jazz. The music he had absorbed during his youth consisted of spirituals, work songs, and folk ballads. His own work consisted of elements of all these in addition to the popular ragtime and the blues notes that he inserted. His work developed the conception of blues as a harmonic framework within which it was possible to improvise. In 1918 he moved to New York City, where he continued to work as a composer and music arranger for film, radio, and Broadway productions. Handy died in New York City on March 28,1958. W. History - 05 2/22/97 William Christopher Handy Handy was an American black composer and compiler of "BLUES" music. He was born in Florence, Alabama. He was educated at the Negro Agricultural and Mechanical College near Huntsville, Alabama. He was the son of former slaves. He was educated in the public schools and by his father and paternal grandfather, both of whom were clergymen. Handy was the first to bring the African- American blues to the general publics attention with the publication of his MEMPHIS BLUES in 1912. He began his musical career as a cornet soloist and bandmaster with minstrel shows; one of his earislst engagements was with the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. Handy also founded a music publishing house and edited and wrote several books , including the autobiographical Father of the Blues (1941). Originally, the blues were a type of black folk song little known beyond the southern United States. Handy's songs brought the blues to international attention. Handy's career was rooted in popular music. He began his career in 1896 as a minstrel show and vaudville corntist and bandleader and then became one of the first publishers of music by black composers. William Christopher Handy was born on Nov,16, 1873, in Florence, Ala, the son of former slaves . As a 15-year-old he left home to work in a traveling minstrel show, but he soon returned when his money ran out. He attended Teachers Agreicultural & Mechanical College in Huntsville, Alabama, and worked as a school teacher and bandmaster. In 1893, during an economic depression, he formed a quartet to perform at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. For several years afterward he drifted around the country working at different jobs. Eventually he settled in Memphas, Tenn. Although he lost his eyesight at age 30, after WW1 he conducted his own orchestra from 1903 intill 1921. His eyesight partially returned, but he became completely blind after a fall from a subway platform in 1943. Handy wrote music during the period of transition from ragtime to jazz. The music he had absorbed during his youth consisted of spirituals, work songs, and folk ballads. His own work consisted of elements of all these in addition to the popular ragtime and the blues notes that he inserted. His work developed the conception of blues as a harmonic framework within which it was possible to improvise. In 1918 he moved to New York City, where he continued to work as a composer and music arranger for film, radio, and Broadway productions. Handy died in New York City on March 28,1958. W. History - 05 2/22/97 William Christopher Handy Handy was an American black composer and compiler of "BLUES" music. He was born in Florence, Alabama. He was educated at the Negro Agricultural and Mechanical College near Huntsville, Alabama. He was the son of former slaves. He was educated in the public schools and by his father and paternal grandfather, both of whom were clergymen. Handy was the first to bring the African- American blues to the general publics attention with the publication of his MEMPHIS BLUES in 1912. He began his musical career as a cornet soloist and bandmaster with minstrel shows; one of his earislst engagements was with the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. Handy also founded a music publishing house and edited and wrote several books , including the autobiographical Father of the Blues (1941). Originally, the blues were a type of black folk song little known beyond the southern United States. Handy's songs brought the blues to international attention. Handy's career was rooted in popular music. He began his career in 1896 as a minstrel show and vaudville corntist and bandleader and then became one of the first publishers of music by black composers. William Christopher Handy was born on Nov,16, 1873, in Florence, Ala, the son of former slaves . As a 15-year-old he left home to work in a traveling minstrel show, but he soon returned when his money ran out. He attended Teachers Agreicultural & Mechanical College in Huntsville, Alabama, and worked as a school teacher and bandmaster. In 1893, during an economic depression, he formed a quartet to perform at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. For several years afterward he drifted around the country working at different jobs. Eventually he settled in Memphas, Tenn. Although he lost his eyesight at age 30, after WW1 he conducted his own orchestra from 1903 intill 1921. His eyesight partially returned, but he became completely blind after a fall from a subway platform in 1943. Handy wrote music during the period of transition from ragtime to jazz. The music he had absorbed during his youth consisted of spirituals, work songs, and folk ballads. His own work consisted of elements of all these in addition to the popular ragtime and the blues notes that he inserted. His work developed the conception of blues as a harmonic framework within which it was possible to improvise. In 1918 he moved to New York City, where he continued to work as a composer and music arranger for film, radio, and Broadway productions. Handy died in New York City on March 28,1958. W. History - 05 2/22/97 William Christopher Handy Handy was an American black composer and compiler of "BLUES" music. He was born in Florence, Alabama. He was educated at the Negro Agricultural and Mechanical College near Huntsville, Alabama. He was the son of former slaves. He was educated in the public schools and by his father and paternal grandfather, both of whom were clergymen. Handy was the first to bring the African- American blues to the general publics attention with the publication of his MEMPHIS BLUES in 1912. He began his musical career as a cornet soloist and bandmaster with minstrel shows; one of his earislst engagements was with the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. Handy also founded a music publishing house and edited and wrote several books , including the autobiographical Father of the Blues (1941). Originally, the blues were a type of black folk song little known beyond the southern United States. Handy's songs brought the blues to international attention. Handy's career was rooted in popular music. He began his career in 1896 as a minstrel show and vaudville corntist and bandleader and then became one of the first publishers of music by black composers. William Christopher Handy was born on Nov,16, 1873, in Florence, Ala, the son of former slaves . As a 15-year-old he left home to work in a traveling minstrel show, but he soon returned when his money ran out. He attended Teachers Agreicultural & Mechanical College in Huntsville, Alabama, and worked as a school teacher and bandmaster. In 1893, during an economic depression, he formed a quartet to perform at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. For several years afterward he drifted around the country working at different jobs. Eventually he settled in Memphas, Tenn. Although he lost his eyesight at age 30, after WW1 he conducted his own orchestra from 1903 intill 1921. His eyesight partially returned, but he became completely blind after a fall from a subway platform in 1943. Handy wrote music during the period of transition from ragtime to jazz. The music he had absorbed during his youth consisted of spirituals, work songs, and folk ballads. His own work consisted of elements of all these in addition to the popular ragtime and the blues notes that he inserted. His work developed the conception of blues as a harmonic framework within which it was possible to improvise. In 1918 he moved to New York City, where he continued to work as a composer and music arranger for film, radio, and Broadway productions. Handy died in New York City on March 28,1958. W. History - 05 2/22/97 William Christopher Handy Handy was an American black composer and compiler of "BLUES" music. He was born in Florence, Alabama. He was educated at the Negro Agricultural and Mechanical College near Huntsville, Alabama. He was the son of former slaves. He was educated in the public schools and by his father and paternal grandfather, both of whom were clergymen. Handy was the first to bring the African- American blues to the general publics attention with the publication of his MEMPHIS BLUES in 1912. He began his musical career as a cornet soloist and bandmaster with minstrel shows; one of his earislst engagements was with the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. Handy also founded a music publishing house and edited and wrote several books , including the autobiographical Father of the Blues (1941). Originally, the blues were a type of black folk song little known beyond the southern United States. Handy's songs brought the blues to international attention. Handy's career was rooted in popular music. He began his career in 1896 as a minstrel show and vaudville corntist and bandleader and then became one of the first publishers of music by black composers. William Christopher Handy was born on Nov,16, 1873, in Florence, Ala, the son of former slaves . As a 15-year-old he left home to work in a traveling minstrel show, but he soon returned when his money ran out. He attended Teachers Agreicultural & Mechanical College in Huntsville, Alabama, and worked as a school teacher and bandmaster. In 1893, during an economic depression, he formed a quartet to perform at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. For several years afterward he drifted around the country working at different jobs. Eventually he settled in Memphas, Tenn. Although he lost his eyesight at age 30, after WW1 he conducted his own orchestra from 1903 intill 1921. His eyesight partially returned, but he became completely blind after a fall from a subway platform in 1943. Handy wrote music during the period of transition from ragtime to jazz. The music he had absorbed during his youth consisted of spirituals, work songs, and folk ballads. His own work consisted of elements of all these in addition to the popular ragtime and the blues notes that he inserted. His work developed the conception of blues as a harmonic framework within which it was possible to improvise. In 1918 he moved to New York City, where he continued to work as a composer and music arranger for film, radio, and Broadway productions. Handy died in New York City on March 28,1958. W. History - 05 2/22/97 William Christopher Handy Handy was an American black composer and compiler of "BLUES" music. He was born in Florence, Alabama. He was educated at the Negro Agricultural and Mechanical College near Huntsville, Alabama. He was the son of former slaves. He was educated in the public schools and by his father and paternal grandfather, both of whom were clergymen. Handy was the first to bring the African- American blues to the general publics attention with the publication of his MEMPHIS BLUES in 1912. He began his musical career as a cornet soloist and bandmaster with minstrel shows; one of his earislst engagements was with the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. Handy also founded a music publishing house and edited and wrote several books , including the autobiographical Father of the Blues (1941). Originally, the blues were a type of black folk song little known beyond the southern United States. Handy's songs brought the blues to international attention. Handy's career was rooted in popular music. He began his career in 1896 as a minstrel show and vaudville corntist and bandleader and then became one of the first publishers of music by black composers. William Christopher Handy was born on Nov,16, 1873, in Florence, Ala, the son of former slaves . As a 15-year-old he left home to work in a traveling minstrel show, but he soon returned when his money ran out. He attended Teachers Agreicultural & Mechanical College in Huntsville, Alabama, and worked as a school teacher and bandmaster. In 1893, during an economic depression, he formed a quartet to perform at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. For several years afterward he drifted around the country working at different jobs. Eventually he settled in Memphas, Tenn. Although he lost his eyesight at age 30, after WW1 he conducted his own orchestra from 1903 intill 1921. His eyesight partially returned, but he became completely blind after a fall from a subway platform in 1943. Handy wrote music during the period of transition from ragtime to jazz. The music he had absorbed during his youth consisted of spirituals, work songs, and folk ballads. His own work consisted of elements of all these in addition to the popular ragtime and the blues notes that he inserted. His work developed the conception of blues as a harmonic framework within which it was possible to improvise. In 1918 he moved to New York City, where he continued to work as a composer and music arranger for film, radio, and Broadway productions. Handy died in New York City on March 28,1958. 2/22/97 W. History - 05 2/22/97 William Christopher Handy Handy was an American black composer and compiler of "BLUES" music. He was born in Florence, Alabama. He was educated at the Negro Agricultural and Mechanical College near Huntsville, Alabama. He was the son of former slaves. He was educated in the public schools and by his father and paternal grandfather, both of whom were clergymen. Handy was the first to bring the African- American blues to the general publics attention with the publication of his MEMPHIS BLUES in 1912. He began his musical career as a cornet soloist and bandmaster with minstrel shows; one of his earislst engagements was with the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. Handy also founded a music publishing house and edited and wrote several books , including the autobiographical Father of the Blues (1941). Originally, the blues were a type of black folk song little known beyond the southern United States. Handy's songs brought the blues to international attention. Handy's career was rooted in popular music. He began his career in 1896 as a minstrel show and vaudville corntist and bandleader and then became one of the first publishers of music by black composers. William Christopher Handy was born on Nov,16, 1873, in Florence, Ala, the son of former slaves . As a 15-year-old he left home to work in a traveling minstrel show, but he soon returned when his money ran out. He attended Teachers Agreicultural & Mechanical College in Huntsville, Alabama, and worked as a school teacher and bandmaster. In 1893, during an economic depression, he formed a quartet to perform at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. For several years afterward he drifted around the country working at different jobs. Eventually he settled in Memphas, Tenn. Although he lost his eyesight at age 30, after WW1 he conducted his own orchestra from 1903 intill 1921. His eyesight partially returned, but he became completely blind after a fall from a subway platform in 1943. Handy wrote music during the period of transition from ragtime to jazz. The music he had absorbed during his youth consisted of spirituals, work songs, and folk ballads. His own work consisted of elements of all these in addition to the popular ragtime and the blues notes that he inserted. His work developed the conception of blues as a harmonic framework within which it was possible to improvise. In 1918 he moved to New York City, where he continued to work as a composer and music arranger for film, radio, and Broadway productions. Handy died in New York City on March 28,1958. W. History - 05 2/22/97 William Christopher Handy Handy was an American black composer and compiler of "BLUES" music. He was born in Florence, Alabama. He was educated at the Negro Agricultural and Mechanical College near Huntsville, Alabama. He was the son of former slaves. He was educated in the public schools and by his father and paternal grandfather, both of whom were clergymen. Handy was the first to bring the African- American blues to the general publics attention with the publication of his MEMPHIS BLUES in 1912. He began his musical career as a cornet soloist and bandmaster with minstrel shows; one of his earislst engagements was with the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. Handy also founded a music publishing house and edited and wrote several books , including the autobiographical Father of the Blues (1941). Originally, the blues were a type of black folk song little known beyond the southern United States. Handy's songs brought the blues to international attention. Handy's career was rooted in popular music. He began his career in 1896 as a minstrel show and vaudville corntist and bandleader and then became one of the first publishers of music by black composers. William Christopher Handy was born on Nov,16, 1873, in Florence, Ala, the son of former slaves . As a 15-year-old he left home to work in a traveling minstrel show, but he soon returned when his money ran out. He attended Teachers Agreicultural & Mechanical College in Huntsville, Alabama, and worked as a school teacher and bandmaster. In 1893, during an economic depression, he formed a quartet to perform at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. For several years afterward he drifted around the country working at different jobs. Eventually he settled in Memphas, Tenn. Although he lost his eyesight at age 30, after WW1 he conducted his own orchestra from 1903 intill 1921. His eyesight partially returned, but he became completely blind after a fall from a subway platform in 1943. Handy wrote music during the period of transition from ragtime to jazz. The music he had absorbed during his youth consisted of spirituals, work songs, and folk ballads. His own work consisted of elements of all these in addition to the popular ragtime and the blues notes that he inserted. His work developed the conception of blues as a harmonic framework within which it was possible to improvise. In 1918 he moved to New York City, where he continued to work as a composer and music arranger for film, radio, and Broadway productions. Handy died in New York City on March 28,1958. William Christopher Handy Handy was an American black composer and compiler of "BLUES" music. He was born in Florence, Alabama. He was educated at the Negro Agricultural and Mechanical College near Huntsville, Alabama. He was the son of former slaves. He was educated in the public schools and by his father and paternal grandfather, both of whom were clergymen. Handy was the first to bring the African- American blues to the general publics attention with the publication of his MEMPHIS BLUES in 1912. He began his musical career as a cornet soloist and bandmaster with minstrel shows; one of his earislst engagements was with the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. Handy also founded a music publishing house and edited and wrote several books , including the autobiographical Father of the Blues (1941). Originally, the blues were a type of black folk song little known beyond the southern United States. Handy's songs brought the blues to international attention. Handy's career was rooted in popular music. He began his career in 1896 as a minstrel show and vaudville corntist and bandleader and then became one of the first publishers of music by black composers. William Christopher Handy was born on Nov,16, 1873, in Florence, Ala, the son of former slaves . As a 15-year-old he left home to work in a traveling minstrel show, but he soon returned when his money ran out. He attended Teachers Agreicultural & Mechanical College in Huntsville, Alabama, and worked as a school teacher and bandmaster. In 1893, during an economic depression, he formed a quartet to perform at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. For several years afterward he drifted around the country working at different jobs. Eventually he settled in Memphas, Tenn. Although he lost his eyesight at age 30, after WW1 he conducted his own orchestra from 1903 intill 1921. His eyesight partially returned, but he became completely blind after a fall from a subway platform in 1943. Handy wrote music during the period of transition from ragtime to jazz. The music he had absorbed during his youth consisted of spirituals, work songs, and folk ballads. His own work consisted of elements of all these in addition to the popular ragtime and the blues notes that he inserted. His work developed the conception of blues as a harmonic framework within which it was possible to improvise. In 1918 he moved to New York City, where he continued to work as a composer and music arranger for film, radio, and Broadway productions. Handy died in New York City on March 28,1958. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Woman in management.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Despite Legislation for Equal Opportunities, sexism is still in evidence in the workplace. Sexism is a particular concern for society when considering it's effect in the workplace. Sexism has always been a particular problem in the labour market especially with the formation of capitalism. In the last half of the 20th century this has been especially highlighted due to the increase of woman entering the labour market. This aroused the need for a legislation for equal opportunity for both sex's to be passed in 1975. It stated that discrimination of a persons sex whether male or female was unlawful in employment, union membership, education, provision of goods, services, advertisements and pay. In this essay the discussion will cover subjects such as why woman hold a large percentage of the work force in companies but hardly any seem to have any power. Obstacles in the way of woman in careers, if women prefer different jobs to men, equal pay for both sexes and what's changed since the law was made an Act of Parliament. This essay will only concentrate on the problem of sex discrimination in the U.K. Sex discrimination means that a person gets treated in a less favorable manner because of their sex. A good example of this is to take two fictional characters, Mr. and Mrs. Jones. The Jones's want to go swimming, they get to the swimming baths where they find that Mrs. Jones is charged an O.A.P. price while Mr. Jones has to pay the full price even though they are both the same age. This is because woman become pensioners at the age of sixty while men cannot gain the benefits until they are sixty five. Sex discrimination is not only present within the older generation but is also evident throughout the entire age range. Before legislation was passed in the 1960's most young girls left school after O-levels to receive a strong social message that their careers where already setup for them as marriage and motherhood (Pascall 1995: 2). The only jobs they would be getting were tedious low paid jobs (a Secretary) and be only looking forward to when they would meet a man, have a family and settle down. Statistics show that in 1971, 51% of married women did not work compared to 29% in 1993 (Pascall 1995: 3). Women now hold 46% of the labor work force, with young women seeing housework more of a part-time rather than a full time job. This is an enormous social change for the family giving women less dependence on marriages which are increasingly falling apart day by day and a greater command over the increasing area of technology and resources. With more women getting jobs, it encourages other woman who were reluctant to move into the labour market to do the same and become more career minded. Although woman now make up 46% of the English work force only 3% of woman hold chief executive positions. This has only increased by 2% in the last 20 years (Mildrew 1992: 17). A point to be raised here is that as the hierarchy of management positions increases, the amount of women in these positions decreases. This quite clearly means that woman do not hold the prestige and influence that men do, as their sector of high ranking jobs is so small. We've all heard men say at some point, "I just don't understand women", yet there are only 5 woman High Court Judges out of 91 men and 28 women circuit judges out of 496 men in the Judiciary in 1993 (Pascall 1995: 2). Thanks to media attention women do have access to careers. In 1980 woman made up 12-14% of professional and managerial jobs. In 1990 the figure had raised to 32% managers/administrators and 40% professionals. On the other hand women seem to fall into different sectors to men, they make up 62% of teachers and librianship but only 25% of business and financial professionals and shockingly only 5% of engineers and technologists. Teaching is a qualified position, 90% of primary school teachers and 60% of secondary teachers are women but 50% primary and 80% secondary school heads are men. This is the same right the way across the specturm, in university only 5% of professors are women (Pascall 1995: 3). This segregation of gender in different jobs can be separated into two dimensions, vertical and horizontal. Vertical segregation is the segregation of gender in the hierarchy of power in a certain job. Woman tend to be found at the low end of vertical segregation in professional occupations. Horizontal segregation is the segregation of gender in the spread of different occupations. Woman are usually found dominating teaching while men dominate engineering. Data from the Eurostat Labour survey shows when woman break horizontal segregation by increasing their presence in a particular occupation, vertical segregation becomes securely established. This is shown by the fact that 3 per cent of all clerks and typists in 1911 were woman. By 1971 the situation had reversed and woman dominated this area. As soon as the number of woman increased, office work was down graded and became a low paid dead end job by deskilling. The activities where broken down to suit what was thought as women's abilities (Mildrew 1992: 12). Educational qualifications are a must for anyone who wants a career (man or woman). 20 years ago girls would have left education at the end of their O-levels being norm. In the 1991/92 GCSE results 42.7% of girls compared with 34.1% of boys received 5 or more A-C grades and 16.1% compared with 14.4% of boys received 3 or more passes at A-Level. The number of woman students at university has tripled in the last 21 years which is almost twice the increase for male, making up 48% of the student population. At degree level 46-48% of medicine/business and financial students are women but only 12% take engineering or technology. These men / woman dominated areas are clearly seen, simply by looking in classrooms at secondary or university education. 91% of sociology classes are female dominated and about 90% of computer science / physics, classes are male dominated (Pascall 1995: 4). The Sex Discrimination Act is in power to help woman in a number of ways and lets them into previously closed doors. However due to the fact that most legal institutions are male dominated it is not quite as clear cut as it may seem on the outside. The law is often interpreted restrictivly meaning a woman may have to fight an unequal battle with her employer and even if they come out victorious little compensation is received and she may be victimized at work in the aftermath. A major need for the discrimination act is to try to help break down the presence of what is known as the glass ceiling'. This is where men get promoted and go further up the managerial hierarchy while woman get to a certain position and can not climb any further. Although they can see the men climbing further up the company they cannot break the glass ceiling themselves (Gregg 1991: 8). A study called Indsco' in a large industrial conglomerate lead by Rosabeth Moss Kanter (A management professor at Harvard) in 1977, recognized that people who work in large organizations have a tendency to hire and promote those who resemble themselves (Mildrew 1992: 17). Unfortunately some men feel uncomfortable with women being their equals and since men dominate managerial levels they have much more control over peoples careers beneath them. If men do not recognize women as their equals, then women are overlooked for transfer or promotion, find themselves directed into female' job areas and are not offered a challenge. Men use strategies to cope with women such as patronizing them, not listening to them seriously, being over protective and shielding them from dangerous situations so they never have the knowledge of how to cope (Allen 1993 p26). The Employment Act 1978 gives women going through pregnancy and child birth the right to have time off with no loss of position. This is only given however to woman who have a career involving full time and continuous employment and stops just 29 weeks after childbirth (Pascall 1995: 4). Parental leave, flexible hours and care of the child in sickness and health is left for the employer and employee to discuss. This is a very complex problem because once a child is born it must have the proper care and attention. Nursery provisions for women who want to go back to work are appalling. Only 2% of work places have nursery facilities and the male dominated government seem to think that the problem doesn't exist! Shocking statistics show that for every 14 females that work full time there is only one which has children between the ages of 0 and 15 years old. i.e. There is 4,200,000 woman with no children in full time work and only 300,000 woman with children between the age of 0 to 15 (Pascall 1995: 4). Taking into account that most woman would like to have at least one baby, there is going to be a lot of woman in low paid jobs. Professions such as medicine which require an intensive course of work to build up the knowledge for the career has actually implied a ban on woman with children. Even traditional woman's jobs such as nursing do not have a career that can comfortably take on board a woman with her off-spring. Since for most women all this is a bit to much they will most certainly turn to part-time employment which will be punished by lower grading and pay. In 1975 the equal pay act came into power. This made it illegal to offer different wages for the same work on the grounds of sex. Men's full time wages over woman's fell drastically. The gap has been narrowing ever since. The New Earnings Survey (NES) shows that in 1980, men's pay stood 40% more on average over women's and in 1992 that gap had narrowed to 25%. Woman in low paid jobs, where before were paid much less then men now have leveled up to the same wage or sometimes higher. However in high flying jobs there still is a large wage difference. The NES showed that woman's hourly earnings where on an average 70.9% of men's in 1990. The problem being is that since woman go into different areas of work than men it may be very difficult to compare the skills and amount of work they do to claim equal pay. We can see that even with the law, there are many loop holes that clever employees can seek. This isn't the only thing that stands in the way of woman who want a career, there are many other obstacles. Society is a very powerful instrument, people get molded by the society they are in. It changes the way people think and act. Also (From personal experiance) many children are directed to appropriate traditional' subjects by their secondary socialization in schools particularly by old fashioned' teachers. Unfortunately the law is not beneficial to everyone. It is not allowed to be broken, but there are numerous ways of stretching it! A good example of this is D.Quinnen vs Mr. J.H. Hovell. Mr. Hovell hired 2 woman and 1 man to work in his store at Christmas time. The 2 woman got paid more than the man. Mr. Quinnen complained and was dismissed, he claimed equal pay and sex discrimination. Mr. Quinnen took this case to the industrial tribunal (I.T.). At a preliminary hearing the tribunal dismissed Mr. Quinnens claims on the grounds that he was not employed by Mr. Hovell as the definition of employment was that there was a contract of service' which Mr. Quinnens did not have. Mr. Quinnens actually then to took his case to the Employment Appeal Tribunal which awarded him œ530 (E.O.C 1989: 63), but most people would not take the case this far after getting turned away by the I.T. A useful rule for woman is that the law works on the rule of precedent, where if a woman has won a case before almost in the same position as the woman who may want to go to court now, the previous case will be used as a base for the prevailing case. With this in mind woman can almost see what the outcome of the case will be before even going to court, saving themselves victimization from male counterparts. From what we have seen it appears that male dominance is to be blamed for women's under achievement in the work place. However this may be a one sided view. Once a woman gets a job in power she may adopt the I had to work hard to get where I am so why shouldn't others' attitude and will discourage other woman from taking responsibility. Woman also tend to be more cautious then men, a survey by British Gas showed that when a opportunity came up in their company for a job with more power the women would only apply for it if they fitted the whole job criteria unlike men who applied for it even if they didn't fill half the description (Allen 1993: 30). The other obstacle that woman would seem to set up for themselves is their own confidence. A study taped seven university faculty meetings and found that men's contributions before someone broke in ranged from 11 to 17 seconds while woman's where 3 to 10 seconds. Women also use deferential tag lines like "Don't you think?" and "Isn't it?" far more often then men and are reluctant to delegate work so they overload themselves (Mildrew 1992: 18). In reflection to the examples given evidence shows that the effectiveness of introducing the numerous acts of parliament have not been entirely successful on implementation. Trends show that through out education females have been directed towards traditional feminine subjects. Lack of fundamental education needed to back up university courses have reflected women's immobility to achieve positions of high statues in the whole range of occupations. Mature woman share this problem as lack of qualifications in appropriate subjects prevents them from achieving powerful positions. Clearly, it can be seen that women are getting the same wage as men in low paying jobs since the Sexual Discrimination act was passed in 1975 but there is still a long way to go until woman in managerial jobs get an equal wage to there counterparts. The fact that women are entering different job areas to men e.g. Teaching / Social working, means that even if a woman takes a company to court because she believes she is not getting paid as much as a male employee, even though she is using the same skills and has the same work load, this is very hard to prove if the two employees are not doing the same job. With most woman wanting babies, and leaving full time work to have a child and probably only taking up part-time work after it is born, it gives directors of companies a very bad opinion of women in powerful jobs as they believe that as soon as the woman has worked her way up she will leave the company due to maternity leave and never be able to keep up the same quality of work as before. Women tend to naturally set obstacles in their own way and it seems that the only way to get a powerful, influential, prestigious job is to never have a baby and are never get married. The law is not much use for woman in power as there is so many males above them in any company. The usefulness of the law can be seen however in the fact of precedent' where any previous case of a woman taking a company to court for sexual discrimination or equal pay and winning may be considered in a similar court case. The glass ceiling is a major obstacle preventing woman from achieving high status professions. However since the law has been in power I believe that the glass ceiling is cracking but it's going to take a lot more years to see any kind of noticeable improvements in woman's careers. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Womans Struggle for Independence.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Woman's Struggle for Independence Women have had to fight for there independence. They have been repressed for a long period of history. Only recently have women started to gain respect as equals and individuals. Even today women are still looked down upon for there sex. From the begging of history women have been viewed as a lesser sex. In the time Mesopotamia women we in charge of the children and the home. In Ancient Egypt women had no power or authority. Women were viewed as property. The Hebrews, alto respecting women, did not allow them to own any property or to have an active place in government. In Rome women were not allowed to voice there opinions. They were viewed as lesser beings, who's role in society was to give birth and to take care of children. They were property of there husbands and not viewed as individuals. There husband was there master and women we practically slaves and was often mistreated by there husband. A servant to the male sex. During the middle ages women still has almost no rights. They still didn't have the right to voice there opinion and were still viewed as property. If they disobeyed there male role model they were punished. The art of the Renaissance gave women some freedom to voice there opinion about the arts and social issues as long as there opinions weren't very radical. However women were only the objects in the arts. They were the models and not the creators. They were not allowed to express themselves but only to be expressed by others. This lead into the period of the Reformation, women were still viewed as property and the homemakers. They did not really get there place in society. The 17th century was the first real growth of the women's movement. Up until this time women had been in the same category as property or slaves. But as the French society moved toward revolution women began to speak of the injustice against them. "The Vindication of Rights of Women (1792) called for the extension of the principle of the liberty to women and urging that equal public education be made available for men and women" (Perry, 289). This list of the right that women were lacking was one of the first attempts at creating a legislation that included women in its laws. During the scientific revolution men were making discoveries and coming up with new ideas all over the world. This was not possible for women because the education was not able to compare with that of the men's. After roll models such as Tristan Flora women started trying harder to become a part of the society. They fought so that they could be intellectual individuals, and not just slaves to the male dominated society. They started thinking for themselves, having there own thoughts and ideas. In the modern 20th century women used the example of these women as arguments to push there cause. When the idea of Nationalism began bringing countries together it helped women slightly. Yet still did not make them there equality to men. In the time of the Industrial Revolution women began receiving jobs in factories. Alto they were still not treated as equals. They were paid significantly less than men for the same days work. The majority of women still stayed at home and took care of the household and children. The idea of socialism brought women more respect. With the idea of socialism women gained some standing in society as close equals to men. In a socialistic society everyone is equal, including women. This idea of equality women in the past could not even in vision. As the battle for women's rights continued they gained the right in the United States to live freely. They could now own land and participate in the government. At the end of the 19th century women began to become educated. They began to prove there intellectual equality to men. As World War I came around women began to enter the workforce. With the men being killed in time of war it left a limited number of men to work in the factories. Women began to take over these roles. They were finally given responsibility and respect for there work. By the time of World War II women had proven themselves in the workforce. They now could find employment, alto there was still discrimination. During the 1950's woman began to fight for liberation in the workforce. They wanted more involvement in the work place. Women now wanted to go to college, support themselves, and fight for there country. They were no longer satisfied with raising a family. A woman could have a career and be a mother to her children. They became independent members of society. With there new position of education and career orientation, it gave a sense that men and women were truly equal. Alto women are gaining influence they still feel discriminated against because of there sex. There are many examples of women in high positions and women holding power. Queen Elizabeth I is one example of a woman in a position of power. These cases of women in power have rarely occurred in history. But even today in the 20th century there have been very few women officials. It seems most of the women who have achieved a position of power, achieved it because of there marriage to an influential man. Take any United States presidents wife for example. Women such as these have a great deal of power and influation, but they wouldn't have this if it wasn't for there husbands. The idea that a woman can work and be just as productive as a man a receive the same rewards happens to a point. The majority of the heads of corporations are men, women make a lesser salary and aren't promoted as much as men. As a woman rises in power in a company she usually gets to a point and then the promotions stop. This event of a sudden stop in promotion has been called "The Glass Ceiling effect" (Lunt). This can only be explained as women are still being treated as a lesser being to men. The reason why women are inferior to men is still unknown. It has been around for as long as men and women have walked the earth. Hopefully soon it will disappear completely and we can all be viewed as equals. Works Cited and Works Consulted Golden, Richard and Thomas Kuehn. Western Societies. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1993. Lowenthal, David. The Past and Foreign Country. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985. Lunt, Richard. Lectures. Perry, Marvin. Western Civilizations. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1993. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Women in Africa.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Timothy Veneylo November 26, 1995 History 387 Women in Africa In many parts of Africa, there is a large discrepancy in who controlled the resources, access to the economy, individual autonomy and central voice in the government between the men and the women. African men, for the most part, have the largest say in the activities of the country. When issues of concern arise, "men's issues" usually became the issues of national concern, and those issues pertinent to women go to the back of everyone's mind. Women are forced to accept the results of men's actions, and usually nothing gets accomplished that benefits them. Because women continually were overlooked, they began to come together and protest. If one examines the following women's protests and their outcomes: A.E. Afigbo's The Warrant Chiefs, Sylvia Leith-Ross' African Women, Jean Allman's "Rounding Up Spinsters: Gender Chaos and Unmarried Women in Colonial Asante", and Irene Staunton's Mothers of the Revolution, several questions arise. What were women seeking and how did this differ from what men wanted? Did women attain their goals, and if not, why not? If women were not successful in getting their concerns at the forefront of national interest, at what, if anything, were they successful? In several instances women became so angered by their lack of voice, that they were moved to act. In some of these cases, women were relatively successful in organizing and mobilizing. The story of the Aba Riots, which is discussed in both The Warrant Chiefs and African Women, proves this point well. In Nigeria, in the late 1920's, the Warrant Chiefs wanted to impose a system of annual taxation. What was so displeasing to the people about the tax was that it involved a census, and that the money went towards no specific project. The concept of counting free people was a foreign one to the Igbo. This notion went contrary to custom, and it was believed to bring about death (Afigbo, 229). The people of the Eastern Provinces felt that because they were being counted, the colonial government was enslaving them or that they were out to destroy them. Also objectionable to these people was the fact that the collected money went towards "'development'" (Afigbo, 228), something for which these communities had not asked. The first year of tax collection went surprisingly well; except for a few isolated incidents. The first year was rather non-violent for two reasons: "It needed the shock of the first payment for people to realize what taxation meant in practical terms" and the second reason was the large police presence and prosecutions of opponents to the tax (Afigbo, 233). These two factors allowed for a relatively peaceful tax collection. However, when year two arrived, so did the resistance. In September 1929, Captain John Cook was sent to Bende as the Acting District Officer, where he was disappointed with the male roll counts. He instructed his Warrant Chiefs to conduct new counts, and "added that the exercise had nothing to do with a tax on women" (Afigbo, 236). The mere mention of "women" and "tax" in the same statement sparked immediate disapproval. Rumors began to fly that the government had ordered a tax on women. Suddenly, the women reacted and agreed to resist by the end of October, 1929. Captain Cook did not want to conduct the count himself, so he sent a mission school teacher to administer the count. When he arrived he asked a woman whom he met outside to go and count "'her people'" (Afigbo, 237). Within hours, women in mass numbers had gathered to discuss the tax, and went from there to the mission teacher's home to ask them why they were being taxed. The women equated being counting with taxation. "They also sent messengers 'armed' with fresh folded palm leaves to women of neighboring villages inviting them to come to Oloko" (Afigbo, 238). The women traveled on foot to ask other women for support, and the women they approached in their villages would go and rally their peers and bring the idea to their attention. From there, the women would decide if they would join the movement and what action, if any, would be taken. The mere fact that women were able to organize themselves to act in such a short time was a definite success. Thousands of women from the Eastern Provinces participated in different activities; some of which were organized, and some of which were not. The women disturbed court proceedings repeatedly, decapped chiefs, looted court officials' homes, burned and vandalized court houses, even looted European factories and shops. Their actions definitely attracted the immediate attention of the colonial government. Sylvia Leith-Ross describes how well the women were organized. In some of the interviews that she conducted with participants and viewers, people were amazed at the womens' solidarity. This text relays how the men in these areas had no large part in the Aba Riots. It was said that the men basically "stood completely on one side, passive, if consenting parties, to the extraordinary behavior of their wives" (Leith-Ross, 30). This kind of activity was unthinkable to men and women in other regions, but Igbo women were determined not to be taxed. From one portion of the text, it almost sounds as if the men might have taken care of the children while the women were out protesting. Some women who were bystanders and were forced to participate in the riots, commented on how they saw the women marching towards them and "they had no children with them" (Leith-Ross, 32). This implies that the men were the caretakers of the children during this period, because all of the women were involved in the riots. There was nowhere else to leave the children. It is amazing to see the opposite roles that men and women took in the Aba Riots. However, the women did have some problems staying focused. There was an incident when two of the women were hit by a medical vehicle, which sparked the other women to participate in aimless looting. The women became so enraged at the doctor who hit the two women, that they followed him into a factory and began looting the European factories and shops, which was not the original goal of the riots. Another fault of the women was their inability to gain widespread support across the region. The method of carrying the palm leaf by foot to neighboring regions inefficient. These women could not reach remote or distant compounds. Any attempts that were made to get support from other women were quickly thwarted by government officials, because they had the luxury of transportation. The lack of modern transportation was no fault of the women, but it caused a failure in their efforts. The womens' reasons for revolting were purely economic. Women were concerned first and foremost with their family's subsistence. The men had already been taxed the year before, so family resources were low. In addition the economy was in a deep depression, so money that was being made had far less value than before. Therefore, the women knew that they could not afford to be taxed, and still have enough money to support their families. Their concerns were local and practical. The men were concerned with their autonomy being threatened by the colonial officials. True the men knew that they would be in a worse economic situation if their wives were taxed too, but they were more concerned with being taken over by the government. The fear of enslavement was more threatening than poverty. Because they did have different aims, it is truly amazing that the women took the lead and made their voices heard. As a result of the women's rioting significant changes came about in colonial Nigeria. The riot "caused a change of policy as regards the basis of local administration in the Eastern Provinces" (Afigbo, 247). The people also witnessed an intense investigation into their political system, which had never been done to that extent before. Essentially, "the policy and system of local rule through chiefs came to an end with the women's Riot" (Afigbo, 248). There was another historic example of women's successful attempts to protest which is seen in "Rounding Up Spinsters: Gender Chaos and Unmarried Women in Colonial Asante." In this instance, women were again very instrumental in changing a situation which was disagreeable to them. They also went about their protests in an organized fashion. The occurrences of rounding up young unmarried women took place in Ghana during the late 1920's and the early 1930's. During this time there was a high rate of venereal disease spreading across the region, and the Asante Chiefs were under the impression that all unmarried girls over the age of fifteen were loose and needed to find a husband. If a girl or woman was caught without a husband, she was sent to jail. The Chiefs argued that they were trying to prevent prostitution by forcing young girls to be married as their justification. The Asante chiefs gave several reasons why they wanted to round up the young girls, but probably the largest reason for the crisis was the different definitions of marriage held by men and women. Men viewed marriage as "a fact, a state of being, recognized by the court as non-negotiable" (Allman, 201). Furthermore, the men believed that once money was exchanged from the groom to the bride's family, marriage began, and the man had exclusive sexual rights over his wife. Many women, on the other hand believed marriage to be something very different. One woman in particular, Afuah Buo, thought marriage was "'a process. . .tenuous and fluid in nature'" (Allman, 201). It was obvious from the women's responses to their arrests, that they also felt that marriage was something that could be easily moved in and out of; which was equated to prostitution by the chiefs. Therefore, because "chiefs and elders were articulating a new definition of marriage that upheld the husband's exclusive sexual rights over his wife, while minimizing or discounting completely the husband's reciprocal obligations toward that wife", women stopped marrying (Allman, 201-201). It is not true that all of the women had the same reaction toward the changing definition of marriage. Some women purposefully chose not to marry because they feared getting a venereal disease, other women could support themselves better without a husband, and others were simply unlucky. The women outnumbered the men during this time, so some women had no choice but to be single. Because the women stopped marrying, the colonial chiefs responded the way they did, arresting the women. However, the women had made arrangements to get around the government's plans. When women were arrested, they were all taken to jail, where they had to wait for a man to come to get them. The women had to mention the name of a man that they intended to marry and have him come and pay a fee, in order to be released. Most women had arranged to have male relatives or friends to come and profess their plans to marry her. After the fee was paid, the girl was free to go. Then she would go back to supporting herself by farming or other means. . Women were so disgusted by the fact that men were no longer fulfilling their basic marital duty, providing the bare necessities for their wives. Men were no longer doing so because of the order made by Effiduasihene, which "undercut one of the fundamental obligations of marriage, that a husband must maintain his wife" (Allman, 205). As a result women began "assert[ing] a great deal of autonomy and independence - much of it linked to the establishment of cocoa farms or to engagement in foodstuffs trade" (Allman, 204). Women during this period were extremely successful at avoiding marriage, if they chose to do so, by supporting themselves and each other. They outsmarted the system in mass numbers and many went into business for themselves. Women who were unhappy with their present situation either divorced their husbands, went to court to challenge "matrilineal inheritance" (Allman, 210), or avoided marriage altogether. G. Clark's work on Kumasi market women shows that this was the "period during which women moved in dramatic numbers into trading, especially in previously male-dominated commodities" (Allman, 209). Although it is not definite, it is suggested that these women better survived the severe economic decline of the 1930's than many of their male peers. In this account it is easy to see the difference in what men and women wanted. Men wanted total control of the women. The colonial chiefs felt that they were loosing authority over the women, so they wanted to tighten their reigns. Fond memories were recounted by the chiefs of "'the good old days. . .[when] no girl or woman dared to resist when given away in marriage to a suitor by her parents and relatives as is the case now'" (Allman, 199-200). Women's uncontrollability had grown too large for the men not to act. The chiefs felt as if their respect by women and the colonial government would diminish if they could not control their own women. The Asante women fought back because they wanted exclusive authority of their productive and reproductive rights. Women were angry, rightfully so, at the fact that men no longer provided them "chop money." Also, when slavery was abolished, men began pawning their wives and exploiting them for use on their cocoa farms. The women became so enraged at their subjugation by men, that they reacted, successfully. Allman affirms that these women were successful when she says that "this particular form of coercion was unsuccessful in even minimally facilitating the exploitation of women's unpaid labour and one important reason for its failure was that the capture of unmarried women did not get the backing of the colonial government" (Allman, 212). In this particular instance, women were able to "shape actively the emerging colonial world" (Allman, 213). The only thing that the chiefs succeeded in doing was making the arrest of women a profit-making venture; because every time a woman was released from jail, she or the man had to pay the fine. Unfortunately, this was not their goal, so they were ultimately unsuccessful. Women's productive and reproductive rights remained under their control. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\women in combat.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Women In Combat The idea of women in combat is not unusual anymore. They should be able to hold combat positions beacause although physical strength matters, the military still needs the intelligence that women can bring. Also, banning women from the combat hurts their military careers. Although women account for only ten percent of the enlisted personnel they are still a major part in the armed forces. Their performance recently has generated support from Congress and the public for enhancing the role of females in the military. During the Persian Gulf War, women were sent to the Middle East to fly helicopters, service combat jets, refuel tankers, and load laser-guided bombs. Their performance has led the world to realize that women are extremely useful in combat. Defense secretary Dick Chaney said "Women have made a major contribution to this war effort. We could not have won without them." Leaders in the field agreed. The Gulf War had the largest deployment of women in the armed forces in history. These women encountered the same risks as the men they served with. In the Persian Gulf, there were no exact positions and all areas were equally vulnerable, so the idea of safe havens for women was not really applicable. By many armed forces policies, females are banned from combat jobs and units, but in the Persian Gulf War females were assigned to battleships, aircraft carriers, and marine support groups dug into the desert. From their experience in the Persian Gulf, military women have earned the right to be treated as equals with men and not as protected individuals. In spite of their record as able combat personnel, there are laws and policies that restrict women in the United States Military from serving in positions that require them to engage in direct combat. Women in the Air Force and Navy are barred from aircraft and vessels that have a chance to be exposed to combat. The official, established policies of the Army and Marine Corps exclude women from combat. These policies prohibit women, on the basis of gender only, from over twelve percent of the skill positions and thirty-nine percent of the total positions offered by the Department of Defense. Such policies excluding women from combat need to be repealed by Congress. The Fourteenth Amendment's "Equal Protection Clause" insures every citizen "the equal protection of the laws." Although the clause is not applicable to Federal government, the Supreme Court said the Due Process Clause in the Fifth Amendment prohibits the federal government from making unreasonable classifications. Therefore the set laws and policies that exclude women from combat not only violate the Fifth Amendment, but also deny women their fundamental right to engage and excel in their chosen occupation. There have been many court cases involving women in combat over the years, although there has never been a case directly challenging the constitutionality laws and regulations banning women from combat. In the case of Frontiero vs. Richardson, the court rejected the idea that "man is, or should be, woman's protector or defender," which in actuality, put women not on a pedestal, but in a cage. In Satty vs. Nashville Gas Co., the decision stated that gender does not determine who is able to perform capably as a soldier. In the case of Schlesinger vs. Ballard, it was realized by the Supreme Court that the combat exclusion hinders the abilities of women to gain the experience needed for promotion within the military. The combat exclusion puts women wishing to obtain qualification for high-level positions at a disadvantage, because leadership training is usually acquired in combat-type positions. Although many females are not eager to go into combat, there are women who can and want to do the job. In a time where technology takes over battle lines and brains might be more important than brawn, a reason to exclude women is non-existant. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Women in Society.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Women in all careers are striving to gain equality in the work force today, and female television news anchors are definitely part of the fight. The road to television news anchoring is a rocky one, where only a few women survive and many fail. Where progress was once thought to have been made, there aren't many females getting ahead in the world of television news. Today, there is a very slow, if any, gain in the numbers of women who succeed. There are many questions surrounding the subject of women in television news, and I will attempt to answer relevant ones in this paper. How have the women that actually make it to the top and succeed as anchorwomen, done it? What does it take to make it? Why do those few endure it/enjoy it? Why has it been and still is difficult for women? What are the expectations of women in the field, as opposed to the expectations of men? I am interested in this topic because I once aspired to become a television broadcaster. I still have inspiration in me, but not quite as much due to the negative and discouraging aspects I have heard about in classes and in the media. I am not sure that I could be happy in a career such as this, and I know there are great difficulties in "making it" in this profession. I have read about the incredible ambition of successful females in television news, and it seems like it takes a special kind of passion to want to keep up in the business. I kept my questions in mind when gathering research material. While focusing on the key questions, I was able to find information that led me to form answers to them. Christine Craft's biography told of her individual experience of being fired on the basis of her looks and her age. I realized from reading her story that she had a "nose for news", a passion for telling it to the world, and a unique spark that made her a good journalist, yet those qualities weren't enough in her case. She took that passion and spark, filed a sexual discrimination case and won. Hard News: Women in Broadcast Journalism had a few chapters that were relevant to today, and I could draw on some information for my paper. However, much of the information was historical and not helpful to answering my questions. Battling for News concentrated mainly on print journalism. There was material about the first women in broadcasting in the 1950's and how they were hired and fired. Television News Anchors had very helpful information, in that there were individual stories from anchorwomen telling of their experiences. This provided stories about the women who have succeeded within the field--why and how. There was a round table discussion conducted by The New Mother Jones magazine with television newswomen Linda Ellerbee, Marion Goldin, Ann Rubenstein, and Meredith Vieira. This provided first-hand opinions about what these women see going on in the business. Women in Television News was published in 1976, and thus, much of the information was outdated. However, I was able to use some quotes from newswomen about what they believe one must do to "make it" in broadcast journalism. I also found some interesting quotes from a former vice president of ABC News regarding women in the industry. Waiting for Prime Time had valuable information about Marlene Sander's experience and opinions of other anchorwomen and men. It covered possibilities for the future of women in broadcasting. Pamela Creedon's two books were helpful in that they discussed topics of sexual discrimination in broadcast journalism and included a chapter by Marlene Sanders, titled "The Face of the Network News is Male." Here she attempted to tackle some problems women in television news face: what the problems are, why they exist, and a bit about what needs to be done to cure these problems. Liesbet van Zoonen's book included a chapter titled "Media Production and the Encoding of Gender." It showed how society views women in the media. The expectations of female anchorwomen in part stems from the overall view of women on television--whether it be in a movie, music video, or soap opera. This was relevant to my paper in answering the question of why there are certain expectations of women in television news. The textbook, Gender, Race and Class in Media had a few chapters relevant to my paper. Larry Gross wrote a chapter titled, "Out of the Mainstream: Sexual Minorities and Mass Media." He discussed various stereotypes in our society that lead to stereotypes in all areas of our lives. I found some of my sources from Oasis, and also used a couple of magazine articles that were relevant to the subject. I focused on the questions that I wanted to answer and drew points from the material that were relevant and provided substantial evidence to answer my questions. I found that opinions and thoughts of women who had been through the business were most helpful. There was one big limitation I faced if I wanted to prove that women in television news were discriminated upon based on sex and age. Women have been fired from their anchor positions, and it has seemed that the reasons were because of looks or aging. But this is hard to prove. In August, Carol Schrader, a woman anchor from KETV-TV in Omaha, Nebraska was asked to leave. She said that it was because of her age, although her bosses didn't say that was the reason, stating that she wasn't doing her job. She was replace by a young, blond woman. Also, when Marlene Sanders was asked to leave ABC, instead of saying point-blank that she was too old, her boss told her she had outgrown the profession. Lynn Sherr of ABC News was also fired, and she believed it was because of her appearance, as no one told her why she lost her job. It isn't a proven fact that every case of a woman getting fired from their professions were fired because of their age. The number of women news anchors is scarce. Only a few succeed, and the reason for this is because what is expected of them is much greater than what is expected of men. Women must work twice as hard, be twice as beautiful, and go above and beyond their abilities. The television broadcasting business is dominated by males, and, in turn, males have the majority of the power. Positive steps have been taken by women, but they are still far from being equal in the field. Advances are not being made quickly. Some men in the world of television news say that women do have a tougher time. Larry King had this to say: I know that if I were "Loretta" King instead of "Larry" King I would be nowhere near where I am today. I would not have had a national radio talk show in 1978, a national cable show of my own, and a national column if I had started out being the "wrong" gender (Craft 1988, p. 6). Al Ittleson, former vice-president of ABC News, says that physical appearance is important for both male and female broadcasters, but emphasizes the importance of a woman broadcaster's looks: Women are supposed to be beautiful. People anticipate what a woman is supposed to look like, so when they come to television-I haven't seen an unattractive woman on television yet... In fact, they're hired, I would say, probably more because of the way they look and their image than because of their background. A man with a very strong journalism background and a man who has broken stories...can get away with a little bit of homeliness. Men aren't supposed to be attractive. Women have a tougher time (Gelfman 1976, p. 53). Our society pins importance upon women's looks. They are required to retain qualities of femininity, yet must also be professional. van Zoonen explains the different expectations of men and women in journalism, saying, "one must assume 'femininity' as a feature of female journalists and 'masculinity' as a different characteristic of male journalists" (van Zoonen 1994, p. 63). The images that are instilled in society are carried over into all aspects of life, and are prevalent in television news. Just as our society is dominated by white, middle and upper-middle class males, it is so in most professions. The men are the bosses in television news, and this has made it difficult for women to gain prestige. The men place expectations upon the women, and punish them if they aren't exactly what they want. One good example of a case where a woman news anchor was fired on the basis of her looks is Christine Craft. Craft was discriminated against because of her sex, appearance, and age. She was fired from KMBC in Kansas City and told, "You don't hide your intelligence to make guys look smarter" (Craft 1988, p. 66). Along with this, she was fired because she was "too old, too unattractive, and not sufficiently deferential to men" (Craft 1988, p. 66). Because her boss directly told her these things, she felt she had been sexually discriminated against. She won two court cases, winning a total of $600,000 in damages. Craft's case opened the eyes of many anchorwomen, as well as others in the media and elsewhere. Here is a talented, competent broadcast journalist who was unfairly treated and took a stand. She comments on her experience, "The men could be balding, jowly, bespectacled, even fat and encased in double-knit, yet the women had to be flawless. Moreover, there was the expectation that I should pretend not to know certain facts just because I was a woman" (Craft 1988, p. 10). What is disturbing about Craft's case is that it is so blatantly obvious that she lost her job on the basis of being a woman, being too old, and not being pretty enough. At the time, out of all the anchors in the country who were over 40, men made up ninety-seven percent of that, with three percent being women who did not look their age. Marlene Sanders writes that what is seen in Craft's case is "that wrinkles are 'seasoning' in a man but 'disqualification' in a woman," and that while this may not be sexual discrimination, "it is a sad statement about how women are viewed in our society" (Sanders and Rock 1988, p. 148). The world of television news is an unstable one, where women take chances, not knowing if or how long they can thrive in the business. Marlene Sanders puts it plainly, "The message is clear; we can all be replaced. There are no guarantees of longevity, and no obvious destination where news professionals can translate their experience and knowledge into new and satisfying careers" (Sanders and Rock 1988, p. 205). Before she took the job at KMBC in Kansas City, Craft was working at a smaller station in Santa Barbara, where she had a positive experience. She says, "I was content to be in a place where the emphasis was on getting the stories and getting them right. Only once did management mention my appearance, and that was to tell me to pull my hair back a bit" (Craft 1988, p. 28). Craft was attracted to the Kansas City station in a larger market. However, she made clear before taking the job that first and foremost she did not want to change her appearance. They promised her it wouldn't happen, yet within the first week they had a beauty consultant piling the make-up onto her face. Sexual discrimination is evident in television news. KMBC practically begged Christine Craft to come to their station. "Women are rewarded more than men for changing news shops often or for moving to larger markets more because of their gender than because of their journalistic qualifications" (Creedon: Smith, Fredin, Ferguson Nardone 1993, p. 174). During the first trial, a former news producer at KMBC, Sherry Chastain, testified, saying that her bosses "instructed her to monitor the appearance of female anchors and reporters, but never males...the male counterpart was bald with a bad toupee and thick glasses, yet nothing was ever mentioned about monitoring his appearance" (Craft 1988, p. 118). Diane Sawyer says that equal pay for equal work is a more serious issue than aging on the air. The reason this is such a difficult challenge is because the number of women on a news staff, as well as their ages can be easily established. However, salaries tend to be confidential, and the dollar value of experience and other qualifications are hard to determine. Therefore, while it is possible that aging may not be a major issue for women broadcasters ten years from now, equal pay for equal work will most likely linger on (Hosley and Yamada 1987, p. 152-154). Some of the blame for all anchorwomen's problems were voiced by cynical male television executives in the 1980's. Jon Katz, former executive director of CBS Morning News, tells of another executive who had a way of deciding which women to interview for anchor positions. He would look at their tapes in the VCR for eight seconds and he would ask himself, "Do I want to fuck them?" This was his basis in deciding who to hire (Katz 1995, p. 158). Catherine Crier experienced tinges of sexism at CNN. A former lawyer and judge, she was criticized for being just another pretty face entering the field of broadcasting. She had no previous experience in journalism, yet her political experience provided the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed. She says, "Journalists couched their reaction in terms of experience and background, but those same journalists have failed to voice similar criticisms of Pierre Salinger of Bill Moyers, two men who jumped from politics into broadcast news" (Fensch: McHargue 1993, p. 182). Crier says that the gains of women in television news is being made very slowly, and that "it is still a frustration for most women" (Fensch: McHargue 1993, p. 184). Jane Pauley is an exception to the negativity women broadcasters often receive. The public loves her. "It is precisely because Pauley is so down-to-earth and easy-going that Americans loved waking up with her" (Fensch: Holloway 1993, p. 249). She possesses the feminine quality that is appealing to the mass audience. She was replaced by Deborah Norville, a younger, blonder woman on the Today show, and viewers were upset to see her go. Now she is a success on NBC Nightly News. There are certain qualities a woman needs to have in order to be able to survive in television news. Ann Rubenstein of NBC Nightly News says, "You must really decide for yourself what you're going to do and not do. And what price you are willing to pay for whatever they're offering" (Fensch: Orenstein 1993, p. 128). Hard work and undying ambition are important qualities of anchorwomen. Mary Alice Williams, of CNN and NBC, gave it her all the first day she went to work for NBC, "appearing on camera, as an anchor of the evening news breaks, and by the end of her first three weeks she had anchored every network news show" (Fensch: White 1993, p. 289). A passion for telling the news is important, and is one reason why the successful women stay in the field. Diane Sawyer explains, "I really love what you learn every day in the business. I love the breathtaking way we walk into people's lives and ask them anything we want and then leave. For a moment you have available to you the whole universe of a person's life-the pain and the suffering and the joy and the struggle. You can learn from it and take it with you and then come back the next day with somebody else. That's what I like to do" (Fensch: Zoglin 1993, p. 278). Sawyer's never-ending ambition carried her from news correspondent to network star. While working for CBS Morning News and covering the negotiations to free Iran hostages, she "would sleep all night on two secretarial chairs so I could get up at 4 a.m., stalk the halls and see what I could get" (Fensch: Zoglin 1993, p. 284). The will to endure any obstacles and believe in themselves keeps the few successful anchorwomen going. Sally Quinn, CBS anchorwoman says You've got to have self-confidence. If I didn't have an enormous amount of self-confidence, I would have been destroyed by this whole experience...You can't learn to be a perfect anchorwoman in one day, and I knew that I wasn't going to be perfect and that people were just going to crucify me because I wasn't perfect" (Gelfman 1976, p. 75). Michael Gartner, NBC News president, explains what is important in television news anchoring. "You have to have a special combination of person to be the focal point of a successful show. You have to be a good journalist, and you have to be able to deliver the message-which a print person doesn't have to do-in person, in somebody's house" (Fensch: Zoglin 1993, p. 281). Barbara Walters is an exception to the rule that older women do not succeed in television news. She is a successful television newswoman who is well over the age of 40. Even she had to take the hard road to make it to the top, starting out as a secretary at a small advertising agency, working in public relations and then in public affairs for CBS. Walters recognizes the tough times women in television news face. She says You have to work harder. It's been said before, but it's true. You are taken less seriously and you are very often scorned by your own co-workers ...it's a tougher job for a woman because a woman has to be awfully good. She really does. A man can be much more excused" (Gelfman 1976, p. 88). Women are not rising to the top quickly in television news, although there is slow improvement, and anchormen say they are fine with the idea of women at the top. Walter Cronkite says of a woman anchor in the future, "Fine, why not? I think it likely...I think by the time the next change comes, the next generation of anchor people, I would think that the barrier would be down and that women would have as good a chance as men" (Sanders and Rock 1988, p. 198). Yet there are still roadblocks standing in the way of women striving to make it to the top. They begin at low-level jobs, such as researchers and logistics persons and hope to take the right paths to get to the top of the ladder. Sanders writes, "For years there were few women above the level of researcher. While that has changed, the amount of frustration for those who do not move ahead has driven many people out of the business altogether" (Sanders and Rock 1988, p. 198-199). Lesley Stahl of CBS News points out that anchorwomen are most often workaholics, with a never-ending drive to do their job. She says It's one reason we do succeed in this business. We just give it everything...Maybe it's because our kind of personalities are attracted to this industry, compulsive, deadline-oriented people who keep pushing ourselves to see how much work we can do. We love work...It's not just a symptom in the early stage, it goes on" (Sanders and Rock 1988, p. 81). Society's expectations of female news anchors is very much like that of any woman in a powerful and successful career. While the women must portray a glamorous, yet friendly image, expectations of men in the business are not near as high. Jon Katz says in his article The men who anchor today look, dress, and act almost precisely the same way they did 50 years ago. They only have to reflect a single trait to succeed-gravitas. They wouldn't dream of being intimate, glamorous, or coy. Nor would anyone expect that of them" (Katz 1995, p. 162). Katz goes on to say that men who make it in the business usually never fail. He says of anchormen, "Old anchors never fade away. And they can't be killed by mortal means" (Katz 1995, p. 164). Sadly, forward movements aren't apparent today by women in television news. Forty years ago, a female gaining the anchor position on the evening news was a leap forward. Today "it feels more like a step backward, an attempt to stuff accomplished, contemporary women into an ill-fitting straightjacket" (Katz 1995, p. 164). It is apparent that women news anchors face many more struggles than men in the field. It takes a unique individual to fight through those struggles and strive for what they want most: to relay news throughout the world. Equality with men is far from being reached, but a few females have stood their ground and hopefully made a difference for others that follow. If people open their eyes and realize there are plenty of women who are just as, if not more, competent than men at holding an anchor position, women could gain respect within the field. For now, the few women who find success and are willing to endure the hardships that come along will likely survive in the business, at least until age hinders their physical appearance. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Women In The Workforce.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Women In The Labour Force December 17, 1992 The past decades their has been a dramatic increase of women participating in the labour force from countries all over the world including Canada. In 1950, one Canadian worker in five was a woman. By 1980 this percentage had doubled, and women are expected to make up more than 44 percent of the labour force by the end of this century. The increase in female participation started occurring during the 1970's. This increase also caused the largest baby boom that the Canadian female labour force had ever witnessed. In North America it is common for women to have part-time or summer jobs, and the participation rate of teenage girls is high. It is also mostly high throughout the world in places as United Kingdom because of the fewer women going to school. But in places like France, Italy, and Japan the female participation rate is very low. In most of the countries the labour force is most participated in the age groups between 20 and 24. The labour force of mature women is very high in Sweden, because of the encouraged day care facilities which also provides the females with legislation that provides them with excellent benefits. In Japan there is a drop in female economic activity, the reason why is it affects their marriage and the care of their only child. An observation of labour force participation rates in Canada show that female rates rose a lot between 1971 and 1981, while the male rate rose unnoticeably. The increase in the female participation rate was found in all age groups except in older women. For women aged 15 to 19 the rate was as almost as high as the men. But the largest increase was in the age group of 25-44 years old, where the rate rose almost 50 percent. This meant that the participation rates of the females had become more alike with the men. Family status also influenced the female participation rate but later on during 1981 it had a more less affect than in 1971. According to statistics just over one quarter of married women with young children were working, but this later changed and grew by 76 percent over the a 10 year period of time. The rate also showed an increase of 47 percent for widowed, divorced, and separated women with children. However single women with young children showed a slight decrease. However the female participation rate is not so much related to family status as today as it was many years ago. During the period of 1971 through 1981 the involvement of married women went through a major change. Fewer women saw marriage as a reason to interrupt their participation in the job force, and couple tended to postpone having children or not having any at all. While women with young children tended to participate less in the labour market and quit their jobs more frequently than men. Females did the exact opposite of what men did when they had children while working, and in some cases were actually more stable than men without children. This showed that the couples attitude towards having children influenced a decrease in the female labour force participation rate. In 1981 most women spent an average of 1,247 hours a year working, compared with 1,431 hours in 1971 which had dropped about 15 percent. Even men saw their average hours decrease by 13 percent. Not only more women were working, more were working part-tim for only part of the year which meant more women on the unemployment rolls. In the 1960's the unemployment rate for females was 3 percent and ten years later increased to 7 percent. Since june 1982 the unemployment rate for men was 11-13 percent and the women's just above that rate which could also exceed that of the men near the end of the century. Only about 11 percent of women had part-time jobs because they couldn't find full-time employment or because they wished to spend more time to their education or their families, or for other reasons. Although 24 percent of the women working part-time would have preferred a full-time job if it had been available. According to the Statistics Canada study, in 1970 women were extremely poorly paid which showed a big earnings difference than the men. This started changing in the 1970's which rose the females earning to 51.2 percent of that of a man. Ten years later it had reached 54.4 percent. If it wasn't for the decrease in annual hours for the females the earnings difference would have been reduced even further. By 1980 the females earnings had risen to 72 percent of that of a man. The female labour force would be incomplete without equal pay for equal or equivalent work. This issue was the most important issue to women in low-paid jobs. If the principal of equal pay for equal work were fully applied men and women would both receive the same hourly wage which would raise female earnings dramatically. The issue of equal pay for equal work most often comes up in discussion to improve the economic status of the women at the bottom of the payroll, many of them who are not in unions. When women first started entering the labour force they were hassled by the males because they were supposed to traditional work in the house and take care of the family. Which was the reason of their low wages to disapprove of women working. This traditions reflected their wages and the positions people were willing to offer to women. Working women experience problems such as sexual harassment and being fired because of pregnancy. Most of the people want to correct the unequal treatment of women in the work force and make it equal for everyone. Some of the methods which can be used to support equality is to introduce a federal legislation to guarantee equal pay for equal work. To also set wages according to the value of the work done by the employer. Which would be difficult to measure the value of one person's work compared to another persons. We could also offer women better benefits and a better pension when they retire their job. Peoples attitudes towards women in the work force are slowly starting to change and more opportunities for women are being available for them. The unequal treatment of working women will take years to change and will always stay an important issue. Books Author In Her Own Right Six Point View To See Ourselves "unknown" The Law Is Not For Women "unknown" Equal Status For Women In Canada In th 1990's "unknown" Women And The Constitution Micheline Carrier Women At Home "unknown" Changing Economic Status Of Women Jac-Andre Boulet f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Women on the Street.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Women on the Street Have you ever rushed down the street and felt that nagging feeling of guilt, as you breeze by someone lying in a doorway? Is she alive? Is she ill? Why do we all rush by without finding out is she's all right? People sit in train stations, bus stations, parks, doorways, unmistakably sick, with what, we don't know. All are seemingly alone. Some beg. Some don't. Some have open sores that ooze and bleed. Some are drunk. Some talk to themselves or formless others. They have no homes. Street people make up a small percentage of the homeless population. Most homeless people blend into the daily flow of urban life. Many families are homeless. Many babies go from the hospital into the shelter system, never knowing what it is like to go home. Women are another subgroup of the homeless. Solutions to homelessness are not easily found. But before we can solve problems, we must be sensitive enough that we create the will to find the solutions. Often if we do not feel the problem, if some emotional response is not made, we are not moved to seek solutions. We are often unmoved to even recognize the questions. We cannot afford to keep walking by. "Work is a fundamental condition of human existence," said Karl Marx. In punch-the-clock and briefcase societies no less than in agricultural or hunting and gathering societies, it is the organization of work that makes life in communities possible. Individual life as well as social life is closely tied to work. In wage labored societies, and perhaps in every other as well, much of an individual's identity is tied to their job. For most people jobs are a principal source of both independence and correctness to others. It should come as no surprise that, in the work force or out, work and jobs are important in the lives of homeless women. There are women who want to work and do, and women who want to work and do not. There are women who cannot work and others who should not work and still others who do not want to work. Some work regularly, some intermittently; some work part-time, some full-time; and there are even those who work two jobs. At any given moment, there is a lot of job-searching, job losing, job changing, and job avoidance. Within months or even weeks, these may all appear in the same person. The process is almost routine. A homeless woman registers with an unemployment agency. Since there is no way for them to call her when a job comes up she calls them - three, four times a day. By the third day they usually tell her, "Don't call us, we'll call you." If she confesses there is no way to reach her, they lose interest. Although since 1985, the shelters help reach people. Several women reported losing their jobs or the opportunity to get them when their homelessness became known. One women had been working as a receptionist in a doctor's office for several weeks when the doctor learned she was living in a shelter and fired her. The doctor told her if he'd known he wouldn't have hired her, shelters are places of disease. The jobs homeless women can get do not pay enough to enable them to support themselves. But, the women desperately want and need the money, the independence, and the self respect that most of us have come to take for granted from a job. But, for women to get a job and keep it, the women must run an obstacle course at the end of which is a low-pay, low- status job that offers a little more than they have without it. The women - perfectly socialized to the values of work - continue to value work for what they know their jobs cannot provide. Even with the starts and stops, and the periodic surrenders to a workers shelter life. There is an importance and complex connection between family relationships and homelessness. For the never-married women, "family", usually meant family of orientation - the families they were born into. For women with children, "family", included family of procreation - their husbands and children. Perhaps predictably, mothers and sisters were more likely to be sources of support than fathers and brothers. Homeless women had not always been families. Like everyone else, they were born into families or family-like networks of human relationships. On the street and in the shelters, one meets many homeless women who had been kept afloat by family members until, for one reason or another, the family had to let go. For most women, living with relatives or receiving significant financial or other support form them was the last stage in their descent into homelessness. Peter Rossi reports that "the time elapsed since last being employed is much longer than the time homeless." (Ferrill 123). From this is properly inferred that while they were unemployed, even for years at a time, they now homeless persons "managed to stay in homes mainly through the generosity of family and perhaps friends." (Ferrill 123). This is an ongoing process and many people continue to avoid homelessness through the support of family members. Of course, we do not know how many about-to-be-homeless there are, but it is reasonable to suppose that they far out number the "real " homeless. In New York City, it has been estimated that the doubled-up families in public housing outnumbered the officially homeless by 20 to 1. (Ferrill 125). Shelters are dynamic social systems whose moods are in constant movement. If, for a moment, the system appears to be in a steady state, it is a balance of forces rather than a state of rest. The forces are many. They operate at different directions. At the individual level, personalities clash and personalities mesh, producing smaller groups within the system. Some forces enhance group solidarity, some of which work against it, and some of which can go either way. It is unlikely that the staff people and shelter rules by themselves could have contained the explosive forces of racial animosity, social class differences, competition for resources, overcrowding, individuals who were not always in control of their actions, and individuals who wanted to disassociate themselves from the group. but came against these forces, and born mainly out of shared homelessness and common needs, was a powerful impulse to group cohesion and solidarity. Most of the time, the impulse to solidarity was strong enough to hold the negative forces in check, there by providing the minimum of peace and good order that made social life possible. On many evenings, as the women came together in the shelter, there was sufficient good feeling and fellow feelings, when coupled with their common needs and circumstances, to allow a sense of community to sputter into life. For most women, the loneliness of their homeless state was a terrible burden to bear; this fragile bit of community, however small, was precious indeed. "Homelessness is the sum total of our dreams, policies, intentions, errors, omissions, cruelties, kindness, all of it recorded, in the flesh, in the life of the streets." (Marin 41). f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Womens Right to Vote.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The women's suffrage movement began in 1848 when a group of women met in Seneca Falls New York. These women issued what became known as the Declaration of Sentiments and Resolution s, and 11 pt. document outlining the demand for equal rights. Al of the articles of the Declaration passed except for the right to vote. It was widely believed at that time, that women were both physically and mentally inferior to men, and therefore should not have the right to vote. The Seneca Falls convention was organized by a group of women who had been active in the antislavery movement. When they were rejected as delegates to an abolitionist convention because of their sex, they vowed to turn their attention to women's rights. This convention attracted lots of attention from the press, mostly negative. One of the organizers, Elizabeth cady Stanton, welcomed even the negative attention. She said "It might start women thinking; and men to; when men and women think about a new question they the first step is taken. Because of their involvement in the abolitionist movement, women had learned to organize, to hold public meetings, and conduct petition campaigns. As abolitionists, women first won the right to speak in public, and they began to evolve a philosophy of their own place in society. When the 15th amendment, which gave black men the power to vote, was passed women became furious. Julia Ward Howe said "For the first time, we saw... every Negro man govern every white woman. This seemed to me intollerable tyranny." After the fifteenth amendment was passed, the women's suffrage movement turned its attention towards gaining the right to vote state by state. Susan B. Anthony, a leader in the movement, met a wealthy businessman named George Francis Train while campaigning in Kansas. He offered her the money to launch a suffrage newspaper. In return he would be allowed to write a column about economics. Thus the Revolution was born. It's motto was "Men, their rights and nothing more; women, their rights and nothing less." Lucy Stone and a group of conservative suffragists broke away from Anthony's National Woman's suffrage Association and founded the American Woman Suffrage Association. The NWSA attracted younger and more radical women who worked for a constitutional amendment to get the vote. The AWSA directed its efforts toward getting states to give women the right to vote. Anthony believed that this would take to long and tried to the the courts to declare that voting is the right of all citizens. She based this belief on the fact that the 14th amendment made women citizens. In 1872 she went to the polls and cast her ballet for president. Two weeks later she was arrested for voting illegally. Virginia Minor, a friend of Anthony's and president of the Missouri Woman Suffrage Association, tried to vote in 1872. The election registers refused to let her cast her ballet, so she brought a suit against them. She claimed that they had interfered with her right as a citizen to vote. The Supreme court ruled that the Constitution "does not confer the right of suffrage upon anyone, and that the constitutions and laws of several states which commit that important trust to men alone are not necessarily void." meaning that the Constitution does not give the right to vote to everyone and that the constitutions and laws of the states that only allow men to vote are not necessarily invalid. In 1878 Senator Aaron Sargent of California finally introduced the proposed the Sixteenth amendment which many people called the Anthony Amendment. This amendment stated "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state on account of sex." This amendment remained unchanged and unpassed for fourty-two years even though both the House and Senate committees favored it. Some argued that the amendment would destroy homes and break up families. Others argued that the vote would degrade women. Senator George C. Vest explained why he felt this way, "It would take her down from that pedestal where she is today, influencing by her gentle and kindly caress the actiuon of her husband towards the good and the pure." Meanwhile none of the dire consequences predicted by the antisuffragists had occured in the few states where women voted. In 1869 the Wyoming Territory adopted a constitution granting both men and women the right to vote. When they asked to join the union they were pressured to banish the women's right to vote. Wyoming stood firm and even adopted the motto "America will be a better place to live when women go to the polls." Until the early 1900's , only a few states, all of them western, had granted women the right to vote. By this time the two organizations had merged to form the National American Woman Suffrage Association. On June 4, 1919 women were finally granted the right to vote. Congress ratified the 19th amendment to the Constitution which stated that no citizen could be denied the right to vote "on account of sex". This victory was not only for women, but for democracy and the principle of equality upon which our great nation was founded. f:\12000 essays\controversial issues (126)\Working Women and Family Life.TXT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Many women today are facing choices that their mothers never had to face. One of these choices is whether or not to go back to work after having a child. This was practically unheard of in the 1950's. In the 1990's it is not whether the mother will or will not go back to work, rather a question of when. When did the choice become set in stone? Why do the mothers of today have to work outside the home versus working in the home, much like their mothers did. When one thinks of the subject of working mothers, many differing opinions come to mind. What will happen to the child, will the mother have sufficient time to bond with the baby, how will household chores be divided, and so on. When thinking of working women, two models come to mind. One of which is paid employment that has a protective and beneficial mediating effect. Employment protects women against certain negative aspects of being full-time homemakers and mothers, such as monotonous housework, dependence on the male partner for financial and emotional support, increases self-esteem because they are contributing to the world they live in. These women receive a renewed interest in life because they are in the thick of it. They are living life to the fullest. This model is the one that is constantly referred to as "bad" because it paints the woman as someone who does not really care about the effect of working will have on the baby. In fact, most of these mothers have made this choice with painstaking care. They are constantly feeling what everyone is thinking, and this in turn causes undue stress on these mothers. The other model of the working mom is the one most people think of when discussing working mothers. This model is one of a woman having too many demands of her --housewife, mother and paid employee - which may lead to role strain due to fatigue and role overload. The competing demands of such roles may also lead to conflict and psychological stress. Both of these models can be seen in the working mother at any given time. They are simply a fact of life, a by product of the world in which we live. Mothers are constantly jumping back and forth in these roles, striving to find a sense of balance. But is there such a thing? Most of the time the scales are tipped one way or another, there is never a true sense of balance. I believe this is how the mothers survive. If the scales were balanced, it would seem that they would either be cruel heartless women, simply concerned with their jobs, and caring less about their children. This is simply not the case. It seems that the ideal situation is when the father helps around the house, as to alleviate some of the stress the mother feels from working and the ability for the mother to have a flexible schedule. Role decisions within the family unit need to increase when the mother returns to work. In order for both partners to be happy and feel fulfilled, there needs to be a clear definition of roles with in the family unit. This is something that should be discussed and decided well before the mother returns to work. In making role decisions, the parents must somehow combine their perceptions of the rewards and costs associated with each role in order to determine which combination of roles will provide them with the best role position. In other words, they need to figure out what they can do best for the family when they both parents work. If this is accomplished, the family will function better as a unit, and stress will be alleviated for all. Another set back that is constantly facing working mothers is that their work is looked upon as optional, it is also viewed as less important than their partner's. When these attitudes are confronted, it makes the transition for the working mother all the more difficult. The constant backlash from the public makes these mothers feel so guilty that some may even quit just to alleviate the stress. In order for working mothers to feel needed, and to have their work mean something, others need to look upon their work as something substantial, something important, not simply an option. When workplaces provide flexible scheduling and childcare services, these are the first steps in getting working mothers into the workforce and alleviate their feelings of guilt. Many working mothers today are facing the reality of the "second shift". This is where they put in a full day of work at the office only to come home to start their "second shift", the one that entails all the housework and the raising of the family. Mothers feel that they have no choice in the matter, in order to be the "perfect" mother, they need to put in this shift, because it is their responsibility. But why is it their responsibility? Why does the father feel it is his right to come home and relax, when the mother is busy fixing dinner, and disciplining children. In order for the working mother to keep her sanity, the father needs to jump in and help with the chores that were previously held by the homemaker. In this day and age, the ideal homemaker is a thing of the past. Many women today want and desire careers and a place in this world. They want to stand on their own two feet, to become a self-sustaining individual, free of dependence on another individual. When the mother considers the idea of working and raising a family, many things need to be considered. The responsibilities need to be divided evenly so as to alleviate the stress that will evolve due to all the changes. For the working mothers, understanding is first and foremost needed in order for the psychological well being. They need to feel that their work is important, and necessary, and that they are not sacrificing their child's well being in order to benefit themselves. The danger involved is that the mothers could feel so guilty in working that they feel that they are abandoning their child to the caregivers that they are in contact with daily. The mothers need a support system in order to survive the roller coaster involved when they go back to work. If all these factors are taken into consideration, the transition to working mom will be that much easier for the entire family and the child will not suffer. Bibliography Brannen, Julia, Moss, Peter. Managing Mothers: Dual Earner Households After Maternity Leave. London: Unwin Hyman, 1991. Mahony, Rhona. Kidding Ourselves: Breadwinning, Babies, and Bargaining Power. New York: BasicBooks, 1995. Thomson, Elizabeth Jean. Employment and childbearing Decisions of Mothers of Young Children. Seattle, University of Washington, 1979.