Reaction Post

Reaction Post

Abby: “the birth of a nation”

Was a Landmark film for the industry. Film follows 2 families one from the north and one from the south. All African males in the movie are depicted as the root of all evil.The KKK portrays a healing force from destruction. During this the Boston civil right movement and proxy civil right movement were happening  across the nation. KKK disappeared after the 1870s. However, there was a reemergence of the KKK, new era of Klan activity. 

Evan: The rise of the 2nd KKK

1915-1920, KKK was reborn to a much more organized group, it instilled fear and violence. There main goal, was to attempt to make the country 100% American. Upper class white males could be considered 100% American.

Ariel: Sundown towns

Sundown Towns are all-white communities, neighborhoods, or counties that exclude Blacks and other minorities through the use of discriminatory laws, harassment, and threats or use of violence. Blacks must leave by sundown. There were up to 10,000 sundown towns in 1890 and 1960. Causing African Americans to began to migrate to other regions of the country No minority groups allowed in sundown towns. Some expelled black communities in a single day. Suburbs became whiter over time.

Cali, Texas, New York, and the Carolinas still have sundown towns.

Lindsey: 4 little girls

On Sunday, September 15, 1963, the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, was bombed by four members of a Ku Klux Klan-affiliated racist group. Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson and Cynthia Wesley, four African-American girls between the ages of 11 and 14 who had been attending the church's Sunday school, were killed in the blast.

White supremacists saw how the church was becoming a symbol of civil rights and wanted to put an end to it and have segregation. It took away many innocent lives. Causing Racial division and discrimination in the USA. It created a lot more protests, and violence because the bombing case went international, which created a lot of publicity. The 4 little girls became symbols for the civil rights struggle.Going after these kids showed how far white supremacists were willing to go. 

Lynx: Emmet Till 

An African boy who was murdered in 1955 at the age of 14. He was accused of offending a white woman, the woman claimed he grabbed her hand and waist expect she lied. After hearing what Emmet allegedly done. Heinous crimes were committed to him. Emmet was kidnapped, beaten, shot in the head, mutilated, had a large metal fan tied to his neck with barbed wire, and was thrown into the Tallahatchie River. Years later the case was reopened again, and Roy Bryant and his half-brother J.W. Milam were accused of the murder. However, the white woman is still just as much at fault because she did say she made it up, so she was involved in the murder.

Kasen: Mississippi Burning

Involved the murder of 3 activists during the civil rights movement. The KKK was going after 1 of the activists because he was organizing local boycotts. This event took place June 1st, 1964. 3 activists had been heading to investigate a church fire that the KKK had done. At night while the 3 men were out driving, it’s said that the KKK were following them. The 3 men were never found again, Except for their burnt Vox wagon. A Search lasted from June 23 to august 3rd. Two bodies were found; it was seen they were both shot in the chest. None of the KKK were convicted or charged with murder when the bodies were found. However, in 2005 the case was reopened, and they got sentenced. This event would later that inspire the civil right act in 1964.

Kayla: Brown v board - Arguing on the side of brown (EOTO)

1915, cold war just started. Our country came out of the bloodiest war, WW2. There was new technology, which created a new economy. This case challenged separate but equal. Post WW2 culture had everyone questioning segregation and the whole idea of separate but equal. Now more blacks were going to college. A big advocate was Thurgood Marshall, he was a civil rights lawyer who used the courts to fight Jim Crow and dismantle segregation in the U.S.. Civil rights movement occurred during this time, Martin Luther King was arguing for it,  he was a minister, so he gained white’s support. 

Gabby: Moral argument 

Separate but equal mindset is unjust. Our country needs to be united, and segregation does the opposite of that. African Americans deserve the same treatment and advantages.

Josh: Religious argument 

God made everyone and to look at them less is looking down on God. Many still try to justify their actions which is selfish. Christianity isn’t meant to divide people. Teaching Christianity in these white segregated schools is harmful because you’re then teaching these young mindsets that God “doesn’t like” African Americans when this isn’t true but would ultimately spread more hate and violence. 

GraceAnn: The economy

Think how much it costs to make water fountains, buses, schools, etc. Now double it! Take this tax money and divide it in half. Only half of the taxing goes to the children. Upholding segregation would cost an arm and leg from the government. Think how much stuff could improve if we didn’t have to make double of everything. For example, if we put everyone together, we would have more taxes for the army. The most important thing though is the education of our children. Don’t provide your child with substandard education, our children are the future and each and every one of them deserve a blue-ribbon education. 

Brad: Legal argument

It’s clearly not equal protection under the law, it goes against the 14th amendment. Black schools are underfunded and overcrowded, there’s not enough resources for the black students. All these factors combined have led to white students to be 4 times more likely to graduate high school. Give every student the equal right and protection they deserve.