The Jena Six & Lil' Rock Nine

My reaction to the Jena article was, surprised. Even in today's society, people are still getting unfair treatment as Rev. Jesse Jackson says, "That's not prosecution, that's persecution,". People from all over are rallying about this case and how it blown out of proportion and getting all this publicity because the convicted were colored students. A woman made a point saying, "every time the white people did something, they dropped it, and every time the black people did something, they blew it out of proportion." Which is true because if it were the opposite, 4 white students beating up a black student, there wouldn't be this much upset. There was a noose tied to a tree that was meant for white students and a woman wonders why those students weren't severely punished for it.
The Little Rock 9 incident was similar because it also stirred up big publicity news and uproars because these 9 colored students were about to enter a school for whites. People made a big deal about it because the white folks did not want their children to be associated or around these colored students so they caused riots and frenzies trying to prevent them from entering but Pres. Eisenhower, upholding the law, allowed & protected them to entering the school.

Topic.11 !

MLK & Civil Disobedience -

Power of the "Mob"

Plessy v. Ferguson vs. Brown v. Board of Education

Civil Rights Goals - The goals were to have equal rights and opportunities for colored peoples in education and public facilities such as bathrooms, diners, fountains, etc.

Eisenhower's Role in Little Rock - Sent 101st Airborne to uphold the Supreme Court's decision

Rights of the Accused - Gideon v Wainwright: 6th Amendment requires counsel for defenders who can't afford their own attorneys. Escobedo v. Illinois: Criminal suspects have right to counsel during police interrogation. Miranda v Arizona: Criminals must be informed of rights to consult w/ counsel prior to interrogation.

Brown v. Board of Education - President says colored people aren't bad, parents just prefer them not to be with their daughters. Thurgood Marshall fought for Brown's case & Supreme Court declared segregated schools unequal & unconstitutional

Chavez & UFW - Chavez organized strikes & civil disobedience for migrant workers. Started Delano Grape Strike which boycotted grape picking and brought wine stocks down. The UFW was Anti-immigration and Chavez fasted to support different social issues as well.

FHA & ADA - '64 Civil Rights Act. FHA outlawed refusal to sell/rent to buyers based on race, color, religion, or handicapped. ADA made it a requirement for public places to have handicap facilities. Ex. bathrooms, ramps, elevators, & auto doors.

Purpose of Filibusters - Pushed Kennedy's legislation & Congress to pass '64 Civil Right Act, & another in 1965 which strengthened voting rights for African Americans.

Sit-Ins & Other Protests - Lunch Center Sit-In: 20 people went in a diner, sat down & asked for service but denied. They remained seated and quiet, refused to move or talk. After all were arrested, more waves of 20 people came in one after the other.
 1960 Greensboro, NC; 4 African American students in lunch counter sit-in. By end of '61, 70k+ participants nationwide.

Livin' The American Dream

Dictionary.com defines 'The American Dream' as 'a life of personal happiness and material comfort as traditionally sought by individuals in the U.S.' but what is the real American Dream ? Is it to have it all, the nice clothes and accessories, the fancy house and cars ? Or is it to just start a family, have a stable job, and live life happy and to the fullest ? I guess it varies for some people. But when one works hard enough, they can achieve the American Dream, whatever it may be for them. In the documentary A Class Divided, school teacher Jane Elliott separated her class into two groups, one labeled inferior, the other superior. The superior group performed better because that label gave them the courage, inspiration, and strength to excel and perform at their best compared to a group labeled inferior, who probably did felt inferior. Now put into perspective, would you perform to your full extent & abilities if you were labeled inferior ? Or would you not and feel brought and looked down upon ?

The Majestic Outline

A. Characters

   I. Peter Appleton

     i. Hollywood Screenwriter

     ii. Had amnesia & was mistaken for Luke Trimble 

     iii. Accused for Communism

   II. Adele Stanton

     i. Luke's lover

     ii. Studying Law

   III. Harry Trimble

     i. Luke's father/Thinks Peter is Harry

     ii. Runs the Majestic movie theater

B. Setting

   I. 1951

     i. Hollywood, California

     ii. Lawson, California

C. Plot Summary

   I. Peter's suspected of Communism
     i. Tries to run away but has accident and gets amnesia.

  II. He's convinced & lives life as Luke Trimble

     i. Gov't show up & serve his court order.

  III. He testifies before a McCarthy Counsel & Uses the First Amendment

     i. Leaves as a hero & is free of all charges.

  IV. Returns to Lawson
     i. Marries Adele

GoodYear Were Sexists !

In a commercial released in 1960, they were advertising their new GoodYear Double Eagle Tires, which carry their own spare inside the tire ! The "Lifeguard Safety Spare" is a smaller tire placed on the inside of the bigger, primary tire so when a flat occurs, no changing would necessary because it would just continue to ride normally. In the ad, it shows a woman driving a car & having a flat tire, then walking off to a pay phone. This is implying that women cannot or do not have the capability to change a flat tire, also with the phrase "When there's no man around" saying that only men will be able to do the task. This was unfair to the women because there were probably some who actually did know how to change a tire.

Rockwell's Got Mr. B Fixin' His TV

On his day off, Mr. B wanted to sit down, relax, and watch his television. But as it turns out, it didn't work. He didn't have not one bit of signal ! So he called his neighbor, Wilson over to help him fix it. He came over, climbed onto the roof, and started to play around with the antennae in hopes of fixing it. He wiggled the wires back and forth as it hangs out from the window and the antennae itself. Mr B, getting stuck in the window because of his portly figure, tells Wilson if the picture is showing or not. After many frustrating minutes of trying to figure it out, Wilson finally did it and got it fixed. But as he was going down, there was still the problem of Mr. B getting stuck in the window. So he went inside and tried to pull him back in. Pulling as hard as he can with all his strength, he pulled Mr. B free but tripped behind him, fell, banged the TV a little, and lost the picture again ! So after all that work, Wilson had to go back up to the roof, and try to fix the antennae and wires again. Let's just hope Wilson doesn't fall off the roof climbing down the ladder later.

Topic.10 Concepts

McCarthyism Impact on Society - McCarthyism was a variation of witch hunts that targeted people who spoke about or were suspected of having communist ideas. Anxiety over domestic communism intensified. Top leaders and representatives were being arrested left and right because they had communist connections or conspiracies. Actors, producers, directors, and writers were accused of using film for Communist Propaganda

Communist "Witch Hunt" & Impact on Accused - Those who were accused were immediately executed

Space Race Impact on Gov't Policies - In 1957, after the Soviets launched Sputnik 1 into space, the U.S. poured large amounts of money into education in hopes of outdoing the Soviets.

Cold War for U.S. Gov't & Public Mindset - The competition was then moved to outer space where the U.S. , once the world's technology pacesetters, felt vulnerable when the Soviets launched the Sputnik satellites. From then on the U.S. vowed that they would come out on top both in the Cold War and in outer space. Many space programs were passed and eventually led to Neil Armstrong to land on the Moon.

Suburbs, Automobiles, & Roads - With suburbs being built, families are now moving in, living the 'American Dream'. William Levit planned cities were houses were being built at rates of 150 houses/week. These houses would all look the same, and each family that moved in had 2 cars each, equalling about 25M vehicle registrations in '45. From this, the Interstate Highway Act was est. in 1956 to spend $32B to build 41k miles of road.

Baby Boom - From 1946 to 1960, with the peak between '51-'55, babies were born in the millions. On average, 1 baby was born every 7 seconds. Which means, in one day, about 12,343 babies are born, and 4.5 Million a year !

Urban-Suburban Pattern - Suburbs were built in a pattern where the low income, Business district is located in the inner city. Surrounding that is the suburbs, middle class/income families. Then the high income suburbs where mortgage and rent is much higher and is the farthest away from the city based on location.

GI Bill - Congressional bills enacted to provide funds for college educations, home-buying loans, and other benefits for armed-services veterans

Expansion of Middle Class - Companies wanted to make money so they made their products cheap so that they can bring in a large amount of consumers. Advertising had an impact on consumers buying because people now had money and they bought things that weren't a necessity. They just bought because they wanted it, not because they need it.

Casablanca Outline

A. Casablanca
1. Characters
I. Rick Blaine
i. Owns a cafe
ii. Not allowed to return to U.S.
II. Ilsa Lund
i. Once loved Rick in the past
ii. Secretly marries Victor Laszlo
iii. Still loves Rick
III. Victor Laszlo
i. Wealthy
ii. Came into Rick's cafe to buy letters of transit

2. Setting
i. Casablanca, Morocco, 1940s WWII
ii. Rick's Cafe

3. Plot Summary
i. Rick hides documents of transit and has to keep Victor Laszlo in Casablanca.
ii. Rick & Ilsa Lund have a romantic past & meet up again.
iii. Both Laszlo & Ilsa fail to get letters from Rick.
iv. Rick assists Laszlo & Ilsa in leaving Casablanca for America.