As we read in the Autumn, 1619 is the year that the first kidnapped men, women and children, abducted from Africa, arrived in the English colony of Virginia. To acknowledge the 400th anniversary of this violent act that would be followed by the enslavement of millions, the New York Times played a role in creating The 1619 Project.
Look through the titles of the articles that appear at this link and choose one to read. Then share as a comment one thing that you did not know before reading the piece that you learned from the article that you chose.
As is our practice... reply to the comments others, minimally twice.
Over the past couple years, I've become more interested in learning about the injustices in the criminal justice system. Something I did not know that I learned about were the Black Codes that served as an excuse for white people to continue to control the lives of free black people following the 13th Amendment, which has been credited with ending slavery. It was also very interesting to see more in depth the origins of the injustices that still exist in our justice system today.
ReplyDeleteI agree. The criminal justice system in America is extremely broken, at the specific expense of minorities all across the country who are incarcerated at a much higher rate than White Americans. The most disturbing though is how minorities receive much higher sentences than white felons for practically identical crimes, which is racism that cannot be more visible.
DeleteEthan Lader
Sakari
DeleteI watched the documentary 13th on Netflix (i do recommend) and it has become very clear to me what prisons are for. thinking about how federal prisons weren't even a thing before the 13th ammendment, and how today most of the US prison population is POC. The NAACP says that 1 out of 3 black boys can expect to go to prison, and 1 out of 6 latino boys can too, compared to the 1 out of 17 white boys. It's really awful and we should abolish prisons.
Same. That is the documentary that taught me most of what I know about the American Criminal Justice System. Hopefully, things are moving in the right direction in terms of criminal justice reform, but the amount of work that is involved in practically reinventing the system will take a long time unfortunately.
DeleteEthan Lader
The criminal justice system is indeed extremely broken. I find it appalling that people get life in prison for having a tiny amount of narcotics on them, but the police officers that shoot and kill unarmed black men still roam free on the streets.
DeleteI, personally am a major basketball fan, and I have been for some time. However, I don't know if I had ever thought about "owners" of teams as owning players, which considering the ethnic comparison of most nba players in contrast to owners is extremely disturbing, which is way too reminiscent of slavery. Having this understanding is important, so people don't talk about players in a manner as if they are "bought" or "owned" by teams.
ReplyDeleteEthan Lader
DeleteSakari
DeleteI agree, it's gross to "own" a team and it's players, especially since a majority of basketball players are black. Still using them for profit, I see.
That's something I've never really thought about, as I'm not a huge sports fan, but is very interesting and a disturbing reality.
DeleteI have never thought about this before, and I think that the legacy of slavery and racism in this country is rooted in everything.
DeleteI never thought about basketball like that. That is crazy and needs to be stopped.
DeleteI haven't thought about the NBA like this. This is quite surprising and it makes me think about how much more slavery is hinted at it mainstream culture.
DeleteI like many haven't really seen the NBA is this light, and it is quite alarming as millions of people also don't see it in this light as we do. Really awful.
DeleteWhile this is extremely disturbing, it is also kind of interesting to see that slavery never really went away and some elements have always remained ingrained in society, albeit under the surface where it's less obvious.
DeleteI agree. Though I have really never questioned the term "owner" in sports, this is now really disturbing. I have no idea why people still use this term today, considering the racist origins of the term.
DeleteI hadn't really thought about this but I agree, the word "owner" has a larger negative ,meaning than I had realized.
DeleteSakari
ReplyDeleteReading the article about why we don't have healthcare yet and it being connected to racism doesn't surprise me. It dissapoints, but not surprises (similar to my grades). After all, everything in this godforsaken country is. The fact that until 2010 healthcare wasn't affordable to a lot of people- and it still isn't- and that before the Civil Rights Movement an even smaller percentage of people of color had access to healthcare is sad. And other marginalized groups had their rights also taken away for something they couldn't control- the LGBTQ movement and the Disabled/Neurodivergent Movement especially- it really is a disgusting society we live in.
I totally agree. The healthcare system in this country is so sadly unequal and unhelpful for lots of minorities and it's incredibly frustrating to see that still today.
DeleteIt is so frustrating to see false claims of equality when this is the sad truth. Every system that our society has in place benefits the same people, not a single aspect of our country benefits minorities. We have such a long way to go and so many privileged people who benefit from the way our society is ignore that.
DeleteI agree. It is so frustrating that our country denies certain groups things, like healthcare, that should be available to everyone. The government should provide good healthcare to everyone.
DeleteI read this article as well and felt the same time, its pathetic and infuriating on how the reasoning behind not everyone having healthcare access is because of who they are and where they come from.
DeleteI couldn't agree more. It's so insane that the people of this country are always saying "everyone's equal" and slogans as such, when basic healthcare is a complication.
DeleteHealth care is a great thing and it can help others who need the money, but they should find better ways to provide the money instead of forcing us to pay for it through taxes. For instance if you are struggling to provide for your family, but you are not eligible for healthcare, you are stuck paying for others, when you can’t afford it your self. Maybe it could be optional, like a charity, but there is incentive to do it like points that you can trade in for coupons.
Delete@Andrew Aguiar Yes absolutely, I do think that the 2010 Affordable Care Act, however helpful it was, was a bit of a waste of resources and has many problems, notably the one you said above. For me though, I see the problem more in how government sponsored health is distributed and less that it is government sponsored. So I would say a universal health system could solve a lot of the issues you talked about, while also being done by a majority of developed nations and hence being more tested than an optional pay solution.
DeleteI agree. Unfortunately, the healthcare system in this country is unequal towards minorities. This is an important issue and more needs to be done about this.
DeleteI agree with this as well, healthcare should be available for all Americans and it is so unfair minorities don't have access to good healthcare.
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ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a really interesting article. I definitely agree that the US labor system is incredibly exploitative.
DeleteThe article I read was about music, and how throughout history, there has been a separation between art forms that are deemed "black" or "white." The article was so fascinating, and it shows how over time, those lines have been blurred but they have also been stepped over. Through horrible acts such as blackface, culture and music has been stolen and misconstrued from black people. I have never thought of music in this way before, but it was so interesting to read about the power and significance it has always held. The quote from the author that stood out to me the most was, "Blackness was on the move before my ancestors were legally free to be."
ReplyDeleteI totally agree. Music owes a lot to black people and the beautiful ways in which they shaped what we hear on the radio today. They do not get enough recognition in the media, and I think because of that, it is easy to forget their contributions.
DeleteThat is really interesting to think about. Our current styles of music are so influenced by African American, but there is very little acknowledgement of that.
DeleteI agree,more publicity for black music please!!
DeleteThis very interesting to hear about, I never really looked at music this way.
DeleteI watched an interesting video the other day which reminded me of this. It was talking about how M&M (I think that's his name...? I'm not too well versed in this branch of music) is somewhat controversial. On one hand M&M took music from the black culture and gave it to others with a white face, which is completely unfair because no one's skin color should determine how their music is received. It is also easy to accuse him of cultural appropriation as he took "black" music and capitalized on it, even becoming one of the fathers of the genre despite it originating long before him. On the other he grew up in this culture and this musical style was apart of his roots. Moreover according to the video he did his best give back whenever he had the opportunity, and even though he himself was white he still spread this musical genre and opened up further possibilities. I think it's interesting to think about the way that music has spread and how situations like this can be interpreted in different ways. But more importantly I really hope that in the future we break down these walls so that everyone receives the credit they deserve and anyone can spread any type of music, not for riches or because of what they are, but because they genuinely love the music they create.
DeleteI think cultural appropriation is a problem in some ways, but I don't think our solutions for it nor our understanding of it is accurate. For me, cultural appropriation is a combination of confidence in, and ignorance of, a culture, and then proceeding to try and recreate it. I think that the act of recreation should be encouraged, and that we shouldn't create some weird system of social copyright to "give credit to" a culture being recreated. Show cultural appreciation through showing deep knowledge and skill, not necessarily by pointing it out like you are citing a source or through where and to whom you were born. For traditionally black music in particular, I think it kind of is more the public's problem for wanting a white face on black music than the artist for sharing their cultural understanding while being white. Basically: If you understand a culture enough to recreate it well, you have no need to justify that, but do it poorly, that is evidence in itself that you have no clue what you are talking about.
DeleteI read the article about the justification of slavery and mistreatment of African Americans in the medical field. I had already learned that some doctors back then had tried to justify the way African Americans were being treated by saying that they were physically different from white people. They said that black people had thicker skin, stronger lungs and couldn't experience pain. These are all absurd claims made up to try and make the process of kidnapping, torturing and forced labor of black people seem ok. But what I did not know before reading the article, is that some doctors said that black people had certain deficiencies and physical ailments, which were fake. Not only were these fake illnesses publicized, but it was said that hard labor was the cure, not only justifying slavery, but showing that it was beneficial. I can not imagine in what scenario this would be acceptable. It is truly sickening to hear that people would dissect their fellow human beings just to try and make their own terrible actions justifiable. And even now-a-days, some medical textbooks STILL make the claim that black and white people are physically different. It is literally a color, why does it matter so much? We are not all that different as we make ourselves out to be.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree! It's so disgusting to see that professionals that went to school, studied the topic, and got a degree actually make up reasons that are simply not true just to justify racism.
DeleteThe extent trained professionals went to in order to ignore the pain and suffering of African Americans is truly horrendous.
DeleteI found the article about how slavery is mistaught in schools, the author states that unlike Math and English schools are not required to meet academic standards in social studies, this means education about slavery is often brief and in sufficient for children to understand the horrors of slavery. This is like erasing history, by not teaching children about this because they will grow up and teach new generations and over time it will just disapear.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a very interesting article. I totally agree, as well, I think the American school system especially is very broken and has many gaps it fails to fill in terms of educating the next generation. I think early education is where stigma and ideas of inequality can be debunked and removed, and if we don't properly teach our children, we can never hope to achieve a state of total understanding and equality in our society.
DeleteSchools have been trying to erase history. We often gloss over the brutal things that we did in the past.
DeleteThis is quite concerning. I believe that slavery should be taught in full, and should explain why it is such a disgusting thing and an embarrassing part of the world's history.
DeleteI actually noticed something like this in my old school, it was not until 8th grade, and with a change of teachers that we were fully able to explore the concept of slavery, it was like a mini reform.
DeleteIf this is true, it's a terrible thing. Luckily, it seems that we're not going to be the ones mistaught about slavery.
DeleteI read the article about how capitalism related to slavery. One thing I learned was that America has been consistently ranked as extremely low in various categories by the OECD. The OECD creates scores for different nations for things like regulating temporary work arrangements. America often comes either last or almost last on the list.
ReplyDeleteits unfortunate that, that is the truth it is saddening to see how this country compares to others in it's treatment towards the work arrangements.
DeleteIt is truly sad that this supposed land of opportunity ranks so low on that list.
DeleteThe article I read was about the sugar industry and its connection to slavery. I knew that Columbus brought sugar cane on his voyage to the Americas, but I had forgotten that the slaves were forced to work with these sugar canes. These slaves were worked so hard because the plantation owners knew that the sugar industry was bound to be big. It is very interesting how the start of a multi-billion dollar industry came from the dark roots of slavery.
ReplyDeleteI didn't realize this up till now, either.
DeleteI read the article about the myths people believed (and some still believe) about physical differences between races. I did not know how many educated people still believe these myths. For example the article states, "[Some] medical students and residents insisted that black people felt less pain." It is terrible that people believe this and that they still use "research" from people torturing enslaved people.
ReplyDeleteI read this article as well and it is absurd to think that anything from these sadistic practices would be considered research.
DeleteI was interested to read further into the idea of how slavery played a part into capitalism, which was the topic of my research paper. The industry was brutal enough so that it was inhumane, the article "to understand the brutality of American capitalism you have to start on the plantations", by Mathew Desmond, emphasized the lack of opportunity for advancement in many laboratorial roles that we find today in America, the lack of rights, protection exercised by our government could only be called a disregard for a human life, This article not only plays with this idea intensively it also relates it back to the olden days, where plantations were the norm and slavery was a "must".
ReplyDeleteI didn't even see the connection from slavery to not being able to advance in many labor fields. It is so interesting to see that although it is taught that slavery happened a long time ago, there still proves to be many aspects engrained into the lives of many American citizens today.
DeleteI didn't know how many places used to be slave trading sites. I am thankful that they've either been repurposed or are not being used anymore.
ReplyDeleteI read the article regarding the false beliefs in physical differences between races and how they still affect medical practices today. Not only did enslaved people have to go through brutal torture, but this led to lies being spread throughout the medical community to support the ideas of white supremacy. One thing that I did not know was the fact that these retorques still effect the way black people are disproportionately being treated now. This article spoke to the fact that black people receive inadequate pain management that may stem from the medical field believing that they don't suffer and feel as much pain as others. The treatment of black people within the medical field is greatly influenced by false claims made to make white people seem superior. These ideas have been pushed into the textbooks of young doctors, and will continue to negatively affect black people until something is done, as it blames these individuals for health problems that have truly spread from the inequality within the system.
ReplyDeleteI never knew that there was racial prejudice and beliefs against the physical aspects of black versus white people. I admittedly know next to nothing about the medical profession, but it surprises me that this isn't more well known and has yet to be fixed. It really is an awful thing to assume someone can't feel as much pain as you just because their ancestors have endured centuries of torment.
DeleteI have to read this article. I know there's a lot of racial discrimination in the medical field, but it's still mind-boggling that there are "professionals" who don't believe that black people don't suffer and thus don't deserve adequate treatment.
DeleteI read the article on healthcare and as for why it isnt a privelege that all citizens in the US have access to, and for why that is, i was taken away by the immaturity that the systematic racism and discrimination the United States chooses to take priority in over the wellbeing of everyone regardless of how they are and who they are and what they choose to be. Once again America find a new excuse, or more like reuse the same one to not provide the same to everysingle person.
ReplyDeleteAgreed, it's hard to wrap your head around how healthcare is considered a "privilege" in the US, when it is actually a basic human necessity. The systemic racism and discrimination present is truly horrendous, and we shouldn't stop fighting until everybody is treated truly equally, and given the same access to essential things such as healthcare.
DeleteMy articles looked at different sites connected with the slaving business. I wasn't surprised to learn that the auction blocks were traumatizing places known for splitting families or that many courthouses served as the sites of these auctions. What I didn't know was that Africans were held in slave pens or private jails before being sold. What struck me about this was how common and natural they were to colonial life, and how central they were to the slave trading business. In particular the use of the word pen instead of house or dorm, or even just building, shows how dehumanizing the system was and how normalized it all was to the point that no one thought twice about such a blatantly inhuman name.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who cannot live without music, i've always been able to say that i listen to a great variety of genres and singers. especially recently though, I've tried to really dissect the songs I listen to and look for the inspiration behind them. What I find is a lot of amazing black singers/musicians. It's so bizarre to think that many singers and even fans refuse to credit the inspiration behind the songs just because of the skin color. Black artists have always been the backbone of the music industry, anyone can see that even if you don't devote yourself to studying music. Anyone should be able to see that credit needs to be given to the black musical community because thanks to them, we have some of the most amazing music in the world.
ReplyDeleteI read the article on the wage gap and i found it crazy that it was possible for racial wage gap to be that large, and appalling that no real change has been made to fix the wage gap.
ReplyDeleteI did not know that the roots of the failing American healthcare system lies in racial tensions in the post-Civil War South. This really brings out the racial and economic divide we have experienced even after the Civil War as the federal healthcare program was given very few resources to fight the smallpox epidemic among black communities.
ReplyDeleteI learned that so many things in today's world actually have roots in slavery. Many of today's topics of discussion like free healthcare and the social class gap are built upon slavery and systemic racism entirely. The simple term "owners" in the NBA has been questioned as most players are African-American themselves. It also poses the question on if our country is built on freedom or not because the backs of Africans were holding the economy together for centuries.
ReplyDeleteI did not know that enslaved people weren't allowed to read or write, I suspected that may be the truth but did not know for sure. It was surprising to learn that one of the first things freed people did was created places of education such as Howard University, which was one of the first historically black colleges in the South.
ReplyDeleteI read "Why American Prisons Owe Their Cruelty to Slavery" by Bryan Stevenson. I've read and thought about this topic before, but I didn't realize how truly messed up it is. I learned that the current American prison system is heavily based in slavery. Reading about the horrific conditions of plantation prisons like Angola made me feel both sick and incredibly angry, and it helped put things into perspective. I'm definitely looking into the Equal Justice Initiative.
ReplyDeleteI agree, as that is the same article that I had read, and there are a lot of things swept under the rug, with the criminal-justice system having deep roots in slavery, treating the prisoners like plantation workers in places such as Angola. This problem has gone on for a long time, unearthed, but it is a good thing to see that more attention is being brought to it, and hopefully something can be done about it.
DeleteThe article that I read focused on the criminal-justice system, and I learned how historically, the African slaves that were oppressed back then around the late 1600s - early 1700s were put in a "racial hierarchy," which was a system that determined what rights you could and could not have based solely on your skin color. Although slavery was abolished long ago, we can still see the ripple effects that it set off, even nowadays, when we are in modern times. This is shown in this article, where we can see that statistically, black and brown people are stopped, harassed, incarnated, and are victims of police brutality at a disproportionate rate. It really shows how the lasting consequences of something that happened hundreds of years ago can be seen in today's world, shining a light on the oppression and discrimination that black and brown people face even today.
ReplyDeleteI read the article "American Capitalism is Brutal. You Can Trace That to the Plantation," and one thing that really stood out to me is the way in which they compare the management of labour on a plantation to that in modern corporations. In this way, practices that brutalized enslaved African Americans were used to better control workers today. They also created such a rigid hierarchy of worker and employer that is not seen in nations that industrialized without the labour influence of slavery, pushing down price and forcing, even on an economic scale beyond the individual company, for labour to be viewed in the expendable context it is today.
ReplyDeleteI never realized that the term "owner" dates back to the time of slavery. This is extremely disturbing, especially since a majority of NBA players are black. After thinking about this, I realized that in sports, many people also use the terms "buy", "own", "sell", and "trade", when talking about players. This really makes these players seem like objects, not people, and this must be changed.
ReplyDeleteI learned that the richest one percent of this country owns more than 40 percent of this country's wealth. This shows how deep America has sunk into capitalism.
ReplyDeleteI read the article "American capitalism is brutal. You can trace that back to the plantation," and I learned that enslaved people would be punished for picking to little cotton but they would also face consequences for picking a lot of cotton. If one picked a lot of cotton, their cotton load would increase the next day so the "the fastest cotton pickers were often whipped the most."
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