Citizen -- A Review & Analysis
It is without question that race relations and the treatment of minorities, black people in particular, has progressed and advanced significantly over the existence of the United States. Slavery was abolished nearly a century into the existence of the United States in 1865 and the Jim Crow era came to a halt in light of events like Brown v. Board of Education in the 1950's and the Civil Rights laws being passed in the 1960's. However, even though many to most of the abhorrent and soulless behaviors that typified the years before those events came to pass are now outlawed, what has instead emerged is a rather underground yet not impossible to notice pattern of black people being treated in a way that is clearly different, more negative and more violent than is the case with whites or even other classes of minorities. While some may disagree or downplay what is going on in today's society, Claudia Rankine, by her own words and as is obvious from her poem Citizen, is trying to shine a light on this remaining stain within the United States and its cultural and societal fabric in an era of Trayvon Martin and the Jena Six.
Analysis
Apologists for what supposedly happened during the confrontation between George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin just prior to Martin being gunned down in the street will point out that forensics point to the fact that Martin was bent over at the waist punching Zimmerman. Beyond that, Zimmerman was indeed injured and there is indeed the idea that perhaps Zimmerman did indeed have reason to be threatened. However, Zimmerman's actions and behaviors since his acquittal on charges of manslaughter and murder as well as the lack of hard proof as to who instigated the confrontation, why Zimmerman would feel compelled to approach Martin in the first place and what happened just before the gun came out all lend credence to the idea that Zimmerman, acquitted or not, surely could have (and should have) handled things differently (e.g....
TRAYVON MARTIN'S MURDER Trayvon Martin Reflecting Upon Trayvon Martin's Murder Reflecting Upon Trayvon Martin's Murder George Zimmerman shot and killed Trayvon Martin on February 26, 2012. He shot Martin in Sanford, Florida. Trayvon was 17, African-American, and male at the time of his death. When George Zimmerman shot Trayvon, Trayvon was not armed. George Zimmerman was 28 years old at the time. Zimmerman was a member of his neighborhood watch and his neighborhood
Race in America Ask five people how they would define racism, religion, and family, and then summarize the definitions. Identify the similarities and differences in the definitions. When it comes to racism, there were a few different answers. Most of centered on unreasonable or undue attention to the color of someone's skin but there were some caveats in there about being "racial" versus "racist." When it comes to religion, the answers were
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Bernie Goetz is a vigilante that shot 4 black male youths in 1984. The victims asked Goetz for five dollars to play video games and Goetz accepted. He stated he would give them each five dollars and proceeded to shoot all four, leaving one paralyzed for life. Goetz was eventually caught and later went on trial, receiving 1 year of prison and serving eight months. He lost a civil case
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