music, movies, and video games

In class we talked about how people think that music, movies, and video games cause younger children to be delinquent. This may be true for some individuals, but when compared to all delinquents it has little to do with the acts that they commit. There are many other things that should be looked at in regards to why juveniles commit certain acts. We should not pay much attention to music, movies, and video games. We should focus more on the type of families that the kids are in and how they are raised. A girl in my critical thinking class did research on this certain topic, and she found in about five studies that music, movies, and video games have little to do with delinquency. Don't get me wrong some juveniles do commit acts that are caused by these things, but it is not the main cause of why they commit crimes.

Racist Apologies

by. HELEN O'NEILL, AP Special Correspondent Helen O'neill, Ap Special Correspondent – Sat Apr 4, 5:44 pm ET
ROCK HILL, S.C. – Elwin Hope Wilson leans back in his recliner, a sad, sickly man haunted by time.

Antique clocks, at least a hundred of them, fill his neat ranch home on Tillman Street. Grandfather clocks, mantel clocks, cuckoos and Westministers, all ticking, chiming and clanging in an hourly cacophony that measures the passing days.
Why clocks? his wife Judy has often asked during their 49 years together.
He shrugs and offers no answer.
Wilson doesn't have answers for much of how he has lived his life — not for all the black people he beat up, not for all the venom he spewed, not for all the time wasted in hate.
Now 72 and ailing, his body swollen by diabetes, his eyes degenerating, Wilson is spending as many hours pondering his past as he is his mortality.
The former Ku Klux Klan supporter says he wants to atone for the cross burnings on Hollis Lake Road. He wants to apologize for hanging a black doll in a noose at the end of his drive, for flinging cantaloupes at black men walking down Main Street, for hurling a jack handle at the black kid jiggling the soda machine in his father's service station, for brutally beating a 21-year-old seminary student at the bus station in 1961.
In the final chapter of his life, Wilson is seeking forgiveness. The burly clock collector wants to be saved before he hears his last chime.
And so Wilson has spent recent months apologizing to "the people I had trouble with." He has embraced black men his own age, at the same lunch counter where once they were denied service and hauled off to jail as mobs of white youths, Wilson among them, threw insults and eggs and fists.
Wilson has carried his apology into black churches where he has unburdened it in prayer.
And he has taken it to Washington, to the office of Congressman John Lewis of Atlanta, the civil rights leader whose face Wilson smashed at the Greyhound bus station during the famed Freedom Rides 48 years ago.
The apologies have won headlines and praise. Letters have poured in, lauding Wilson's courage. Strangers, black and white, have hailed him as a hero.

This is just half of the story. You can find the rest at http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090404/ap_on_re_us/one_man_s_apology;_ylt=Akiq34HRhhzNWP7V4y4a8U0azJV4


I feel that this guy is doing the right my apologizing, but is it too late? By his past actions, he has already hurt too many people. And a hero? Why are we calling a guy a hero that apologies about something he shouldn't have been involved in or did in the first place?

Thinking More about African American Society and Culture

The African American family, educational institutions, sports institutions, and churches. African American religion was born because of slavery, it developed a spiritual means to protest racism, and to achieve independence from White authority. "Black theology was created as a distinct religious movement, essentially, for the purpose of relating to the oppressed masses of Blacks and for comforting them in their struggles against racism and discrimination" (p.126) HBCU has been the source of Black college graduates. It also helps Blacks contribute to the creation of social capital in Black communities because of the knowledge they earn. Black Greek Organizations have played a vital role in cultivating the leadership that has enabled African Americans to continue the struggle for freedom and justice.

I Am Definitely an Obama Girl

I think that the Obamas set a very good example of what some people call the "All American Family." Mrs. and Mr. Obama are very supportive of their children and feel that they should have a better opportunity to succeed in life than their mothers and fathers did. They are very inspiring cause this is the way families should be. I remember Obama saying that even though he has a very busy schedule he finds a way to help his children with their homework and read them stories before they go to bed. Each parent should take this into consideration because a lot of parents say that they do not have time for their children, and I believe this is bull shit because no matter how busy, how poor, how rich you are you should always make time for your children. I think that a good family relationship is important becuase you know that they will always be there for you, and I think the Obamas protray this very well.

My Mother Said She Never Liked that Name for a Girl Anyway

I believe that the author remedies for recovery are the only option for African Americans. Due to the lack of recovery for the New Orleans resident, we know that no one is in a big hurry to help African Americans. I feel that it is a good idea that Black organizations and communities develop independent local self-help community-based plans and procedures because then they know that they will be better taken care of when a tragedy like this happens again. I feel that they could be a part of our nation's overall economic recovery in the coming decades if these organizations show that they can be helpful to the African American people.

Could It Really Be Him? Yeah, Probably

I think that it is a very good thing that President Obama is not staying cooped up in the White House. He is getting to know the community, but most importantly he is giving the community the opportunity to know him. I feel that this will be very good if he wants to get re-elected. I also feel that he should be worried about his saftey, but i'm sure that there are many secret service agents watching over him. It is good to know that are president is exsposing himself to his nation. The article talked about how he has better things to do, but i believe that he has everything under control.

Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr.

After reading about Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr., in Chapter 3, I thought to myself what would have happened if they had not been assassinated? Would the world be a better place for African Americans today? or Would it be the same?

Sundown Towns

I am about a quarter of the way done with the Sundown Towns book and already find it to be disturbing. I did not have any idea about these towns until now. It was very surprising to hear some of the towns that were and are sundown towns. A few that were mentioned were as close as 10 miles away from where i live. That got me wondering if my town was a sundown town. There is no signs that i can remember that state no African Americans allowed, but I am only 20 so there could have been. I do feel that my town could be a sundown town because I can only think of three African Americans that have lived in my town, one of which is my second cousin. But this book has opened my eyes up to many different aspects, and I look forward to continuing to read it.

Is Barack Obama an African American?

I feel that racial identification is very wrong. I agree with the author statement in Chapter 1 about if Black and African American is used properly their should be no real dilemma. Something in Chapter 1 that caught me off guard was that African Americans are not a minority. I will be honest and say that I have been a victim of titling African Americans as a minority. Being a Criminal Justice major this is how my field identifies Non-Caucasians. People who do not know anything about our president instantly look at his skin color and his middle name. Because of this people instantly start giving him a racial identification. So far i feel that the African American history is African American studies because we really haven't focused on anything else but the past.

2/19/2009 - iTunes and VoiceThread

In class on Thursday, Munindra Khaund came into speak to us about iTunes and VoiceThread. I found him to be very helpful. He clearly explained to us how to record our voice on Audiocity and then how to transfer it to iTunes and VoiceThread. Without his help i would have been lost because I have never used any of these programs. It is also helpful to know that if anyone of us has trouble with these programs down the road we can go to the media lab for guidance.

2/12/2009 - History Makers

On Thursday, I was introduced to History Makers. I found this application to be very helpful in learning about African Americans' impact and feelings about Criminal Justice. It is very appealing to learn African Americans views on the Criminal Justice system, and how they feel in can be changed. I also found many people who not only talked about Illinois, but also Springfield. I'm not sure if this is just a program for Illinois' students, but it kinda caught me off guard because they were talking about the state that I lived in.

2/10/2009 - Film

I found the film in class to be very interesting. I found it very intriguing beacuse i did not realized how hard African Americans worked to get African American studies into schools. I read a little about it in our book, but it did not really give me a clear understanding of the dedication it took for this to happen. I did not pay any attention to this in the past because i was never introduced to this situation, but I am very glad to have learned this. I am looking forward to learning more about African American History.

Introductions, For Real, Y'all

My major is Criminal Justice, I was born in Springfield, IL, Junior in College, I currently do not live on campus therefore i do not participate in many school activities. My future goal are to become a State Trooper or County Deputy, and I might get my masters and go into the FBI.

Beginning Considerations

Now that you have finished reading Chapters 1 and 2 in Anderson and Stewart, and Chapter 1 in Hill-Collins, take some time to reflect on their significance. What does reading this material make you want to know more about? List three facts presented in these chapters that surprised you, and list 3 questions about the assigned chapters that I and your classmates can respond to further.

The reading material of Chapter 1 in A&S makes me want to learn more about David Walker's Appeal: To the Coloured Citizens of the World. I want to know how the book marked an end to moral suasion to end slavery and why it was followed by violence and oppression. In Chapter 1 of A&S, I was very suprised to find out that Mary Ann Shadd Cary graduated and became the first Black female lawyer at the age of 60. It suprised me when i read in Chapter 2 of A&S that in Little Rock, Arkansas, President Eisenhower had to enforce the law and let Black students to enter thier own high school. Finally, I was suprised to read about all of the Third World student organizations that support the strike by the Black Student Union.

What is the Montgomery Improvement Association?

How inspiring are the students of San Francisco State College to African American students today?

Do you feel that Maria W. Stewart has substantially influenced African American women to become politically involved?

White Mainstream

I feel that white mainstream is the social norms set by white people. These individuals feel that everyone should follow these norms and nothing else. They feel that this is the only road to take when really it is not. Anyone who does not follow these norms are looked down upon.

Tell Me More

I grew up in a small town and went to a small high school where i was not around any African Americans. I feel that this class will give me the chance to learn more about the Afican American culture and race as a whole. I think that this class will help respect and be more considerate of African Americans.