April 17 blog

Nonviolence as compliance- Ta-Nehisi Coates

The appealing of credibility is that the author has done their research because there are quotations of what people who have been victimized has said. The author appears likeable because he seems like an “average joe” who lives in a city full of chaos and violence and shows how the community fears the police. The specifics of violence like “the skin was gone on my face” and “blood was dripping down my nose and out my eye” really makes the reader feel connected to these victims and it tugs on our heart strings. We empathize for these people because we do not know why they are being treated so horribly. The reason behind this article is to show the dishonesty in our law enforcement and to show the unnecessary actions that have been taken to a person of color and who was not even violent toward the police.

Letter from Birmingham Jail- Martin Luther King Jr

From the history books and the inspiration of MLK Jr, he is already credible to anything he writes. He is known as a nonviolent Civil Rights Activist. MLK Jr catches the reader’s emotions when he says he was invited into Birmingham to help with nonviolence, and the reader will find it unfair of the community to have invited someone in and now he is in their jail. MLK Jr can catch the attention and emotion of Christians when he says he is similar to Apostle Paul and his doing. MLK’s reason is to show that inequality may affect someone directly but it also affects everyone indirectly. His intention was to show that America should be united together instead of against each other because of race. We were all born in the same country, we should not treat each others as foreigners and try to consider certain people as outsiders. His reason is to show that the black community is Birmingham have taken all the steps of a nonviolent campaign (collection of facts, negotiation, self purification, and direct action.)

To compare the two authors, MLK has more credibility and authority because he is a historical figure who actually accomplishment many of his goals in civil rights compared to the other author who is complaining about the situation and hasn’t done anything to fix it. They both appeal to the reader’s emotions because they are both situations that will make people uncomfortable and it shows that what is happening in society is not right. MLK looks like he has more knowledge based on the fact is was a part of an organization for nonviolence compared to a citizen of the community. We do not know much about Coates but we do know that MLK had a higher education and took action against these unjust worthy actions in America.

April 17th Blog

In both “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and “Nonviolence as Compliance” by Ta-Nehisi Coates, the authors use emotional, ethical and logical appeals, in order to promote their desire for nonviolent acts of civil disobedience when justice is not served. In Martin Luther King Jr’s letter, the reverend addresses clergymen that believe King’s actions were unwise. King was in the Birmingham jail because of his protest of nonviolence and organizational ties in Alabama. In the speech, King states “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” meaning that whatever affects one individual directly, affects all people indirectly. Dr. King firmly believed non-violent aggression was the only way to protest the horrible state of the Union at the time; Coates, author of “Nonviolence as Compliance” would most likely strongly agree with MLK’s statements on non-violence. In the online article, the author explains that he is from the same neighborhood projects that Freddie Grey was abused at in Baltimore, Maryland. Grey, a black man, armed with only a switchblade, ran from police and was injured in the process and later died in the hospital. Instances like this push activists like Dr. King and Ta-Nehisi Coates to speak out. Both men understand that fighting oppression and violence with more violence would never solve anything in America. Instead, the two authors push the idea of protesting peacefully, in order to show the Majority that African-Americans still realize they are being oppressed in a nonviolent, more effective manner. While Coates throws hard statistics and facts at his audience, King uses moral and religious sentiment to reach his intended Christian audience. However, both authors use sound logic and pathological techniques to help the readers understand the extensive significance and immorality of racism in the United States. 

Blog: April 17

In both readings, both of the authors try their best to appeal to the audience through their use of emotion, logic, and credibility. In the article Nonviolence as Compliance the authors use of emotion is not as strong as Martin Luther King Jr.’s in his Letter from Birmingham Jail. In MLK’s letter, the personal experience he writes about makes the reader feel a strong emotional attachment to him and the experiences he went through.  Martin Luther King writes about the injustice he has experienced. This connects to readers and shows them that what he went through really had an important impact. In both of these readings, both authors have a very good use of logic and reason. They both express why they are writing and what they are writing about. In Nonviolence as Compliance, the author writes about the rioting throughout Maryland and how these riots were a response to the police brutality going on throughout the country. He explains that police cannot expect people to be complaint if they are using violence on them to get their point across. In Martin Luther King Jr.’s letter, he gives reason to his letter by stating he is there because “injustice is here”. Both authors give great reason as to why they are writing. Lastly, both authors try to use credibility as a way to appeal to their audiences. In this case, MLK definitely has a stronger argument because he has credibility to his name. With him being a civil rights activist and president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, he is more likeable and more likely to have readers actually take his writing seriously. Although both authors use facts and experiences to show credibility, Martin Luther King Jr. is better known than Coates who is the author of Nonviolence as Compliance.

Ally's Choice

Both of these texts deal with the issue of wanting to be white. In The Talk: After Ferguson, we see the author, Dana Canedy, struggle to deal with the comment of her son, “Can’t I just be white”. This was in response to her conversation with him about how black boys were treated by the police. In Ally’s choice, we have Ally, who comes from a black family, however she chooses to identify with white because she looks white, and due to past torment as a young child. I actually wish that Dana Canedy could sit down and talk to Ally, because I feel that she has so many insecurities about herself regarding her race. I admit seeing the pictures had me a little taken aback at first. However, after hearing the history behind their family, and where they’re from it all made sense. I feel like Ally’s reasoning is wrong behind wanting to identify as white. Even her excuse, “I want more for my children” and what she said about how if her mother were to pass, she would leave and never associate with her hometown ever again. These are completely selfish statements. Yes I understand that she was tormented, called names, and picked on as a child, but there are a lot of other people who have gone and are going through way more, and are still proud to call themselves black. It is absolutely wrong to deny one’s heritage. By denying the fact that she is black, she is denying and bringing shame to all of her ancestors who are the reason that she is here right now. She is denying her native ancestors who walked the trail of tears, and the slaves that were shackled and packed together on a boat, all in which survived so that she can be here, as well as her children.

Identity Conflict

I believe both texts "The Talk: After Ferguson, A shady conversation About Race" and "Ally's choice" both have complex situations regarding skin color and race. In "The Talk: After Ferguson, A shady conversation About Race" a single African-American mother struggles with a conversation regarding her son being a black male regarding if he ever has an encounter with the police. Also, regarding her son's lighter complexion and higher social class he has conflict with "why can't he just be white." In "Ally's Choice" it follows a family in Oklahoma that has their own identity conflict going on regarding the mother accepting herself and her kids as "Negro" in which she would say and her kids feeling that their just white. This entire conflict causes family issues and goes back deeper in their family roots and the towns they reside in. With both texts, I find it quite interesting but still sad that being "African-American" is such a burden that the identity isn't just necessarily honorably claimed. The texts both give you different perspectives of different situations regarding skin color and the conflicts that come with it.

Police Brutality

I actually wrote an essay about the Ferguson riots in ENG 1310, so discussing something like this intrigues me, especially something as personal as this excerpt. In "The Talk: After Ferguson, a shaded conversation about Race", written by Dana Canedy, the "talk" is about something controversial- something children should never have to hear. Especially after something as traumatic as the Ferguson Riots. When teaching a child about staying low because of their skin color, the discussion becomes difficult because they should learn to love the skin they're in. However, at the same time, they should be cautious because of it. Canedy explains to her son that due to the several police brutality cases, he needs to take several precautions in order to stay safe. The precautions are a list of things in order to make sure the officer does not take a black civilian as a threat, which is sad to say. The author explains how white power has an effect in these situations and if he complies slowly and carefully, he will be seen as someone who is "well-mannered", or a reflection of someone white. Although this seems unfair, the author really means it and hopes her child will understand that it's not safe for black people really anywhere without the heavy weight of prejudice and the chance at staying alive. For many innocent people who have died at the cost of police officers being internally racist, such as Tamir Rice, Sandra Bland, and Mike Brown, it's sad to say that these precautions are what black children have to hear in order to stay alive. I think that officers should have more practice when it comes to seeing someone as a threat, because it's becoming scary how many police brutality cases there are in the US today.

4/12/17

In Dana Canedy's work, "The Talk: After Ferguson, a Shaded Conversation about Race," she discusses "the talk" she had with her son. It's increasingly common for african-american parents to feel the need to discuss how to interact with police officers with their children. This is due to the also increasing number of incidents involving police officers and fatalities for black people. When Canedy has this discussion with her son, who is fairly light skinned, he asks, "Can I just pretend I'm white?" This puts Canedy in a difficult position. On one hand, she wants her son to be safe, instructing him to not make sudden movements, to always use "Sir" or "Ma'am," and to always be seen in the best possible light by police officers, which would make "pretending to be white" a logical choice for staying safe. However, she also wants him to be proud of his heritage, she doesn't want him to have to pretend to be anything he's not. If her son has to pretend to be white to be better viewed by the police, then that implies that black people are inherently worse. This work articulates the precarious balance that the black community faces. Is it better to be right or safe? Why should people of color have to become something they're not to stay alive? If people of color have to deny themselves, what else are they denying? Their parents, their heritage, that racism even still exists? Despite Canedy and her son being upper middle class, she still has these fears for him. On the other hand, there’s overwhelming evidence that it is not safe to be a black person confronted by police in today’s society. Even in this work the names of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and Tamir Rice are mentioned. Would it not be better for Canedy’s son to have the ultimate safety precaution a black person could have by not appearing to be black? Would it be better for her son to be proud of his race or alive and unharmed? These are choices that the black community, especially the youth, should not have to make.