[NICOLA SEARLE]

Source: https://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2016/10/20/dakota-access-pipeline-colonial-violence-runs-through-it.html

Date: October 20th, 2016

Photographer: Unknown

One notion that resonated with me during our class discussions regarding Standing Rock was the idea of no absolute translation or meaning between different languages. Specifically, there are many words and phrases that have such sacred and historical meanings in Native American languages. By forcing these Native Americans to abandon their cultural roots not only through land, but also through the assimilation of the English speaking language, causes such an immense part of their culture to be lost. This is because there are many words in English that will not translate into Native American. The end result of this is by forcing someone to adopt a language, this also changes the way an individual’s cognitive thoughts, and can cause individuals to hate the color of their own skin and their own cultural heritage through dominant paradigms.

The photograph attached below showcases protestors at the DAPL who were met by police officers whom were heavily armed. Many of these protestors were charged with trespassing, and were arrested and ultimately jailed for several days. This assault on activism was a passing tribute to Christopher Columbus, and the genocide and slaughter of thousands of indigenous peoples. Ultimately, it is through the media’s continued failure to display these protests that enables police activity to wrongfully indite these peaceful land protectors.

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[NICOLA SEARLE]

Source: Becoming Unbecoming Una Therman

The photograph is from the graphic novel Becoming Unbecoming by Una Therman. The novel tells the story of the author, Una, who is a sexual assault victim who navigates life as a ‘survivor’ while coping with the shame. To illustrate the structuralist bias against victims of sexual assault in a parallel to her own story, Una utilizes ‘The Yorkshire Ripper’ who killed his victims with a knife and hammer. The Yorkshire Ripper coined his name from Jack the Ripper, who was a famous serial killer that killed primarily prostitutes. Despite the fact that the Yorkshire Ripper did not kill prostitutes, police officers’ refusal to accept evidence led to the deaths of thirteen girls. Rather than focus on the evidence, the police zoned in on the lives of the girls and decided that their lifestyles were the cause of their murders. The message exclaimed was ultimately that the victims were deserving of their murders as each women is responsible for their own body.

 

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[NICOLA SEARLE]

Source: http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/07/black-lives-matter-all-lives-matter

Date: July 19, 2016

Photographer: Scott Barbour

In class we discussed how ‘All Lives Matter’ is a blatant disregard to ‘Black Lives Matter’ social movements, as the term diminishes each races’ particular set of hardships. Specifically, the term exercises colorblind racism by not taking race into account which ultimately does not address black hardships versus white hardships.

 

The photograph attached is a Black Lives Matter protest and an in depth article as to why saying/exercising ‘All Lives Matter’ is considered offensive. A main point that the article elicits deals with the valuation of which lives Americans consider worthy. The article uses September 11 as an example to illustrate how all of America stood in solidarity against the ‘terrorist’ attacks, yet America has continuously been divided with continual police brutality victims [pro-cop vs. pro-shooting victim]. Black Lives Matter protests continuously bring awareness to the hardships that the black community has had to endure that other racial communities have not had to.

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[NICOLA SEARLE]

Photographer’s name: Unknown

Date: 1969

Source: ethnicstudies.berkeley.edu

After witnessing a strike at SFSU, protesters established a Third World Liberation front at Berkeley that  focused on studies of minority groups. The strike at Berkeley was one of the longest and most violent ones in United States’ history, but resulted in four undergraduate study programs: African American, Asian American, Chicano, and Native American. Accordingly, after immense budget cuts, the Ethnic Studies library was created in 1999 along with the Multicultural center, additional faculty positions, and the Center for Race and Gender after more student protests and strikes.

The reason why Ethnic Studies departments are so important is because racism is non-stagnant; it is consistently evolving. In ethnic studies classes, discussions are able to formulate from various sources [opposed to predominantly white historians], that helps to combat the pervasive whiteness in America and also in other countries. In these classes as students feel more included, they are able to not only be reflected in the ciriculum but also begin to derail social constructs of unworthiness. After all, it is only through learning about social movements from a historical context that can bring about more social movements in the fight for equality.

 

 

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[NICOLA SEARLE]

Source: https://www.ocregister.com/2015/03/27/update-rapper-immortal-technique-arrested-accused-of-robbing-t-shirt-vendors-outside-santa-ana-concert/

Date: March 27, 2015

Photographer: Orange County Register

 

To focus on this week’s theme of The Afterlife Civil Rights Movement: The Hip Hop Generation, I decided to share a mugshot of rapper Immortal Technique and focus on his song Dance With the Devil.  As we had discussed in class, a major proponent of listeners view hip hop as braggadocios and degrading to both women and society. While this is true of some songs, what listens do not realize is the immense depth and translation that goes beyond the crude lyrics to elucidate the dark realities of life in poverty stricken areas. Specifically, Immortal Techniques’ song Dance With the Devil is the most shocking song I have ever heard. It tells a dark story of a boy who grew up wanting to be a gang member, and in the end, raped his mother thinking that she was someone else [as there was a bag over her head]. A main lyric in the hook of the song is as follows:

“There is no diversity because we’re burning in the melting pot” 

The reason why this line is so significant is because it plays on both religion and ethnicity. The line is translating to the notion of race being irrelevant because individuals are all suffering from the same conditions, regardless of their ethnic or financial backgrounds.

So not only does Immortal Technique completely take an alternative approach from most rappers in essentially exercising blind racism, but he does so in order to show the consequences of a life of crime. The irony I found after trying to warn listeners about this life is that he ended up getting arrested in the mugshot after robbing and assaulting two men.

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[NICOLA SEARLE]

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/dec/10/love-knows-no-borders-agents-arrest-32-as-religious-leaders-gather-at-us-border

Date: Dec. 10, 2018

Photographer: Unknown

 

I wanted to touch on the importance of our classroom discussion that took place on Friday regarding racial solidarity. The photograph showcases white religious leaders being arrested by border patrol in San Diego. The religious leaders are protesting Donald Trump’s wall, and some wear shirts that exclaim, “Love knows no borders.” The photograph is very powerful because it highlights the length that non-Hispanics are willing to advocate for people that are not of their same racial decent, clearly exercising racial solidarity.

Due to myths sustained in the media about Hispanics threatening to ‘darken’ the country by taking Americans’ jobs, a high fertility amongst women, and the refusal to assimilate into the predominantly white country, the race is unfortunately seen as an ominous force by many. As race is a social construct in society, it reaffirms my faith in humanity and there are still good people out there who will put their lives on the line and fight for equality for all, even if it means being arrested.

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[NICOLA SEARLE]

Parsing the Data and Ideology of the We Are 99% Tumblr

 

When the Civil Rights movement is brought fourth, we as an American society tend to collectively embrace the unsubtle leaders, while forgetting the everyday characters who are just as significant in the fight for equality. A more recent social movement which gained momentum with the help of Tumblr was entitled ‘We Are the 99%’. This movement sought to spread awareness, and tackle the grossly underestimated and growing income divide between the wealthy and poor. There is absolutely something to be said about a society in which the top 1% of Americans have more wealth than the bottom 90%.  The picture above is a photograph of a boy holding a piece of paper which states, “I am 4 years old. My mom can’t afford to buy me winter clothes, even from the thrift store. She couldn’t buy me a birthday present either. I’ve never seen her cry so hard. I am the 99%.” The little boy’s story, along with millions of other American’s stories, help create a powerful narrative that seeks to dismantle political policies that benefit few at the expense of many. This movement caused a polar shift of power into the hands of everyday people who experience financial struggles, and are often seen as victims opposed to activists. With the growing unity of the movement also came the immense growth of awareness.

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[NICOLA SEARLE]

N.W.A on March 23, 1989: Ice Cube, far left; Eazy-E, center; standing from left, DJ Yella, Dr. Dre and MC Ren. (Douglas R. Burrows / Los Angeles Times). https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/la-et-ms-nwa-parental-discretion-20171205-htmlstory.html

 

The image depicted above further exasperates the class theme of the week ‘leaders of a civil rights movement’ through its ability to advocate for racial equality through voice. The rap group depicted above in Figure 1 Ni**** with Attitude (NWA) were pioneers who paved the way for gangster rap to enter into the mainstream. NWA followed suit just as Malcolm X and Martin Luther King appealed to an infinite audience through poignant speeches that criticized racist institutions structured against the black community. NWA not only criticized the Los Angeles police department in their music after the shooting of Rodney King, but they also forced the world to pay attention to a violent inner-city upbringing. The group ultimately became advocates and a catalyst against police brutality who elicited anger from the general public in an effort to bring about change.

 

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