Big Question Key Post

 Weston Hill Theoharis

13 December 2021

FYS 1000

Big Question/Key Post

Speech, religion, the press, assembly, and the ability to petition the government are the five freedoms it safeguards. The people of the United States of America are the most free in the world because of these five guaranteed freedoms. The Founders of our democratic republic required that these freedoms be secured by an amendment to the original constitution – the First Amendment – before they agreed to accept the Constitution. There is no "legal age" at which you must reach in order to exercise your First Amendment rights. They are yours from the moment you are born. There is likewise no requirement for citizenship to be protected under the First Amendment. If you live in the United States, you have the right to freedom of expression, religion, press, assembly, and petition. The First Amendment is neither "liberal" nor "conservative." It can be used to either promote or resist social and political change. Everyone is protected by the First Amendment. https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/amendment/amendment-i

The First Amendment protects us from government restrictions on our right to free speech, but it doesn't prevent a private company from establishing its own standards. The First Amendment protects you from being forced to say something you don't want to say, or from being prevented from hearing or reading what others have to say (even if you never speak out yourself, you have the right to receive information). Students have the right to pray in public schools in the United States as long as school activities are not disrupted and no government employees (teachers, coaches) are involved.

Judge Bernard Friedman's district court finding in Grutter v. Bollinger in March 2001 ordered the University of Michigan Law School to stop using race as a consideration in admissions, but the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals imposed a stay in April. In May 2002, the Supreme Court overturned the lower court's decision and upheld the school's use of race in admissions.

Since the Virginia Board in 1976, commercial discourse has gone a long way. Prior to that judgment, both the Supreme Court and constitutional academics gave short shrift to First Amendment protection for commercial speech, either due to a lack of serious consideration or veiled ideological animosity. Even while both the court and scholars assumed that other forms of expression about the relative qualities of commercial products or services should be given complete First Amendment protection, this was not the case. https://www.uscourts.gov/about-federal-courts/educational-resources/educational-activities/first-amendment-activities

Speakers' constitutional privileges are not limited in any other aspect of First Amendment law because of their self-interest, financially or otherwise. Our democratic system is often thought to be meant to defend citizens' rights to advance their personal or economic interests by persuading others to accept their arguments. Other than the ideological impulse to punish people who benefit from the capitalistic system, there is no rational foundation for categorically separating commercial speakers. Such explanation is pathologically incompatible with the First Amendment's very premises, which the argument professes to apply. https://www.cato.org/publications/policy-analysis/commercial-speech-values-free-expression#conclusion

Board V Regents//CONCLUDE

 Weston Hill Theoharis

7 December 2021

Fys 1000

BAKKE V. REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA

The Supreme Court reversed a policy for admissions at the University of California in 1978.  While generally approving affirmative action programs. In 1973 and 1974, Allan Bakke, a white guy, was denied admission to the medical school at Davis. In both years, the school only accepted one hundred students, with sixteen spots set aside for minorities. Bakke filed a lawsuit, alleging "reverse discrimination" because some of the minorities accepted had worse grade point averages and MCAT scores than he did. Four justices wanted to abolish the program because it violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, but they didn't want to review the medical school's affirmative action program's validity. Four others requested the Court to decide that the program was legal and that the medical school had made the proper decision in rejecting Bakke. Justice Lewis Powell Jr. basically split the difference, arguing that fixed racial quota programs like the medical schools were illegal under the Civil Rights Act, but that a public school's admission criteria "may" include race as long as it was not the deciding factor. He contended that because it permitted educational institutions to foster cultural variety, it was constitutionally permissible under the First Amendment. Because it was determined on narrow statutory grounds, the Court's judgment, which only addressed affirmative action programs at schools receiving federal monies, did not resolve the matter of reverse discrimination. 

https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/bakke-v-regents-university-california 

As opposition to affirmative action programs grew in the 1990s, the ruling became a flashpoint for debate. The University of California Board of Regents, for example, rejected the Bakke standard, which allowed "race as one of many considerations" in admissions choices, opting to bar UC campuses from utilizing "race, religion, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin" in admissions decisions in July 1995. In Hop-wood v. State of Texas, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled in favor of four white students who had been denied admission to the University of Texas Law School. The court found that the students had been subjected to reverse discrimination and deemed the use of race as one of numerous factors in admissions choices to be unlawful. The Supreme Court declined to hear the issue again, leaving Texas, Mississippi, and Louisiana to follow it as law. https://www.casebriefs.com/blog/law/constitutional-law/constitutional-law-keyed-to-chemerinsky/equal-protection/regents-of-the-university-of-california-v-bakke/

Judge Bernard Friedman's district court finding in Grutter v. Bollinger in March 2001 ordered the University of Michigan Law School to stop using race as a consideration in admissions, but the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals imposed a stay in April. In May 2002, the Supreme Court overturned the lower court's decision and upheld the school's use of race in admissions.

Voting rights act of 1965

Weston Hill Theoharis 

1 December 2021

FYS 1000

Voting Rights Of 1965

"The civil rights movement had galvanized the country by the 1950s." In 1957, 1960, and 1964, Congress passed Civil Rights Acts, but none of them were strong enough to prevent local officials from discriminating against voters. On March 7, 1965, Alabama state police attacked nonviolent voting rights demonstrators in Selma, Alabama. The violence was captured on camera by news crews on what became known as "Bloody Sunday." Many Americans and members of Congress began to question whether current civil rights laws would ever be successfully enforced by local governments. The subject before Congress was whether the federal government should assume the ability to register voters in order to secure the right to vote. Because voting qualifications were previously determined by state and local officials, federal voting rights protection constituted a substantial shift in the constitutional power balance between the states and the federal government. https://www.archives.gov/legislative/features/voting-rights-1965 

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was created by Congress with the goal of increasing the number of persons registered to vote in places where there had been previous prejudice. In certain jurisdictions with a history of voting discrimination, the Act prohibited literacy tests and provided for the appointment of Federal examiners (with the power to register qualified persons to vote). Furthermore, without "preclearance" from the US Attorney General or the District Court for Washington, DC, local jurisdictions could not change voting policies or processes. The ability to register voters was transferred from state and municipal officials to the federal government under this law. https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/voting-rights-act-1965 

 

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was quickly challenged in the courts because it was the most important statutory shift in the relationship between the federal and state governments in the domain of voting since the Reconstruction era. Several major Supreme Court opinions supporting the law's validity were made between 1965 and 1969. https://history.house.gov/Records-and-Research/Featured-Content/Engrossed-Bill/

 

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 shifted political power dynamics in the South. Over half a million Southern blacks had registered to vote by the middle of 1966, and nearly 400 black people had been elected to office by 1968.

 

Many white southerners began to switch to the Republicans when African Americans joined the Democratic Party. This trend was made by Richard Nixon's "Southern strategy," which was aimed to attract white Southerners to the Republican Party. As African Americans began to vote, some Southern Democrats, such as George Wallace, began to abandon their segregationist in order to appeal to black voters. At the federal level, President Johnson selected Robert C. Weaver, the first black cabinet member, as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and Thurgood Marshall, the first African American Supreme Court justice, in 1967.

 

By November, the county had 8,000 new black voters, not coincidentally, a new sheriff after the May elections, leaving Jim Clark behind. 

 

Though the repercussions were so severe, the new law had a similar effect wherever a white minority had pastly dominated with an big fist. The Justice Department could now dispatch examiners to any state or county if, as of the 1964 presidential election, a literacy test or other deterrent to black registration was in place, and turnout or registration for that election had fallen below 50% of the voting age population. 

RECONSTRUCTION: AMERICA AFTER THE CIVIL WAR

 Weston Hill Theoharis

10-22-21

FYS 1000

RECONSTRUCTION: AMERICA AFTER THE CIVIL WAR 

    Beginning with the hopeful moment of the war's end and emancipation in 1865 and ending in 1915, when the country was completely entrenched in Jim Crow segregation, the film gives a broad look of the Reconstruction era and its consequences. The nation was devastated by death and damage in the aftermath of the Civil War. Members of the United States Congress worked to bring the North and South together while also awarding newly freed African Americans citizenship privileges. Millions of former slaves and free black people strove to reclaim their legal status as equal citizens. The goal of an interracial democracy was short-lived, and the country is still haunted by the shattered promises of the Reconstruction era. This brave democratic experiment was a "brief time in the sun" for African Americans, when they could advance and attain education, exercise their right to vote, and compete for and win public office. Https://www.scetv.org/stories/2019/reconstruction-america-after-civil-war-premieres-tuesdays-april-9-16-2019-pbs

    The documentary's first half focuses on the crucial decade following the Civil War uprising, chronicling black growth and showcasing the accomplishments of the many political leaders who emerged to shepherd their communities into this new era of freedom. The second half of the series looks beyond that promising decade when history curved backward. The film looks at the various methods in which black people persisted to acquire land, develop institutions, and strengthen communities despite escalating racial violence and persecution as Reconstruction unraveled and Jim Crow segregation rose in the latter years of the nineteenth century. https://www.pbs.org/weta/reconstruction/about-the-film/

    The film also looks at how African American art, music, literature, and culture blossomed as means of resistance in the fight against Jim Crow oppression, as well as the explosion of political activism that coincided with the founding of famous civil rights groups.

Mississippi Burning

 Weston Hill Theoharis

10-28-21

FYS 1000

Mississippi Burning

    Three civil rights activists from Mississippi are gone without a trace. The first two were Jewish, while the third was African-American. Already, it appears that whoever kidnapped them wanted to show the world that they didn't like minorities, but in a town where everyone thinks this way, it's difficult to pinpoint a culprit. When Alan Ward and Rupert Anderson, a former Mississippi sheriff, begin interviewing the locals, they discover this the hard way.

    Ray Stuckey, the Sheriff of the town where the incident occurred (in 1964), is swiftly discovered by the two detectives to be linked to the Ku Klux Klan. Mrs. Pell, the community's Deputy Sheriff's wife, appears to be the only one who is concerned about the probe. She informs the men that the trio has been murdered, and their bodies are later discovered hidden. Mr. Pell is told by the Sheriff that his wife has betrayed them, and he beats her.

    The FBI arranges for Mayor Tilman of the village to be kidnapped, of course without his knowledge. He is confined to a shed with an African-American man whom he feels is deranged. Tilman eventually gives in when the man threatens to castrate him if he does not inform him about the crime. Because of Tilman's prejudice against individuals of different ethnicities, he overlooks the possibility that this man was sent to do this and believes his threats.

    The FBI decides to question Lester Cowens, a member of the Ku Klux Klan. He returns home one day to see a burning cross in his yard, a strong indicator that the Klan is on his tail. Unsure what they want with him, he tries to flee in his truck, but the FBI tells him that it was all a set-up to get him to confess to the murder.

The individuals are still violently separated at the end of the film - Mrs. Pell leaves her husband in pursuit of more freedom, and FBI searches are inconclusive. Alan and Rupert visit an African American cemetery and read the inscription "Not Forgotten" on a gravestone.

Town Hall Meeting on Slavery

Weston Theoharis

10-20-2021

FYS 1000

Town Hall Meeting on Slavery

Pennsylvania Hall was built to provide a venue for discussing "the problems of slavery" as well as other subjects "not of an immoral character." It was originally dubbed "one of the most commodious and elegant buildings in the city."

The Anti-Slavery Convention of American Women met as scheduled that morning, despite the notices and the swelling crowd outside the auditorium. Men began to congregate outside the building the next morning, "prowling around the doors, investigating the gas pipes, and chatting in a manner to groups that had gathered around them in the street." They became more unruly later in the day, and during William Lloyd Garrison's introduction of Maria W. Chapman to the nearly 3,000 reformers present at the evening assembly, a mob burst into the building, shouting. The mob quickly dispersed, only to obstruct the conference from the outside. 

While Chapman was speaking, rocks smashed through the windows, and the shouting from outside drowned out her voice. Angelina Grimké Weld was the next to take the stage. The audience rose to leave many times during the meeting, only to be convinced to stay by Weld and other speakers. Weld's speech continued on for over an hour, unaffected by the raucous crowd. Whites and blacks went out of the hall arm in arm in a show of solidarity and to protect the black women. They were still pelted with insults and rocks. The Hall was conceived in response to the difficulty that abolitionists experienced in locating a suitable location for their meetings. To finance the construction, a joint-stock company was founded. Abolitionists, mechanics, and other employees, women, and important residents were among the 2,000 people who purchased $20 shares in the corporation. Those who were unable to purchase shares provided goods and labor. A total of $40,000 was raised to construct the structure.

 https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2938.html

The mob showed up again the next day. More sessions of the Anti-Slavery Convention of American Women were scheduled, despite the Mayor's request that the convention is limited to white women exclusively. Fearing that the crowd would attack, the building's managers delivered the keys to the mayor. The mayor declared to the gathering that the remaining sessions had been canceled after sealing the doors. As he went away, the crowd applauded. They stormed the structure shortly after, smashing the interior and starting fires. The mayor returned with the cops, but the mob had gotten out of hand, and any attempts by the cops to restore order were met with violence. By 9 p.m., the fires had spread throughout the building and everything was in flames. When firefighters arrived on the site, they only helped the structures surrounding Pennsylvania Hall. When one unit attempted to spray the new structure, its troops became targets for the hoses of the other units. Because no one was fighting to save Pennsylvania Hall, it was quickly demolished.

 https://www.abebooks.com/9781275760332/Report-proceedings-great-anti-slavery-meeting-1275760333/plp 

Over the next few days, the rioting mob proceeded to strike, setting fire to a refuge for black orphans and causing damage to a black church. The abolitionists were blamed for the riots in an official report, which said that they incited violence by upsetting Philadelphia residents with their opinions and advocating "racial mingling." 

The Original KKK

Weston Hill Theoharis

Talking About Freedom

10-24-21

The Original KKK

    The Ku Klux Klan is an extremist hate group in the United States, founded in 1865, in Tennessee. It was founded shortly after the Civil War ended. It used violence and murder to maintain white supremacy in Southern government and social life. It disappeared in the 1870s, but was created again in 1915 and has continued on towards the present day. The POV I have come across is that The KKK wanted whites to have advantages in government and society, just like it was before the war. 

https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/ku-klux-klan
    

By the 1920s the clan membership has reached a toll over 4 million. Blacks began to put an end towards Jim Crow law in the south that legally supported racial discrimination. Around 1960 the clan carried out 200 bombings as well as murdering's. By the end of the 1960 the leaders started to become prosecuted and started to slowly become to an end. The KKK has always managed to rebuild. 
    The clans power always went in phases, the fear the clan built its legacy on, that was there objective. The name is inspired by a Greek word called "circle". After the clan was created, years later on the clan has done all of there goals that suited there purposes, the clan went quite. They started to reignite the flames of the clans, not just against blacks but against religion now as well, it also acted against Catholic and Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. A lot of groups were named "copycat" which were just speedbumps along the KKK clan.  

https://www.history.com/topics/reconstruction/ku-klux-klan 

    Over years the numbers of the members of the clan has developed to be smaller but yet still did damaged towards the United States Of America. In the late 1970s the KKK took a toll and a lot of the members just went towards the white power movement. 
Some of the KKK convictions, Beliefs and Goals was Restore America back to being a white and a nation free from drugs, homosexuality, immigration and race- mixing. The KKK has extreme pride of their ideology.  they claim to be proud of their race, history, and traditions. They also refer to the acts that the KKK did in the past as accomplishments, and believe they are building a better society for everyone to live in. an example of one of their goals was prevent black people to vote. 

https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/ideology/ku-klux-klan
 

Longer the time has passed the longer the Klu Klux Klan has diminished. Every party comes to an end, and I personally think it sure did with this clan. Around 1965 the clan was playing out not very successful but since they were not successful, they were still more extreme towards violence. The current status of the KKK is around 5000 members, but it is hard to tell who is truly in the clan or not. The clan in the present day has dispersed. In conclusion the Klu Klux Klan is the oldest and most feared group of America. Driven by the dream of a world with only one race violence is sure to be the destination no matter where the clan is. They have been roaming for over 130 years and are genuinely a symbol of crime.