Searching for Assata :: essays research papers

Searching for Assata I thought long and hard about the type of creative project I wanted to do for my Gender & Society class. This project is a really cool one, in which gender and the things I learned in class would be combined. At first, I was going to interview four teenage African-American girls about their experiences about being Black and female in this society. Due to technical difficulties (raggedly camcorder), I was not able to complete that task. Then I thought about doing a feminist critique of Scarlett O’Hara, the main character from â€Å"Gone with the Wind† but that type of thing is for a ten-page paper, not a creative project. Finally, I decided to do a collage depicting the life of Assata Shakur, one of the most wrongly convicted individuals in U.S. history. Her story is a sad chapter in American history, in which the color of her skin, social class, political affiliation, and gender played a role in her subsequent exile from her homeland. On May 2 1973, racial prejudice would change the life of Assata Shakur forever. An incident of what would now be labeled "racial profiling" takes place on the New Jersey Turnpike. Ms. Shakur, an active participant in the Black Liberation Army (BLA), was traveling with friends, Malik Zayad Shakur and Sundiata Acoli when state troopers stopped them, reportedly because of a broken headlight. A trooper explained that they were "suspicious" because they had Vermont license plates. The three were made to exit the car with their hands up. All of a sudden, shots were fired. When it was all over, state trooper Werner Foerster and Malik Shakur were killed. Ms. Shakur and Mr. Acoli were charged with the deaths of state trooper Foerster and Zayd Malik Shakur. While held in jail, she was shackled and chained to a bed, with bullet wounds still in her chest. She was also forced to undergo the jabs of shotgun butts of the New Jersey State troopers and heard their voices shouting Nazi slogans an d threats to her life. In the history of New Jersey state, no female prisoner had ever been treated as she, confined to a men’s prison, under twenty-four hour surveillance of her most intimate bodily functions. Ms. Shakur and Mr. Acoli were eventually sentenced to 30 years plus life. Although the verdict was no surprise since it was an all-White jury who convicted them, many questioned the racial injustice of the trial because it was riddled with many human rights violations and constitutional errors.

Ethics and Moral Reasoning Essay

Even though living in pain can be a physical and emotional toll on a person’s life, no one can judge or comment on it without knowing how it feels, but choosing to end your life for this cause is ethically wrong. A person should not be able to choose between life and death like it is something normal that we do every day. Dying is not the answer to a person’s problems, pains, or sufferings. Now a day technology and medicine are highly advanced and can cure or reduce the pain of a person with a disease. Choosing to end your life is basically committing suicide and suicide is wrong. First, I believe a person should not be able to choose whether they will live or die because dying will ease the pain and suffering they are experiencing but it is not the answer to their problems. People do not realize that by choosing to die they cause problems, pain and suffering to others. For example, a person may choose to die and have a big medical bill in which his spouse or family will be responsible for and not be able to afford it. Now because of his/her acts this family will be stuck with the financial problems left behind which can cause the person suffering due to financial burdens when they cannot afford it. Then to think on funeral expenses, and how the adults will explain it to children who might be too young to understand why was this chosen. Now a day medicine can cure or reduce the pain of a person with a disease. As I researched on the web I found that because of the â€Å"rapid and dramatic development in medicine and technology professionals have the power to save more lives.† For example, when a person has cancer they undergo chemo and/or radiation. Some people have it with success and kill the cancer cells while others don’t. We also have people with AIDS who can live their life pain and symptom free thanks to medicine they have to ta ke and things they have to undergo. Living with AIDS is a good example on a disease that is terminal and there is no cure for it but there are medicines that can and will help a person live life for many years and with very little to no problems. By ending life with the assistance of a doctor or medicine is basically committing assisted suicide and this is wrong and should not be assisted or encourage. Life is a gift from God and a person should not decide the end of it. Having a doctor assist you and give you medicine to end your life  whether it is to end your pain and suffering from a terminal disease is as bad as putting a gun to your head. I believe that having assisted suicide most people abuse it and think it’s the only way out. Some might even doing in despair or they might be desperate to stop all the pain they are in. Others might feel depressed in knowing they have a disease they might not be able to cure and will eventually die from. Ending a life due to medical issue is morally and ethically wrong and people should let the disease run its course. I don’t know how it is to live in pain and the physical and emotional toll it can have on someone. I cannot judge or comment on any person’s situation but a person should not be able to choose whether they will live or die. I believe it is selfish on their part to choose to end their life and should realize that dying will not stop the problems, pains, or sufferings. It will stop on their part because they will not be here to live it but it would not stop for the family and can even get worse with the death of that person. Medicine and technology are highly advanced and can cure or reduce the pain of a person with a disease. There are many medicines and equipment used to ease, stop and even prevent pain. When a person is choosing to end their life they are basically planning on committing suicide. People should look into the consequences it will bring if t hey do choose to end their life before even mentioning it. References: Assisted Suicide: A Right or a Wrong?. (n.d.). Assisted Suicide: A Right or a Wrong?. Retrieved July 7, 2014, from http://www.scu.edu/ethics/publications/iie/v1n1/suicide.html Physician-assisted Suicide: The Wrong Approach to End of Life Care. (n.d.). Physician-assisted Suicide: The Wrong Approach to End of Life Care. Retrieved July 7, 2014, from http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/assisted-suicide/to-live-each-day/physician-assisted-sucide-wrong-approach.cfm

Argumentative Synthesis Letter from Birmingham Jail

Kc Abakporo English 102 – 4353 Instructor – Joshua Barnes 7/2/13 The Everlasting Voice of Understanding During the 1960’s of American history violent acts were aimed at African Americans in the name of racism and segregation. In a case such as this one, many would seek refuge from the government, but to little surprise, cries for refuge went unanswered. Making matters worse was the fact that the Government allowed segregation to continue due to legal documents in many southern states. Acceptable forms of oppression were separated into four categories: racial segregation; voter suppression, in southern states; denial of economic opportunity; private acts of violence aimed at African Americans. At this time, many civil rights laws were†¦show more content†¦King to continue â€Å"waiting† but 340 years is ample time to wait. King continues to say that some of the preachers of God have understood the need for justice, but some have suppressed the blacks themselves. He believes that the preachers have to break the traditional, un justified rules of the society to allow for the freedom of the children of God. The true meaning of the Bible lies in justice and co-existence. He wants moral justice to overcome the traditional norms which were unjust in nature. He conveys this message well in his letter. He further writes: â€Å"One day the South will know that when these disinherited children of God sat down at lunch counters, they were in reality standing up for what is best in the American dream and for the most sacred values in our Judaeo-Christian heritage† (King 6). King also uses quotes from the Bible to further involve the emotional attachment of the people with the Bible. He compares himself with Apostle Paul when he says that he is going to carry the gospel of freedom to the places beyond his native town. This served two purposes. On one hand, he could reach out to the illiterate people who knew of Paul through churches, and on the other hand, he made it clear that he was undertaking a big mission . So, the whites were expected to come to support him in the name of god. Besides using the name of god to appeal to the people, King presents the real scenario of the life of the African American people to arouse sympathy