Instructor Notes - Equality & Civil Rights

Instructor Notes for Week 12 - Chapter 16 - Equality & Civil Rights It is amazing to many that the hard won civil rights we are studying this chapter this week are now being questioned by some in our society. Beginning with the issue of race, there is an excellent book entitled The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander, the former director of the Racial Justice Project of the ACLU in Northern California. She also served as a law clerk to Justice Harry Blackmun on the U.S. Supreme Court. In it she says, “Recent data shows, though, that much of black progress is a myth. In many respects, African-Americans are doing no better than they were when Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated and uprisings swept inner cities across America. Nearly a quarter of African-Americans live below the poverty line today, approximately the same percentage as in 1968. The black child poverty rate is actually higher now than it was then. Unemployment rates in black communities rival those in Third World countries. And that's with affirmative action! When we pull back the curtain and take a look at what our "colorblind" society creates without affirmative action, we see a familiar social, political, and economic structure--the structure of racial caste. The entrance into this new caste system can be found at the prison gate.” An excellent synopsis of the book can be read athttp://www.econ.brown.edu/fac/glenn_loury/louryhomepage/teaching/Ec%20137/The%20New%20Jim%20Crow-from%20The%20Nation.pdf (Links to an external site.)  If you have not read it, I suggest you put it at the top of your list. If you don’t have time to read the book, watch this video - THE NEW JIM CROW Online Documentary   (Links to an external site.) During the 2012 election cycle, we heard and read about irregularities with our various state voting systems and the number of voter suppression laws that have been passed in numerous states. It was not really that many years ago that women finally got the right to vote in this country and now many are being disenfranchised by these new laws. Once again, the issue of affirmative action is before the Supreme Court of the United States. After integrating our schools with the famous Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka case in 1954 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964, we now see many of our schools walking back their integration policies used for years, i.e. here in the city of Wichita. The 2012 election cycle has also highlighted class wars between the top 1% and the 99% and the “War on Women” concerning equal pay for equal work and personal health choices for American women.   All of the above issues are still relevant today so pay close attention to this chapter this week and you will be better able to discuss these issues and make decisions about who you want to represent you and your family at the local, state and national levels. Finally, with the most recent issues being raised about local policing and our civil rights, I'd like to share this video with students so that you will be protected if you are stopped by the police. Most of our officers follow the rules and will not use undue force with the public. But, it is good to know how to behave in these circumstances and hopefully have the best possible outcome.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDptsf81lVc&list=UUV3Nm3T-XAgVhKH9jT0ViRg (Links to an external site.)

Instructor Notes - Order and Civil Liberties

Instructor Notes for Week 11 – Chapter 15 - Order and Civil Liberties Again, we are studying a very important chapter about a topic that can directly affect your lives. The textbook does a thorough job in describing the separation of church and state, freedom of the press, the 2nd amendment and others. It also discusses your Miranda rights but I think it is important for students to fully understand those rights. Everyone has heard Miranda recited on television numerous times and often seen the person detained talking verbosely to the police.  This is not a good idea as many find when they later go to court and do find that their own words are held against them. Privately owned prisons are now a big industry in this country and they often contract for quotas that local law enforcement must meet. Yes, that is correct – the police need to send a minimum number of people to prison.  Therefore, I strongly suggest that each of you take time to watch the video linked below and never forget what it says. Share it with you friends and relatives. You are an American citizen and you have rights. Don't Talk to Police  (Links to an external site.)   Dana's Note:::I really do recommend the video in this post. Good information!!!