Contemporary Connections: Mark Neil group d section 1

I chose this image that states, “Black History is American History” because in a very broad, generalized sense, the way the blacks have been treated in the past and currently has shaped this country and has led it to where we are today as a society and as a culture. In school, students start learning about the history of the Blacks and their role in history as young as first grade. And that does not stop there, students continue learning about the history about slavery, Martin Luther King Jr, Rosa Parks, the Civil War, and many other events and tragedies that have shaped this country. The cultural artifact that I am choosing to discuss in this blog post is the Mark Anthony Neil talk. I really enjoyed going to this because it is a reminder that even though it may not be a part of my everyday life that I think about, black history is essential to understanding American Identity and what it means to identify yourself as an American. In a country that prides itself on being free, we had slavery? We look down on blacks just because there skin color is different from our own. I think it is so important because being an American and being able to classify yourself as an American, is not something that someone can just take for granted. If you truly want to identify as an American, you need to conform and accept people for who they are. We have come a long way in doing this, but we need to always remember the stories of those who fought and who died for where we are now. Those who suffered as slaves there entire lives, those who have been arrested and killed in the process of their arrest just because of their skin color, even if they were not doing anything wrong. It is not fair to forget those who suffered and died just because of the color of their skin. They deserve to be remembered and honored and respected for their strength. Mark Neil showed us brutal footage of black people being attacked when they were clearly not in the wrong, he showed us the story that black artists tell in the lyrics of their songs. This reminds us that we cannot forget those who have reshaped America to become a country who just had a black president. That, is something to be proud of. The issue is nowhere near gone or solved, for there are still many racists and people who put themselves above blacks. But the thing is, black people are just as allowed to identify themselves as Americans because they have just as much right as anyone else does to do so.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSfUfuXxpwI

In the link I provided, it is a video about the importance of celebrating Black History Month. I chose this because I think it captures everything that I argued in this article. I think it is extremely important that she states that she hopes there is a time that we don’t just celebrate in for one month, that is it constantly celebrated and remembered. I think this is extremely important because it is something that is part of our American Identity and it always will be.

"Contemporary Connections: Transcontinental Railroad and Migrant Workers" Section 01

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2016/03/qatar-world-cup-of-shame/

The small Middle Eastern nation of Qatar was selected as the host country for the upcoming 2022 FIFA World Cup. As a result of this decision for Qatar to be the host nation, the country began construction of new stadiums and other facilities in order to accommodate an international sporting event of this size and scope. However, the majority of the work force that has been employed to construct these new buildings consists primarily of migrant workers. Since construction of this new infrastructure has begun, many reports have surfaced of workers facing appalling working conditions. Many of these migrants workers have also been forcibly trapped in the country due to their employer's confiscation of visas. In a cruel twist of fate, the large majority of migrant workers who traveled to Qatar in hopes of finding work opportunity have now effectively become slaves to the various construction companies who exploit their status as foreigners for cheap labor.

One might compare this exploitation of migrant workers back to the period of the Transcontinental Railroad's construction. The United States similarly employed many immigrants such as the Chinese and Irish in order to finish construction of the railroad. These immigrant railroad workers often faced poor living conditions, low wages, and long hours. Once the railroad was complete however, these immigrants also faced discrimination from Americans who saw them as competition for jobs. The situation in Qatar could also be compared to the Middle Passage, where African-Americans were forcibly relocated and sold into slavery. Though the workers in Qatar were not forcibly relocated, many were deceived into traveling to the country and now experience arduous working conditions that are in violation of human rights.

Contemporary Connections: The Middle Passage and Immigration (Section 1, group D)

http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/28/politics/donald-trump-executive-order-immigration-reaction/

The Middle Passage was the massive movement of slaves from Africa into America. This inhumane act brought about this central American idea of movement, from one place to another. Similarly, immigrants of the muslim faith are facing a similar fate, being forcibly removed from their homes by terrorists, into new lands. The only difference is the country they're fleeing to doesn't want them.

President Trump's immigration ban is very specific in singling out people of the Islam faith. Parallels can be drawn between the middle passage and this immigrant ban. Black people were discriminated during the middle passage, and muslims are discriminated during the immigration ban. Again, it is totally against American values to deny immigrants, so why is the President doing this? Because of fear. People in America are scared that what's happening in the middle east might come to America, which is a personally reasonable fear, but it shouldn't stop us from recognizing that we are all human beings and we all deserve to be in a safe country

In conclusion, The Middle Passage, though detrimental to an entire race, served its role in history by putting a mirror to America's history. The immigration ban is similar to the middle passage and it shows that history does in fact repeat itself. So where do we go from here? We must fight for humanity, and recognize that we, too, were once immigrants and rather than shutting people out, we should accept others with open arms who are fleeing from danger.

"Contemporary Connections: Globalization" Victoria Pucci-Schaefer Section 2, Group D

In the Globalization Article it talks about the idea of global advertising which caught my eye. This idea of world wide advertisement is something that happens and a majority of the worlds population doesn't even notice. With a generation that is on their phones for a majority of the day, social media is a part of each and everyones day. Therefore, companies decided that marketing via internet cites such as Twitter and Facebook was the best way to get their message out to the public. 

According to the article, "Global Advertisement is the key technology for the worldwide dissemination of a plethora of creative, and cultural well-chosen, of consumer agency." This is the generation of having access from a majority of countries all over the world to a whole lot of information that we didn't have before. The idea of global advertisement is an amazing way to bring many cultures and ideas together through the click of a button as well as to share businesses that are only located in a specific area to a grander scale. 

This idea of global advertisement made me stop and think about how many daily incounters that I myself have with companies that are not from the United States marketing to me online. For instance, I visit Canada a lot and shop at a store called Muskoka Bearwear, I know follow them on both Instagram and Facebook and see their promotions come up all the time. The same thing goes for grands such as Topshop and Boden which I have shopped at as well but are both foreign stores. With all the technology the way it is the world is my diversified with its use of the online resources and the market for buying and selling goods to different countries is now something that can work because of global advertising. 

Contemporary Connections: Middle Passage and its effects on African and American culture - Sec 2 Group D

Article: http://atlantablackstar.com/2015/06/03/cultural-influences-africans-american-culture/

The Middle Passage was a trade route where, among many other goods, Africans were brought over from their homeland to be sold off as slaves. Like anything in history, there is both a positive and negative side to events. While certainly the negatives of the Middle Passage (slavery, horrible conditions, mistreatment, ect) are staggering and inexcusable, one result of the Middle Passage was the exposure of African culture to the Western world and vice versa.

The article above presents many contributions African culture provided to America and the rest of the western world (which were unfortunately ignored by American history). African contributions include folktales, soul food (deep fried foods, gumbo, ect), and song and dance including the blues and spirituals. It is nice to see that even when forced to abandon their old homes and customs, the Africans brought through the Middle Passage were able to preserve some of their culture and leave an impact on America and the rest of the western world.

Now the opposite also happened as a result of the Middle Passage. Olaudah Equiano, through his journey as a slave, was introduced and converted to Christianity. Equiano adopted himself fully into this western religion, attending church and praying throughout his life. Many years later, Jay Z's song "Oceans" explores both his history as a black man dealing with the Middle Passage and the negative effect it had on his people, and the present where "blood has been mixed", pure ancestral boundaries have been destroyed and the irony of a black american engaging in the luxuries of a celebrity in the western world.

Ultimately it is interesting to see how both cultures influenced and were influenced by each other. It is unfortunate that this interaction was achieved through the exploitation of the African people, but that is regrettably an ugly reality of history, a reality that hopefully one day we as humanity can overcome.

Contemporary Connections - The Middle Passage and Human Trafficking (Group D Section 1)

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/07/opinion/slavery-isnt-a-thing-of-the-past.html

Although slavery may not be as apparent as it was during the earlier years, it still exists today in many forms. People are forced into slavery today. They can be found doing forced labor for little or no money or being made to prostitute themselves in strip clubs or brothels. The scary part about this form of slavery is that we do not know to what extent this bondage is happening. Their "masters" or "owners" threaten, beat, or even drug them in order to stop them from escaping. Some are even branded with tattoos by their owners. People can be kidnapped into slavery or tricked into it. In another article I read, immigrants looking for a better life in America are tricked into being smuggled into America but must pay off their high debts with forced labor for little money. Teenage girls are sold for sex on websites or in the streets. 

The middle passage was a route in the Atlantic ocean where many countries traded goods. Men and Women from America came into Africa and kidnapped many African Americans to be shipped to America to be made into slaves. Slavery was public and open before the 1900s. They were often mistreated and were below those who were not slaves. We can see this in Human Trafficking even if it is not public. Slavery today does not only exist in America but in many other countries also. Many activist groups exist to abolish slavery all together however, it is so hidden and with advancing technology it may be even harder to find. We may not think about it as much as we think about slavery in the 19th century but it still exists prominently today. 

Contemporary Connections - The Middle Passage and the Syrian refugee crisis (Group D Section 2)

Photo: The New York Times

Article: Longing for Resettlement

According to the article, “the world watches America.” Our politics and entertainment alike are taken in by people from all over the world. In his inaugural speech, former President Obama acknowledged this. America represents something to the whole world. The mythology surrounding our country is that we are a promised land that welcomes strangers. While there is skepticism of this from many (including many Americans), refugees still see this as their hope to escape their situation.

From the Middle Passage readings, we see a narrative of Africans coming to America. Equiano was kidnapped as a child and sold into slavery, but he ended up becoming friends with an American boy and eventually adopting some of the culture, as seen when he converts to Christianity. He also buys his freedom, choosing to stay in England and contribute to the culture by writing his autobiography.

As discussed in the article about “Oceans,” black Americans have a shared past, even though some have risen above the stereotypical lifestyle into fame and fortune. The Middle Passage is part of our past, and African Americans are Americans, so their background creates part of the background of our nation as a whole.

America has become a country with a wide cultural background, with contributions from many cultures. Refugees bring a new culture to the land of multiculturalism.Though the circumstances between the African Americans and refugees are different, the cultural impact is the same. Both groups represent people of different cultural backgrounds coming to the US, and can be seen as different because they look different, or come from a different place. These people come from unfortunate circumstances but have a chance to become part of something here in America. Here, they can contribute their cultures and backgrounds to the whole of America.

Contemporary Connections: Route 66 and its inspiration to Cars. (Elizabeth Roman - Group D)

http://articles.latimes.com/2013/jan/05/news/la-trb-route-66-cars-land-disney-california-adventure-11201228

Although the Cars movie came out in 2006, this film still has sequels and actually has one coming out this summer. Eventually a Cars theme Park was built in success of the film in 2013. This article looks at how the Cars movie inspired Disney to create a Cars Theme park which was also inspired by Route 66. The article is still relevant today since the park is still open and since there is a hype for the Cars 3 movie that is coming out soon.

Creators of the Cars theme park wanted to capture the full essence of Route 66 and in order for them to do this the based their idea of the "mother road." In the Route 66 article, the "mother road" is often referenced to as the highway to freedom in order to create a better life. Although the cars park is not meant to be the actual route 66 and instead a location from the movie brought to life.  The mobility aspect that is often talked about in our reading is clearly seen since the cars represent this means of mobility. The buildings in both the movie and the park are inspired off of actual buildings that were on route 66. This is meant to make visitors feel like they are in another world and in a way this park is making sure that the idea of route 66 is still somewhat instilled in people's minds.

contemporary connections:Cultural Impact of Building the Transcontinental Railroad and dakota access pipeline Group D Section 1

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-37863955

 

 The link I provided explains the recent events involving the Dakota Access Pipeline situation. This situation involved an issue between a Native American reservation in North Dakota and the federal government. The link explains how those who live on the reservation feel about the assembly of the pipeline. Those who live here argued against the project because of potential risks it could bring.

  

This link connects to the article involving the Transcontinental Railroad because of the similarities in the issues the two projects caused. The railroad was taking over Native American lands and although the events that occurred because of the railroad were more serious, the Sand Creek Massacre for example, similarities are still presented. One of these similarities include the installation of a government initiative on Native land. Whether it be a railroad or a pipeline, Native people were in opposition to these events and the government found, or is trying to find ways around it. The pipeline brings potential risks that could involve water contamination and also damage sacred burial sites, while the railroad resulted in a loss of Native American lands.

 

As far as my insight on the pipeline issue, I would try to come to an agreement about location and try to cut down on the potential risks that it would cause, such as the water contamination risk. This provides new personal insight on the provided text about the railroad. My thoughts on the assembly of the railroad are that it was a good thing to happen because of the advancements it brought to us as a country, but it could have been gone about in a different way. It could have been located in different places so Native lands weren't so heavily depended on. These issues bring a similar thought to my head; they are good initiatives, but there are definitely different ways that the government could/can address them.



 



Comtempory Connections:The Transcontinental railroad, Laurel Velasquez, section D-02

The Transcontinental Railroad- Laurel Velasquez

The Transcontinental Railroad was a huge contiguous network of railroad that connected one end of the United States to the other. At the time it was and still is, an amazing accomplishment that shaped how goods and services could be moved. However, this great American railway was built by multiple ethnic groups who were taken advantage of and forced to work in dangerous conditions. The image above shows one ethnic group that was taken advantage of, the Chinese. Under paid and over worked in hazardous conditions that no one else would do.

Like the Chinese, who were taken advantage of, are the factory workers in places like Bangladesh. The article below was written after a terrible building collapse in Bangladesh in 2013. The article goes on to talk about how the works were taken advantage of with just enough pay to get by and poor working conditions. Both the Chinese and the factory workers were creating a product that would be sold and used in America. It has been over 150 years yet, America hasn't fully learned to not allow people to be taken advantage of, no matter where or who they are.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/bangladesh-factory-worker-discusses-horrible-working-conditions-a-899976.html

The Transcontinental Railroad and its negatives David Johnson Group D

https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/development-west/essays/transcontinental-railroads-compressing-time-and-space

                The transcontinental railroad is a system of railroads that connects the eastern and western parts of the United states. it was built from 1863 to 1869 and paved the way for cross country travel. Margret Irving Carrington once said “with only a single wire to underlie the Pacific, the whole earth will become as a whispering gallery, wherein all nations, by one electric pulsation, may throb in unison, and the continent shall tremble with the rumbling of wheels that swiftly and without interruption or delay transport its gospel and commerce.” By having a railroad system that stretched approximately 1,912 miles, millions of Americans now had the opportunity to travel to new places that they've never seen before. This was a huge step forward in progress but the railroad came with some drawbacks. Railroads were the biggest consumers of wood and coal during the late 19th century. this lead to a lot of deforestation and pollution. The California State Board of Agriculture estimated that one third of California’s forests have been cut down due to railroads. Deforestation wasn't the only drawback. The railroad system at that time was not the safest place to work. Railroad companies did not do the best job protecting their employees. For example in 1889, 2,000 men were killed and over 20,000 were hurt at the line of duty. A lot of the injuries were caused from daily tasks that were performed by everyone. Since railroads were new and popular at the time, there was a lot of money to be made. Bosses would treat workers very poorly and pay was not adequate. All the bosses cared about was making the most money. Although the transcontinental railroad has created many opportunities for us, we have to take in consideration the negatives as well.

Contemporary Connections: "The Jobs Americans Do" and the working class throughout History

     One of the staples of American society is the idea of hard work to improve yourself. We are taught from an early age that in order to achieve success, it takes patience and dedication to your job. Throughout history it has been a key idea that has fueled Americans to do their hardest to support themselves and survive. With it though came the idea that minorities were unwilling to contribute and only had the desire to take the path of least resistance that was based in longhand racism. As seen by our class' discussion on the transcontinental railroad; this is not the case. African American and Chinese labor was exploited to produce a revolutionary process of getting people and goods across the country. Working under extreme conditions and not getting proper compensation for it, they are the unsung heroes that shaped America through their work. 

   Despite this clear evidence, America still holds onto this outdated idea. When asked about Mexicans or African Americans, it is a gut reaction for many to say that they are taking advantage of America's opportunities and not doing anything to help themselves. Minorities are criticized for not doing their absolute best, despite facing institutionalized prejudice. Not fitting into the traditional idea of middle class jobs that were dominated by white men, the people actually making the best of their situation are largely ignored. Granted, the situation is better than it was for those working on the transcontinental railroad, but there is still room for improvements

    The article that I relate this to offers an argument against this idea. Titled 'The Jobs Americans Do' it gives an insight to the people who actually make up the current working class, a majority of which aren't white men. Despite technological advancements that have found more and more people out of work, these individuals find work in the jobs others often overlook and make a living off of it. From fast food workers to a pipe fitter, these are the new generation of the working class Americans fulfilling the idea of hard work by telling their perspective. It also argues in favor for traditional human labor in a society that idolizes efficiency and modernity through technology. I saw this as a connection to the discussion of people finding work in the building of an American legacy. Those who do the "dirty jobs" that others take for granted and largely overlook. It also correlates to the clip of John Henry racing against the machine. While the type of job has changed over history, the working class remains a fundamental part of American culture despite generalizations made on their behalf. 

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/23/magazine/the-new-working-class.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=photo-spot-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news

Contemporary Connections: The Social Impact of Langston Hughes and Kendrick Lamar - Steve Swart, Section 02, Group D

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