http://www.lawnix.com/cases/brown-board-education.html

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

“Segregation of children in the public schools solely on the basis of race denies to black children the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment, even though the physical facilities and other may be equal. Education in public schools is a right which must be made available to all on equal terms.”

This passage is explaining how segregation worked against the black children in public schools. The children were supposed to be protected by the fourteen Amendment, and some how it was perpetuated the opposite. Education is a right that everyone especially children are entitled too and it must be provided and available by the government.

I chose this passage because I believe that even to this day segregation still exist to a certain aspect. I do believe that in this case, they went against the laws that were supposed to be guaranteed in the 14^th amendment. The black children were not being protected because they were being separated from the whites, even though they tried to say they were being treated equal. “Separate but equal” public schools were just an excuse to hide their true intentions in continuously treating colored people unequal. I do not see how separating people, like if they were sick with a virus is treating them equal. Colored people did not have the same education, bathrooms, and benefits like the white people did. I believe this is an important case because it shows how cruel the colored people were being treated and how the government tried to hide their true intentions by saying they were protect by the 14^th amendment.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A19751-2004Jul27.html

“A faith in simple dreams, an insistence on small miracles; that we can tuck in our children at night and know that they are fed and clothed and safe from harm; that we can say what we think, write what we think, without hearing a sudden knock on the door; that we can have an idea and start our own business without paying a bribe; that we can participate in the political process without fear of retribution; and that our votes will be counted -- or at least, most of the time.”

What Barack Obama mean by this passage is that we live in a nation that keeps us protected and where leaders think about our rights as citizens. A nation where we have our freedom and are supported from our government. A placed where anyone can write what they think and say what they are thinking with out any problems no matter who you are.

I picked Barack Obama because I was one of the people that voted for him to become president. I also picked this passage because I find it interesting how he see’s the faith in the American Dream. He talks about tucking our children in bed at night knowing that they are fed and well protected but when I think about it, I wonder who are these people. Looking into the societies around me, I see families that live in apartments with no space because they cannot afford a bigger apartment due to the rent being so high. I see workers getting paid minimum wages in a city where everything is expensive. Every thing from gas to groceries, to clothing prices are going up every month except the paid. I see children going missing everyday because they live in a country where they rather spend more money on unnecessary new stadiums, than paying the people that supposed to keep us protected they money they deserve. He also mentions that our votes are counted but then he states “most of the time” I believe our votes do not count or matter because who ever they want to be in office would get there either by hook or by crook.  For example, the Bush era.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/05/15/americas-most-gerrymandered-congressional-districts/

“Democrats won in nine of the 10 most-gerrymandered districts. But eight out of 10 of those districts were drawn by Republicans.

This speaks to the notion that the point of gerrymandering isn't to draw yourself a safe seat but to put your opponents in safe seats by cramming all of their supporters into a small number of districts. This lets you spread your own supporters over a larger number of districts. And the way to do this is to draw outlandishly-shaped districts that bring far-flung geographic areas together.”

This passage is defining that gerrymandering manipulate the boundaries of (an electoral constituency) so as to favor one party or class. It shows how congress works and how sneaky they are to win. They achieve their goals by manipulating people and most of the time they do it with out other people knowing. They divide the state, county and etc. into election districts to give that particular political party a major advantage in districts.

I chose this passage because I didn’t know much about elections and how they worked before I decided to go for a Political Science major. I still have a lot to learn about the whole political party. I knew that in the elections people lie their way into offices because I have witness people promises a lot of changes in our economy, lives, and government and never actually accomplish those things. When I read the article I wasn’t really shock that they did this because senators/government can be very sneaky. It is very interesting to learn how gerrymandering work. I will definitely keep looking into the Political world and learn all their tricks and treats. J

“Citizenship, even in its early forms, was a principle of equality and that during this period it was a developing institution. Starting at the point where all men were free and in theory, capable of enjoying rights, it grew by enriching the body of rights which they were capable of enjoying. But these rights did not conflict with the inequalities of capitalist society, they were on the contrary necessary to the maintenance of that particular form of inequality. “

What I believe Marshall is explaining in this passage is that since the beginning of the term citizenship, it was made to treat every one equal. When he sates, “during this period it was a developing institution” I feel like he is trying to justified the term citizenship if people did not get treated equal during that particular time. Every men were free with rights that they enjoyed.

I picked this passage because I used to think the word citizenship meant a lot more than what I do now. Before I became a citizen, I saw citizenship as a privilege, something that was an honor to be. It was a representation of my country and an honor to be a citizen of the best country in the world. Citizenship was supposed to treat every single citizen equal with education, jobs, health care and other social rights like marriages, etc. I do not agree that every single person is treated equal because we do not have the same education in every state or even in every borough. Some areas have better school system and better teachers.  Some jobs offer health care while most don’t and to qualified for free health insurance you have to meet certain requirements that most people cannot meet. Many states still have not legalized same same sex marriages. Back in the day, we had slavery where colored people did not have any rights; even after emancipation, they were still treated unequal. We can still see people treat color people different to this day even though they have “rights” now.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4h2927t.html

“What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer; a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciation of tyrants, brass fronted impudence; your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings, with all your religious parade and solemnity, are, to Him, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy -- a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages. There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices more shocking and bloody than are the people of the United States, at this very hour.”

What I think Douglass meant by this statement is that behind the celebration of a national holiday lays a dark past fill with injustice, cruelty, beating, and disappointment. He states that those holidays promoted liberty and equality when in realty it was the opposite. It was a mockery and a deception to all those people that suffered injustice and cruelty. Those holidays were just a cover up to hide the real meaning of the United States. He states that there isn’t a nation that is more disgrace and have more blood on their hands that the United States. It’s crazy to think that a nation that suppose to be the most successful, most free, and the nation with the most opportunities; have such dark and disgraceful past. This passage relates to our theme of lecture because it falls under civil disobedience. “The idea of civil disobedience is peculiar to democratic societies. It means breaking the law and thus challenging the authorities, but usually in a non-violent fashion.” They refuse to celebrate a nations holiday because they believe it was fraud and a mockery to them. They did not agree with the nation and it’s celebrations. 

I picked Douglass and this particular passage because I have read a couple of passages from Douglass in my other Political Science class and I find him to be very interesting. I like his work because it takes me back to slavery days and I get a good view of how cruelty it was. I also picked this passage because I have always taught that the fourth of July was a great holiday to show our love and respect for our nation. I never imagine that other people would see it as a negative holiday. I put myself in Douglass shoes, and I see why he would feel that way. I would had felt the same way. I don’t bash our nation because I feel like we have a 50/50 nation. Meaning I believe this is a great and one of the best nation there is but there is so much to this nation that we do not know of.