Slavery As A Punishment For Crime - 2185 Words

It’s common knowledge that slavery was made illegal in the United States by the 13th amendment to the constitution, in 1865. However, it is less widely known that the 13th amendment still allows slavery as a punishment for crime. If a person commits an illegal act, it is perfectly constitutional to enslave them. This forced labor is one of the most profitable industries to the United States. The blatant exploitation of prisoners by the U.S. government must be put to an end. The U.S. government currently has about 2 million people incarcerated in the nations’ prison system. There are about 1.7 million more people legally enslaved in the prison system today than there were before slavery was supposedly abolished. The U.S. has only 5% of the†¦show more content†¦No strikes. No union organizing. No health benefits, unemployment insurance, or workers’ compensation to pay. No language barriers, as in foreign countries†¦all at a fraction of the cost of ‘free labor.’† (Goldberg Evans). Prison labor is used in many of the top companies in the U.S., including IBM, Motorola, Compaq, Texas Instruments, Honeywell, Microsoft, and Boeing, Nordstrom, and Revlon. One of the most disturbing uses of prison labor is to make the nation’s graduation caps and gowns (Davis). The military even uses prison labor to make army uniforms (Gentilviso). Racism in the Justice System: The exploitation of prisoners by the U.S. is not color blind. There is a disproportionately large amount of people of color incarcerated in this country. There are more Native Americans per capita in prison than any other group (Davis). Latino people are more than twice as likely to be incarcerated than non-Hispanic whites (PrisonPolicy.org). Black men make up 60% of the prison population (McCalla). Michelle Alexander states in The New Jim Crow that there are more Black men in prison or jail, on probation or on parole than were enslaved in 1850. This is not because of the erroneous idea of Black men naturally being delinquent. It is because the prison industrial complex was deliberately manufactured to directly replace the profit the country made through the enslavement of African-Americans. The

Still I Rise - 1705 Words

â€Å"Still I Rise† Poem Analysis â€Å"Still I Rise† was written by Maya Angelou, who is an African-American poet. A majority of her poems are written on slavery and life as a African- American woman. â€Å"Still I Rise† is one of the many well known. She discusses how she is treated differently and refers to her ancestry and relates to events they went through during the time of slavery and the events she continues to go through during her time period of life. â€Å"This poem has been an inspiration to people from all different walks of life.† â€Å"Still I Rise† is an amazing poem that not only speaks of the troubles of slavery and Mayas struggles in life but I think this poem is also a victory call a banner of hope and encouragement to all those that†¦show more content†¦She refers to â€Å"†¦hopes springing high† in line eleven with the knowledge that everyone has high hopes and dreams for their lives. Everyone will alway s keep hoping. Just as peoples hopes will rise she will continue to rise also. She rises above the negativity of the words and actions that try to tear and crush her spirit. In stanza four Maya Angelou asks a series of rhetorical questions in lines thirteen and fourteen. She knows that people want to see her broken, weak and crying from the criticism and hateful words that have been said to her. She not only had to deal with criticism from being an African-American in a time when whites did not accept them into their society but also dealing with the fact that she was an African-American woman. During the fifties women were expected to marry and be a helping hand around the house. They were not expected to be in the working field. Just imagine how hard it had to be to make as an African-American women trying to achieve her goals. But she refuses to show how difficult it was through her emotion she just rises above it. In stanza five she talks of laughter. Laughter can be said to c ure everything. By laughing at the negativity that is being thrown in you direction it will make it easier to brush it off and play it off as if it never offended you. Causing disappointment to the people who wanted to see that they can affect your attitude and walk all over you. By laughingShow MoreRelatedStill I Rise1036 Words   |  5 PagesStill I rise Favorite Poem Essay Maya Angelou’s poem Still I Rise is an astonishing piece of art. The reason I chose this poem is because it’s not only a poem, it’s a story. The poem is about Maya Angelou’s beliefs being a women of color about discrimination. It’s not just her personal story but a universal experience for those with an African American background. Throughout the poem, Maya Angelou uses many poetic devices to give us more in-depth meaning behind what is in the poem. These poeticRead MoreStill I Rise - Analysis639 Words   |  3 PagesStill I Rise by Maya Angelou is a very moving ballad poem, and has a positive and strong tone throughout it. The main theme of this poem is discrimination. It portrays a strong woman living with confidence and a positive attitude. The reason why I chose to write my essay on Still I Rise is because it has a very powerful message. Although this poem was written in 1978, I feel as if anyone can relate to it even in this time period. Eve rybody experiences discrimination at some point in their livesRead MoreStill I Rise By Maya Angelou1078 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"Still I Rise† by Maya Angelou is a poem of objection and satisfaction in which Maya states that she will raise regardless of any situation. In her poem, â€Å"Angelou also incorporates anaphora, similes and metaphors throughout the poem to illustrate the resilience of the speaker regardless of what befalls her† (Bouchard: â€Å"Literary Contexts in Poetry†). Using these methods, the reader is able to visualize the hardships the poet went through. â€Å"Still I Rise† by Maya Angelou offers ambition and inspirationRead MoreStill I Rise By Sandra Cookson1124 Words   |  5 Pagesof â€Å"Still I Rise† is Maya Angelou, a well-known poet, author, and civil rights activist. This poem is about a poet who struggles to meet the social pressure and injustices of her time. Her poetry thus concentrates on two kinds of oppression – both racial oppression, and sexism. Amidst the challenges and adversities, she managed to survive and successfully claims that she will not be broken nor will she be defeated no matter how many times she is brought down by society. In this poem â€Å"Still I Rise†Read MoreAnalysis of the poem Still I Rise1268 Words   |  6 PagesAn Analysis of the poem Still I Rise by Maya Angelou African Americans have been oppressed for centuries. Despite this discrimination, people of this race have fought hard for their freedom and respect. This pursuit of equality is evident inMaya Angelou’s poem, â€Å"Still I Rise†. Angelou integrates numerous literary ideas such as various sounds, poetry forms, and key concepts.The poetic devices incorporated in Maya Angelou’s work, â€Å"Still I Rise†,heightens the overall effectivenessRead MoreStill I Rise By Maya Angelou877 Words   |  4 Pagesthrough social media there will be large amounts of individuals who will bully or even belittle a colored female because of the natural kinks of her hair, her sense of fashion, the full shaped curves of her body, and the color of her skin . The poem â€Å"Still I Rise† by the well-known poet, Maya Angelou, specifically describes the reasons why she had so much confidence; even if she were to be judged by her appearances and mindset. This poem is about emb racing females, but it mainly introduces similar lifeRead MoreMaya Angelou And Still I Rise897 Words   |  4 PagesIn â€Å"The Story of an Hour† and the poem â€Å"Still I Rise† Kate Chopin and Maya Angelou have explored the theme of oppression in a variety of different ways. â€Å"The Story of an Hour† is a short story based around how dramatically things can change within the space of an hour and how this can affect your life in the short period of time. Within the hour Mr Mallard is presumed dead in a railroad disaster, resulting in Mrs Mallard short lived ‘freedom’ after years of being oppressed, before soon learning thatRead MorePoem Analysis : Still I Rise 918 Words   |  4 Pages Poetry Response Essay I would like to start this essay by commenting on a video of a poem we saw in class by Shane Koyczan called â€Å"To This Day† it touched me emotionally and almost made me cry. The poem made me reflect on life, on all the emotional hardships I had to endure in my childhood, and most of my adult life; that the loved ones around me had suffered or suffer the same fate. I realized that people who are discriminated or even hated against tend to attract one another like a herd lookingRead MoreAnalysis Of The Poem Still I Rise 893 Words   |  4 Pagesthe famous words in the Declaration of Independence â€Å"all men are created equal† ( ), we are consistently observing that the fight for human rights and equality still exist today. Although African Americans have experienced and endured countless hardships and setbacks, their spirit proves to be resilient. In the unforgettable poem â€Å"Still I Rise†, written by the literary giant, Maya Angelou, the poem powerfully expresses the plight of the African American people and how we have risen above racism andRead MoreStill I Rise By Maya Angelou Essay1649 Words   |  7 PagesJulie A. McGuire ENGL102 Anne V. Powell June 23, 2015 Still I Rise Maya Angelou’s poem, â€Å"Still I Rise† shows a repetition of strength stanza after stanza. African Americans were faced with the challenges of oppression and slavery. African American women not only as a minority of African American race, but as a female, were faced with all those challenges, along with woman’s rights. It took 55 years after the abolishment of slavery for females to finally have the right to vote, under the 19th amendment

Open Minded free essay sample

Learning to be More Open Minded Head Start is a government funded pre-school program. This program is available to low-income families, foster children, and children who have a parent in jail or prison. Our goal is to help these children be prepared for kindergartens; as well as helping their families make better choices for their futures. We offer services to help them succeed in life and become more involved in their community. A few services we offer are GED classes, monthly classes on topics to help them in raising their children, as well as health and dental services.Many of our families do not have a vehicle or only have limited access to one, so we do help with transportation to and from doctor appointments and back and forth to school. The centers offer monthly classes to help caretakers with many subjects such as nutrient ion and diet. The majority of our families are on public aid, receiving food stamps, and often purchase processed foods because of the cost. Our hope is to show them ways to stretch their dollars as well as give families a well-balanced meal. Our classes also include budgeting, teaching your child how to have high self-esteem, and how to deal with temper tantrums.Although these do seem like basic life skills many of our parents were never taught these skills. During my first few weeks at Head Start I found myself being very judgmental. It was hard for me to sit and listen to how bad these parents said they had it, only to watch them come in wearing clothes and using phones that were way out of my budget. My parents always taught us that your children’s needs come first. So to me, seeing them with all of these material items yet, applying for a free pre-school program was a bit hard to swallow.Some days I it made me question my choice to work for a government run program. After many nights of thinking and discussing it over with my husband I decided that I was there for the kids not their parents. The students should not be punished for things their parents had done. This was my chance to teach them the â€Å"right† way. Now, a few months into the school year, we were all settling into our routines. I had been in many of the class rooms at most of the centers, so I was starting to get to know each child and learn a little about their home lives.It was pretty plain to see whose parents were involved in their children’s lives and whose were not. By this point, I had made a mental list of the â€Å"bad† kids and the â€Å"good† kids. I guess by â€Å"bad† I mean challenging. Working at one particular center was always very difficult for me. Whenever I would get the call to head to that center I would cringe. The whole drive there I was my breath praying I would not be going into room three. The reason, a four year old named â€Å"Logan†. â€Å"Logan† was disrespectful, extremely loud, very mean and hateful toward everyone and never listen or followed the rules.His vocabulary consisted of many four letter words and used them toward the teachers and other students all day long. He would make threats to kill people in such detail that I would find myself actually being afraid of this four year old child. Many occasions I would find myself not wanting to include him in small group time and I never wanted to work with him one-on-one. It seemed so easy for me just to ignore this child. Day after day â€Å"Logan† would be put in time-out, sent to the office and rarely was he able to go outside for recess with us. We sent home letters to â€Å"Logan’s† parents and we would never hear back. Logan† rode the bus to school in the mornings and rode the bus home in the afternoons. It seemed almost impossible to get ahold of any adult in â€Å"Logan’s† life. His behavior on the bus was just as awful as it was in the classroom. He was often in trouble for punching, kicking, cussing at and calling other children names. The bus driver also sent home many letters by never received a response. This child was out of control and it seemed no one in his life even cared. The final straw for the bus driver was the day â€Å"Logan† chocked the child next to him making him pass out on the way to school on morning.After this incident our center supervisor drove to â€Å"Logan’s† house to explain to his parents that â€Å"Logan† was no longer allowed to ride the bus to or from school. She explained to them that he was still welcome to continue to coming to school but that someone would need to bring him and would have to pick him up every day. Mom said she understood and would see to it that â€Å"Logan† made it to school every day. Dad on the other hand was livid. Yelling, saying things like we were picking on his kids and that we needed to learn to do our jobs and none of this would have happened to begin with.Secretly, I hoped that this child would not be back. We have a policy that reads if a child misses more than five days of school due to loss of transportation because of their behavior then that child can no longer be enrolled in our program, because we do have such a long waiting list of other clients we could be providing services to. All of this took place on a Thursday and I was off that Friday. I spent that weekend thinking about â€Å"Logan† and his dad and the way dad had reacted. It was a lot like the way â€Å"Logan† acted in class.I started too wonderful if â€Å"Logan† had only been doing what he had been seeing at home. Monday was â€Å"Logan’s† second day missed and I had started to think maybe the wrong choice had been made about this child. By the end of the third day I started feeling a bit ashamed of myself. My husband reminded me why I had taken this job to begin with and why I chose to go into this profession. This child needed someone to help him learn the right way to act, and give him the care and love that he seemed to be missing, not someone who had been judging him the way I had.

Drug Prevention/Recovery Program Review

The Lebanese youths have been adversely affected by the abuse of tobacco, alcohol and other harmful drugs. As a result, preventive and rehabilitative measures based on peer education have been put in place in order to curb the menace. Hence, a training program involving thirty young activists was put in place courtesy of the funding secured from the Oxfam pharmaceutical company. This program aimed at increasing the awareness on the need to stop abusing alcohol and other related drugs.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Drug Prevention/Recovery Program Review specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More One of the messages passed across in this collaborative training program was that there other stress relieving ways apart from abusing harmful drugs. The program also aimed at offering alternative ways of dealing with stress-related factors that proved to be troublesome to the young population aged below 30 years. The key partic ipating agent in this training program was the Armenian Relief Cross. In addition, other local stakeholders were also incorporated in the program with the aim of boosting the drugs awareness campaign. The awareness and training program managed to reach out for 5,200 trainees. Majority of the audience were secondary school students. The latter accounted for 1,250 participants. Although the youth were the key target in this program, the stakeholders also found it necessary to include parents, security officers, and scouts from all age groups. According to Arevian (2010), the objectives of the training program were met as anticipated. However, it may not be possible that the workshop objectives were fully met in a single training program and awareness campaign. It is without doubt that this drug awareness campaign was a step or initiative in the right direction. if all the set objectives are to be met, then additional resources such as time and monetary funding would be needed. Besides , the success of the program could only be feasible after a series of continuous awareness campaigns. As a matter of fact, Arevian (2010) notes that lack of adequate resources could not permit the process of obtaining feedback from the youth who participated in the training program. Nonetheless, the capacity of all the stakeholders who took part in the training initiative was largely boosted by their high level of cooperation and goodwill towards the program. Hence, the objectives in terms of support from stakeholders were clearly attained. The program had quite a number of strengths and weaknesses. For instance, one of the strengths of the training and drugs awareness campaigns was that it received holistic support and collaboration from various stakeholders. The lead agencies came out in large numbers to offer the technical and moral support.Advertising Looking for report on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More O n the same breath, it was quite easy to recruit youthful participants who were to offer training during the program. Parents, policemen, scouts, working adolescents and other professionals also gave a major boost to the awareness campaign. On the other hand, the funding obtained from Oxfam was not adequate in facilitating the entire training and feedback program. This monetary support served the most basic function of initiative the awareness campaign. On the overall, this program could be deemed to be effective bearing in mind that it managed to reach out for over 5000 trainees. In addition, the collaborative support received from both local and international stakeholders strengthened the effectiveness of the project. Hence, I would not hesitate to implement this kind of project in my line of work especially when funding is available. Reference Arevian, M. (2010). Training trainees, young activists, to conduct awareness campaigns about prevention of substance abuse among Lebanese/A rmenian young people. Journal of Inter-professional Care 24(2): 173–182. This report on Drug Prevention/Recovery Program Review was written and submitted by user Camron Knowles to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.