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Tuesday, December 6, 2011
CONNECTING NATIVE SON AND THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS TO CURRENT EVENTS
Two-three sentences connecting Mumia Abu Jamal, Leonard Peltier, or Liu Xiaobo to the Scottsboro Boys and Bigger.
Hilda Agyekum Connecting Mumia Abu Jamal to the Scottsboro Boys and Bigger. The story of Mumia is that, he was convicted of the murder of a Philadelphia police officer and sentenced to death. He wasn't given an attorney of his choice, but instead had one who didn't even follow what he said but followed that of the "black-robed conspirator (judge)", Mumia says, imposed on him. The connections I made were that just as Mumia wasn't given the right to self representation, so were Bigger and the Scottsboro Boys. They all had lawyers who didn't, I would say, understand them or where they were coming from really well. the lawyers imposed on them probably thought, these were just black men whom no matter what they said or even how innocent they might be of some cases(and they were innocent of some cases), they were still guilty.
When Comparing people ,places or things, you look for similarities. However, those similarities are full of individual differences. When thinking about Bigger, I see Hatred for others and self, I see fear, murder and violence. When I think of the Scottsboro Boys,Whose mishap occurred in the same time period, I see the total opposite. I see innocence and confusion. Lastly when I think of Mumia Abu-Jamal, I see false accusation, and terrible excuses. Something they all have in common is racism and injustice. Although they are not quite the same, racism and injustice is still wrong. Let's take Bigger for instance, in the book Native Son, the private investigator immediately accuses Bigger before any evidence is presented just because of his race. Even worse let's look at the Scottsboro Boys and Mumia, all were accused and given the death penalty for crimes the police have no "solid" evidence stating that they committed those crimes.
Avionne Wallace There are many people in this world who do crimes and have to face the consequences later on in their lives. For instance, Mumia Abu-Jamal was an activist and radio journalist who became president of the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists, in addtion to being the a member of the Black Panther Party until Octuber 1970. Later on he was convicted of murder of a Philadelphia police officer named Daniel Faulkner and sentenced to death. Also another murderer was Leonard Peltier who was convicted and sentenced to two consecutive terms of the life imprisonment of the first degree murder in the shooting of two Federal Bureau of Investigation agents during a 1975 conflict on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. When comparing these two murderers to the Scottsboro boys(nine black boys who were accused of raping white women in Alabama in 1931) and Bigger Thomas(accused of raping an innocent white girl named Mary Dalton) in the Native Son, they were accused of crimes(murder and rape)and they had to suffer the consequences afterwards. Even though that each story may have been different in some ways, all of these people faced the same humiliation because they were looked at in a completely different way and even some of them who had attorneys, weren't fully believed. In conclusion, I believe that when someone does a crime despite how serious it may be, it would be very adamant for someone to trust them due to what they have done. These four people were very much alike when it came to the crimes that they did and how it was dealt with(accused and punished), but the purpose of each one may not have been intentional, it could have been a mistake; then again judges and attorneys don't always believe what you say especially if you're "black".
Leonard Peltier was convicted for the deaths of two FBI agents who died during a 1975 shoot-out on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Mr. Peltier has been in prison for over 29 years. One major factor connecting him to the Scottsboro Boys and Bigger is obviously going to jail. These three are connected in race. A Native American , Joseph Stuntz , associated with Peltier was shot in the head by a sniper’s bullet. Mr. Stuntz’s death has never been investigated, nor has anyone ever been charged in connection with his death. It was never investigated because he is Native American. If it was Leonard who was shot , his death would not have been investigated either. The Scottsboro Boys was accused of rape because they were black , and the same thing for Bigger. So racism existed in the 1940s , and 1970s, and it still exists today , it just isn't showed as much as it was back then.
The Scottboro boys, accused of a crime they didn't commit; Leonardo Peltier, convicted with no hard evidence; and Bigger Thomas, accused of a crime he did commit, and have no regret for. I'd like to connect the Scottboro's case to Bigger's, and then to Leonardo's. First, the two white women who accused the Scottboro boys of rape, felt the need to do what they did. If the society wasn't the way it was back then (discriminated), they wouldn't have accused those boys. Even if they did, they wouldn't have gotten away with it, to the extent that the case lasted for years. Same goes for Bigger. He wouldn't have killed Mary if it hadn't been for the way the society had been constructed. In a normal society- with "equality", Bigger would have arrived home with Mary -still in a drunk condition, and would have taken her to her parents, rather than sneak her up into her room, and accidentally cut off the air that goes to her lungs, leading to her death. Right there on the bed with Mary, Bigger would have had no fear of telling Mrs. Dalton that he just had to put Mary to bed, cause she was drunk. But the American culture back then, had caused him to accidentally kill Mary, and accept it, cause now he feels that his life has meaning. If Bigger hadn't killed Mary, someone else would have in the future. I simply mean that it was destined to happen; if the blacks hadn't been degraded, and left with no life what so ever, Mary's death wouldn't have taken place. Blacks wouldn't have felt the need to always be inferior at the sight of whites. Leonardo Peltier on the other hand, was convicted of a crime that was also doomed to occur. He's still in prison for the "supposedly" murder of two FBI agents at a "SHOOT- OUT." Of course they would die, it was a shoot-out, and no one's to blame for it. All evidences provided for his case were substantial, but it's unlike a court to sentence a person, with no hard evidence on their case for two consecutive life imprisonment. I doubted it was a matter of racism; and if the policemen hadn't died, someone else would have eventually. It was a shoot-out!
Connecting Bigger Thomas from , "Native Son" with Mumia Abu Jamal and the Scottsboro Boys.
Bigger Thomas was accused of killing a white girl, the daughter and heiress of a very powerful white man in his time. While the Scottsboro boys were convicted of raping a number of white women, Mumia Abu Jamal was convicted of killing a white police officer. What do these people have in common? For one, they are all African Americans and secondly they were all convicted of crimes against the white man. The white man who thinks that a person of such decent (African) must be put to death. One could say that the people involved with the Mumia Abu Jamal case are no different from the racist whites from the 1900s.
The Scottsboro boys were convicted for a crime they didnt commit.Leonardo Peltier was convicted but they had no solid evidence to prove he did it. Bigger was accused of a crime he did commit.They all had something to do with murder.
Hilda Agyekum
ReplyDeleteConnecting Mumia Abu Jamal to the Scottsboro Boys and Bigger.
The story of Mumia is that, he was convicted of the murder of a Philadelphia police officer and sentenced to death. He wasn't given an attorney of his choice, but instead had one who didn't even follow what he said but followed that of the "black-robed conspirator (judge)", Mumia says, imposed on him. The connections I made were that just as Mumia wasn't given the right to self representation, so were Bigger and the Scottsboro Boys. They all had lawyers who didn't, I would say, understand them or where they were coming from really well. the lawyers imposed on them probably thought, these were just black men whom no matter what they said or even how innocent they might be of some cases(and they were innocent of some cases), they were still guilty.
When Comparing people ,places or things, you look for similarities. However, those similarities are full of individual differences. When thinking about Bigger, I see Hatred for others and self, I see fear, murder and violence. When I think of the Scottsboro Boys,Whose mishap occurred in the same time period, I see the total opposite. I see innocence and confusion. Lastly when I think of Mumia Abu-Jamal, I see false accusation, and terrible excuses. Something they all have in common is racism and injustice. Although they are not quite the same, racism and injustice is still wrong. Let's take Bigger for instance, in the book Native Son, the private investigator immediately accuses Bigger before any evidence is presented just because of his race. Even worse let's look at the Scottsboro Boys and Mumia, all were accused and given the death penalty for crimes the police have no "solid" evidence stating that they committed those crimes.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAvionne Wallace
ReplyDeleteThere are many people in this world who do crimes and have to face the consequences later on in their lives. For instance, Mumia Abu-Jamal was an activist and radio journalist who became president of the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists, in addtion to being the a member of the Black Panther Party until Octuber 1970. Later on he was convicted of murder of a Philadelphia police officer named Daniel Faulkner and sentenced to death. Also another murderer was Leonard Peltier who was convicted and sentenced to two consecutive terms of the life imprisonment of the first degree murder in the shooting of two Federal Bureau of Investigation agents during a 1975 conflict on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. When comparing these two murderers to the Scottsboro boys(nine black boys who were accused of raping white women in Alabama in 1931) and Bigger Thomas(accused of raping an innocent white girl named Mary Dalton) in the Native Son, they were accused of crimes(murder and rape)and they had to suffer the consequences afterwards. Even though that each story may have been different in some ways, all of these people faced the same humiliation because they were looked at in a completely different way and even some of them who had attorneys, weren't fully believed. In conclusion, I believe that when someone does a crime despite how serious it may be, it would be very adamant for someone to trust them due to what they have done. These four people were very much alike when it came to the crimes that they did and how it was dealt with(accused and punished), but the purpose of each one may not have been intentional, it could have been a mistake; then again judges and attorneys don't always believe what you say especially if you're "black".
Leonard Peltier was convicted for the deaths of two FBI agents who died during a 1975 shoot-out on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Mr. Peltier has been in prison for over 29 years. One major factor connecting him to the Scottsboro Boys and Bigger is obviously going to jail. These three are connected in race. A Native American , Joseph Stuntz , associated with Peltier was shot in the head by a sniper’s bullet. Mr. Stuntz’s death has never been investigated, nor has anyone ever been charged in connection with his death. It was never investigated because he is Native American. If it was Leonard who was shot , his death would not have been investigated either. The Scottsboro Boys was accused of rape because they were black , and the same thing for Bigger. So racism existed in the 1940s , and 1970s, and it still exists today , it just isn't showed as much as it was back then.
ReplyDeleteThe Scottboro boys, accused of a crime they didn't commit; Leonardo Peltier, convicted with no hard evidence; and Bigger Thomas, accused of a crime he did commit, and have no regret for. I'd like to connect the Scottboro's case to Bigger's, and then to Leonardo's. First, the two white women who accused the Scottboro boys of rape, felt the need to do what they did. If the society wasn't the way it was back then (discriminated), they wouldn't have accused those boys. Even if they did, they wouldn't have gotten away with it, to the extent that the case lasted for years. Same goes for Bigger. He wouldn't have killed Mary if it hadn't been for the way the society had been constructed. In a normal society- with "equality", Bigger would have arrived home with Mary -still in a drunk condition, and would have taken her to her parents, rather than sneak her up into her room, and accidentally cut off the air that goes to her lungs, leading to her death. Right there on the bed with Mary, Bigger would have had no fear of telling Mrs. Dalton that he just had to put Mary to bed, cause she was drunk. But the American culture back then, had caused him to accidentally kill Mary, and accept it, cause now he feels that his life has meaning. If Bigger hadn't killed Mary, someone else would have in the future. I simply mean that it was destined to happen; if the blacks hadn't been degraded, and left with no life what so ever, Mary's death wouldn't have taken place. Blacks wouldn't have felt the need to always be inferior at the sight of whites. Leonardo Peltier on the other hand, was convicted of a crime that was also doomed to occur. He's still in prison for the "supposedly" murder of two FBI agents at a "SHOOT- OUT." Of course they would die, it was a shoot-out, and no one's to blame for it. All evidences provided for his case were substantial, but it's unlike a court to sentence a person, with no hard evidence on their case for two consecutive life imprisonment. I doubted it was a matter of racism; and if the policemen hadn't died, someone else would have eventually. It was a shoot-out!
ReplyDeleteConnecting Bigger Thomas from , "Native Son" with Mumia Abu Jamal and the Scottsboro Boys.
ReplyDeleteBigger Thomas was accused of killing a white girl, the daughter and heiress of a very powerful white man in his time. While the Scottsboro boys were convicted of raping a number of white women, Mumia Abu Jamal was convicted of killing a white police officer. What do these people have in common? For one, they are all African Americans and secondly they were all convicted of crimes against the white man. The white man who thinks that a person of such decent (African) must be put to death. One could say that the people involved with the Mumia Abu Jamal case are no different from the racist whites from the 1900s.
The Scottsboro boys were convicted for a crime they didnt commit.Leonardo Peltier was convicted but they had no solid evidence to prove he did it. Bigger was accused of a crime he did commit.They all had something to do with murder.
ReplyDelete