Outside event #2

I went to see the David Filderman gallery. Many of the pictures showed someones take on the presidential election and campaigns. It was sometimes comical because of the political cartoons that were shown. My favorite was the side by side with Hilary and Trump, in my opinion it showed the true rivalry of them. It made me realize how much the world is split between them and the violence that may occur.

Outside event #1

I attended the Michael Eric Dyson’s seminar twice outside of the one we went to for class. He was the most uplifting speaker I have ever witnessed. Usually I get very bored when listening to speeches but he grabbed my attention with everything he was saying. Not only were his points raw, valid, and innovational but he had a way with words. Especially when he talked about the equality of races and the racist slurs that have become the social norm. He was able  to illustrate all of his arguments to make his audience involved. Not only did he involve us this way but he allowed his audience to partake in his discussions. He related to the audience which made everyone engage much more. His thoughts made me think in a new way that I never have before, with his passion I thought with a new light.

Outside Event 2

I went to the David Filderman Gallery. I mostly looked at the political cartoons about the 2016 election. There were some pretty accurate ones involving Trump. There was one that I found funny and interesting because I had just learned about the reference and was able to describe it, it was the one with shards of glass falling on her and her saying its not confetti. I had just learned about her analogy to putting a crack in women’s rights when she had ran for president against Obama for the democratic nominee. I enjoyed the gallery.

Outside event 1

I attended the Emily Lowe Gallery on Hofstra campus. It was interesting seeing the rapid development of Long Island in the early 20th century. Yet it is also kind of sad seeing how over populated the island has become. There was one painting of the Long Island Express way showing a long open road surrounded by trees and I don’t think I have ever been on the Expressway without there being traffic.

outside event #2

For my second outside event I went to Hofstra’s David Filderman museum gallery at our library. I had never been there before and I found it very enjoyable. While I was there I saw a lot of pictures that depicted the presidential campaign. An image has a way of speaking to a person in so many ways. Many cartoons displayed the hate Trump has caused and we can only hope that since he is the president elect now, the country can hopefully stick together.

outside event #1

One of the outside events I went to was Michael Eric Dyson’s talk around the time of the presidential debates. In addition to going to his talk during our class time I went to the talk that was at night. He spoke to a much older crowd at the night one. He was an amazing speaker and knew how to change the tone of his speech depending on the type of crowd he was speaking to. During the night one it was much more formal while the one with more students he cracked more jokes. His talk on race and religion made me think just how much our country has to improve. I very much enjoyed both sessions.

Outside Event

I recently went to the Emily Lowe Gallery within the Hofstra Museum, and I certainly enjoyed looking at being informed about all these landmarks that are still a part of our state. It’s amazing how much Long Island has transformed over the years through these constructions, and how they are direct paths to the greatest city in the world. It was interesting to learn about the long-term impacts these sights have on our environment and has since made me wonder what can be done about it.

Outside Event

One outside event I went to was a speech Given by Dr. Michael Eric Dyson in the midst of debate season. Dr. Dyson did a great job at choosing what to talk about and was an engaging speaker through his combination of humor and serious issues. Although there was an earlier discussion in our class of what was mentioned in his speech, there was an audience different from our class attending, so he therefore had a less relaxed dynamic when me spoke. I thoroughly enjoyed Dr. Dyson’s speech and appreciated what he had to say about our country during our election.

Long Post 2

Dear Mr. Jupiter Hammon,

After reading your “Address to the Negroes in the State of New York,” an interesting piece of work pertaining to your slave life, I couldn’t help but wonder why you would believe that it was your Christian faith that was guiding you to a life of servitude. Although you expressed some frustration towards being a slave, you still felt it was God’s plan for you, so you shouldn’t object to it. As important as it may be to you to stay true to your religion, it is no sin to raise a sense of self-worth inside of you when you feel oppressed. Do you really believe it was in God’s plan to make your sole purpose on this earth a woeful servant to others, when he is able to find light in all of His people? I can understand that there does need to be some sort of ranking in this world, but the proportion of slaves compared to their owners is truly outstanding. Although the Bible does include slavery in its text, it also applied some restrictions to the extent of harm, such as not keeping children of slaves as slaves, and not keeping a slave for life. It turns out this Holy Bible of yours sees the treatment of slaves quite differently than how it is performed here.

I would also like to point out how proud you must feel to be the first black published writer in the nation. That’s even a big deal now, let alone in your time. It is an extremely rare case in a role such as yours to have your dreams become a reality. As a slave, you are probably one of the less tormented considering how well you do your job. Things could have been worse for you, and I hope you realize that and count it as a blessing. Like James Pennington, who made it a point to make himself a free slave despite going against his religion. He certainly felt guilty and ashamed for going against God’s word, but he knew that his need for freedom and a life free of oppression was worth more than his faith, which can be a hard decision for most people to make. The fact that slaves like you are sent to this kind of life at all is beyond my belief.

 

When Christianity first came to the New World through exploration, it was originally shown to an indigenous people who already had beliefs of their own. When Columbus first witnessed these people, he saw how different their skin color was from his own, and decided they were meant to serve as a role beneath his European people. Columbus’ treatment towards the indigenous people was a catalyst for years of oppression, but that doesn’t mean it was approved by his Christian faith. There was a severe amount of brutality dedicated to these people that included rape, diseases, and downright massacre. It is this demolition of a race that contradicts the acts of slavery with true Christian beliefs.

As proven by Columbus, Christianity was spread across the world to various indigenous cultures who were assumed to have to religion to begin with. These indigenous people were taken away from their own cultures in order to adjust to a religion primarily ruled by white people. What is to be noted is that it was because of the majority of white people that encouraged the spread of Christianity that it is now in households of races that weren’t in need of a religion in the first place.

There is also the works of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, who had a common dream of equality between black and white Americans, despite having different strategies for pursuing this goal. it was MLK’s religion that influenced his desire to end racial inequality, which is quite the opposite of your views toward the situation. His only condition, however, was that there would be no use of violence in the midst of his protests. This method certainly did an astounding job at stopping a protesting white community, all while integrating revolt with the Christian faith. This method was quite on the other end of the spectrum compared to that of Malcolm X. He, on the other hand, believed in defending his people through strength and was known to take a more violent approach. By encouraging these ways, the black community was ready for any form of attack and was ready to fight harder than the oppressor. However, I know you are not a man of that nature, and would therefore not handle this approach. But it is because of Malcolm X’s plea to fight, combined with MLK’s message of peace between one another, that had made the civil rights movement as large of a feat as it has become. I understand this may not seem like the most rational solution at first glance, Mr. Hammond, but the harmony between these two activists made bigger waves than had they been working towards their goal alone.

I guess all I can do at this point is wonder why it was even in God’s plan to send an entire race to a life where they are not even considered human beings. But I can understand your reluctance to fight back against slavery, considering how much better you had it than most slaves and therefore remained loyal to your owners. As true as that may be, I feel as if they were intentionally going easy because they wanted to keep as many slaves around for as long as they could, and treating them as such would make them want to work under their care longer. If you listened deep down inside yourself, I bet you would have been able to influence more black Americans to achieve bliss while they are still alive on earth, instead of waiting patiently for their ascendance. That being said, I must say I appreciate a man such as yourself sticking to your gut the way you did and staying faithful to what you believe in.

Wishing you well,

Carlie Zucker

 

The Dream thrives on generalization, on limiting the number of possible questions, on privileging immediate answers. The Dream is the enemy of all art, courageous thinking, and honest writing. And it became clear that this was not just for the dreams concocted by Americans to justify themselves but also for the dreams that I had conjured to replace them. (Coates, P.50)

This quote stood out to me because it reminded me of a sort of poetry/prose. I also felt a strong sense of feelings behind it. I alluded that “the Dream” Coates mentions is the American dream. The American dream is the idea that if you work hard with determination and dedication you should have equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity. The Dream instills hope in the American people that whatever hardship you endure there is always a way to get out of it. What I believe Coates is saying about the Dream is that it is dead, or rather that it’s alive but not to Black Americans. 

 

I agree with Coates in that it doesn’t exist because it is what’s its named, a dream. We can strive for it but may never really achieve it. However, there’s a that danger that lies not in the failure to achieve it but when we stop reaching for it at all. Without hope, life is meaningless. Therefore, I believe that we should continually strive for this Dream although it is harder for some (people of color), it gives us something to work for, to look forward to and hopefully that’s a better dream, one that applies to all.