Regents v. Bakke Mock Trial

In class, we held a mock trial on the case Regents v. Bakke. My speech was giving context based on Bakke's side and how race relations were during this time. This speech mostly does not reflect my opinion, but defended my part in the mock trial.

The case Regents v. Bakke  was argued on October 12, 1977. Allen Bakke had been rejected twice from the University of California Medical School at Davis. Bakke was a white male that was 35 years old. He was not rejected because of his grades and test scores, but because affirmative action made it that there were sixteen spots reserved for those that were “qualified minorities” for those spots, which he was not. His scores for admissions had been above average, making it that he should never have been denied acceptance. 

There were only 100 spots open for admission in the medical school, making it that there were 84 spots for whites and then 16 spots for minorities left. This added extra competition and another factor to admission and acceptance. 

The question being asked in this case was, “Did the University of California violate the Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection clause, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964, by practicing an affirmative action policy that resulted in the repeated rejection of Bakke's application for admission to its medical school?” 

Because of not being accepted, Bakke sued the school as he thought having a “clear-cut racial quota system” violated both the constitution and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. He believed that it was not right that he was denied because of his race. He should have gotten into the university with no issue. 

Bakke believed that him not getting in because he was white is “reverse discrimination.” Its not that all races should not have a chance, but that race should not be one of the more important determining factors of if a student is admitted to a university. What should be the important factors should be academics and character. 

Affirmative action allowed there to be spots set aside for minorities since it was trying to fix the issues of past discrimination. This did not work in favor of Bakke since he had the scores and academic record that should have earned him a spot. It could be unfair since the person that was admitted instead could have lower test scores and would be less qualified. Someone with a good record should be rewarded with admission for all of their hard work. 

Racial relations in the 1970s were still not in a good spot. Because of this, there was tension between races and affirmative action was trying to fix past issues, but it did have the ability to upset those that were effected negatively from it. This is what happened to Bakke. 

If there had not been 16 percent of the class being set aside, Bakke could’ve made it into the program. Bakke was affected by this even though the intentions weren’t to keep people from the program because of their race. Affirmative action was supposed to make it that everyone was included, not to hold people back from their goals and dreams.

Sources: https://www.oyez.org/cases/1979/76-811 

https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/regents_of_the_university_of_california_v_bakke_(1978)#:~:text=Primary%20tabs-,Regents%20of%20the%20University%20of%20California%20v.,Civil%20Rights%20Act%20of%201964. 

https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/affirmative_action 

https://www.britannica.com/event/Bakke-decision 

Klansville USA Reflection

 The state of North Carolina had been given the nickname “Klansville U.S.A..” The leader, Bob Jones, had been able to build the klan into something huge. He wanted this group to have the influence of something political. He was successful with growing the North Carolina klan group to be the biggest group with over ten thousand members. This had more members than all of the other southern groups combined. 

This organization was considered to be the spokesperson for the whites that felt as if integration was going to be a threat to things in their daily lives like their jobs. Those that were against integration had the Klan and those that were for integration had the NAACP. 

People like Bob Jones lacked respect for African Americans and refused to think integration was a good idea. He never even thought he was racist. He had formed opinions on groups of people without even trying. He showed his hate by leading the KKK in North Carolina.

Those that were apart of the KKK originally were coming back as former confederate leaders and after seeing the reactions of newly freed slaves, they became more violent. They did things that were so harsh like hanging people from trees or throwing them off bridges.

In 1915, the idea of the KKK came back as a presence from it being in a movie. This movie made it seem that the things that the KKK had done were necessary so they were justified, which I find insane. It made them seem almost heroic to those that saw it. After this, the KKK made a comeback in the 1920’s. These groups started to be all over, not just in the south.  There were over 4 million Klan members in the 1920’s, which I never knew it involved that many followers. 

When there seemed to be progress in integration, the KKK came back. They believed that the Klan was “saving” the south. But it was not saving the south but making change impossible. 

Something that I find crazy is there were members of the KKK that were ministers and other people that were religious. I don't understand how someone could share the love of God but not show love towards everyone, no matter race or religious beliefs. During initiation, a cross would be burned. I don’t understand how a true believer could be apart of something so tragic. They thought these cross burnings were fine. Things that are horrible were being normalized and causing bad things to happen over and over again. 

People were finding almost a feeling of belonging while doing things that were not sharing the feeling they were receiving. They felt as if they were doing what was right since they had seen these things happen for years, which didn’t make anything okay. 

I will never understand how things could get this violent and how people could be so stuck in their ways to not be accepting to those around them.

Hazel Scott

Hazel Scott was an African American jazz pianist and singer. She was known as the first African American women to host a television show that was her own. She performed in many different countries and was able to have an impact on how African American women were looked in a Hollywood context.

She stood up to the House Un-American Activities Committee along with the Hollywood studio machine. She refused to play roles that were normally played by African American women, like a maid and she refused to play the piano and sing while other African American women were dancing in the background. She was the reason they were able to wear normal outfits. Her voice was heard by the people around her and she fought for what she believed was right. She had it in her contract that she would only play a role that was herself, which she was in about five films.

When she performed music, she refused to play in segregated concert halls and set the standard for what other African American performer should do. She performed in many famous places like Carnegie Hall and other places all around. She made sure she was being treated fair and equal. 

Something that I found interesting was Scott was doing these things at such a young age. She was playing at Carnegie hall at the age of 20 and she had been playing piano since she was only three years old. She was able to accomplish so much with her talent.

She was able to have an impact in the music and entertainment industry for both herself and other African American performers. With her actions, she showed those around her to not settle if it is not equal. 

sources:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2022/04/24/hazel-scott-jim-crow/

https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/hazel-scott 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_WJ4PpxWaE 

https://www.wrti.org/arts-desk/2021-02-05/looking-back-at-the-extraordinary-life-of-hazel-scott

EOTO: Rosa Parks

Rosa Parks was on her way home from work on December 1, 1955. She chose to sit down for the bus ride in the "colored section." A white man needed a place to sit since the "white" section was full. The bus driver asked Parks to move so that man would have a place to sit. Parks refused to move. After Parks sat in that seat, there were two police officers that came to the stopped bus to check out the situation and took Parks into custody for sitting in the wrong section. 

Jim Crow laws, known as black codes, made it that the African American community was “co-existing” with the white people around them. African Americans had to go to different schools, had different water fountains, and had many other restrictions. African Americans were treated as “second class citizens.” The bus that Parks was on is an example of how Jim Crow laws were put in place and were heavily enforced. 

With Parks refusing to give up her seat, it started a movement. It was decided that night that on the day of Parks’ trial, there would be a boycott started from the buses by the African American population in Montgomery. On this day, Parks was found guilty and was fined along $14 along with suspended sentence. In her autobiography, Parks wrote “People always say that I didn’t give up my seat because I was tired, but that isn’t true. I was not tired physically… No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in.” It was more than just a seat. It was demonstrating how unfair segregated seating was. It was showing not that she was tired from work, but that she was tired of letting those unfair rules have control.

This event had an affect that allowed for there to be the desire for more change. There was a boycott started on December 5, 1955. They protested the buses by avoiding them because of what had happened with Parks and because of how unfair it was for everyone. It was known as the Montgomery Bus Boycott. This case along with other similar ones started to make their way up the courts to the U.S. Supreme Court. This boycott was something that helped lead to the decision at the U.S. Supreme Court that Montgomery's segregation laws that were on the buses were deemed unconstitutional later on. The bus boycott lasted for 381 days. Her arrest was something that made it that the local segregation laws were able to be tried. This boycott also helped bring attention to what was going on since it was when Martin Luther King Jr. started to voice his opinion, which caused positive changes later.

Before all of this, Parks was a part of the NAACP and was the chapter secretary of the Montgomery chapter.The NAACP was the “National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.” This was a civil rights organization that responded to the violence that was going on across the country towards African Americans. She was also very respected in her community. She was married to Raymond Parks, who was also heavily involved the civil rights movement.  With everything she had accomplished, Parks earned the name “the mother of the civil rights movement.” 

Sources:
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/rosa-parks 

https://www.ferris.edu/HTMLS/news/jimcrow/what.htm

https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/rosa-parks 

https://www.britannica.com/event/Montgomery-bus-boycott

In the Heat of the Night Movie Reflection

During class on Wednesday, we watched In the Heat of the Night. I found this movie super interesting. In the movie, Virgil Tibbs is arrested for a murder with limited questioning and he was in the wrong place and the wrong time. Tibbs was an African American and the police all seem to have something against him for his skin color. They had assumed that Tibbs had stole money from the man that was murdered just because he had money in his pocket. Looking at Tibbs, he was a put together and successful person but the police had saw the opposite. They were shocked to find out that Tibbs was a police officer in Philadelphia and was one of the best at solving murder cases. 

This was something that was a huge issue during reconstruction. Those that weren’t open minded were ready to accuse someone of something that they hadn’t done just because of their skin color. Like the police chief, others didn’t consider an African American of being successful, he just assumed right away he had done something bad to get the money. Tibbs was a better person by not showing how these actions all affected him and he continued to help the police.

Throughout the movie, Tibbs gets attacked by a group of young white guys. Something that I found wrong was when the police chief saw this happening, he did not do anything to punish those that were attacking. These boys were sent to go after Tibbs just because of Endicott being accused of the crime. When Endicott was questioned about it, he slapped Tibbs in the face causing Tibbs to slap Endicott back. This should not have caused more violence.

The only person who seemed truly offended about all of the racism that was surrounding this town and police station was the wife of the man that was murdered. She had noticed how careless they were about how they found the suspect. Like with Tibbs, they assumed and brought him to the station. She was offended about how there was a lack of questioning and how they were bringing innocent people to the chief.

There are so many things that are wrong in this movie. Tibbs should’ve been served in the restaurant. No one should have gone after Tibbs for anything, especially because Tibbs had good intentions and was there to help. Tibbs was treated wrongly by racist people and it shows how the south held onto past beliefs after the war. 

Justice Harlan's Dissent

In Plessy v. Ferguson, there was one judge that agreed that what Plessy did was not wrong. This judge was Associate Justice John Marshall Harlan. He believed that “our constitution is colorblind.” He wrote about this in the context that our constitution wasn’t written to have social classes and different races to be separated. Our constitution was created to outline our rights and not to outline the differences of social classes and different races. According to law, everyone that is a citizen is equal. Being “inconsistent with the civil freedom” is not “justified upon any legal grounds.” 

The case of Plessy v. Ferguson was a 7 to 1 decision that Plessy was in the wrong. They thought with the separate but equal doctrine there was nothing wrong with Plessy having to be on the blacks only train car. Our constitution does not outline how races should be different. According to the constitution, a citizen is a citizen. A social class or someone's race does not determine how they should be treated.

Harlan wrote, “What can more certainly arouse race hate, what more certainly create and perpetuate a feeling of distrust between these races, than state enactments, which, in fact, proceed on the ground that colored citizens are so inferior and degraded that they cannot be allowed to sit in public coaches occupied by white citizens? That, as all will admit, is the real meaning of such legislation.” This meant that if there was a sense of distrust towards another race, there would be separation established. There should not have been such punishment towards someone for sitting somewhere in a train. The Constitution did not support segregation, making it wrong for there to be different seating areas.

I honestly think Harlan should have had more people on his side since his opinion is what is right. His opinion was the start of a new beginning, having similar opinions follow after his dissent.

sources:

https://louisville.edu/law/library/special-collections/the-john-marshall-harlan-collection/harlans-great-dissent

Reconstruction Video Reflection

Learning about reconstruction after the Civil War was something I found super interesting. I had not realized that there were many different things to rebuild. There was a lot of damage to buildings that had to be rebuilt while the economy was also struggling. Resources and money were limited, making it more challenging to rebuild. Basically everything needed to be rebuild, like education, government, and more.

There was also big changes in government and in schooling. African Americans were now able to be a part of government. This would change the dynamic of running for government. With education, there needed to be more opportunities now. This is when black universities started to become popular. There still was so many areas for improvement to make everything fair. Some of the white people especially in the south were stuck in a pre-war mindset, making reconstruction still a time of struggle.

During reconstruction, African Americans were finally able to become economically independent. They were given new opportunities, like the ability to buy land and start their own businesses. They were able to have different jobs than before. They could be a police officer or they could be a judge. Even though there was independence, they still weren't given every opportunity that a white person had.

Families were reunited and friendships were formed. Groups were formed and new communities were created. There was also change in religion as they had complete freedom in worshiping. The churches became more than just church. It involved things like politics and teaching. 

There were negative sides during reconstruction along with the areas that had the ability to grow. The amount of crimes towards African Americans grew. There were still white supremacists that believed that African Americans’ shouldn’t be a part of government. The whites did not want to give up the power of being in control of everything. They didn’t want to give the African Americans’ a chance to try. 

When a former confederate general named Robert E. Lee died, white southerners grieved like they had lost the war again for the second time. They closed schools, lined newspapers in black, and they wore sashes. These southerners were holding onto life before reconstruction, making it hard for everyone as a whole to move on. The white southerners needed to let everything go for there to be fair chance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NNYPWhRhks