Round Table Discussion (Final)

 Round Table Discussion

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On December 12th, 2022, we had a round table discussion as our final exam. We had many different discussions, all stemming towards the question of "What era are we in right now?" Although we didn't stay on topic for majority of the discussion, we still discussed interesting and controversial topics.

Currently in America, we are on a steady upwards curve when it comes to improvement of racial differences. Things are not the same as it was in the early 1900s, but changes still need to happen to improve the remaining issues.

During the discussion we started by talking about how there were people out there trying to stop the progression of change. The Supreme Court is taking on cases that are similar to previous cases, previous cases that were already decided. The reason they may be taking on these cases are because they want to make a change. Those changes could even possibly happen because there have been multiple personnel changes.

We then discussed the improvements and setbacks that are being faced currently. Such as how businesses trying to impress an audience by commercializing diversity. Simultaneously as people are denying that there are issues, and the government argues against the solutions.

Social media was also a key point discussed during the conversation. It was talked about how social media had desensitized most conversation and has created more group thinking. A lot of the issues were treated more lightly and there may even be a lack of education on the topics. Social media had created a way for many people to communicate within one community due to an algorithm put into place. Whereas these types of conversations between people wouldn't have happened as much in the past age with only television.

Finishing off the discussion, we ended with talking about how certain things about ourselves and our identity affect how we live. We talked about a few more issues as well, incorporating our thoughts and feelings. Overall, the Round Table Discussion was fascinating and entertaining to watch and listen. 

Although there doesn't seem to be a current name for our current era at the moment, the discussion provided me with some insight. This era could potentially be called the "post-Trump Administration Era', the 'post-Covid Era', or the 'Social Media Era'. Multiple reasons being the aftereffects of each instance mentioned.

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (Review)

 Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

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On December 5th, 2022, we went to the Extraordinaire Cinema to watch the 1967 film, "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner." The film starred Sidney Poitier, a recurring actor in the movies we have watched, as John Prentice. The film focuses on an interracial couple telling their families of their union, which was a then controversial topic.

To further elaborate the then controversy, this film was released at the height of the Civil Rights Movement. The year it was released is especially notable, as it released the same year that the court case Loving v. Virginia was decided. A court case where it decided that anti-miscegenation laws were unconstitutional and violate the Constitution's 14th Amendment.

Within the movie we had witnessed Joey Drayton, played by Katharine Houghton, trying to convince her family that marrying John Prentice wasn't a bad idea. She understood the challenges that they both would experience down the way as there was still racism around the country, and even around the world. While she was overjoyed by her and John's engagement, John was still skeptical. He was hesitant to tell people, especially his own family, while Joey was more excited to show and tell everyone. They both understood the problems and challenges they would face, though handled it differently.

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I feel as if this movie was highlighting how there were more challenges for interracial couples to get married than same-race couples. It showcased multiple obstacles and how the characters would react in those circumstances. The characters would have to think of much more than just the problem of when to get married.

Personally, I think this was my second favorite movie we watched, after 'In the Heat of the Night'. I liked 'In the Heat of the Night' because it was a mystery and I liked following it. But 'Guess Who's Coming to Dinner' was good because it was just nice watching the positive outcome unfold.

Sources:

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967) - Full Cast & Crew - IMDb

Hazel Scott Video Review

 "Whatever Happened to Hazel Scott?" Video Review

Image of Hazel Scott Found Here

Hazel Scott was born in the West Indies, specifically the island of Trinidad in 1920. Her father had been a scholar and an intellectual, where as her mother had been a classical pianist. So, Hazel Scott had an early start to her music career. When she was 3 years old, Hazel Scott had already been known around her neighborhood as a piano prodigy.

Around the time that Hazel Scott was 4 years old, her mother and herself had moved from their home in Trinidad to Harlem, New York. Moving to the United States had been just the beginning of the start of her life. To elaborate, when Hazel Scott at turned 8 years old her mother had taken her to Julliard, an arts school. The minimum age to enroll in Julliard was 16, though once one of the professors heard her playing, he arranged to have her admitted as a private student of his.

When she was a teenager, Hazel Scott wanted to play jazz. Similar to how her mother had switched her genre to jazz during the Great Depression. Though, her mother had hoped that Hazel would continue on the path to becoming a classical musician, and Hazel had other plans. While Hazel Scott had still been in high school, she auditioned at the popular Roseland Ballroom and performed jazz there.

Not long after starting her jazz career, Hazel Scott had begun hosting her own radio show on W.O.R. New York. She had played complicated classical pieces in order to show off her talent. Not long after, she then got a job at Manhattans Yacht Club where she had started as an intermission pianist. This is also where she invented her own type of sound. Called the Hazel Scott Sound, it was where she took classical music by popular composers and would swing it. In order to "Jazz Up the Classics", as it was called, she would make the pieces faster, added complicated rhythms, and improvised.

At the age of 19, Hazel Scott became a performer at the popular desegregated New York hang-out, Cafe Society. Big names in jazz and other music had performed at the cafe. One of those names being Billy Holiday, who requested Hazel Scott become her replacement once she left.

In 1940, Hazel Scott recorded her first solo album titled "Swinging the Classics." Her album was a hit and raised her popularity significantly. Although she became more popular, she never went astray from her political values. In her contract, she even wrote that she would not play in front of a segregated audience, and she didn't care if that would limit the venues she performed in. Even if she had already arrived, if she had seen that the audience was segregated, she walked out.

Broadway had become the next step in her flourishing career when at the age of 22, she had landed a role in a Broadway musical. Brooks Atkinson, a New York Times theatre critic, had even wrote that "Hazel Scott has the most incandescent personality of anyone in the show." This jumpstarted her career as not long after she had been asked to come to Hollywood as an actress.

In Hollywood at the time, black people were not given the most uplifting roles. Black men were often given roles of servants, villains, or overall incompetent people. While black women had only been given the roles of maids or hookers. Hazel Scott refused to be assigned one of these demeaning roles as she had always wanted to uphold an image of dignity and pride. In her contract she had even written that she would not play a maid, mammy, or prostitute and would only play as herself. Thus, leading to her turning down on four different occasions to play a singing maid. She had even determined that she would have the final say in what music she performed and what clothes she wore.

Hazel Scott in the final scene of "The Heat's On"

Her career had been going well as she was on her way to becoming one of the most known and highest paid black entertainers in the country at the time. Though as her success was increasing, she eventually hit a bump in the road. On the set of one of the movies she had been a part of, she had an argument with the director. In the final scene she was supposed to lead a group of black soldiers and their girlfriends in song and dance, sending them off to war. Everything was fine until Hazel discovered that the director and costume designer planned to have the black women wear grimy aprons during the scene. This didn't sit right with Hazel Scott as she had said that no black woman would wear a dirty apron while seeing the men off to war. Things were at a stand-off between the director and Hazel as she had gone on strike for three days until things were changed. Three days later, the director had given up and changed the women's outfits to floral printed dresses. Although Hazel Scott got her way in the end, she had ended up being banned by the director of Columbia Pictures from ever stepping foot on another movie set, as she had caused the company to lose income.

After she had been banned from acting in any Columbia Pictures film, she returned to New York. There, she fell in love with Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Adam Clayton Powell Jr. was a Baptist minister, a civil rights activist, the first black New York City councilman, and an elected US congressman. He was 12 years older than Hazel Scott and had already been married when they met, so, they began a secret affair. When he inevitably divorced his wife, he got married to Hazel only four days after. Not long after, the press got attached to their story and they became the most famous black couple in America.

Dumont Television Network had been the next company to seek out Hazel Scott. Even though they were the fourth and smallest network in the growing television industry, she still took their offer of having her own show. Thereafter, she became a part of and led the first television show to be hosted by a black woman. The Hazel Scott show had premiered on April 14th, 1950. It also received a high viewership. There is no existing footage of the show today, though it is known to have been a standard 15 minutes.

There had been another block in the road not long after. Red channels were anti-communist documents that listed names of celebrities and influential people that were thought to be communist, and Hazel Scotts name had been sitting within them. She testified within the court that she was neither a communist nor a communist sympathizer. She could have ended her testimony there, but she didn't. She continued by questioning the morality of blacklisting. Not long after, she was blacklisted herself as her show was cancelled and put off air. Continuing from there, there weren't as many people who had wanted to see her in concert as her concert bookings had begun to plummet.

As her career was falling apart, her marriage began to crumble as well. So, Hazel Scott made the decision to divorce Adam Clayton Powell Jr. and move overseas to Paris with her son. While she was in Europe, her popularity there even began to rise.

She spent many years in Europe, though eventually decided to come back to the United States in 1967. When she came back, she had been expecting jazz to still be somewhat popular. Though it came as a surprise that the uprising genre of rock 'n roll was starting to eclipse jazz. Hazel Scott had slowly disappeared from the scene all together and moved with her son and his family in New York. In 1981, Hazel Scott died at the age of 61 due to cancer.

Source:

What Ever Happened to Hazel Scott? - YouTube

The Other Group's Presentation (Mock Trial: Regents of the University of California v. Bakke)

 Mock Trial: Regents of the University of California v. Bakke

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Allan Bakke had tried to enroll in the University of California's medical school, but he was denied acceptance because of a "racial quota." If not for that racial quote, Bakke believed that he would've been accepted. So, this became a case that was backed by the 14th Amendment.

Arguments Against Bakke

The University of California was expected to uphold a racial quota for acceptance into its institution. The racial quota was put into place for a moral reason, that is, it was a program that had been established in order to help uplift a traditionally oppressed minority. It had been done by protecting and using affirmative action. Affirmative action being described as positive reasons to discriminate and categorize groups. It was also discussed that in the lives of black people, the atmosphere of where they went to school is different. For this reason, the black students may have different or even less opportunities than white students, so in order to fill this gap, acceptance for specific numbers of the minority should be considered. The program was put into place to help those who would otherwise be oppressed, not used to harm Bakke.

Arguments For Bakke

Bakke had scored very high on his tests to get into the University of California medical school. High enough where he should've been accepted. He had everything he needed to get in, but he didn't get allowed in because of a racial quota that needed to be filled. It should be determined by survival of the fittest. Whoever has the best and leading grades should get accepted. Economically, it was not a good decision on the universities part because holding Bakke back, who is a smart and young individual, means he does not become successful, therefore harming the economy due to his lack of participation in it. Also, the point of Brown v. Board of Education was to show how in Plessy v. Ferguson it presented how putting people in categories was not how things should go. How that was an incorrect decision. How siding with the University of California was just like siding with Ferguson in the Plessy v. Ferguson decision. Going against Brown in the Brown v. Board decision as well.

Decision

On June 28th, 1978, the court had determined that the Universities use of racial quotas was unconstitutional, but they declared that the use of affirmative action was constitutional.

EOTO: The Watts Riots

 The Watts Riots

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During the Civil Rights Era, there were a lot of public demonstrations that were positive or negative. These events fueled the Civil Rights Movements and how black people were treated in American society. The Watts Riots, which took place in 1965, were one of the negative events.

On August 11th, 1965, a 21-year-old black man named Marquette Frye and his stepbrother Ronald Frye had been pulled over by police in the Watts neighborhood in Los Angeles, California. They were driving their mother's car when they were pulled over by police for suspicion of intoxication.

When Marquette had taken the sobriety test, he had failed, leading to his attempted arrest. He had not wanted to be arrested, so he resisted with the help of his stepbrother Ronald. The scene had begun to gather a crowd of onlookers, leading to more involvement, especially since the police had harmed the brothers with violence. The brothers' mother had even showed up to prevent the arrest of her sons. Leading to more police force and even more witnesses watching the scene. Both sides had started to get involved, causing more violence, and allowing the news of the scene to spread.

Ronald Frye and Marquette Frye

After the catalyst of the Frye's eventful arrest, the riots had begun in the Watts neighborhood as well as its surrounding areas. The riots lasted between August 11th and August 16th in 1965 (6 days). Things had gotten so out of hand that in order to suppress the unrest 14,000 members of the California Army National Guard had to be brought in.

There had been an estimated 34,000 people who had participated in the riots. with the results of 34 deaths, 1,032 injuries, and 4,000 arrests. The destruction of around 1,000 buildings and over $40 million in property damage had also taken place.

The Watts Riots had been the city of Los Angeles' worst disturbance until the Rodeny King riots in 1992.

Sources:

Watts riots - Wikipedia

Watts Rebellion - HISTORY

Klansville U.S.A. Documentary

 Klansville U.S.A.

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In class, we had watched the PBS documentary "Klansville U.S.A." on the Monday before Thanksgiving Break had begun. The documentary was about how the third wave of the Ku Klux Klan had spread from North Carolina to the rest of the south, and eventually, the entire country.

The History of the Ku Klux Klan

The word "Kuklos" is the Greek word for circle. This word is where the title for the Ku Klux Klan had originated.

The KKK had started around the time of the Civil War. It was a sort of social club organized by a group of white, confederate soldiers. They had initially started out by participating in pranks on black slaves. Eventually, those pranks turned into real, violent actions that resulted in lynching and the murdering of black people.

After the Klan had almost completely disappeared in the 1800s, they hadn't risen again until the 1920s. And eventually, they would rise again for the final time during the civil rights era.

Bob Jones

The film's strong point was how it talked about the third Klan's leader, Bob Jones. A white supremacist who was a significant part of the revised third Klan. From North Carolina, and born on July 26th, 1929, he was a high school dropout who left school in 10th (or maybe even 11th) grade. Not long after dropping out, he joined the United States navy. Not long after joining, he was discharged for not saluting a black soldier. Leading to him becoming a lightning rod salesman.

Eventually, Bob Jones had grown his reestablished Klan from a group of friends to over 10,000 members. Which was a big reason why he was rewarded the position of Grand Dragon. He had even tried to solidify his position as Grand Dragon by saying that his father was a KKK leader in the 1920s during the Klans second wave. Continuing that statement, he added that his mother had marched in the events that the Klan had had, while being pregnant with him.

Image of Bob Jones as the KKK's Grand Dragon

Bob Jones had also brought in 2,000 people during his first Klan rally. The majority of the attendees primary concern was thinking that black people would take away their rights. This was the hook that Bob Jones and other Klan leaders took to establish their system of hate. They convinced the members that the Klan would prevent this from happening as an opposing group of the NAACP and other Civil Rights groups.

Bob Jones had spoken as the leader of the Klan for years. Convincing the group that violence was not the answer during Klan events and activities. Doing this helped him perfect a balancing act as the leader for those years. By doing so, he was able to keep up Klan activities as the government had threatened the group with the possibility of their rights and ability to protest being taken away. Eventually, it was discovered that Bob Jones had been embezzling money from the Klans donations. Leading up to his eventual sentencing of one year in federal prison in 1969. The primary reason for this sentence was his failure to produce Klan documents.

The Activities of the KKK

Often during Klan rallies, there was a symbolic burning of a huge cross at the end. It was a cross that was draped in Burlap and drenched in gasoline to be set on fire. This was done as a fill-in for violence. Instead of violence, members turned to this symbolic representation, as majority of the Klans members were religious.

When members of the KKK had found out about the misdeeds their Grand Dragon Bob Jones had done, they relinquished their memberships by ceremoniously setting a similar cross ablaze with their Klan membership attached.

Source:

"American Experience" Klansville U.S.A. (TV Episode 2015) - IMDb

Justice Harlan's Dissent in Plessy v. Ferguson

 Justice Harlan's Dissent

Image of Justice John Marshall Harlan

On May 18, 1896, the court case Plessy v. Ferguson was decided with a 7-1 leading on the side of John H. Ferguson. Though the case had a lead on Ferguson's side, the one judge who voted for Homer A. Plessy's side was Justice John Marshall Harlan. He had voted on the side of civil liberties, believing that "all citizens are equal before the law."

The case of Plessy v. Ferguson was a civil rights case on whether or not Homer A. Plessy, a man who is 1/8ths black, should be allowed to sit in the segregated white section of the train car. At the time, this was a controversial case, as it was an argument about the rights of black citizens. Making this a landmark case.

There was a single judge who voted in favor of the more controversial side. That judge being Justice John Harlan. His family had been slaveholders, so he was familiar with black slavery and civil rights arguments. He did have a half-brother who was mixed raced named Robert James Harlan. Some believe that his brother Robert may have been an influential factor in his final decision of the case.

Some of Justice Harlan's arguments included how the state could separate the races but only if the facilities used were equal. Another idea he brought forward was that the constitution was color-blind and that the United States had no official written class system. His arguments were heard but not considered. Leading to the side of Homer Plessy being lost to a 7-1 majority.

The case of Plessy v. Ferguson was not the only case that Justice John Harlan had a dissenting opinion on. He had also dissented in another civil liberties case called Giles v. Harris. A case that argued that black citizens should be able to register to vote. Justice Harlan had the dissenting opinion on the side of civil liberties here as well. The case eventually being overturned as the 14th Amendment didn't back the final decision.

So, to finish, Justice John Marshall Harlan was a person of the Civil Rights movement who was in a position of power, being a Supreme Court judge. His arguments supported civil rights and brought attention to the issues even when they did not get through to the courts closed mindset about segregation.

Sources:

John Marshall Harlan - Wikipedia

Plessy v. Ferguson - Wikipedia

Why Did Harlan Dissent In Plessy V Ferguson? - QuestionAnswer.io

Giles v. Harris - Wikipedia