Let’s Talk about that Social Gospel, and Other Things: March, Book 1, pgs 62-122

Engl 165-16 Fall '22, March Blog Prompt

https://bulletin.hds.harvard.edu/recovering-the-black-social-gospel/

Above image from https://bulletin.hds.harvard.edu/recovering-the-black-social-gospel/

Now that you are adjusting to writing blog posts, I want you to step up your game another notch.

In the text, Lewis writes “But I couldn’t stop thinking about the Social Gospel.” What does he mean by this?

Consider the following, but don’t limit yourself (make sure you hit 300-500 words, and use the concepts you are learning in TSIS)

  1. Define Social Gospel as you see it. How does it relate to Book One of March overall?
  2. How does your definition of Social Gospel relate to you and your life.
  3. How does Social Gospel relate to the world we live in today
  4. Do you feel you are literate in Social Gospel?
  5. What other terms would you relate to Social Gospel?

Remember, this is writing: have an introduction (only a sentence or two), have some points/topic sentences, back up those points with evidence, have organization, use TSIS techniques, have a conclusion.

 

The Battle of Reading

Engl 165-04 Fall '22, March Blog Prompt

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     I’ve always been deterred from any form of reading. I have been like that since I was in the third grade. Why the third grade you might ask? That’s when they start testing your reading comprehension. Whenever I try to read I tend to notice it’s only my eyes that are looking across the page but I’m not retaining any information my eyes see. My brain will think about anything but. This became a problem when reading assignments became a normal thing as I went up in grades in school. 

     Textbooks and old English literature aren’t my first choices for entertainment. Therefore my brain would easily get distracted when assigned reading assignments for school. I never really picked up reading as a hobby so there was never really any practice for reading on my own. Comic books were never something I was drawn to either, mainly because the ones I saw were about Marvel Superheroes and such… don’t hate me, I know it’s an unpopular opinion but to each their own.

     Getting assigned a 125 page reading assignment from a comic book called March, put a little worry into my head because I know there would be 125 pages worth of time where a wandering thought could lead me to a plethora of distractions. I started off the book on a good note, I was in a quiet room, I was optimistic. Five pages in and my first distraction hits. I find myself texting back to my boyfriend. So I start the book over, this time locked in, allowing myself to really read the words on the page. After that I didn’t need to be strict on myself because once Congressman Lewis started talking about the chickens he cared for when he was a child, my attention was his. I was worried the Comic book format would be too much for my brain to digest because of how busy the page looks but as the story unfolded and the more and more pages I read I found it easier to understand the text. The pictures painted a good image of emotion and reactions each character had, making me more sympathetic to each individual in understadnig what they were thinking and feeling while facing such discriminating behavior they faced from society. The story itself was informative and captivating for me as the reader. Because of March I may have to rethink my opinion of Comic books, maybe evening reading overall.

 

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March Reflection and Farmville Va

March Blog Prompt

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When reading March, many past events are brought up throughout the reading. I enjoyed reading them in the comic format because it was more interesting than just words on the page. The pictures alongside the words helped me better visualize the events that happened. I tend to lose track while reading pages of books because they are for the most part not very entertaining. Reading about John Lewis showed me more about the cruelty of the events that took place in the past. I have grown up in Farmville my whole life, Which is a town that is very prevalent in these issues. The town of Farmville shut down all the schools in 1959 to avoid desegregation and opened private schools only for white students. I actually attended middle school in this same building. It was opened in 1960 as Prince Edward Academy only for white students. The idea was to open a school where there was a costly tuition only the white students could afford. There weren’t any other schools in the area open back then so a lot of my family members had to go there to get an education. It was eventually closed and bought by another person and opened as a desegregated private school called Fuqua. Though the racist meaning behind opening Prince Edward Academy is gone the building remains in use today.

These ugly events shaped the America we live in today, so learning about them is very important. I had heard about Martin Luther King and Emmett Till, but I did not know who John Lewis was prior to the reading. We are not taught about all of history, only bits and pieces that make up the whole story. This leads to many very important parts being left out and unheard. As all history repeats itself many of the same problems arise for different generations. We currently are living through times similar to those of Martin Luther King, Emmett till, and John Lewis. To me understanding the past is very important for us to deal with our current problems. Sadly, I believe there is no easy solution for the issues our country faces. I do feel like my generation has less racist views towards each other than those generations before us, so maybe that is a step in the right direction. It is not hard to all live amongst each other with no issues so hopefully, we as Americans can come to a solution to stop racism.

 

 
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Our World Continues to be Much of the Same

Engl 165-16 Fall '22, March Blog Prompt

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As I was reading March it brought up some thoughts I had about the similarities in the world today and even in my own life. Those similarities included

  • injustices of diversity
  • gaining information on a subject which alters your viewpoint

When reading March, it illustrates people protesting for what they believe in. This reminds me of the protests that have been happening over the country in response to the overturning of Roe v Wade. I resonated with John since he did not say anything but he would notice it. Yet he did not outwardly say anything. I would do everything I could to help protest but I never went to a protest myself. Even though women have more freedom than the past. Women have been viewed as less than compared to men and have been treated unfairly.

He reminisces about his change in attitude after coming back from his Uncle’s house. This was how I felt when growing up in a Catholic school. I only knew one truth that was what they wanted and you don’t know any other life then what you are lead to believe as normal. I did not think anything of what I was told because it was what I was raised in and was considered normal. He would notice all the differences about the two places and it changed his entire way of thinking. Which is how I felt when I grew up and had access to news on my own. Therefore I researched topics on my own rather than what I was told to believe is normal.

The book reminds me of the protests that have been very big for the last couple years. That have been over the mistreatment of black people by law enforcement. It has been a constant battle even though in the book it shows that there was less of a segregation it never went away. This is proven with the way protests have continued into today’s society. Included in that is the narrative of protests has not changed since the time March was written about.

 

 
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How much have things truly changed?

Engl 165-16 Fall '22, March Blog Prompt

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While it is unfortunate to read about such heinous racism during the mid 1900s,  these stories seem still all too realistic in todays day and age.  Reading about how African-Americans had to be careful about driving to and from places is still a serious worry for some today.  While there are indeed places and areas of our country where even the idea of racism seems nonexistent, there are others where you might say the opposite.

It’s remarkable to think about how big of a difference there was within our country when it came to integration back in the day.  How in the north both Black and White people would be able to live in more or less “Harmony.”  Yet in the south, racism was an all day, everyday event.  It’s upsetting to think that in todays world, while we have seemingly evolved and matured into a country that might look as if we have moved past racism on pen and paper, the everyday daily life is still fully of racism.

The public school system that I attended in middle and high school is a prime example of modern day racism.  Almost half of the counties schools had confederate based mascots.  One of the high schools were LITERALLY the confederates!  You would walk into their schools football games on Friday nights and see multiple confederate flags being worn, waived, etc. amongst the student section.  Just like in the book when they were stressing about making the drive from the south to north because of the areas that black people would have to pass through, I would have to assume that these areas would make some having at least some of the same type of worries.  I would sit in class and hear groups of white kids, ages 15, 16, 17, some 18 calling the few African-american kids in the class the ‘N” simple because they thought it was funny and that they were somehow above and better than them.

While racism clearly was much more common during the mid 1900’s, it still is making its presence now in todays world.

 

 

 
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March book two: freedom riders

March Blog Prompt

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As I started reading the second part of March, Book Two, I realized how much hatred was still being spread despite everything people of color have already been through. The freedom riders relied on someone to drive them in the middle of the night when it was dark. They were dropped off right at the Tennessee state line by the driver. Which was designated “Klan country.” All of the freedom riders began walking and came across a house. They knocked on the door, hoping that someone would assist them and let them in. The kind people let them in and allowed them to call Dianne. The freedom riders, in my opinion, are extremely heroic. They fought valiantly and never surrendered, no matter what. The freedom riders were subjected to verbal and physical abuse, as well as jail time. Because word had gotten out that the freedom riders were returning, they had to take a detour in order to return safely. They had returned safely.  

During the reading, the police officers took away the mattress simply because the freedom riders were singing. Even while imprisoned, the freedom riders continued to advocate for themselves. They kept singing while their mattresses were being taken away.

This, I believe, can be applied to today because people of color face racism on a daily basis, just as they did back then. The goal of the freedom riders was to put an end to segregation. Just recently, the Black Lives Matter protest was launched in order to fight for equal treatment. It’s truly tragic that our society is still like this. Segregation began around 1865. I’m just baffled as to why people still act the same way they did back then. A skin color is a skin color to me. I’m embarrassed that others behave in this manner because of their skin color. It is literally the year 2022, and people have yet to change. I support black lives matter protests, but I despise the fact that people of color have to resort to such tactics in order to be treated fairly.

 

Let Freedom Ring For All

March Blog Prompt

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The saying “Let Freedom Ring” is a metaphor that symbolizes the sound of a bell representing hope and equality. Martin Luther King Jr. used this metaphor in his famous “I have a dream” speech. This quote has been used to symbolize freedom for all Americans. At the time of his speech, freedom was not accessible to all citizens of the United States. It had to be fought hard for. Lives had to be sacrificed to achieve it and make a difference in this world. By Martin Luther King Jr. saying, “let freedom ring,” he meant it for every person in the world, regardless of race or gender.

Honestly, I do not know if I would be capable of doing what generations before us had to do to fight for equality and freedom. Many people had to risk their lives and were beaten senselessly for trying to go against the forces who disagreed at that time. I would like to believe I would have the courage to make a difference and fight for our rights, but it is hard to know for sure without being put in that position. If I was, I could only hope that I would be brave enough to take a stand and do what was needed to conquer freedom for myself and my people. 

I am not sure that today’s generation would have the backbone and be able to commit to such a hard and life-threatening challenge. Our generation can only imagine what previous generations endured through textbooks and what school teaches us. I think it is hard for any of us to understand what these struggles were because we have not had to see them, or at least not as intensely as our ancestors did. If the world was how it used to be and we saw how important making a difference was, then we could find the grit to fight; however, our lives do not compare to those of the past. 

Events like these are still important to be taught today because we need to see what occurred in history to make sure that history doesn’t repeat itself. Equality is still not achievable for everyone, and it will be many more years before our world does see humankind as a whole. These issues still need to be taught and fought for until equality is achievable for all.

 
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African American and Black protesters buying movie tickets

Engl 165-04 Fall '22, March Blog Prompt

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The book discusses dramatizes the struggles of the freedom riders who traveled through the American South in the early ’60s. The narrative spotlights pivotal moments in the civil rights movement and shows some of the progress made in the intervening decades. The book also emphasizes the power of nonviolent protest. The black and white protesters risked life and limb for what was right. In Book Two, Lewis’s story continues with the events that took place on November 10, 1960, in Nashville, Tennessee, as “…our young organization had successfully ended segregation at the lunch counters downtown and turned its attention to fast-food restaurants and cafeterias using the same strategy.” It then continues with events that took place in the South between 1960 -1963, culminating with the March on Washington on August 28, 1963. The tension in the South and in Washington as events unfold. Finally, while Lewis introduces us to the giants of the Civil Rights Movement, he never loses touch with the fact that the real heroes were those who sacrificed their goals, their times, and sometimes their lives to advance civil rights. Furthermore, while Lewis was a key player, he modestly downplays his own role in the events. As Lewis’s life unfolds, we learn that with the success of the nonviolent protests at the Nashville lunch counters, the SNCC decides to expand their protests to fast food restaurants and cafeterias and then on to movie theaters. We see that their use of nonviolence is met with increasing uses of violence  from brutal beatings to being subjected to fumigation “used only for killing pests.” And we learn that after a march at a local movie theater, Lewis along with 25 others spent his 21st birthday on February 21, 1961, in jail.

I feel like we could stop the BLM protests if everyone agreed and got along with everyone. It is also putting the police officers in jeopardy because police should focus on effective management during the protest to contribute to keeping protests peaceful. One of the things that really hit home for me is having all these protests so close to my house and feeling like I can’t go anywhere or anything because I don’t want to be harmed. During one of the protests in my area, the protesters got very aggressive towards the police officers and started to destroy buildings, run a car through the local Walmart. The protesters were very angry and brutal to the officers.  I hate seeing the killings of police officers it hurts my heart. Especially the school shootings like the one at Bridgewater college. One of the police officers graduated from one of the local high schools in my area. Seeing a protest break my heart and I never join in the protest because I don’t want to be hurt personally.

https://www.insidenova.com/headlines/five-arrests-seven-officers-hurt-in-manassas-protest-local-leaders-question-use-of-force/article_a4c58560-a361-11ea-a534-97a1024a5189.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/02/09/bridgewater-officers-shooting-memorial/

 

 
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