What is Justice Nowadays?

Let me refresh your memory on the horrific event that involved Trayvon Martin; he was a young black man who was murdered by a neighborhood watch captain who identified Martin as a "suspicious person." Zimmerman, Trayvon's killer, was advised to stay in his vehicle, but disregarded those instructions and moments later...gunshots rung. This incident dates back to February of 2012 and just recently, December of 2019, Zimmerman is suing Martin's parents for $100 million.


Not only did he take everything from this family, but he is trying to do it all over again. Justice was thought to be served, but Zimmerman had other plans in mind. As he takes this journey in suing a family for more than they are worth, he loses sight on what he has already stolen from them.

The Martin family's justice wasn't justified in the eyes of Mr. Zimmerman hence the actions he plans to further take. When you think about it, the justice system was created to ensure that justice was given to those who deserved it and the people of America are kept safe under the law, but then people like Zimmerman are able to act so hatefully and our judicial system allows it. But I guess every body has equal right under the law and a fair chance to get the justice they believe they deserve.

Ida B. Wells

African American journalist, abolitionist and feminist who led an anti-lynching crusade in the United States in the 1890s. She was born into slavery during the Civil War, but about six months later the Emancipation Proclamation was signed.Wells-Barnett started her career as a teacher, but soon became a journalist to shed light on the conditions of African Americans throughout the South. She wrote about things such as white mob violence and investigated cases of lynchings. Wells-Barnett became so well known that she traveled internationally to share her knowledge.

Ida did many things in her lifetime. She founded the National Association of Colored Women’s Club, which addressed the issues dealing with civil rights and women's suffrage. She was also considered the founder of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). From 1898-1902 she served as secretary of the National Afro-American Council. In 1910 Wells-Barnett founded and became the first president of the Negro Fellowship League, which aided newly arrived migrants from the South. In 1913 she founded what may have been the first black woman suffrage group, Chicago’s Alpha Suffrage Club. From 1913-1916 she served as a probation officer of the Chicago municipal court.

Something I found admirable about this woman is that she was strong and she held her ground. On day when she was traveling by train from Memphis to Nashville, she was asked to move from her first class seat to the "colored" cart, even though she had already purchased her ticket fair and square. She was eventually forcibly removed and this enraged her so much that she brought a suit against the Chesapeake and Ohio railroad; the court did not rule in her favor. After this occurrence, she began to avidly right about injustices that the black community experienced. She often used the pen name “Lola” when she first began writing newspaper articles. If you don't know what a pen nam is, it is a shield allowing the author to conceal his or her identity or shake off any preconceived notions.

Wells-Barnett went through some crazy things in her life including a time when three of her friends were lynched. This led her to begin an editorial campaign against lynching. She continued as a staff writer for the New York Age and then as a lecturer and organizer of anti lynching societies.

Corona-virus Scaries

This virus has quite literally taken over the world. From China to Italy, throughout the Middle East and all the way to Wake County in North Carolina...it is affecting everyone's sanity. Students that chose to spend their semesters abroad in Europe are being sent back to their homes in the United States and their cultural journey was cut short.

Although people in America are panicking as though World War III has started, if you do the appropriate research about the Corona-Virus, it isn't as scary as people are making it out to be. You can compare it very closely with the flu. When looking deeper into what this virus truly is, one would know that it isn't an airborne disease, but a droplet disease. This means it is spread via bodily fluids. So, to all of you wearing masks everywhere you go, that doesn't prevent you from getting the "Corona scaries." If you want to take precaution, make sure you are washing your hands repeatedly throughout the day for 30 seconds at a time. If you think about it, we should be doing that anyways, but turns out...you guys are NASTY.

Washing your hands like you are supposed to with soap and warm water makes you less susceptible to contract the virus. Also, hand sanitizer doesn't count, that is anti-bacterial not anti-viral.

The media is creating quite the monster out of this virus and people are soaking it in like sponges without any thought to question it. Do your research and wash your hands, you should be fine.

Partially Partisan

Opinions. Opinions fuel perspective, they fuel conversation and now they are fueling present day political journalism. I feel like the majority of our society has lost sight of why journalism exists; why do we have news networks like Fox and CNN, why do we invest our time in reading The New York Times or The Washington Post? People don't seek out opinions, they seek out hard news; they seek out information that is important to their daily lives and to their futures.

So, why is news today a constant roast session between Republicans and Democrats? What do we as individuals learn from that? Nothing, really. Well, I should rephrase that; what *information* do we as individuals learn from that, nothing. We learn hate, we learn dishonesty, we don't learn acceptance, we don;t love, and we don't learn diversity. The news today seems to push a choice on its viewers, and that choice is one-sided; you are either right (and by right I mean you agree with their side of the story) or your absolutely, one-hundred percent wrong.

That is NOT what journalism is supposed to be. Journalism isn't jeering; journalism is judicious.

It is easy to get wrapped up in your opinions; we all do it sometimes, but it's important to have a utilitarian outlook on journalistic approaches; what is best for everyone, not what is best for a specific set of people and that is the largest issue with news today. This can also be called "journalistic objectivity," which includes qualities like fairness or nonpartisanship.

What I am trying to say is, keep your opinions at the breakfast table and bring your brain cells to the news desk. Inform the public, don't confuse them.

Frederick Douglass Defying Odds

I had previously learned about Frederick Douglass in middle school and into high school, but he was never taught in the detail that he deserved. Since being at High Point University, I have learned a great deal more about this historical icon. My sociology courses, such as media representations and black American voices, dove deep into his life and the impact not only that he had on the Black community, but also the influence he had on the realm of journalism.

Douglass was born into slavery in 1818 and escaped it 20 years later. As a black man that spent most of his life in this horrific confinement, one would think he knew nothing of how to read or write, but he defied odds. Douglass was clever and he used his cleverness discretely to gain an education from his white "friends." He traded them things to teach him how to read and write. Over the 20 years, he became very bright and surprisingly literate.

Douglass shocked many, especially whites, with his ability to write so eloquently. In my black American voices class we read his autobiography and it went into great detail about his not-so-normal life. It really opened my eyes to his daily struggle and how he truly defied all odds.