media post #4

2. This comic was drawn by Chris Muir. He is trying to show how Hillary Clinton is trying to appeal to African Americans in her campaign. It depicts her in blackface and her speech is meant to be in an African American slave dialect. Her comment “I’s seen da promised land” is making fun of the slaves in the south calling the north the Promised Land. Muir definitely gets his point across here, but I think he make have taken the comic a little too far. The blackface is not needed and the dialect are clearly referring back to the time period when the relationships between the blacks and whites were horrible and the blacks were still fighting for true freedom. The reason that I chose this comic is because I was very intrigued by the blackface. I had never known that black characters were played by white actors before watching "Ethnic Notions" Then after watching the film, it really occurred to me how terrible the represetations of African Americans were in early movie productions.

3. This item relates to class material because we just watched a movie, Ethnic Notions," in which the blackface was a focal point of the show. The idea of having white actors play black characters and going way too far with the black color was just terrible. Even worse was when producers made black actors use blackface instead of the natural color of their skin. Before watching that film, I had never knew or noticed before that white actors played black people in older movies. The blackface used in the older movies was extremely skewed and was so much darker than the actual color of most of the African Americans skin color. Another thing I noticed with the blackface is that they also color the lips a much brighter color in order to make the blackface seem pitch black. It also gave them more of a chubby lips look. We also learned in the movie that the blacks were portrayed as brutes with their faces looking like monkeys or other animals. I think this cartoon accurately displays how the blackface actually looked. They were never really made to look like humans and I think this cartoon accurately depicts that. Another thing from the movie was the always happy, cheery Sambo. This cartoon also displays Hillary as a dumb, cheerful, Sambo; not as an intelligent serious candidate running for president.

4. But the fact is that in the cartoon, Clinton actually looks like an authentic blackface actor. But just because the blackface does look realistic, it doesn’t make it ethical for Muir to display this in a cartoon. His cartoon is meant to make fun of Hillary Clinton. I don’t think he realized that this cartoon was making fun of an extremely rough time period in African American history. I’m sure that this offended numerous people of African American descent. Many cartoonists frequently take shots at people running for political office, which is ok. But to do it in this fashion was despicable and exceedingly unethical. Many people who commented on this comic stated that they thought that this was not unethical and was funny. I don’t see how people can have this opinion. Hillary is clearly portrayed to be a stupid black-faced Sambo, who doesn’t know how to talk. I think that those pictures of the blackfaced Sambos were overused in the past. To use them in this present time period is not a thing for Muir to be proud of.

Media post #3

1. Probing Use of Native American Mascots By College, Pro Teams
THE Wichita White...the Kankakee Kikes...the Detroit Darkies...or the Johnstown Japs.
Would you be horrified if your favorite football, baseball or basketball team's nickname amounted to racial slur?
Of course.
But, most Americans take it in stride when they tune in to a Washington Redskins' football game, buy a ticket to an Atlanta Braves' baseball game or read a magazine article about the exploits of the Florida State Seminoles, Why?
The use and abuse of Native America mascots by high school, college, and professional sports teams - and the emotional controversy surrounding these images - are the target of a new book co-edited by an Illinois Wesleyan University Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Charles Fruehling Springwood.
"Team Spirits"
The book, "Team Spirits: The Native American Mascots Controversy," is the first comprehensive look at the debate over this issue. It's issue, It's hitting the bookstores at a time when a college like the University of Illinois-Urban/Champaign is grappling with the future of its sports team symbol, the controversial Chief Illiniwek, and as a case is on appeal in the courts involving the Native American-style trademark of the Washington Redskins.
In "Team Spirits," according to the publisher, the University of Nebraska Press, "activists and academics explore the origins of Native American mascots, the messages they convey, and the reasons for their persistence into the 21st century.
"The essays examine hotly contested uses of mascots, including the Washington Redskins, the Cleveland Indians, and the University of Illinois' Chief Illiniwek, as well as equally problematic but more complicated examples such as the Florida State Seminoles and the multitude of Native mascots at Marquette University. Also showcased are examples of successful oppositions, including an end to Native American mascots at Springfield College and in Los Angles public schools,"
Poses Powerful Questions
"Team Spirits" probes several powerful question, including: What does it mean to 'play Indian' at half-time?, Why are Native American mascots so common and other racially based mascots nearly non-existent: Why do these mascots persist?, and what do these mascots say about the changing role of Native Americans in Americans in public Culture?
"Team Spirits" also contains groundbreaking analyses of major universities, including Florida State, Marquette, and the University of Illinois and their Native American mascots. It also includes studies of important American Indians and their entanglements with mascots, namely Olympian and pro-football standout Jim Thorpe and the Oorang Indians.
Essentially, "Team Spirits" is about power, Springwood said in an interview on the eve of the book's publication." "White Americans," he explained, "have the power to name things and control them." The controversy over native American mascots, he added is about "who ought to be in control of popular symbols of Native American-the Native American aren't in control and they are fighting for it."
Springwood estimates that animals and Native American symbols are the two most common sports team mascots, respectively. But, why do some sports teams choose Native American symbols as team mascots?
"Supporters say it honors Native American," according to Springwood, who decries this notion pointing out that many of the mascots do not accurately depict Native American culture. "It is a repackaging of history," he added.
Vine Deloria, Jr., author of the acclaimed "Custer Died For Your Sins" wrote in the Foreword to "Team Spirits": "Sports mascots have come under increasing fire by American Indian as they try to achieve equal status as an identifiable ethnic group within American society...Why are Indian singled out as a group of people devoid of the sentiments that characterize other groups? No team in any sport has its logo or slogans used to demean another identifiable ethnic, religious, or economic group."
Deloria added: "And when a group...filed to cancel the trademark of the Washington Redskins, some sportswriters complained that now Bears, Dolphins, and Lions would all complain. This kind of racism is buried so deeply in the American psyche that is may be impossible to resolve."
Springwood describes Deloria as "the most famous Native American scholar" and a plaintiff in the Washington Redskins trademark case.
Progress Cited
Deloria and others concede some progress has been made in curtailing Native American images in American athletics. "Progress is being made in many places in this country," Deloria wrote in the Forewood to "Team Spirits," "as school after school, and college after college, changes its name and adopts neutral slogans and mascots."
The National Coalition on Racism in Sports and Media reports that more than 80 colleges and universities still have Native American mascots. However, many campuses have scuttled use of these mascots: Dartmouth: changed its nickname from Indian to Big Green, Dickinson State (ND) changed from Savages to Blue Hawks, St. John's (NY) went from Redmen to the Red Storm, and Stanford adopted the nickname Cardinal, replacing the moniker, Indians
"As for high schools," Springwood says, "my professional guess is that several hundred such nicknames and mascots still exist, and a few hundred have been retired over the last 20 year."
Schools have been most successful in retiring their Native American mascots, Springwood pointed out, when change comes from the top. At Eastern Michigan University, for example, the president spurred the effort to switch the school's symbol from Hurons to the Eagles.
Resisting Change
However, some of the schools have resisted giving up their Native American mascots. Springwood notes that supporters of these symbols claim that changing them would trigger a loss of financial and other support from alumini, boosters, and fans.
While Springwood acknowledges the "emotional investment" boosters have in these Native American symbols, he also observes: "Perhaps there might be an initial decline in alum, contributions, but time seems to heal" such wounds "in perhaps as little as 5 years." He also notes that in 10-15 years a substantial numbers of alumni would have grown up with the new team name and symbol, making previous symbols antiquities.
Long-term interest
Springwood's interest in Native American mascots dates to his days as a student at the University of Illinois, where Chief Illiniwek, dressed in "authentic Indian attire" has symbolized the campus' varsity sports teams since the 1920s
As a native of Illinois Springwood said he was aware of the controversy swirling around Chief Illiniwek. However, he became persuaded to the position of the critics as he gathered information in connection with a piece that he wrote as a graduate student
"I began to interview people," Springwood explained, "and do library research. I spoke to Native Americans and people in the sports information department."
As time went on, Springwood was smitted by the subject and decided to team up with his coeditor to do a book with a divergent range of voices discussing Native American mascots. He also wants readers to understand the broad scope of issues affecting specific communities where these mascots are controversial
"I want people," he explained," to come away with a sense of the importance of these issues. People aren't fighting over a silly symbol. These mascots have histories that many people are unaware of.

"Probing Use of Native American Mascots By College, Pro Teams. " Chicago Independent Bulletin [Chicago, Ill.] 1 Feb. 2001,2. Ethnic NewsWatch (ENW). ProQuest. University Libraries, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green. 7 Oct. 2007

2. The article begins with some possible team names of ethnic groups that would be very disrespectful. It then explains how people never seem to notice these disrespectful names when they go to athletic events with Native American team names. It then previews a book called “Team Spirits: The Native American Mascots Controversy” It then stated that the two most common sports mascots used in professional, college, and high school sports are animals and Indians. Vine Deloria jr. states in the article, “This kind of racism is buried so deeply in the American psyche that it may be impossible to resolve.” But after that the article explains that progress is being made with some teams changing their names and lists a few teams who have changed their names in recent years. Finally it explains how the author of the book became interested in writing on this topic. I chose this article because I am a huge sports fan and also a huge Indians fan. I have always been back and forth on this issue, so I wanted to see if this article would change my thinking.
3. This item relates to class material because one day in class we had a discussion about the Cleveland Indians mascot and if it is poking fun at Native Americans. This article is in line with that discussion. It says that sports teams from high school to professional have this problem though. I think sometimes we always hear so much about the Cleveland Indians, the Atlanta Braves, and the Washington Redskins that we forget that there are even more high schools and colleges with these team names involving Indians. This article also brings the focus on the mascots of some of these teams. Teams like the Braves and the Indians have gone away from actual Indian mascots as the Indians mascot is now Slider. But colleges such as Illinois (Fighting Illini) and Florida State (Seminoles) still have their mascots try to imitate how the Indians looked and acted. This has become a big issued within the intercollegiate ranks.
4. Since this article was written six years ago, I think that I can recall some new developments regarding this issue since 2001. I believe in the last few years the NCAA has outlawed Indian mascots in their basketball tournaments. So the person that dresses up like and Indian and rides on to the field at Florida St. is not allowed to be in the arena when Florida makes it to the NCAA tournament. I also think that Illinois has done away with their mascot, Chief Illiniwek. I believe it would always be on the floor before basketball games, but now they don’t even allow it anymore. I think there have been other colleges that have changed their team names since then also. I usually go back and forth on the issue. I know that most of these names hurt the heritage that Native Americans have in their culture. In the article the statement was made that “Supporters say it honors Native American.” This is not true; in no way does a team name like the Redskins honor Native Americans. When people thought of these names they were trying to think of a tough mascot not about honoring Indians. I’ve been an Indians fan my whole life and I would hate for them to have to change their team name. I think what they have done by eliminating the Indian mascot for Slider and coming out with new uniforms with a cursive I cap are enough to allow them to keep their name. But I agree that teams should not have mascots running around making fun of the Native American heritage. This is a great debate and I don’t see it going away any time soon.

Media Portfolio post #2

1. Unfortunately I was unable to find a visible picture of the comic strip that I am writing about in the post. I also failed to mention how I was citing my sources in my first post. I will be using MLA Citation for the entire portfolio.

Vaden, Ted. “Hip-hop comic shakes up readers.” The News & Observer 9 Jan. 2005. 5 Oct. 2007 .

“Hip-hop comic shakes up readers.”

One of the most frequent criticisms The News & Observer gets from readers these days is not about its news coverage at all, but about the comics.
Specifically, about one comic strip, "Boondocks." The cartoon may not generate the most phone calls or e-mails on any given day, but over time it feeds a low-grade fever of reader discontent that flares up from time to time.
The most recent eruption came during the holidays, when cartoonist Aaron McGruder took on Santa Claus and the Christmas spirit. In the days running up to Christmas, the strip showed a black Santa dispensing advice to the comic's young hip-hop kids, Huey and Caesar. "I'ma give y'all some advice," Santa says in the Christmas Eve column. "Drop out of school. Y'all ain't got no future. Just do drive-bys on each other and get it over with."
And on Christmas Day, it was: "So what do you Negro hooligans want for Christmas? Rims? Gold fronts? Huh?" Huey walks away, saying, "Okay, I think I've seen enough." To which Santa replies: "How 'bout a job? No, you wouldn't want that, would you?"
Funny? The strips didn't poke a lot of funny bones among my callers:
"I was offended by the blatantly racist comic in the Christmas Day issue," said reader Bob Wells. "The paper needs to offer an apology to the black community."
Said another caller, who didn't leave her name: "In the spirit of Christmas Day, it just sent the wrong message. I understand I'm not the target audience."
That's the way "Boondocks" seems to strike some of our readers -- offensive, negative, and, to many, impenetrable. McGruder is an in-your-face cartoonist who doesn't hesitate to take on the sacred and not-so-sacred icons of our time -- Dick Cheney and George W. Bush, yes, but also African-American figures such as Jesse Jackson, Whitney Houston and Puff Daddy.
He was the first cartoonist to criticize the Bush administration after 9/11, for anti-terrorism excesses, which prompted several newspapers to pull the strip. Later, he was dropped for a week from The Washington Post for cartoons about National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice that were deemed sexist and chauvinistic.
The N&O hasn't dropped the strip in the nearly three years we've been running it, although there have been times when we've crossed our fingers before publishing a particularly jalapeno panel. But the question might be asked, why do we publish the strip if it's patently offensive to some people?
Because, I submit, there's value to "Boondocks" that overrides the occasional offensiveness.
Here's the value: It is a satirical feature, intended to poke fun at the stereotypes of African-Americans held not just by whites but also by blacks and other cultures. The Santa barbs, for instance, were aimed at obsequious black folk who ingratiate themselves with white society. "I've known self-hating black people before, but this takes the cake," Huey says of the black Santa.
Granted, this humor is sometimes lost on those of us who aren't African-American or plugged in to hip-hop culture. But it doesn't hurt us, and I would suggest that there is consciousness-raising value if we pay close enough attention.
"I think the strip challenges people to think differently, and that to me is far more important than to have people thinking like me," McGruder told one interviewer. "I want to have people questioning what they're told on a daily basis."
Let it be known that the complaints I've received about the strip's "racism" all have come from white readers, at least as best I can tell. In that respect, I see the strip as welcoming readers to the comics page, and to The N&O, who might not be there otherwise.
"We want our features sections in general to represent a broad range of types of people and points of view," Tommy Goldsmith, who as N&O features editor oversees the comics, told me in an e-mail. "That extends to our comics pages, where we want humor that a range of readers can enjoy."
Goldsmith points out that there's a long history of controversy associated with comics pages, usually involving satire. Think back to "Pogo," "L'il Abner," "Little Orphan Annie." Even today's "B.C." strip is criticized occasionally for reflecting the conservative Christian views of its born-again creator, Johnny Hart.
Another question we're regularly asked is why "Boondocks," with its often political agenda, isn't run on the Op-ed page with its political soul-mate, "Doonesbury." Two reasons: 1) "Boondocks" doesn't regularly have a political message; it's often just humorous. And 2) If we moved all controversial comics there, they'd crowd out the opinion pieces. Then we'd really hear from readers. (Here's an idea: Move "Doonesbury" to the comics page.)
One good thing about "Boondocks," love it or hate it. It's brought people, including me, back to the comics pages, where I've renewed acquaintances with some old friends, like Gil Thorp and Beatle Bailey. And met some new ones, like Huey and Caesar.


2. I was looking for some comic strips that I could use for this portfolio. Unfortunately, I had a hard time finding comic strips on the internet. But I was led to this article, “Hip-hop comic strip shakes up readers” written by Ted Vaden. In his article, he is talking about a few “Boondocks” comic around Christmas in 2005. The comics by Aaron McGruder caused quite a stir. His comic featured two young black boys named Huey and Caesar meeting with Santa Claus. In the comic Santa says this to the boys, “I’ma give ya’ll some advice. Drop out of school. Ya’ll ain’t got no future. Just do drive-bys on each other and get it over with. Then in the Christmas day version, Santa says this to the boys, “So what do you Negro hooligans want for Christmas? Rims? Gold Fronts?” After Huey makes a comment, the Santa replies, “How ‘bout a job? No, you wouldn’t want that would you?” Vaden, who features this comic in his article doesn’t seem to think that it is too racist. He said that it is good that the comic makes us stop and think about ourselves. He also said that most of the people that called the comic racist were white, not black. He says the comic is a good thing, because it is always funny, but not racist all the time. It gets people’s attention back to the comics is another reason that he gave as to why the Boondocks comic strip is needed in the newpapers. The reason I chose this article was because I was amazed that a comic with those statement would even be allowed in a newspaper let alone on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

3. I think that this item relates to the entitlement that white people have over black people. This comic is pretty much saying that African Americans have no chance to make anything of themselves in this world, so they should just kill themselves instead of living a miserable life. My first post in my media portfolio dealt with how African Americans have increased their educational levels greatly over the last 150 years. This comic fails to see that as McGruder says through Santa. “Drop out of school. Ya’ll ain’t got no future.” According to our previous readings on the entitlement that white males have in our society, it does show that we do have advantages. But not to the point that African Americans have no chance to have a wonderful fulfilling life. Our readings don’t say that African Americans have no way to establish a bright future for themselves. With what I had previously read about the African Americans’ advancement in education, they will continue to make strides and by no means do they have no chance to make something of themselves in today’s society.

4. In my opinion, I thought that this comic was terrible any day of the year, let alone on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. But sad to say, in today’s world we do have ideas in our minds that all African Americans are thugs who drop out of school, don’t work, and do drive-bys in the inner cities. Although those ideas are clearly false, they are stuck in our memory and hard let go of. For me growing up in a predominantly white rural neighborhood, I must admit that I have had these false ideas about African Americans. I think some of it is that what we see on the national news is only the bad things. I think we associate blacks like this, because we only see the bad side. But coming to B.G. has opened my eyes that there are many African American people who want to make the most out of their lives and educate themselves to be just as successful if not more than their past ancestors.

Media Post #1

1. (This is the first in a series about the vital role education - and teaching have played, and continue to play, in African Americans' lives. The series covers nearly two centuries, beginning with the struggle to become educated before emancipation, describes the battle to teach in a segregated America and ends with a description of today's critical need for African American teachers in California schools.)
LOS ANGELES - Carter G. Woodson was born in 1875, the son of slaves, and was kept from attending school until he was 20 years old. "For me," he wrote, "education means to inspire people to live more abundantly, to learn to begin with life as they find it and make it better." He resolutely believed in the importance of education and went on to earn a B.A. and M.A. from the University of Chicago and, in 1912, received a Ph.D. from Harvard University.
Education was a springboard to a better life for Woodson and other African Americans. His love of education led to his place in American history. Called "the father of Negro history," he founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History in 1915. He authored or edited more than ten volumes on African American subjects and, in 1926, organized Negro History Week, which is now celebrated as African American Heritage Month in February.
Woodson's story is just one of a multitude of stories about African Americans who fought to learn because they cherished education and teaching. Their struggle would be long and difficult.
Prior to Emancipation, enslaved blacks were forbidden to learn to read. Despite these prohibitions and severe punishments, many blacks valued literacy and learned to read despite these restrictions. Some slaves were taught by whites, but a significant number were taught by freed blacks or by literate slaves. These well respected, and sometimes formally educated, teachers chanced severe retribution by teaching blacks to read, often in secret. Their brave acts passed on the power of literacy to their peers.
In an article in "The Journal of American History," Adam Fairclough wrote that early black teachers in the South, "[were] in the forefront of the struggle for literacy and education played a critical role in defining, articulating, and advancing the aspirations of blacks. Mass illiteracy among the freedmen made teachers a natural source of race leadership, and the organization of schools helped blacks define themselves as communities."
As blacks in the South were struggling to learn, and to teach, Northern-educated blacks began teaching in the missionary schools of Union-occupied Virginia as early as 1862. In the same year, Virginia's first school for training black teachers was established.
As soon as Savannah, Georgia was occupied by Union troops in 1864, liberated blacks formed the Savannah Education Association, which quickly raised eight hundred dollars and founded several other schools, including freemen's schools and Sunday schools that were independent of Northern whites.
According to historian Fairclough, black teachers [in the South] outnumbered white ones very soon after the Civil War, and when black men gained the right to vote, these teachers provided political leadership. "Black teachers strove for, and often attained, positions of community leadership," he wrote, adding, "Along with ministers, they enjoyed prestige and wielded influence." Despite the challenges of school segregation and harassment, the African American population has made one of the greatest advancements in the history of education. Denied an education by law in slave states and facing inequality of educational opportunities in free states, only seven percent of the African American population was literate in 1863. Within a 90-year period, the literacy rate jumped to 90 percent. This could never have occurred without the persistent efforts of black teachers who were able to tear down the barriers created by segregation.


"In The Struggle To Become Educated, African Americans Make Greatest Achievement: Part I. " Oakland Post [Oakland, Calif.] 4 Dec. 2002,5. Ethnic NewsWatch (ENW). ProQuest. University Libraries, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green. 5 Oct. 2007

2. I found this media item on Ethnic Newswatch. It explains how the education process started for African Americans and discussed how far African American’s have come in their education. The article starts out with a story about Carter Woodson and how he worked to make huge strides in his own education and the education of other African Americans after the Civil War. It told how he worked hard to learn as much as he could and he eventually obtained his B.A. and M.A. from University of Chicago and his Ph. D. from Harvard. People eventually gave him the title “the author of negro history” as he used his education to found the Association for the study of Negro life and History. The article then explains how African Americans fought hard to get more education even though it meant horrible circumstances if they were found learning. The article said that early black teachers were at the forefront of advancing the aspirations of blacks. The article said that black teachers strove for leadership positions in the black community. The article concludes by saying that African Americans made one of the greatest leaps in education in the history of civilization. Before 1983 only seven percent of the African American population was educated. But in a ninety year span, ninety percent of the population became educated. I chose this article because I was interested in how blacks became educated. During the slave era, they were punished if they read and after that they were discriminated against. I was interested to see how their education advanced over the years.
3. I think that this item relates to Kindred fairly well. During Dana’s trips to slavery ridden Maryland. It lists a few times when she tried to teach the slaves on the plantation to read. The first time when she was caught she faced the excruciating consequences of being whipped in front of all of the slaves. This article explains that slaves and freed slaves taking the chances of getting beaten and whipped, were the ones that helped the education process among blacks begin. Also in the book, Alice asks Rufus for their biracial children to be educated. So there were probably also cases where when the master of the plantation and one of the slaves had children together, they were probably also educated. Then the blacks who became educated didn’t back down under the circumstances of being enslaved again or being segregated. They continued to do whatever they could to educate more African Americans.
4. I think it is amazing what the African Americans have accomplished in the last 150 years after the Civil War regarding their education. To go from only having seven percent of African Americans being educated to having over ninety percent of African American being educated in that short of time frame is simply astonishing, especially thinking of the roadblocks that they have had to go through to get to that level. First there were physical threats of being whipped or maybe even killed during slavery. Then after that their were the segregation issues that made it hard for the next hundred and fifty years and that is still a problem today. In my Psychology textbook I read that African Americans have increased their IQ’s by over 150% in matter of years while other races have not been even close to that number. It is a wonderful thing that some African Americans are finally being rewarded for their hard work and for the hard work of their past generations.