The New Jim Crow   most significant word / sentence / paragraph and then justify it in the margins

We're getting down to our final three days together, time to get to work!  Here is the introductory guide to your action.  Once you have that complete, you'll move onto the specifics for your non-violent direct action.  Part of your project requires some background research, here are some relevant non-violent direct action resource links.

Economic meltdown tribunal final writing:

Your job is to step out of your assigned role and consider criteria for judgment (influence, power, gain, etc.) about each group’s historical responsibility in causing the financial meltdown.

Write a paragraph on each role, explaining the percentage of responsibility (a total of 100%) with supporting reasoning and evidence from the role-play, film, your own research, and class readings and the criteria for judgement for their responsibility.

Economic Meltdown Trial packet can be found here

NAFTA/TPP comparison  here

NAFTA debrief questions  (select three and answer for class on Friday, April 29)

• How is NAFTA likely to affect the poor in Mexico?
• How is NAFTA likely to affect the environment?
• Which groups are likely to benefit from NAFTA?
• Will NAFTA tend to create jobs in the U.S. or eliminate them?
• How is NAFTA likely to affect the number of Mexicans immigrating to the U.S.
• How would you respond if someone asked you whether Mexico (or the U.S.) benefited from NAFTA?  Why?
• How do you think NAFTA has affected or might affect you personally?
• On the day that NAFTA took effect, Jan. 1 1994, the Zapatistas, an armed group made up of largely poor and indigenous farmers in the Mexican state of Chiapas, launched a rebellion against the Mexican government.  Why might they have chosen that date to begin their uprising?
• Make a list of what you think might increase or grow due to NAFTA?

5th period FIVE POINT PLAN

1. Decriminalize drugs
2. Good quality rehabilitation services for all inmates involved with drug crimes, including good quality mental health care, savings plans and training programs for reintegration into society
3. No mandatory minimums, life without parole, death penalty, or three-strikes laws - it must be on a case by case basis
4. No more private prisons, or private prison lobbying
5. Programs to educate police officers and law officials on civil rights and U.S. history; to make sure the justice system does not make arrests due to geography or racial profiling; ultimately lowering the rate of incarceration that stems from social inequality (i.e. lack of jobs, unemployment, health care, housing, etc)

6th period FIVE-ish POINT PLAN

1. decriminalize drugs; and after prison provide adequate rehabilitation and care programs must be   in place to help everyone out of the criminal cycle by relocating funds from the war on drugs

2. We believe that in order to correct the justice system, we must eliminate all forms of capital that 

is a result of the incarceration system; abolish private prisons and nationalize the justice system   to eliminate profit motives

(the function of prison should be rehabilitative)

(abolish mandatory minimum sentencing and the sentencing disparity between powder and crack cocaine)

(prisoners should not be taken advantage of by companies or individuals) 

(prisoners should be educated and given fair wages while in prison) 

(fair wages in prisons with a means to transition out of prison with financial resources) 

(change the legislation surrounding the war on drugs)

TALKBACK PAPER DUE MONDAY, APRIL 25

A talkback paper allows you the space to reflect on a topic by starting with an issue that you find most pressing, and then fully exploring that issue:  its origins, its relationship to other issues, the possibilities for change, etc.  Possible questions to get you thinking and writing might include:

• What is the problem with prisons in the United States?
• How does your 5 point plan change the way we see prisoners and the prison industrial complex in the United States?
• What connections do you see between this unit and any other we’ve studied this year?

• What is the root cause of the prison-industrial complex?

The graphic organizer for "Policies that Imprison" here; to supplement our day's work see a related Street Roots article here about a current Grant student.

CORRECTION to an earlier post instructions for the media metaphor are here, the current link leads you to the media mystery clues.

Did you miss class on Tuesday?  We revisited the Voting Rights Act (parts 2 and 3 linked in the previous entry) To make up this assignment, you will use parts 2 and 3 to answer the following questions:
1.  What happened to the VRA? (one paragraph)
2.  What has been the impact(s) of this decision? (two paragraphs)

Other items to do this weekend:  Have you resubmitted your narrative essay?  Please take care of that ASAP.  Check synergy, any missing assignments?  Please see the blog, starting 2/7, for quarter 3.

here are the links to parts 2 and 3 of the voting rights infographic:

http://ww2.kqed.org/lowdown/2013/11/15/supreme-court-voting-rights/

http://ww2.kqed.org/lowdown/2013/11/27/voting-obstacles/

Introduction to the Voting Rights Act; remember, FILE - MAKE A COPY - RENAME IT

The handout for Selma can be found here.  Again, file, then make copy.

Here is the link to the graphic organizer to use in our information gathering today.  To use it, first, under the file tab, scroll down and select make a copy for yourself.  Rename the document with your name in the title, i.e. "Cliff T.  voting rights grid" and share it with me once you're done.

Voting Rights slideshow

From Jane Mayers, 'Dark Money' book review, NY Times Sunday Review of Books 1/19/16

1. Argue back, to what extent is this money speech, and should be not only allowed, but protected?
2. According to Jane Mayer, what has changed about conservatism in the United States?
3. What ideas are being promoted?
4. Many Americans complain that the government doesn’t work, is inefficient, can’t get anything done;  in whose interest is it for the government not to be effective, why?

Here is the slideshow we used today, the questions are at the end.

For those of you missing this assignment:  media mystery questions, clues, metaphorical drawing:  use the clues to answer the questions and then create a metaphor of some aspect of media literacy, media consolidation, or its impact.  Questions about this or other assignments?  Come to FLEX, please.

Follow the Money  let's play around with this a bit

media literacy slide show here

Digital version of Media Literacy Applied.  If you're having trouble deciding on a source, here is a list of sources organized along the political spectrum.  Media analysis assignment is due Wednesday, February 17.

Interested in the media literacy opening activity today?  Check out these additional articles:

Mashable on 7 times activism and politics were found in Formation:
http://mashable.com/2016/02/07/beyonce-formation-activism/#0SAHx1KcRsq4

NPR Article that analyzes response to song and video:

http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2016/02/09/466142526/not-ready-to-stop-obsessing-over-beyonc-and-formation-we-got-you

Zandari (blog article breaking down Beyonce’s video and song, warning, strong language): http://newsouthnegress.com/southernslayings/

from a white theater critic, "advice to white people"
http://bittergertrude.com/2016/02/08/white-people-shut-up-about-beyonce/

Party Debrief Questions for discussion:

• The political party that most made me want to move to Canada…
• The political party that I’d be most excited to actually cast a vote for…
• The political party that deserves a shout out...
• The political party that best fits your beliefs about your focal issues…
• Observations, questions, connections that come up for me…

Using your personal political platform, and your notes from party registration day, your task is to write a Political Autobiography paper which is due on Wednesday, February 10.  You will have the remainder of the class period to write.

Are you a student with a 504 or IEP? Please check out this great source, Bookshare to see if it can help you keep up with your classes.

What to turn in on the day of the final (in order from top to bottom):

_____ The final copy of your paper
_____ a completed (that means all sections filled in) "Editing Checklist - Personal Essay"
_____ a paper copy of the draft of your paper used for the "editing checklist" (it will be highlighted and marked up, accordingly)
_____ your "Personal Essay Checklist" (with all sections complete)