Social Justice Project Responses

When I born, I black.

When I grow up, I black.

When I go in sun, I black.

When I scared, I black.

When I sick, I black.

And when I die, I still black.

And you white people.

When you born, you pink.

When you grow up, you white.

When you go in sun, you red.

When you cold, you blue.

When you scared, you yellow.

When you sick, you green.

And when you die, you grey…

And you calling me colored?

-Malcolm X

This poem leads us to equality in all humans and being racially classified by color. It shows that white people call black people colored yet they go through every color of the rainbow. The fact that white people call black colored does not show human equality. Color doesn't define anyone, no race is supierior to the other. Even though this poem was developed a while ago, rascisim is still a problem. More specifically, human rights and equality.

Acts of Injustice

Being homeless is a great example of injustice. Sometimes homeless people mess up their lives on their own, but the unlucky ones are born into it. This doesn't show equality and human rights. They should be entitled to food, shelter, and money from the government. There are over 56,ooo homeless individuals. They are in need of stable housing and food. New York City is home to 103 billionares, more than any other city in the world. This makes me think of how selfish people can be. Although it's none of their business, I don't blame them, but it wouldn't kill them to spare a dollar or two. Or possibly give them another chance at their life. This makes me think about being grateful because homeless people have nothing, and you only realize how much you love something once it's gone.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/08/new-york-homelessness-billionaires_n_5953464.html

Ferguson,MO Rioting Live

     As I was watching the news, the riots in Ferguson, MO were being streamed live. These riots, on the streets of Ferguson, MO are destructive and unreasonable. People are rioting over the death of an unarmed African-American teenager, named Micheal Brown by the hands of a St. Louis, Missouri police officer. This rioting occurred after the officer who shot Micheal Brown was not indicted. The rioters are endangering more lives by protesting violently. For example, they were looting, burning down stores, businesses, police cars, and destroying the city. Peaceful protesting gets messages across of injustice more sensibly. If I was in the shoes of Micheal Brown's parents, I would feel overwhelmed because “my son's” death is what sparked the terror and destruction. I would tell the angry rioters to look honor Micheal's death and as a wake up call for our local politicians to train police officers more effectively all around the nation. These rioters are asking for their human rights and equality for African American citizens. They believe the white officer would not have felt threatened if Micheal Brown was white instead of being black. They are promoting equality for everyone no matter what race, gender or color a person is.

Detective Almontaser's View on How He Changes the World

Q: How does your job allow you to help change the world?

A: My job allows me to investigate and apprehend individuals who

have committed crimes against society.

Q: Do you enjoy your job?

A: Not necessarily, sometimes its not so fun. It exposes me to see

the terrible things that people can do to each other as humans.

The best part is putting a really bad guy in jail.

Q: What is the average of hours in the office?

A: The average is 65 hours a week, sometimes no days off. Depends

on what case I'm working on.

Q: What is the most amount of hours you have spent on a case?

A: Some cases only take me 2 hours of my week, but some cases will

take 100 hours of my week. It all depends.

Q: Are there any others way you change the world than your job?

A: I drive a hybrid (an eco-friendly electric car) and I recycle.

Q: What is your motto?

A: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil, is for good men

to do nothing.” -Edmund Burke.

That's something I learned in the marines, that's something I took

from the marines, and that's something I took to my job.

Q: Can you share a story about your job?

A: Last Winter, we had to investigate a case of child abduction. We

were able to put clues together that the neighbor took the girl,

she was 5. It took us 2 days to get a warrant, an order from the

judge, to be able to ping the phone. Pinging a cell phone means

using cell site towers to triangulate the location. We were able to

find him in a house in NJ, and we returned the little girl to her

parents and the guy went to jail.

Our World- Both the Good and the Bad

*An interview with Nawal Almontaser, an educator in the New York City public

school system.

Q: What do you believe is good about our world and what is unfair

about our world?

A: Is there anything good about our world??? Well, what I think is

good about our world is the technological advances that our world

has achieved over time Particularly, computers, the internet and

cell phones. Major breakthroughs in medicine and science and the

abundant amount of natural resources our world provides us with.

There is however a lot of unfairness in our world...perhaps more

than there is good. Unfairness with corrupt government that only

looks out for itself and not for its people, poverty of children in

the world and within the United states and inequality based on

gender, race, sex, and socioeconomic backgrounds.

Hollywood's Perception VS Reality

I was watching a rerun of a Nickelodeon series, iCarly. iCarly is a sitcom about a teenage girl who lives with her older brother Spencer in Seattle, WA. Carly's father is in the U.S. Navy and does not live with her. Her older brother, Spencer, is her guardian and a father figure. They live in a modern fancy apartments with elevators that lead directly into their homes. I can infer they have a lot of money because they have a pretty big apartment in a big busy city, and those types of apartments can range in the hundred thousands.

The main actors on the show are middle class Caucasian teenagers, with the exception of one African American friend who live in Seattle Washington. The show portrays teens lounging around school hallways during school hours where all the drama takes place. The teens come and go as they please without parental permission or involvement. They get themselves into situations that don't seem very realistic mostly sparked by their online web show iCarly. These teens run around chasing the opposite sex and are rarely shown having any responsibilities or doing school work.

This Hollywood portrayal of teenagers influences many kids in my age group and exposes them to many mature things. Young children could stumble upon this show and find two 15 year olds making out or escaping from their fire escapes late at night. Children are exposed to content they are not educated on and make their own assumptions instead of being educated by their parents. This show exposes kids to unrealistic behavior where teenagers are always dressed to perfection with the coolest clothes, hair and makeup. These images are brainwashing children into thinking that their lifestyle is the norm and that they should be like them.

While walking through my neighborhood I observed...

• Homeless people asking for change
• Many idling cars - air pollution
• Hispanic construction workers
• Pedestrians distracted with their cell phones-hazardous to drivers

 While on my daily walk to school along 4^th ave, I pass by a few construction sites. The majority of the workers are of Hispanic descent and are hired by private contractors that pay their workers a mite of money for diligent work. These workers do their jobs from dusk til dawn and they need to be paid just like the others. I can infer that they don't have enough money to buy a cell phone because I witnessed more than once, a line of construction workers at a pay phone on 10^th street 4^th avenue. I've also observed minimal dollars in their wallets when they open it to pay for their modest breakfast, a coffee and bagel. They deserve to be paid more for the labor that they do.

Independent ELA Reading Essay

"When there is no struggle there is no strength." Oprah Winfrey. The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick portrays the lifestyle of an orphan living in the walls of a Paris train station. Hugo Cabret is an orphan, but his unique qualities separate him from the rest; he is an orphan, a clock keeper, and a thief. Hugo has an astounding story behind him. He is an only child raised by his dad, who worked the night-shift at a museum in the heart of Paris. One night, his dad went through storage and found a broken automaton, a machine that writes a specified message when wound up. One night, his father attempted to repair the automaton when the museum mysteriously caught on fire. Hugo's father perished in the uncontrollable blaze. He never came home. The automaton was left behind in the ruins, and Hugo made it his mission to reveal what his dad's "message" was through the automaton. Throughout the book, Hugo taught himself the mechanics of clockworks and gears and little toys that wind up. He may be a homeless orphan, but his characteristics set him apart from the rest.

Hugo was singly raised by his father who died in a museum fire. Hugo’s father was a big part of his life, he only had his dad. “Soon Hugo’s father had filled several notebooks with drawings of the automaton. He opened the automaton up and carefully disassembled it. He drew detailed pictures of all it’s parts, then he cleaned them and patiently put it back together. On Hugo’s birthday, his father took him to the movies as usually done, and gave him one of the notebooks as a present.” Meanwhile, Hugo’s father grew obsessed with getting the automaton to work. He brought Hugo back to the museum a few more times and explained how the mechanisms worked. "One night, the old guard in the museum forgot that Hugo’s father was up in the attic, and he locked the door trapping him inside. Hugo had no way of knowing what happened, the museum set fire." Hugo was depressed and deeply shook by this event. He loved his father so much and this was the worst that callus ever happen to him. Most orphans go through this point in their lives but Hugo has many characteristics and personalities that makes him a unique orphan.

Hugo was a mental genius when it came to clockwork and gears. From here on Hugo was taken in by his alcoholic Uncle Claude being his only live relative. “‘Pack your things quickly, Nephew,’ Uncle Claude had said, his breath smelling of alcohol as usual.” Uncle Claude took Hugo to his hidden room in the walls of a Paris train station. His uncle’s job was to fix all the clocks around the station daily. Hugo caught up quickly and had to take over his uncle’s job, because he was always hungover and drunk. “A few weeks later, Uncle Claude was out late and never came home. He was found dead in a river not too far from a bar downtown.” Hugo had to keep on doing daily rounds around the station fixing the clocks so there wouldn't be a problem, and have the station guards realize Claude was dead. This eventually became a huge part of Hugo’s life. He felt close to his father when he spent time working with little mechanical toys and gears. All these events made Hugo strong, this helped him carry out tasks throughout the book.

As an orphan, there is a lack of food, and money With living in a crowded Paris train station, thats the perfect opportunity to steal and hide from guards. Hugo’s “morning routine” would be to take a fresh bottle of milk and a croissant. “Hugo slowly crept to the lower level of the station, the cafe bakery. He snatched a bottle of milk from the bottom shelf and took a cellophane wrapped croissant. He dashed off hoping Madame Emile didn't catch him.” Hugo only ate a croissant and drank a bottle a day. He had many struggles that other orphans never had. Orphans usually run away to a shelter or another family member, Hugo would've done the same. But, his main focus is to repair the automaton to see what his father’s message was. Every day Hugo would have the same nightmare, the station inspector chased him back to the time keepers room, where he stayed. The station inspector catches homeless kids using the station as a “shelter” and takes them to an orphanage. “At that moment, Hugo accidentally dropped the ice and the bottle of milk, which shattered loudly on the stone floor. As Madame Emile spun around and spotted him, she yelled, “My milk! So you’re the one who’s been stealing from me!” Madame Emile was talking to the station inspector when this happened, Hugo was chased by the station inspector. He ran into the walls of the station and the inspector soon followed. He chased Hugo throughout the whole interior of the station until he lost him. Hugo was hiding in the highest clock in the station. The clock at the top of the station.

In conclusion, Hugo is a unique orphan, his characteristics set him apart from the rest. His struggles as a young timekeeper and thief, leave him restless. All these events made Hugo strong, this helped him carry out tasks throughout the book. "When there is no struggle there is no strength." Oprah Winfrey.