Voting Rights of 1965

Voting Rights of 1965

The 2013 political cartoon by David Horsey from the newspaper Los Angeles Times shows a newspaper article in the back titled, “Supreme Court Guts Voting Rights Act,” and a man wearing a ‘State Official’ pin holding out his hand to a trash can while telling a Black man to drop his ballot in it.  This takes us back to the Civil Rights, Jim Crow, and slave eras.  The cartoon’s context shows how African Americans living in the south are unfairly treated and being stripped of their rights by Supreme Court taking out important pieces of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.  Horsey connects the history of African Americans in the South to what it’s like now in present time. 

In order to first understand the cartoon, a person must know United States and African American history.  According to the Congress of Racial Equality web page, African Americans after Reconstruction faced difficulties with voting even after the Voting Right of 1965 had given them the right to vote. In order to vote, the Southern blacks went through all sorts of physical violence and harassment, therefore, the percentage of registered black voters was low.   Not only did they face negative reactions from the Southern whites, they faced obstacles such as poll taxes and literacy tests (“Voting”). 

            Horsey uses symbols in different ways.  One way he uses them is to show the setting of the cartoon, which is indicated by the stars and stripes table cloth, and the word “boy” in the speech bubble.  Both symbols set us back to a place and time, which is back to the United States in the slave era.  They are minor symbols, but are needed to know when and where the cartoon takes place.  Another way Horsey uses symbols is to help decipher the cartoon into words.  One of them is a star on a southern hat worn by a creepy looking man, symbolizing that he is a sheriff.  The star is an important symbol because it is needed to show the systematic denial of voting rights to the African Americans in the south. 

Not only are symbols in the cartoon important, Horsey’s use of exaggeration also helps viewers determine the cartoon’s meaning.  He exaggerates that man’s face with the star on his hat making him appear as if he is evil and up to no good.  This exaggeration suggests that the men in the back are supposed to be trained to fight for justice and enforce the law, but in the cartoon they are the ones gutting the rights of the African Americans.

Although the cartoon may lack features such as iconography, visual irony, caricature, and captions, Horsey sends his message out by using exaggeration of facial features and using symbols.  He is able to point out and suggest the unfairness towards African Americans in the southern states and who the top contributors are.  He shows what is wrong with the systematic denial of voting rights in the southern state towards African Americans.  Horsey relies on the exaggeration and symbols of his cartoon as key points to understanding his drawing.    

       

Work Cited

"Voting Rights Act of 1965." Voting Rights Act of 1965. Congress of Racial Equality, 3 Dec. 2010. Web. 13 Oct. 2013.

Native American Mascots

NATIVE AMERICAN MASCOTS

  An increasing amount of controversy associated with schools and Native American mascots has caused a huge turnout in debate in the past few years.  Both sides have legitimate points to their argument, so school boards around the United States are struggling to find a reasonable solution. On the pro side, students who attend schools with Native American-themed mascots argue that their school is representing pride and honor, not disrespect.  This idea is opposed by the Native Americans fighting to keep schools from using Native American-themed mascots, because they strongly believe that the mascots are racist and disrespectful towards them, their tradition, and their culture. 

Often times, students who attend schools with Native American-themed mascots fight to keep their mascots, because they don’t want to stray from tradition, and believe that Native Americans should take having a mascot of them as a compliment. Tradition is a huge reason for the support to keep a school’s mascot, but it’s not always the only problem.  Cost is a huge issue.  If schools were to change their mascot, they would need to change everything their school spirit is based upon, like logos, school wear, gym floors, bleachers, and much more.  This would lead to an immense amount of money spent, and for some schools that’s not possible. 

Although their argument is valid, we have to consider the other side of the matter.   Recently, in the past few years, Native Americans have started to speak up like never before.  The reason behind Native American resistance towards a mascot may depend on the history of the name and how the mascots depict their people.  Some Native Americans are not bothered by these terms, but some feel strongly against them.  An example of a group that feels strongly towards the changing of a school’s mascot is the Sioux people.  Many members in the Sioux nation believe that North Dakota’s mascot, the Fighting Sioux, disrespect their people by using idiotic mockery to please the crowd. 

This debate has led to many different questions, “How do we know when a school’s mascot should be changed?” “What’s the right thing to do?” or for the schools that have Native American-themed mascots, “Is our mascot considered disrespectful?” They’re hard questions to grasp, but they cannot be ignored.  The issue of Native American-themed mascots is increasing in popularity.  For some, the issue impacts them remarkably, while for others it simply has no importance.  It may be harder to comprehend, because they are not Native American or a member of an opposing tribe.  However, Native Americans have spoken, and it is time to make a change!

A good way to solve this in the future would be to add laws that limit schools from using Native American-themed mascots without the approval of the band, tribe, or nation.  This will help unite schools and tribes, and will ultimately solve the conflict between them by allowing a way for the schools to regain back the respect of the tribes.  It will give Native Americans power that they should have had in the first place.  We are not one group of people but many groups of people.  We cannot exclude a certain group and make bold decisions while expecting no protest.  

The First Time We Saw Snow

The First Time We Saw Snow

One cold February in a ranch on the outskirts of Arlee, Montana, a man discovered a gift from nature surrounding his home.  It started the memory that became instilled in my mind. 

He opened my bedroom door with a big grin and shouted with glee as he told my brother and me to look outside.  We had just woken up a few minutes before, but our dad’s excited words triggered a curiosity that gave us the boost we needed to get off of our bed.  I ran to our front door, as my older brother followed, and peered through three little rectangular windows, side by side, that showed just enough light through them.  As I looked out, I saw little specks of white powder that glistened as the light touched them floating from the sky. 

 Filled with joy and excitement, my brother and I ran out with just our pajamas and unworn snow boots to touch the first snow we had ever seen.  My brother decided to do what we always saw in movies.  He fell into the snow, and waved his arms around, creating a little snow angel.  Not much later, I was doing the same thing, and soon enough the front yard had little snow angels surrounding it.  We tossed around the fresh snow with nothing but our bare hands.  I could feel my hands going numb and noticed that they had turned a reddish color.

A few minutes passed and I looked towards my house.  I saw that my dad was laughing.  It wasn’t till years later that I knew why he had stood there just laughing at my brother and me.  I shrugged it off while it took place, but I now know that my dad must have had a real treat, when he saw the surprised look on our faces as we realized that the seemingly harmless white powder was cold to the touch. 

When we couldn’t take the cold anymore, our parents signaled for us to come inside for breakfast.  Sure enough, the two of us went outside again, but the second time wearing the right apparel.  We played and laughed, the same way we had when we first came out.  It continued to snow throughout the day, even when we were back in our beds and ready to sleep.  Until this day, it still holds the record of the deepest snow I had ever seen in my life. 

It’s a memory that not many people would ever have but it’s also a memory that people wished they could experience.  Although it seems like nothing now, that day was something I had dreamed and wished for as a young kid.  Now, I have grown to be used to the snow and don’t find it as exciting. When winter comes and it begins to snow, I just look at it as normal-typical day.   Of course, I won’t be able to experience the first time I saw snow fall from the sky again, but the moment will always be painted in my mind.