Category Archives: Part 2: Subjects And Topics In Justice (all)

Shaun King’s Instagram and Twitter Accounts

January 21, 2019 6:29 pm /

Submitted by:  Maria Julia Rossi, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Modern Languages and Literature, John Jay College

“To keep an up-to-date record of daily injustices in America is not an easy task these days: Shaun King works to expose acts of racism and other forms of contemporary cruelties in his media accounts. But what is more important, King also develops and comments on a variety of ways readers and followers can actively participate to change the world we live in. With an engaging voice that does not fear the personal, his insights invite critical thinking as well as keeping a historical perspective.”

“Llevar un registro actualizado de las injusticias en los Estados Unidos no es una tarea fácil en estos días: Shaun King trabaja para dar visibilidad a varios actos de racismo y otras formas de crueldad contemporánea a través de sus cuentas en las redes sociales. Pero lo que es más importante, King también desarrolla y comenta una serie de maneras en que los lectores y seguidores podemos participar activamente para cambiar el mundo en que vivimos. Con una voz atrapante que no teme a la nota personal, sus ideas invitan al pensamiento crítico y a mantener una perspectiva histórica.”  (Comment by Rossi, 2019)  

Shaun King Instagram account: Click here: 

Shaun King Twitter account: Click here: 

Jeffery Shaun King (born September 17, 1979) is an American writer and civil rights activist. He is noted for his use of social media to promote social causes, including the Black Lives Matter movement. He is a columnist for The Intercept. Previously, he was a contributing writer for Daily Kos and a political commentator for The Young Turks. He co-founded the Real Justice PAC in February 2018, which supports progressive candidates running for district attorney offices in 2018.

In the Public Domain on social media.

Posted in: 2011 - Present, Part 1: Texts for Teaching and Learning about Justice, US / Tagged: , , , , ,

“Manifesto. I speak for my difference” by Pedro Lemebel, Poem, 1986

January 21, 2019 6:19 pm /

Submitted by:  Maria Julia Rossi, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Modern Languages and Literature, John Jay College of Criminal Justice

“When invited to participate as a poet in a leftist meeting in 1986, Pedro Lemebel wore high heels and drew on his face a Communist hammer and sickle to read his poem-manifesto “Hablo por mi diferencia” [I Speak for my Difference]. Instead of aligning with the ideology of the organizers, he used his first person to go back to historical attacks to queer identities—from Cuban camps to Chilean military dictatorship, from Pasolini to Ginsberg—and demand for room for differences for future generations.”

“Cuando lo invitaron a participar como poeta en un encuentro de izquierdas en 1986, Pedro Lemebel se puso tacones altos y se dibujó en la cara el martillo y la hoz comunistas para leer su poema-manifiesto “Hablo por mi diferencia”. En lugar de alinearse con la ideología de los organizadores, usó la primera persona para volver a ciertos ataques históricos a las identidades queer —desde los campos cubanos a la dictadura chilena, desde Pasolini a Ginsberg— y demandar espacio para las diferencias de las futuras generaciones.” (Comment by Rossi, 2019)

To listen online: “Manifesto. I speak for my difference” by Pedro Lemebel, 1986/ Poem

In Spanish. Pedro Segundo Mardones Lemebel (21 November 1952 – 23 January 2015) was an openly gay Chilean essayist, chronicler, and novelist. He was known for his cutting critique of authoritarianism and for his humorous depiction of Chilean popular culture, from a queer perspective.

Audio file from YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLoWAmjQGyU). Use for educational purposes under the Fair Use provision.

Posted in: 1970-1989, Latin America & the Caribbean, Part 2: Subjects and Topics in Justice (ALL) / Tagged: , , , ,

“Hair”, Poem by Elizabeth Acevedo, 2015

January 21, 2019 6:05 pm /

Submitted by:  Maria Julia Rossi, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Modern Languages and Literature, John Jay College of Criminal Justice

“Elizabeth Acevedo’s poem “Hair” is an active embodiment of poetry that reflects both on personal history and physical appearances, and connects them. Acevedo comments on her Dominican ancestry in a complex and emotional perspective: while vividly evoking her mother’s criticism of the poet’s hair, she contrasts this voice with her own sense of pride that stems from the same features her mother criticizes. Characterizing this tension as crucial in her sense of identity, Acevedo enlightens a series of tensions many of us at John Jay College feel at the core of our own sense of identity.”

“El poema “Hair” de Elizabeth Acevedo es una encarnación activa de poesía que reflexiona tanto sobre la historia personal como sobre la apariencia física y las conecta. Acevedo comenta sobre su ascendencia dominicana desde una perspectiva compleja y emocional: al mismo tiempo que evoca vívidamente las críticas que su madre hace del pelo de la poeta, contrasta esta voz con su propio sentimiento de orgullo que emana de los mismos rasgos que la madre critica. Al caracterizar esta tensión como un rasgo crucial en su sentido de identidad, Acevedo ilumina una serie de tensiones que muchos de nosotros en John Jay College sentimos en el centro de nuestro propio sentido de identidad.” (Comment by Rossi, 2019)

Click her to view online: “Hair” by Elizabeth Acevedo

Dominican-American poet Elizabeth Acevedo eloquently said everything you’ve always wanted to say about your hair in a powerful piece. Through spoken word, she takes on the discriminatory beauty standards in the Latinx community, specifically the idea that “good hair” is straight hair, saying, “My mother tells me to fix my hair, and by fix she means straighten. She means whiten.” Acevedo is a National Slam Poetry Champion.

This is posted on YouTube.  Use for educational purposes under the Fair Use provision.

Posted in: 2011 - Present, Part 1: Texts for Teaching and Learning about Justice, US / Tagged: , , , , ,

“Can’t Be Tamed: A Manifesto (In which We Teach you How to Be a Woman in Any Boys’ Club”, Molly Lambert, 2011

January 21, 2019 5:53 pm /

Submitted by:  Olivera Jokic, Associate Professor, English and Gender Studies, John Jay College of Criminal Justice

“Lambert is an excellent writer who was formed by a combination of popular culture and feminist discourses available on the Internet and in academic education. This text is a fierce and brilliant analysis of the history and logic of gender inequality, especially as it appears in the workplace, and a ‘manifesto’ for how women can engage with its demeaning forces. At the same time, it addresses what is at stake in that struggle for men. It draws materials for its argument from popular television shows (the “new golden age” of television that was also created by the streaming services), and shares in the knowledge about how work, media, and academic life have been for the generation we now call the “millennials.” (Comment by Jokic, 2019)

Click here to read online: Molly Lambert, “Can’t Be Tamed: A Manifesto (In which We Teach you How to Be a Woman in Any Boys’ Club”

From The Recording. Lowered Expectations, The Double Edged Sword: “When men demonstrate or betray surprise that you know a lot about something or have mastered a skill that they care about, it unfortunately just shows that some guys still don’t expect women to care about anything. Except being pretty and shopping and having thoughts that are somehow completely unlike male thoughts in any way.”

Copyright © 2011, This Recording. All rights reserved. Use for educational purposes under the Fair Use provision.

Posted in: 2011 - Present, Part 1: Texts for Teaching and Learning about Justice, US / Tagged: , ,

“Why aren’t more people talking about Latinos killed by police?” by Kenya Downes, PBS, July 14, 2016

January 21, 2019 4:02 pm /

Submitted by:  Suzanne Oboler, Professor, Latin American and Latinx Studies at John Jay College of Criminal Justice

“The title of this article is very self-explanatory. I believe this PBS article is important because there is a lack of media attention for Latinxs killed by the police.” (Comment by Oboler, 2019)

Click here to read online: “Why aren’t more people talking about Latinos killed by police?” PBS. July 14, 2016

There is a lack of media attention for Latinxs who are killed by officers. Organizations like the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), Voto Latino and even Black Lives Matter, are raising awareness of police use-of-force in Latinx communities. Police killings of brown people often go under-reported, says Eric Rodriquez, vice president of the NCLR’s office of research, advocacy, and legislation.

Copyright 2019 Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), all rights reserved. PBS allows the general public to use material from this site for personal use, not for commercial use. Use for educational purposes under the Fair Use provision.

Posted in: 2011 - Present, Part 1: Texts for Teaching and Learning about Justice, US / Tagged: , , , ,

“A Latina Judge’s Voice”: Lecture by Sonia Sotomayor (2002)

January 21, 2019 3:50 pm /

Submitted by:  Suzanne Oboler, Professor, Latin American and Latinx Studies at John Jay College of Criminal Justice

“Justice Sotomayor is the first Puerto Rican and Latinx woman to serve on the US Supreme Court. One of the reasons I chose this text to teach about Justice is because in her lecture Sotomayor raises the issue of race as a lived experience. At the same time her lecture discusses the role of our lived experience –whether shaped by our race, gender, sexuality, class, etc — in shaping our understanding of different situations and of justice.” (Comment by Oboler, 2019)

Click here to read: “A Latina Judge’s Voice”: Lecture by Sonia Sotomayor (2002)

This is the lecture Justice Sotomayor gave that the Republicans used to call her a racist in order to undermine and disqualify her during her confirmation hearings. Full citation: Sonia Sotomayor. 2002. A Latina Judge’s Voice. Berkeley La Raza Law Journal. 13(1): 87-93. This is open access.

This lecture is free and open access.

Posted in: 2000 - 2010, Part 1: Texts for Teaching and Learning about Justice, US / Tagged: , , , ,

Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948

January 18, 2019 10:58 pm /

Submitted by:  Matthew Perry, Assistant Professor, Dept. of History, John Jay College

Click here to read:  Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)

“I have found that students often use the language of “rights” when discussing the concepts of justice and (especially) injustice. This document is a valuable tool for getting students to think precisely about the concept of human rights, and the historical development of these ideas. The very idea of “human” rights supposes that these rights always have (or should have) existed. This claim, inherent to the document, could be discussed by students: Have some rights always existed, even if not honored? Or are rights necessarily specific to the time and place of their articulation? Will new human rights be discovered or invented in next centuries and millennium? It’s useful to have students consider what is mentioned in the original declaration, and what is left out. Students can then discuss how this document helps to define or explain the concept of justice.” (Comment by Perry, 2019)

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was issued by the United Nations in 1948. It is an important document because it represents a global (although there’s room for discussion of this point given the limited African and Asian membership in the UN at the time) effort to establish a common understanding of what constitutes “human rights”—a critical issue in modern understandings of justice.

Free and open access.

Posted in: 1900-1949, Global, Part 1: Texts for Teaching and Learning about Justice / Tagged: , , ,

Frederick Douglass, “Speech on the Dred Scott Decision”, May 1857

January 12, 2019 5:09 pm /

Submitted by: Jamie Longazel, Associate Professor, Dept. of Political Science, John Jay College of Criminal Justice

“I was at a large assembly with a political group in October 2018 as the news came out that the U.S. Senate voted 50-48 to confirm Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the United States Supreme Court. This had a lot of people upset; many at our gathering were losing hope for meaningful social change, as pundits warned that this would shape the nature of the high court for at least a generation. That is until one of the event’s speaker’s brought up and quoted extensively from this remarkable speech. It had been my first time hearing about it, and it certainly elevated my sense of hope. What it says to me is that, even in what might seem like the darkest of times, people can get together – indeed, they’ve done it before, particularly in the abolitionist movement – and overcome. As we face possible climate destruction and other contemporary horrors, this is a piece I highly recommend reading for inspiration to keep on moving forward in the struggle for justice.” (Comment by Longazel, 2019)

Click to read online:  Frederick Douglass, “Speech on the Dred Scott Decision”

Dred Scott v. Sandford, 60 U.S. (19 How.) 393 (1857), also known as the Dred Scott case or Dred Scott decision, was a landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court on U.S. labor law and constitutional law. It held that “a negro, whose ancestors were imported into [the U.S.], and sold as slaves,”whether enslaved or free, could not be an American citizen, and therefore had no standing to sue in federal court, and that the federal government had no power to regulate slavery in the federal territories acquired after the creation of the United States. Dred Scott, an enslaved man of “the negro African race” who had been taken by his owners to free states and territories, attempted to sue for his freedom. In a 7–2 decision written by Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, the court denied Scott’s request. The decision was only the second time that the Supreme Court had ruled an Act of Congress to be unconstitutional.

This speech is in the public domain.

Posted in: 1700-1899, Part 1: Texts for Teaching and Learning about Justice, US / Tagged: , , , ,

“Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., 1963

January 12, 2019 3:46 pm /

Submitted by:  Jamie Longazel, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, John Jay College of Criminal Justice

“This speech is perhaps most remembered as King’s articulation of his philosophy of non-violent civil disobedience. For that, it is certainly worth a read. But I think it can also be taken as a ‘how-to’ guide for modern activists. Either way, as is the case with most all of King’s speeches, you’re bound to find yourself inspired by his beautiful oration. Here’s one of the letter’s most quoted passages: “I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial “outside agitator” idea. Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds.” (Comment by Longazel, 2019)

Click on link to read the abridged letter:  Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “Letter from Birmingham Jail” 

The Letter from Birmingham Jail, also known as the Letter from Birmingham City Jail and The Negro Is Your Brother, is an open letter written on April 16, 1963, by Martin Luther King Jr. The letter defends the strategy of nonviolent resistance to racism.

This letter is in the public domain. Source: TeachingAmericanHistory.org a project of the Ashbrook Center at Ashland University.

Posted in: 1950-1969, Part 1: Texts for Teaching and Learning about Justice, US / Tagged: , , , ,

“The Future of the Negro and the Future of the Nation”, Speech by James Baldwin, 1963

November 9, 2018 6:35 pm /

Submitted by:  Olivera Jokic, Associate Professor, English and Gender Studies, John Jay College of Criminal Justice

Click here to view online: “The Future of the Negro and the Future of the Nation,” Speech by James Baldwin, 1963

 Writer James Baldwin speaks on “The Negro and The American Promise” about the “the future of the Negro in this country,” which is precisely as bright or as dark as the future of the country.”

Speech from YouTube. Use for educational purposes under the Fair Use provision of the copyright act.

Posted in: 1950-1969, Part 2: Subjects and Topics in Justice (ALL), US / Tagged: , , , ,
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