What evidence does LBJ offer as proof of the widening economic gap between black and white Americans? How does he explain this gap?

During the Election of 1964, Lyndon B. Johnson proposed The Great Society to mend the economic gap between the black and white. His eyes were opened to the invisible poor by Michael Harrington's The Other America which exposed the other side of America, instead of prosperous, ideal American dream that is often portrayed throughout the world.

There was government assistance for the "deserving" but there was nothing being done about the poor. Because of Harrington's book, the injustice of the publicized and LBJ was left with nothing else to do than make some changes about it, especially to gain support throughout the election.

He actually took action and decreased the gap throughout governmental institutions such as welfare, medicare and medicaid. He knew that mainly minorities were affected by the widespread poverty throughout the United States, but with the African Americans being affected the most because of "past injustices and present prejudices".
The gap was not only economical, but throughout education, job opportunities, benefits received and public segregation and moral. There was an increasing gap in the unemployment rate between the black and the white. The African Americans weren't receiving the equality promised throughout.

The cartoon shows the slavery that they bound to for many different years. Then how they were squashed to the ground by the very confident, "deserving", whites throughout. Then the whites apologize for the racism, for making the African Americans feel unwanted, undeserving, but don't offer to lift them up because it would be "reverse racism". This cartoon is attacking the whites for being so cynical about LBJ's new Great Society policy of Affirmative Action, which gave the blacks the advantage for once over the whites. It is as though the whites are saying that it is OK for them to have pushed down and taken advantage of the blacks for so many years because they apologized, but if they were to make them equal it would be as though they were the victims because they wouldn't have the power of them anymore.

LBJ's idea of the Great Society definitely contributed to the Civil Rights Movement and created jobs and much more opportunity for the black community.

Cheerfull Robots

According to C. Wright Mills, Americans during the 1950s were Cheerful Robots. Using his excerpt, what you've read in the text, and heard in class, why is that description fitting (don't just repeat or rephrase what's in the Mills article).

After the war, many GI's were given checks. Money they had never had was handed to them to build a life. Many Americans took advantage of William Levitt's idea of suburbia and began lives in "Levittowns". The perfect American family exploded as husbands, wives, and children, preferably one son and one daughter, lived in cookie-cutter houses, with the perfect appliances inside and the perfect cars outside. All the homes were the same, there was no destination, perfecting the nickname C. Wright Mills had given Americans. The husband did his part by going to work each day while the wife attended to her domestic duties inside the home.

Keeping in mind that America was just victorious in the tragic world war, Americans worked hard to build and maintain the perfect American way. If there be any unhappiness inside or outside of the home, it was not to be shown. If the American wife was disappointed in her duties, she was simply prescribed the medication to make her happy again. Any feeling outside of contentment and bliss was highly discouraged and thought to be unpatriotic. The "Housewive Syndrome" was easily cured with the highly consumable tranquilizers like Miltown and Valium. They felt very isolated and helpless, yet it was not to be expressed.

The daily family routine of mother staying home while waving goodbye to her husband as he had his independent job, returning to a hot meal on the table was the norm of the 1950s and it definitely proves C. Wright Mills' reference of Americans as Cheerful Robots. It was the same for the majority of the country.

It was a horrible war. Millions killed worldwide, economics crashed, families torn apart, morality lost. Although FDR had tried to organize a United Nations prior to the war to prevent it from happening, it just didn't work out the way he wanted it to, more like back-fired on him. So, after the second, he found a way to work it together.
Many Americans were struggling with the fact that we were fighting racism abroad, the reason we were at war, yet we were protecting it at home. It seemed illogical to most Americans because it was. The war had lead to unifying the nation as everyone strived for a similar purpose – America to prosper and for loved ones to return home alive. As the war drew to an end, the leader of the allies tried once again to build up the United Nations, with the purpose that things could be talked out instead of fought out on the battle field.
They drew up a Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It stated many absolutes about people being equal, how we were each born with the same capabilities, therefore should be given the same opportunities despite race, gender. It states that “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.” What a great idea! The leaders of the United Nations definitely had a good idea of world peace, yet the execution is what counts.
There are many instances particularly in the United States that contradict this direct quotation for the Article. Since the foundation of America, the country has driven off slaves and “free” labor by the “less qualified”. The African Americans had fought for their freedom and suffrage from the very beginning, with little no progress, sometimes regressive. During the course of the war, the Public Law 45 Pace Amendment of 1943 was passed that said government wouldn’t respect collective bargaining from the agricultural industry or a minimum wage or maximum hours. They were once more discriminated against and not given the same rights as other “more qualified”, in the middle of wartime. Yet, the president wanted everyone to be given equal dignity and rights throughout the world.
Another example of this on the home front would be the Executive Order of 9066, which stated that the government had the right to preserve and protect areas that they were threatened by, indirectly meaning that Japanese Americans, about 80% native born Americans, were to be forced into interment, concentration camps striped of their belongs. Although the government was trying to fight for its country and do what it felt necessary to “preserve and protect areas” after the brutal attack of Pearl Harbor, it still contradicts the Human Rights declaration made at the UN to unify the world from another world war.
Although most like to disregard the hypocrisy going on within their own country, denying certain people groups rights, the United States eventually ratified the Declaration of Human Rights in order to maintain that there is no way but the American way to other countries throughout the world.

Korean Comfort Women

Why were the Korean Comfort Women “silent” so long? Why could the words and actions of Japanese officials and government be interpreted as attempts to further silence them?

They were made to feel shame, when the government forced them to provide sex services, who should feel the shame for taking the purity of the girls. The women were to provide comfort to the men on the front lines. They were earning good money, so it wasn’t discrimination in the eyes of the men. The woman cannot escape the memory of the rap during the war; it is a part of them. The woman thought that the solution would be that rape, sex education, should be taught to prevent it from happening again.

The principals of the schools manipulated the children into choosing to go to the war line, so that the woman could become comfort woman. Some of the woman on the ships to the front line had their first menstrual periods and then were forced to have sex with men, which resulted in such pain and disrespect that led them to be unable to carry children.

The women were in court and punished. The men justify that the problem of morality has never been solved. Mankind is the cause of the comfort woman. They sought consolation because there was a possibility that they might die tomorrow. The men threatened the woman by telling them they would kill them if they didn’t follow five “simple” orders. The argument of money was not a valid argument in the eyes of the woman because there was no use for money in the military. There was nothing to trade for, they were provided with everything they needed. The men gave nicknames to the condoms, such as “lets attack”. They sought rape as another way for them to gain power of the women. Japanese men were very prideful and saw shame in anything which they didn’t gain or control.

The documents were destroyed that had any evidence of the comfort women; moreover documents of the war were destroyed. The Japanese didn’t win, it was shameful in their culture, and they didn’t want any record of their loss. The women were beat to the point that they lost their hearing, bones were broken, scares of puss were formed, and they did not receive any medical attention. It was sex with beasts, not humans.

Documents were burned. The testimonies of the women were not true unless there was proof. The government acted as if nothing had ever happened. The government should put aside its pride and acknowledge the issue, but that was against the Japanese culture. The government failed. They failed to take care of its woman, its people, at the most serious time it needed to, wartime. The government was more focused on fixing the economy than fixing its moral issued. It was more focused on itself than its people. The women were not valued.

The government sealed everything with treaties and stamps, but couldn’t apologize to its people. Shots were given for the pain the women. The women fought with the men all night, but they were just too strong.

The women were stripped from their rights of life. Since they were viewed as shameful because of something they had been victim of, no one wanted to marry them. They were forced to live alone with the taunting memories of what had happened to them right at their very first menstrual period. They were stripped of youth and stripped of life. They were forced to grow up and them left alone.

The government officials never recognized anything was gone to the women and acted as though there was nothing wrong with them. They were found shameful in society and had to live lives alone because they were looked down upon because they were not pure and could not bear children. No one wanted to be with them. Thus they were left alone to carry the pain and the terrifying memories that they were victims of. The Japanese had a corrupt government in the sense that they were not even acknowledged until the early 1990s. The women were silenced on the outside, but never dealt with the inner self screaming daily. There was no escaping the memory of torture, especially by their own people.

FDR's Freedoms

In my opinion, I believe that when FDR gave his Four Freedoms Speech at the State of the Union address in 1941 he meant that the “freedom from want” was breaking loose of any bondage to longing for things that were not necessities and that the “freedom from fear” was a security in the nation and others surrounding countries to be without war. FDR’s nation and allied nation, England, were in an unstable state. He had to give some hope to the American people, that although they were in war right now, there was a peacetime that would bring a goal of the four freedoms he had expressed.
As the leader of a growing world power, in the time of war, with other European allies, the things that FDR expresses as freedoms resulted in an optimistic mindset for the home front as well as the battlefield. The “freedom from want” arose greatly in the 1930s with the Great Depression when the economy of both the American people and the European people was greatly affected and it was hard for either people to even get the things they needed, yet alone the things they wanted. FDR knew the people’s desires, therefore was trying to hit them on the dot.
With the war surrounding Europe and the American people, the “freedom from fear” would ensure the use of fewer weapons so that the threat of war at peacetime will not be so threatening. Although America had not entered the war yet, Europeans had been in ragging war for a while. The American people were surrounded by fear for their safety as a country, as individuals and as loved ones. But we have to keep in mind that FDR was not only speaking to America, but to the soon-to-be Allies in the European countries and the opposing Germans and their followers. He wanted to ensure the responsibility to the American people, yet please the other European countries as well. He knew what he was doing, just like most politicians to play smart and safe.

And We Move North

Dear Diary,
It is the beginning of the rest of my life. My family and I have decided to travel north, to the land of prosperity. Theses roaring 1920s have given us a boost to the New Negro aspect of life. Although the fear of lynching and other murderous tactics that have taken place since I can remember, there is hope for a brighter tomorrow for me and my people. Now, I have to keep my moving north secret. If the white folks were to find out, they would treat me poorly and do whatever it took to keep me here, to continue to be mistreated and used for their labor, but more importantly for their pride. No matter how or where I live, I had to watch my back. A white person is always out to get me and I’m tired of his lifestyle. My family deserves better, I deserve better. Now is the time to make something of myself, of my heritage. I should be proud to be an African America. It is a time of rebirth, of Renaissance. I’ve seen how the government takes no action in any effort of my life, and just flat out doesn’t care. Realizing this, we’ve taken action into our own hands. I’ve recently joined the Universal Negro Improvement Association. Our unity is what will get us through, unity in purpose and promise. Day by day, we are writing our own history. We are focused on the poor African Americans. I am a bit skeptical about this organization because it is taking a different approach, although it is unified, it is saying that we are not equal. We are never going to be thought of as equal, so why try.
We want to make a name for ourselves. Our African Americanism entitles us to a country of freedom, liberty and democracy, not into a lifestyle of fear that we’ve so recently been forced into. Mr. Marcus Garvey, an ambitious man for the people of color as well as the leader of the Universal Negro Improvement Association, wants to take the people back to Africa and then capture Africa from the American colonies. I do not agree with this. America is the land of the free. We are African Americans, we’ve worked hard for our citizenship. Our ancestors are the ones who made this country prosper. I believe that it will eventually be realized that we need each other to survive peacefully, what we’ve been called to do as Americans.
The members of my community have taken action by writing to a prosperous friend of the Southern African Americans, The Chicago Defender, asking the Defender for money to give us, yes myself included, for the chance at a better opportunity not so much ourselves, but for our families. Our cost of living is increasing so much, all the while our wages are getting smaller and smaller. Although the North provides tons of jobs for our people, with which will come prosperity, the problem many of my problems, as well as the problems of others, goes back to transportation. We have no way to get there, especially with the shortage of money we are already facing. Nothing is more frustrating than knowing there is a better life, but not being able to reach it. Those jobs are available, heck, they’re even wanted! We want the jobs, the employers want us to have the jobs. They’re calling this move to the North the Great Migration. I’ve been fortunate enough to have saved up for the move, but through the unity of my people, I cannot help but feel their pain. I would hate to leave anyone behind, but have to put the needs of my family, my first and foremost unified people. My people have even gotten so desperate that they’ve written the editor of the Defender offering a deduction of pay from their salary to cover their travel costs once they get to the free land, the North.
I know that the world has yet to fully recognize us as people, but we have come a long way from where we were half a century ago, even a decade ago, or a couple of years ago. Just last year the New KKK, oh those horrible, horrible people did such terrible, terrible things in the Red Summer, Tulsa and Rosewood. Liberty has no cost, as my family and community have been witness to the death of many for our liberty. The North has the hope for a better life, yet no promises. To the white folks of the north, I will be forever grateful. I cannot wait for the life that my family will have their, giving my children the chance at an education, something no one can take away or render from them. This is something I will treasure forever in the debts of my soul.
Tomorrow is the beginning of the rest of my life, or should I say, tomorrow, I begin my life. Although I am scared, my faith has to be that we will succeed, that our lives will be worth living and we will be unified through our differences.
Until we meet again,
Abbot Lutcher

Mexican American

It’s 1920 and you, Alonzo Vasquez, are a Mexican immigrant to the United States. While you love your new country, it is very important to you that your family remember and honor your culture and traditions, many of which are tied to your homeland. You are increasingly worried that your children, in the process of becoming “American,” are ignoring the importance of their heritage. Why is it so important to you that your family retain some cultural connection to Mexico and your Mexican heritage? What evidence is there that your children are being wholly “Americanized?” What conflicts has this created between you and your children?

*This assignment, while allowing for creativity, MUST draw from your VoF readings for the week and Becoming Mexican American.

America is the land of the free. As a native-born Mexican, and chosen American, becoming Mexican American, is not the easiest process. Although I do love the land of prosperity and as well as the Sunshine State, California, my native culture will never leave me. It is very hard to balance two completely different lifestyles. Entering into a land full of Native Angelino’s, there are many unspoken expectational characteristics. Such as the children going to school, I, Alonzo Vasquez, the father, as the working breadwinner, my wife balancing a job and the caretaker of the house, while still receiving less pay. It was unheard of in Mexico for my wife to work, now she actually wants to. Rarely was English even spoken in Mexico, now my family hardly speaks any Spanish. It’s understandable that we would lose some of our Mexican culture, but it darkens my soul to it slip away more and more each day.
It is important to me and my family to maintain our Mexican culture and heritage because it makes us who we are. It’s what I’ve always known is right. I want to instill in my family that I can provide for them and give them the lifestyle that they deserve, while still showing them the importance of family and Mexican pride, from which our heritage originated. Family has always been extremely important to us, it was hard on my mom and dad to see us go; to completely forget my heritage and culture would be unacceptable to them. I want to prove to them that I can come here and still be who I am, that I am not ashamed of who I am, where I came from. That I am proud of them, I want to make them proud of me as well.
The transition hasn’t been so easy on my children, they forget who they are because of how little time they spent in Mexico. Their mother was strategically targeted to the Americanization process. They wanted to get her from being the domestic leader, my life wouldn’t even make us rice and beans anymore. Tortillas replaced with bread and beans with lettuce. She’s fallen into that trap and it’s made me resent her. I don’t understand why they would want to change our culture and the strong family ties that we have. They don’t understand why I don’t want to fit in better into this new land of the free.
I’ve learned how selfish America is. She doesn’t care about the people. She cares about industrialization. She cares about prosperity of herself, not about the wellness of the people. She is open to immigration, but nothing outside the perfect American lifestyle, needless to say was not in any way perfect.