...Once upon a time, there were two people who went to an interview for only one job position at the same company. The first person attended a prestigious and highly academic university, had years of work experience in the field and, in the mind of the employer, had the potential to make a positive impact on the company's performance. The second person was just starting out in the field and seemed to lack the ambition that was visible in his opponent. "Who was chosen for the job?" you ask. Well, if the story took place before 1964, the answer would be obvious. However, with the somewhat recent adoption of the social policy known as affirmative action, the answer becomes unclear. After the United States Congress passed the Civil Rights Act in 1964,it became apparent that certain business traditions, such as seniority status and aptitude tests, prevented total equality in employment. Then President, Lyndon B. Johnson, decided something needed to be done to remedy these flaws. On September 24, 1965, he issued Executive Order #11246 at Howard University that required federal contractors "to take affirmative action to ensure that applicannot s are employed . . . without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin (Civil Rights)." When Lyndon Banes Johnson signed that order, he enacted one of the most discriminating pieces of legislature since the Jim Crow Laws were passed. Affirmative action was created in an effort...
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...performance can hid very well, and that scapegoat’s upkeep has become far too extravagant in today’s society. “We didn’t land on Plymouth Rock my brothers and sisters--Plymouth Rock landed on us,” Malcolm X’s observation is brought out by the facts of America history. Snatched from their native land transported thousands of miles--in a nightmare of disease and death and sold into slavery blacks were reduced into the legal status of farm animals. Even after emancipation, blacks were segregated from whites--in some states by law, in social practice almost everywhere. American apartheid continued for another century. In 1954 the Supreme Court declared state compelled segregation in schools unconstitutional, and it followed up that decisions with others that struck down many other forms of official segregation. Still discrimination survived, and in most southern states blacks were either discouraged or prohibited from excersizing their rights to vote. Not until the 1960’s was compulsory segregation finally and effectively challenged. Between 1964 and 1968 congress passed the most sweeping legislation since the end of the Civil War. It banned discrimination in employment, public accommodation,( hotels, motels, restaurants, etc.), and housing; it also guaranteed voting rights for blacks in areas suspected of disenfranchising blacks. Today, several agencies in the federal government excursive sweeping powers to enforce these civil rights measures. After the United...
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...Throughout all of the various issues being explored and debated in today’s society, one that has become very prevalent in the past few years is the matter of slavery reparations in America. Advocates of this cause have begun to raise awareness in an effort to make reparations to African Americans affected by the crime of slavery in the United States. This is an extremely controversial subject, especially since there are so many different considerations and opinions surrounding the issue. Anthony Gifford’s article, “The Legal Basis of the Claim for Slavery Reparations”, Ta-Nehisi Coates’ “The Case for Reparations”, and chapter nine of Michael Sandel’s book, Justice: What’s The Right Thing To Do? all dig deeper into this issue and take a look at the idea of slavery reparations from various different angles. One of the big questions to reflect on while considering the possibility of slavery reparations in America is: What can be done in order to begin resolving the issue of slavery reparations? The...
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...Devin Mayo English 101 03/30/14 Free Mary According to government surveys over one-hundred million Americans have used marijuana in their lifetime, Twenty-five million have used in the past year, and fourteen million use on a regular basis despite the laws against it. It has been reported to be the third most popular recreational drug in America (only behind alcohol and tobacco). It also has been proven to be less harmful than alcohol and tobacco in numerous occasions. Which brings up the question why is this drug not legal. In 1905 El Paso, Texas banned marijuana as a way of discouraging Mexican-American subcultures from developing. By the 1930's it was banned over thirty states in America. Marijuana related arrest for possession sadly affect African-American and Hispanics reinforcing the perception that law enforcement is biased and prejudiced against minorities. According to the New York Times "Minorities were nearly four times as likely as whites to be arrested on charges of marijuana possession, even though the two groups used the drug at similar rates, according to new federal data". The laws against this drug are executed primarily against minorities in this country. On June 18, 1971 President Richard Nixon held a press conference regarding our nation’s drug abuse and prevention, the day that he introduced our country to the term "War on Drugs". On this day he declared drug abuse to be "public enemy number one", stating his devotion to more federal resources to...
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...George Orwell, have used Lexical instead of Political as his underlying reasoning for the general collapse and degradation of modern English writing? I believe he could have based on four reasons. First, here are simpler reasons than those perceived by Orwell as responsible for the ugliness as he describes in “Politics and the English Language.” (1-2) Secondly, there is other, more pedestrian reasoning than the four mentioned in Orwell’s “Why I Write,” (2-3) which are: sheer egoism, aesthetic enthusiasm, historical impulse, and Political purpose (1-2). And finally, after research into his past and getting only a small glimpse into the trials and hardships he had to deal with, compounded with poor health since childhood, I believe his views pertaining to writing were largely shaped by these ordeals (Stevens 9-11). After reading the assigned work by George Orwell, and other samples of his work, I have come to ascertain that there are simpler reasons than those proposed by him “Why I Write,” for the general collapse of modern writing. Writing this essay for example, is not an easy undertaking, but I have available to me technology that while useful, may contribute to lazy writing. I am thankful for modern devices of today’s technology. I couldn’t fathom writing this by hand and all the mistakes and backtracked thoughts would certainly consume large amounts of paper or extra notebooks. The topic of this essay is not an easy undertaking for the average person; however, in this...
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...In today’s police departments, the percentage of white officers on the force is more than 30 percent higher than in the communities they serve, as seen in a government survey of police departments (Ashkenas, Jeremy, and Haeyoun Park 1). Thus, minorities only make up a small quarter of police forces. Through racial diversification, charges of racial discrimination by police would be lowered. According to Ronald Weitzer, a Professor of Sociology at George Washington University, “a diverse law enforcement agency can better develop relationships with the community it serves, promote trust in the fairness of law enforcement, and facilitate effective policing by encouraging citizen support and cooperation” (22). A diverse police force can also help to decrease the belief that individuals are stopped and questioned by officers because...
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...feel about discrimination against those who have a different sexual orientation. Sexual orientation discrimination is a rapidly growing issue in today’s workplaces. Just like sex, age, and race discrimination it is becoming one of the major issues that is present in the workforce. With the growing news media issues like gay marriage and “Don’t ask don’t tell”, this is becoming another one of the areas employers are and have been discriminating against workers. There are many state laws to discourage this type of discrimination, but as of right now there is not a federal law that protects against sexual orientation discrimination. I am sure in time there will be some form of federal protection, but only time will tell. As part of the Lesbian Gay Bi Transgender (LGBT) family, I have seen firsthand how this discrimination has and continues to negatively affected people’s lives. When people are singled out for any reason and discriminated against, it makes me think “are we really in the land of the free?” Just as Ms. King’s quote stated, if we believe in freedom we need to take a stand against the injustice. We should be free to live the life we chose and love who we chose to love without the fear of intolerance. As long as we do the job we are asked to do at or above what is expected, there should not be any issues. But in today’s society, there are. The purpose of this paper is to inform the reader about the different types of discrimination that...
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...America’s history has changed over the years and has shaped the country in many ways. Even though some of our past has been immorally humane we still are trying to correct our mistakes. One of the years that has defined our country is 1963 because it was the year where people stood up for change and equality. The movement for change in civil rights, women’s rights, changes in the justice system, and political leader’s influence made 1963 a crucial year in American History. One of the most significant events during the civil rights movement took place in the city of Birmingham. Birmingham, Alabama was known as the steel city and was known for displaying racial hatred that was occurring mainly in the south. The scenes that were displayed around the country involved violence and...
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...Racism 2 In this current disenchanted world, there is no meaningful order of things or events outside the human domain. When the forests and the farms are no longer considered sacred and the spirits we tempted with food and sacrifice have no mysterious risks associated with the systematic rape of mother Earth. Then a disenchanted nature is no longer alive. The living Earth commands no respect, reverence or love. It is nothing but a giant machine, to be mastered to serve human purposes. The animists(1) took care of this planet on up to the last few hundred years. As man accidentally discovers the beginnings of commerce that opens the doors to an industrial nation, then an industrial world will soon discover industrial waste. Whether the notion that a mountain or a tree is to be regarded as a person is taken literally or not, the attempt to engage with the surrounding world as if it consists of other people might possibly provide the basis for a respectful attitude towards living things. If your disenchantment is over the environmental problems and destruction, then the environmental racism byproduct can be regarded as an attempt to reveal to you that we are part of the world collective and that we are in a sense, the world itself. Environmental racism(2) is one of the biggest problems the world faces today. Issues created by corporate polluters produce trouble in the form of economic, as well as, physical. For some individuals and cultures, it affects them every...
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...perpetuated, or “spread”, by fear of the unknown; a virus which insidiously promotes discrimination and segregation based off differences in both culture and appearance, flourishes amongst the ignorant and is prevalent throughout both America’s distant and recent history, as well as in the archives of world history. A parent to ignorance and the culprit to the divisive vices of racial prejudice of all creeds, a lack of sufficient education, along with blatant disregard for one’s global community, is the underlying reason why Orientalism is a recurring theme in history that has yet to be abolished entirely. However, there exist scholars and filmmakers, such as Le Espiritu, Sucheng Chan, Wakako Yamauchi, etcetera, who give hope to the fight against such ignorance by using their work to inform and educate the public in order to challenge such stereotypes and atrocious ways of thinking. In order to effectively and efficiently push against orientalism in today’s age of information, and secure a future for future generations in which no one racially profiles one another, discriminates against anyone else based on racial profiling, or constructs social barriers that belittle and...
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...Corruption Sanchit Avasti Roll no. 03 TYBMM Introduction of corruption What is Corruption? In philosophical, theological, or moral discussions, Corruption is spiritual or moral impurity or deviation from an ideal. In economy, Corruption is payment for services or material which the recipient is not due, under law. Corruption means the state of being bad and dishonest, especially in matters concerning money. It creates a very impact to the country's education, occupation, living style and mostly the humanity. Corruption affects all regions of the world and all levels of society, but the impact is greatest in developing countries. Every year, developing countries lose USD 50 million to 100 million through corrupt acts Corruption undermines political, social and economic stability and damages trust in institutions and authorities. It also fuels transnational crime. Terrorists and organized criminals are aided in their illegal activities by the complicity of corrupt public officials. Types of Corruption Corruption became a sway all over the world now-a-days. It can be categorized in three types. There are three broad classifications of corruption, which are however not mutually exclusive: Petty and Grand corruption: Petty Corruption: • Practiced on a smaller scale. Defined as the use of public office for private benefit in the course of delivering a pubic service. Usually involves relatively small amounts of money, including bribery (grease money or speed...
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...Importance of ethics in business (627) Business ethics is a term that is commonly heard across the work environment. Some might think of it is the guiding principles of the working of the organization while some might think of it as a set of rules laid down by the management to be followed by everyone related to the organization. Ethical decisions are tough to take but a foundation of ethical decisions leads to greater future opportunities. While it may seem very easy to steal from the company and mistreat the customers, this behavior goes a long way in damaging the reputation of the employer as well as the employee. The wisdom to choose right from wrong is very important in business. Businesses today run on their name and the reputation they have built in public. It is often seen that businesses that do extremely well in the market are the ones that are built on the foundations of strong ethical decisions. In the case stated above, we see that the employees are non compliant towards company policies and are not ethical in their behavior. This is wrong. This kind of behavior leads to negative image in the eyes of the employer. Any company that hires an employee has a certain set of expectations from them. Only when those expectations are met, the employees are given chances to build their career with the employer. They are presented with future opportunities that can make them excel in their area of expertise. If there are employees who do not comply with the values...
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...in its various forms (Ford & Grantham, 2003). The most devastating brand of this sort of deficit thinking emerges when we mistake difference—particularly difference from ourselves— for deficit. If one concentrates best while sitting still it may be difficult to imagine that somebody else—a student or colleague, perhaps—concentrates more effectively while pacing or tapping a pencil. Similarly, if one always has lived among people who speak a certain language variation, such as what people commonly refer to as “standard English,” she or he might mistake somebody’s use of a different variation, such as the Appalachian variety spoken by my grandmother, as an indication of intellectual inferiority or, worse, deviance (Collins, 1988). Over the past ten or so years a critical discourse challenging the deficit perspective has emerged among educators. Some insist that “every student is gifted and talented.” Others urge us to “find the gift in every child”; to “focus on student strengths.” Unfortunately, like many discourses in the education milieu, the one surrounding the deficit perspective occurs largely outside of what Nieto and Bode (2008) call the sociopolitical context of schooling, “the unexamined ideologies and myths that shape...
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...critical literacy. Focusing on Suzanne Collins's The Hunger Games series (2008, 2009, 2010), the author addresses how elements of the trilogy relate to violent acts in our world, helping student understand that violence and brutality toward children is not fiction, but very real, and that they can play a role in its abolishment, just like Katniss, through social action projects. Issues such as hunger, forced labor, child soldiers, and the sex trade that appear in both the fictional series and our world are discussed, encouraging students to assess their world and advocate for change. Examples of social action projects that utilize multiple literacies are suggested as a way to inspire students take action in the community and to stand up to injustice and brutality in hopes of creating a better world and a better human race. Using popular literature to pique student interest, this article explores how to incorporate the books in the Hunger Games series into the ELA classroom to support literacy and critical goals. Class on Fire: Using the Hunger Games Trilogy to Encourage Social Action Introduction The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins, comprising The Hunger Games (2008), Catching Fire (2009), and Mockingjay (2010), is a pop culture sensation. With more than 26 million books sold and box office receipts grossing $68.3 million on the opening day of the film adaptation of the first novel, this postapocalyptic, dystopian series clearly appeals to a wide audience that is not...
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...Steering Bangladesh in the Right Direction: A report based on Steering Bangladesh in the Right Direction: A report based on Youth Leadership Summit 2011 is published by the Bangladesh Youth Leadership Center and funded by the World Bank. Steering Bangladesh in the Right Direction: A report based on Youth Leadership Summit 2011 is the result of collaboration with pi Strategy Consulting. Bangladesh Youth Leadership Center Plot 3 Road 20 Block J Baridhara Dhaka 1212 phone: (02) 883 3519 email: info@bylc.org www.bylc.org CORE TEAM AND AUTHORS © 2012 Bangladesh Youth Leadership Center All rights reserved. Samina Hossain Leadership Fellow, Bangladesh Youth Leadership Center Neamah Nazrul Islam Management Trainee, Bangladesh Youth Leadership Center No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system. Samira Saba Intern, Bangladesh Youth Leadership Center PRODUCTION TEAM - CREATIVE DESIGN Ivdad Ahmed Khan Mojlish Director, Youth Leadership Programs, Bangladesh Youth Leadership Center Neamah Nazrul Islam Management Trainee, Bangladesh Youth Leadership Center We are grateful to Pial Islam and his team at pi Strategy Consulting for their generous support in survey design and data analysis. In addition, we offer a special thank you to Charles Undeland at the World Bank for his guidance and advice on the production...
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