http://time.com/3841451/the-roots-of-baltimores-riot/

This is the Time Magazine cover that was published on May 11, 2015. The date when the original photograph was taken is not exactly known, but it was during the escalation of the Baltimore protests in late April. I saw it while I was scrolling through the “Baltimore Uprising” tag on tumblr when the riots escalated at this time. The protests were in response to the death of Freddie Gray who died of a spinal injury after being taken into custody by the police. I acquired this picture from the actual Time website and also included the original photo. The image on the left is the finished product of Time Magazine and the photograph on the right is the original photo. The final image that was used for the magazine cover cuts the original photo in half. By crossing out 1968 and replacing it with a red 2015 suggests to the audience that history is repeating itself and that nothing has really changed in over fifty years. It was created and published on the cover of this magazine because this is the time that history is being made. I feel like this is the intent of the image in that this lack of progression needs to end now. The fact that this image was published by Time Magazine ensures that it will be seen by a lot of people and that the message will be spread. I was able to see this image on an entirely different channel of social media which indicates to me that I was only one of thousands if not millions to have seen this image and felt its impact. Also, by making it black and white it reminds people of the protests in the 1960s which were also photographed in black and white. It connects what is happening now to what was happening fifty years ago and makes the viewers feel sad and angry. I feel like with a reaction like this that the people will feel encouraged to continue fighting until justice is served just as in the 1960s with the Voting Rights Act or the success in the Browder v. Gayle case which ruled Alabama’s racial segregation on buses unconstitutional. The imade was photographed and created this year, but refers the viewer back in time to the Civil Rights Movement. It is a simple yet powerful image.
The condition of the image is clear and comprehensible. The format of this picture (magazine cover) is in JPG format and the size is 86 KB. The photographer of the original photo, Devin Allen, is a protestor who took this picture during one of the demonstrations. David Von Drehle is the author who wrote the article on this image that was published on the Time Magazine website. The image was taken and created in modern day, but the way that it looks is supposed to resemble similar protests from the late 1960s. My search criteria was Google after I had seen this on the “Baltimore Uprising” tag on tumblr, as I said previously.
I chose this image because of how relevant it is to the history that is developing now. I wrote my essay on how the media influenced the population during the Vietnam era which was also during the Civil Rights Movement. I have always been fascinated with this time period because of how the entire nation was, in one way or another, a part of one or a few movements such as the anti-war effort or the Civil Rights Movement. I have always been incredibly intrigued at how an entire population of people can come together and fight for a cause that they so passionately believe in. I also feel like my generation, with all of our social media and activism, are almost repeating history, but actually have the ability to change it so that it does not have to be repeated again. Already in my lifetime, the first African American president was elected into office and possibly even the first woman president in 2016. Events like these are truly the ones that make history and I am very excited to be a part of it and see if real change will happen.

Here is the flier that I made for the Showcase! I posted it in the Storm Hall building.

We have been discussing the 1960s and especially the Civil Rights movement in small and large lecture for several weeks. History seems to be repeating itself over 50 years later in 2015 and it is really rather sad. It just comes to show that legislation does not completely solve a problem and that it needs to be enforced in reality. All of the protests and riots that have been occurring throughout the country, and especially recently in Ferguson and Baltimore, tell us that nothing has changed in the last half century and begs the question: When will it all change? When will racism end? When will stereotypes be erased? It needs to happen now and so that this country that we so proudly call the Land of the Free will stop sounding so hypocritical.

In this week’s lecture we discussed feminism and a large topic within feminism is reproductive rights. I am taking a Women’s Studies class this semester and we recently went over this topic. My teacher had us watch The Abortion Diaries which is a 30 minute long documentary in which 12 every day women discuss their personal experiences with abortion. Each woman had their own reasons for why they decided to get an abortion whether it was social pressure, or even life or death. It is a short yet powerful documentary that discusses the reality of abortion and the stigma around it.

In small and large lecture, we have been discussing the Vietnam War and all of the protests that went along with it. The protests were a huge part of why the war is so memorable. I am currently watching House of Cards and one of the main characters is Claire Underwood played by Robin Wright. Robin Wright also plays Jenny Curran in the amazing movie (based around the time of the Vietnam War) Forrest Gump. In House of Cards, she is the wife of an important politician who ranks higher and higher in government as the show proceeds. (spoiler alert) One day, during an interview, she tells the world that she was raped and had an abortion. As a result, pro-life protestors make their voices known when they constantly protest outside of her home and cause the police to intervene. Her character is on the defense of the protestors and eventually she has to make some decisions based on these protestors. In Forrest Gump, she plays one of the protestors themselves when she becomes a hippie during the Vietnam War. As from lecture, and all of our readings we know that the protestors and the hippies from the 1960s made an impact on society and the war effort. This actress plays two very different characters on opposite sides of protests, but they both present how powerful protests and demonstrations can be when it comes to legislation. I love history and I love media so I always get excited when I can discuss both at the same time!

I decided to tape the wanted poster onto one of the large lecture doors because I thought more people might see it. When the class before was leaving I even heard one girl say that she keeps seeing Blum’s name everywhere.Wherever Blum is, I hope he is doing well.

I am writing my essay on the Vietnam War and how the media directly influenced the hippie movement and all of the anti-war songs that came out during this time. Thousands of young people became completely outraged when the US government sent thousands of young men to fight in Vietnam where almost 60,000 would die and after Hiroshima was bombed. The hippies were all about peace and love and protested the war just as several singers of the time created anti-war songs.

In lecture, we are discussing the Cold War and I found this book while browsing for my next read. This is the synopsis for the book: “What if the bomb had actually been dropped? What if your family was the only one with a shelter?
In the summer of 1962, the possibility of nuclear war is all anyone talks about. But Scott’s dad is the only one in the neighborhood who actually prepares for the worst. As the neighbors scoff, he builds a bomb shelter to hold his family and stocks it with just enough supplies to keep the four of them alive for two critical weeks. In the middle of the night in late October, when the unthinkable happens, those same neighbors force their way into the shelter before Scott’s dad can shut the door. With not enough room, not enough food, and not enough air, life inside the shelter is filthy, physically draining, and emotionally fraught. But even worse is the question of what will — and won’t — remain when the door is opened again. Internationally best-selling author Todd Strasser has written his most impressive and personal novel to date, ruthlessly yet sensitively exploring the terrifying what-ifs of one of the most explosive moments in human history.“.

It is a YA historical fiction novel and I find the plot extremely interesting. It definitely gives a different perspective on the war.

I am going to write my essay on the Vietnam War and how the media influenced the hippie movement and all of the songs based off of the war that emerged during that time. I was looking through Major Problems and in chapter 14 I was able to find a passage of a song by Country Joe and the Fish called “I Feel Like I’m Fixin To Die”. It is a war protest song in which Joe McDonald is berating the government for sending thousands of young men to fight and die in their war. There were several songs like these which were a direct reaction to the Vietnam war.

This isn’t a hack or assignment or anything, but I just wanted to upload a couple pictures of the history sessions for next Friday and Saturday. It just took me a really long time to find all of the history sessions and I thought that it might be easier if I just put them in one place to save a little time of searching for all of them. I know that there are a few more history sessions than just the ones here, but I figured I would put the ones that were clustered together on here. Hope this helps.

-Yvette F