REVOLT/REPORT | LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR WHOM?
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Liberty and Justice for Whom? by Jessica Noyes M.Ed.,Urban Education Pittsburgh, Pa, USA
Our discussion in class touched on many subjects involving the absence of liberty and justice amongst black Americans. With recent cases like Jordan Miles, Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, and many more black unarmed males killed by police brutality; America is beginning to see what black Americans go through everyday whether it is not being able to walk down the street without being categorized as a thug, or stereotyped as being up to no good. My take on Liberty Needs Glasses expressed that liberty and justice are only given to specific groups of people and more often then not excluding black Americans because it was built into the foundation of American justice system stemming from the Declaration of Independence. (Tristan Smith age 18)
I vividly remember the day I walked into ninth grade Honors English and was handed a gold sheet of paper with the poem, Liberty Needs Glasses by Tupac printed on it. There were many questions that ran through my mind at this point, “who is Tupac?” and “how could liberty wear glasses?” I hated poetry! There were too many words trying to say one simple thing but meant another. Poetry made no sense to me at this point in ninth grade and I was still stuck on how liberty needed glasses. It wasn’t until years later after I prepared my own lesson plans and classroom discussions focusing on this poem that I start to get a deeper understanding of how unjust the American justice system is and the blindness of liberty in the country I live. Two of my students, both black males, relate their experiences of liberty and justice needing glasses because, “both the broads are blind as bats”.
For instance if the police see a young black American male driving a nice car more then likely would get pulled over because they would not expect an black American male to drive a nice car. On the other hand if the police saw a young white male driving an expensive car they would not be pulled over because the police would just assume that since he is not black that’s what he should be driving. Many people know that justice system for minorities is unfit and unfair but no one is doing enough to get something done about it (Brenden Pippens age 18). The questions I left my classes with were, “Where does the problem stem from? And how do we become the solution?” As I sent them on their way to study the American Declaration of Independence, where they learn all (White) men are created equal with the rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Sources: http://allpoetry.com/Liberty-Needs-Glasses