Kozal and Roose articles

Reflection: Jonathon Kozal's article, "Amazing Grace", gave me a lot of insight on how the poor community lives. Although it takes place in the 1900s, I can imagine that things have only changed slightly. I wasn't surprised to hear the hardships that these people faced but having quotes from children and parents made a difference on how I viewed things. I think it's easy to forget that these are people too and that their lives matter just as much as mine does. I think it's easy to push their needs aside because it's not your life that you're worrying about, it's someone else's. Hearing anecdotes from the little boy, Cliffie, pulled at my heartstrings. It made me think about each of these people and how we need to stand together as a community in order to help these groups of people that don't have the resources to help themselves.

Notes for class discussion: I have to say that I am not completely sure who or what Kozal blames for poverty in Mott Haven. I would like to say that he's blaming it on the community as a whole (beyond Mott Haven) for their actions and assistance in making Mott Haven the way that it is. The truth is that although Kozal had anecdotes throughout his article, it was hard for me to identify the reason he was telling these stories.
Link to reading: Jonathan Kozal "Amazing Grace"

 The next time someone says 'all lives matter,' show them these 5 paragraphs by Kevin Roose has many powerful quotes that express what this article is talking about. 

" The real issue is that, while strictly true, "All Lives Matter" is a tone-deaf slogan that distracts from the real problems black people in America face. "

This quote packed a punch for me. It directly relates to the article because Roose goes on to discuss why and how this is true. This quote wakes the reader up to pay attention for what they are about to read. 

"That's the situation of the "black lives matter" movement. Culture, laws, the arts, religion, and everyone else repeatedly suggest that all lives should matter. Clearly, that message already abounds in our society." 

It is well known by the community that the laws should be upheld for all types of people. The truth is that this is not the case. Roose makes it clear that what people know and what they do are two very different statements. This quote helps set up the reader for the points that Roose will discuss. 

"It's a way of dismissing the statement by falsely suggesting that it means "only black lives matter," when that is obviously not the case. And so saying "all lives matter" as a direct response to "black lives matter" is essentially saying that we should just go back to ignoring the problem."

This quote helped distinguish why its important that black lives matter exists. Yes, all lives matter, but everyone is not being treated the same way the the black community is and it's important that they have this movement so that other people recognize that. 

Notes for class: This article gave me better insight on the difference between the black lives matter movement and the all lives matter one. It also helped me to realize how important it is that the black community has this movement and we can not take it away from them.