Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

In respect, honor, and appreciation for Martin Luther King Jr., I have decided to provide the viewers of this blog with some insight on him and his personal life, along with his efforts to stop violence and racial discrimination. Martin Luther King Jr. was an American activist and leader in the African American civil rights movement. He followed the nonviolent civil disobedience once enforced by figures such as Gandhi and Henry David Thoreau. He led well known protests such as the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the nonviolent protests in Birmingham, Alabama. Moreover, King delivered his "I have a dream" speech, which made him publicly known to the world as one of the greatest speakers of his time. He was assassinated in 1968 and this was followed by the "Holy Week Uprising" which marked a wave of disturbance and violence across the U.S. Martin Luther King Jr. was a man of high principles and discipline and will forever be remembered with this national holiday.

Debacle of the highest order

Recently, Rapper Lupe Fiasco was caught in a bit of a 'Fiasco' when his lyrics conveyed a disrespectful and appalling attempt at opposing President Obama's tactics as president. He stated that while the Gaza strip was being bombed, Obama did nothing to stop it or be of aide. This was continually rhymed during his twenty-minute rap rant as he repeatedly lashed Obama down with insults. He also goes on to call President Obama "the biggest terrorist of all" for not being able to stop all the terrorism occurring in the U.S. Although both rapper Lupe Fiasco and President Obama are African American, politics and freedom of speech made a wedge between this connection.

                             Lupe Fiasco says he is entitled to freedom of speech

Retail Racism

In recent news, The New York Times published an article highlighting the direct and offensive racial discrimination performed on the African Americans of a nearby clothing store: Wet Seal. This popular, modern, and well-known store has been in business for years but might be losing some of that income due to the illegal favoritism of white "Armani" looking workers over African Americans. This act of racism began in Pennsylvania, where numerous African Americans were being fired due to their appearance, and where former manager Nicole Cogdell was dismissed for being of black skin color. Wet Seal released a statement saying that its new leadership team "had been unequivocally vocal about its commitment to equal employment opportunity in all employment practices, as well as a work environment that is free from unlawful discrimination, harassment and retaliation." Regardless of these said apologies and statements, Nicole Cogdell has decided to pursue her lawsuit against Wet Seal and find justice for all working African Americans. 

Argentina

The United States is not the only place that deals with the harsh consequences of an ignorant society. In Argentina, discrimination is ingrained into the mentality and perception of many. According to the Human Rights Documentation Center there is a very prominent injustice against the "mestizo Argentines" or Amerindian population as well as the Afro-Argentines. When an Argentinian says something that they consider foolish or idiotic they say an offensive phrase: "hablo como un indio." This exemplifies the image they have of the indigenous peoples as unintelligent and undervalued. There is such a high density of white Argentinians that there has not been an updated census of the "mestizo" Argentines" in the area since 1968. The three percent of indigenous peoples is not then an accurate representation of the normal population but the standardized outlook of whites. The hatred towards "mestizo" people has expanded so far that they are blamed for the crime rates, high unemployment, and low wages in Argentina. This attitude that white, light-eyed humans are more favorable and much more appreciated than dark skinned, innate portion of the population is a skewed depiction and viewpoint.

  

The United States

Recently released in the summer of 2012, Wells Fargo seems to be having many issues with their banking benefits. From 2004 to 2009 the bank was alleged to have charged African Americans and Hispanic borrowers with much higher rates for loans than others; an act of racial discrimination. By doing so, Wells Fargo violated  the fair-lending laws and are now attempting to pay off the bigotry with a whopping $175 million. This is absolutely disappointing, extremely uncivil and should have never occurred. For discrimination to reach the extent it has where it is a constant conflict to do practical things such as lend money from the bank is quite astonishing. Here in the United States where people believe that they have freedom in actuality do not. Do you have "freedom" when you are not being valued and respected due to your skin color and your background? Ponder this.