Category: Portfolio collegegirl

Research – collegegirl

Help the Sister’s Too!

            Over the past few years, there have been increasing rates in the number of police brutality incidents against men and young boys of color. In February 2012, 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was shot and killed while walking home from a convenient store. George Zimmerman, Martin’s murderer, was found not guilty after a long trial. This was the beginning of the unjustifiable acts performed by law enforcement against young males of color. Nothing in the justice system remained peaceful after they set a guilty man free. Since then, there have been numerous police brutality cases where an innocent black male was killed and the police men were found not guilty. Unjustified shootings, beating and harsh treatment by law enforcement has caused black communities to feel furious, afraid and concerned. These acts of violence have led black males to believe that they are more likely to be victims of police brutality over other races. The effects of police brutality have brought black communities together for movements such as Black Lives Matter. Influencer Barack Obama decided to initiate a movement as well named MBK which is short for My Brother’s Keeper. Although this movement is to help black communities with the problems they face, it is exclusively for young males, and men of color. It seems counterintuitive for our recent President, Barack Obama, to express gratitude towards one half of the young community but not the other. Our female influencer’s such as Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey, and Gabrielle Union should send a helping hand out to the young black females in smaller communities who are having difficulties with their everyday lives.

Four years ago, the popular Black Lives Movement organization was founded. The organizations mission was and still is to build local power and to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state. The organizations ultimate goal is to have a world where black lives are no longer a target for police officers. Like every movement, the BLM wants to be heard. On the other side of the Black Lives Movement, there is a movement called All Lives Matter. The white activists in the All Lives Matter Movement believe that blacks shouldn’t highlight that only black lives matter. They point out that in fact, all lives matter. The problem is that the black community has been targeted from the beginning of time going back to slavery and now, being targeted by law enforcements that are supposed to help the community, but instead are tearing it down by killing innocent black males. The list goes on of how many other movements there are just like these, but the real question is, what movement is actually successful and making a change in not only how the justice system rules their cases but starting from the root. Obama does just that in his My Brother’s Keeper movement in helping young black males, and now someone needs to take on the role in helping the young black females who are also struggling.

Shortly after the death of innocent Trayvon Martin, Barack Obama began a movement called My Brother’s Keeper. The MBK movement is exclusively for young black males of color leaving out the other half, females. On February 27, 2014, President Obama quotes that My Brother’s Keeper is “all about helping our young people stay on track. Providing the support they need to think more broadly about their future. Building on what works – when it works, in those critical life-changing moments.” Also given in his speech that day, Obama states that the group that is facing the most crucial challenges in the 21st century are boys and young men of color. Because the aftermath of the Trayvon Martin sparked so many emotions and controversy among communities, it caused Obama to feel the need to speak about how important it is for young black men to know that their country cares about them. But, in order for the movement to be successful, parents, teachers, and leaders need to be a part of helping these young men.

Prior to the death of Trayvon Martin, if there were consistent programs in every black community that provided support and guidance for young black males, Martin could still be with us today. Not only could Obama have come up with the initiative to help young males of color before the death of Martin, but other community leaders could have done the same as well. Author Sean Grover, wrote about the struggles that boys face who grown up without a male figure during their childhood. In Grover’s article he states that, “Once again, the quality of the relationships in a child’s life determines his or her mental well-being.” Young males who grow up without a male figure in their lives can suffer from anger issues and forms of depression. This statistics explains why there is so much gang violence is communities. Young black males need male figures in their lives from the moment they are born. Each community should have programs and organizations that have positive male role models that provide young males with the guidance they need for a better life.

Barack Obama and his team have come up with six milestones that the My Brother’s Keeper is focused on. It is important for children to have a healthy start when coming to school. They should be ready and eager to learn physically, socially, and emotionally. All children enrolled in school should be able to read to understand by the age of eight of by third grade. Of course, children should receive a quality education which leads to them graduating from high school and ready for a fresh start at college. The next step of course after applying and getting accepted into college is physically completing postsecondary education to enter into the career they worked hard to get into. Everyone that has a job should be able to provide the support they need for themselves and their families. Lastly, Obama’s program wants to focus on keeping the youth safe and away from violent crimes. Communities must come together as a whole and work together to keep these milestones their ultimate goals. If leaders Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey and Gabrielle Union enforce these milestones on young black females, the young black community can only be filed with greatness after these children have committed to and followed these six milestones. Working with young black females too, will allow the entire young black communities strive as a unit, and not just one half striving over the others. If we bring the entire community to perform one successful mission, it will ultimately improve our future.

Women such as Oprah Winfrey, Michelle Obama and Gabrielle Union would be the perfect candidates to take on the roles of aspiring young black females in small communities. Oprah Winfrey who has helped young black females in South Africa by creating a school called the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls. This academy strived to raise future leaders by helping girls with their confidence and leadership skills. Michelle Obama, our previous first lady, did an interview in 2016 with CNN stating that “For me, education has never been simply a policy issue — it’s personal.” Michelle Obama believes that every young girl should have the opportunity to get an education they need to fulfill their potential and support their families. Actress Gabrielle Union spoke about the issue of sex trafficking amongst young black females during an interview with Essence. The actress claimed how important it is to have compassion for the pain that young girls of color experience. These women need to come together as one, to provide the necessary guidance and support those young girls of color need in order to have a better future. Between Oprah Winfrey’s love for teaching young girls confidence, Michelle Obama’s love for girls education, and Gabrielle Union’s love for compassion these women can all come together to conquer the goal of creating a better future for young black females.

Marc Mauer, the author of Young Black Men and the Criminal Justice System: A Growing National Problem indicated in his journal post that “almost 23% of black males between the ages of 20-29 end up in prison, jail, on probation or parole on any given day.” What black communities have struggled with in the recent years has been the effect of injustice actions caused by law enforcement officials. Biased and unfair treatments from law enforcers are usually towards black males rather than black females. When watching the news and when searching around on the different social media sites, we find that police brutality victims are males and not females. Some may believe that in order to help prevent future police brutality event from happening, we have to start with our young men who suffer in lower class communities.

There are obvious facts that show how police brutality affects more men than women. The MBK movement that Obama has exclusively for males has again caused women to be infuriated because they, too, need guidance and reassurance from leaders. In fact, studies have shown that African American males make more money than an average African American female. It is understandable that young black males need influencers and leaders because of what is going on around the world today such as police brutality. Young black males have been the highest target for police brutality. But, at the same time, our young black females need as much attention as they can get too!

In order for communities to be successful in completing common goals, everyone in the community must participate. A community can general be defined as a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common. Found in a recent article, the author stated that in order for a community to be successful, it needs to fulfill five roles. Every community needs a host. The host is in charge of entertaining the guest. In this case, the host of the MBK movement in each individual community is in charge of making sure that all of the young men are being properly entertained and engaged on what the goal of the movement is. The facilitator, who is in charge of making sure that everyone in the group, is conversing. In every group, you’ll find the popular one. Kevin Durant recently announced his partnership with the MBK movement to help decrease the absenteeism in schools. With the joining of Kevin Durant, the movement will increase in numbers since Durant is such an inspiring individual to young men. Opposite of popular, there’s the instigator. The MBK movement needs to have someone who isn’t afraid to tell the truth to the young men even though it may hurt. Lastly, every community needs to have a voyeur, the one who lends a hand to everyone. Having a variety of leaders play these roles can be extremely helpful in bringing the community together in helping young males and females.

In spite of the fact that white politicians are part of the My Brother’s Keeper movement, there are positive statistics that have come out of the movement in the past few years. Author Jason Parham wrote some accomplishments that the MBK movement has had in hundreds of neighborhoods across the country. In his article, Parham stated that “In raising more than $600 million private sector and philanthropic grants and $1 billion in low-interest financing, MBK helped cut Compton’s homicide rate by 64 percent in 2015, sparked employment for 10,000 young men in Philadelphia as part of the 2015 Summer Jobs Challenge, and empowered 12,000 incarcerated men to pursue postsecondary education and workforce training with the help of Pell Grants” (Parham pg. 4). These are just some statistics that reached the milestone goals that Obama had intact for the program. Author Yohannes Abraham also explained another success story which discussed a financial service partnering with an 8th grade mentoring program which teach the young men of color how to fill out applications and go through mock interviews. The My Brother’s Keeper movement is sparking interest in communities all around the world. Community leaders and companies are taking the initiative in helping the younger aged males become better individuals in helping them with things that will help them postsecondary education and careers.

Since the Obama’s initiative to help young black men of color, there have also been positive comments that people have made regarding the movement and its importance. Patrick from New Jersey works in the Newark Public School district and most of his students come from poverty, are in gangs, and are involved in crimes that happen throughout the city. He believes that Obama’s initiative is a good first step in helping the youth in black communities. Another comment made by a woman in New England agreed that poverty is the main cause as to why young males struggle in the educational settings. Poverty can affect not only the parent’s well-being, but the child’s too! When children a born into poverty, all they know is struggle. Studies have also shown that communities who suffer with poverty are the main communities who have gangs and violence.

Despite the fact that the My Brother’s Keeper is a positive movement, it is exclusively for males. Black women have questioned Obama’s initiative. As soon as the MBK movement was released to the public, over 1,000 women from all different backgrounds all around the world wrote letters to Obama addressing the exclusiveness of the movement. Paul Butler, wrote an article for CNN, Why did President Obama leave out the girls? The women’s letters were sent out to urge him to include the sisters just as much as he did the brothers. One writer, by the name of Legertha Butler, wrote that “she didn’t march with Martin Luther King Jr. to get the “white only” signs taken down, only to have the nation’s first black President put up a sign that says “men only” (Butler pg. 2). In the last few years, the teenage pregnancy rate has sky rocketed. I look around the people I have graduated high school with back in 2015 and I can name at least 10-15 females who are either pregnant now, or already have their first child. I only graduated with 63 people. Programs for young black females are just as important as they are for young black males. Like boys, girls are too born into poverty and go through the same struggles males do when growing up in single-parent households. Like Obama’s MBK movement, women need to take on the role with affiliation of young females too! Providing support and guidance for young females and males of color can only improve small communities. Girl’s fates are just as important as boys are. In an article called “Dreams from My Mother” the author, Natalie Hopinson, states how boy’s fates are completely linked to the fate of his mother, and also to the fate of his female’s peers. Young girls of color will then be the next generation of black mother’s to young black boys. It is important that they are raised to take on responsibilities and to get an education so they can support their families just as much as males do. What’s ironic is the fact that Obama was raised by his single mother. We would think that seeing his mother’s daily struggles would lead him and inspire him to create a movement for young girls to provide guidance and support.

The ultimate goal of Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper movement is to provide support and guidance to men and young boys of color. But, can we really say that Obama is helping the black communities, when in reality, he is only helping out half of the young community. Young black females also need attention to when it comes to them having a better future. With the coming together of Oprah, Michelle Obama, and Gabrielle Union, the young black community can strive as a whole. Although, females have not been a main target to police brutality, they too deal with every day struggles. Communities need to focus on providing support and guidance to both young black males and females because they are our future. They are our future doctors, our future educators, and our future leaders and we want them to be able to take on the important responsibilities of adulthood.

 

Works Cited

“My Brother’s Keeper.” National Archives and Records Administration, National Archives and Records Administration, obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/node/279811.

“The 5 Types of Roles You Need in Your Community.” Salesforce Blog, http://www.salesforce.com/blog/2013/12/the-5-types-of-roles-you-need-in-your-community.html.

JustinTinsley. “Mr. Reliable: Kevin Durant Is My Brother’s Keeper’s Secret Weapon.” The Undefeated, 6 July 2016, theundefeated.com/videos/mr-reliable-kevin-durant-is-my-brothers-keepers-secret-weapon/.

“The New York Times Company.” The New York Times, The New York Times, www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2014/03/12/the-assumptions-behind-obamas-initiative/the-risk-of-playing-down-racism.

“Building on What Works With My Brother’s Keeper.” National Archives and Records Administration, National Archives and Records Administration, obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2014/04/17/building-what-works-my-brother-s-keeper.

“The Academy.” The Academy | OWLAG, www.owla.co.za/owlag_academy.

Obama, Michelle. “Michelle Obama: This Issue Is Personal for Me.” CNN, Cable News Network, 13 Oct. 2016, http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/11/opinions/cnn-films-we-will-rise-michelle-obama/index.html.

Butler, Paul. “Opinion: Why Did President Obama Leave out the Girls?” CNN, Cable News Network, 18 June 2014, http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/18/opinion/butler-obama-girls/index.html.

Grover, Sean. “Boys Without Fathers: 3 Myths, 3 Miracles.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 4 June 2016, http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/when-kids-call-the-shots/201606/boys-without-fathers-3-myths-3-miracles.

Causal Rewrite – collegegirl

Police brutality has caused many males of color to be afraid of law enforcers. The murders of innocent black males such as Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Phillip White and many others, caused movements such as Black Lives Matter, All Lives Matter, Barack Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper movement and many other movements and groups such as these. Studies and recent actions by police officers have caused young black males to feel under engaged and more likely to be victims of police brutality over other races. Young black males to feel terrified, traumatized and nervous that they may be the next victim of police brutality during any given day.

Four years ago, the very popular movement of Black Lives Matter began their organization whose intentions are to build local power within communities and spread the world that Black Lives Matter. Their ultimate goal is to have a world where black lives are no longer the target for police officers. The Black Lives Matter movement promotes voice, they want to be heard. The organizations go around and march for their rights, fighting to get equalization and justice for those who they have lost from the acts of police brutality. On the other side of the Black Lives Matter movement, there is an All Lives Matter Movement. The All Lives Matter activists believe that we shouldn’t highlight that only black lives matter in our world because technically all lives matter. Here’s a controversial topic. In fact, all lives do matter, but the black community has been targeted from the beginning of time going back to slavery and now, being targeted again by the justice system who is supposed to protect its people not harm innocent black males. The list goes on of how many protest and movements there are regarding the police brutality issues we face today. We always see movements on social media and on the news about protest for police brutality, but the real questions is, what are we doing for our youth to ensure them that they are the ones who ca make a change in our justice system today.

Unlike the Black Lives Matter movement which only promotes their organization by marches and protest, Barack Obama created a movement to help the young men of color in the black communities. The My Brother’s Keeper movement was created after the life of an innocent young black male Trayvon Martin was taken and who’s murderer was found not guilty after trial. Obama’s goal for this movement is to help young black men and boys stay on track and providing them with the support and guidance that is necessary to help them build a better future for themselves.

Like every movement, Obama has set six different milestones that he wants all of the participants to accomplish while in the program. Getting a healthy start and and entering school is his very first milestone. Every child should enter school at the appropriate age and not only be physically ready but also emotionally ready to take on the ability to learn in a classroom setting. At the age of 8, reading to comprehend and to understand is extremely important, so Obama’s wants participants to read at grade level by third grade. Graduating from High School and beginning college is the start and foundation of building a career for yourself. Obama believes that all youth should receive quality education in high school that will advance and move them to post secondary education. Of course, entering into college is the easy part, finishing is the hard part. Another one of Obama’s milestone is for Americans to be able to go to post secondary education and graduate which leads them into their careers. Successfully entering the workforce is another milestone. Having a job allows people to provide support for their families. The sixth and final milestone that Obama has in tact for his movement is that kids should be kept on track and given second chances.

With these milestones set in stone for the My Brother’s Keeper movement, it has statistically improved neighborhoods around the country. Since the movement began in 2014, the MBK movement has decreased Compton’s homicide rate by 64%, ignite employment for 10,000 young men in Philadelphia, and empowered 12,000 incarcerated men to educate themselves on the collegiate level and enlist in workforce training. In an article about a community by Yohannes Abraham, the author discusses how a financial service firm in Long Beach California partnered with a mentoring program which students go to their office, fill out applications and do mock interviews with managers. To keep the students motivated, the firm rewards them prizes such as laptops when they reach their GPA goals.

If Obama took this initiative before the death of Trayvon Martin, Martin could still be living today. Obama should have created the movement before police brutality began. Young black males of small communities have been struggling before police brutality even begun. Between gangs, violence between one another, and poverty, young black males have been struggling for many years. Consistent programs that provided young men of color with the correct supervision to point the young men in a positive direction, could have gave the troubled youth the experience and guidance they needed to have before the police brutality rate increased and got to a point that is is today.

When communities come together to help young men and their futures, future’s of young black males will become more positive rather than negative. Providing young black men with guidance and support for their futures through the My Brother’s Keeper program and other programs like it, young males focus will be more on their own future rather than the negatives that are happening around them in their future.

 

Works Cited

Davis, Nicholas Quah Laura E. “Here’s A Timeline Of Unarmed Black People Killed By Police Over Past Year.” BuzzFeed, http://www.buzzfeed.com/nicholasquah/heres-a-timeline-of-unarmed-black-men-killed-by-police-over?utm_term=.kyypRAbJJ#.bbZlp4N33.

“My Brother’s Keeper.” National Archives and Records Administration, National Archives and Records Administration, obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/node/279811.

“Building on What Works With My Brother’s Keeper.” National Archives and Records Administration, National Archives and Records Administration, obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2014/04/17/building-what-works-my-brother-s-keeper.

Parham, Jason. “My Brother’s Keeper Pushes On As Reality For Black Men Remains In Peril.” The FADER, The FADER, 8 Nov. 2017, http://www.thefader.com/2016/07/08/my-brothers-keeper-celebrates-benchmarks.

 

Definition Rewrite – collegegirl

The general definition of a community can be defined as a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristics in common. For Barack Obama’s “My Brother’s Keeper” movement which started back in February of 2014, he is trying just that, to bring communities together. After the death of an innocent young black man names Trayvon Martin, Obama created the MBK movement. The movement was created to help and motivate young men of color stay on track. The community leaders of the MBK movement stride to provide the support and guidance that the young men of color need in order for them to think more broadly about their futures. In order for the My Bother’s Keeper movement to be successful, Obama focuses on what characteristics make up a community. In a recent article I read, it stated that in order for a community to be successful in coming together it needs to have five roles which help them work together, in order to be successful.

The My Bother’s Keeper Community Challenge urges communities bring together leaders that work together to accomplish the main goals of the movement. Every community needs a host. The host is in charge entertaining the guests. In the case of the MBK movement, the host will be entitled to making sure that all of the young males are satisfied in what the movement is doing for them. The role of the host is to not only make sure everyone is satisfied but also in charge of making the rules and enforcing them. The article states that although being the host can be fun, it also involves the role of kicking people out if they are not following the rules that are being enforces. In this case though, because MBK is such a powerful movement to help enhance young black males lives, I doubt the host will ever “kick someone out” if they don’t abide by the rules they have in tact.

The next big role that plays in the community is the facility. The article defines the facilitator being the one who always does good. Another important role of the facilitator is to make sure people within the group, are conversing with one another and meeting new people. In this case, with the My Brother’s Keeper movement, it is extremely important for the facilitator to make sure that the young men are talking and engaging with one another. When troubled youth come together for the same purpose and have the same goals, it allows them to feel like they’re a team and can do anything. Since groups of young men are all in the same community, that gives them a chance to talk about each other’s struggles and they may have something in common with one another. One may have went through something previously that one is going through now, and together, they can get through what actually is causing them to feel like they are troubles and need guidance to help them with their future.

In every group there’s always the “popular one.” Recently, one of the well known player’s in the NBA became one of the leaders for the MBK movement. Kevin Durant, announced that he was partnering with the movement to help decrease the absenteeism in school. The article defines the “popular one” as the one who brings a bunch of people with them.     Because Durant is such a superstar and someone who kids look up to and want to be, is extremely helpful for the movement because it will show kids that someone who is famous and the “popular one” actually cares and is providing them with the support to make them better at such a young age. When a movement or community has someone that is famous involved, it’s going to bring in an audience and participants.

Now, on the other hand of the popular one, there’s always an instigator who’s also very important in the community. Unlike being quiet, the instigators job is to basically stir up the pot. The instigator causes controversy. In order for the community to be successful with the MBK movement, there must be an instigator who is ready to point out the problems that the individuals of the group have and make them aware of it. Helping the young men began to understand their problems will help them become obviously aware of what the issue is and come to a conclusion on how to fix the issues. The instigator of the community is the most important role. They are really there to make people come to realization of who they really are, what their problems are and ho they can fix those problems to have a better future.

The fifth important role in order to have a successful community is the voyeur. The voyeur is the one who helps everyone and lends a hand when necessary. This role in the community is very important for obvious reasons. Everyone is there to seek help and guidance from someone in order to improve their future. Having someone to count on can play an important role to the young men because they will always know that they have someone to go to when they are in need of a favor or if something goes wrong, they know there will always be someone there to lend a hand.

Having a variety of leaders play these roles, can be extremely helpful when it comes to helping and bringing the community together for the MBK Movement. The community certainly plays an important factor and role in itself when trying to accept the MBK Challenge. Before accepting the challenge, the communities should be aware that they need to fulfill every role to ensure that the young men are being provided with the correct guidance whether it be the ugly truth or positive enforcements.

 

Works Cited

“The 5 Types of Roles You Need in Your Community.” Salesforce Blog, http://www.salesforce.com/blog/2013/12/the-5-types-of-roles-you-need-in-your-community.html.

JustinTinsley. “Mr. Reliable: Kevin Durant Is My Brother’s Keeper’s Secret Weapon.” The Undefeated, 6 July 2016, theundefeated.com/videos/mr-reliable-kevin-durant-is-my-brothers-keepers-secret-weapon/.

 

 

Reflective – collegegirl

Core Value I. My work demonstrates that I used a variety of social and interactive practices that involve recursive stages of exploration, discovery, conceptualization, and development.

Throughout the semester in Composition 2, my professor has taught me to think more into depth of subject matters and to not just see it how it is and believe that there is nothing behind a simple concept. For instance, the Stone Money assignment. When I walked into class on the first day, Professor Hodges lecture was about these Yap and how they believe in stone money, like actually stone. Yes, I was in shock too! The lecture and the assignment made me discovery that people around the world have various ways of what they consider to be money and also how they consider its value. By reading and listening to researchers and broadcasters discuss this topic of Stone Money, I was able to explore the ways that a different culture valued money.

https://rowancounterintuitive.com/2017/09/09/stone-money-11collegegirl/

Core Value II. My work demonstrates that I placed texts into conversation with one another to create meaning by synthesizing ideas from various discourse communities. 

During one lecture this semester, Professor Hodges talked about how it is better to say and discuss your argument out loud and consult with others until the argument either makes sense or that you actually have something to write about. That’s exactly what I did. My first topic of my research paper was Police Brutality. After a conversation with my professor, we came to realize that the topic was too broad and needed to be narrowed down. So, after some research, I found a movement names My Brother’s Keeper, that was founded by Barack Obama. After a few discussions with friends and family and researching, there were a few rebuttals for my research paper. Talking to my professor and others helped me with not only narrowing down my topic, but actually coming up with a rebuttal argument after realizing the different point of views that others had regarding the MBK Movement.

https://rowancounterintuitive.com/2017/11/19/rebuttal-college-girl/

Core Value III. My work demonstrates that I rhetorically analyzed the purpose, audience, and contexts of my own writing and other texts and visual arguments.

In all honestly, out of all of the assignment this semester, my favorite assignment, by far, was the visual rhetoric assignment. For this assignment, we really had to use our imagination to discover visuals and meaning through videos that were postings for advertisements all around the world. The video that I chose was a 30-second advertisement on hunger prevention for children. The assignment allowed me to really observe the video and the visuals that the creator came up with in order to persuade the audience. The assignment was to write out everything we saw in bits and pieces of the video. When doing the assignment, I found myself writing on average about 130 words during 2 seconds of the video. When it came down to it, writing and describing the visuals that I saw allowed me to come up with the message that the author was trying to persuade.

https://rowancounterintuitive.com/2017/09/17/visual-rhetoric-11collegegirl/

Core Value IV: My work demonstrates that I have met the expectations of academic writing by locating, evaluating, and incorporating illustrations and evidence to support my own ideas and interpretations.

For my research paper, I was having an extremely difficult time finding sources that were relevant to my topic. After writing my Definition argument and asking for Feedback from my Professor, he helped me with tons of sources I needed exactly for my research paper. After reading all of the sources, it allowed me to come up with a stronger argument regarding the MBK movement. While reading the articles, I was having trouble figuring out which rebuttal argument I wanted to use. After a quick conversation with my Professor, he told me that I can absolutely include more than one rebuttal in my final draft. Including these sources into my research paper will definitely make my argument more persuasive especially with having more than one rebuttal argument.

https://rowancounterintuitive.com/2017/10/30/definition-argument-collegegirl/

Core Value V. My work demonstrates that I respect my ethical responsibility to represent complex ideas fairly and to the sources of my information with appropriate citation. 

While writing, sometimes I believe it can be difficult to use sources and putting them into your own words. In the Stone Money Rewrite assignment, I feel as though I used proper citations. Using proper citations is extremely important when it comes to writing essays and papers especially in college. What would be the point to copy someone else’s work? There’s no fun in that. Throughout my research paper, I have also used proper sources and citations that make the work mine with the proper citations.

https://rowancounterintuitive.com/2017/09/09/stone-money-11collegegirl/

Annotated Bibliography – collegegirl

  1. Hopkinson, Natalie. “Let’s Create Urban Policy for the Families We Have, Not the Families We Wish We Had.” Slate Magazine, 8 May 2015. Web.

http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2015/05/president_obama_and_my_brother_s_keeper_alliance_shortchanging_girls_and.html

Background: This article discusses how boys fates not only belong in the hands of their father’s, but their mother’s too! It also speaks upon gender equity and how young black females have higher academic acheivements than young black males.

How I Used It: This article helped me come to realization that mother’s are indeed important factor when it comes to raising the youth. Black mothers lead 53 percent of their families. The study highlights that no policy is actually effective unless it comes to grips with our present day circumstances, which is including young girls of color in the movement.

2. Butler, Paul. “Opinion: Why Did President Obama Leave out the Girls?” CNN, Cable News Network, 18 June 2014. Web.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/18/opinion/butler-obama-girls/index.html

Background: This article shows women who wrote letters to Obama urging him to not only help the brothers of the communities, but the sisters too! It again, tells the reader that the MBK movement is exclusively for males and how it should open up doors for the other gender as well.

How I Used It: I used this article to argue the fact that our young girls need guidance and help as much as of young black males do. In order to have successful movements and not have people against it, is to not make it gender bias or race-based.

3. Parham, Jason. “My Brother’s Keeper Pushes On As Reality For Black Men Remains In Peril.” The FADER, The FADER, 8 Nov. 2017. Web

http://www.thefader.com/2016/07/08/my-brothers-keeper-celebrates-benchmarks

Background: This article gives readers a real life example of a trouble black male who committed suicide because he wasn’t getting the guidance and support he needed. The article then goes on to proving statistics in the black communities.

How I Used It: Since the movement began in 2014, MBK has done many things for the young black males in the community. For example, the homicide rate in Compton dropped by 64%, it sparked employment for 10,000 young men and empowered incarcerated men to pursue postsecondary education and workforce training. I will use this article to illustrate that, yes, the MBK movement is in fact good, never said it was bad.

4. Grover, Sean. “Boys Without Fathers: 3 Myths, 3 Miracles.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 4 June 2016, http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/when-kids-call-the-shots/201606/boys-without-fathers-3-myths-3-miracles.

Background: Author Sean Grover explains the struggles that young males go through when they don’t grow up with father figures or male influences.

How I Used It: I used this source to explain how young males who grow up with absentee fathers can cause them to be angry and have signs of depression.

 

5. Obama, Michelle. “Michelle Obama: This Issue Is Personal for Me.” CNN, Cable News Network, 13 Oct. 2016, http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/11/opinions/cnn-films-we-will-rise-michelle-obama/index.html.

Background: This article explains how Michelle Obama finds it important for girls to get an education in every country.

How I Used It: I used this source to show how Michelle Obama cares about the education that young girls get and need to have in order to have a successful future showing that she is a positive female influencer.

6. “The Academy.” The Academy | OWLAG, www.owla.co.za/owlag_academy.

Background: This is the webpage to Oprah Winfrey’s Academy for Girls in South Africa.

How It Is Used: I will use this source to prove how Oprah’s previous engagement in young girls proves that she will be a positive candidate to team along with Gabrielle Union and Michelle Obama for guidance in young black females.

7. Perry, Imani. “The New York Times Company.” The New York Times, The New York Times,

https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2014/03/12/the-assumptions-behind-obamas-initiative/the-risk-of-playing-down-racism

Background: The article explains how the movement is a response to social reality. The article also provides me with the comments that people made around the world regarding this issue.

How I Used It: I used the article to quote what people actually said and their reactions toward the MBK movement.

9. “Building on What Works With My Brother’s Keeper.” National Archives and Records Administration, National Archives and Records Administration. Web.

https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2014/04/17/building-what-works-my-brother-s-keeper

Background: People around the world and in different communities showing and telling the readers what they have done to help and impact the lives of young men of color.

How I used it: Proving that MBK is not a bad thing or movement, it just shouldn’t be exclusive to only boys.

10. Xhercis Méndez; Which Black Lives Matter?: Gender, State-Sanctioned Violence, and “My Brother’s Keeper”. Radical History Review 1 October 2016; 2016 (126): 96–105. doi: https://doi-org.ezproxy.rowan.edu/10.1215/01636545-3594445

Background: The article examines how Black Lives Matter began and how the MBK movement began.

How I Used It: Trayvon Martin was the start to the movements. I explained this in my paper.

 

 

 

Visual Rewrite–collegegirl

0.01- A young hispanic boy, about 8 years old, sitting at the end of his driveway. His red bicycle is fixed upside down like he is fixing the the chain connected to the bake tire. There is also a bicycle in the background, green, maybe his friends or his brothers. There is a helmet lying next to his bike which indicates that safety is important to him. There is a wall that leads into a driveway. The wall is a light brown wall and the driveway looks like it connects to a home that you would see in Florida. It looks hot outside as the sun is shining bright. There is a trashcan in the background with another nike besides it. This ay indicate that they are getting rid of the bike. Another boy is also shown riding out of the driveway. He is also wearing a helmet. This leads me to think that their family thinks that safety is important. The front yards grass is not that full and has a lot of dirt patches. They must not keep up with their lawn. The quality of the video is not the best, which means it is older maybe early 2000.

0.02-0.05- The video zooms in to show the young boys facial expressions. Sad. He looks sad, maybe worried about something or lonely. He is wearing a red zip up hoodie with the arms cut off. He is also wearing shorts, which indicates that it is indeed hot. The red bicycle looks scratched up and the wheels of the bike also look like they are losing there tread. The boy looks like he needs a hair cut, which may lead us to think that he cannot afford one or his family cannot afford one. His eyes look up at the camera and they look like they are squinting in a way because of the sun being in his face. His lips shrivel up as if he were angry at something. He begins talking and looks sad while saying something.

0.06-0.07- There are kids on a playground full of sand. the main focus is on the swing set. In the background we see other kids of all different culutres playing and having a good time. On the swing set, to the right there is a girl in a red plaid shirt kicking her legs back and forth in order to swing. In the middle, there is a young boy in shorts also swinging back and forth. All the way over to the left, there is a girl sitting on the swing with her head down. She looks sad. She’s not having fun at a park, which most kids enjoy. Something is wrong, something is off.

0.08-0.09- The camera zooms in so we can get a better visual of the young girls face. She has short red curly hair. She is wearing a yellow flowered shirt with shorts. She is also wearing a watch, looks like an inexpensive watch. She looks to be about 8-9 years old. Her back is hunched over as she is sitting on the swings. She begins talking and it is hard to read her facial expression because the sun is in her eyes. Her eyes are squinting and her cheekbones are high. She’s obviously at a park. In the background its a sunny day. You also see another young girl on a rocking horse bouncing up and down in the background. The playground is also full of mulch.

0.10- A small hand is touching what it looks to be a sprinkler. The is a blue figure in the background that somewhat looks like it could be someone wearing a blue shirt. The quality of the video is still not all that great.

0.11-There are three girls playing in the sprinkler. There are two girls specifically that the hand at the 10 seconds mark could have been but they are both similar in skin tone. The three girls have there hands up, maybe they are playing a game. There is a hula hoop and a soccer ball in the background. They are playing on grass which is brown. Brown grass indicates that it is dry outside, either meaning no rain or humidity. To the right of the yard there looks to be a garden. In the picture you can only see one plant that looks to be dry as well. No one is taking care of this yard. There is a lawn chair in the background that sits next to a small red grill.

0.12-0.13- The camera zooms into one of the girls. She is wiping her face with her hand to get the water away. The young girl says something really quick. Her eyebrows raised as if she was surprised. She too, looks concerned.

0.14-0.17- Now, there is a young boy, around 7 years old, african american descent. He has a huge afro, which may mean he cannot afford to get his haircut or maybe he just liked his hair to be long. He is wearing a gray cut off t-shirt with blue shorts. He’s hunched over and looks like something is wrong. He is sitting on what it appears to be the sideline of a outdoor basketball court. There is a fence directly behind him. The video shows shadows of other kids playing basketball on the court. Something is wrong with the young  boy because he does not want to play.  He has a sad look on his face like he wants something or something is wrong.

0.18-0.22- A somewhat older looker girl is now in the next scene. Maybe about 9-10 years old. She has her hair pulled back in a pony tail with a little side bang hanging across her forehead. The background is blurred out and focused on her face. But we can see what it appears to be some blurred out tree branches with the sky behind it. Her eyes looks low and her mouth is open. She also looks worried or sad about something. She begins talking and her facial expression does not change, When she looks away from the camera, her eyes look away slow, she may be tired. She also looks like she may not have any energy.

0.23- The next scene now shows three kids between the ages of 10 and 6 jumping rope. There is a girl jumping in the middle, a younger girl to the left controlling the jump rope, and an older boy about 10 controlling the right side of the jump rope. The are on a concrete surface. There is a field of grass behind them and the sun looks like it is going down. There are words on the screen now that say “Summer isn’t fun when you’re hungry.”

The message of this video was that summer isn’t fun when you’re hungry. The filmmaker made clips of kids who look sad because they are hungry. When its summer time, they do not have lunch given to them like they do while they are in school.

0.26-0.31- The last scene of the advertisement states “Together we’re feeding America”