Teresa Tran, #26
11/19/14
P.2
What Plagues Us
The Ferguson shooting back in August shows us that there are still many evils in the
world. Racism plays a key role in this event because even though the Civil War saw the African
American slaves as equals now, there are still people who treat blacks unjustly. The story says
that Officer Darren Wilson shot and killed Michael Brown but we don’t really know the other side
of the story. Michael Brown and Dorian Johnson, 22, were walking in the middle of the street, en
route to either Brown's grandmother's house (according to Brown's mother and grandmother) or
to Johnson's house (according to Johnson), when a Ferguson police officer confronted them
(Dueling Narratives in Michael Brown Shooting). Officer Darren Wilson, a white officer, told the
young men either ‘Get the f*** on the sidewalk" or "Get the f*** out of the street,’ according to
Johnson's accounts to CNN. The young men replied that they were "not but a minute away from
our destination, and we would shortly be out of the street," Johnson told CNN. The officer drove
away but stopped and backed up, almost hitting the pair, Johnson said. (Dueling Narratives in
Michael Brown Shooting). “‘I saw the officer proceeding after my friend, Big Mike, with his gun
drawn, and he fired a second shot, and that struck my friend, Big Mike," Johnson said. "And at
that time, he turned around with his hands up, beginning to tell the officer that he was unarmed
and to tell him to stop shooting. But at that time, the officer was firing several more shots into my
friend, and he hit the ground and died.’”(Dueling Narratives in Michael Brown Shooting). A
private autopsy conducted for the Brown family showed that Brown had been shot at least six
times, including in the head and chest” ("Michael Brown’s Official Autopsy."). The entire town of
Ferguson went against the police department. Many protesters hit the streets Friday in eastern
Missouri, kicking off four days of demonstrations, discussions and civil disobedience
("Protesters Kick off 4 Days of 'resistance' over Ferguson Case."). This went on for 3 months
until on November 11, Brown’s parents took this case to the United Nations Committee Against
Torture in Geneva, Switzerland ("Brown's Parents Take Case to UN's Anti-torture Committee.").
With their determination to set things right, the Ferguson case will go off with no more violence
than necessary.
Teresa Tran, #26
11/19/14
P.2
There is Still Hope
Events such as the Women’s Suffrage Movement have shown humanity that there is
some good in this world. When the 19th Amendment was ratified on August 26, 1920 it
enfranchised that all American women, like men, deserve all the rights and responsibilities of
citizenship(“The Fight for Women’s Suffrage.”). Back in the 19th century, women weren’t
allowed to vote, become doctors, get a college degree in school, etc., let alone vote. Many
women wanted to change this way of life and that led to the Seneca Falls Convention in July 19,
1848, where Elizabeth Cady Stanton drafted a “Declaration of Sentiments, Grievances, and
Resolutions,” that quoted the preamble of the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these
truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal.” Among the 13 resolutions
set forth in Stanton’s “Declaration” was the goal of achieving the “sacred right of franchise.”, or
the right to vote ("The Women's Rights Movement.") Through 72 years of sexism and unjust
treatment, the 19th Amendment was ratified by Congress. Women are now able to be equal to
their male counterpart. This event is a big plus to the good in humanity because ”the moral,
educational, and humane legislation desired by women would be got more easily if women had
votes("Why Women Should Vote.").” The Women’s Rights Movement shows us that the world is
willing to change and is willing to only allow freedom of suffrage to people of every gender, but
to let women be on equal terms to men.
Works Cited:
"Brown's Parents Take Case to UN's Anti-torture Committee." Mashable. N.p., n.d. Web. 17
Nov. 2014
"Dueling Narratives in Michael Brown Shooting." Staff, CNN, Eliott C. McLaughlin, and Michael
Martinez. CNN. Cable News Network, 01 Jan. 1970. Web. 12 Nov. 2014
"Michael Brown’s Official Autopsy." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 16 Nov. 2014
"Protesters Kick off 4 Days of 'resistance' over Ferguson Case."Botelho, Greg. CNN. Cable
News Network, 01 Jan. 1970. Web. 17 Nov. 2014.
"The Fight for Women’s Suffrage." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 17 Nov.
2014.
"The Women's Rights Movement." The Women's Rights Movement. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov.
2014.
"Why Women Should Vote." Why Women Should Vote. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2014.
.