AMERICA AS GOOD AS ITS PROMISE
“What the people want is very simple – they want an America as good as its promise.” ~Barbara Jordan (Barbara Jordan was a U.S. congressional representative from Houston, Texas and the first elected African-American congresswoman from the Deep South.) “Is America as good as its promise?” When you read the U.S. Constitution do you firmly believe that the founding ideals are still relevant? What should be included in 21st century ideals? How has the country progressed and/or regressed since the U.S. Constitution? How would our founding fathers feel about the country today? Did the essay by Nikole Hannah-Jones resonate with you? If so, how? Please read the article below and answer the questions above. Hannah-Jones, N. (2019). Our democracy’s founding ideals were false when they were written. [unique_solution]Retrieved on March 20, 2020 from https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/14/magazine/black-history-american-democracy.html (Links to an external site.) **Please let me know if the link no longer works. There has been a great deal of criticism for The New York Times: The 1619 Project. Below, I have attached a few articles that address some of the critiques. I do not want to get into a historical debate, but I would like to discuss how our experiences and ideologies impact how we view the world. What does equity mean to you? How do you think racially and ethnically diverse communities view equity? Is race an issue in this country or is it that everyone has not had a shared experience? Was the U.S. Constitution created to ensure equity? How can equity in housing, employment, education, achievement, and wealth be obtained? What systems must be created to maintain it? Lawson, J. (2019). No, America Wasn’t Built On Slavery, But Faith That All Men Are Created Equal. Retrieved on March 20, 2020 from https://thefederalist.com/2019/08/21/no-america-wasnt-built-slavery-faith-men-created-equal/ (Links to an external site.) Serwer, A. (2019). The Fight Over the 1619 Project Is Not About the Facts. Retrieved on March 20, 2020 from https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theatlantic.com/amp/article/604093/ (Links to an external site.) Silverstein, J. (2019). We Respond to the Historians Who Critiqued The 1619 Project. Retrieved on March 20, 2020 from https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/2019/12/20/magazine/we-respond-to-the-historians-who-critiqued-the-1619-project.amp.html