Madelynn Northcutt-Wyly, Period 6

Carl Matthews

http://www.journalnow.com/news/local/carl-matthews-winston-salem-civil-rights-activist-dies-at/article_602358a3-6172-50eb-b3cb-5f799285db2a.html

Carl W. Matthews passed away Friday morning due to natural causes at age 84.  He was a leader in civil rights movement in Winston-Salem.  Matthews lead this movement by taking a seat at a "white only" lunch counter in 1960.  He continued to lead protests at different universities.  Then in May after the protest, one university desegregated the lunch counters and soon many followed.  He grew up in Winston- Salem then moved to New York to speak for the Republican Party in support of Richard Nixon.  Matthews was a big part of the civil rights movement.

Alexis Farrell, 5th Period: KKK, counter-protesters clash in California

On Saturday afternoon, several supporters of the KKK planned a rally but counter-protestors showed up first. When the members of the KKK got out of their vehicles, the counter-protestors were waiting for them and attacked. Additionally, a KKK supporter stabbed someone protesting against him with a flagpole. Two other counter-protestors were stabbed; one with a knife and one with an object that wasn't named. The violence that occurred left 5 people injured and 13 were arrested. A policeman claimed that although this rally was contradictory, the KKK members were protected by the 1st Amendment. 

Although the First Amendment is freedom of speech, I still do not understand why rallies supporting these horrible organizations are still permitted. The Ku Klux Klan advocated extremist beliefs supporting white supremacy and opposition of blacks, Jews, Catholics, and other harmless groups of people. I think that it is completely okay to have a counter protests opposing these types of groups but using violence to solve problems like this is not the right thing to do. 

http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/27/us/kkk-rally-in-anaheim-violence/

Republican Tax Returns - Isabella Montague 5th period

          On Saturday, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz released their tax filings, and are pressing Donald Trump to do the same. However, Rubio and Cruz haven't released their full tax returns, but only two pages, which leave out some important details. Cruz says that Trump's tax returns could be full of secrets and "bombshells". Cruz also said that if his opponents, meaning Rubio and Trump, release their full tax filings, then he will as well. Donald Trump says that the partial releases that Rubio and Cruz did were a "fake transparency". According to the article, the Cruz's tax returns indicate that he has been lacking on his charity, failing to give 10% of his income to the church, even though he tries to get religious votes.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/rubio-cruz-release-tax-summaries-challenge-trump-37254761

          I understand why people see this as an issue, because people want a president who they can trust and want to know what each candidate does with their money, since it most often reflects who they are as a person. Since 1976, every candidate from any major party has released their full tax returns at some point, so will this break the streak? Mitt Romney released his back in 2012 and Hillary Clinton did last year. Will this year's candidates release theirs?

- Isabella Montague 5th period - have a good day everyone

2016 Black History Month Was Bomb Af - Max Gaddis 9th period

http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/26/living/best-black-history-month-2016-feat/

Black Panthers at the 2016 Super Bowl. Bey snatching edges with her new song and music video "Formation". Kendrick Lamar addressing his roots. Brittany Howard, and her band, Alabama Shakes accepting a Grammy for best rock performance. Aunjanue Ellis demanding, with her choice of clothing, not her words, that her home state of Mississippi take down it's offensive flag. Jesse Owens biopic coming to theaters. A Nat Turner movie sparking a bidding war at Sundance between Fox Searchlight and Fox. The new American Girl doll Melody Ellison of 1960's Detroit. 106-year old Virginia McLaurin celebrating Black History Month with the first Black presidential family.

I'd say it's been an overall great month, filled with historical firsts and highlights. Black History Months in the past haven't been all that exciting or historical or even fun, but 2016 will be a year to remember for black history to come. I hope that Latino and Asian history/culture months will be just as fabulous this year.

Leap Year Babies Celebration! Bella Morris, 5th Period, Blog #2

             

Bella Morris

5th Period

02/29/15- Blog #2

      Martin Goodkin likes to say, "American presidents can't be chosen without his blessing." This year,  gay-rights activist and author will celebrate his birthday, a day that some people celebrate every four years. He is one of almost 5 million leap year babies in the world,  his birthday isn't just another day — it's a huge celebration.  "It's an election year and unless I have a party, they can't have the election -- that's the way it goes," Martin states. "Those are the rules. I do it every four years and I do it with a bang." Goodkin was born on February 29, 1936. Since his first leap year birthday, Goodkin and his family have made it a point to go hard on the party planning, since its something they do every four years. Why is leap year a thing, you ask? Well, every four years, an extra day is added to the Gregorian calendar to synchronize it with the solar year. In a leap year, the extra day is added at the end of February, giving it 29 days instead of 28. The extra day is called a leap day, or an intercalary day. The chances of being born on this day are one in 1,461! 

   Chloé Rosey was never a big fan of her leap year birthday. "I kind of hated it as a kid just because I didn't have an actual day, and all of my peers were so confused," she said. With a random stroke of luck, Rosey was born in the very last hour of February 29, 1988. She brags that all leap year babies are "forever young." So I guess being born on February 29, isn't so bad after all. 

SOURCE: http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/26/living/leap-year-birthday-feat/index.html

Under Oath on Friday and Killed on Saturday -Kennedy Park

On Saturday two officers of the Prince William County Police Department were injured and one was killed. Ashley Guindon was only 28 years old and her first day on the job. After a call was received of a domestic violence, the officers approached the house and were shot. The gunman surrendered after backup arrived and when the house was searched they found his wife dead. Hamilton was an active duty officer assigned to the Pentagon. His hearing in court will be on Monday and the other two officers are expected to make a full recovery.
This story is a reminder of the fallen officer at the gas station. It was an unprovoked attack with seemingly no motive. This crime is the same in that it was an ambush. The officers were simply on another call when they were shot down. I think it doesn't matter that he worked at the Pentagon, a person with a gun has the ability to kill and is very dangerous.
http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/28/us/prince-william-county-officer-shooting/index.html