Kyla Thomas (1st Period)- Trayvon Martin's death sparked a movement that lives on five years later

Summary: Trayvon Martin was an African American teenager,17 who was spotted by officer Zimmerman leaving a convenience store. Officer Zimmerman reported that the boy looked suspicious and shot him. This shooting, which took place 5 years ago still has an effect on black people today and the Black Lives Matter Movement. Since then, there have been many other deadly shootings of unarmed black people, such as Eric Garner in Staten Island, who was selling cigarettes in front of a store. He was the father of 6 children. He begged the officers to not shoot him, but the white officers showed no mercy and chocked him to death. Michael Brown was another unarmed teenager who was shot by a white police officer, The teenage was told by the police to walk on the sidewalk. Some say that Brown attacked the white officer, however, more reliable sources and evidence has proved that he held his arms up in the air indicating that he was unarmed. There were two others mentioned in this article.

Analysis: This article was very eye-catching to me considering the fact that I am a black girl and I can relate to this article. It is very tragic that white police officers just so manage to not shoot white criminals every day. This shows that racism still exists today. Before 1865, when slavery and segregation was legal, police officers sprayed black people with water hoses, lynching, etc. Even though the abuse to the black community has taken a different form, it is still alive and well. It should really wake up all African Americans and show us that we need to take extra caution with the way we present ourselves in public and the way we carry ourselves, because by society's standards, we are at a disadvantage. When we walk into a store, we need to make sure we don't go into the store with our hands in our pockets nor should we leave with our hands in our pockets. We have an automatic target on our backs. These shootings of innocent black people should be the best teacher to us that we can never get too comfortable and we should never feed into the stereotype. As black history month comes to a close, it is important that all races are respectful and recognize the lives that were lost and the rich history of African American culture.

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/26/us/trayvon-martin-death-anniversary/index.html

Devyn Lemack- Two Transgender Women Killed

  In just 48 hours, two transgender women who did nothing wrong, were suddenly killed. Chyna Gibson was gunned down on Saturday night, and the other was found with multiple stab wounds on Monday morning. No arrests have yet been made, but transgender activist, Daphanie Dupree said the situation was scary. "It's scary because like a lot of the girls in New Orleans, they're walking around like zombies, you know they have this little-hidden fear that's inside them to even go anywhere and I hear a lot of them talking about like 'oh, I'm going to carry a gun," Dupree told the station. This is very heartbreaking and scary for Dupree because it hits close to home for her and this could happen to anybody, you never know who is around.

  This was posted very recently, showing it's a problem that is currently existing. It is so sad that these sweet people did nothing wrong but they get killed. People should be able to express themselves and be who they want to be, it isn't going to affect anybody else's life besides their own. Prior to reading this article, I had not heard about this tragedy and I'm sure there have been many more scenarios besides this one which is sad to think about. In the future, I hope this hatred can stop and people can be who they wish to be.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/new-orleans-transgender-homicides/?iid=ob_lockedrail_topeditorial

Trump decides to not attend the White House Correspondents Dinner - Emma Reyna

Summary/Analysis:

In a recent news article for CNN explains how this year President Donald Trump will not attend the White Houses Correspondents Dinner. Knowing his history with the media, it is not surprising that he wont attend the dinner. However, the president's attendance is a respected tradition with the intention of cooperation between the govt and media, so his absence will only emphasize the misalignment of the two. I believe because the president is the leader of the American people, it is important for him to develop a healthy relationship with the media, the most effective middle-man to the people. It is also important for the president to be open-minded to a variety of sources, even if they write articles disapproving of his actions, in order to be aware of the perspectives of all Americans, not just his supporters.

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/25/politics/trump-declines-to-attend-white-house-correspondents-dinner/

Hamilton Actor Speaks Out- Abbey Winiger

SUMMARY- The "Hamilton" actor who addressed Mike Pence from the stage shortly after the presidential election said Saturday he expects politics to play a role in the acceptance speeches of this year's Oscar winners. Brandon Victor Dixon, who plays Aaron Burr in the award-winning Broadway musical, made headlines in November when he read a message to Pence, then the vice-president elect, during a curtain call after learning the politician was in the audience.
"We truly hope that this show has inspired you to uphold our American values and to work on behalf of all of us, all of us," Dixon said at the time.
"It's imperative that anybody who has a platform, anybody who has a voice right now, that they stand up and speak their mind, particularly about a lot of issues that are effecting people who do not have a voice or platform," he said. 
"I anticipate we'll see more of the trend that has been building in Hollywood and I, for one, am very happy about it," the actor said.

ANALYSIS/SYNTHESIS- Before reading this article I had heard of the run in with Mike Pence and how Hamilton had spoken about him during a live show. I think thats it's amazing that famous actors and artists such as Brandon Victor Dixon have the ability to speak what they believe, and involve themselves in shaping their own opinions. Many will argue that they don't know anything or that it isn't their place. However, I think they have just a right as any to speak about what they believe. His assumption about the Oscars in this article was written by Alexandra King on February, 25th. This story reminds me of civil rights, because no matter who you are you can speak about what you believe. 


http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/25/politics/hamilton-actor-oscar-speeches-cnntv/index.html

Madison Harvey - Pickup runs into Crowd at a Mardi Gras Parade

Summary- In New Orleans on Saturday evening a pickup truck ran into a crowd of spectators 

watching a Mardi Gras parade where 28 people were injured.  The driver of the vehicle was 

reported to be drunk and was taken into custody.  "This was a tragedy that came from someone making bad decisions with alcohol and vehicles." said Beau Tidwell, a spokesman for the New Orleans Police Department.  Among the injured was a 3 year old child and a police officer.

Seven of the injured declined to be taken to a hospital.  Five were being treated at trauma centers 

and seven hospitals received injured spectators.  None of the injuries were life threatening.

Analysis- This article was written by Christopher Mele and Campbell Robertson of the New York Times on Feb 25th to inform the public of what occurred at the parade.  This article could also be 

a wake up call to those that think about driving under the influence of alcohol and the danger that 

can become of it.  Thankfully no one was killed because of the poor decisions of the driver.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/25/us/truck-crash-mardi-gras-parade-new-orleans.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fus&action=click&contentCollection=us&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=5&pgtype=sectionfront&_r=0

Brittney Delpey: Imminent Threat That Could Kill 30 Million People

Summary: This article was written on February 24th, 2017, by Daniel Jennings from Off the Grid News. Bill Gates spoke in an interview in Germany that the possibility of a new threat, Bioterrorism is much more plausible and likely than previously thought. Gates says that with the new technology and knowledge we are being given through biology, it could be easy to genetically create modify a deadly strain capable of starting a pandemic. Gates fears that the United States is not prepared for it. Epidemiologists have agreed and said that an airborne virus similar to the flu, if modified, could kill more than 30 million people in a year. And that there is reasonable evidence that the world will face a threat like this within the next 10-15 years. 

http://www.offthegridnews.com/current-events/bill-gates-warns-of-imminent-threat-that-could-rapidly-kill-more-than-30-million/

Kennedy Waterman - Yes we can... elect Obama president of France?

A guerilla campaign (called Obama17) is working to get Barack Obama to come to France and run for president. They have launched a website and put up hundreds of posters around Paris, and they are currently trying to get a million signatures on a petition for Obama. One of the organizers admits it's a joke, but that it still has serious passion behind it. Many French people are upset with the current politicians in France, as well as the candidates for their election going on right now. When asked about the fact that Obama is American, he says "Who cares that he's not French? He's Barack Obama."

This article was written Saturday, February 25th, so the news is recent. Before reading it, I knew that France was currently in the midst of their election season, and I was aware that many people didn't favor the candidates. The main idea was that these people are trying to spread a message, even if it's a bit of a joke, about their political views. With America's election season just finished, it's interesting to read about another country's. They seem to be experiencing many of the problems we faced. This sort of reminds me of how Eugene V. Debs ran for president from jail. Even though it could never have happened, people still got behind him, just like the French are doing with Obama.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/24/europe/france-obama-17-president-trnd/index.html