User:Eriseyas2020/sandbox

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Episode Summaries

Episode One: “Living Black”

Killer Mike a Grammy award winner, and one half the duo in “Run the Jewels” began his six-episode series exploring a topic very important to him titled “Living Black.” Mikes main goal in this episode was to keep his dollar in the black community, basically living the life of a black man before desegregation. Throughout his 3-day journey from Atlanta Georgia to Athens Georgia everything that he eats, uses, and does must be black owned or made. Killer Mike began his journey by walking to a friend’s company that sells and buys products from black manufacturers named “webuyblack.com”, looking for advice on how he can find a phone and car that strictly come from the black community. Shareef Abdul Malik the founder of “webuyblack.com” gave Mike some supplies that came from his website including toilet paper, laundry detergent, toothpaste, batteries, he was even able to provide him with a phone that came from a strictly black manufacturer. But finding a car that came from a black manufacturer would be the hardest thing for him to find, so his only option for transportation was a bike that came from a black manufacturer by the name of Shawn Deangelo Walton, founder of “Wecycle Atlanta.” Now that self-care transportation was taken care of Mike needed to find food, so he cycled to the only strictly black grocery store in Atlanta known as Your Supermarket. He was able to get some fresh produce that was grown of black farms. As he realized that Athens was 75 miles from where he was, he decided to grab a seat on the only all black busing system called Harmon Brothers Charter Service. Killer Mike has used this busing system many times in his youth. As Killer Mike arrives in Athens, he shortly realizes that the strictly black community in Athens is non-existent. He was unable to find a hotel to stay in, so he spent his night sleeping on a park bench. He was also unable to enjoy his canned goods from the supermarket because he did not have a black made can opener. The next morning, he met up with his partner at an all-black BBQ, but he later finds out that the meat in this BBQ did not come from a black farm. His next stop was at a barber shop to get cleaned up before his show in 10 hours. While getting his “swag on” he was informed about a green book. A green book was used by black people when traveling so they were able to find shops, hotels, and restaurants in certain areas that were strictly black. His next stop was an interview for a radio show. When showing up he realize that the interviewer was white, so Killer Mike had to communicate through his partner when answering questions. After his interview his final hope for finding food in Athens was at The Westbroad School, Church and Community center. This was the only option in Athens Georgia that black kids had to get a decent education 50 years ago. This community center was able to provide Mike with a fresh meal using things grown in there strictly black grown garden. As show time approached itself Mike made it all 3 days “Living Black.”1

Episode 2: “F**k School”

In episode 2 Killer Mike seeks to find a way for people to learn vocational skills. Killer Mike begins this episode questioning why kids have a big dreams of what they will be when they get older. Mike is disgruntled with the fact that there are many kids that are going through life with the belief that they will be president. Killer Mike visits an elementary school and talks with a group of first grade students about what they want to do once they are older. As expected, the kids had extremely high dreams with one of them even proclaiming that he will be President one day. Killer Mike shuts that thought down immediately even going so far as to tell the kids that he will never be president. After Killer Mike is finished talking with the kids, he brings in a man that teaches the kids about basic plumbing skills. Once he is finished talking to the kids, he moves on to talk to the principal to question if he can get a program started at the school that teaches the kids those skills. The principal firmly shuts him down telling him to seek another avenue to teach people these skills. Next, Killer Mike moves on to adults. He brings in a group of diverse individuals and gives them a short quiz to see how much they know about other vocational skills. The individuals flunked which could have further solidified in Killer Mikes mind that there needs to be more education on vocational skills. After relaying how the people did on the quiz, he questioned what can be done to get people to learn these skills. From their suggestions, Killer Mike came up with the conclusion of adding sex to get these skills taught. He visits a cam girl and talks with her about what she does and if that could be an effective way to get information out but after their conversation he settles on teaching through porn. He works with a porn production company to get multiple vocational skills taught throughout different scenes. Once those are made, he brings the group of individuals that he tested in the beginning back to see the finished product of the porn video. After surprising them with the videos, he quizzes them again on the different vocational skills to which they all did better. To Killer Mike, this may be a sign of an unusual way to teach others.1

Episode 3: “White Gang Privilege”

The third episode of “Trigger Warning with Killer Mike”, titled “White Gang Privilege”, Killer Mike assists the gangs, Crips and Bloods, in making and marketing their own brand of soda. Killer Mike realizes, toward the beginning of the episode, that white gangs, such as the Hells Angels, have been making profit off their name by selling products such as t-shirts and by suing companies that use their brand. Killer Mike claims that this white gang privilege is largely due to the way that the public views and media conveys black gangs; dangerous and deadly. Killer Mike approaches a few members of the Crips and proposes that they begin to brand and sell their own soda product in hopes of bringing money into the gang to help their community. Killer Mike takes and his business and are denied because they all lack proper financial paper trail. Because the loan was denied, they begin their business extremely small and begin making the product in the kitchen of one of their houses. After perfecting their product, Killer Mike arranged an appointment with a graphic designer to get the group their own brand and design for the label. The group then went around local businesses requesting a spot on their shelves, but the business owners were not interested in selling the product in their stores because of the association with the gang. After the small defeat, Killer Mike arranges a focus group at a market research facility with a small group of soda enthusiasts. They give the enthusiasts Crip-a-Cola in an unmarked cup and they were very impressed with the product. However, when they were informed of the name, views changed dramatically in a very negative way. Killer Mike then stepped in attempting to educate the group on the goals of the new soda company. The rest of the business group then came in to meet the participants and the group gave their views of the Crip lifestyle and neighborhood and how they plan on using this business opportunity in a positive way to help the Crip community. Killer Mike realized that even though businesses weren’t willing to sell the brand in their stores, it could still be sold if two things happen: the community could talk face to face with some of the Crips to see what their long term goals were for the soda and the community could see that buying this soda would not get you killed by their enemies; the Bloods. Killer Mike then recruited a few members from the Bloods in order to bring them in on this business opportunity and then took both groups to a local farmer’s market to sell Crip-o-Cola and Blood Pop. The community came to realize that buying and supporting this soda company would not put them in harm’s way. After the success of the soda at the local farmer’s market, the previously reluctant businesses owners agreed to give them some shelf space in their stores.1

Episode 4: “New Jesus”

Killer Mike begins the episode by discussing that African Americans may find it difficult to relate to Christianity because of the idea of “White Jesus,” where they are praying to a God that does not look like them. Mike then meets an influential black pastor named Creflo Dollar to discuss why he thinks Christian churches can be harmful to the black community. Dollar expresses to Mike that he feels it is not a matter of church making black people better or worse, but it is a matter of “Have we done it right?” He also shares his belief that people face inner issues because they do not know who they are in Christ. The two spend some time respectfully debating their views on Christianity, but neither one of their beliefs were changed. Since Killer Mike still desired to have a black savior, he suggests that his friend whom he respects, nicknamed “Sleepy,” could be his own “Black Messiah.” Sleepy believes that it is better to enjoy life on Earth, rather than hold out for Heaven. In other words, Sleepy’s catchphrase is, “F*** hope, do dope.” Mike and Sleepy decide to create a bible of their own, called “The Book of Sleep” based on these beliefs. They speak to an Atlantic publisher named Vikki Hankins to get their book published, but she shares that their ideas were not the kind of material that she would publish. The two then decide to stand outside of a Christian church and invite passersby to a congregation of their own. A handful of people agree to meet with Mike and Sleepy at a barbershop to discuss their views on Christianity. The group comes to an agreement that sleeping could make for a religious experience, so Mike consults a sleep expert named Arianna Huffington for advice. Mike shares with his group the techniques he learned about good sleep practice and discusses how sleep and rest can carry a stigma for black people in America. He shares a quote from Frederick Douglas stating, “More slaves were whipped for oversleeping than any other fault.” He relates this to current society discussing that African Americans still lose sleep due to anxiety from over-policing, poor living conditions, and that sleep is viewed as a weakness. Mike asks his group to practice proper sleep and write their thoughts and feelings in “The Book of Sleep” afterwards. Each of the group members had positive reactions to their resting experience. The group begins to expand over time as the members tell their friends about their experience and invite them to attend as well.1

Episode 5: “Outside the Box”

In this episode, Killer Mike reaches out to the fastest growing group of people: the elderly. He visits a nursing home in order to talk politics with the residents. One woman believes that most shootings and robberies are caused by black men. Killer Mike quickly corrects her by explaining that only 13% of the population is African American. He also briefly touches on how news channels pick and choose which stories to tell in order to keep blacks and whites afraid of each other. Killer Mike then raps for a group of residents, and to his surprise, gets a positive reaction. Killer Mike then states that the problem with America is that everyone stays in their own bubble of beliefs, which keeps Americans divided. Music, he realizes, is a way to burst these bubbles and bring people together. Killer Mike decides to find a musical artist from each “bubble” and bring them together to create a diverse musical super-group. Famous rapper “T-Pain” appears throughout the process as a celebrity judge and mentor. Once the group is finalized, each artist writes a verse and together they create a controversial political anthem, which they then perform at a local show.1

Episode Six: “Kill Your Master”

Killer Mike brings up the idea of creating a new nation and succeed from the United States. He speaks with people who have done this and takes the steps to create “New Africa,” a small republic within the state of Georgia. He creates a flag, has a constitution drafted, and buys a large farm that was once a plantation to use as the location of the new republic. He invites people he has met through his travels in the first 5 episodes—anyone is welcome, as Killer Mike wants to create a diverse and welcoming atmosphere. Citizens of New Africa tends to farm land, participate in a progressive form of church, and come together to build a community. By the end of the first day the community was arguing, so Killer Mike decides that there must be free elections for them instead of making himself the leader. The group selects a new leader, though Killer Mike explains that he rigged the election so someone else would win. The episode closes with him explaining that they are going to strive for a community of unity, love, and respect.1

Relevance in Society

Episode One:

Throughout Mike’s journey he experienced poverty in several ways. He was short of food, transportation, housing, and social interaction. Those living in high poverty areas lack social interaction compare to those living in more affluent neighborhoods.2 This is due to safety issues and lack of common connection with one another. Although Mike had endless amounts of money, he still lacked the essential needs of living. As Mike may not have experienced living before desegregation, he lived more in poverty for those three days. For him it may have been easy to get through knowing that this would only last for three days, but for someone living in poverty and never knowing what the next day may bring can bring on anxiety, stress and depression.

Episode Two:

This episode relates to poverty because it looks at the education system and how it may put unrealistic dreams on kids. The kids then go forth with these unrealistic dreams and may get burned out when they can’t obtain them. Once the kids have tried with these dreams, they end up falling short and not doing what they realistically can do to provide for their family. Psychology Today says ’big dreams do not characteristically produce high achievement’ (‘Don’t Dream Big’, 2019)2. This can be seen in how burned out people may get from the expectations that other put on them. What happens when the dreams that kids have become a distant memory? How are kids being taught about other things that they can do if those first big dreams do not work out? These are things that kids must consider but they may not be taught about second options so they may stop after the first dream. This brings the poverty level up because there may be a group of kids that couldn’t reach their first dream and didn’t know what to do in poverty.

Episode Three:

The basis of this episode is the fact that Killer Mike believes that black gangs are at more risk for economic disadvantage due to the way the media portrays and the general public views black gangs. However, he argues that white gangs, such as the Hell’s Angels, are seen in a much more positive light which allows them to be able to profit off of their gang affiliation, whereas many people are scared to purchase items that are affiliated with black gangs because they are viewed as dangerous. The Hell’s Angels were founded in San Berardino county in California in 1948, and still has a strong presence in the county. According to the United States Bureau, in 2017, 16% of the population in San Bernardino County was considered impoverished.3 This episode of Trigger Warning was filmed in Athens, Georgia, which has a very high presence of famous black gangs such as the Crips and the Bloods. The same website reported that 26.6% of the Athens population was in poverty.4 These statistics support Trigger Mike’s argument that black gangs suffer from more economic disparities than white gangs due to the fact that there is a much higher poverty rate in the community where black gangs reside as compared to the poverty rate in a community where white gangs are prominent and celebrated.

Episode Four:

This episode relates to poverty because Killer Mike discusses how many African Americans lose sleep due to poor living conditions. Research by the CDC shows that wealthier white Americans can get more and better sleep than poorer Americans of a different race. This is caused in part by poor African Americans working multiple jobs to get by and not having enough time to sleep. Sleep is also lost due to the stress of poor living conditions and food insecurities. This is an issue in society because these factors create a sleep inequality in America. Disadvantaged Americans are getting less sleep than wealthier white Americans, making it even more difficult to overcome their hardships.5

Episode Five:

This episode discusses and displays many common problems within America. Mostly, racism and the drastic divide between political parties. About eight-in-ten blacks, or 78%, believe the country hasn’t gone far enough regarding equal rights between races.6 In order to shrink the division and bring people together, Americans need to start talking to each other with open minds. People too often place themselves in these imaginary “boxes,” which close themselves off to new ideas and opinions. Throughout the episode, Killer Mike reveals the importance of conversation and education in order to bring Americans together.

Episode Six:

The message of this episode is significant because it shows how individuals are negatively affected by the United States. People that are members of minority groups, gangs, religions differing from Christianity, etc. are cast aside by society and are then drawn to alternative options where they will feel accepted. People who face poverty, unemployment, or other types of hardship would also be drawn to an escape from an oppressive society. This especially difficult for people who reside in rural areas, where Killer Mike decided to place new Africa.7 In rural areas, there tends to be a higher concentration of poverty, unemployment, and other social issues.

References:


 * 1) Motion picture. (2019). United States: Netflix. Retrieved from https://www.netflix.com/title/80144442.


 * 1) Don't Dream Big. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/insight-therapy/201112/dont-dream-big


 * 1) Marcus AF, Echeverria SE, Holland BK, Abraido-Lanza AF, Passannante MR. How Neighborhood Poverty Structures Types and Levels of Social Integration. American Journal of Community Psychology. 2015;56(1/2):134-144. doi:10.1007/s10464-015-9732-0.


 * 1) Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (2017). United States Census Bureau. Retrieved from https://www.census.gov/data-tools/demo/saipe/saipe.html?s_appName=saipe&map_yearSelector=2017&map_geoSelector=aa_c&s_state=06,13&s_county=13059,06071&menu=grid_proxy


 * 1) The Sleep Gap in America: Why Rich White People Enjoy More Sleep. (2018, May 7). Retrieved from https://www.tuck.com/the-inequality-of-sleep/


 * 1) Horowitz, J. M., Brown, A., Cox, K., Horowitz, J. M., Brown, A., & Cox, K. (2019, April 09). Views on Race in America 2019. Retrieved from https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2019/04/09/race-in-america-2019/


 * 1) Thiede, B., Kim, H., & Valasik, M. (2018). The Spatial Concentration of America’s Rural Poor Population: A Postrecession Update. Rural Sociology, 83(1), 109-144.

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 First Draft of Wiki Page Update: 

Episode One: “Living Black”

Killer Mike a Grammy award winner, and one half the duo in “Run the Jewels” began his six-episode series exploring a topic very important to him titled “Living Black.” Mikes main goal in this episode was to keep his dollar in the black community, basically living the life of a black man before desegregation. Throughout his 3-day journey from Atlanta Georgia to Athens Georgia everything that he eats, uses, and does must be black owned or made. Killer Mike began his journey by walking to a friend’s company that sells and buys products from black manufacturers named “webuyblack.com”, looking for advice on how he can find a phone and car that strictly come from the black community. Shareef Abdul Malik the founder of “webuyblack.com” gave Mike some supplies that came from his website including toilet paper, laundry detergent, toothpaste, batteries, he was even able to provide him with a phone that came from a strictly black manufacturer. But finding a car that came from a black manufacturer would be the hardest thing for him to find, so his only option for transportation was a bike that came from a black manufacturer by the name of Shawn Deangelo Walton, founder of “Wecycle Atlanta.” Now that self-care transportation was taken care of Mike needed to find food, so he cycled to the only strictly black grocery store in Atlanta known as Your Supermarket. He was able to get some fresh produce that was grown of black farms. As he realized that Athens was 75 miles from where he was, he decided to grab a seat on the only all black busing system called Harmon Brothers Charter Service. Killer Mike has used this busing system a number of times in his youth. As Killer Mike arrives in Athens, he shortly realizes that the strictly black community in Athens is non-existent. He was unable to find a hotel to stay in, so he spent his night sleeping on a park bench. He was also unable to enjoy his canned goods from the supermarket because he did not have a black made can opener. The next morning, he met up with his partner at an all-black BBQ, but he later finds out that the meat in this BBQ did not come from a black farm. His next stop was at a barber shop to get cleaned up before his show in 10 hours. While getting his “swag on” he was informed about a green book. A green book was used by black people when traveling so they were able to find shops, hotels, and restaurants in certain areas that were strictly black. His next stop was an interview for a radio show. When showing up he realize that the interviewer was white, so Killer Mike had to communicate through his partner when answering questions. After his interview his final hope for finding food in Athens was at The Westbroad School, Church and Community center. This was the only option in Athens Georgia that black kids had to get a decent education 50 years ago. This community center was able to provide Mike with a fresh meal using things grown in there strictly black grown garden. As show time approached itself Mike made it all 3 days “Living Black.”

Throughout Mikes journey he experienced poverty in a number of ways. He was short of food, transportation, and housing. Although Mike had endless amounts of money, he still lacked the essential needs of living. As Mike may not have experienced living before desegregation, he lived more in poverty for those three days. For him it may have been easy to get through knowing that this would only last for three days, but for someone living in poverty and never knowing what the next day may bring can bring on anxiety, stress and depression.

Episode 2: “F**k School”

Throughout this episode, Killer Mike goes into the education system to question why the school system is failing. Killer Mike believes that the reason for that is because of what the students are being taught. To question this, Killer Mike brought people together to survey what they knew about handyman work. After they were tested, he asked them what would make them want to learn a trade through a YouTube video. Through their answers, Killer Mike came up with the solution of mixing porn with DIY videos. After enlisting the help of professionals in the porn industry, Killer Mike produced a DIY video that increased the grades the surveyors had originally. The people that were surveyed told how they became more interested as the videos kept going so they did pay attention enough to learn.

This episode relates to poverty because it looks into the education system for minority youth in underfunded schools. Killer Mike is saying that the education system is failing the youth because it is telling them to dream big but not to dream ‘realisticly’. It is a fact that everyone cannot be president of the United States, but yet that is something that is taught in school but not how to change a lock. The school does need to start preparing kids more for domestic trades but everyone does not need to learn because while everyone cannot be president, some people will be and they should be prepared for when the time comes.

Episode 3: “White Gang Privilege”

The third episode of “Trigger Warning with Killer Mike”, which is titled “White Gang Privilege”, Killer Mike assists the infamous gangs, Crips and Bloods, in making and marketing their own brand of soda. Killer Mike realizes, toward the beginning of the episode, that white gangs, such as the Hells Angels, have been making profit off of their name by selling products such as t-shirts. These infamous white gangs have also made money off other people and companies by suing them for using the gangs’ brand on the company or individual products. Killer Mike claims that this white gang privilege is largely due to the way that the public views and media conveys black gangs; dangerous and deadly. With this new found information, Killer Mike approaches a few members of the Crips and proposes that they begin to brand and sell their own soda product, in hopes to begin to rival Coca-Cola and bring money to the groups to better their communities. They decided to make and market a new brand so they could also use the argument that “Coca-cola and Pepsi have killed way more people than Bloods and Crips”, to hopefully make the public’s views of these gangs more positive. Killer Mike takes his business partners to try and get a loan to begin their new business, but are denied because they all lack proper financial paper trail. Because the loan was denied, they begin their business extremely small and begin making the product in the kitchen of one of their houses. After perfecting their product, Killer Mike arranged an appointment with a graphic designer in order to get the group their own brand and design for the label. In fact, the designer created a font specifically for the brand they are creating, which has restrictions set so no one else has access to it or can use it without risk of punishment by law. After meeting with the graphic designer and perfecting their recipe for the soda the complete product was created, Crip-a-Cola. Killer Mike then arranged an appointment with Sean Martin, who was the former EVP of Marketing for Coca-Cola and Gatorade, for some advice on exactly how to launch the new product. The group then went around local businesses requesting a spot on their shelves in order to sell the new product they had created. Sadly, the business owners they asked were not interested in selling the product in their stores mainly because of the association with the gang name. After the small defeat, Killer Mike arranges a focus group at a market research facility with a small group of soda enthusiasts. They give the enthusiasts Crip-a-Cola in an unmarked cup and the majority of them were very impressed with the product. However when they were informed of the name, views changed dramatically, with one participant saying, “People could actually got shot over buying a bottle of Crip-a-Cola”. The participants immediately began talking negatively about gangs and saying that they all operate around violence and have no positive impact on society. Killer Mike then stepped in the try and explain the goal of the new brand of soda and he is met by a lot of resistance and a very heated discussion on race and gangs. The rest of the business group then comes in to meet the participants and give their views of the Crip lifestyle and neighborhood and how they plan on using this business opportunity in a positive way to help the Crip community. After these explanations, the participants’ views changed back to a much more positive outlook. Through this focus group, Killer Mike realized that even though businesses weren’t willing to sell the brand in their stores, it could still be sold if two things happen: the community could talk face to face with some of the Crips to see what their long term goals were for the soda and the community could see that buying this soda would not get you killed by their enemies; the Bloods. Killer Mike then decides to recruit a few members from the Bloods in order to bring them in on this business opportunity. With both groups, Killer Mike arrives at a local farmer’s market to sell Crip-o-Cola and Blood Pop. By doing this, the community came to realize that buying and supporting this soda company would not put them in harms way. After the success of the soda at the farmer’s market, the previously reluctant local businesses agreed to give them some shelf space in their stores.

Episode 4: “New Jesus”

Killer Mike begins the episode by discussing that African Americans may find it difficult to relate to Christianity because of the idea of “White Jesus,” where they are praying to a God that does not look like them. Mike then meets an influential black pastor named Creflo Dollar to discuss why he thinks Christian churches can be harmful to the black community. Dollar expresses to Mike that he feels it is not a matter of church making black people better or worse, but it is a matter of “Have we done it right?” He also shares his belief that people face inner issues because they do not know who they are in Christ. The two spend some time respectfully debating their views on Christianity, but neither one of their beliefs were changed.

Since Killer Mike still desired to have a black savior, he suggests that his friend whom he respects, nicknamed “Sleepy,” could be his own “Black Messiah.” Sleepy believes that it is better to enjoy life on Earth, rather than hold out for Heaven. In other words, Sleepy’s catchphrase is, “F*** hope, do dope.” Mike and Sleepy decide to create a bible of their own, called “The Book of Sleep” based on these beliefs. They speak to an Atlantic publisher named Vikki Hankins to get their book published, but she shares that their ideas were not the kind of material that she would publish.

The two then decide to stand outside of a Christian church and invite passersby to a congregation of their own. A handful of people agree to meet with Mike and Sleepy at a barbershop to discuss their views on Christianity. The group comes to an agreement that sleeping could make for a religious experience, so Mike consults a sleep expert named Arianna Huffington for advice.

Mike shares with his group the techniques he learned about good sleep practice and discusses how sleep and rest can carry a stigma for black people in America. He shares a quote from Frederick Douglas stating, “More slaves were whipped for oversleeping than any other fault.” He relates this to current society discussing that African Americans still lose sleep due to anxiety from over-policing, poor living conditions, and that sleep is viewed as a weakness.

Mike asks his group to practice proper sleep and write their thoughts and feelings in “The Book of Sleep” afterwards. Each of the group members had positive reactions to their resting experience. The group begins to expand over time as the members tell their friends about their experience, and invite them to attend as well.

Episode 5: “Outside the Box”

In this episode, Killer Mike reaches out to the fastest growing group of people: the elderly. He visits a nursing home in order to talk politics with the residents. One woman in particular states her belief that most shootings and robberies are caused by black men. Killer Mike quickly corrects her by explaining that only 13% of the population is African American. He also briefly touches on how news channels pick and choose which stories to tell in order to keep blacks and whites afraid of each other. Killer Mike then raps for a group of residents, and to his surprise, gets a positive reaction. Killer Mike then states that the problem with America is that everyone stays in their own bubble of beliefs, which keeps Americans divided. Music, he realizes, is a way to burst these bubbles and bring people together. Killer Mike decides to find a musical artist from each “bubble” and bring them together to create a diverse musical super-group. Famous rapper “T-Pain” appears throughout the process as a celebrity judge and mentor. Once the group is finalized, each artist writes a verse and together they create a controversial political anthem, which they then perform at a local show.

Although the episode ends on a rough note, it discusses and displays many common problems within America. Mostly, racism and the drastic divide between political parties. Killer Mike is on the right track. In order to shrink the division and bring people together, Americans need to start talking to each other with open minds. People too often place themselves in these imaginary “boxes,” which close themselves off to new ideas and opinions. Throughout the episode, Killer Mike reveals the importance of conversation and education in order to bring Americans together.

Episode Six: “Kill Your Master”

Killer Mike brings up the idea of creating a new nation and succeed from the United States. He speaks with people who have done this and takes the steps to create “New Africa,” a small republic within the state of Georgia. He creates a flag, has a constitution drafted, and buys a large farm that was once a plantation to use as the location of the new republic. He invites people he has met through his travels in the first 5 episodes—anyone is welcome, as Killer Mike wants to create a diverse and welcoming atmosphere. Citizens of New Africa tends to farm land, participate in a progressive form of church, and come together to build a community. By the end of the first day the community was arguing, so Killer Mike decides that there must be free elections for them instead of making himself the leader. The group selects a new leader, though Killer Mike explains that he rigged the election so someone else would win. The episode closes with him explaining that they are going to strive for a community of unity, love, and respect.

The message of this episode is significant because it shows how individuals are negatively affected by the United States. People that are members of minority groups, gangs, religions differing from Christianity, etc. are cast aside by society and are then drawn to alternative options where they will feel accepted. People who face poverty, unemployment, or other types of hardship would also be drawn to an escape from an oppressive society.

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Topic/Article ideas for Team 3:


 * 1) "Trigger Warning with Killer Mike"
 * 2) Netflix documentary that talks about inequalities in america--privilege, racism, gangs, money, etc
 * 3) Came out in Jan 2019 so there is literally no information on it
 * 4) we could summarize episodes and find research articles about the issues discussed in them to support
 * 5) Causes of poverty
 * 6) Too short, not enough information
 * 7) this is information that is important and easily accessible to find out more
 * 8) the first paragraph is all over the place, the whole thing is structured weird
 * 9) not enough countries included
 * 10) doesn't discuss inherited poverty
 * 11) Poverty trap
 * 12) doesn't even have a rating
 * 13) far too short, even shorter than causes of poverty
 * 14) unbalanced--is not unbiased
 * 15) talks about viewpoints unequally
 * 16) only talks about developing world, not enough information about the poverty trap itself
 * 17) not enough references or research--three are from the same book
 * 18) Live Below the Line
 * 19) not enough sources, repeats the same one multiple times
 * 20) too short, one paragraph
 * 21) needs additional citations of reliable sources
 * 22) too much unsourced material/stuff that hasn't been cited
 * 23) "plenty of room for improvement"
 * 24) Basic Needs
 * 25) S class
 * 26) only 3 countries mentioned
 * 27) biased toward US and Canada
 * 28) not as many issues as the other articles

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 Article Evaluation 

"Gender Inequality in the United States"

Evaluating Content


 * Is everything in the article relevant to the article topic? Is there anything that distracted you?
 * The heading "Benatar" feels out of place. Could stand to be renamed. otherwise, good.
 * Is any information out of date? Is anything missing that could be added?
 * The very first section says "as of 2013" so the information could stand to be updated closer to 2019.
 * Another section uses data from 2007.
 * The sections on homelessness and prison are far too short. One sentence each.
 * What else could be improved?

Evaluating Tone


 * Is the article neutral? Are there any claims that appear heavily biased toward a particular position?
 * It seems to be neutral as it talks about multiple genders, not just women.
 * Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented?
 * Probably the women, but also women are incredibly disadvantaged so that seems correct.

Evaluating Sources


 * Check a few citations. Do the links work? Does the source support the claims in the article?
 * Yes
 * Is each fact referenced with an appropriate, reliable reference? Where does the information come from? Are these neutral sources? If biased, is that bias noted?
 * Yes, there are many references. I don't see any nbias being noted, but i also didn't click every single link.

Checking the Talk Page


 * What kinds of conversations, if any, are going on behind the scenes about how to represent this topic?
 * There was argument about how women aren't the only ones disadvantaged, but that must have been fixed. Otherwise it was just cordial discussion.
 * How is the article rated? Is it a part of any WikiProjects?
 * C-Class, it is a WikiProject
 * How does the way Wikipedia discusses this topic differ from the way we've talked about it in class?
 * This is just more in depth, not different.

One Question:

Why doesn't it go in deeper about non-binary or non-gender conforming people? and just transgender? is there not enough research?

~eriseyas2020