User:SCMark/sandbox

Article Evaluation

The article I read, American Literature (academic discipline), opened with a poor definition of what is American Literature; the author used "American Literature" to define what it is. Furthermore, the article did not do a proper job of explaining the history of American Literature. The article needs improvement in the sense that it could add more details to the history of American Literature and it impacts now. For example, the article starts off discussing how many people thought that American Literature wasn't legitimate but eventually it did; the article should have explain the development of American Literature more. However, the tone of the article stays neutral and didn't have a bias towards any side. The article, however, could have had represented and showcase the literary works of American Literature and it's importance to the United States history. The author could have also further discussed the journals associated with American Literature.

There are only six sources associated with the American Literature (academic discipline), but they all seem to be related to the topic. A few of the topics are hyperlinked with a way to read the book or website article the information came from. Others have no hyperlink but the title is there so one can find the book if needed. The sources are not biased and doesn't hint at any bias ideas. Finally, the talk page connected to the article didn't have a lot of activity and discussion happening. There's one question asked and that's it.

500 Word Addition:

Discrimination in the United States

Discrimination is the act of someone being prejudice towards another. This term is used to highlight the difference in treatment between members of different groups when one group is intentionally singled out and treated worse, or not given the same opportunities. As attitudes toward minorities started to change, the term discrimination began to refer to that issue. Over the years, many forms of discrimination have come to be recognized including nationalist, racial, gender, and sexual orientation throughout US history, especially after the Civil War.

Under Colorism

'''Colorism in America first came about during slavery. Lighter skinned slaves tend to work indoors, while dark skinned worked outdoors. In 1865, during the Reconstruction period after the Civil War, the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was passed and it''' abolished slavery. '''This was soon followed by the Fourteenth Amendment that granted citizenship to all persons "born or naturalized in the United States", and the Fifteenth Amendment that protected the rights to vote for everyone. These Amendments passed during the Reconstruction period extended protection to the newly emancipated slaves'''. However, in the 1870s Jim Crow laws were introduced in the Southeastern United States. These laws promoted the idea of "separate but equal" which was first brought about from the Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896, meaning that all races were equal, but they had to have separate public facilities. The mixing of races was illegal in most places such as public schools, public transportation and restaurants. These laws increased discrimination and segregation in the United States. Often times, the products and sections designated for the "Colored" were inferior and not as nice for the "White Only". Water fountains, bathrooms, and park benches were just a few of the areas segregated by Caucasians due to Jim Crow laws. '''Furthermore, the Jim Crow laws systematically made life harder for African-Americans and people of color. It made voting harder to accomplish, due to the fact that African-Americans had to do literacy tests and go through other obstacles before getting the chance to vote'''

In the modern United States, gay black men are extremely likely to experience intersectional discrimination. In the United States, the children of gay African-American men have a poverty rate of 52 percent, the highest in the country. Gay African-American men in partnerships are also six times more likely to live in poverty than gay white male couples.

Under Fighting Back

Major figures such as Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and Rosa Parks were involved in the fight against the race-based discrimination of the Civil Rights Movement. Rosa Parks's refusal to give up her bus seat in 1955 sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott—a large movement in Montgomery, Alabama that was an integral period at the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement. The Bus Boycott lasted a total of 381 days before the Supreme Court deemed that segregated seating is unconstitutional. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a peaceful activist and pastor, led many such protests, '''advocating for the improvement of African-Americans in American's society. His role in the Montgemery Bus Boycott helped to launch his role in the Civil Rights Movement. King organized many protests attended not only by African-American, but also Caucasians.'''

While King organized peaceful protests, Malcolm X went a different route. He and his main supporters, The Nation of Islam, stressed the idea of black power, and black pride. Although Malcolm X's actions were radical, especially when they contradicted that of Dr. King, but he is still considered one of the pioneers in fighting back against racial discrimination. '''His ideas of black nationalism and the using violence to fight back helped to spark the political group in the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense. Formed by Bobby Seale and Huey Newton, the organization was created in October of 1966 in Oakland, California. As a group, the Black Panthers first started off patrolling police activity in Oakland, but soon grew to widespread support in cities like Los Angeles, and Chicago. Although they were seen as a violent gang, the Black Panthers brought numerous social programs such as free breakfast for school children, and free clinics. They were ultimately taken down by the FBI in the early 1970s'''.

'''In the education system, the Civil Rights Movement further became huge after the ruling of Brown v. Board of Education in 1954. Oliver Brown challenged the Board of Education of Topeka, Kanas when his daughter was not allowed to enroll in any of the all white schools claiming that "separate but equal" violates the protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Ruby Bridges, along with the Little Rock Nine, dealt with discrimination from Caucasian peers and their parents during the desegregation of schools'''. '''The Little Rock Nine were a group of nine African-American students who volunteered to attend school at the Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. They continuously had problems with the public and faced harsh treatment from other students, parents, and even the Little Rock National Guard. However, a change occurred when President Dwight D. Eisenhower intervened by sending federal troops to escort the students For Ruby Bridges, she joined the Civil Rights Movement in the November 14, 1960 when she became enrolled in William Frantz Elementary School. Due to many parents not allowing their children in her class, Bridges was in class by herself, which was taught by Barbara Henry, and often times ate alone and had recess alone. Ruby, along with her family, did face a lot of backlash throughout Louisiana from the desegregation; however, they did receive support from numerous people in the North and Bridges was able to finish the year.'''


 * The bold is my edits to the article. This was just my way of visually seeing how my additions fit into the article while editing.

''I think you chose a great article to work on! The second I clicked on it, not only did I notice that it is flagged as having multiple issues, but also that it is extremely short and hardly specific, and in need of a lot more citations. All of your additions are insightful and productive, and you added some much needed citations to the references. I think you did a really great job!! I would even consider maybe adding another subsection of your own, as I still think that the article is missing out on so many aspects of discrimination both in history and in contemporary society. I think you did a really nice job expanding on the colorism and history section, but I think that the gender and sexual orientation portions could still use some work, so maybe look into that for the future!''