The Hidden Assault On Our Civil Rights

When it comes to court cases, every case that is heard in court is heard for one reason or another.

At the turning point of the century came the rise of the industrial age in America, and with that, came the rise of multiculturalism. The promise of the money and jobs brought people from all over the world. Free-market enterprise had people enamored with “The American Dream,” the idea that freedom enabled every hard-working individual with the opportunity for prosperity in success. Because of this, no other nation has such a rich blend of cultures. However, with this culture of diversity one could claim makes America great, comes a series of convoluted identity politics. In the novel Covering: The Hidden Assault On Our Civil Rights, Kenji Yoshino talks about the dichotomy between the True Self and False Self, and the concept of covering,

Social movements are one of the primary means through which the public is able to collectively express their concerns about the rights and wellbeing of themselves and others. Under the proper conditions, social movements not only shed light on issues and open large scale public discourse, but they can also serve as a means of eliciting expedited societal change and progress. Due to their potential impact, studying the characteristics of both failed and successful social movements is important in order to ensure that issues between the public and the government are resolved to limit injustices and maintain societal progress.

“There is no better than adversity. Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance the next time”-Malcolm X. In every movement men and women have crossed paths with others that share their goals, but not everyone shares the same path to achieve it. The civil rights movement of the nineteen fifties and sixties were no different in this case, while many shared the common goal of equality for all, not everyone shared the same style or belief system to achieve it creating sources of conflict within various civil rights organizations as well as between organizations. Freedom activists, Malcolm X and Stokely Carmichael sharing the same goal as other civil rights leaders John Lewis

The struggle to achieve freedom during the Civil Rights Movement was slowed and stifled due to governmental agenda and white political discomfort. America cared more about the civil liberties in other regions of the World, while maintaining a hypocrisy against African Americans here in the states.

Online identity expands real identity is Turkle's third point. The user may choose to be anyone he or she wants in cyberspace. There are no boundaries on who or what a person may be. A user can express many different aspects of his or her personality without being made fun of because no one would know the truth. A man may be a woman because he wants to engage in his feminine side. The other users may not know it is a man because in cyberspace, others only know what it told to them. If a person chooses, he or she may change gender, age, physical characteristics, and such. A fat man can easily become a beautiful woman in a few key strokes. On the other hand, one may express their nonconformities in a safe way and not have to repress them. A user may be blunt and be proud of it without receiving a black eye for it. Therefore, online identity expands real identity.

“Since 9/11, the Bush administration has used that tragic event as a justification to rip up our constitution and our civil liberties. And I honestly believe that one or two 9/11s, and martial law will be declared in our country and we're inching towards a police state” -Michael Moore. This quote is the fine definition to describe the film “Unconstitutional: The War on Civil Liberties.” In this short little summary and potential analysis(mostly opinion) will be about how this film describes the after effects 9/11 and the rushed passing of the Patriot Act.

Yoshino describes covering as the new threat to civil rights in the country; in regards that it negates the possibility of authenticity. Though he sees the positive aspects of assimilation in regards that it enhances fluidity in social interactions, he begrudges covering which is borne out of the assimilation process. His article “Covering: The Hidden Assault on Our Civil Rights” discusses his struggles with maintaining authentic Japanese and American culture, and shifting between the two cultures depending on his social physical environment. Yoshino attempts to play two identities by remain at the center of his social interaction but expresses the key challenges that are associated with preservation of authenticity in the midst of prevailing cultural stereotypes. This raises key questions about authenticity and its value in the society. In her article “Alone Together,” Turkel observes that authenticity is increasingly losing its significance in the contemporary world driven by the progress made through technology. She describes the introduction of machines that can be able to fake authenticity is blurring the lines between performance and identity, with most children finding it hard to differentiate between the real animal and the machine. In fact, she points out that the machines have become convenient in mimicking the authentic that they are preferred over the real. Yoshino brings out a key concern about the potential impact of an attempt to maintain authenticity in a

In Kenji Yoshino’s book Covering: The Hidden Assault on Our Civil Rights, he defines the notion of covering as when individuals will “tone down [their own] disfavored identity to fit into the mainstream” (552). Despite the United States being a rather diverse country, Yoshino argues that many minority groups feel pressured by the mainstream to conform or sort of adapt to what the society around them deems as “normal.” Throughout my life I’ve been able to meet many different people of many unique identities. A particular example that comes to mind is a gay friend of mine and what it was like for him growing up in a strict conservative family. Despite efforts nowadays to make the world a more diverse and open-minded place,

Jury duty is a constitutional and fundamental right guaranteed to American citizens. Jury service is a way for citizens to directly participate in the judicial system. Jury duty and jury trials have been around for so long that people take it for granted. The jury was one of the factors that caused the American Revolution because the English common law system did not allow alleged criminals to have the sixth amendment rights that the United States has today. In fact, The Declaration of Independence charged that King George III deprived the colonists of a trial by jury (United States Federal Judicial Center, n.d). The Founding Fathers of the United States established the role of the jury and the right to trial by jury in most criminal and civil cases in the Constitution but that clearly cannot be fulfilled unless there are people serving on a jury.

Until the 1950s, African Americans had experienced discrimination in all aspects of their lives. They were no longer slave, but they were definitely not equal citizens.

When citizens of society break federal and state laws they face a punishment known as “ jail” or “ prison”, which purpose is to not only to serve as a punishment but to also act as a program designed to help convicts enter back in to the society as a better person. As citizens of the United States we have civil rights granted to us from the U.S. Constitution that are not meant to just be taken away from us whenever the correctional system feels like it. Many people believe that once a person is put into prison that all of the prisoners’ rights are stripped form them, which is an untrue statement. Some of the basic prisoner laws state that all prisoners must be respected to and their life valued as a human being, it should be no type or

The idea of subjecting and removing Black American men out of the Black household started during slavery. In 1950 and 1980 Blacks were marrying at the same rate that they were being imprisoned, after 1990 during the height of mandatory minimum sentencing laws there is a split in the number of Black marriages and Black men in prison (see appendix)(Marriage).

The American Civil Rights Movement is personified through several prominent personalities. These figures exhibited strong character throughout their careers in activism that revolutionized the ideals and opportunities of the 20th century, standing as precedents for courage and perseverance in the face of widespread systemic oppression. However, not all of these figures received the acknowledgment and acceptance that their legacy deserved. One such figure was Bayard Rustin, a lifelong Civil Rights activist in the African American and LGBTQ communities whose experiences exemplified the hardships faced by American minorities. His career was defined by perpetual conflict and confrontation as both sides of the Civil Rights Movement attempted to demonize and discredit him. Despite this obstacle, Bayard Rustin’s controversial decision-making and sheer tenacity made him an influential force in the ongoing fight for equality in the United States of America.

Time goes on and people constantly change in order to benefit themselves. Each person wants to reach the point where he is seen as successful and acceptable in the eyes of society. Even if it means that he will end up succumbing to the pressures of assimilation, which can push happiness aside in order to reach success. Assimilation is only a part of reaching success because there are also personal identity and culture which can determine how much a person works or wants to achieve as well. In his essay “Covering: The Hidden Assault on Our Civil Rights”, Kenji Yoshino, who was once a Yale Law School professor, believes that people are sacrificing happiness and conformity and making room for assimilation on the basis of national origin