"America I Am" National Geographic Museum Exhibit

I think "America I Am" means that America has a beautiful history, but it also has an ugly history, because of what fellow African-Americans have goe through. But in spite of that, we have managed to be a very good country because we have things such as the Declaration of Independence, that allows every citizen to have equal rights. Also, there is the Constitution, which has basic rules for running the country, including equality and civilized laws that apply to everyone. It is once again called "America I Am" because African-Americans have a history through America, and it becomes a part of them; by the exhibit shown, I can infer that they have endured many hardships and cruelties throughout their existence in America. For example, the whip that white wives used to beat their house servans, and ankle braces, which African-Americans were chained to during slavery. The North also relied on the slave trade to keep the economoy running, so they are also a part of America because they were huge contributors to making our country as strong as it is today.

I liked and disliked the "America I Am" exhibit. I thought the music and lighting was depressing because it made me very saddened to see what some people in the past had to go through. However, as I walked through the exhibit, I see they had arranged it in chronological order, and so it made me a bit more cheerful as I walked through to see the great things that they have accomplished throughout the years. I thought the exhibit was well-put together, and they did a good job of respresenting African-Americans throughout time, both cast in a negative and positive light at times. I would definitely go see the exhibit again, and it was sad to figure out that the exhibit was being moved somewhere else. Overall, I enjoyed the trip and thought it was a great learning experience.

Tuskegee Airmen, The Men Who Made A Difference

   Recently, the eighth grade has been studying the Tuskegee Airmen and what they did. We talked all about them, from when they were born to what impact they made. However, we did take a little bit of time to discuss what we could learn from the Tuskegee Airmen, and this is what I'm here to talk about.

   In the movie, most, if not all, of the Tuskegee Airmen faced a lot of racism and hate. Many people could not bear the thought that blacks could actually accomplish something. However, even though they faced discrimination and hate, they still served their country, though little praise was received. I think this is one of the most important lessons we can learn, that you can continue to fight for something even though there are many others putting you down.

   The next lesson we learned is that you can go above and beyond expectations even when only a small amount of people appreciate you. The Tuskegee Airmen were determined to serve their country well and not lose any bombers, even though most of the military directed hatred towards them. However, in the end, they did not lose a single bomber and they completed their mission successfully.

   One more lesson we can learn is that if a few people unite, they can create a force stronger than those opposing them. I say this because throughout the movie we watched, the Tuskegee Airmen continued to motivate each other throughout the film. They pushed themselves to exceed expectations, and they continually encouraged each other to do their best. Also, when Lt. Broadwater came in to speak to us, he described how the Airmen maintained good friendships with one another, and that they never stopped believing. These are three of the most important lessons I learned from the Tuskegee Airmen when we were studying them.

  
  

Tuskegee Airmen Summary

Lessons that we can learn from the Tuskegee Airmen are that they always stayed together even when they didnt agree on something.We can also learn to not get as atrracted to those friends beacause in many missions they left losing atleast one persson either if it was during a practice flight or a real mission. Becoming a Tuskegee Airmen shows that , that person has courage to help for their country. Especially because they were African American pilots most of the white people did not have courage for them to become real pilots like they were. They proved that it wasn't true by helping two white men who were going to die if they didn't help from two of the African American pilots.When Lt.Broadwater came into my class he told us about interesting things. He graduated from Stuart Hobson and MKinley High School. Lt.Broadwater also told us that they now have classes for 15 year students to go to if they are interested in becoming a pilots. They will have to take 45 Hour classes. The other man who was with Lt.Broadwater said that he is still flying planes at the age of 89 or 85.

Tuskegee Heroes

            The Tuskegee Airmen taught me three main lessons about life.  The first is that I should never give up on what I believe in.  Two, do not let hatred or torment define where I go in life.  Finally, be proud of my skin color and cultrue.  There story will influence my life forever... 

"Freedom Riders"

In the movie, "Freedom Riders", I learned a lot.  I picked up a lot of factual information, as well as some moral lessons.  I learned the Freedom Riders were a motivated group of ordinary adults who wanted to fight segregation in the south.  They embarked on a journey on two different buses to Montgomery, Alabama to show the racist people of the south how someday America would be integrated. They rode on buses together, white next to black, and vice versa, to break Jim Crow laws. I learned that it takes courage, strength and motivation to fight for something you believe in. They faced angry mobs of white men and women, and one of the buses was even bombed. In fact, I learned more about all of this in the Youth Town Hall meeting with appearances from a few of the Freedom Riders themselves such as John Lewis and Dianne Nash.

The Youth Town Hall meeting was somewhat interesting.  News stations recorded it, and there was a live feed so students from all across America could ask questions.  I think it was a privilege to actually be sitting in the meeting, in the presence of the Freedom Riders themselves.  I learned that all the Freedom Riders thought it was their non-negotiable duty to fight for civil rights and integration.  They also spoke about how we could express non-violence in our everyday lives.

Since the Freedom Riders strongly believed in non-violence and peaceful protests, they felt the need to spread that word to the youth of today.  They ultimately said that we should always try to resolve our conflicts peacefully, and that we should avoid confronting others in a violent manner.  I can apply this advice to my everyday life because as a child, I face many conflicts and it is good to resolve them in a peaceful way. Also, I think it is always good to fight for what you believe in, as long as it is a worthwhile cause. I think I can relate most to John lewis, because he was talking about courage and fighting for what you believe in, and I have done that in my life before. It was a very interesting and enlightening experience, and I hope that we can have another field trip like this in the near future.

Summary of The Freedom Riders

           While watching the A&E movie called "The Freedom Riders", we learned of the Freedom Riders' informational history.  We learned of their purpose, to have buses and lunchcounters intergrated.  We learned about how the Greyhound bus' tires were slashed and bombed in Anniston.  We also learned of the decision to continue to with the movement even though it ment death.  However, we only got part of the emotional experience.

            During the Youth National Summit, Daisy Bates class started to realize the emotional triumph of three legendary Freedom Riders.  These Freedom Riders' names were Diane Nash, Jim Zwerg and James Lawson.   At the summit we learned how long it took to get whites to agree with the movement and how hard it was for them because of peer pressure.  We also learned that alot of them were still in college.  Finally, we learned how after all the torture, one Freedom Rider was able to make ammends with someone who beat him. 

            The way that these Freedom Riders connect with me today is very important.  What they did, helped me to become free today.  If they were to quit when the Greyhound bus burned down, then I probably wouldn't have such freedom.  I feel grateful that they went through torture just for people like me.  It also makes me proud to be among an intergrated generation.  The Freedom Riders are truly legends to remeber for a lifetime.
               

Noelle's Reflection of "The Freedom Riders"

In my class of Daisy Bates Ms.Trenkle and Ms.Warrick took the class on a field ttrip to see some of the members from the "Freedom Riders" bus. Before we went to the program the class got to see a movie that was the story of what happened to the people that we were going to see. In the movie we got to see how brutal the white people were to the Freedom Riders. The movie had many scary ctions upon the Freedom Riders. While sitting on the bus they came upon a group of white women and men who busted the bus tires and threw items through the window. While sitting on the bus the white people threw a gas bomb through the window that smoked out the whole bus. The white people decided to lock them on the bus and at anytime the bus could have caught on fire. As soon as they were let free they were lucky that the bus hd just then blew up. Even while off of the bus the white people continued to beat upon them. They were breathing hard from the gas and the hits.One woman felt sympthy and decided to help them by grabing them one at a time and cleaning their face off and giving them water so they can breathe better.





When we arrived at the program we recieved pamphlets the told about what we were going to see.In the begining of the program we got see a short portion of the movie again. After that movie the freedom riders got shared information about their bus ride and who was on it. They gave detail about what happened to them plenty of times while trying to travel different places.They were in a bomb threat while loding on a plane,the were also bomb while sitting on the bus,and their bus driver left them after the car stopped working.The Freedom Riders were stranded with hope that they would not get beat by those white people who were crowding their bus.The Freedom Riders been through alot of brutal activites that put them into a hospital.




In the last portion of the program The Freedom Riders got to answer questions from children all around the united states.They also recieived questions from one student from each school. Stori Williams was the speaker from our school.Many of the questions were asking about if they knew that they would get beat everytime they travel by white people why would they continue to try.If I were to be asked that question I would answer it "I continued to travel on The Freedom Riders because I wanted intergration in different states.If I would have quit we may still have been  segregated place." In the end of the program all of the schools got a chance to take a picture with The Freedom Riders. This program was located at The National Museum American History.