1) Take the Zinn reading about the history of slavery in America and put it into conversation with one of the following: either Raoul Peck’s film, “I Am Not Your Negro: James Baldwin and Race in America” or Alex Gourevitch’s article “Why Are The Police Like This?” You can also write about all three pieces if you feel compelled. Most important is to develop your historical perspective, the ability to perceive the effects of the past on the present. How do the origins of policing in America continue to haunt present day society? OR 2) Please choose 2-3 articles and put them into conversation. The assignment is to think about Black Lives Matter and Trump’s use of secret police. How did Trump use the terms ‘anarchy’ and ‘antifa’ (anti-fascism) in summer 2020? Did the way he used these terms correspond to the reality in the streets? If not, then why was he representing the BLM movement in this way? In what ways were Trump’s authoritarian tactics reminiscent of the colonial strategies used in America’s ‘dirty wars’… now brought home? Pay attention to the diverging points of view and the struggle over the powers of representation. Who controls the narrative, in the mainstream media and beyond? Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor “Chapter 7: From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation” 191-219 (posted on BlackBoard) How Black Anarchists Are Keeping the Protest Movement Alive – Vanessa Taylor https://www.mic.com/p/how-black-anarchists-are-keeping-the-protest-movement-alive-30140067?fbclid=IwAR0mbsubgFCq0YcwKilYP0wYMY7dhRSRt1_A7nu5wWanFN5RLAYTyDt0BbI Trump Secret Police Portland https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/trump-secret-police-portland/ Trump’s Secret Police Are Waging a War on American Cities https://jacobinmag.com/2020/07/donald-trump-federal-agents-portland Trump Has Brought America’s Dirty Wars Home https://newrepublic.com/article/158580/trump-portland-dirty-wars?fbclid=IwAR3VDbqvMAiVkfleJHG-LEeEpC8TjrBLL4vOcuRCOC9xQDGx12yYlABGuh8
