Pan African Studies 300OL

“Contemporary Issues in the African American Community”

Pan African Studies Department

California State University, Northridge

Spring 2007-2008AY

Ticket No. 14844 Johnie H. Scott, M.A., M.F.A.

Time: Arranged Associate Professor of Pan African Studies

Online Course Santa Susana Building, Room 210

Spring Semester, 2007/2008 (818) 677-2289

3 Units, General Education Office Hours: By Arrangement

Comparative Cultural Studies; Email

Section B/Multicultural Requirement

For Credential Candidates, F3, 97

Homepage

Description:

Prerequisite – Completion of the Lower-Division writing requirement. An in-depth exploration of the social, political, cultural and economic issues in the African American community accomplished through the Distance Learning methodology. Provides insight on the extent to which these issues affect the Black individual and family in their interaction with the majority American society. This particular Pan African Studies section offering of “Contemporary Issues in the African American Community” makes extensive use of the latest cutting edge information technology (i.e., the Internet, email, WebCT, and various software applications) and is student-centered...

Textbooks:

Required:

National Urban League President Marc Morial, in the NUL’s annual State of Black America address given in April 2007, described the underachievement of Black males as being among America’s greatest crises. “This state of underachievement,” Morial said in referring to The State of Black America 2007 Report, “with its devastating and far-reaching ramifications, is the most serious economic and civil rights challenge we face today. It’s a problem with a major rippling effect. Not only does it impact individual Black men. It also hurts their families and communities. It’s not just a problem for the African American community. It’s a problem for everyone in this nation.”

Strongly Recommended:

6) Gibaldi, Joseph, The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers/Sixth Edition, published by the Modern Language Assn. Of America, New York/NY:1995;

Important Note:

Books for this course can be ordered for express delivery from the CSUN Matador Bookstore – (818) 677-2913 -- located on the Northridge campus. Those supplemental readings listed for either the Los Angeles Times or LA Weekly can be obtained by visiting the WWW websites of the publications, going to the “Archives” for each newspapers and entering the title(s) of the articles, then retrieving the same (Note that for the Los Angeles Times, articles older than 14 days may be obtained for a nominal sum payable to the newspaper – Professor Scott)

Requirements:

First of all, every student enrolling in this course must have direct access to a PC at all times. This includes making provision for access to backup PCs, e.g., CSU Northridge’s Oviatt Library, in the event that the one a student may own is not functioning. In this class (and similar Distance Learning classes where the primary instrument is the information technology), there is a ZERO TOLERANCE policy for “late” submissions;

Each week begins by first providing a theme that focuses on one of the many issues to be found within Black America. Students are provided with a link to the “Child Watch” website featuring the thinking of Marian Wright Edelman, Executive Director for the Children’s Defense Fund, the nonprofit institution based in Washington, D.C. that is the country’s leading advocate for issues related to families and, most importantly, children. Having done the reading on “The Issue” for that week, students are then presented with “Word Up!” – an in-depth observation by the course professor on an issue of importance to Black America drawn from the syndicated column “Not On My Watch” written by the professor and published in The WAVE Newspapers: the oldest and largest African-American owned-and-operated newspaper in the western United States.

All students are to read these columns which set the direction each week. Those statements are directly accessible to the students as they go to the course syllabus. The Issue and Word Up are to be treated with the same seriousness and reference as the required textbooks for the course as they are, in effect, the “course lectures” by the professor with The Issues presenting, if you will, Marian Wright Edelman and/or others as “Guest” lecturers with noted expertise.

Lastly, students are given ample time to complete the assignments provided they practice good time and study area management. Distance learning courses require the type of student who is highly independent and self-motivated. That observation is certainly true for this course. The course evolved out of a special program designed by California State University, Northridge which has enabled this professor to be part of a core faculty group at the campus in being the first to provide online courses to the general student body with PAS 300 representing the first course offered by the Pan African Studies Department. In that respect, it also constitutes the first fully-accredited online course offered in the nation by a Pan African Studies Department.

a) Examinations: there are the Midterm and Final Course Examinations. Both are essay-format. For the Midterm, students respond to a series of questions posted on-line by the instructor that are based upon readings in Debating Race with Michael Eric Dyson, Beverly Daniel Tatum’s Can We Talk About Race?, Walter Mosley’s Black Genius: African American Solutions to African American Problems, other assigned course readings and the feature films and documentaries viewed as part of class instruction, and the Word Up! Weekly lectures by the course instructor. Students will have two weeks in which to complete the Midterm Examination while answering the questions. The Midterm Examination is to be written using large Blue Books and then either (a) brought to the PAS Department Main Office at CSUN in the Santa Susana Building, Room 221, by the prescribed deadline or (b) sent via the US Post Office Overnight Express Mail or through a carrier (e.g., Federal Express, UPS) with the student making certain that, in any case, the examination has the deadline postmarked as no “late” examinations will be accepted – No exceptions! The Final Examination is an Exit Essay comprised of one question posted to the class on email. Students, in responding, must use Microsoft Word and send the Exit Essay back as an attachment. The Exit is posted for 12 hours in which time the student is to respond, submitting by the stated deadline. No “late” exit essay exams will be accepted for grading. The two examinations are averaged together in establishing the first primary grade component;

President of Spelman College, Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum, has established

a national reputation in articulating thought-provoking, insightful opinions

about race and racism in contemporary American society.

b) Film Evaluations: Each student must have an email address and computer access. This access is crucial in that a key component of this Pan African Studies “Contemporary Issues” class are a combination of ten (11) feature films and documentaries that students view and then post formal evaluations on. The film evaluations are sent via email to the instructor at the time noted in the syllabus or directed by the instructor. These evaluations are based upon videotapes of feature films and documentaries available at major video rental outlets (i.e., Blockbuster, Tower, etcetera) viewed by the student at the instructor’s direction. Those videos available in the Oviatt Library’s Instructional Media Center at Northridge have been identified for students in the San Fernando Valley who might want to view said videos on-campus at their discretion. The evaluations of these films and documentaries are to be 500-750 words in length while adhering to the format specified by the course instructor. No “late” evaluations are accepted for grading. To qualify for an “Honor” grade of “A-“ or higher, the student must maintain a Film Evaluation average of at least 2.3 or better (No exceptions!). All film evaluations are due as of 8:00pm the following Friday of assignment unless otherwise noted by the course instructor. The film evaluations constitute the second primary grading component for the course;

c) Chat ‘N Chew: Each student is assigned to just one of the five “Discussion Rooms” in the Chat ‘N Chew Forum. For the semester, the student participates in this virtual classroom meeting with the course instructor (for the record, each student will be assigned to a specific Chat Room and Topic by the instructor in assuring opportunity for dialogic interchange with other class members ). Each Chat ‘N Chew Forum runs for 120 minutes and participation is mandatory. Every student enrolled is required to participate in one of these Forums in responding to the issues being put forth and discussed by those other students. It is expected that students will have completed the necessary reading and/or viewing of films prior to the actual Chat. The student receives up to 4.0 points for participating in these discussion, for a total possible 4.0 points maximum (Read: 4.0 points is equivalent to an “A” for with Chat ‘N Chew Forum representing the third primary grade component. The instructor’s assessment of points will be based on the seriousness, reflection and quality of the student participation;

Michael Vick, now serving time in a federal prison after conviction of sponsoring illegal dog fighting and gambling, lost millions of dollars in salary and endorsements as a result – not to mention the adulation of millions of youth as the quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons. But he was not alone in falling from grace as former Olympian Marion Jones and others made headlines for bad moves as the once bright image of the Black athlete became sadly tarnished – one of the issues to be discussed in this PAS 300 class.

d) Rap Time (Bulletin Board): For each week of the course up through “Review Week,” students will have the opportunity to “rap” with one another in this setting which is much like a Chat Room. The exception is that the instructor will post one topic each week taken from today’s headlines where Black American is concerned for dialogue that the students in the course can respond directly to. “Rap Time” provides the student with an opportunity to post a first response to a discussion prompt provided by the course instructor with several of these drawn from the class having read the National Urban League’s The State of Black America 2007 along with Debating Race with Michael Eric Dyson. The first posting by each student is in direct response to the course instructor’s question. That initial posting is valued at up to 2.0 points. The student then receives up to 1.0 points per reply to the postings made on the same prompt by two other students for a total of 4.0 points per “Rap Time.” There are four (4) Rap Times sessions during the term. Students have 3-4 full weeks per Rap Time in which to give their own best thinking on a given issue. Rap Time constitutes the fourth primary grade component in the course; and lastly

e) Contemporary Issues Case Study: This is the one formal writing assignment. The student develops a topic based on reading and research related to Marc Mauer’s Race to Incarcerate or selected course subject matter. This case study must be at least 2,500 typewritten words, double-spaced and written according to Modern Language Association guidelines. It must contain no less than 15 citations done according to MLA guidelines and have a “Works Cited” section with no less than five (5) references. Make special note that any references (i.e., critical reviews, feature articles, etcetera) taken from the Internet must be of “Peer Review” caliber. The Case Study represents the fifth and final primary grade factor for the course.

f) Bonuses: The sixth and final grade factor in this Contemporary Issues in the African American Community permits students the opportunity to accrue bonus points, i.e., extra credit, where their final course grade is concerned. To do so, there are two (2) Bonus Film Evaluations that students can elect to do – either both, or only one. That choice is the student’s to make. These Bonus evaluations must be at least 750 words in length. They must conform to the format for all film evaluations submitted, to include meeting the announced deadlines. The first Bonus Evaluation is on the ABC-TV World Premiere of Lorraine Hansberry’s award-winning work A Raisin in the Sun – with this being the 2004 Tony Award-winning production starring Sanaa Lathan, Phylicia Rashad and Sean Combs airing during Black History Month. The second Bonus Evaluation is based upon the Image Award-winning film Akeelah and the Bee (2006) starring Laurence Fishburne, Angela Bassett and Kiki Palmer. Each evaluation is valued at up to 1.0 Bonus Points for an aggregate of 2.0 points if the student writes on both films and receives the maximum award with the organization and development of the submissions. Those bonuses are added to the points of the five primary grade factors – with the GPA then arrived at in dividing that total by five, rather than six. Any other Bonus points will be a matter of determination by the course instructor, if there are any at all.

Grading Scale:

Grading for the course is on a “Plus-Minus” basis as described in the 2006-2008 CSUN Undergraduate and Graduate Catalogue. The final grade is based upon the cumulative grade point averaged derived from the five (5) aforementioned primary grade factors combined the Bonus Points factor. Final grading shall be as follows:

“A” = 3.7-4.0;

“A-“= 3.5-3.69;

“B+” = 3.3-3.49;

“B” = 3.0-3.29;

“B-“= 2.7-2.99;

“C+” = 2.3-2.69;

“C” = 2.0-2.29;

“C-“= 1.7-1.99;

“D+” = 1.3-1.69;

“D” = 1.0-1.29;

“D-“= .7-.99;

And

“Fail” = 0.0-.69.

The grade of “Incomplete” shall only be issued to those students doing passing work (i.e., “C” or better) who are forced due to circumstances beyond their control – and subject to full documentation – miss submitting the Final Examination and/or Case Study.

Course Schedule

It was Dr. William Edward Burghardt DuBois who first observed that “the problem of the 20^th century will be the problem of the color line.” (Souls of Black Folks, 1903). It very much appears the paradigm as stated by DuBois has not changed with the arrival of the 21^st century. Exploring that paradigm stands as a prime focus for this PAS 300 Contemporary Issues course.

Week One A Laundry List of Issues: Where Do We Start?

January 22^nd-26^th, 2008

One of the most famous pictures of all time is what one has here with this photograph taken of the Little Rock Nine – those courageous African American boys and girls shown here under National Guard protection – who braved racist white mobs and death threats from the Ku Klux Klan to integrate Central High School and open the door for racial integration across the nation.

· The Issue: “Redefining what it means to be Black in America” (Juan Williams, NPR, November 13, 2007)

· Word Up! – “A Message to Generations Yet Unborn: Black America at the Turn of the 21^st Century” (Johnie Scott, WAVE Newspapers, December 29, 1999)

· Reading: “Foreword by Senator Barack Obama, The State of Black America 2007; Chapter One, “The Resegregation of Our Schools and the Affirmation of Identify,” pgs. 1-38 from Can We Talk about Race?; the “Introduction: ‘The Intent of Black Genius’” by Walter Mosley , pgs. 7-12 from Black Genius.

Week Two The Black AIDS Pandemic

January 27^th-February 2^nd, 2008

HIV/AIDS patient Dorothy Jean Travis, now deceased, shown receiving treatment during latter days of her life as profiled in Sara Catania’s award-winning LA Weekly feature “Losing Dorothy: If You’re Black and Poor in L.A., Silence Still Equals Death.”

· The Issue: “AIDS – the Undeclared War on People of Color”

· Word Up! – “AIDS – The Undeclared War on the Poor” (WAVE Newspapers, May 24, 2000)

· Screening: Black Is, Black Ain’t (1994, A Marlon Riggs Film – Title available for viewing at Oviatt Library’s IML)

· Reading: : “Re-imagining Black Masculine Identity: An Investigation on the ‘Problem’ Surrounding the Construction of Black Masculinity in America” by David J. Johns, The State of Black America 2007; “Losing Dorothy: If You’re Black and Poor in L.A., Silence Still Equals Death” by Sara Catania, LA Weekly, June 1-7, 2001; “Movin’ On Up? Segregation, Integration, and Assimilation,” pgs. 3-24 from Debating Race with Michael Eric Dyson.

· Rap Time #1: “Of Don Imus, the N Word and Political Correctness” (Opens as of 1:00pm Wednesday, January 23^rd. Everyone is to first read "Shock (Jock) Therapy? Bill of Rights," pgs. 387-390 from Debating Race with Michael Eric Dyson in preparing for this initial Rap Time. Students then have through 1:00pm Wednesday, January 30^th, in which to respond to original Rap Time Writing Prompt. They then have until 1:00pm Wednesday, February 13^th, in which to post responses to the postings by any two classmates to the original Writing Prompt. Students are to make no more than three postings total for any Rap Time)

Shock jock Don Imus is shown here on Rev. Al Sharpton’s weekly national radio show in aftermath of Imus’s infamous remarks on Rutgers University women’s NCAA basketball team. Those remarks, and Imus, along with the growing concern on use of the “N” Word are subject for one of the Rap Time Discussion Forums in this PAS 300OL class.

Week Three "Young Black Males and the Prison Industrial Complex"

February 3^rd-9^th, 2008

Saul Williams gives riveting performance of Raymond Joshua,

a gifted poet whose selling of marijuana makes him just another of the more than 800,000 incarcerated African Americans as shown in motion picture Slam (1998)

which has become an underground classic in describing the very limited choices and opportunities

in urban ghettoes across the nation. Slam underscores theme in State of Black America 2007: "Portrait of Black Males."

· The Issue: “We Need More Face Time with Our Children” (A “Child Watch” column by Marian Wright Edelman)

· Word Up! – “I Am a War Baby” (WAVE Newspapers, January 12, 2000)

· File Evaluation #1 Due – Black Is, Black Ain’t (By or before Friday, February 8^th, 8:00pm)

· Reading: “Reconnecting Young Black Men: What Policies Would Help?” by Harry J. Holzer, Ph.D., The State of Black America 2007; “Educating on Behalf of Black Public Health” by Jocelyn Elders, M.D., pgs. 173-192 from Black Genius; Chapter Two, “Connecting the Dots: How Race in America’s Classrooms Affects Achievement,” pgs. 39-81 from Can We Talk about Race?

· Screening: Slam (1998)

Week Four Some Call It “The Criminal (In) Justice System”

February 10^th-16^th, 2008

· The Issue: “Racial Profiling!: Driving While Black aka DWB’”

· Word Up! – “Why Racial Profiling Must Be Brought to an End” (WAVE Newspapers, February 9, 2000)

· Film Evaluation #2 Due - Slam (By or before Friday, February 15^th, 8:00pm)

· Chat ‘N Chew #1: “New Millennium Holocaust: Black AIDS” (Every student to have completed reading from Week 2 and the Background Script in joining this first full class forum – Saturday, February 16^th, 2009)

· Reading: “Why Should African Americans Care About Macroeconomic Policy?” by William M. Rodgers, III, Ph.D., The State of Black America 2007; Chapter 3, “What Kind of Friendship is That? The Search for Authenticity, Mutuality, and Social Transformation in Cross-Racial Relationships,” pgs. 83-104 from Can We Talk about Race?; “Prison Abolition” by Angela Davis, from Black Genius.

· Screening: Murder On A Sunday Morning (2002)

In the blockbuster documentary Murder On A Sunday Morning, recipient of the 2002 Academy Award “Best Feature Documentary,” it took a French filmmaker to tackle an American subject, i.e., “Walking while black,” aka racial profiling, and show as painfully real and shocking today as any account the racial disparities African Americans and other people of color have to contend with in this Post-Civil Rights Era.

· Rap Time No. 2: “Black Homelessness in America: The Myth, the Reality” (Opens as of 1:00pm Thursday, February 14^th, Valentine’s Day. Students have through 1:00pm Thursday, February 21^st, in which to respond to the original Rap Time Prompt. They then have through 1:00pm Thursday, March 7^th, in which to reply to the postings made to that same original Rap Time prompt by any two classmates. Again, students are to make no more than three Rap Time postings)

Homeless mother shown here on the streets with her three tired, hungry children in dramatizing fact that 70 percent of America’s homeless are African Americans – and the majority of these are families.

“That is our dilemma. After the dreaming is done, there has to

be an awakening, and the reality of our imperfections must be

addressed. Sooner or later the dreams that enrapture us and

the tales that regale us must make way for the truth which alone

can set us free. All of us.”

-- C. Eric Lincoln

From “The American Dilemma in Perspective,”

Race, Religion and the Continuing American Dilemma

Week Five The Struggle for Civil and Human Rights Continues

February 17^th-23^rd, 2008

“The obligation of anyone who thinks of himself as responsible

is to examine society and try to change it and to fight it – at

no matter what risk. This is the only hope society has. This

is the only way societies change.”

-- James Baldwin

-- From “A Talk To Teachers”

· The Issue: “Wanted: A 2007 Class of Heroes and Sheroes” (A “Child Watch” column by Marian Wright Edelman, May 18, 2007)

· Word Up! – “Do the Math!: The Playing Field Is Not Level” (WAVE Newspapers, February 16, 2000)

· Film Evaluation #3 Due – Murder On A Sunday Morning (By or before Friday, February 22^nd, 8:00pm)

· Reading: “Still Segregated, Still Unequal: Analyzing the Impact of No Child Left Behind on African American Students” by Christopher BN. Knaus, Ph.D., The State of Black America 2007; Chapter Four, “In Search of Wisdom: Higher Education for a Changing Democracy,” pgs. 105-126 from Can We Talk about Race?; and “As Serious as First Love: Building Black Independent Institutions” by Haki Madhubuti , pgs. 51-88 from Black Genius.

· Screening: 4 Little Girls ( (1998 Academy Award-Nominee for Best Feature Documentary, A Spike Lee Joint)

Week Six Broken Promises: Of the Public School System

February 24^th-March 1^st, 2008

The husband and wife creative team of Alan and Susan Raymond earned Academy Award for “Best Feature Documentary” in producing I Am A Promise: The Children of Stanton Street. The couple spent more than one year in North Philadelphia ghetto following the many challenges facing those attending and working at a predominantly black elementary school in the urban core.

· The Issue: “The Enduring Mission of Freedom Schools” (A “Child Watch” column by Marian Wright Edelman, June 15, 2007)

· Word Up! – “The Clapping of the Thunder: We Will Not Abandon Our Schools!” (WAVE Newspapers, April 19, 2000)

· Film Evaluation #4 Due – 4 Little Girls (By or before Friday, February 29^th, 8:00pm)

· Reading: “On Equal Ground: Causes and Solutions for Lower College Completion Rates Among Black Males” by Valerie Rawlston Wilson, Ph.D., The State of Black America 2007; “Afterword,” pgs. 127-132 from Can We Talk about Race? “Can We All Get Along? Racial Friction and the Beloved Community,” pgs. 175-194 from Debating Race with Michael Eric Dyson; and “Filmmaker” by Spike Lee , pgs. 15-31 from Black Genius.

· Screening: I Am A Promise: The Children of Stanton Elementary (1998, Produced and Directed by Susan and Alan Raymond – Title available for viewing at Oviatt Library’s IML)

· Chat ‘N Chew #2: “On the Death of King/Harbor Medical Center: Shredding the Urban Health Care Safety Net.”(Saturday, March 1^st, 2008)

The highly-controversial closure of the Martin Luther King, Jr. /Drew Medical Center (later re-named the King/Harbor Medical Center) as the only acute care public hospital in the Los Angeles County’s South Region of 1.8 million people has generated tremendous concerns nationwide about the shredding of the urban health care safety net. Protesters shown here at hearings held by LA County Board of Supervisors.

· Bonus Screening: A Raisin in the Sun (ABC-TV World Premiere, Monday, February 25^th, 2008. Students can receive up to 1.0 Bonus points for viewing and then submitting a Film Evaluation of this World Premiere of the 2004 Tony Award-winning production of Lorraine Hansberry’s play starring Sanaa Lathan, Phylicia Rashad and Sean Puffy Combs. Bonus valued at up to 0.75 pts. to be due by or before 6:00pm Saturday, March 1^st via email)

Week Seven The Elephant in the Living Room: Black Homophobia

March 2^nd-8^th, 2008

Courtney Vance is shown here in one of great roles from an outstanding career

as he plays defense attorney fighting for young Black male on trial for fighting

back against mob of whites bent on hate crime in the thought-provoking feature film

Blind Faith (1998) that opens doors wide to discussion on Black American taboo.

· The Issue: “What’s Wrong with Thinking ‘God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve?” (Elijah G. Ward, Institute for Health Research and Policy, School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago, Short Report)

· Word Up! – “When Is It Ever the Right Place, Right Time?” (WAVE Newspapers, July 5, 2000)

· Film Evaluation #5 Due – I Am a Promise: The Children of Stanton Elementary (By or before Friday, March 7^th, 8:00pm)

· Midterm Examination (To be posted on Monday as of 7:00pm)

· Reading: “Black Male Life Expectancy in the United States: A Multi-Level Explanation of Causes” by Mercedes R. Carnethon, Ph.D., The State of Black America 2007; “Bill Paid: Philanthropy or Social Justice?,” pgs. 357-380 from Debating Race with Michael Eric Dyson; and “Giving Back” by Walter Mosley , pgs. 33-49 from Black Genius.

· Bonus Screening: Blind Faith (1998 with Courtney Vance and Charles Dutton )

· Rap Time #3: “Out in the Open: Bill Cosby’s ‘Pound Cake’ Speech” (The prerequisite for participating in this “Rap Time” will be all students having downloaded and read “The Pound Cake Speech” by Bill Cosby and “Poor Excuse: Cosby and the Politics of Disgust,” pgs. 391-408 from Debating Race with Michael Eric Dyson;. Opens as of 1:00pm Friday, March 7^th. Students then have through 1:00pm Thursday, March 27^th, in which to respond to the original Rap Time Prompt. They then have through 1:00pm Friday, April 4^th, in which to respond to the postings to that same prompt made by any two classmates.)

Dr. William Cosby commenting on “Pound Cake” speech made at dinner given by NAACP on 50^th Anniversary of Brown v. Topeka, Kansas Board of Education decision by United State Supreme Court. Speech has galvanized thought, opinion and discussion within Black America in a way rarely seen before.

Week Eight When Dreams Are Deferred: Inner-City Youth and Professional Sports

March 9^th-15^th, 2008

Now rightfully assuming its place amongst the great American exposes of corruption and deceit where the nation’s youth is concerned, Hoop Dreams stands out as a documentary that shows how life can be so much more engrossing that fiction when the subject is the pursuit of the American Dream by people of color.

· The Issue: “Black Families Need to Hold On To Children – Our Growing Edge” (A “Child Watch” column by Marian Wright Edelman, February 16, 2007)

· Word Up! – “A Knocking at Midnight: Who Will Answer the Door” (WAVE Newspapers, February 9, 2000)

· Midterm Examination Due (As of 4:30pm, Friday, March 14^th)

· Screening: Hoop Dreams (1994, A film by Steve James, Frederick Marx and Peter Gilbert. To be obtained at your local video store)

· Reading: “How Are the Children? African American Boys in Foster Care” by William C. Bell, The State of Black America 2007; “Dying for Attention: Gun Obsession and American Violence,” pgs. 221-230 and “Million Heirs: Marching Toward Manhood,” pgs. 245-250 from Debating Race with Michael Eric Dyson; and “Get On-Line!” by George Curry , pgs. 87-105 from Black Genius.

Note – March 16^th-22^nd is Spring Break – Campus Closed and No Classes Scheduled

Week Nine Of America’s Most Enduring Controversy: Interracial Relationships

March 23^rd-29^th, 2008

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This cover says it all in pumping up public interest in Spike Lee melodrama Jungle Fever, film that unearthed yet another American social taboo with interracial dating many years after America had supposedly answered the rhetorical question “Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner?”

· The Issue: “Black Men, White Women”

· Word Up! – “There Is a Lesson in ‘Children of Stanton Street’” (WAVE Newspapers, March 15, 2000)

· Bonus FE #2 Due – Blind Faith (Valued at up to 0.75 pts. due by or before Wednesday, March 26^th, 6:00pm)

· Film Evaluation #6 Due – Hoop Dreams , by or before Saturday, March 29^th, 6:00pm)

· Reading: “The National Urban League 2007 Equality Index” by Rondel Thompson and Sophia Parker, The State of Black America 2007; “In His Own Hands: Black Male Intensity and Latrell Sprewell’s American Dream,” pgs. 251-268 and “ResponsiBillity: Cosby’s Conservative Turn,” pgs. 381-386 from Debating Race with Michael Eric Dyson; and “Holding the Media Accountable” by Farai Chideya , pgs. 215-244 from Black Genius.

· Screening: Jungle Fever (1991, A Spike Lee Joint)

“We should heed (George) Orwell’s words in the discussions

of Black English. The grim naysayers of black potential are

the ones whose language is most opprobrious. Those folk who

denigrate Black English without trying to understand it speak

in bad faith. Those political critics who obfuscate their role

in the economic suffering of the black ghetto with political

chicanery are the real trouble. And those financially secure

black folk who demean the users of Black English without

working to get them better jobs, or to make sure that the

future of the country’s poorest black children is as bright

as their own children’s, speak a language of moral hypocrisy.

If all of this is standard, then perhaps we should give

Non-standard a try.”

-- Michael Eric Dyson

-- From Race Rules: Navigating the Color Line, 1997

“Michael Eric Dyson (pictured above) is the most courageous and visionary public intellectual on the scene today. He exemplifies a profound commitment to social justice and a genuine love of black people, especially poor black people.” This assessment by noted philosopher and theologian Cornel West speaks to

Dyson’s body of work to include his critique of Bill Cosby’s “Pound Cake” speech.

Week Ten A Recipe with Tragic Consequences: Wrong Place, Wrong Time = 187

March 30^th-April 5^th, 2008

Gunshot victim is brought into the now-closed Trauma Center at King/Harbor Medical Center in South Los Angeles which in 2006 handled 2,150 trauma cases with an astounding 85% survival rate for gunshot victims. Victims of homicide remain high in area with highest murder rate in Los Angeles County that now has no functioning acute care County Trauma Center for the 1.8 million residents living there.

· The Issue: “Protect Children, Not Guns” (A “Child Watch” column by Marian Wright Edelman, February 2, 2007)

· Word Up! – “Reflections on Bullworth and Presidential Politics 2000” (WAVE Newspapers, April 5, 2000)

· Film Evaluation #7Due – Jungle Fever (By or before Friday, April 4^th, 8:00pm)

· Screening: Bastards of the Party (2007, A Film by Cle “Bone” Sloan, produced by Antoine Fuqua, an HBO-TV Special – on reserve at the Oviatt Library Media Center)

· Reading:” Nine Miles and Spreading” by Peter Landesman, LA Weekly, December 14-20, 2007; “The Stakes Are High: Violence, Hip Hop, and the United States Senate,” pgs. 231-244 from Debating Race with Michael Eric Dyson; and “Public Lives, Private Selves: Toward an Open Conversation” by Anna Deavere Smith, pgs. 269-290 from Black Genius.

· Rap Time #4 “Give Me My 40 Acres and My Mule! The Argument for Black Reparations” (For this final Rap Time, all students are required to read “Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word: Apologies and Reparations for Slavery,” pgs. 315-326 from Debating Race with Michael Eric Dyson. Opens as of 1:00pm Monday, April 7^th with students having up through 9:00pm that following Wednesday, April 16^th, in which to respond to the Rap Time Prompt itself. Students then have through 1:00pm Friday, April 25^th, in which to select and respond to the postings made to that original prompt by any two classmates. Students cautioned again to limit postings to just three.)

One of the most heated discussions in the nation, certainly in Black community, concerns issue of Reparations for the three centuries of slave labor by African Americans. PAS 300OL course affords opportunity not only to engage in that discussion, but to do relevant readings and critical thinking at the same time.

Week Eleven Trying to Do the Right Thing?

April 6^th-12^th, 2008

One of the most important films ever made describing American culture, race relations, and the inner workings of Black America describes Do The Right Thing – the open-ended Spike Lee opus that is as relevant today as it was 15 years ago. Filmmaker Lee, right, shown in scene from the movie with the late Ossie Davis, a true legend of Black American filmmaking.

· The Issue: “Let’s Put the ‘Justice’ Back in Our Criminal Justice System” (A “Child Watch” column by Marian Wright Edelman, November 30, 2007)

· Word Up! – “Of Failing Schools and Spin Doctors” (WAVE Newspapers, November 29, 2000)

· Film Evaluation #8 Due – Bastards of the Party (By or before Friday, April 11^th, 8:00pm)

· Reading: “My Dungeon Shook: Letter to My Nephew on the One-Hundredth Anniversary of the Emancipation” by James Baldwin first published in The Progressive, December 1962 and published by the Dial Press, 1963 in The Fire Next Time.

· Screening: Do The Right Thing (1989, A Spike Lee Joint)

· Chat 'N Chew #3: "Ebonics Revisited: Or the Inside Story of America's Failure in Educating African American Kids in Inner-City Schools" (Saturday, April 12^th, 2008)

Week 12 The Not-So Quiet Death of Affirmative Action

April 13^th-19^th, 2008

· The Issue: “Young, Black and Locked Up” (A “Child Watch” column by Marian Wright Edelman, November 23, 2007)

· Word Up! – “Reflections on the LAPD’s Rampart Scandal” (WAVE Newspapers, March 22, 2000)

· Film Evaluation #9 Due – Do the Right Thing (By or before 8:00pm, Friday, April 18^th, 2008)

· Screening: Redemption: The Stanley Tookie Williams Story (2004, starring Jamie Foxx as Stanley “Tookie” Williams, co-founder of the Crips street gang/Death Row inmate and Nobel Peace Prize nominee)

· Reading: “The Battle Over Affirmative Action: Legal Challenges and Outlook” by Barbara R. Arnwine, The State of Black America 2007; “Myths, Distortions, and History: Affirmative Action,” pgs. 61-92 from Debating Race with Michael Eric Dyson; “Wall Street, Main Street, and the Side Street” by Julianne Malveaux , pgs. 145-171 from Black Genius.

· Chat 'N Chew #4: "Hurricane Katrina and the Great New Orleans Flood of 2005: Three Years Later and the Disaster Continues" (Preparation for this Chat includes reading "Who's to Blame? Victims, Survivors, and Agents in Hurricane Katrina" and "The Humor in the Hurt: Politically Incorrect Reflections on Hurricane Katrina," pgs. 295-314 from Debating Race with Michael Eric Dyson; Saturday, April 19^th, 2008)

· Bonus Screening: Akeelah and the Bee (2006) starring Laurence Fishburne, Angela Bassett and Kiki Palmer with this Bonus FE#3 valued at up to 0.75 points and due by or before 6:00pm Saturday, April 19^th via email.

Week Thirteen When A Million Black Men Marched

April 20^th-26^th, 2008

Responding to Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan’s call for a “National Day of Atonement,” more than 1 million African American Men traveled to Washington, D.C. from all parts of the nation and around the world for the now-historic Million Man March.

· The Issue: “In the Matter of the Million Man March”

· Word Up! – “Body Counts, ‘Walk-Ups’ and the NRA” (WAVE Newspapers , April 12, 2000)

· Film Evaluation #10 Due – Redemption: The Stanley Tookie Williams Story (By or before Friday, April 25^th, 8:00pm)

· Film: the pursuit of Happyness (2007)