January 23

Selma Extra Credit

I hope that you got a chance to see Selma, a moving drama about the events leading up to the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the piece of legislation seen as the culmination of the Civil Right Movement (CRM) in the 1960s.

This particular article is written by an historian who thinks the movie is flawed b/c it omits a key scene or the reason behind why King turned back at the Edmund Pettis Bridge days after Bloody Sunday (when the original marchers were attacked and broadcast on TV).  http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/01/02/dr-king-goes-to-hollywood-the-flawed-history-of-selma.html

1. I’d like you to read it and tell me whether or not you agree with the historian and explain why this makes the movie flawed or not flawed.

Pick from TWO of the following:

2. The movie doesn’t try to show King as a hero.  In fact, it shows his flawed marriage with Coretta and his infidelity and how it had affected their lives.  Give your thoughts on the portrayal of the King marriage.

3. The FBI and J. Edgar Hoover director are shown as creepy, invasive, and abusive.  They wiretapped the members of the CRM, they manufactured evidence to show King’s infidelity, and tried to prove that Malcolm X and King were communists.  What are your thoughts on the abuses of power by the FBI and Hoover?

4. Some historians, particularly those who have worked with President Johnson, have criticized the movie for not showing a more sympathetic Johnson (who was shown wanting to work more on his Great Society – War on Poverty and the Vietnam War which went barely mentioned).  Anti-racist activists have criticized a sympathetic Johnson as taking away accolades from King, a black man, and giving more credit to the President, a white man, for a pivotal piece of legislation, the Voting Rights Act.  Which portrayal do you think should have been shown?  Why?

5. Draw some comparisons to Lincoln (the movie) and Selma.  They can be favorable or unfavorable to either or both.  Explain your reasoning for the comparisons (minimum of 2).

 Your responses are worth 10 extra credit points and are due by Friday, February 6.   Response total should be 300 words minimum.  

Category: Blogs | 29 Comments on Selma Extra Credit
May 10

Hellhound on His Trail

Here are some questions to answer about the book:

1. Galt never gave a direct reason to hate Dr. King – we only know that Galt hated blacks because of his love for Alabama governor George Wallace and his run-in at the bar), so what were his reasons for going after Dr. King?

2. Did you like how the author wrote the novel as a thriller while writing a true crime novel?

3. When people die, people tend to forget all of that person’s bad traits.  Do you think that the public’s opinions of Dr. King changed after he was assassinated? Why or why not?

http://www.randomhouse.com/kdpg/doubleday/hellhound/

4.Do you feel that Hoover and the FBI’s stalking of King was acceptable or an invasion of privacy for no reason?

5. If an assassination of a public figure had happened today, do you think it would take as long to find the killer?  Why or why not?

6. It seemed like Dr. King had a feeling or premonition like he wouldn’t live much longer, how – if you were him – would you have felt and what would you have done?  Why?

7. Should the FBI have shared in the blame of Dr. King’s death for not better protecting him when death threats were a regular thing for Dr. King?

8. Why do you think the book put so much emphasis and detail on the activities King was doing just before getting killed?

9. How did Eric Galt get most of his money?

10. Do you think the authorities would have done something different with Ray if Dr. King had lived?  Would there have been as big of a manhunt?

11. Considering how much Hoover had hated Dr. King, was it surprising the number of people Hoover had sent out for the manhunt for King’s assassin? Why or why not?

12. Do you think Galt realized the effects that King’s assassination would have had on America (like the riots that happened afterwards)?  Were these his intentions or were they unintended consequences?  Why?

13. Why do you think the author included Galt’s previous activities like drugs and bar fights in Mexico and drfiting around Los Angeles working for the Wallace campaign?

Pick two of these questions and answer them by Friday, May 17. 

250 words minimum for your total answer. 

Category: Blogs | 2 Comments on Hellhound on His Trail