Author: Brice Di Carlo Page 2 of 3

Class Notes 11-02-23

On November 5, 2023

In Brice, Daily Class Notes, Uncategorized

Technologies have changed cultures and language. Writing allows communication with a person across rooms. We have not figured out how to communicate well enough without conflict.

The author is telling here narrator as a child through childish ways. Comparing WOWO memoir writing to visuals. What if the WOWO writer used images? How would it change their stories?

Stan evokes visuals of Moses flowing down the river in a basket. Provoked our thoughts on adoption

The author is making sense of painful topics without making them seem painful.

What’s a story? Would our ideas of a story become more compelx now that we’ve been exposed to different forms of storytelling?

We’re sharing another personal story with our partners. How do we make memories into stories?

We can use artistry and improvise details. Consider your audience. Think of the structure, beginning, middle, and end. The storyteller makes meaning out of their stories. Words can create a picture for the audience. Share a story where you can remember a time when you had an experience that you reflected back on later in your life because it taught you something.

Persepolis Chapters 4-10 11-01-23

By Brice Di Carlo

On November 1, 2023

In Brice, prep note

Something that I began to notice a bit more about the artwork in this comic book is the meaning it reflects in addition to the dialogue. Many of us would think that detailed artwork and drawing would be required to tell a story but just simple drawings could add lots of more meaning to a story. Persepolis does a very good job with usage of drawings, especially in showing emotions through facial expressions. During a time of revolution and war, emotion is a very prominent aspect in the authors life as well as those she interacts with. Frustration, sadness, fear, and anger are just a few of these emotions displayed through the characters facial expressions.

Prep Note 10-26-23

By Brice Di Carlo

On October 26, 2023

In Brice, prep note

One of the most distinguishing ways in which the author tells their story is through historical and social context. In the story, the author and the education system she’s in, portrays communists such as Marx and Fidel Castro as heroes. These viewpoints contrast very differently compared to the United States and the present day. For the U.S, communism has been viewed as evil while in Iran it is viewed positively. This example goes to show how different social climates and beliefs are in this part of the world and during that time period.

Something else that caught my attention was the publication of this comic book. It says that the book was written in 2002. This is just a few months after the 9/11 attacks. After 9/11 there was a huge generalization of terrorism with the Middle East, which most likely provoked a response out of the author to share their story and the perspectives of those who lives in that region.

Midterm Reflection Questions Prep Note 10-24-23

By Brice Di Carlo

On October 24, 2023

In Brice, prep note

Can the quotes being used come from sources outside of the blog/prep notes? Can I use quotes from my reflections on a personal document?

Field Trip Prep Note 10-24-23

By Brice Di Carlo

On October 23, 2023

In Brice, prep note, Uncategorized

The most intriguing part of this field trip was seeing the hanging tree from Lumpkins Jail. In history class, you hear about hangings and cartoons of them in textbooks. Although saddening, we’re either desensitized to it or just don’t take into perspective how terrible this act of execution really was. The fact that I was standing right next to a tree responsible for hundreds of deaths was very gut wrenching. It’s even worse to think about when you consider hanging being known as the most cruel/painful form of death at the time it was done. Going on this field trip and seeing the hanging tree connects straight back to Campbells book, Richmond Unhealed History. Everywhere you go, even if its just passing a tree can tell an entire story about the lives of those oppressed, the oppressors and the history of the city itself.

10-10-23 Prep Note

By Brice Di Carlo

On October 9, 2023

In Brice, prep note

A topic that stuck out to me from the reading came from chapter 7. This chapter goes into depth on the specific restrictions and strategies Richmond politicians placed on African Americans to limit their rights. A specific restriction was on marriage and miscegenation. In this section of the chapter, Campbell reference the influence of the eugenics movement in the 1920’s and the impact it had on African Americans as well as other groups. This section struck out to me before the only other time I’ve heard of eugenics was during readings or discussion of the Nazi’s who believed in eugenics and therefore believed the Aryan race was superior over all other races especially the Jewish race. The fact that there was somewhere in America that had been influenced by this movement really goes to show the amount of hate and divide that was present in the country.

In footnotes 297 and 298 Campbell used information out of the book “Managing White Supremacy”. In one of the chapters of this book, the author discusses the Anglo Saxon Club and their push of eugenics in politics and the media. In this source, I learned about the origin of the eugenics movement, how it started in Amnerica, the extent to which it was favored and proposed as well as the effects that resulted from the eugenics movement.

https://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?collection=civil&handle=hein.civil/mwsrp0001&id=100&men_tab=srchresults

Class Notes 10-05-2023

By Brice Di Carlo

On October 6, 2023

In Daily Class Notes, Uncategorized

Discussed Annotated Bibliography:

…

Annotated Bibliography Assignment

Book Discussion:

What year did the U.S outlaw slave trade?

Slavery remained but slaves could no longer be imported for exported. Chapter 4 (pg 75) 1774 slave trade was outlawed.

Surprising? Skin color dictated who would be slaves. Blacks would be born into enslavement if their parents were slaves. Slaves could no longer be imported into U.S so a structure was used to prolong the use of slaves for multiple decades. Humans involved in slavery, saw slaves as animals/ economic units rather than humans. Their humanity was blurred.

Chapter 6: Patrick Henry…Give me liberty or give me death.

White men fought for independence from England, to give everyone rights and freedom, but this excluded blacks.

Page 79. –> The American fight for independence was funded by slavery. Soldiers were given a slave to fight the war. “History bleeds through.” What did we learn about where segregation came from?

White politicians looked for loop holes in the system, Brown vs Education. Its easier to control and limit the extent to which African Americans can contribute to society (Nick Javier).

Examples of specific loop holes

The grandfather clause, if your grandfather voted then you could vote, didn’t apply to blacks. (Will)

Law required people to have jobs but blacks couldn’t have government jobs, only low wage jobs (Julia) Pg 132

People who were supposed to work could only get jobs they could get. White employees looked to give blacks on low wages which acted as indentured servitude(Nick Javier)

Pg 139–> Literacy requirement. Every black had to remember the constitution, It was illegal for slaves to read or right which limited them from voting (Kaylee)

Ana took the literacy test in history class and the test wasn’t based off of knowledge of the constitution but literacy proficiency.

Why were white politicians so determined to create levels of society?

Pg. 130 Whites were supposed to be at the top of social and economic hierarchies while blacks were at the bottom of these structures. Nit picky rules that determines where people stood in the racial hierarchy (Julia).

Richmond took rid of certain districts and annexed certain locations. Red lining effected where people go to school and how voting is effective. All in favor of whites.

Not enough funding for blacks to go to school. There were barriers in teacher salaries between whites and blacks. Angelos volunteered at a school and realized that public schools in black communities had less funding.

Funding of public schools controversy:

School funding is very complicated. Funding is regulated by the state, but school boards enact policy. Formula at the state level that determines how much taxes for certain areas goes to public schools funding. Annexation is important because during segregation, some people didn’t want counties apart of the city. Wealthier people left to the counties to set up their own schools while they still worked in the city. Real estate in Richmond is owned by the government which lowers the tax base.

Back home, new governor, policy passed that allows school choice. Money is being pulled from communities with a majority in minorities. (Ana)

What do we think is Campbells Thesis:

Richmond’s history is unhealed. How?

Even though rights have become better for individuals, the aftereffects of redlining and other barriers still impacts people today. It’s like an open wound that stings and hasn’t healed yet.(Nick Javier)

History can’t be healed naturally like a wound, but it takes action from people to bring healing(Brice)

History still impacts multiple forthcoming generations. (Kristine)

Can history be healed? Things from the past can’t be changed, the wound leaves a scar, the wound is healing but the impact of the would is still seen? Talking about issues helps us to move forward(Kaylee)

Why is there a highway in-between the city? Black neighborhoods were destroyed. The wounds can be seen all around Richmond. The highway is a symbol of the past and its impact on peoples lives.(Julia) “History bleeds through”

High school got renamed from Robert Lee to John Lewis. Schools shouldn’t be named after confederates (Kristine).

In what war is the losing side able to dictate the narrative?(Haven)

Pause on subjects that bug you. We create untrue narratives when we feel discomfort. Pg 94… Slavery was referred to as Patriarchal institution, unenlightened labor etc.

The downriver slave trade. The people who were making money from slave trade had to have a way to shut their brains down from what they were indulging in. Family units are destroyed(how does that affect society). Many of the men who sold enslaved children had fathered those enslaved children. “The problem of America is the problem of the color line.” Why we hide our history is because we are related to people who were involved in the evil past.” Oppressed people made their own loopholes. This serves as hope for society. Look for stories of hope embedded in the book.

Prep Note 10-05-23

By Brice Di Carlo

On October 5, 2023

In Brice, prep note, Uncategorized

Chapter 7:

What struck out to me from chapter 7 was how many peoples rights stem from the importance of politics and being able to vote. In this chapter, it goes into detail as to how politicians would pass defensible laws that would secretly put blacks at a disadvantage voting compared to whites. For example, it says that blacks had to memorized their answers as to who they voted for while whites were given a pen and paper to fill out their ballet. This strategy was used in order to stunt the black vote since they made up a great percentage of Richmonds population. As a result of being unable to vote fairly, white democrats were put into office and passed policy that would virtually segregate and lower the quality of living for Black Americans. One of the most shocking sections of this chapter was in relation to marriage and the eugenics movement. Eugenicists had a strong influence on Nazi politics around the same time period which reflects the immense evil that was taking place in Richmonds politics. Many people were sterilized for being criminals which is more focused on the black community. Due to the laws passed restricting rights, as well as a bias justice system, people of color were more frequently targeted in criminal situations thus putting them at risk for sterilization.

Another moment that caught my attention was at the beginning of the chapter when Richmond built roads over the graveyards that held the remains of many popular blacks and people considered heroes.

Chapter 8:

“Integration, however slight, anywhere in Virginia would be a cancer eating at the very life blood of our public school system.”

It can be seen that education was highly valued, so much to a point that racist politicians believed it had to be restricted from blacks. This is evident in this quote above because the politicians try to mask their agenda through the good of the public school system. Instead, they want to prevent blacks from getting higher education. Education is very important, and it’s reflected later in the chapter when even more black are voted into office. With greater education, and more knowledge, the blacks were given a chance to take control or have influence in politics.

Prep Note 10-03-23

By Brice Di Carlo

On October 3, 2023

In Brice, prep note

What caught my attention the most from chapters 4-6 was the significance of religion and Christianity when it came to integration of African Americans and White Americans. Biracial Christianity began to grow during the 19th century, and the partnership between black Christians and white Christians led to the establishment of black christian churches. Something else that struck me about the rest of these chapters was at the end of chapter 6 when the author, Benjamin Campbell highlights the fact that much of Richmond’s past was hidden. For example, the slave jails were buried under parking lots and superhighways. This reminded me of when Ana shared with the class that states in the south block any access to Native American history in schools. The author is implying that instead of avoiding mistakes in the past, they should be exposed and resolved to bring complete healing.

Prep Note 09-28-23

By Brice Di Carlo

On September 28, 2023

In Brice, prep note, Uncategorized

The colonization of Virginia has a much darker past than I would have imagined. In this book specifically, the violence between Natives and the English was strongly emphasized. What shocked me most was how the hatred between differences of one another brought about disunity, murder, and trauma to the people who lived in Virginia. It makes you consider how different events would have panned out if settlers and natives were able to coexist peacefully or even unite as one. The most intense scene that displayed hatred and tension between both parties was when the Natives scalped hundreds of English settlers. People weren’t just dying in war by gunshots, but instead the most grueling ways possible, being decapitated, hanged, or tortured. Something else I thought was interesting were the laws of Henrico. The fact that settlers went against each other and such strict laws were enforced on settlers is hard to wrap my mind around. Not only were settlers treating Natives poorly but they were also enforcing cruel punishment to each other.