In America the term freedom is often times used very loosely. America is known as the land of the free yet it incarcerates more people than any other country in the world. It is perceived that American citizens have the freedom to make choices based upon their own desires; This is mostly true when speaking in terms of modern day America. However, when discussing early United States history spectators will discover that the African and African-American race was largely exempt from America's perceived freedoms. In early America nearly all peoples of African decent were slaves. As a slave you were considered nonhuman and your life was at the mercy of your owner. Being enslaved is the farthest idea away from freedom. According to Dr. Fletcher freedom refers to a group's inalienable right to exercise choices whether good or bad. As history has progressed black leaders have paved the way so that African-Americans today can utilize their freedom to make choices. It was in the hopes of our ancestors that we would make good choices that would continue to advance the race. None the less we see many blacks in gangs, unemployed, uneducated, and incarcerated. There is a large disconnect between our ancestors hopes for the progress of the black race and its actual advancements. Although there are many negative things holding back the black race Howard University is committed to creating and molding successful and productive African-American members of society.
Another idea discussed in today's lecture was justice. Justice was a term that used to mean "Just-Us" relating to one specific group of people. In this society in which just-us derived everyone could not participate in government, economic decisions, etc. Justice can be described as the relationship between fairness and equality. Dr. Felder emphasized how religion largely plays a role in the ideas of freedom and justice. Our actions are heavily influenced by our desire to seek and do God's will.
Dr. Felder's overall presentation discussed ancient and modern concepts of freedom and justice. He related the two ideas with religion and gave vivid examples/stories of how they relate.
-Kaylynn Webb
Last week’s lecture tackled the issue of freedom and justice. Dr. Cain Hope Felder presented the information using biblical references to provide an understanding of the true meaning behind freedom and justice. He started first by discussing freedom. Freedom was defined as a thing that represents a person’s unalienable rights to exercise choices in an unfettered way. And it’s these choices that will define a person’s potential and destiny. However, freedom is not free. It requires responsibility and has consequences. The United States of America is often called the “land of the free” or the “capital of the free world”, but in reality it incarcerates more people than anywhere else in the world; mainly African Americans and Latin Americans. Dr. Felder quoted a key saying from Animal Farm to make clearer what freedom really is. “All pigs are equal, but some pigs are more equal than others” explains why freedom is such an abstract word and why freedom is not equal among human beings. With ever present views and ideologies regarding a certain ethnicity’s superiority or inferiority, freedom will never be an option for everyone. But like Dr. Felder said, “in time, all that is hidden will come to light”. In tackling justice, Dr. Felder explained that justice has to do with the right relationship, fairness, and balance, as well as that justice for one person is not the same justice for another person. He went on to examine examples from the bible. He talked about the Hebrews in Egypt who were enslaved for 400 years, and how slaves in the bible constantly thought of freedom and justice. Next he read parts of Psalm 137 and explained that this was a distant ancient echo of what African Americans felt when they were enslaved and had to sing for their masters. He also told the story of Ester, and how she can be seen as a symbol of justice, as well as the central figure of Jesus being seen as a liberator, a symbol of freedom. Dr. Felder’s presentation made you think about freedom and justice in different terms from what you might have originally thought. He made it known that freedom and justice must not be taken for granted. And that it is up to use to take interest and help pave our own destiny.
ReplyDeleteIn this week’s lecture Dr. Felder discussed the definitions of freedom and justice, as well as their applications and relevance in today’s society. First he discussed the African Diaspora, or the scattering outside of a continent, and how it has become overshadowed by the European mainstream. He then went on to discuss the blatant contradiction between the definition of free and the current state that we’re in by pointing out that America is supposedly the “land of the free” but has more incarcerated citizens than any other nation in the world. He defined freedom as representing “a person’s unalienable right to exercise choices… and those choices determine their future,” and detailed that freedom is not truly present unless an individual has the opportunity to develop the fullness of their human potential.
ReplyDeleteHe then went on to define justice as “the right relationship, fairness, or balance” and contrasted that with slavery and its distinct lack of fair and humane treatment. He then drew parallels between the meaning and its phonetic sound. He claimed that justice was the word but “just us” was how the word was and, to a certain extent, is currently being used. He told us that the Hebrew word for justice also means righteousness. This was typically the word used in the bible and implies that justice and a sense of righteousness are quite close in meaning. However this also can lead to self-righteousness and mal-practiced judgment. This lecture showed me that freedom and justice are something to work hard for and are an aspect of life that most Americans take for advantage
In this week’s freshmen seminar Dr. Felder discussed the definitions of Freedom and Justice and how they relate to African Americans in our country today. He defined freedom as a person right to exercise all choices, good or bad, in an unregulated way. Freedom however he described is not free. A person cannot fully experience freedom until they are able to develop to their full human potential. He also discussed the concept of Justice and how it is not equal for everyone. He defined justice as the right to relationship, fairness and balance. A good example would be jail in America. Although the system is supposed to work on incarcerating just the guilty, it seems as if the only guilty ones are African Americans and Latinos. It is these races that make up the majority of the people who are incarcerated today. He reiterated this fact by showing the class that justice was never for everyone, but “just us”, us meaning white people. I learned from this lecture that my whole concept of freedom is a little askew and that there are two ways to look at everything, even something that has become second nature to us.
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