Category: Justice

According to Webster Dictionary, a special interest group is an individual or group of individuals looking to effect or bring impact to the law-making process to make it more defined. They locate a particular thematic area and help in setting the objectives and trajectory that the identified topic will follow while seeking to influence a given course in the system of justice. Marion and Oliver (2012) characterize a special interest group as having a persuasive impact, numbers and resources to lobby, skills and tactics, focus in their mission, a well-organized movement that is capable of rallying collaborations, educating the public and organize a well grassroots support in what they intend to lobby for. The groups that have placed more influence in policies surrounding justice are police, bar, correctional associations and the judicial organization. (Fairchild, 1981)

The Special Interest Group has mastered the skill of exerting their influence in a topic of interest. They achieve this by using a variety of strategies both direct and indirect. Some of the tactics they are using include;

The most common method used is lobbying. Lobbying is the process done by experts who try to exert influence in a given legislation course through contact with officials in the government, for example, holding private meetings, providing consultancy services on a given draft of laws, providing testimonies in agency meetings and informing legislators on the suggested bills at their tables. As noted by Alan and Shaila in an article published in New York Times on December 2018, the people who have been effective in lobbying for the criminal justice bill are composed of people who have been behind the bars and know the prison topography very well. Their stories narrated in videos, written letters, pitches in public rallies and invitation by senate or white house, has helped the senators and the president in making a decision on the bill before them.

Another direct method is making public the analysis of voting trends of a particular lawmaker. The group keeps a record of a voting trend of a particular lawmaker and when the time comes to influence the legislator, the group publicize his or her records. How he/she has failed to support the group in a certain decision they needed to be passed. Since this may taint the image of lawmaker during elections, he/she is forced to create a good impression to the voters by supporting the group.

One of the indirect methods used by the groups is stimulating the public in applying pressure to the governing authority to change a particular interest. Creating political ads, sending email in large masses and social media publishing is tactically used to influence the government. Financing such campaigns that will keep the image of the public good against the government is used by lobby groups. Trolling the lawmakers in the social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook and other internet postings have put them on check and to avoid the catastrophic consequences of going against the public, they are forced to succumb to the pressure inserted. The public has been effective in pushing for reforms in the criminal justice system.

Providing support in campaigns is also a strategy used by the group to achieve what they want to do. Fielding a candidate, pumping in financial and material resources towards the campaigns and sometimes assigning some of their personnel to assist in the campaign train to see that a particular candidate secures a position. The aim is to have someone in the legislation house they can always count on to represent their interest. The same lawmaker will be crucial in tabling bills from the group, voting as per the wish of the group or supply the group with essentials will help them be guaranteed of their amendment going through.

Comparison and Contrast of Public Opinion and Special Interest Group in Influencing Criminal Justice Policy

The role of public opinion towards the policy of criminal justice is expressed through elections, public gatherings and deeds that manipulate the decision of officials in the government. On the other hand, special interest groups achieve this through lobbying, publicizing the voting trend of legislators, supporting the campaigns of legislators and stimulating the public to act. (Interest Groups, 2014)

The two compare in a number of ways

First, both harnesses the power of the public to create influence. As public opinion is demonstrated in the ballot, special interest group spearhead some of the campaigns that has an impact of the voting trends of the citizens. In this way they both work to achieve a similar goal of placing their interests in the way towards the creation and/or change of given policies that touch on justice in criminal offences. This combined effort in elections of lawmakers places them to a unique spectrum as compared to other methods because their actions guarantee that someone is there to air out opinions on their behalf. The number of people they support during campaigns and consequently vote for is a representation of what they would wish to see done. If particular candidates show the leniency towards what they are advocating for, they definitely will secure position to make their decision count and the contrary is true.

Another comparison can be seen in their ability of being able to draw huge masses and crowds. The group has the ability to ignite the masses to act and the public opinion is usually supported by huge numbers. With the population that they ca draw, achieving what they wish is always within their reach. Lawmakers and decision makers are always moved my masses and huge numbers as it can act on their favor or against them. In this regard, what the masses demand is giving an upper hand when making decisions such as the ones affecting the reforms of the criminal justice. As noted by Peter in Incarceration Nation, 2016, the impact of public opinion and the special interest group is crucial in shaping the political landscape and reforms because politicians do listen and special interests want politicians who can listen to them.

The contrast existing between the two revolves on the composition of the group or their masses. Special interest group relies heavily on the experts to drive their agenda. Individuals who are persuasive, great debaters and orators, knowledgeable individuals who can be execute their mandate with surgical precision and with utmost professionalism. Public opinion on the other hand is relies only on the impact that they have when it comes to numbers. Their influence is mostly on how many people will support or reject the reforms without necessarily having an expert understanding of matters in question.

Another contrast can be observed in terms of the strategies that the two parties have when it comes to creating an influence. The public has only their numbers as tool towards exerting pressure which can be converted to ballot or mass action. The special interest group on the other hand has several channels and tools they can use to create the ripple effect in the justice system. They have the public at their disposal, they have politicians who they can marionette and they have their expertise that they can put in good use to favor their side.

Introduction

Ma’dam/Sir Supervisor, as we prepare for the speech to be held at the National Convention Center, per your request I have prepared information on the subject matter of four alternative perspectives of criminology. According to Siegel (2018), criminology is defined as the scientific study of the nature, extent, cause, and control of criminal behavior. “Drawing conclusions after close reading of the works of Pierre Bourdieu (a French sociologist, anthropologist, philosopher, and public intellectual) we will adapt five lessons for a science of crime and punishment: (1) always historicize; (2) dissect symbolic categories: (3) produce embodied accounts; (4) avoid state thought; and (5) embrace commitment. (Shammas, 2017).” With this in mind, our dialogue will center the four alternative perspectives in criminology that will be covered are critical criminology, restorative justice, peacemaking criminology, and instrumental theory.

Critical Criminology

As we study the unfolding of history, criminology in the United States has witnessed a dynamic shift and transformation of one of its most fundamental paradigms for interpreting criminal behavior. Siegel (2018) identifies critical criminology as the view that capitalism produces haves and have-nots, each engaging in a particular branch of criminality. The mode of production shapes social life. Because economic competitiveness is the essence of capitalism, conflict increases and eventually destabilizes social institutions and the individuals within them. The roots of critical criminology can be traced to the social philosopher Karl Marx (1818-1883) who identified the economic structures in society that control all human relations (Siegel, 2018).

Restorative Justice

Restorative justice is identified as using humanist, nonpunitive strategies to right wrongs and restore social harmony (Siegel, 2018). This is the system within criminal justice that always focuses on the rehabilitation of the offenders. I believe that the main goals of restorative justice are to negotiate for a resolution to satisfy all participants. According to a leading restorative justice scholar, Howard Zehr, restorative justice requires that society address victims’ harms and needs, holds offenders accountable to put right those harms, and involve victims, offenders, and communities in the process of healing (Siegel, 2018).

Peacemaking Criminology

Peacemaking criminology is identified as an approach that considers punitive crime control strategies to be counterproductive and favors the use of humanistic conflict to prevent and control crime (Siegel, 2018). Peacemaking criminology has the potential to impact the issues of mandatory arrest policies, domestic violence, and community policing (Moloney, 2009).

Instrumental Theory

According to the instrumental view, the law and justice system serve the powerful and rich and enable them to impose their morality and standards of behavior on the entire society (Siegel, 2018). Instrumental theorist believes that the poor are motivated to commit crimes due to their frustrations in society because of their statues. They believe that the criminal justice system is to serve the rich. Along with their belief, some believe that crime is necessary for the poor.

Conclusion

In conclusion, although there are a plethora of perspectives in criminology, the four discussed are critical criminology, peacemaking criminology, restorative justice, and the instrumental theory.

References

1. Moloney, Joseph (2009). Peacemaking Criminology. Undergraduate Review, 5, 78-83.
2. Shammas, V. L. (2017). Bourdieu’s Five Lessons for Criminology. Law and Critique, 29(2), 201-219. doi:10.1007/s10978-017-9218-3
3. Siegel, L. J. (2018). Criminology: Theories, patterns, and typologies. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

Can justice and forgiveness go hand in hand? For a society that is ran by systems and procedures the role of forgiveness, especially when the law has been broken, does not go hand in hand. Our systems focus on three things: the law that was broken, the one who broke the law by committing the crime(s), and punishment. Forgiveness has no system. According to Wikipedia “forgiveness is the intentional and voluntary process which a victim undergoes a change in feelings and attitude regarding an offense,” and just because a victim or society has made peace with the lawbreaker, a feeling does not establish justice.There are plenty of scenarios where the lawbreaker has gone through man’s justice system with no pardoning or forgiving. Therefor, justice and forgiveness do not go hand and hand.

Major topic of concern has been unjustified police shootings all over the U.S. It is not just police officers towards citizens, but also citizens towards police officers. Most recently, here in Tempe Arizona, a 14 year old boy was shot and killed by Tempe police when the teen appeared to be stealing a car and in possession of what was later found to be an airsoft gun. Unfortunately the police officer felt threatened and the boy did proceed to run, but had the tables been turned and the police officer been shot, would the community respond with the same emotions if the boy had not received a sentence for killing someone?

A police officers family may forgive a boy for not being mature enough to know what he might have been doing and receive a sentence less than one given to an adult or someone of age. Where as a police officer could still be forgiven by the boys family and receive a full sentence because of the way our system works. Not because he was forgiven.

Restorative Justice, according to the Center for Justice and Reconciliation, ‘is a theory of justice that emphasizes repairing the harm caused by criminal behavior. It is best accomplished through cooperative processes that allow all willing stakeholders to meet, although other approaches are available when that is impossible. This can lead to transformation of people, relationships and communities.’ ‘ In most cases the convicted or the offender would have already received their sentence by our society’s system, therefore leaving out any form of forgiveness. In the end, no feelings of forgiveness may take away what our society’s justice system has in place for all citizens.

When discussing the topics of justice and revenge, we find that these acts are usually on the opposite side of a spectrum. In Louise Erdrich’s novel, The Round House, Erdrich uses her main character Joe, to show the effects of how justice and revenge can work together to help him rebuild the damage that has been put on his family. Her main focus is not so much the attacker but more on the survivor and the effects that can happen both short and long term. In this paper I will discuss how Erdrich uses the act of revenge to propel justice as they work together while Joe takes on the role to judge the crime and punishment of Linden Lark.

Louise Erdrich tackles a difficult topic that she believes needs to be discussed more. The Round House explores the topic of bringing justice to the Chippewa culture since the reservation has a difficult time with the legal system that continuously ignores them and the help that they need. Erdrich who uses the theme of justice as a central idea for her novel, discusses how the attack and the rape of the main character’s mother leads to a fight of gaining the justice that should be given. Focusing on the theme of justice, Erdrich does discuss some topics that are quite heavy such as rape, which is described from the Amnesty International states, “1 out of 3 Native women will be raped in her lifetime” (Erdrich 219). And there are more cases that are not reported. Like her interview with PBS News, she tells the reporter that “there is a legacy of violence against native women that has gotten worse and worse over time” (LeGro). She brings this topic to light by using a thirteen-year-old boy who discovers the reality of the legal system as he deals with the trauma and the healing that his family undergoes.

Erdrich really leaves no time in setting up the tone in this novel. The reader can already sense that there is a problem in the way that Joe’s father tone is when he asks, “Where is your mother?” (Erdrich 3). When Joe’s mother, Geraldine, does arrive home finally, the readers become aware that she has been sexually assaulted. After the attack on his mother, Joe begins to understand how the judicial system works, especially in the cases of laws within the reservation and how these effect the Native Americans, and in the case of The Round House, the Chippewas. Joe learns that the legal system has been built to be a disadvantage and ignore the justice that the Chippewa culture not only deserve but has a right to.

Joe makes the justice for his mother his main priority in this novel. He makes it very known that catching the man who attacked his mother is his goal, “Mom, listen. I’m going to find him and I’m going to burn him. I’m going to kill him for you” (Edrich 89) and further in the book, an older voice of future Joe mentions that “Nobody else…cared as much as we did about my mother” (Erdrich 110-111). With this tone Joe begins his journey to find the man and the justice to help his mother and he will do whatever he has to do to make that happen.

As the story and the search for Geraldine’s attacker continues, we began to see how the law of the reservation works. In the book, Erdrich really discusses the unfairness of the law and topics of the importance of the location of the attack, “The round house is on the far edge of tribal trust, where our court has jurisdiction…So federal law applies. But just to one side, a corner of that is state park, where state law applies” (Erdrich 196). There are many laws that have to be following with dealing with jurisdiction on and off the reservation such as Public Law 280, “which gave certain states criminal and civil jurisdiction over Indian lands within their borders” (Erdrich 142). With the laws, there are many lawyers and law enforcements that are reluctant to work cases on the reservation. “You said if they’re assigned to Indian Country, they are either rookies or have trouble with authority” (Erdrich 92). We are really understanding how the Chippewa community is treated under the law. Reasons like this is why Joe feels that it is his job to take matters into his own hands.

This now leads us to the revenge part of the novel. With the lack of support that Joe feels his mother is getting, he realizes that if he does not do something, this will just be another case that is pushed aside. He felt much of the anger that leads up to the murder of Linden, since Linden was released from jail. Not only did it affect Geraldine, but Joe felt much of the pain as well. Deep inside Joe knew that what was planned was against God. This is why he tried to be had Father Travis confirm him before the summer because “It would help things” (Erdrich 251). He felt that God would better forgive him for his sins of vengeance he was confirmed first. The toll that this takes on Joe is very traumatizing. It leads him down a path of drinking to forget and to numb is pain.

However, in the end, Joe realizes that his revenge on Linden does not end like he thought it would. Instead the risk that he took taking the path of the vigilante affects the family in a more negative way than Joe had initially thought, “The person who killed Lark will live with the human consequences of haven taken a life” (Erdrich 306). The guilt of killing Liden not only took over his thoughts in the day, but every night in his dreams as well. As the novel finishes the readers come to the conclusion that even though Linden is dead, the revenge did not lead to the justice that Joe hoped for, “There was not justice for your mother, his victim, or for Mayla” (Erdrich 305).

Erdrich uses her novel, The Round House to discuss major topics of Native Americans. She not only talk about the violence that affects the women on Reservations, but the effects that it takes on the people around these victims. After his mother’s attack Joe not only has to see his mother suffer, but he soon realizes the toll that it takes on him as well as he learns about justice, revenge, and the evil that is in the world.

The success of restorative justice approaches has long been of interest within the field of criminology. Uncovering the outcome measures which identify the approach as being effective has become more important, as criminal institutions within Australia are seeking measures which result in positive achievement outcomes. The effectiveness of and empirical evidence on restorative justice processes will be discussed, focusing first on rates of recidivism among restorative justice youth and incarcerated youth, second on ownership or integrative shaming, third on the demographics associated with restorative practice research and studies, and finally on the closure provided by a simple apology. Throughout this discussion, sociological theories of crime that inform the practice will be highlighted. In this essay, the evolving concept of restorative justice is defined as a process whereby all parties who have been affected by an unjust act, come together in a non- dominant setting to discuss what has happened, the consequences of the injustice and to reach an agreement for moving on in the future (Braithwaite, 2001 & Laitmer, Dowden & Muise, 2005). Overall, contemporary empirical and theoretical literature argue mixed results as to whether restorative justice conferences affect future offending behaviour when compared to traditional adversarial procedures. That aside, this essay aims to highlight the success of restorative conferences by discussing rates of reoffending within the literature.

Incarceration through the adversarial system is a common pathway related to youth offending. On average, there were 949 young people incarcerated in the month of June 2019 (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2019). Past studies have shown that on average, recidivism rates increase among offenders who have served a sentence in prison (Gendreau, Goggin & Cullen, 2002). For example, Matsuda (2009) claimed that the deprivation theory showed that the environment and interactions associated with being incarcerated, is related to reoffending behaviour among young offenders. This influence on reoffending can be emphasised through the social learning theory which explains how human behaviour can be depicted by the interactions between the individual and their environmental influences (Mcleod, 2016). In addition to Matsuda’s (2009) study, the Department of Justice (2002) conducted their own studies and found that more than half of the 272, 000 incarcerated people who participated in their study, reoffended within 3 years of being released. Once again, social learning theory can be explored to identify the interactions and influential environments present throughout the incarceration process that may be influencing these young offenders to reoffend. In comparison, restorative justice conferences are being acknowledged as an extremely powerful tool available to empower victims of crime and discourage future offending by those who have committed a crime. Studies show that when offenders are given the opportunity to address their behaviour and understand the harm caused by that behaviour, future reoffending is significantly reduced. Further, Cunningham (2007) found that a substantial amount (76%) of juveniles from restorative justice conferences did not reoffend. This study shows that restorative conferences are an approach that is proving to be effective in resolving conflict. In addition to this, Hayes (2005) conducted a comparative analysis which showed that reoffending rates were lower for those who had committed violent offences and were referred to restorative conferencing, compared to those violent offenders who were referred to court. It is clear from these studies, that being able to have a say in the justice process and show remorse, positively impacts the offender and the victim.

While recidivism is a behaviour that is difficult to influence, studies conducted by Latimer (2001) showed that restorative justice programs reduced reoffending rates by as much as 38%. Despite such extraordinary results, these findings have been debated, with other studies suggesting that there is no difference in re-offending rates for those referred to conference and those referred to court (Smith & Weatherburn, 2012). Smith and Weatherburn (2012) found no significant differences between conference and court participants for rates of reoffending. This study found that the same percentage of youth were reconvicted for a further offence just 24 months after their appearances (Smith & Weatherburn, 2012). While this is the case, several compelling studies show promising results when analysing the effects that restorative justice has on reducing reoffending among the youth offenders. A study conducted by Houston (2016) found that of 551 youth who were assigned to a restorative justice conference or a traditional court proceeding, that those who were put through the courts reoffended up to 50 percent of the time, whereas those who participated in a restorative program only reoffended 31 percent of the time. Although the adversarial system is a common pathway for youth offenders, studies have clearly shown that this method is not influential in reducing reoffending, whereas, restorative approaches are significantly reducing reoffending among youth offenders. This indicates its effectiveness as an approach to repair harm caused by criminal behaviour.

Conducting restorative conferences rather than traditional adversarial methods, has shown to be effective in not only reducing recidivism, but also improving other outcomes such as offender and victim satisfaction, as well as improving offender compliance with restitution agreements (Latimer et al., 2005). Restorative approaches aim to encourage offenders to take responsibility and acknowledge their behaviour and the effects that the behaviour has had on the victim. This ownership is crucial for the conference to reach a successful outcome. Braithwaite’s theory of reintegrative shaming is a major theoretical foundation which is applied to restorative practices and contributes to a reduction in recidivism. This theory is built on the foundation that societies who “shame” criminal behaviour, show significantly lower rates of crime compared to those societies who do not integrate shame (Braithwaite, 1996). It is important to note that reintegrative shaming is the “good” shaming. Braithwaite (2016) defines this form of shaming as a form of communication which treats an offender as a good person who has done or performed bad behaviour. Braithwaite (1989) states that utilising reintegrative shaming methods leads to a desistance from criminal behaviour and allows the offender to be reintegrated into their community.

Following on from this, studies conducted by Rodriguez (2007) agrees with Braithwaite (1989) in stating that youth offenders who appropriately participate in a restorative justice conference are less likely to reoffend in the future. However, a study conducted by Maruna (2017), disagrees by stating that restorative conferences cannot be described as creating desistence from crime as this term is applied when describing offending as being absent among those who have offended in the past. Despite disagreeing with the study conducted by Braithwaite (1989), Maruna (2017) stated that restorative practices are more accurately defined as a general theory for what should be done to repair the harm that has been caused by the offence. Further, when offenders appear to take responsibility for their behaviour and are observed to be remorseful for what they have done, reoffending is less likely (Hayes & Daly, 2003). It was also less likely for an offender to re-commit a crime if they believed that there was no stigmatising shaming present throughout the duration of the restorative conference (Maxwell & Morris, 2001). Braithwaite (2016) defines stigmatising shaming as a form of shame that makes the offender feel worse by shaming the offender as a person, instead of shaming the offending behaviour. Although some of the above studies disagree to some measure, they each suggest that there is value in discussing the emotional connections that restorative conferences facilitate and the role that these emotions play in reducing reoffending among youth offenders.

The specific demographics targeted to conduct studies on the effectiveness of restorative justice has seen more positive results towards youth offenders. It is clear from the research that boys are at higher risk of reoffending when compared to girls, however young male and female offenders who have participated in a restorative conference show lower risk than adolescents for reoffending rates (Rodriguez, 2007). Although this may be the case, other studies have found that the younger an offender was at the time of their first sentence, the more likely they were to reoffend (Sentencing Advisory Council, 2016). This conclusion made by the Sentencing Advisory Council (2016) disagrees with Travis Hirschi’s social control theory. This theory suggests that social bonds such as attachment will influence young people as they mature and will allow them to grow out of committing crime. In this instance, it is clear to see that these findings show one of the many ongoing debates surrounding the effectiveness or the success of restorative justice practices. Although there is extensive research highlighting the positive effects that restorative approaches have on reducing reoffending rates among youth offenders, there are some studies that have suggested bias with regards to selecting the offender population for their studies (Rodriguez, 2007).

Rodriguez (2007) findings stated that it is clear within the literature that despite insufficient evidence on the effectiveness of conferences on different aged offenders, studies to observe reoffending rates with and without conference are continuously directed towards youth offenders. It is this bias within the literature that creates an uncertainty as to whether restorative conferences are universally effective. In the same way, statistics show rewarding rehabilitation results among young offenders who have committed less serious offences such as theft or vandalism. Those individuals who commit violent offences are found to be the most likely group to show positive results for reoffending after participating in a conference (McLaughlin, Munice & Hughs, 2005). This study contributes to the debate regarding the effectiveness of restorative justice as it suggests that restorative conference success needs to not only be measured by the age and outcomes of the participants, but to potentially measure the different offending categories. On the contrary, a study conducted by Cunningham (2007) provided a robust statistical analysis on young offenders and found that restorative conferences work better for high risk groups when compared to safe groups. This statistical analysis found that very young offenders who were referred to conference were 3 times less likely to reoffend compared to the young offenders referred to court (Cunningham, 2007). It is clear from this literature, that restorative justice success is largely controversial depending on the measures considered. Following on from this, the study conducted by Rodriguez (2007), suggested that a main objection against the effectiveness of restorative practices is that the target group (youth offenders) who are willing to participate in the conferences are more generally those who have com

The purpose of this paper is to sum up ideas that contribute to unjust education in South Africa. And ways or ideas that can be taken to bring just education in South African schools. Just education, is making sure that every learner in school have an opportunity to explore their ideas, to find themselves and to develop their own skills and abilities based on their values and their communities’ values (Joseph, 2016). Justice also, needs to be promoted in South African education where every leaner is treated well despite of who they are. Justice is a free and just society where human rights are well kept up and protected despite of one’s gender, race, background, sexual-nature, class, physical or mental ability and age (Sandeep, 2017)

STATE OF SOUTH AFRICAN EDUCATION

South African education is not just, to promote just education equality and equity need to be taken into consideration. But SA education does not promote equity it promotes equality which sometimes benefit all of the schools but in the other hand rural areas are less lightly to benefit from that. For instead, they provide the same number of goods to every school, and this is not fair for learners in rural areas because they need more of those goods than model C schools learners. Also, in rural areas learners are provided with unqualified teachers and most of their classrooms are overcrowded due to lack of classrooms and this will result in poor performance of leaners in rural areas. And in Model C schools’ learners are not overcrowded and they are provided with well qualified teachers.

THE THEORIST IDEAS ON EDUCATION

John Dewey is an educational theorist who was born in Burlington, Vermont on 20 October 1859 and he died in 1952 ( Jordan, n.d). He believed in progressive education “Pragmatism” meaning that learners, learn through working with their hands. Also, he believed that learners are able to see things that are happening around them, so they need to experience that, meaning they need to interact with their environment in order to learn and adapt ( Jordan, n.d). Also, he saw a classroom as place where everyone is given equal opportunity to explore their own ideas (Jordan, n.d). In most South African schools’ learners are not given equal opportunity to explore their knowledge. Also, they are not given an opportunity to be who they are. Dewey sees education as a way to prepare you for the immediate future, since this will encourage more people to want to learn (Shawal).

SA education system doesn’t supply learning and teaching materials to all of schools, so that learners are prepared for the immediate future all they can do is to supply to schools that don’t need those materials. Dewey wants the school curriculum to be built upon the child’s own activities not around school subjects like science, literature etc (Shawal). South African curriculum is not built upon the child’s own activity it revolves around science, literature etc, if it was built like that, they would have been a huge achievement in most of South African schools. He saw a teacher as facilitator not an instructor, he wants teachers to look what their students are interested on and the direction they naturally take in order to help them develop problem-solving skills (Jordan, n.d). Dewey does not want the teacher to just talk alone in the classroom he wants the teacher to encourage group work to allow learners to interact with one another so that they can be able to share their viewpoints with their classmates (Jordan, n.d). Most of South African schools are trying to apply that.

DECONOLISATION OF SOUTH AFRICAN CURRICULUM

If the colonial curriculum is deconstructed and reconstructed to benefit South African leaners, it would be easy for teachers to teach learners about things that they know and can relate to. If the curriculum is decolonized to promote equity and social justice by giving credit to people who took part to make everything happen, like people who came up with idea of making electricity. And it is passed on to learners the way it is, it would bring equity and social justice to those people. Also, if the curriculum is built by Africans which will promote the ethnics confidence and pride of African youth and teach the culture of rational use of material and social resources for equity and social justice (‘Oupa’, 2018). If the curriculum is decolonised so that indigenous language is being used in schools then equity and social justice will be brought to South Africans. I stand for decolonisation.

DEFENCE OF JUSTICE EDUCATION AND SOCIAL JUSTICE EDUCATION.

The should be social justice in South African education because that could bring equality and equity in schools. That will help to make school a place where every student is treated fairly despite of who they are and they also, feel safe and secured when they are at school. Where no school have better resources and well-qualified teachers than the other school. This will avoid marginalisation of others and will provide equal education to all . Also, if every student in school are given equal opportunity in all of the activities in school, they would be able to find what they are interested on.

Also, if they are given the opportunity to explore their viewpoints in class, they would never feel like they don’t belong to that class. Also, the are more things that we can achieve with social justice, like if the content that is being taught is connected to the life of the student “who they are” it would make the student eager to learn. Also, if the educators can try to include information from multiple, non-dominant perspective, de-centering students’ analytical frame and opening their mind to broader range of experiences, analysing the of power and oppression and inquiring into what alternatives exist with respect to the current, dominant view of reality of this issue (Hackman, 2005). This will make students more observant of the issue. Educators must try to critically assess their own work and their individual qualities that might have impact on their classroom, this will help to avoid favouritism and marginalisation in the classroom.

SOCIAL JUSTICE

To promote social justice and inclusion in my teaching profession or as a teacher I will build a supportive relationship towards my students, since they might all come from culturally diverse background, might be immigrant, students with specific needs and those from lower socio-economic background. Also, I will try to communicate with them so that I could know them better. I will try to gain more knowledge about variety of cultures and social context so that I could be able to work with parents of my students. And, know more about their background so that I will be able to know things that might influence them not to perform well in their studies.

I will try to take all the responsibility and work with school and other agents to eliminate structural and cultural barriers that makes learners not to be able to learn and take part in some activities. Also, to make sure that learners don’t fall under marginalisation and exclusion during their studies. I will give all of my learners, equal opportunity to explore their viewpoints. Also, in school I will try to impose that learners should be treated equally despite their background, and they must all be given equal opportunity to partake in every activity they want to partake in.

I will try to challenge and bring transformation in things that are not done well in school that might affect the development or learning of the learner, even if that might put my job on risk. I will try to have an understanding that learners are different from one another like they have different learning skill so, I will try to use all of those skills to accommodate them all. I will show believe towards my learners that they can do better than they believe they could do, and I will build confidence in them. If all of those things mentioned above is promote, it will bring just education in South Africa

Abstract

The relevance of Dr. Ambedkar at present day India is due to the Inequalities rise in the status of women and men. Discriminatory in all sphere of Indian Society through its Traditions more equal than the Rule of Law. Dr. Ambedkar saw women as the victims of the oppressive, caste- based and rigid hierarchical social system. The issues of class, caste and gender in the contemporary socio-economic and political set up Gender Justice is Derailed in Indian Society. The focus of this study is on the situation of Women Education, Employability and Political Participation in India. Annual report of National Women’s Commission and SC/ST Commission which has enhanced the Gender Sensitization and increase of Women in Administrative jobs. Gender Justice was enacted through Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles of State Policy in the Our Constitution. The Purpose of Hindu Code Bill which sought to confer on women the Right to property and Adoption. These are enabling rights to women, not granted previously in the domain of economy, which was to be conferred through legal means. Dr. Ambedkar’s quote “I measure the progress of the community by the degree of progress which women have achieved” describe him as Crusader of Equality, Humanist and Legal approach on establishing Gender Justice. Reservation for the betterment and upliftment of the weaker people of our society, Women are been into mainstream in the fields of Education, Politics and Media.

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s slogan “Educate, Agitate and Organize”. Education is fruit-less without educating women, Agitation is incomplete without the empowering women and Organization is meaningless without Gender Justice. The present paper is an attempt to highlight Dr. Ambedkar’s view on women problems in post independent India. Primary data and Secondary data collected from Constituent Assembly Debates, Government Reports, newspapers, published papers, Writings and speeches by Dr. Ambedkar.

Introduction

The relevance of Dr. Ambedkar at the present day is due to the rise of Inequalities in all sphere of the Indian Society. Discriminatory through Traditions is more equal than the Rule of Law. The focus of this study is on the situation of women Education, Employability and Political participation in India. Dr. Ambedkar strongly believed in Women employment through Education develops her Self-confidence and employment gives her Self-Respect. Women in Political Arena could still enhance the development and would reach out larger section of Women in Rural and Urban areas.

Dr. Ambedkar’s State and Minorities published in 1945 which was written in 1940 for Schedule Caste Federation. In which he stated Equal Rights for all, not discriminating on any grounds. Fundamental Rights of citizens and Remedies against Invasion of Fundamental Rights were to protect the Rights of every individuals.

Political Reservation for Women

In Constituent Assembly Debates proceeding volume-9 dated 25/08/1949, On Political Reservation debate Dr. Ambedkar told “Muslim got Reservation in 1892, Christian in 1920, SC got in 1935 Act started in 1937 and ended in 1939 due to Second World War .ST still needs longer period not 10 years”. Now Political Reservation for SC/ST in Legislature for 10 years only. Dr. Ambedkar insists in extended timely with the approval of the Government of India. Constituent Assembly of India Debates on Women Reservation some Women representatives were against the idea of Women Reservation. Mrs. Renuka Ray argued “Impediment to our growth and an Insult to out very Intelligence and capacity”. It was the same opinion from Vijayalakshmi Pandit and Sarojini Naidu.

Mrs. Hansa Mehta “The Women’s organization to which I have the honor to belong has never asked for Reserved seats, for Quotas, or for separate Electorates. What we have asked for is Social Justice, Economic Justice and Political Justice”.

During 1950 Women in Assembly was of 5%with 15, now in 2019 Lok Sabha consists of 14% with 78 MP’s and Rajya Sabha 43 MP’s. Political Reservation for Women in Local Bodies enforced through 73rd and 74th Amendments in 1993. It provided for Women reservation of 1/3rd in Rural and Urban Local self Governments. Women Reservation bill for Lok Sabha and State Assembly was introduction 1996,1998,1999,2008 but never got majority consent and it is pending even today.Indra Sawhney v/s Union of India Court insists upon 30% Quota for Women in Government offices and Political Representation.

73rd and 74th Amendments, Article 243D (3) provides that not less than 1/3rd of the total number of seats to be filled by direct election in every Panchayat to be reserved for women, and such seats to be allotted by rotation to different constituencies in a Panchayat;

• Article 243T (3) provides that not less than 1/3rd of the total number of seats to be filled by direct election in every Municipality shall be reserved for women and such seats may be allotted by rotation to different constituencies in a Municipality;
• Article 243T (4) provides reservation of offices of Chairperson in Municipalities for SC, ST, Women in such manner as the legislature of a State, may by law provide; In the words of Zoya Hasan:“ From being acclaimed as , revolution of the millions of deprived women, to being dubbed as the token biwi (wife) , beti (daughter) brigade, women’s bid to challenge political monopolies and enter formal political institutions has generated much discussion, interest and opposition”. Later on, provision of 50 % seats for women’s reservation has been materialized in local bodies across India by amending Article 243 (D) to the Indian Constitution. The Constitution (110th Amendment) Bill, 2009 and the Constitution (112th Amendment) Bill, 2009 to reserve half the seats in all rural and urban local bodies for women was first introduced in Parliament by UPA-II.

Women Participation in Government Services

Reservation in Governmental employment for the betterment and upliftment of Educational and socially deprived sections of people. India is ranked 108th out of 149 countries on the Global Gender Gap Index (released by the World Economic ­Forum in 2020). The All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) Report 2018−19 the total number of female teachers is 69,655, hence the SC and ST female teachers represent 7.74% of the total female teachers. State Public Services Commission (SPSC) have given reservation to women in Bihar- 35%, Tamil Nadu -33%, Madhya Pradesh-33%, Gujarat-33% and also in Karnataka 33% govt jobs reserved for Women. Number of Women Joining Civil Services Is Less Than 25%, In Civil Services recruitment years 2013 to 2017, according to the Minister of Personnel Dr Jitendra Singh, maximum recruitment witnessed in 2017 with 24.05 per cent women joining the coveted government jobs. In the previous years, the percentage stood at 21.25, 22.96, 19.67 and 23.32 from 2013 to 2016 respectively. Out of the total 1,228 candidates finally recommended by the UPSC for the Civil Services in 2013, only 261 were women. In 2014, it was 313 out of 1,363 and in 2015, 229 out of 1,363. In the recruitment year 2016, it was 282 out of 1,209. Interestingly, three women had topped UPSC Civil Services Examinations in this period; Nandini KR, Tina Dabi and Ira Singhal had topped the 2016, 2015 and 2014 exams, respectively. The work participation rate indicates to a great extent the economic empowerment of women in the society. The status of women is intimately connected with their economic position, which in turn depends on opportunities for participation in economic activities. According 2011, Estimated women employment in major central government office are 3.37 lakh out of 48 lakh employees. In reply to another question, Minister of Personnel Jitendra Singh said there was no proposal under the consideration of providing 33% women reservation in Central Services by the Government. The percentage of women working in the Central Government is 7.53 per cent of which 24 per cent are in All India Civil Services, 18.5 per cent in Indian Police Service and 18 per cent in Indian Foreign Services.

Annual reports of National Commission for Women and Gender Justice

The National Commission for Women has been conducting gender sensitization workshops and programmes for police, administration and judicial officers across the country. These workshops/programmes seek to sensitize officials on gender related issues and empower them to perform their duties effectively, without prejudice and bias especially in cases of gender-based crimes. The National Commission for Women, in collaboration with Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) and Delhi Police had started a project to empower women and also to help women survivors of violence in both public and private life. The project is now being replicated in 22 districts in 7 other States on pilot basis. These are Bihar, Assam, Meghalaya, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Tamil Nadu. This will promote the support mechanism for women victims of domestic violence and create a systemic grievance redressal mechanism within the police/ criminal justice system. The National Commission for Women, in collaboration with the Bureau of Police, Research& Development (BPR&D), has been undertaking Capacity Building Programmes for women police officers who are entrusted with the responsibility of investigating crimes against women.

The Commission funded 29 research studies during the year 2017-18 on issues relevant to women so that they could participate in the socio-economic development of the country. A total of 165 research proposals had been received. Similarly, out of 968 proposals received for conducting seminars. The Commission has continued to organize capacity building programmes also gender sensitization programmes for Women students around 525 colleges. The Commission helped in resolving a large number of cases by following them up with the authorities concerned. 15381 complaints were registered during the year 2017-18. The Commission approved funding of 21 Organizations/researchers during the year 2018-19 on issues relevant to women received from various organization. Similarly, the Commission has funded 52 seminars during the Financial Year 2018-19 organized by various organizations. The Commission has organized a total number of 16 gender sensitization programmes for police officials during the year 2018-19. During this year, the Commission also initiated a competition for college and Universities students on laws related to women. Overall, 256 colleges/institutions were reimbursed towards conducting the programme during 2018-19. The Commission helped in resolving a large number of cases by following them up with the authorities concerned. 19279 complaints were registered during the year 2018-19. These do not include complaints that do not fall in the mandate of the Commission. The Commission has taken the issue of Gender Justice and Gender Sensitization through which Society can be made better for the Safety and Welfare of the women.

Conclusion

The writings and Speeches of Dr. Ambedkar show what values India should develop and how they would modernize its social and political institutions. Dr. Ambedkar saw women as the victims of the oppressive, caste- based and rigid hierarchical social system. In his letter of resignation dated the 27 September, 1951 to the Prime Minister, he wrote1 “For a long time I have been thinking of resigning my seat from the Cabinet. The only thing that had held me back from giving effect to my intention was the hope that it would be possible to give effect to the Hindu Code Bill before the life of present Parliament came to an end. I even agreed to break up the bill and restricted it to Marriage and Divorce in the fond hope that at least this much of our labour may bear fruit. But even that part of Bill had been killed. I see no purpose in my continuing to be a Member of your Cabinet”. This display the Commitment and Dedication for the Women Empowerment, for which he debated when failed he resigned for this cause. The Hindu Code Bill was later split in to four Bills, and the same were put on the Statue Book by Parliament. The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955; The Hindu Succession Act, 1956; The Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956 and The Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956 are the four enactments which incorporate the ideas and principles of Hindu Code Bill formulated by Dr Ambedkar.

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru said, “Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar was a symbol of revolt against all oppressive features of Hindu society”. Dr. Ambedkar concept of Reservation has been extended for Upper caste Economically Weaker section by the present Government. Women Empowerment is at a slow pace and gradually increased by Awareness, Women’s movements and Government New policy for Women. In the words of Justice Gajendragadkar: ‘Unless the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people are promoted quickly and liberally, the ideal of establishing social and economic equality will not be obtained, no one can dispute the proposition that political freedom and even fundamental rights can have very little meaning or significance for the Backward classes and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, unless the backwardness and inequality from which they suffer are immediately redressed.’. Similarly, Women Reservation is inevitable for the establishment of Equality and Gender Justice.

References

1. Ahir,D.C. (1990) “The Legacy of Dr. Ambedkar” B.R.Publishing corporation, New Delhi
2. “The rise and falls of the Hindu Women”, The Mahabodhi (Calcutta), 59.5-6, 139-151, 1950. Arya Sudha, Women Gender Equality and the State, Deep and Deep Publications, New Delhi. 2000.
3. Arya, Sudha, (200) Women Gender Equality and the State, Deep and Deep Publications, New Delhi.
4. Dr. Minara Yeasmin “Dr. B. R. Ambedkar’s Vision for Women Empowerment “Volume 6, Issue 2 April 2018 | ISSN: 2320-2882IJCRT1892838International Journal of Creative Research Thoughts (IJCRT) www.ijcrt.org1
5. Moghadam, V.M. and Santova, L. 2005. Measuring Women’s Empowerment: Participation and Rights in Civil, Political, Social, Economic, And Cultural Domains. op.cit., pp. 389-412.
6. Singariya, Dr. M.R., Dr B R Ambedkar and Women Empowerment in India”, Quest journals Journal of Research in Humanities and Social Science, Volume 2~ Issue 1, 2014.
7. Constitutional Law of India, J.N. Pandey.
8. Government of India: The National Policy for the Empowerment of Women 2001, Department of Women and Child Development, Ministry of Human Resource Development, New Delhi, 2001.
9. Singariya, Dr. M.R.; Dr B R Ambedkar and Women Empowerment in India, Quest Journals Journal of Research in Humanities and Social Science, Volume 2~ Issue 1, 2014.
10. Dr. Vijay G, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar’s Contribution for Women’s Rights, Variorum, Multi-

Chief Justice Research Paper (Warren Court 1953-1969)

Introduction:

The Warren Court led by Chief Justice Earl Warren was effective after the passing of Fred M. Vinson the former Chief Justice. Chief Justice During the Warren Court Era, the court handled several landmark cases that would transform area of laws in racial segregation, criminal procedures, and free speech to name a few. Many of the cases that the Supreme Court reviewed during this time are well known to the public, this is due to the impact and social progress that was made by the decisions. The cases that I will be reviewing will be focusing on racial segregation and criminal procedures, the Warren Court expansion in these two field was new to the Supreme Court. The Warren Court was considered very liberal, all the Justices prior to Earl Warren was appointed by Democratic Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry Truman, both very selective in choosing liberal Justices on the highest Court. I argue that the Warren Court interpretation of the 14th Amendment, specially “no state shall deny equal protection before the law”, allowed for the court to challenge existing State laws and expand civil liberties, as well as adjusting existing amendments for the best outcome.

Section 2

The Warren Court lasted for fifteen years and over two decades (50’s & 60’s), the Warren Court has a lasting impact due to its length and the social issues that they tackled. It was during the time of the Vietnam War, Cold War, the entire civil rights movement, and the beginning of Second-wave feminism. The court had a liberalism view due to the New Deal and Great Society coalition that was established by Franklin D. Roosevelt (Gillman, et al. 2016). Justices like Hugo Black, Felix Frankfurter, and William O. Douglas spent decades on the Supreme Court following Franklin Roosevelt nomination. Between the 15 years that the Warren Court was active, there were three Presidents, one being a republican and the other two democrats.

Dwight D. Eisenhower (R) policy was to maintain the growth of the American economy and was a strong President due to his involvement in the Second World War, and the American people wanted him to deal with the Cold War. However, Eisenhower has often seen as failing to protect civil rights for African American, this is because he was in office during the early stages of the Civil Rights movement (Santoro, 2008). Eisenhower and the Republican party did act during the Little Rock Crisis, where they re-aligned party goals for this specific event. Eisenhower ordered the Arkansas National Guards to protect the African American students for an entire school year so they can engage in learning without racial discrimination (Strauss, 2008). Besides this event, racial segregation was not seen as a pressing issue during Eisenhower term. As a moderate Republican, Eisenhower’s job was difficult due to a divided government. The Congress was a Democratic majority for six of his eight years in office, despite this, Eisenhower favored many of the programs and policies that were implemented by the New Deal.

John F. Kennedy (D) was elected during the height of the Cold War, during Vietnam, Bay of Pigs, and the Cuban Missile Crisis (Ferrell 2019), he was more focused on the threat of the Cold War rather than domestic policies at the time. Citizens elected Kennedy due to his party platform on national defense, but also because of the way he presented himself to the public during television debates. Kennedy like his predecessor Eisenhower was not fully committed on civil rights law at the time but had plans in the pipeline such as the Civil Right Act of 1964 and Revenue Act of 1964 (Ferrell 2019), but unfortunately, President JFK assassinated, so we are left to wondering what type of policies he would’ve enacted following these listed.

Lyndon B. Johnson (D) was the Vice President of JFK and immediately took office following the assassination of President Kennedy. In the following year, President Johnson won in a landslide election, President John had two party goals the first one was supporting the civil rights movement, at the height of the civil rights movement (Germany, 2019), President Johnson vocally endorsed the Voting Right Act for African American and their struggle during the Selma to Montgomery (Brummel 2015). The second party goal was President Johnson designing the Great Society legislations, which was the platform he used during his tenure as the 36th President. The Great Society was a legislation that increase employment and prosperity like the New Deal thirty years ago. The Great Society was an expansion on Kennedy’s tax cuts that he proposed earlier. However, during the 1969 election, President Johnson refused to seek reelection and the New Deal Coalition lost, and afterward, the coalition collapsed. American public was not satisfied with how President Johnson was handling the conflict over sea and wanted the President to deescalate the Vietnam War.

Section 3:

President Eisenhower, the first President during the Warren Court was able to successfully appoint the Chief Justice and four associate justices during his two terms that he was in office. The position of the 14th Chief Justice was the most important judicial appointment for President Eisenhower throughout his two terms. During this time the Republican party held power in both branches of Congress and choosing the right Chief Justice would have changed the direction of the highest court. President Eisenhower decided to appoint Earl Warren as the 14th Chief Justice following the death of Chief Justice Fred Vinson. Eisenhower decision in appointing Warren was heavily influenced by the Presidential election of 1952. Earl Warren stepped down from contention and began vocally supporting Eisenhower campaign as the Republican candidate, to show his gratitude, President Eisenhower would nominate Warren to the Supreme Court at the first opportunity. Before that he was the Republican Governor of California, the nomination of Warren was supposed to side with Eisenhower policies however as it turned out many decisions made by the new Chief Justice was a major disappointment, Eisenhower believe that Governor Warren had the integrity, and courage that represented his political and social thinking. President Eisenhower admittedly regret appointing Warren as Chief Justice, calling him, “the biggest mistake he ever made”. Warren was a conservative-moderate Governor in California, but after leaving office and taking over the United States Supreme Court as Chief Justice, he became very liberal.

The next associate justice on the Supreme Court was John Marshall Harlan following the death of Robert H. Jackson who died due to declining health in the year 1954. Justice Harlan took office after the decision of Brown vs. Board of Education, this is important because Senate was worried that Eisenhower would nominate another liberal Justice like he did earlier with Chief Justice Warren. Justice Harlan had to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee for questions about his judicial philosophy, this was the first time that a Justice had to be questioned and ever since has set a precedent for every future Supreme Court Justice (John M. Harlan II, Oyez, 2019) Justice Harlan was a conservative, however, he believed in evolving constitution like many of his contemporaries. He sided with many progressive decisions such as the desegregation of public schools and end the ban of interracial marriages. President Eisenhower trusted Justice Harlan deeply, first appointing him for the Court of Appeal Second Circuit nine months earlier before elevating him to the Supreme Court Justice position following Justice Jackson death.

William Brennan Jr. was the next associate Justice due to the retirement of Justice Minton, this held great importance due to the up coming Presidential election of 1956. President Eisenhower wanted to win his presidential election, so to appease the Democrats Eisenhower was willing to nominate a Catholic Democrat. The nomination of Brennan was done for political reasons, but it also diversifies the demographic of the Supreme Court, the Catholic community believed that they weren’t properly represented in the highest court. Associate Justice Charles Whittaker was appointed to the Supreme Court on the same day as Brennan after the retirement of Associate Justice Reed at age 73, Justice Reed believed that he was too old to serve on the Supreme Court. Justice Whittaker had the knowledge of having served as a judge on all three federal courts, trial, appellate, and now Supreme Court (Berman 1959). The last Associate Justice that Eisenhower nominated was Potter Stewart, who was nominated due to the decline in health of Justice Harold Hitz Burton. Stewart was a moderate republican like Eisenhower, he was firm on his ideology and in many cases was the lone dissenter. President Eisenhower was able to nominate five Justices and four of the five Justices was republicans, however, these two of these four republican justices shifted their views after their nominations. Chief Justice Warren became very liberal and was practitioner of liberal activism and Justice Whittaker became a swing vote that was the Warren-Black-Douglas-Brennan liberal minority (Berman 1959). Justice Harlan had the most similar policy agenda compared to President Eisenhower, both men were progressive conservatives. Harlan believed that the Bill of Rights should be the interpretation of what the framers wrote but believed that liberty should always be evolving interpretation, I believed that Eisenhower also believed in the same thing and this can be seen during the Little Rock Nine indecent.

During his three years in office, JFK was able to nominate two Supreme Court Justices his first nomination was Arthur Goldberg to fill the vacancy of Felix Frankfurter who was influential to many conservative justices on the court. Goldberg held the shortest seat during the Warren Court after being persuaded by President Johnson to resign and give up his seat. Byron White was nominated after the Justice Whittaker retired due to a disability. Both Justices had differing judicial opinion compared to JFK, Justice White was more conservative on issues that JFK found important like his opinion on Miranda v. Arizona. During Johnson Presidency he successful nominated and confirmed two Justices. Abe Fortas was nominated and replaced Arthur Goldberg, Justice Fortas being a close advisor and friend to President Johnson. Thurgood Marshall was the next Justice to be nominated, he was the first African American to hold the Supreme Court Justice position. Justice Marshall represent Johnson due to the length he served compared to Justice Fortas.

Section 4:

The most important Supreme Court case during the Warren era is without a doubt Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 (1954). This was the first landmark case that the Warren Court had to review, and in a unanimous decision, the court was able to rule that segregated schools were unconstitutional (Gillman et al. 2016). This decision overturned court ruling established during the late 19th century. Brown vs. Board of Education ruling not only impacted the public but future justices’ opinions as well, Justice Harlan who was a conservative justice that sided with liberal justices during civil rights issues, Justice Thurgood Marshall was an attorney that represented the Brown family in Brown vs. Board of Education. Chief Justice Warren established that the was the 14th Amendment was meant to abolish segregation in public schools, he argued that we need a living constitution because the roles of minority groups were different back then, laws must be updated to protect the best interest of people. In the following years, the civil rights movement was able to pick up steam, the Little Rock Crisis, was eventually prevented due to the decision of Brown v. Board of Education, President Eisenhower nationalized Arkansas guards and ordered them to protect the African American students (Santoro 2008). Brown v. Board of Education not only help African American students, but it benefited everyone as well. Today we can see that having people of diverse background helps everyone learn and grow, by making friends with people of different culture they become more tolerant; even those with strong hatred previously can maybe learn to accept. In our current classroom many students would not be able to attend classes, a person like myself would probably be denied as well.

Nearing the end of the Warren court Loving v. Virginia, 388 U.S. 1 (1967) the court reviewed a case on marriages of interracial couples, Virginia had an anti-miscegenation law that banned interracial marriages in the state. The Loving’s who married in a different state, their marriage not recognized in Virginia, and they could’ve been imprisoned for committing this “crime”. The Supreme Court in a unanimous decision declared that bans on interracial marriages violated the Equal Protection Clause and Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment (Gillman, et. Al. 2016). The court struck down Virginia’s anti-miscegenation laws and over turned the precedent of Pace v. Alabama that been effective for almost a century. Today interracial marriages and relationship are common in society, many people would agree that having a ban on interracial love would be barbaric and the state government are given too much power in limiting their citizens. Loving v. Virginia reminds me of the Defense Against Marriage Act, both laws were used to harm a minority group and was used state to state to seem ‘fairer’, and both were later deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

Griffin v. County School Board of Prince Edward County, 377 U.S. 218 (1964) again happened in Virginia, this time public schools were being shut down to block access of education to African Americans. The school board wanted to shut down public schools and create new private schools that can only be attended if you are given a voucher provided by the school boards. There were no private schools that were desegregated at the time. The education of many African Americans was denied for four years and black residents had to legally fight for their right that was already established in Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court ruled in a 8+1 decision that ordered all of the schools to reopen due to the school board violating the 14th Amendment Equal Protection Clause, the new private schools weren’t accepting black students and never intended to.

The Warren Court was also well known for their decision in criminal procedures, Gideon v. Wainwright holds great importance because of the court usage of the 14th Amendment to influence another Amendment with the power of Due Process Clause. The 6th Amendment prior to this decision did not appoint a lawyer if you cannot afford one, the 6th Amendments only mentions that a trial must be speedy and impartial. Gideon the defendant during the Supreme Court hearing was granted Abe Fortas future Supreme Court Justice as his attorney. Justice Fortas argument to the court convince them that when faced in trial even the most knowledgeable person of law will higher an attorney to represent them (Abel, 2006). The Court agreed unanimously that every American deserved an attorney when in trial and if you cannot afford one you will be given a court appointed attorney. Not only did this apply to federal cases the 14th Amendment made it so that is also applied to all cases in the state as well. However, the 6th Amendment these days is a double edge sword, public defenders that are appointed by the court are usually overworked and are payed less than they deserve (Porter, 2013). The chances of winning with a public defender is also a game of chances depending on who you get and how invested they are in your case.

Jencks v. United States, 353 U.S. 657 (1957) another case involving criminal procedure, Jencks was falsely accused of being a member of the Communist Party when in fact he was the President of a local district union. this was during the era of the Red Scare; the government was tracking Jencks and two FBI was sent to investigate Jencks activity, two written reports stat that Jencks was guilty of being in the communist party. The Court eventually overruled the decision and Jencks was let go, the court states that the government when arresting a person must produce evidence or documents in a federal criminal offense. While the court did not state anything about the Due Process Clause, Jencks should’ve theoretically been protected because he has the right to fair procedures.

Conclusion:

All in all, the Warren Courts hold great significance in today’s policy, however, the Warren court itself was only as successful was it was due to the ground work that was laid for them in previous eras. The Warren Court was able to change the entire way people deal with criminal procedures as well as improved the lives and expand rights for people of color and rights for women that I, unfortunately, was not able to get to. When looking back many I firmly agree that this court is on the good side of history. The expansion of liberties and idea of a living constitution is something many people hold deeply, and this concept first started in this era.

In 1692, mass hysteria broke out in Salem Massachusetts, it was referred to as the Salem Witch Trials. Witches were described as humans being related to the devil with special powers used to inflict punishment on others. This type of hysteria was seen before in different parts of the world; the earliest sign of Witchcraft and Witches was in Europe, during the 14 century. In the 1690’s the witch hunt began in Salem Village, and it progressed to Danvers, Topsfield, Beverly, Wenham, Reading, Marblehead, Andover, and then finally Essex County. The accusations came around between January and February of 1692. During this time more than 150 people were thrown into jail for the speculation of witchcraft. In addition to those in jail, 20 others were executed and put to death. It was said that those accused of being witches were generally misfits targeted by others. Local communities wanted to find people to blame for unexplained illnesses such as crop failures, and children or animals which die due to mysterious ailments. Common explanations for the hysteria in Salem were the devil, hallucinations, and witchcraft. The real explanations were those surrounding cultural, traditional, sociological including scientific beliefs.

Around the 1600s and through 1620, English immigrants came to North America and settled in New England. These settlers were called Puritans, they were Protestant Christians who were upset with England and their church. They came to practice Christianity in the purest form; New England and the Puritans shared the same belief system and values. The Puritans believed in the idea that God selects before birth who shall go to Heaven and who will go to Hell; this belief was called predestination. Puritans were also fundamentalists; they lived by the Bible and believed that every word written was from God himself, and they were to follow it to a tee. They also believed in the Devil, commonly known as Satan. At that time, it was said that the Devil could enter a weak person’s body and recruit that person to become a witch. It was believed that under the Devil’s control, the possessed wizard or witch could have the powers to cause illness, murder, shipwrecks, and more. With solid evidence, witches and wizards were punished by death. This caused a massive uproar in accusations in Salem, and hysteria was underway. Anyone who experienced fits of hysteria such as violent contortions and uncontrollable outbursts, display of spasms, contortions, writhing, as well as screaming was accused of being a witch. Generally, the accused were married females around the age of 41 to 60. The accusers were typically single females ranging from various ages. Unmarried girls mainly accused, older married women of witchcraft. This was supposed because the Puritan girls lived a more sheltered life when compared to the boys which most likely caused the girls to feel threatened by the older, married women. The Puritan’s cultural beliefs such as the devil, Bible, and witchcraft were one of the main sparks in the cause of hysteria in Salem, in 1692.

Scientific beliefs such as fungus poisoning were also one of the real explanations for the cause of the Salem witch trial hysteria. The fungus in this case is a substance called ergot; the sclerotia of the fungus Claviceps purpurea, which usually grows on rye. It’s evident that those who displayed symptoms of bewitchment in 1692 were suffering from ergot poisoning. Ergot is more likely to occur on rye grown on low, moist, shaded land, especially newly cultivated land; favored by a severely cold winter than a cool moist growing season perfect for New England’s weather. Most develop ergotism after eating rye contaminated by ergot. Children and teenagers are more at risk/vulnerable to ergotism when compared to adults because they ingest more food per unit of body weight. According to medical studies, Ergot produces a variety of symptoms ranging from mild to severe cases both resulting in a variety of symptoms which explains the variety of symptoms the witches and girls experienced when they claimed that they were being possessed. The symptoms were most often mentioned in court records to prove witchcraft. The most common symptoms of “bewitchment” that occurred in cases were reportedly temporary blindness, deafness, speechlessness, burning sensations, or seeing things such as a “ball of fire”, including a sensation of flying in the air.

Introduction:

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (15th January 1929-4th April 1968) was one of the activists and prominent leaders in America. He was known for his African-American civil rights movement. Unlike many philosophers, Martin Luther King not only posed ideas just for the sake of displaying intellectual ability, but he believed only in the philosophies which have a substantial impact on human beings. He believed in equality, and justice and was against racism, violence, etc. He was head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference; hence, organized various peaceful protests. In 1969, he was awarded the Nobel peace prize, becoming the youngest person to receive it for his work and efforts to eliminate racial discrimination and segregation through non-violent means. He also worked towards ending poverty. His speech (about equality, justice, and peace), “I have a dream” became very famous and is considered a masterpiece of rhetoric.

‘I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.’ — Martin Luther King, Jr. / ‘I Have A Dream speech, August 28, 1963

He is referred as one of the most influential leaders in the world who through his campaigns, works, and efforts embedded in people what justice, equality, love, faith, and nonviolence is. He was assassinated on 4th April 1968. His work, life, leadership, and contribution to society at a macro level are honored with a national holiday; there are public buildings, schools, and a memorial on Independence Mall in Washington D.C named after him. He is still remembered by people as a visionary leader who had one focused of achieving social justice through civil disobedience and nonviolent means.

Leadership qualities

Being an aspirational leader, he had certain leadership traits which made him a great leader. Firstly, he had a clear and powerful vision. A vision to eliminate racial discrimination. His speeches were very impactful and famous making him a good communicator. His conviction, determination, confidence, and communication skills played a key role in gathering the attention of people. Moreover, he showed faith in his followers, he was not afraid to disrupt the social quo and he was successful in bringing the change which was needed. Most importantly he showed courage even at the time of danger and threat. He was brave enough to challenge powerful authorities and keep his point of view in front of them. Despite facing death threats, he never stepped back from his goals and kept on working to remove social injustice and spread peace, love, patience, and morality in people. Even when his home was bombed, he never stepped back, he continued to fight for equal rights, which shows his dedication and commitment towards achieving his goals. One of his quotes (in this regard) is: “Our lives began to end the day we became silent about things that matter.”

Leadership Philosophies

Philosophy- Nonviolent resistance, civil rights movement

During the civil rights movement, Martin Luther gained the attention of the nation by his philosophy of nonviolent resistance. For him, this philosophy was a mere solution for society’s evils. He was again racism, evil acts, etc., and believed that in order to eliminate social ills, love, respect, and equality is required. He was inspired by Mahatma Gandhi and came up with the philosophy of nonviolent resistance. He got applauded for his famous speech “I have a dream” which shed light on economic and civil rights, further leading to the end of racism in the United States.

Martin Luther stated:

• “Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon which cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it. It is a sword that heals.”
• According to him it was immoral and impractical to achieve racial justice through violence.
• His philosophy on nonviolent resistance included six principles of nonviolence:
• Nonviolence is a way of life for courageous people.
• Nonviolence seeks to win friendship and understanding.
• Nonviolence seeks to defeat injustice not people.
• Nonviolence holds that suffering can educate and transform.
• Nonviolence chooses love instead of hate.
• Nonviolence believes that the universe is on the side of justice.

What he meant by these six principles were that firstly, nonviolence is not a coward act and it should not be perceived that way. If one is not physically aggressive, it does not mean that their mind and emotions are not active. Moreover, nonviolent resistance believes in winning the hearts of people to strengthen friendship and understanding rather than a humiliating opponent. His third point emphasizes that there wasn’t war against people, instead, it was against evil and injustice. The main point of conflict was not between different races, it was between what justice is and what injustice is. Furthermore, being nonviolent requires the element of suffering as one may not retaliate against violence, having this firm belief that violence or injustice will never win in the long run. King believed that suffering is a powerful element that not only educates and transform people but also change the minds of opponent. According to the king, people have a cosmic relationship with God and God was always on side of truth and justice; hence, people had faith that justice will prevail.

Philosophy- Have a blueprint in your life:

In one of his speeches, Martin Luther King Jr. directed people to choose a proper blueprint for their lives. People should have a clear idea of the goal they want to achieve in their lives. He also taught the three ways to construct life’s blueprint, which include:

Always know your own dignity and somebodies. Do not let yourself down, consider your life significant

Be determined to achieve excellence. You have to decide the ultimate objective of your life. Once you will discover it, set out to complete that task. In order to explain his deep thoughts, he said:

“Be a bush if you can’t be a tree; if you can’t be a highway, just be a trail; if you can’t be a sun, be a star; for isn’t by size that you win or you fail, be the best of whatever you are”.

You must be committed to the principles of beauty, love, and justice. You should keep moving no matter how you move, but never remain stagnant.

Moral philosophies

Social Gospel: His social gospel was the idea to build a world in which there is no war, no unequal distribution of wealth, and no discrimination on the basis of race or color. He remained a proponent of this theory despite many setbacks in the civil movement.

Personalism: Martin Luther King Jr., in his book Where, Do We Go From Here, says that everyone is loved by God, and thus should be respected. Every man has an inner relationship with God. He believed that the worth of the human being lies in being related to God. And this philosophy influenced the people who worked hard to bring civil rights in America, as this showed that the thoughts and actions of human portray the love of God.

Gandhian satyagraha: During the Montgomery boycott of 1955-56, Martin Luther King Jr. used Gandhi’s concept of nonviolence which is more than not attacking your enemy. According to Gandhi, this type of nonviolence is known as satyagraha which means “truth-force” or “love-force”. This theory, besides being against of creating violence, says that the people should also try to seek truth and love too. Martin Luther King Jr. first understood this in a seminar. He mentioned this principle in the book, Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story written in 1958, he described the way he implemented this ideology during the Montgomery boycott. He also proposed his philosophy that the resistor should not only stop himself from shooting the opponent but also refuse to hate him.

The Three Major Evils:

In one of his speeches on the “Three Evils of Society”, Martin Luther Jr. explained the three evils in detail which include evil of racism, poverty, and war. According to him, these three types of evils are linked with each other. A brief detail which is drawn from his speech is given

The Evil of Racism: Martin Luther King Jr. said in his speech that we have to work hard in the area of racism in America in which the dictatorship of white over blacks should be removed. Though till that time, they progressed a lot in South Land, but for him, the plant of freedom had grown only a bud; they had to grow it to a flower.

The Evil of Poverty: Martin Luther King Jr. said that at that point in time, around forty million people were poor. This is something that is prevalent for years in the entire world. But this time, they have resources, skills, and techniques to get rid of poverty.

The Evil of War:

His philosophy on nonviolent resistance also sheds light on his moral leadership and how much he valued ethics for that he distinguished between morality and immorality, between justice and injustice, etc. He was famous for the civil rights movement too and this was one of the reasons why he was praised as a moral leader. Those who have read his letter from Birmingham jail refer to him as one of the greatest moral philosophers of a nation.