Shannon's Blog

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Blog #8: Photographs of the Tulsa Race Massacre

Oklahoma State University has a collection of photographs documenting the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921. Despite all the photographs being in black and white, all of them showcase the events of that day, the people that partcipated, and the aftermath. Most of the photographs contain the physical damage done to building, including burning buildings and crumbled houses. Those that incited the results, the white residents of Tulsa, are seen holding guns and pointing them at their black neighbors. The Tulsa Race Massacre became more well-known by the American public a few years ago and was not discussed much, so the photographs courtsery of Oklahoma State University demonstrate the devastation and brutality of the massacre. For this writing project, I know that my classmates are researching different events, though some involve racial riots or unknown events involving racial discrimination. The photographs I plan to include in my paper are very specific for my topic. Despite that, the photog

Blog #7: Tulsa Race Massacre

The Tulsa Race Massacre occurred in the early summer of 1921, where mobs composed of white people from Tulsa, Oklahoma attacked black people and their homes and businesses. While historians refer to the event as one of the worst examples of racial violence in United States history, the event itself is not widely known by the masses. Many brutal events involving racism are often documented and discussed, but the Tulsa Race Massacre was not recognized by many non-historians. The massacre occurred before the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 60s and definitely influenced many of the protests and motivations for civil rights. With both its importance and lack of recognition, I think it is important to discuss the need to re-evaluate the Tulsa Race Massacre and the public's reaction to it. The event came to my attention during my AP US History class, though I reconsidered it more when the pilot episode of the 2019 show Watchmen depicted the massacre. I noticed many people on social

Blog #6: Research Phase

Finding resources for my topic was not a struggle. Since I plan on discussing transgender people and their relationship with healthcare, I looked up the keyword phrase "transgender healthcare" and discovered plenty of sources that initially appeared to be perfect for my essay. Considering that transgender discrimination and bias in medical fields have been trending news topics in recent years, it was not surprising that the research phase of this project was rather straightforward. Some of the first few papers that arrived on my search page were very short or displayed in a format that was difficult for me to read and understand. The most useful journals contained statistics explaining the hardships some transgender people experience while trying to get medical treatment. One paper, "Knowledge, Beliefs, and Communication Behavior of Oncology Health-care Providers (HCPs) regarding Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Patient Health care" had its own studie

Blog #5: Transgender Women and Healthcare

Throughout my life I have had transgender friends complain about the discrimination they faced in relation to healthcare. I remember some coming out during high school, where some in the medical field thought that they were too young to make decisions regarding their gender. Most of my friends were lucky with the support of their parents, though some expressed initial fear that they would not be welcomed and therefore not get the transition materials (typically medical) they needed due to parental permission being required. Even if transgender people are adults, they can still have difficulty finding the needed medical treatments. Many transgender people face discrimination with finding employment and housing, which can effect their location to places with proper medical treatment. In addition, without effective insurance, the treatment can be rather costly. The most obvious concern when actually given the opportunity to get treatment is the possible transphobia, which does exist in t

Blog #4: Land Acknowledgement

Recognizing the darker aspects of history have been at a crossroad in recent years. I keep noticing people encouraging discussions regarding discrimination and violence while others choose to boldly ignore those parts. With controversies surrounding recognition of cases of displacement, tragic parts of history and culture are being demonstrated to modern audiences. Recognizing displacement has its own problems, as there are many methods of doing so that not every negatively affected agree upon. When researching methods of amends, I noticed that land acknowledgement of land originally resided by Native Americans, while rather simple in definition, often creates wide-ranging discussions regarding history and its censorship and the erasure of Indigenous culture. Upon making that realization, I decided to make it the topic of my essay. Henry P Huntington's "What Do Land Acknowledgements Acknowledge?" highlights the depths of land acknowledgement. The simplicity of land ackno

Blog #3: Remapping of the Tongva Lands

(villages of the Tongva tribe) European colonizers often tore apart Native American tribes through their mapping, as the maps were more focused on trade and sympathy toward Indigenous people was extremely small. The maps made by the colonizers were maintained for centuries, so the true location of some tribes was lost. The Tongva tribe was located in Southern California, with most of their villages being spread over Los Angeles. Since LA has now largely forgotten those that once occupied the land, descents of the Tongva have felt disconnected from their culture. Making amends for a culture that was displaced centuries ago can be difficult, as the descents may not feel the effects of their ancestors losing their homes. The proper method of apology differs between Indigenous people. Remapping, however, is a form of amends that many accept, as it connects them with a culture they thought was lost. With the help of the LA Times, the Tongva were able to learn where the villages of their an