Serving the Towns of Wawarsing, Crawford, Mamakating, Rochester and Shawangunk, and everything in between
(none)   
SJ FB page   

Gutter Gutter
Opinion
Ellenville NAACP's Black History Month Essay Winners!

The Ellenville NAACP recently awarded twenty-five dollar prizes to this year's elementary and middle school Black History Month Essay Contest winners. For this week's opinion pieces, we are publishing four of the contest's winning essays, and wish we had room to publish all submissions.


Ida. B.Wells: Remembering A Civil Rights Leader

Ida. B. Wells was a famous civil rights leader. She is most famous for leading a campaign against lynching. Ida was born on July 16, 1862 in Holly Springs, Mississippi during the Civil War. She was born a slave. When she was six months old, President Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves. At the age of 16 her parents died from malaria. Ida had to take care of her sisters and brothers so she became a teacher. She took very good care of them.

Ida. B. Wells became famous by running organizations, making posters, and giving speeches. She stood up for others in need. She wrote documents and notes to keep track of time.

Lynching is an extra-legal trial and punishment by an informal group. She did everything she could to stop that.

Ida is worthy of being famous because she never gave up. She always believed in herself. She took risks. She did a lot to help others. When she was protesting, someone said she was not allowed to protest. She went to the Supreme Court and lost but she did not stop there. She kept on protesting and she made more posters. Every day when she had time she would write more documents and notes. When people didn't believe in her she still kept fighting for her rights.

When she died no one forgot how brave she was to stop lynching. They remember how no one could hold her down.


Elijah McCoy: Inventor Of The Lawn Sprinkler

Did you know Elijah McCoy invented the lawn sprinkler? Elijah McCoy was born on May 2, 1844 in Ontario, Canada. His parents were George and Mildred McCoy. Elijah had 11 siblings. In McCoy's teenage years he traveled to Scotland to study engineering and mechanics.

When McCoy got back from Scotland it was hard for him to get a job. He mastered engineering and mechanics in Scotland and found the perfect job for him but even though he was advanced, he was not allowed to work because he was black. So McCoy worked as an oil man on a railroad.

In his adult years McCoy was still interested in mechanics and engineering. McCoy did many experiments and he finally invented something new; he invented the oil cup.

McCoy had 57 patents from his creations. Other inventers tried to copy his inventions but the other inventers failed every time.

Elijah McCoy got married to Elizabeth Stewart but months later she passed away. McCoy fell in love again and he married Mary Eleanor Delany. Sadly, a couple of years later they got into an automobile accident and Mary died. Later on he invented the traffic signal. He started the phrase, "The Real McCoy".

Today people are still using his inventions. He did not let others stop him from being successful.


Did Dr. King's Dream Come True?

I believe that we have come a long way from the 1800s when Africans were kidnapped from their country, herded onto ships and were brought to America and were enslaved. But even though African-Americans were set free in 1865, we were still enslaved by two new horrific masters — segregation and racial discrimination. We were separated because of our race. We had separate water fountains, schools, pools and restaurants. Then we rose up and we stood up for those who were being treated unjustly.

Segregation was abolished in 1964. From then on out things slowly changed for African Americans. In 2008 America elected their first African-American President; he is currently in his second term. This does say a lot about where we've come from but there still are a lot of issues left in America against African-Americans.

There have been many situations in which an African-American teen has been shot and killed by a white police officer because of their race; they made assumptions that they were doing something wrong which results in unwanted deaths that cause outrage in families and communities. Trayvon Martin and Ferguson are just two of the many cases when an African-American was killed and the white man was found not guilty. This is saying something. African-Americans are still racially discriminated against even though segregation and slavery have been terminated.

We may have come a long way but we still have a long way to go.


Does Racism Still Exist & Does Race Matter?

Hell yes racism still exists. Not too long ago in Ferguson, Missouri, an African-American teen was shot and killed. The police officer had no charges against him. I do not know if this is racism or he actually had a legitimate reason to shoot someone over six times. Racism is not just hate but a sort of oppression.

Back when it was okay to say the "n" word, no one — even law — would allow African-Americans to do anything they wanted to. People still think this is the better way of life today. Paula Deen, an idolized chef beloved by many, said the Godforsaken "n" word on television. Then she said sorry. Why would you say sorry when nobody should forgive you? My friend's mother threw out every piece of kitchenware made by her brand.

In the past, it was the way things were and people had no say in it. In English class we read about the Greensboro Four who were not served at a local restaurant because of local custom.

Some people do not even think they are being racist. My friend said the "n" word like it was nothing while wearing a Christ necklace. So yes, racism does still exist and still, after over 200 years, we have not learned, as a country, to be tolerant. Now, when I am asked does "race" matter I do not fully understand what you mean but I know for a fact it does. If we did not have the human race, I could not be asked this question, answer it, or use word play to show how stupid some people can be.

I read an article on the internet about how with all of the interracial births in the world, there might eventually not be "race." Every human being put on the earth is part of the human race and should be treated as an equal. I found it sad that on a Brain Games episode, citizens would help a man with nice clothes, but not a man who looks like he is in major poverty. The reason dogs love everybody, is because they are pretty much color blind. The first thing most people do when they see a new face is create a stereotype.

In conclusion, race will only be a major factor when people only think of the human race. Now think about it, is this horrible thing a reality you live in?



Gutter Gutter
LP Transportation - Mechanics Needed






Gutter