Category Archives: Rhetorical Analysis

Yineldi Diaz -“Truth about The Black Panthers and the KKK”

The more I learn about the KKK the scarier it gets. These people see no problem in using violence to get what they want. The first member who had spoken in the video had said, “I could be your neighbor, you don’t know who i am.” They would use fear as their main tactic in their actions. This feeling of not knowing who or whom not to trust must’ve been terrible for people at the time. During the day they would have their professions such as lawyers, police, or doctors, just to disguise themselves at night and do horrible things. These people were amongst everyone and you wouldn’t have a clue. We can see the clear difference between the two groups. The KKK was created for bad purposes, their goal was to hurt these people while The Black Panthers came together for a positive impact. Their goal was to be able to come together and have a voice, be able to protect themselves and help each other out any way possible. One of the biggest things that stuck with me is when the KKK brings up God into their doing, when they are doing things that aren’t acceptable in any shape in life. They claimed that they wanted to protect their race, but who were they protecting from? They were the ones after Black people, not the other way around. The Black Panther Party was only another factor that would play a part in removing this cycle of hate in our history. 

“Judas and the Black Messiah”

Watching the movie it was shocking to see all the things members in the Black Panther Party would go through. One of the most shocking scenes in the movie for me was how the officers treated Deborah Johnson when they broke into their home. The knew she was pregnant and still proceeded to treat her roughly. We were able to see the way some would act as traitors knowing the consequences that would come. In the end your conscience would drive you crazy and we go to see this throughout the movie. One way I would describe the Black Panther Party to someone who has no idea what it is, is as a group of people who are motivated to come together and fight this cycle of hate in our society. They would go through any extent to protect each other and find ways for a better future.

Posted in Film Review, Rhetorical Analysis | 1 Comment

Final Reflection

Throughout this semester, my body of work has been diverse and expansive. From the first week’s assignment to the present, I have tackled a wide range of topics and engaged in various writing styles. One thing that stands out to me is how much I have learned about adapting my writing to different audiences and purposes. I have realized that I can effectively convey information in a concise and clear manner, as well as craft engaging narratives that captivate readers. My writing has developed in unexpected ways, as I have discovered a newfound love for creative storytelling and the power of persuasive writing. The insights gained in this class have not only influenced my work in other subjects but also enhanced my overall communication skills. I now approach writing as a tool for effective expression and as a means to connect with others. This semester’s work has inspired me to set new goals for my writing in upcoming classes, aiming to further refine my storytelling abilities and explore more advanced writing techniques.

One piece of writing on Blogs@Baruch that I am most proud of was the assignment we had for spring break, where we had to answer a prompt from New York Times, my prompt was: Have You Ever Written Fan Mail? If Not, Would You?. I really was jus scrolling through when the title caught my eye. I was tempted to skip it because I felt that it would be too embarrassing to write about, especially to share it for others to see. But fanfiction has actually been part of my life for quite some time and I suddenly felt the urge to write something about it. Would I say it was the best level of writing ever? No, definitely not. But it was the first time in quite a while that I was excited to write. I was giggling, feeling embarrassment, remember all the emotions I felt when I experienced my first fan mail. I’m still feeling it now writing this. I was in the zone, in tune with I was feeling. I was talking to talk, not to write in a sense. And I as I was doing that, I realized that I feel my type of writing is when I write like how I speak. It makes me feel more connected to the reader, more sincere with my emotions because I’m not worried about how I am going to sound intellectually, but how I sound to them conversationally. I wasn’t expecting anyone to comment, I was still hoping no one would because I was still slightly embarrassed but Yineldi did comment and it made me smile because I felt a slight sense of relief that I wasn’t some weirdo as the author of the prompt felt like. So thank you Yineldi if you’re reading this!

The piece of writing that was particularly challenging for me was the 10 point program. For many, it might have been a relatively simple assignment, stating the somewhat obvious needs to create equality. But I found a deep challenge within it where I wanted to capture everything. In doing so, I was making my work too wordy and not easy to remember. So, I spend time cutting, reviewing, rereading to make sure I was fulfilling the goal of wiring the 10 point program but also that I was happy with it. I think I stressed too much about it, but I feel like it was worth the effort because I can see and remember the care and thought process behind each line. The insight I gained as a result is that when you care a lot about something, it is not bad. It shows that I want to present the very best of me, so I shouldn’t feel like I am overdoing or “doing too much” because it invalidated all the work I put in it. So, it the future, I will take into consideration that when I feel like I are too much, I will use that to better convey my writing to tell others.

Posted in About Us, Final Reflection, Student Opinion, Ten Point Program | Comments Off on

Ten Point Program

Raymundo, Yelianni, Evan

  1. We want to minimize inflation on the many goods that your average citizen relies on.
  2. Political inequality – We want to reduce the amount of absolute political impact government officials hold over our individual vote.
  1. We want quality health care for all even those who cannot afford it regardless of poor or rich.
  2. We want to reduce easy access to weapons and implement gun training to decrease gun violence 
  3. We want stable rent regulations that provides affordable housing to minorities to reduce gentrification.
  4. We want to regulate abortion laws so that women are able to make their own choices when it comes to their bodies.
  5. We want more enforced laws and bigger consequence for a Domestic violence
  6. We want better police training to prevent police brutality against minorities
  7.  We want the refinement of the tax system, to which the process is handled more efficiently and tax evasion is severely cut down. 
  8. We demand more funding for homeless shelters and to provide general basic needs for them.
Posted in Rhetorical Analysis, Ten Point Program | Comments Off on Ten Point Program

Black Panthers Revisited | Op-Docs | The New York Times – Film Review

This film made me realize a few things. Firstly, law enforcement just had it out for the necks of the members of the Black Panther Party, they exaggerated the kind of threat they were, if any, to the nation, and physically and intimidatingly acted upon such things through violence and verbal aggressions such as degradation of race and role in society and/or the supposed threat they are by just existing. I also learned that within the time of the Panthers, police were basically their rival, they did things like stick their 12-gauge shotguns to the back go their heads while arresting them for the smallest misdemeanors, just for a reason to have a go at them and make their lives even more miserable on top of everything else.

Judas & The Black Messiah – Film Review

This film was an absolute masterpiece to me. I really enjoyed and appreciated the fact that they tried to portray the events of the Panther party accurately and even have the actors resemble their given roles of the Party members, whether it be through appearances or pure amazing acting skill, the filmmakers did an amazing job breaking down and mapping out how life was for the Panthers back then so us or any audience can really grasp how tragic and unfair their conditions were. I think a conclusion I can make about the Black Panther party, to help those that haven’t heard of them understand, is that they were a group of individuals that just wanted to have a fair chance at using their rights as everyone else, and specifically the right of freedom of speech, they wanted a voice. They wanted to be heard and they wanted their message of “Stop the prejudiced violence toward our people” to get through to the outside world and evidently through so much struggle, it was heard by many, and now, that includes you.

Posted in Film Review, Rhetorical Analysis | Comments Off on Black Panthers Revisited | Op-Docs | The New York Times – Film Review

10 Point Program

By Gabriella Gonzalez  

  1. Abortion Rights for All. We want Roe v. Wade to be put back into place, it is nobody’s business as to why someone may need access to a safe abortion anywhere in the United States and they should NEVER be punished for this basic human right to their own body. 
  1. Better Access to Mental Health Resources. A quarter of people who are homeless are mentally ill and just haven’t been given the proper resources to help them.  
  1. Gun Control Across the Country. Why is it this easy to own a firearm? Firearms should not just be handed out, so to say, we need to be much stricter in the distribution of guns.  
  1. Food is WAY to Expensive. As a basic necessity, needed to survive, food should not be priced how it currently is. This is causing families to go hungry across America and its appalling that no action has been taken.  
  1. Stop Animal Abuse. Over 6.5 million pets are abandoned each year and only 1 out of 10 dogs born will find a forever home, which is why spaying/neutering is so important.  
  1. Healthcare for All. In other countries healthcare is nowhere near this expensive.  
  1. Affordable Education. Why is college so expensive? The system is against us, college should be affordable for all, if not free.  
  1. Nobody Should Be Above the Law. In way to many instances, people of power have gotten away with crimes that “normal people” would go to jail for years for.  
  1. Justice for Rape Victims. Less than 1% of rape cases end in a felony conviction, this is sickening.  
  1. Women Deserve Equal Pay. It is the 21st century people, why is this still up for debate! 
Posted in Ten Point Program | Comments Off on 10 Point Program

Film Review of: The Man Who Armed The Panthers

This movie was wonderful, it really showed how black panthers grew up under FBI suppression. My favorite characteristics about Fred Hamilton were his wisdom, calm, and selflessness, which were opposites of William O’Neal, the black Panther Party traitor. Despite being offered money by the crown member, Hamilton chose to operate a clinic in the community to serve the people rather than use the money to escape over the sea, which demonstrates his value of people in comparison to himself in this revolution. In an ironic twist, William, who had faced a similar situation, became a threadman of the FBI in Black Panther Party after he was overcome by fear and greed.William O’Neal and Fred Hamilton symbolized the conflict between selflessness and selfishness during the American Revolution. Aside from the conflict between the leader and traitor, the film also illustrates the Black Panther Party’s influence on the community: Rather than being violent terrorists, they stopped violence between gangs and utilized gang power for the community’s benefit, they never robbed anyone of their money, they gathered and united people of all races to serve the community, they were never perpetrators, but rather victims of white dominant society at that time. The slogan will be yelled out one day again by another leader who stands up to unite the people:

Posted in Film Review | Comments Off on Film Review of: The Man Who Armed The Panthers

10 Point Program – Joe Bello

  1. Easier access to proper shelter for homeless people, especially in winter months.
  2. More police presence on subways, and other forms of public transit.
  3. Stricter drug laws to help take illegal substances off the streets.
  4. Cheaper forms of public transportation, easier for people who may not be able to afford it.
  5. More spending into the public school systems.
  6. Reform on Police officers/more training necessary before they are working on the streets.
  7. More police presence in neighborhoods that are unsafe with higher crime rates.
  8. More Strict gun laws to ensure safer streets and places for everyone.
  9. More of a push on keeping the homeless in homes and not on the streets.
  10. Lowered prices of food and clothing in NYC.
Posted in Ten Point Program | Comments Off on 10 Point Program – Joe Bello

The Man Who Armed The Panthers – Film Review

This was an interesting and informative video on a man, Richard Aoki, who was an original member of the Black Panthers. Aoki was also and FBI informant, which was obviously unknown to the rest of the Black Panther Party members. He was the one who got the guns to the Black Panthers, the video questions the fact that maybe the FBI could have been involved in arming the Panthers. Which I don’t think is such an abstract concept, as conspiracy theories of the FBI doing bad things to create an end result that is optimal for them have gone around for years. The FBI could have used Aoki to get an “in” on the party, use him to arm them and supply them with weapons in the hopes that they would use those weapons just so the police/FBI could use weapons back on them. This would make it not look like they were doing such harsh things and to save their reputation from the crowd that wasn’t involved with the actual party or living in Oakland. The FBI would totally be capable of doing that and getting away with it as they are some of the highest officers of the law in the country. As the video goes on, it explains how the FBI covered up that Aoki was even used to gain access to the inside of the Black Panthers. They still have not released any of the files that they had on Aoki, to this day. Sadly, Aoki committed suicide in 2007.

Judas and the Black Messiah Review

This movie showcased had a roller coaster of emotional feelings throughout it, I thought it was an excellent film with great actors who truly showcased how it was like living in this era in time. My initial reaction on the ending of it was shock of how easily they can get away with doing such horrible things to the Black Panthers and others. Emotionally I was feeling very sad and bad for the Black Panthers, all they wanted was for themselves and their families to have better lives while being treated fairly by everyone but instead they had to fight and be killed for it. The BPP had to deal with so much adversity from almost everybody that wasn’t standing with them for their cause, which led to the amount of fights that are shown in the movie and that happened in real life. The Black Panther Party wanted to be treated as equals to everyone else and were keen on their self defense from the police brutality.

Posted in Film Review | 1 Comment

film review

the film I chose to review was “Why revisiting the Black Panther revolution resonates today” by pbs. this video is a conversation between director Stanley nelson and interviewer Jeffrey brown about nelsons upcoming film, the black panthers: vanguard the revolution. during this conversation, nelson explains that he wants to present the black panthers in a new light because there are many misconceptions about the party. in addition, he states that in order to understand the movement you must understand the time period which he does through his music selection. brown adds that a lot of the events that take place in the film are similar to those in today’s world, nelson responds saying that the items listed in the 10-point program are still being fought for within the African American community today. what I thought was interesting was when brown commented that the black panther party began with guns. however, nelson explained that the party started with protection from police brutality. saying that it began with guns makes the party seem violent or extreme. when in reality, it was a response to being targeted by the police which were known to be extremely brutal in that area. overall nelson explains that the film is important in today’s world, and he would like for people to make that connection while also learning the true story of the black panther party.

judas and the black messiah review

the first thing that I noticed while watching this film was in the very beginning when will is being interrogated by the cops, he’s asked why did he use a badge instead of a weapon, the first thing that came to mind before he even answered was that people are more afraid of cops than a weapon. watching this movie reminded me of the animated series attack on titan, with will (the informant to the fbi) being Bertolt. this movie made me feel so many emotions especially anger as I watched everything unfold. one scene that really stood out to me was when Deborah and Fred talk about if they regret having their child because Fred was ready to put his life on the line for the party, but Deborah could not as her body was not her own. I’m not sure why it stood out to me maybe it was because you can feel the concern she had for her child’s and his father’s life. this movie captures what the black panther party is truly about. They had breakfast programs and wanted to fight for so much more. they weren’t a terrorist group like the KKK and did not seek to harm others. instead, they wanted to unify all communities that were in some way shape or form being treated unfairly and not just by the color of their skin but economic status as well. the government saw it as a threat which is why the fbi wanted to disband the organization. they didn’t want Fred to receive more attention and didn’t want the party to grow stronger. they feared that they would overthrow the people who were in power. the black panther party just wanted to end police brutality and gain basic human rights for those who didn’t have it. Fred believed that the power was within the people. he was for the people and died for the people.

Posted in Film Review, Rhetorical Essay | Comments Off on film review

Jason Hernandez. Ten Point Program

  1. More police patrolling around multiple train stops
  2. More government spending towards the community
  3. School programs should be offered more often for students in need
  4. Cheaper medicine for poor communities
  5. People of different groups deserve equal treatment
  6. More awareness of racial discrimination
  7. Awareness of drug usage and how to control this
  8. Equality for the LGBTQ+ community
  9. Higher work pay
  10. More immigration programs
Posted in Ten Point Program | 5 Comments

Ten-point program 

  1. We want to protect women rights to an abortion  .
  2. We want to have universal healthcare .
  3. We want cops to protect our people in high danger areas.
  4.  We want to provide more income to low-income schools .
  5. We want to have a stronger Boarder.
  6. We want to have affordable rent .
  7. We want to have better Gun control.
  8. We want to have a safer transit .
  9. We want forever lasting peace between all of the Nations. 
  10. We want to provide shelter to homeless animals. 
Posted in Ten Point Program | 5 Comments