The Themes of the Books - Paper Sample

Introduction

The first book is on the American Indian Mafia, which exposes the dirty secrets by Leonard Peltier. Leonard was a native activist and a member of the American Indian movement convicted of two murders of two FBI agents in 1977. The scenario is where two FBI agents tracked jimmy Eagle to steal cowboy boots and fight a friend (Kýrová & Tóth, 2020). These agents got shot, and even though they sought help, they died from the gunshots as a form of revenge, police short Joe Stuntz, a member of the American Indian Movement. Peltier stated that he was not even at the crime scene when these murders occurred, thus denying allegations of committing the crimes.

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American Indian Mafia

Further, a woman alleging to be his girlfriend testified that she saw Peltier commit the crimes. Even it later came to be known that Peltier did not even know the woman. The crimes got committed at Pine Ridge Reservation, notorious for conflicts between Indians and the US. Americans had tried repressing Indians, causing a massacre in the 1890s. The same situation was repeated in 1973, giving the area non-conformation status, making police search for excuses for arresting and detaining Indians.

When the killing of the two FBI agents occurred, and it went for trial, Robideau and Butler, who were there at the scene of the crimes, were acquitted, and it was Peltier that got convicted. Contrary to Butler and Robideau’s trial, he was different in that the jury got beforehand information that the victims got shot at close range and without means for self-defense. Somebody had also shown the jury photos of the crime scene and autopsy results beforehand, which never happened in his first trial (Kýrová & Tóth, 2020). With the public outcry for the injustice, the then-president Clinton refused to grant pardon to Peltier even when evidence pointed to the witnessed having got coerced into giving false testimony against the accused. Due to the public’s pressure, Clinton granted pardon to some rights activists but held the accused. Therefore, the belief from the majority of people is that somebody is unfairly convicted. The thought of a plurality of people is that he was innocent, but political pressures ensured he remained in prison. His case is an example where national security interests veered in an expected direction.

Chicago Race Riot

The second book is on the Chicago Race Riot of 1919. The riot took place in the United States in the Red Summer. A name was referring to bloody that preceded World War I. It was a racism conflict that resulted from intensive blacks’ migration from the south to the north. It resulted in competition in the industries labor force, overcrowding in ghettos, a more significant number of blacks getting militarized from World War I’s experiences.

The Chicago ethnic tensions were intense in the south. Pressures for suitable housing mainly aggravated it. The black populations had risen significantly. And so the riot itself was caused by the killing of a black boy. The boy who had been swimming in Lake Michigan swayed into an area allocated for only whites. Somebody lynched him. The white man responsible for the boy’s death was never arrested by the police, which prompted people to gather along the beach and start the riot. Distorted rumors spread in the city, leading to sporadic aggression between the two races’ mobs and gangs. The violence increased with each occasion, and it continued for 13days despite state militia got sent to maintain order on the fourth day. The power from the riot culminated into deaths, the majority of them being blacks.

The shock from this riot aided the nation to realize the indifference caused by its mounting racial struggle. President Woodrow blamed the riots on the white race and called efforts of promoting racial accord through intended organizations on the same through legislation within the Congress. It also marked the willingness of black people to fight for rights to oppose oppression and social injustices.

The Reasons Behind Each Protest

The Chicago race riot was a violent racial battle started by whites against blacks in America. It began in the south of Chicago. The riot was due to whites’ and blacks’ demobilization in America after World War I, economic slumps, competition in jobs, and housing. The period got signified by labor unrests where industrialists used blacks, thus irritating the fellow white employees. Strikes were further agitated by the African American boy who was stoned and subsequently drowned following his veering into swimming into a section secluded for only whites. It irked black Americans to come out to fight for causes of their democracy and freedom. Most African Americans found it almost impossible to believe that people of their race got beaten, mobbed, chased from roads, and killed at the White House gate, and nobody took any actions (Hartfield, 2018). As the circumstances intensified, Wilson, who was the president by then, declined to act. His main worry was that the unrest would harm the images he was the refining of the United States of America, as a universal epitome of righteousness. President Wilson further demonstrated records of racism like the Ku Klux Klan. Further, the Washington press also involved running a story publicizing locations where white service members would meet to carry African Americans’ attacks. It led blacks to form organizations for self-defense to keep away white people from causing havoc on their people.

Regarding the American India Mafia, when American people think of the civil rights movement, they are aware of federal indifference and uncertainty and lynching and police ferocity. Black Americans clashed with the direct accomplishment of protests and political changes (Kýrová & Tóth, 2020). There was also unfair administration of the justice system within courts, such as Peltier’s case.

Strategies Used

The American Indian Movement, also referred to as (AIM), was a native American movement used by Indians and African Americans to fight racism rampant in America. They used the Congress, where they used the Democratic chairman of the House Subcommittee on Indian. They also used antiwar activists and civil rights. The AIM also used the American press to carry out protests and strikes to oppose racism and the real injustice carried on people of color when they are arrested and prosecuted in courts. Due to AIM’s activities, Indian demands were met, including economic liberation, recovery of outmoded culture, guard of their lawful rights, self-sufficiency over ethnic areas, and the refurbishment of lands illegally seized.

Following the Chicago riot, the Africans used different strategies to fight racism. For example, there was a railroad strike that disrupted the entire transport system that used roads. There were also boycotts. There was also social unrest that disrupted the standard social order in the communities (Hartfield, 2018). These riots’ successes resulted in social movements that addressed African Americans’ problems due to racism. Also, ex-service members who decided to protect their people from white harassment provided some help. Failures associated with the riots may include disruption of property and social disorders. Also, because of the retaliation increased further frictions on the two races.

Conclusion

Comparing the two stories, both address riots and social unrest emanating from racial conflicts that were rampant in America at the time. In both levels, the system seems to do very little to end racism. For example, in the Chicago riots, president Wilson remained quiet even when the discrimination occurred at the White House gate. The same got seen in the American Indian Mafia story, where the justice system got biassed towards people of other races. For example, Peltier got arrested and convicted for a crime he never committed. Even when evidence showed that the police used coercion on a woman to testify, President Clinton refused to set the convict free. In conclusion, riots and unrest can help fight for people’s rights whenever the system refuses to cooperate.

References

Kýrová, L., & Tóth, G. F. (2020). Red Power at 50: Re-Evaluations and Memory. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2409023.American_Indian_Mafia

Hartfield, C. (2018). A few red drops: The Chicago race riot of 1919. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. https://www.amazon.com/Race-Riot-Chicago-Summer-Blacks/dp/0252065867.