A.) My group struggled to meet, however, I did discuss the prompts with another group via zoom on November 23th,  2020 with Anthony Rodriguez around 1: pm and talked in the my dorm room with Kenneth Crespo.

1,) We first talked about question 2 when Walter states that black people are “guilty the moment they are born.” We concluded that racism was so prevalent in the southern U.S that the innocence of a black person was non-existent. They go to jail, get killed, treated horribly, etc just for being born of the color of their skin. I, thankfully, have not heard any similar phrases growing up but I do know thoughts and actions like this still exist today.

2.) We then moved on to question four when Walter’s family feels like they are punished as well. For example, one of the family members or friends is able to provide a testimony which could potentially open up Walter’s case again. However, we soon learn that he is threatened to be killed or worse if he does give the testimony. We can inference that the actions of Walter’s arrest has made the whole community scared and no one will step up in fear that they will be punished for trying to help an innocent man.

3.) The next question we discussed was 10. No one in the group has ever seen the movie before which made the movie that much more interesting. It made a good impression at first and I wanted to finish it almost immediately. The story being based on real life portrays how unfair life can be, but there is always that one person that goes against the odds despite the unpopular opinion. I can take that idea and implement it in my leadership journey whenever someone who has all odds against them has at least one person they can count on to hopefully bring about change.

4.) The last question we went over is 11. The rights we have in the United States are a blessing compared to other countries. We have more freedom and decision making power than most people think. We have rights, a democracy, and more these days that make American the way it is. However, at the time, people of color like Walter were not viewed or treated as American. They were property at first and the fight to be seen as an American has been a long, effortful one.

B.) I learned from Anthony that he is a big person of faith. He is very religious which drives his motive to treat everyone with the utmost respect. He also believes that he does not see differences, instead, we are all made the same and equal in the eyes of God which I thought was an amazing way to think daily. Anthony is going home for thanksgiving in Dallas to spend time with family.

• I also discussed with Kenneth which was my suitemate coincidently. I learned from him that he also struggled growing up with some sort of equality. His first language was Spanish and he had a hard time learning to speak English thus explaining his accent today. However, he did experience some discomfort as people would look at him different for not knowing English that well in America. He learned to keep going and block the negativity while pursuing amazing opportunities in America. Kenneth will also be going home for thanksgiving in Fort Worth and studying for finals almost immediately after.