Multimedia Presentation: Freedom Riders

Here is my presentation that I did on Stanley Nelson's "Freedom Riders."

Jordan Freedom Riders Presentation

View more presentations from mcjordan23.

Human Rights Research Question

How did Human Rights in Iraq change when Saddam Hussein was taken out of power?
What kind of human rights violations occurred under Saddam Hussein's rule?
Could these violations be considered genocide?


In order to fully answer these questions, I'll have to learn what kind of human rights violations took place under Hussein. I'll also need to learn if and how these violations stopped when Hussein lost power. I'll need to figure out what kind of things were done to the people under Hussein and how many people were tortured/killed. I'll have to find out if the UN considered these human rights violations a genocide or not.

International Human Rights Proposal

Topic: Violation of human rights under Saddam Hussein's rule in Iraq

This is interesting to me because it is a fairly recent violation of human rights. If I were to guess, I'd                            say most people will probably choose topics that happened longer ago so this I like this because it's current.

http://www.foreignaffairs.house.gov/archives/108/91184.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_in_Saddam_Hussein's_Iraq
http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/cah/ij/w_context/w_cont_16.aspx
http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/human_rights_violations/
http://www.jstor.org/pss/25164729?searchUrl=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Dhuman%2Brights%2Bsaddam%2Bhussein%26wc%3Don%26acc%3Doff

Current Events in the DRC

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Africa/2009/1117/p01s01-woaf.html
This article discusses rebel leaders in the Congo being arrested by Germans for brutality in the DRC and Rwanda. The Congo has not had a steady government since Leopold reigned in the early 1900's. These arrests that took place in November of 2009. The arrests signify a step towards peace in the Congo.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10484495
This article discusses the debt relief program of IMF and World Bank for the DRC. As previously mentioned, the country hasn't had peace or a steady government since before Leopold's time. The debt program will relieve a large portion of the Congo's debt and this will help bring peace to the war torn nation.

Chapter 8 Small Group Discussion

A question that I am still thinking about after the discussion is if Leopold could be connected to slavery in America. 

I think our discussion went well because there were some extremely good points brought up. We ended up touching on a lot more questions than we had originally planned, just in discussing one, we often came up with answers to other questions. Something I could do better is citing the text more. When I spoke, I didn't have much specific support for what I was saying.

King Leopold Chapters 8 and 9

1. What was the main reason Leopold set up the Force Publique in areas far away from the soldeirs homes?

2. What was Leopold's main reason for setting up the Force Publique?

3. How does Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" tie into chapter 9?

King Leopold's Ghost Reading #2

Quote about Leopold:
"The young heir took little interest in his studies, with the notable exception of geography. From the age of ten on, he was given military training: by fifteen, he held the rank of lieutenant in the Belgian Army, at sixteen captain, at eighteen major, at nineteen colonel, and by the time he was twenty he was a major general" (Hochschild 34).

Quote about Stanley:
"Stanley was always uncomfortable with anyone whose talents might outshine his own. From the twelve hundred men who applied to join the expedition, some of them highly experienced travelers, he chose three unsuitable companions" (Hochschild 49).

Quote of good writing:
"If we take a step back and look at Leopold at this moment we can imagine him the political equivalent of an ambitious theatrical producer. He has organizational talent and the public's good will, as proven by his successful Geographical Conference. He has a special kind of capital: the great public relations power of the throne itself. He has a script: the dream of a colony that had been running through his head since he was a teenager" (Hochschild 46).