The Module that I really found interesting was module 3. The module was based on political identity and behavior. It gave us insight into how people interact in the political realm. Political behavior is measured in participation which includes political participation, conventional participation, and unconventional participation. People vote based on concern, self-interest, and responsibility.

"The exclusion and political identity: The case of Asian Partisanship," Was definitely important to learn about. Asians are less likely to participate In American politics. They are also most likely to identify with the Democratic party.

The Black Panthers Civil rights movement to end police brutality against African Americans. They were founded in 1966 by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale. They also launched survival programs that included education, legal help, tuberculosis testing, ambulance service, and donated shoes to poor people.

   Something that I thought was very interesting that I learned in my political science class was about  Mexican Civil rights leader Gustavo Garcia. His work was inspiring and was even made into a documentary produced by Edwards James Olmos. The documentary "A class apart," was so inspiring to me because you don't hear much about Mexican Civil rights leaders. I thought this was really cool that our professor shared this documentary with our class. 

    Gustavo Garcia was a Mexican civil rights leader from Texas. He graduated from The University of Texas in 1936. He then obtained a law degree in 1938 and passed his bar exam. He was known for being a part of the legal team of Hernandez vs Texas. This was to establish the right for Mexican Americans to serve on a jury during a time they faced racism and discrimination. This involved expanding the protections of the 14th Amendment to cover Latinos. This also helped Mexican Americans with other challenges such as housing, employment discrimination, and education. 

    In the 1940s Mexicans were segregated. There were signs posted all over businesses stating no Mexicans were allowed. Many Mexican Americans served in the war and upon returning felt very frustrated that they were still being treated unfairly. After serving in the military and fighting for our country's freedom they were still being segregated. Which frustrated many Mexican Americans because they were not allowed to eat in restaurants or send their kids to better schools. The organization Lulac was formed to fight for equal rights. These activists pressed the demand for more change in the southwest. 

    Gus Garcia had a legal team that helped with ending segregation in schools. His colleague Carlos Cardena won a ruling that barred Mexican Americans from buying homes in Angelo neighborhoods.  Despite some of these rulings, it was still not enough to make a change. So Garcia and Cardenas knew they had to go to the supreme court to expand the protection of the 14th amendment to cover Mexican Americans as well.

     

    Mexican Americans were denied protections under the 14th amendment. By law, during this time Mexican Americans were classified as white. This racing class was not used so they can be treated fairly. It was actually used so they can mistreat the Mexican people. In the court hearing Hernandez vs Texas, there were no Mexican Americans on the jury. The argument was that because Mexicans were considered white that the jury was of their peers. In reality, it wasn't because Mexicans were not considered white only in legal terms by law they were. Garcia and his legal team fought to change the civil rights protection to include Mexican Americans. In 1954 it was ruled in favor of Garcia and his team this being the first unanimous decision under Chief Justice Earl Warren. 

    Such an awesome documentary if you would like to learn more I suggest watching "A Class Apart." This documentary will have you wanting to learn more and it's a good place to start. I also recommend reading "Anything but Mexican," definitely an interesting book. I also included the links below:

 

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/class/

https://www.amazon.com/Anything-But-Mexican-Angeless-Barrios/dp/1786633795

Expanding the protection of the 14th Amendment

     Something that I thought was very interesting that I learned in my political science class was about  Mexican Civil rights leader Gustavo Garcia. His work was inspiring and was even made into a documentary produced by Edwards James Olmos. The documentary "A class apart," was so inspiring to me because you don't hear much about Mexican Civil rights leaders. I thought this was really cool that our professor shared this documentary with our class. 

    Gustavo Garcia was a Mexican civil rights leader from Texas. He Graduated from The University of Texas in 1936. He then obtained a law degree in 1938 and passed his bar exam. He was known for being a part of the legal team of Hernandez vs Texas. This was to establish the right for Mexican Americans to serve on a jury during a time they faced racism and discrimination. This involved expanding the protections of the 14th Amendment to cover Latino. This also helped Mexican Americans with other challenges such as housing, employment discrimination and education. 

    In the 1940's Mexican's were segregated. There were signs posted all over businesses stating no Mexican's allowed. Many Mexican Americans served in the war and upon returning felt very frustrating that they were still being treated unfair. After serving in the military and fighting for our country's  freedom they were still being segregated. Which frustrated many Mexican American's because they were not allowed to eat in restaurants or send their kids to better schools. The organization Lulac was formed to fight for equally rights. These activist pressed demand for more change in the south west. 

    Gus Garcia had a legal team that helped with ending segregation in schools. His colleague Carlos Cardena won a ruling that barred Mexican Americans from buying homes in Angelo neighborhoods.  Despite some of these rulings it was still not enough to make a change. So Garcia and Cardenas knew they had to go to the supreme court to expand the protection of the 14th amendment to cover Mexican Americans as well.

     

    Mexican Americans were denied protections under the 14th amendment. By law during this time Mexican American's were classified as white. This race class was not used so they can be treated fairly. It was actually used so they can mistreat the Mexican people. In the court hearing Hernandez vs Texas there were no Mexican American's in the jury. The argument was that because Mexican's were considered white that the jury was of their peers. Which in reality it wasn't because Mexican's were not considered white only in legal terms by law they were. Garcia and his legal team fought to change the civil rights protection  to include Mexican American's. In 1954 it was ruled in favor for Garcia and his team this being the first unanimous decision under Chief Justice Earl Warren. 

    Such an awesome documentary if you would like to learn more I suggest watching "A Class Apart." This documentary will have you wanting to learn more and it's a good place to start. I also recommend reading "Anything but Mexican," definitely an interesting book. I also included the links below:

 

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/class/

https://www.amazon.com/Anything-But-Mexican-Angeless-Barrios/dp/1786633795

Lovely San Diego

San Diego one of the most beautiful cities in Southern California. So many things to do with a lot of history. Home to approximately 110,770 active duty personnel which gives you so much more reason to appreciate this city. So many beaches to choose from and hiking trails. You also have many different types of food to choose from through out this location. 

My family and I decided to spend some of my vacation days out and around the city. The weather was amazing 80 degrees with a slight breeze I couldn't ask for anything more. Our first stop was in La Jolla Cove the view here is beyond perfect. Being able to see the sea lions up close was awesome. There were plenty of places within walking distance to dine or grab a quick drink. The cove has caves to explore if you like to go diving, that were really neat to see. If you like walking there were plenty of places to walk to. It's a great environment for families to get out and enjoy the outdoors.

The next place we explored was Seaport Village which is a few minutes away from the Gaslamp district. This is an amazing place to come see if you enjoy history and love to learn about our amazing military. The village has small shops to buy souvenirs, along with a few restaurants to grab a bite to eat. Along the walkway there are plenty of statues with our military history. The one that really caught my attention was the "Kissing sailor" (unconditional surrender statue) that was so beautiful to see. The national salute to Bob Hope with fifteen life size bronze military personnel was a very touching monument. Since these military statues were meant to resemble the different types of scenarios of military men and women. The USS Midway museum is also a must see when you are in the area. It lets you see how life is aboard for our military personnel give yourself plenty of time to explore. 

San Diego is such an amazing place I just listed two places but there are so many options. If you like photography or to explore this is your place. It's great for families, couples or even if you would like to go alone there's so much to do out here. The beaches, the views and so many options for food is what makes this place so great.