Table of Contents
Pages 1-3:
Poem about Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner and Michael Brown: A poem from the point
of view of the three of those people dead looking at how their deaths affected
people in Ferguson and in the rest of the United States.
Pages 4-5:
A reading response about the poem “Strange Fruit” by Billie Holiday and Abel
Meeropol. Which explains how I personally connect to the poem and what social
issue the poem is talking about and more.
Pages 6-7:
Interview with Aniesa Narvaez a person that works in clinics and breast cancer
centers and changes the world just a little bit everyday.
Page 8:
Bibliography
Poem About a Social Issue
They talk about what impact they
have on the people down here
They talk about the chaos that is
happening down here
They think about the bigger meaning
of their deaths
And then they laugh
Why?
What is so funny about death and
chaos
It isn’t funny
It’s just the fact that they know
that none of this was meant to happen
Michael notices that this started
because a pack of cigarettes
Trayvon notices this also started
because he looked “suspicious”
And lastly Eric notices this also
started because he was being falsely accused and harassed and wanted to stand
up for himself
They understand the chaos and why
it is happening down here
They see families protesting and
fighting for laws
They see the police forces in
Ferguson
They see the tear gas
The guns
The riot shields
The attack dogs
And people looting
They stop laughing and start
feeling disappointed by the fact their deaths can lead to more deaths and destruction
They want to tell the families why
can’t they just be the people they were and why can’t they protest in a
peaceful way so no one gets hurt
But then again they’re up there,
and they’re not aloud to speak to us about the chaos we’ve caused.
My process of writing
This Poem and why I wrote about this topic
When writing about the topic of
Police shootings I thought about current related issues that are occurring. I
thought to myself “what topic has a large impact in our community and can
really make people understand my message I’m trying to convey.” Right away I
thought about Michael Brown’s death. I thought about the recent result of
Michael’s death (Riots, looting, and more). Then a thought occurred in my mind
that writing a poem only about Michael Brown’s death would be too simple. Then
I thought about connecting Michael Brown’s, Trayvon Martin, and Eric Garner
because they all are a part of the same social issue. I also thought that
speaking about these three people will make my message get through to the
people that are reading it more easily. I also thought that writing about these
three people will give a different point of view of the issue and make the poem
have a bigger affect on the people who are reading it.
I was inspired by Suheir Hammad’s “What I Will” poem because it has to
do with standing up to a certain issue and many people are standing up to the
issue of police shooting civilians right now. I also wanted to include specific
things about Ferguson that put a picture in the reader’s head. Just like in
Hammad’s poem because she includes certain facts about the war that made me
think about what it would be like in her shoes. In my poem I wanted the readers
to see my opinion of the issue but in a different format. I also wanted the
readers to feel a special/deep connection to my poem and to really feel the
message of the poem.
Response to a Literary Piece
In the poem “Strange Fruit” by Billie Holiday and Abel Meeropol the
authors are trying to send an important message. After all the poem was made in
the civil rights era, which was an important time in American History. The poem
is about the social issue of African Americans being lynched, which is a very
sensitive topic about our history. This poem really puts the reader in the poem
to visualize what the author is talking about. This poem gives off a very
serious mood and gives the reader a feeling as if they were there during the
lynching.
This poem is very serious and upsetting. I think this because even
though I was not there for this time period I feel this is very important to
our society now and how its evolved over time. The message the authors are trying to send are
how serious and ruthless he lynching was in that time. The author does this by
giving lots of graphic details about the bodies hanging from the trees and
compares them to fruit hanging from the trees. One example of this was when the
authors explained how the body’s faces looked and the smell of the bodies. “The
bulging eyes and the twisted mouth, Scent magnolias, sweet and fresh, Then the
sudden smell of burning flesh.” This part in the poem allows me to feel
uncomfortable and feel sympathy for the people that were effected by this time
in history. This poem also gave me another perspective on this issue, which was
the people witnessing lynching and people that thought it was cruel
This
poem can connect to todays social issues because it shows how many hard times
we have gotten through. This poem can connect to social issues like the police
shootings, racial profiling, and more. If this social issue in the poem is
compared to the social issues today then you’ll notice that, though the
lynching does not happen in America racism issue is not fully over. I think
this poem must have been very important and daring at the time because taking
the side that the authors did was very dangerous. I also noticed how much this
poem must’ve meant for people in this time period because many families went
through this issue and were probably disturbed and hurt by the detail in this
poem, which is why when the civil rights era is brought up this is one of the
most important poems/songs there was for the time. This poem was this important
because it really connected with the people reading it.
Interview
I interviewed Aniesa Narvaez (my mother)
because she worked in clinics and hospitals, which I thought is a interesting
experience to share. Keep in mind that I paraphrased most of the interview
because it was going on for a long time and it would be a lot to write down.
Me: What do you do in your
job to contribute to the hospital?
Narvaez: I translate the
data from radiologist’s reports and transfer them into the computer to begin
the follow up process.
Me: Is there any extra
things you do in your job to contribute to the hospital?
Narvaez: I translate for patients that
speak Spanish only, so during procedures I translate for the patients.
Me: What sicknesses or
medical issues do these patients usually have?
Narvaez: Breast cancer.
Me: In what type of
facilities have you worked in?
Narvaez: Usually
comprehensive medical clinics and radiology facilities, so comprehensive breast
imaging facilities, so that’s where I work now. Comprehensive breast care
facilities where they provide all services for breast care.
Me: Do you ever feel like you
really help these patients?
Narvaez: Absolutely. There
was one case where a patient was having a procedure and she was really scared
and she had to speak about her feelings about the procedure. I had to translate
to her what the details were and why the doctor thought she needed to get this
procedure. I feel by me translating the details it gave her a better idea of
what decision she had to make and what were her options were and in the end she
was very grateful.
Why I Feel This Person Changes the World
I feel Narvaez changes the world, but in a small way because a big
social issue is cancer. I feel that many people in modern times are dying from
cancer especially breast cancer, which is something that does not currently
have a cure. I feel Narvaez is helping the breast cancer patients that are in
need of help even in a small way that can make a big difference over time until
a cure is finally found. Though Narvaez organizes radiologist’s data as her
main job, but she translates for patients, which is important because it shows how
the little things can have a big affect on a person’s mental state and healthy
decision-making. I think anyone in any job has an effect on the world or in our
society in some way, but social issues that have to do with medical diseases
and sicknesses are extremely important because medical social issues are
existent nationwide. Anybody that is in Narvaez’s position is making a change
to the world because they’re learning to deal with these patients and doing the
best they can to make them understand what procedures they will need to do to
maintain their health while a cure for breast cancer is still trying to be
found.
Work Cited
Holiday,
Billie, and Abel Meeropol. "Strange Fruit." Strange Fruit.
N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2014.
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