Dear students,

For starters, let’s watch the following video to learn who Martin Luther King
Jr. was: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IB0i6bJIjw
You can also watch the movie Selma based on his fight for racial equality when you find the time.

Now, let's reflect on the topic of protests in the US, which have spread
worldwide.

The death of George Floyd, that is, the treatment of Afro-Americans by the
police has caused not only peaceful protests against racism, but also riots.
You may have seen videos of violence, arson and looting of stores in the
streets of American cities. Several people have died and many have been
injured.

George Floyd was suffocated by a police officer who pressed his knee against
the victim's neck while arresting him. The police officer is being charged for
murder, as well as his partners who were there with him on the scene.
Nevertheless, it caused protests that have been going on for weeks and
hopefully, they may bring about some changes in the American society.

However, it’s not always black and white (pun intended). Racism is a huge
issue, but not all African Americans agree that it is always the cause of tragic
events such as the aforementioned. Some of them refuse to label “racism”
and “victim” on every case where a black person is killed by the police. Let's
hear what a member of the African American community has to say about the
case: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtPfoEvNJ74 .
Candace Owens is a political commentator that criticizes the Democratic Party for using
and manipulating the problem of racism. Every time there are elections, she says, the
Democrats use a death of an African American or a similar issue to promote their agenda
and are supported by the mainstream media, but are doing nothing to help African
Americans to get employed, to have better education and to improve their
neighbourhoods where drugs and guns are seen on the streets every day. Also, political
correctness as a new sort of ideology has reached incredible proportions that even HBO (a
tv network that shows movies) has decided not to screen Gone With the Wind anymore.
It's a classic from the '50s that has won several Oscars, and the reason why they are
censoring it is because there are characters in the movie such as black servants and white
slave owners. It's as if they are trying to erase history. Here is a link if you want to find out
more what's going on in the US, and you don't get the chance to see it in the mainstream
media. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=J1rDQ-PJxO8

What are your thoughts on the subject? Please, post your comments in our
English channel on Teams.
a riot – pobuna, nemir

arson – palež

looting – pljačka

to suffocate - ugušiti

nevertheless - unatoč tomu

a pun – igra riječima

one-sidedly – jednostrano

however – no

aforementioned – prethodno spomenut