Vocabulary for John Lewis' Letter to Young People
Beloved Community
A society based on justice, equal opportunity, and love of one's fellow human beings. It was favorite phrase of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Representative Democracy
A system of government in which citizens elect people to make decisions about the laws for everyone
Emmett Till (1955)
Black Fourteen-year-old boy said "Bye, baby" at a white woman (in south). Beaten + shot to death by her husband and brother-in-law. An all white jury found them innocent. The murder inspired the African-American Civil Rights movements.
Direct Democracy
Government in which citizens vote on laws themselves.
George Floyd (2020)
On May 25, 2020, Minneapolis police officers arrested a 46-year-old black man, after a convenience store employee called 911 and said the man had bought cigarettes with a counterfeit $20 bill. A police officer put his knee on his neck. After 8 minutes of saying he could not breathe, he lapsed into unconsciousness and died. His death prompted worldwide protests.
...unwitting concertgoers in Las Vegas...
On October 1, 2017, Stephen Paddock, 64, opened fire upon the crowd attending the Route 91 Harvest music festival in Las Vegas, Nevada. Between 10:05 and 10:15 p.m., he fired more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition from 32nd floor killing 60 people and wounding 411.
Laws
Rules of behavior established by a political authority and backed by state power
Mother Emanuel Church
The Charleston, SC church shooting on June 17, 2015, in which nine African Americans were killed during a Bible study by Dylann Root, 21, a white supremicist.
Government
The institution through which a society makes and enforces its public policies
Cracy (Greek)
To rule
Elijah McClain (2019)
Walking home from a Colorado convenience store on Aug. 24, 2019, someone called 911, because he was wearing a ski mask and waving his arms. Police officers restricted blood to his brain to render him unconscious. Medical responders injected him with a powerful sedative. He went into cardiac arrest on the way to a hospital. He died a few days later. He loved animals and taught himself to play the guitar and violin.
Democracy
government "rule " by the people
demos (Greek Root)
the people, the citizens