Cultural Activity/Civic Engagement Critique

Name___Colton Taylor_______________________
Your cultural event review should provide answers to the questions given below.
Please make your answers as complete as possible. The first three might only take
a line or two. Items 5-9 should be at least a paragraph each. All activities will have
answers to items 6) and 7), but they may not be easily recognizable. For example,
a Cinco de Mayo festival has both a historical context (celebrating a historical
revolution) and a cultural context (celebrated more by Mexican-Americans than by
Mexicans), as does an exhibition of Ottoman Empire artworks which detail a
particular historical period and culture.
Critiques should be typed, double-spaced, with one-inch margins on top, bottom,
and sides.
1. Name, date, type of event and place of event:
Cultural engagement, 1/15/16, Speaking engagement, Intermountain Homecare (where I work)
2. List the artists, speakers, or participants you saw:
Reverend France A. Davis
3. What were the objectives of the event? (100 words)
To bring up cultural awareness and where we stand with civil and human rights in Utah. He
came to talk to us on Martin Luther Kings birthday about his background, growing up in the
days of separate but equal and the challenges that came with it. He wanted to bring up the
successes he had in his life, and how we can all achieve success in our own lives. He also talked
about what he did with Martin Luther King and how he influenced his life. He also brought up
the challenges that we still face these days and what we can do about it.
4. What was the event designed to make you think about? (150 words)
This was designed to make us think about what we can do about civil rights in our own lives. He
talked about how he marched, and worked alongside Martin Luther King. He talked about how
people like J Edgar Hoover tried to bring down Martin Luther King. One story he brought up
was how Martin Lither Kings hotel room was bugged to try to receive information to use against
him. This made you realize that no matter how good someone is someone in the world will still
try to bring you down. And that no matter how many advantages you have in your life you can
still make a difference to people. Like Martin Luther King fought for de segregation of buses in
Montgomery Alabama although he did not even need to ride the bus. This whole talk brought up
many points. But the main point was that there is no room for hatred in our lives. And that
everyone has something to offer.

5. What was your role in the event? Were you an observer, a volunteer? How
did your role affect how you viewed the event and its message? (150 words)
My role was an observer. I had never been to a talk like this before. I had no idea what to expect
from this talk so I kind of went into it blind. But after about 20 seconds I realized how important
this man really was. I have never been in the same room as someone that had done the things that
he has done in his life. It was also amazing to me that he took the time to come into where I work
give this talk. It showed me how passionate he was about his cause and his messages were very
powerful. I think that the interest I had in his talk was also due to the kind of man he was. He has
spent his life fighting for something that should not even be a problem to begin with. I have a lot
of respect for him and the mission he is trying to accomplish.
6. What was the events or activitys cultural context and how did this affect the
event/activity? (150 word min.)
This was held on Martin Luther Kings birthday. This talk was also given by an African
American and he wanted to bring up the issues that African Americans still face today. He talked
about how he grew up in the times of segregation. He brought up the fact that when he moved to
Utah he ate at Chuck a Rama every day. He said that it was like he owned the restaurant. No one
would sit by him at any of the tables by him. This shows how far Utah has come in the time that
he has been living here. And he talked about all of the marches he went on with Martin Luther
King and what they were trying to accomplish. One other story that he brought up was how he
helped stop white supremacists from having a headquarters in Ogden. He talked about how he
brought together Mormons, Jewish, Catholics and others to stop this. This shows that we all can
work together to accomplish something.

7. What was the events or activitys historical context/focus and how did this
affect the event/activity? (150 word min.)
The major historical focus was to not go backwards in time. We have come far in this world but
we still have a ways to go. But he did not just start at where we are now with civil and human
rights issues but where they have come from at least from his point of view. He grew up in
Georgia and he faced segregation every day and all of the problems that had come with it. When
he grew up it was a totally different time, his first college was an African American only college
(Tuskegee). He talked about how different things used to be and how far we actually can go. But
how we should not go backwards in time. We need to come together to solve the issues we have
in the world. It is not hard to look back in U.S. history to see how things were you can see where
the historical context of this talk was.

8. What was the point of view of the participants/organizers? How were their
attitudes or approaches impacted by their culture? (150 word min.)
His point of view was from an African Americans eyes. He talked to us about why he is so
passionate about his cause and what he has gone through in his life that molded him into the
person he is today. His culture affected his point of view because he actually had to go through
segregation in his life. He had to live with the fact that people treated him differently even
though he is the same as everyone else. He showed that anyone can make their life into
something great. He has been all over the U.S. talking to people so he has a very wide
perspective on our country and the attitudes of everyone. I think that Martin Luther King also
impacted his life. He said when he talked it was like turning on an electrical switch. He worked
side by side with him and I think that he gained a lot of knowledge from him. But he talked
about how we all need to come together instead of being separate.

9. What other factors might have influenced the attitudes or approaches of the
participants/organizers? (150 word min.)
I think that everyday life has influenced his attitude and his daily approach to it. The fact that the
world changes day to day is continually influencing him. He is working to change the world we
live in and I think that he is doing a good job at it. But I think that he has seen things that he has
personally worked on cause change in our world. And because he has seen that change it has
driven him to continue what he is doing. Most of us want change in the world but most of us do
nothing about it, but he has. I think that he realizes what the world is like today and how we have
to approach certain things to achieve change. This was really interesting to me because he has
lived through a lot of things but he knows how important continued change is.

10.

What social issues did the event address? (150 word min.)

I think that we can look at the world we live in and realize the social issues that this event
addressed. We live through civil and Human rights violations every day, and this event brought
those up. It challenged the way that we all live our lives and what we can change in our lives to
promote togetherness. This talk was very powerful and you could just feel the energy and
passion that he had. I knew that we still had problems with civil rights violations today but this
talk helped me realize how many there still are. Sitting through this makes me want to do
something. The world we live in today does not need to have issues like this and I think that we
can all do something about it. I am glad that I got to experience this talk because it really opened
my eyes to how things used to be, and how they are today.

11.

What philosophical issues? (150 word min.)

I think that main philosophical issue was Human Rights. We all deserve
Human Rights and they should never be taken away. We all should have the
same Human Rights no matter our skin color. This should be a given but it
has never been resolved. There are still people in this world that believe they
are more superior than other people. I do not know if this will ever truly be
resolved. I personally hope that it can be. I know that I will take a lot of work
from everyone and we just need to be willing to do that work. This talk
brought up the work that needs to be done and how we can learn from
people like Martin Luther King to create a better world for everyone. This
issue is not the easiest to bring up. But I think he did a very good job doing
it.

12.

What answers/conclusions, if any, were reached? (100 word min.)

I think that the main conclusion gained from this was the fact that we still have a lot of work to
do. But he talked about how we can change it which I think we need to do. Change is hard for
everyone especially when it has to do with their way of life. But I think if more people listened to
talks like this it would change their mind. I also think that there was an answer in this talk. And
that is the fact that there are people in the world willing to fight for change. I think that we can
all change for the better but we have to want to start.

13.

How did the activity relate to what we have been doing in class?

I think that it related to class by opening up discussion. We talk every day in class and I
think that going to discussions like this help open up our minds just like class does. This
discussion also helped people talk about the issues that are present in the world today
which is what we do in class.