Final Presentation Script

Also, when facing problems in life, you're going to want to look at situations from both sides and identify key factors, even if they don’t support your original claim. Another positive I took away from the EOTOs, as Lucas mentioned, was my improvement in presenting skills. Having my own script for a few days and practicing it in front of a mirror until I could confidently stay within three minutes really helped. This boosted confidence for many people’s presentations, especially mine.

Jumping off what Ben was talking about, my opinions on the fact that this classroom not only allowed us to use A.I. but it was heavily encouraged for some projects, was a really cool idea. I think that as A.I grows we must also grow around it not against it; While most colleges and even other professors heavily deny the use of A.I; this class taught us that when using it correctly it can be a great tool. Firstly, we shouldn’t rely on it for everything, it’s a learning software, it’s going to make mistakes. Secondly, we should guide it so that it gives us exactly what we want; an example being that when making our EOTO’s we only wanted facts that coaligned with the topic we had. Lastly, we learned that while A.I. can be an amazing tool, in some scenarios we shouldn’t use it at all, mainly when the professors strictly say it’s not allowed. 

Hello, my name is Lucas Gustason. Ben and I will be doing our final presentation specifically on the topics of the EOTO’s, Blogs, and the use of A.I. in the classroom. First off, I think that the fact that when we were presenting the EOTO’s it gave us a different perception that most classes wouldn’t show us. It gave us firstly the angle that usually only professors have, teaching in-front of the class. This not only helps with presentation skills but it also helps with speaking skills in environments that you might not be comfortable in. I think that this has helped me not only gain confidence knowing that with enough preparation I can make it so that the presentation will not only sound better but I can present it better. Another thing that made the EOTO’s so much fun was the fact that it was a group project, it wasn’t just you sitting in front of the class, it was your group. This definitely helped elevated some of the stress that for example the Mock Trial gave. 

Adding on to what Lucas mentioned, I believe the EOTOs opened our eyes to looking beyond just one perspective. The fact that there was always a **contradicting viewpoint—whether supporting slavery or supporting desegregation—**forced us to consider sides we wouldn’t typically examine. It strengthened both arguments, because each perspective pushed back against the other.

Being able to incorporate AI ethically into our writing also taught me a lot. Instead of tediously looking through websites that might have biases or unreliable information, we were able to use AI. It made me focus more on the content rather than skimming through articles I wouldn’t end up using. While you can’t fully lean on AI, being able to use it as a tool felt like having training wheels. It provided us with scholarly sources, scripts, and well-crafted slides.

Being encouraged to use AI was a unique and valuable part of the way Professor Smith taught. Learning how to use it ethically was a game changer. It helped me understand not just how to gather information quickly, but how to evaluate it, refine it, and make it my own. Using AI responsibly showed me how to improve my writing without losing my voice, and it taught me how to double-check sources and avoid misinformation. I’ve already applied that knowledge in a few of my other classes, making research and writing feel more efficient, structured, and insightful.

The last part I want to talk about is how much I enjoyed the blogs. I’ve always enjoyed typing and writing but blogging has to be one of if not my new favorite way to write. It’s in an entire different league than an essay for a few simple facts. Firstly the fact that when writing and essay your main goal is to talk about the prompt usually; but for blogs it’s different. Your only goal is to make something that is both interactive and presentable. You have to think in the mind of out of the millions of blog posts out there, yours has to be the best for the most retention. Finally I love the fact that all blogs can be and will be different, it gives it a sense of personalism an essay prompt wouldn’t give. I also love how we add hyperlinks; instead of just writing a work cited you make it so you cite inside the work.

Lucas summed it up pretty well. Being tasked with a writing prompt is a thing you see in most of our classes, but being able to personalize and add your own flair to it is one special thing about the blogs. The short quick 300 or 500 word blogs were way easier to write than an essay. I think I speak for most, when writing an essay you get to about 500 words and a lot of the times after that find yourself repeating information. And being able to incorporate AI in some of them was extremely helpful, but when Professor Smith says it’s not an AI assignment, definitely don’t use AI. In the end, this class gave us more than just the material taught in class—it gave us experiences that actually taught us something. The EOTOs pushed us to think from multiple perspectives. The blogs gave us the freedom to express ourselves and write with personality. And learning how to use AI responsibly gave us a skill that’s becoming more and more essential. Altogether, these parts of the course helped us grow as writers, presenters, and students. Thank you.

Negative EOTO Reaction

KKK with Pushback

The Rise of the KKK and the Violent Pushback Against Progress

Every time I hear about the Civil Rights Movement, one thing that consistently shocks me is how the more progress America made toward racial equality, the harder the pushback became. The rise of the Ku Klux Klan during this era wasn’t just a reaction—it was a movement fueled by anger, fear, and a refusal to accept change. And honestly, seeing how far people went to stop basic human rights is something I still struggle to wrap my head around.

After the Brown v. Board of Education decision, the KKK basically stepped in as a leader of hate. Instead of backing down, the organization grew louder. What’s interesting is that the Klan in the 1960s wasn’t even unified at first. It was scattered, and yet still incredibly dangerous. Some sheriffs and local politicians were directly involved or supportive of Klan activity, which made everything even worse. Their tactics—violent intimidation, threats, and fear—were designed to scare people into silence. They even held parliamentary-style meetings to give themselves an appearance of order and legitimacy, even though everything they did was rooted in terror.

Brown V Board Desegregation

Freedom Summer in 1964 really shows how far they were willing to go. Civil rights groups organized a massive campaign to register Black voters in Mississippi. This should’ve been a simple act of democracy, but the KKK made it clear they would use violence to stop it. Three young civil rights workers were murdered after they went to investigate the burning of a Black church. They had been arrested, released, and then tracked down by the Klan. The case became known as “Mississippi Burning,” and it remains one of the darkest reminders of what activists were up against.

Then there was the massive resistance from southern states fighting school integration. To me, this resistance was pointless and terrible. Integration was going to happen no matter how hard people fought it—so shutting down schools only hurt the students and slowed progress. At the University of Alabama, Vivian Malone and James Hood were blocked from entering until the president had to call in the National Guard. It blows my mind how far people went just to keep things segregated.

16th St Bombing After Math

But the moment that sticks with me most is the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church on September 15, 1963. This was a trusted meeting place for Black activists, a safe space. And the KKK bombed it during Sunday service. No matter your race or beliefs, this crosses every possible line. It’s horrifying, and it shows exactly how far hate can go when it’s left unchecked.

AI Disclosure- I put my notes from the negative EOTO trial to create this blog, then I went in with my personal thoughts and added some. I then added pictures and captions.

Brown V. Board Trial

The Banning of Segregation in Schools

Brown v. Board of Education

When we think of Brown v. Board of Education, we often focus on the moral arguments against segregation or the psychological damage inflicted on Black children. But there's another compelling dimension to this landmark case that deserves attention: the devastating economic consequences of educational segregation.

The Myth of "Separate but Equal"

The doctrine established in Plessy v. Ferguson promised equality through separation. The reality was anything but equal. In Topeka, Kansas, where Linda Brown's case originated, white schools received $43 per pupil annually while Black schools received only $17. This wasn't an anomaly. Across the South, the disparities were even more staggering. South Carolina spent $179 per white student compared to just $43 per Black student—a four-fold difference that translated directly into educational quality.

"Separate but Equal?"

These funding gaps weren't abstract statistics. They meant crumbling school buildings without proper heating, outdated textbooks discarded from white schools, overcrowded classrooms with teacher-to-student ratios of 1-to-50, and shortened school years so Black children could work in fields picking crops. The infrastructure of segregation was designed to limit economic mobility before it could even begin.

Economic Warfare by Design

Segregation functioned as a system of economic control, creating and maintaining a permanent underclass. Without access to quality education, Black children faced insurmountable barriers to economic advancement. They couldn't access skilled trades or professional careers that required strong literacy and mathematical skills. They couldn't compete in a job market that increasingly demanded educated workers. They couldn't build the intergenerional wealth that education makes possible.

The outcomes spoke for themselves. At the time of Brown, the median income for Black families was only 51% of white families. Black unemployment consistently ran at twice the rate of white unemployment. These weren't market failures or individual shortcomings—they were the intended consequences of a system that systematically denied educational opportunity based on race.

The National Cost

The economic damage extended beyond Black communities to harm the entire nation. Economist Gunnar Myrdal calculated that segregation cost the American economy billions of dollars annually in lost productivity. By kneecapping ten percent of the population from birth, America was voluntarily handicapping its own economic potential during a critical period of global competition with the Soviet Union.

Gunnar Myrdal

Dr. Kenneth Clark's famous doll studies, which showed how segregation damaged Black children's self-perception, had profound economic implications. When children internalize messages of inferiority, they lose the motivation and aspiration necessary for economic success. You cannot achieve what you've been taught you're unworthy of pursuing.

The Constitutional Question

This economic reality made segregation a clear violation of the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause. Education is the gateway to economic citizenship in America. When states provide inferior schools based on race, they sentence children to economic exile before those children can even read. The act of segregation itself brands Black children as unmarketable and unequal—a stigma that follows them into every job interview, loan application, and economic transaction of their lives.

A Choice for America's Future

Brown v. Board ultimately forced America to confront a fundamental question: Could states use taxpayer dollars to economically handicap children based on race? The Supreme Court's answer reshaped American society. By recognizing that separate was inherently unequal, the Court acknowledged that educational segregation wasn't just morally wrong—it was economically destructive and constitutionally indefensible.

The decision represented more than civil rights progress. It was an admission that America could not claim to be a meritocracy while simultaneously kneecapping children at the starting line based on the color of their skin.

AI Disclosure- I used Claude AI to do my research and get good scholarly sources. Then I took some notes and had Claude turn it into a blog. I then edited it down, so it didn't ramble on. I also added headings and pictures.