In Contempt by Christopher Darden: A Review
This report is based upon the book In Contempt, written by Christopher A.
Darden with Jess Walter. This book is published by Regan Books an imprint of
Harper Collins Publishers and is copyrighted 1996 by Christopher A. Darden.
Introduction of the Author
The book In Contempt was written by Christopher A. Darden. Chris Darden is famous for being one of the prosecuting attorneys in the court case, The
People vs. Simpson. He has worked hard his whole life to reach the status he has now achieved. He proved to America that even though he wasn't a high-priced private lawyer that he could present a well-thought out and planned case under tremendous pressure he and the other prosecutors had to endure during the
Simpson case.
Summary
I found this book to be very well thought out and well written. Most people would assume that this book was written with the intentions of making a quick-buck off the misfortune of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. I, however, do not believe this to be true. The way that he speaks of the victims in the book, and the way he spoke of them before and after the trial shows that he really cared about the lives of these people that he didn't even know. He even went as far as to say in the book that this was the first case that affected him personally and emotionally. As one may expect the majority of this book is taken up with the Simpson case but, chapters two through six detail his life from birth, his childhood in a working class district of Richmond,
California, and becoming a district attorney of Los Angeles in 1981. Chapters two and three mostly consist of stories of him and his brother, Michael, stealing from local stores or his brothers drug deals. When Michael hit his mid-teens hestarted selling marijuana off the front porch of the house and Chris was his lookout. In return, he was told that he would be cut in on the action
(but never was). No matter what, Michael always told Chris never to use drugs.
Throughout the book Chris Darden refers to his brother as a good role model for him no matter what he did.
I feel the purpose of Chris Darden writing this book is to try to show the hardships he had to go through as a black man trying to become a lawyer.
Also I feel that he is trying to reveal the truth behind what was happening in the Simpson case.
Body of the Review
Evidence: "You really killed him, huh, Johnny?" "Yeah." His voice quavered slightly. "I had to. They
Langston Hughes was twelve when he was “saved.” He was at a revival at his Aunts church when he soon felted pressured to accept Jesus into his heart. He wanted to experience what everyone else was feeling but could not experience what others were. Soon he began thinking of what the other guy was feeling and began to become ashamed of himself, holding everything in for so long. Then Westley was sitting high on the thrown with Christ and Langston wanted that. Soon after Langston’s stood up to be saved, everyone started cheering and celebrating his salvation with him. Whenever he got home from the revival he cried alone in his room. His aunt thought he was crying because the Holy Spirit came into his life. Little did she know he was crying because he lied and said that he seen Jesus when he really didn’t (McMahan, Day, Funk, and Coleman 280).
Thurgood Marshall overcame discrimination by his dreams of going into the law field despite the racism surrounding him at that time. “Thurgood Marshall, the great-grandson of a slave, grew up in the South and experienced racism and discrimination firsthand” (Hitzeroth and Leon 9). Since he was raised in the South, a more racist part of the country, he was already experiencing racism at a young age. He could not shop in the same store, sit in the same section of the bus, or attend the same schools as white children and white people in general (Hitzeroth and Leon 9-10). Also, he was a cum laude honors student, but he was denied admission to the University Of Maryland Law School because of the color of his skin (Hitzeroth and Leon 10). Despite all of these events, he still chose to pursue a career in law. Part of this could be because his father taught him to respect the U.S. Constitution and the authority of law (Thurgood Marshall Biography). Also, “author John Egerton wrote in his book Speak Now Against the Day, ‘In courtrooms, black lawyers were exceedingly...
One of many of Thurgood Marshall’s accomplishments was his very successful career as a lawyer. Most of his cases were about racial equality. One of his early victories was the Murray v. Pearson case (“Thurgood Marshall”). This case was about a young African American, Donald Murray, being rejected
His struggles paralleled some of the struggles of black people in his time period. He had a college education, theology education, his wife did as well. During the Great Depression, his wife became ill from practicing Social Work which was the reason she died. There were medical bills left and he was able to borrow money from his life insurance.
In 1930 he applied to the University of Maryland Law School, but he was told no because of his color. But that did not stop him and he
John Demos’s “the Unredeemed Captive” is a story about a man named John Williams, and his five children who were captured by Indians during a war in 1704. John Williams and his children are eventually released, but much to his disappointment, his youngest daughter Eunice remained with her captors, and married an Indian man. This story has a captivating storyline, and makes for a very compelling narrative. In this paper I will attempt to make a critical analysis of John Demos’s work. The major areas I am looking at are the evolution or the piece, from beginning to end, what the major sections of the book are and how they flow together, and how this work is and isn’t a conventional narrative.
They give him what he believes to be victories-the opportunity for a speech, the chance to prove his worth in the battle royal, the college scholarship-all of it, to keep him running. He finally realizes it. By studying this fascinating character which , I think, represents all blacks of that time I discovered that the prejudice is one problem that we as a society have to become more aware of. We have to get past the cover, and open up the book and read it before we judge. If people would do this it
No matter how someone may be living their life there are always obstacles to face. Somebody may face an obstacle they come across by and they have to figure out how to overcome that obstacle. Either having to do with work related or a school obstacle there are many possibilities but also opportunities to over come these series obstacles. These two men were faced with similar obstacles, Malcolm X and Frederick Douglass to whom everyone seems to know their history quite well, however little do people know how these men learned to be the brightest people in history. Dealing with obstacles doesn't come easy but when one puts effort into something they want to achieve it can be done.
During one of the in class assignments, I had the opportunity to observe individuals who visited the campus Starbucks. It was observed, that females and males express their gender by the way they address. For example, when comparing both genders when wearing shorts, females wore shorter shorts than males. Females seem to wear tighter clothing than men. Another way people express their gender, is by the way they walk. Men tend to walk more stiff, with less movement, while females tend to walk loosely with their hips.
Growing up he was fairly poor. His dad worked very hard “Daddy worked hard and had to because as a black man nothing came easy.”
A society that is ruled by liberty contains morals, morals that come with rights that must be respected in order to preserve integrity. In his article “A Right to do Wrong”, Ethics, vol. 92 (1981), pp. 21-39, Jeremy Waldron argues that if people in a society take moral rights seriously they must accept an individuals “right to do wrong” from a moral perspective. Having a choice to do wrong from a moral point of view creates diversity in a society which lead’s to development in the society as a whole. Waldron offers a paradox to explain his position on individuals having a moral right to act in ways that might be seen as wrong from a moral point of view. I will explain and outline Jeremy Waldron’s position on the idea of individuals having the moral right to do wrong, and I will also evaluate Jeremy Waldron’s position and demonstrate if there is really such a moral right using my views that will be enhanced by John Stewart Mill views.
Certain colors are given a gender, and while women are generally allowed to wear every color on the spectrum without repercussion, men are steered away from pinks and purples. The men I saw on Wednesday adhered to this norm, and stayed mostly in greys, blacks and blues. While it is uncommon nowadays for women to wear exclusively dresses, this is a very telling sign of someone's gender. There were also several women wearing hijabs, and while two of the three wore skirts, the third woman wore loose fitting pants, proving that pants are not exclusively masculine, despite the fact that dresses and skirts are still seen as exclusively feminine. There were also two women in a different group wearing scrubs. To the vast majority of people, it would be an instant assumption that they were nurses, despite the fact that based on exclusively clothing it is just as likely that they were doctors. Through clothing we assign occupations, and often those occupations are more gendered than the clothing. Though I did not see it that night, a women in a suit would more likely be assumed to be a secretary than an office worker, despite the fact that alone, a suit in generally not gendered.
Africa’s struggle to maintain their sovereignty amidst the encroaching Europeans is as much a psychological battle as it is an economic and political one. The spillover effects the system of racial superiority had on the African continent fractured ...
...nd felt quite ready to face any challenge that was thrown at them. Above all, they seemed determined to defend their sovereignty and way of life” (Boahen, 23). And it is even more obvious when one takes a look at the words of the rulers at the time. But one must also note their desire to work and cooperate with the Europeans, they wanted peaceful relations. Alas, they would not get peace, rather war and strife took over the continent with such great force only two states remained independent from European influence, Ethiopia and Liberia. One can only wonder if the European powers had considered the people of Africa as actual human beings rather than the racist attitudes they held, how much different the history of the massive continent had gone.