John Tubman
Bio: My name is John Paul Alexander Tubman, but my friends just call me Tubman. I am a freshman at IU Bloomington and major in Chemistry. My passion is to workout and make new friends. I took this class because I am interested in learning about the problems African Americans are facing and finding ways to help. Through this project I hope to not only help the African American community, but all minority communities by bringing to light important issues and inequalities that are covered less frequently in national news.
If I were to send a message to the future I would send it on a machine that can be setup to send a message on multiple frequencies once it becomes 2070. Additionally, I would have a physical aspect to the message. The physical aspect of this message would be a time capsule. However, due to time capsules being uncovered at random, it is unlikely the that time capsule would deliver the message at the right time. The message I would send to myself and others in the year 2070 would be to remember the importance of the golden rule i.e. "treat others as you wish to be treated." In human history, innumerable conflicts and wars have started due to minor slights blown out of proportion because neither side remembered the golden rule. I believe that if everyone were to follow the golden rule, issues such as racism and sexism would be resolved. Further, the world would be a much more generous place, one where the struggling wouldn’t be left behind. Unfortunately, in today's world most people in power do not follow this rule. And it is evident through examples such as Jackson, MS where pleas for help and aid from the state government have been ignored for basic water infrastructure. Other than remembering the golden rule my message would be to eliminate waste when possible and to focus on fulfilling basic human needs of society as a whole. In today’s world there is an abundance of waste which directly affect the most vulnerable in our society. If in the future people would waste less and focus on helping the less fortunate, the quality of life for everyone would greatly improve. By focusing on those in need not only would the lives of some African Americans be improved, but all communities would experience higher quality of life. This would ensure equity in all communities and would allow society to just focus on advancing together as opposed to the unfair “survival of the fittest” that occurs today. Finally, I would end my message with a warning of what will happen if society doesn’t change. On the current path that society is on, it would be surprising if there isn’t another world war by 2070. Which is why it is so vital that society changes and starts to care about others and helping others.
Project Summary: The project assigned to us was to identify an issue the African American community faces, bring it to light, and pose a possible solution to this issue. Submission of this project can be on any medium, we as the authors are left to choose how to complete it. Originally I wanted to do a slideshow containing a deep statistical analysis of the history of water access issues in Jackson, Mississippi. However finding exact historical reports regarding water access in Jackson, Mississippi has proved impossible. I was also unable to find any reports of outrage in the African American community of Jackson regarding water access in Jackson, despite their troubled past. There is no better way to describe what has happened to the records than erasure of Black history. While working on this project I have searched through multiple newspaper archives that cover BILLIONS of newspapers in total. None of these historical newspapers have had any exact data, reports of outrage, or even issues relating to the African American community in Jackson. I did not expect to run into this issue when completing this project, however by doing so it has reassured me even more that I need to do this. By running into so many issues finding data for this project I can make the reasonable assumption that the general public is unaware issues in Jackson relating to water access exist. But Jackson is not the only city in the United States facing these issues. Jackson is just the beginning of what is to come if we do not raise awareness and let our politicians know that we want change. After all, we the people, are the ones who put politicians in power. If we let them know we won't stand for this anymore and will not vote for them if they don’t fix these issues, change is bound to happen.
What does water mean to me: Water means life to me. Obviously it is important to me, as I wouldn’t be alive without it. However water means more to me than just a requirement to keep living. Water means peace and relaxation. As a kid I grew up on a large property with a pond much similar to the one in the picture. Even though I moved out of this house at the age of 5, I still vividly remember the pond from my childhood. Throughout my whole life I have thought back to fishing on this pond, and just relaxing on a hot summer day under the shade of a tree next to the pond. Staring at the water in the pond and imagining all of the fish in the water and all of the other aquatic creatures/bugs fascinated me. Fast forwarding to now, I have made additional peaceful memories with water that I will keep with me forever. I have seen the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and swam in the Mediterranean sea in the past few years and will remember all three forever. The peace of mind I get by being next to a large body of water is not comparable to any other landmark or feature. Because water is special. Water is life.
