the "Black Press: Soldiers Without Swords."

There were dozens of Black newspapers throughout the United States during the Civil Rights Movement, but today there is only a small portion left. They helped to create and stabilize communities. They spoke forcefully to the political and economic interests of their readers while employing thousands. Black newspapers provided a forum for debate among African Americans and gave voice to a voiceless people. Soldiers without Swords was the first to offer an in-depth exploration of the history of African American newspapers. According to Phyl Garland, "the black press was never intended to be objective because it did not see the white press being objective. Often it took a position and had an attitude. This was a press of advocacy. There was news, but the news had an admitted and a deliberate slant."

I believe it is essential to have a press with a different perspective, journalists of color comprise only 16.55% of newsrooms' staff in 2017, according to the American Society of Newspaper Editors (ASNE) Newsroom Employment Diversity Survey. Society needs to have more inclusive news without it, specific stories are not being reported, or they are reported not from the perspective that is necessary to convey the story. People are taking to social media since there is such a considerable lack of inclusiveness to raise awareness for issues that impact people of color that are not being reported in mainstream media.

Natural law theory is a legal theory that recognizes law and morality as deeply connected, if not one and the same. Morality relates to what is right and wrong and what is good and bad. We see it in the news every day; a white police officer assaulting a black school girl, an unarmed black man shot for wearing a hoodie walking home, and many other countless acts of microaggression. We look and ask for racial justice. Does it mean transforming our societal system? Where does morality start and stop when white men and women attack a ridicule another person for the color of their skin? Is it just the same as those that use the word of God in their favor but leaves His words, that would prove themselves in the wrong, out. You cannot pick and choose when ideals and belief work in your favor and decided what to ignore to push your bias agenda.

In a class I watched two films; ‘Birth of a Nation’ and ‘Within Our Gates’. Griffith, who is the director of Birth of a Nation, created it in his bias perspective. This film portrayed African Americans as threatening and evil, while it depicted KKK members as noble and courageous. Civil Rights organizations at the time condemned it as racist, and even activists today continue to campaign against the film's prestigious status. He believed that this movie perceived an accurate picture of the civil war and what life was like afterward. The NAACP called for censorship of this film and campaigned to suppress the film heavily to this day. "The Birth of a Nation glorified the Ku Klux Klan, inciting riots and demonstrations all across America, and the NAACP, founded in 1909, advocated the prohibition of further screenings. Its fears were not unfounded; in the four years between the release of The Birth of a Nation and Within Our Gates, there were 278 documented mob lynchings of blacks in America. (Links to an external site.)" 'Within Our Gates' was created as a response to 'Birth of a Nation' this film was the first of its kind as it was purposefully made for an all-black audience, featured black actor, and Micheaux convinced white owners of segregated theaters to book special midnight screenings for black audiences. Griffith's film is fueled by ignorance and racism in a horrid attempt at unity in America after the Civil War. But Micheaux's film Within Our Gates counteracted those ideas and suggested that if white northerners could take a step back from their bigotry roots, they would realize that black people are humans that are worthy of rights respect and citizenship just the same as everyone else.