My Experience at Mepkin Abbey Trappist Monastery

Over Spring break, I got the opportunity to travel with High Point University's Chapel on their biannual pilgrimage. This is the second pilgrimage I have been on they never fail to provide an enlightening experience that allows me to focus on serving God. We journeyed to the Mepkin Abbey Trappist Monastery for the first part of the week and for the other half of the week we will be exploring Charleston South Carolina's traditions relating to food, culture, and religion. This article is about just my experience at the monastery.

Mepkin Abbey is a community of Roman Catholic monks established in 1949. Being at the monastery was an immersive and refreshing experience. I learned about and practiced contemplative prayer, which simply put is a religious form of meditation. I was on this trip with nine others, and we had great reflective conversations about monastic life, our feelings about being there at the monastery, and we also discussed books such as the one we were given for the pilgrimage titled Just This by Richard Rohr. The book gave some insight about contemplation and just seeing beyond ourselves for a few days.

The first day at the monastery I did not know exactly what to expect. I imagined I would be sitting somewhere on a hill meditating...which is not something I'd really see myself doing, but it was a nice visual. Upon arriving I felt I was on sacred ground, even the room I slept in felt like I was in a holy place. There was beautiful nature surrounding the whole place; tons of trees covered in Spanish moss, gardens of flowers, a large lake, and more. We each got our own individual room, there was no T.V or internet access so we may focus more on meditation and quietness.

We went to prayer services and a daily mass service. The services were not what I was used to and I was really just going with the flow at first. In a typical monastic service you are greeted with the smell of incense, you recite chants and hymnals, and it is overall very traditional. I felt that there were too many services a day for my taste. However, by the last day I was more appreciative of these services and found them to be something I sort of looked forward to attending. I truly am grateful to discover the traditions of the monks, even when I had to wake up at 4 in the morning. Also I love to be with nature and there was a nice setting that reminded me of being at a park.

If you are interested in learning more about Mepkin Abbey Trappist Monastery you can visit their website here!

Journalism Heroes: The Black Press

“Too long have others spoken for us...We wish to plead our own cause.”

In a time where African-American's were hushed by society, a group of freed blacks gathered in New York City with a mission to let their voices be heard. In 1887 the Black Press was created, originally being titled, Freedoms Journal. The purpose of this newspaper was to discuss political, social, and economic issues in the community. During this time African-Americans would hardly be spoken of in newsprint unless it was referring to a crime. So The Black Press became an outlet of expression, discussion, and celebration. Many people caught on too, the newspaper's weekly circulation was 15,000.

Rev. Samuel Cornish and John B. Russwur were the paper’s original editors. Throughout the newspaper's circulation many famous figures and abolitionist contributed to the paper. Some names include: Fredrick Douglas, Ida B wells, Daisy Bates, WEB Dubois, Langston Hughes, and Mary McLeod Bethune. Roles that were required were would editors, publishers, and even cartoonist.

Source

I find political cartoons to be very thoughtful and creative, although sometimes they go over my head. I found some interesting political cartoons from the Black Press. This cartoon from the Black Press pictured above was created during World War II by Jan Jackson. It depicts a double-standard of government intervention. The soldiers would rather go to help the ironically "enslaved" white woman in Europe instead of tending to real issues involving African-Americans. The black woman in chains depicts African-American struggles such as discrimination, racism, lynching, and civil rights. The purpose of this comic was to show where the United States government really was at the time of the Civil War. The Title of the cartoon states "We'll Be Back" It shows how the government puts off issues regarding American specifically Black issues. There were lots more cartoons and columns in the black press such as that gave blacks the chance to voice their political opinions. 

Today, the Black Press does not thrive as much as it did during the Great Depression, the Civil Rights Movement, and World War II, but it still in existence and has a website. Racism along with other issues in the black community are still present in the black community. The Black Press remains a news source that speaks out on those issues and so much more.

For more information on the Black Press you can view their website here!

Whistleblowers: When Calling Out the Government Goes Wrong

Sometimes being a being a journalist has its downsides. Keeping the public informed is a task that may come with restrictions. For example, lets say the American government has engaged in some shady actions behind the scenes. Perhaps the military has took some actions that you wouldn't see on the news, actions that are unethical and unlawful. A journalist that is bold enough to report on these instances, may be faced with dire consequences. They would be considered whistleblowers, and their actions could result in them being arrested or even killed. But doesn't the public deserve to know what is happening? Aren't all journalist protected by the 1st Amendment?

Australian journalist and computer programmer Julian Assange, is one of the most prominent whistleblowers today. He is the founder of WikiLeaks, a website where confidential information is shared worldwide. Assange is also great at hacking into computers and databases, which of course had gotten him into some trouble on many occasions. Why does he hack into these databases so much? Is it to find some dirt on his ex-girlfriend? Well...maybe, but mainly his goal is to find some dirt on the government and inform people about it.

Julian Assange was arrested in 2019 after planning to hack into the Pentagon's computer network. He is currently in HM Prison Belmarsh in London and is reportedly in bad health and is put in solitary confinement. I do not believe that this treatment of Assange is appropriate at all. It seems that all he was really trying to do is use his knowledge of computers and his profession as a journalist to recognize unlawful actions of the government and let the public know. I do think that putting our nose in others business can go really wrong, but shouldn't governmental actions be "our business"? 

Personally, I do believe in informing the public of "news" that takes place beyond what we see on news channels and what we read in articles. There are many happenings behind the surface that people should know about. I decided to go take a look at WikiLeaks myself and I found some interesting articles. I saw many articles on companies that I buy from such as Amazon, and I learned more information about those companies that you wouldn't find on the site. For example I was reading about AmazonAtlas which shows information and operational details of hundreds of data centers and gives a map of their location. You can check out WikiLeaks here.

I must say, Whistleblowers are very bold...and sort of crazy in my opinion, but they are necessary and important. I think Julian Assange should be released from prison. I don't think he committed any serious crime that requires this magnitude of punishment. This is clearly an attempt of keeping Assange silent and it is a disregard for the first amendment. Sadly, being a whisleblower can result in these circumstances, but hats off to those who are brave enough to speak out.

Sources: https://www.biography.com/activist/julian-assange

The History and Workings of the U.S. Supreme Court

The United States Supreme Court is the most powerful judicial branch in the world. It consist of 9 justices who are responsible for enforcing and upholding the Amendments in the Articles of Confederation and what is mentioned in the Constitution. Throughout American history there have been a little over a hundred Supreme Court Justices. The Judicial branch is very important because they determine if a law can get passed by making sure it is constitutional. The Supreme Court is very powerful mainly due to the Marbury v. Madison case (1803), this is when Judicial Review came to be.

Home-Supreme Court of the United States, https://www.supremecourt.gov/

Sometimes the Supreme Court's actions are controversial, and ironically aren't so constitutional themselves. For example the Dred Scott v. Sanford case, when the Supreme Court excluded African-Americans from the Constitution and determined they should not have rights as citizens. This decision was a major blow to the Supreme Court and was even a contributing factor of the Civil War. After the war this court decision was of course done away with. Then the 14th amendment was passed redefining citizenship and it stated that anyone born on American soil is considered a citizen.

The Supreme Court has many decisions to make. They receive thousands of cases a year and very few are considered.  Sometimes their consensus may be controversial, but many times some pretty great laws end up getting passed. The 15th Amendment granted African-American men the right to vote and the 19th Amendment granted women the right to vote. I think it is very important that citizens no matter the race or gender, can have a say in who is elected into office. Also I think citizens should have a say in the decisions of the government and should have a right to petition, so the first amendment is also very important in my opinion.

My Top Five News Sources

WFMY News 2

I have lived in Greensboro NC my whole life. This news site has been the most reliable local news station for me. The anchors and reporters have great personalities and the overall feel of the newscast is laid back and fun. I can find out about local happenings that I may be able to take a part in, I can see what is happening around the world, and I am informed about issues in the community to look out for such as crimes. Here is a link to the news site: https://www.wfmynews2.com/

CBS News

CBS is definitely one of the most reliable national news sources. Whether you're watching CBS in the morning, CBS evening news, the Sunday Morning newscast, or 60 minutes, you will be in the know with all important happenings around the world. This newscast has a more serious mood than other newscast. You can check it out here: www.cbsnews.com

Twitter

Yep that's right, this popular social media app is a great way to find out about news and happenings all around the world! It is also great to see peoples reaction to the news through tweets, and sometimes memes to makes you laugh. You can get the scoop on celebrity drama and current trends as well. Of course you can share your own opinion on whats going on too. Take a look: twitter.com

Google News

If you use Google as your main search engine like I do, then I am sure you will enjoy the convenience of Google news. Google has various useful apps for its users, and their news site is especially beneficial. You will be up to date with current events and happenings around the world. One thing I like about Google news though is it's easy to navigate layout. There aren't tons of ads in your face and you can just scroll through everything, and if you have a slow laptop like I do it won't take forever to load. news.google.com

CNN News

CNN news is the best news site for breaking news, the truly will not waste anytime getting you information you need to know. I think they are a trustworthy news source, though many would disagree. Honestly this one is okay and definitely not my favorite, but still good. See for yourself:cnn.com