Unlikely Heroes Help Prevent Social Injustice~ By Julia McEllen

          In class this year so far, we have spent a lot of time talking about heroes. Whether they are likely heroes from Greek tragedies or unlikely heroes in our everyday lives, heroes are all around us. Not only have we studied the nature of heroes, but we have also just recently talked about social injustice in society. While reflecting on our lessons both about heroes and social injustice I realized there is an underlying theme that connects both topics, which is that heroes are put on their heroic paths to help solve a problem which is mostly always to prevent some sort of injustice in the world. Because a majority of our focus in class was learning about likely heroes mainly in Greek tragedies, I have decided to research a few unlikely heroes and their unique paths to preventing social injustice. 

          The first unlikely hero I found is Pushpa Basnet. Basnet graduated college with a degree in Social Work and focused her degree on children in need. After visiting a female prison as part of a college assignment, Basnet noticed many children living behind bars with their mothers. In an attempt to give these children more comfortable and opportunity-filled lives, Basnet raised money to start a non-profit named The Early Childhood Development Center. This non-profit provided food, clothing, daycare, schooling, and medical support for the children. Basnet also helped the incarcerated mothers and taught them how to generate an income in order to support their children. Although Basnet was not required in any way to start this non-profit for the benefit of others, she saw a problem with the way these children and mothers were living and where their lives could end up in the future and decided to help them, proving her to be an unlikely hero.

          Another unlikely hero that I had the pleasure of meeting is Dali Schonfelder. Every year when she was younger, Dali's parents took her and her brother to India, in Mumbai. One year, Dali noticed that her friends from the previous years were not there. Dali soon figured out that this was because of the government in India which removed students from school if they could not afford a school uniform. At the age of thirteen, Dali found this to be a very upsetting problem as she realized that many of her friends who were the same age would soon be forced into marriage because of their lack of education. Immediately she knew she had to find a way to prevent this from happening to any more children. Dali and her brother founded a clothing line called Nalu, which gives a uniform to a child after every 4 products sold. With the help of her company, Dali has donated over 8,000 uniforms to children all across India, Kenya, and Indonesia, with more uniforms to come. That means she has helped over 8,000 children receive an education they might not have received if it were not for Nalu. You could say Dali is a very remarkable modern day hero for only being thirteen when she created Nalu, which has remained a successful and growing business to this day. Dali saw injustice happening not only to children in India but to her friends, and acted solely on selflessness to help prevent the problem at hand, making her an extraordinary and unlikely modern day hero.

          As we have been taught in class this year, there are many examples of modern day heroes and lots of social injustice that needs to be fixed in society. Dali and Pushpa are just two examples of the many heroes that are out in our world, but their acts of kindness and selfless deeds are more than just a start to preventing the social injustice that is experienced in society. With the help of more people like Dali and Pushpa we might be able to uncover many more unlikely heroes that will help prevent issues similar to these. And maybe then will we finally see less and less injustice and more peace on our earth.

Forgotten Heroes By: Laramie Kipp

When we started this unit, it really got me thinking about all of the heroes that are forgotten over the progressing time. As I thought about how the memories of so many heroes are beginning to fade away, it made me upset. So, I wanted to talk about some stories about heroes who I felt shaped society or stood up for injustices:

Note: The heroes I mention may be well known to you but, I picked heroes that I felt should be more recognized.

Elizabeth Jennings Graham(1827-1901):

Graham was an activist and she was born to Thomas and Elizabeth Jennings. Thomas was one the first African American to hold a patent in America. One day on July 16, 1854, she was running late for church so, she decided she wanted to board the streetcar of the Third Avenue Railway Company (Since it's 1854 African Americans aren't allowed to board the streetcar). The conductor allowed her to board the car as long as she wasn't "disturbing" passengers. But, the conductor saw a police officer and forcefully threw her out of the streetcar. When people learned about this,  there was a mass protest from the African American community of the Railway Company. All across the country, people were supporting the protest. Her father Thomas Jennings sued the railroad company and the court ruled it was illegal for her to get thrown off by the conductor solely because of her ethnicity. The court awarded her $225. Even though this case did not stop segregation it set a precedent for future trials. Some historians believe that Elizabeth could have influenced Rosa Parks famous bus boycott.

The "Unknown Protester" or "Tank Man" (June 1989):

In 1989 the Chinese government (pro-democracy) ordered the armies/police to shoot student protesters. One man stood out from the crowd and stood in front of a tank in defiance. He risked his life, very well knowing he could have died.  The man symbolizes the "bloody uprising in Beijing". The man's defiance actually slowed down the "government crackdown in Tiananmen Square". Once the man put up his hand up in a "stop motion" the tanks actually did stop. The man then talked to a crew member as the other tanks tried to go around the protester but, he repeatedly stopped them. Two government officials forcefully removed the man from the streets.

Note: All photos of the Tank Man are banned by the Chinese Government.

Margaret Hamilton:

Hamilton was an American computer scientist and she was one of the first computer software programmers. She was the lead software engineer who worked on the Apollo. Margaret even wrote her code by hand. During this time period, no college in America offered software engineering classes so, she (and other engineers) had to figure out all the knocks and crannies by themselves. If there was an issue with the Apollo's code the entire mission would fail and result in death. With all her hard work and dedication the Apollo Mission was a success and Armstrong and Aldrin landed on the moon. Recently, she has been getting a lot more attention because former President Obama nominated her for Presidental Medal of Freedom.

Side Note: I asked a couple of my friends if they thought she was a forgotten hero because I knew who she was and how important she was. They had no clue who she was so, I guess I have my answer.

Fun Fact: She created the word "software engineer"

Alec Jefferys (1950-?)

Alec Jefferys is known as the "Father of Forensic DNA" and it all started when the police arrested a murder suspect in 1986. A man named Dawn Ashworth was convicted of the murder of multiple girls and was discovered a few feet away from the crime scene. He was captured and brought into questioning and gave a confession (obviously Dawn is not a hero at all he just helps with the story). The police were okay with this confession but, Jefferys wasn't. At the time of the murder, Jefferys was working with the police department and he was working on his new forensic techniques. He realized that the DNA at the crime scene and the Dawn's DNA did not match. Dawn was freed (and no I don't know why he confessed- I don't know if he was pressured or crazy or what). The police got the correct suspect after DNA testing over 4000 possible men. Alec's DNA techniques lead to many wrongful convictions be overturned and birth the "Innocence Project". Jefferys created the DNA fingerprint and has used his technology to resolve paternity issues and correctly solving crimes.  Jeffery's DNA techniques are the reason so many murders and crimes are solved today.

Here's a quote relating to the Innocence Project: "That it is better 100 guilty Persons should escape than that one innocent Person should suffer, is a Maxim that has been long and generally approved"~ Ben Franklin

Frederick G.Banting and Charles Best:

Side Note: So, there's a controversy over who truly discovered insulin and I'm not going to list the other guy who "discovered" insulin because he's a terrible person.

Frederick and Charles are credited for discovering insulin. Banting was the first man to isolate islet cells and use them as a treatment for diabetes. Banting discovers why scientists kept failing at extracting insulin from the pancreas and it was because the enzymes were destroyed the insulin molecules. Even though I hate the method Banting and Best used to discover a "cure" for diabetes, they are heroes to all the diabetics because without them most diabetics would have either died or had a horrible life.

As time progresses heroes all around the world are slowing disappearing from our knowledge. So many of these heroes should be honored and not forgotten. It makes me sad how that these people impacted the world in such major ways but, yet their memory is forgotten. In the future, I hope to better knowledge myself and keep the memory of many heroes alive.

Here are the links I quoted from:  https://www.history.com/news/who-was-the-tank-man-of-tiananmen-square

https://www.americasfootprints.com/blog/detail.php?10-Women-From-History-Whose-Footprints-Will-Astound-You-223

Who's Your Superman? by Jordan Bucenec

Who's Your Superman? 

Muscles bulging out of a red and black spandex suit. 

A flowy metallic cape that shines underneath the morning sun. 

The strength of a thousand men held within a single punch. 

Legs the size of great oaks. 

A chiseled jawline and hair that falls perfectly. 

This is a hero that we idolized as children. 

But in real life, heroes don't wear capes. 

Heroes don't have defined muscles or designer suits. 

Heroes aren't always strikingly beautiful, with flawless skin and honey eyes.
Heroes don't have super strength or thunder thighs.
Heroes aren't designed for fighting crime, with special gadgets or high-tech weapons.
Heroes can't read minds, teleport, or even fly.
Heroes aren't named "Superman,"
But they are called "doctor," "teacher," or "friend."

For some of today's bravest heroes, saving lives is merely an occupation.
Going into work and saving lives across the nation.
Helping someone is part of their job,
Leaving cured patients in shock and in sobs.

Heroes come in crowds protesting on the street,
their feet swollen and tired from stomping on the concrete.
"Justice for Khalil!" "Black lives matter!"
Their voices remained loud amongst all the chatter.

Heroes smile, and their voices are bubbly and bright.
Their grin doesn't fade, even in plight.
They make others happy, even on their darkest days
when their bright yellow begins to fade to gray.

Heroes cry.
They cry when they lose a loved one.
They cry when they feel as if the world is against them.
They cry when Marley and Me comes on the TV.
They cry when they get dumped by their ex-lover.
Heroes are weak, but so are we.

But heroes aren't like us.
Heroes have motivation, heroes have drive.
Heroes want to improve, they set goals.
Heroes are wise, and they have kind souls!
Heroes have big hearts and smart minds.
Heroes are patient, and they help mankind!
Heroes are your doctors, your teachers, and your brothers.
Heroes are your students, your volunteers, and your mothers.

We are surrounded by heroes each and every day.
They help us, guide us, praise us, and listen to us.
Heroes make our malicious world a better place.
They always help out our children in anyway they can,
So please, tell your kid their doctor is just like Superman.