Blog topic 4 - Political Parties, Interest Groups & Campaigns

  My community partner (Diversity Pipelines) does not participate in political campaigns, take public stands on campaigns or candidates.  The aim of the group is to get a diverse group of people to practice law, not change them.  The Bar Association does not take a political stance, and is more focused on regulating internally.  The process to become an attorney is pretty stringent, and no one wants to change that, so that the integrity of the organization is credible.  Also, their focus is not on politics, they are an agency that regulates.  If they did take a stance in politics, it could possible effect their credibility, and some may consider them biased.  Being that their own internal regulation is their only focus, they do not participate in political campaigns, take public stands on campaigns or take public stands on candidates.  Simply it is beyond their scope and agenda.

blog topic 3 - Citizen Participation & Elections

       The relationship between my community partner and citizens is slightly narrow.  I say narrow because the group has a very specific target audience.  The Diversity Pipeline is focused on encouraging and aiding the members of the community that are typically left behind or left out.  The group aims to speak for those who do not have the voice or ability to engage in an activity that is typically dominated by specific races and socioeconomic groups.  Summed up, this is not an organization that has direct relations with the general population.
    The level that Diversity Pipelines interacts is on a local level.  Since they are a subdivision of the San Francisco Bar Association, they are directed and funded to aid the communities within a certain proximity.  There are more than likely other Bar Associations across the state that cater to their own communities.
     Citizen participation can affect my community partner through volunteer work, donations and other means of aid.  An issue is that not all people are able to help my community partner in either of those manners.  The organize is a small one, and if there were more people that needed help in the field that my community partner helps in, the organization would get more backing and be larger.  At the moment, there are only so many people that need/ reach out to Diversity Pipelines for help, and the demand affects the supply.

Blog Topic 2 - National Voting Rights Museum and Institute

"Bloody Sunday" was the first of three marches from Selma to Montgomery.  It took place on March 7, 1965.  The marches were sparked because of unfair treatment to African Americans, and the fact that white locals were trying to deny them of the right to vote.  The name "Bloody Sunday" came about as a result of the state and local police attacking the marchers with tear gas and clubs.  The marches started with the Dallas County Voters League calling on the help of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other organizations to help them organize and fight for equal rights. Voting, being the foundation of democracy, was a vital tool that the African American community needed to utilize.  Fortunately, the community would not just sit there quietly and allow their rights to be kept from them, so a bunch of brave souls banned together and fought for what was right.  These marches, rallies, and other actions all helped fuel what is known as the civil rights movement.  In essence, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and these brave soldiers in the war against inequality left a legacy of fairness for the future generations of African Americans.  Not only did they earn voting rights, they earned a better life and a leg to stand on.  This was a local win, but it had national effects.  It may have seemed like a small win because it was on the local level, but the implications were bigger than that.  There is always going to be various roadblocks to try and keep different communities weak or even out of the democratic system, but Dr. King and the others left a model on how to fight back and succeed.  They basically paved the road for generations to follow, regardless if they are black or not.

(sources include http://nvrmi.com and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloody_Sunday_(1965)#First_March:_.22Bloody_Sunday.22)

Blog Topic 1 - Community Partner

     I would like to work with the Diversity Pipeline Program as a Community Partner for my Community Based Learning.  They are an organization that helps minorities and the underprivileged get into law school.  The Diversity Pipeline Program arose from a need for equality and opportunity. The groups of people that the program aims to help, either do not how the process of becoming an attorney works and/or do not have the ability to reach that goal. The program is not constrained or affected by federal policies because the California Bar Association is state jurisdiction.  The Diversity Pipeline Program is accountable to the Justice & Diversity Center in the Bar Association of San Francisco.  Above the Bar Association of San Francisco is the California Bar Association.