User:Spopovich12295/sandbox

Article Critique

The article “Death of Sandra Bland” is a decent article by Wikipedia standards. There is an extensive list of references from a variety of sources, including several nationally circulated newspapers such as the New York Times and the Huffington Post. This wide range of sources demonstrates both that the subject is notable enough to appear in multiple places. Furthermore, since there are several sources from across the political spectrum, the article reads as more neutral. Throughout the article, most claims are cited. In fact, in several spots, the facts have more than one reference. However, there are a few claims that are not cited. For example, under the “Further reactions” heading, it is alleged that “documents” suggest that Bland’s time of death was not actually the time reported by the official investigation. Even though this is a large, potentially controversial claim, it does not elaborate on which “documents” attest to this. Furthermore, some parts of the article make it clear that this is a controversial subject and that even people who are not necessarily sympathetic to the Black Lives Matter cause are still able to edit the article. For example, I was extremely uncomfortable to see that there is a separate section on speculations that Bland had marijuana in her system upon her arrest. This information did not seem worth more than a sentence and I feel like the emphasis placed on it is caused by racist controlling images that claim Black people are more likely to use drugs. Under the section that gives Sandra Bland’s background, it says that she posted videos about police brutality against “blacks.” This slip in language in an article about a clearly racist event was very distracting.

The article “Shooting of Meagan Hockaday” is not as strong of an article judging by Wikipedia guidelines. Out of the twenty sources, seven are from the Ventura County Star, a local newspaper. Though I am uncomfortable saying that the murder of a person is “not notable enough” to be discussed on Wikipedia, the lack of national coverage suggests that this may not be notable by Wikipedia standards. I do not know the political leaning of the Ventura County Star, but since so many of the sources came from the same newspaper, it seems possible that this could jeopardize its neutrality. The majority of the sources also come from the same two month period, which suggests that the event did not have a lasting impact.

Assignment for 10/25

I think the most essential part of our Wikipedia page should be naming the women who were killed. Even in the few sources that talk about the murders, the victims are not named. I think another important part will be discussing the political activism that came out of the lack of official response to the murders. We can, for example, discuss the Combahee River Collective's involvement. This will help our article meet the "notability" requirement as well as making the page more "sticky" by connecting it to the already existing Wikipedia page about the Combahee River Collective.

Sources:

Breines, Winifred. The Trouble Between Us: An Uneasy History of White and Black Women in the Feminist Movement. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. -this book has a few pages that talk about the activism following the murders. It doesn't go into a ton of detail but I figure any scholarly source we can find will help with our page's credibility. There are also a few really great pictures used in this book that we can maybe try to track down and see if they're in the public domain.

Combahee River Collective. "Why Did They Die?" -useful pamphlet that we can use as an example of the response to the murders. Names one of the victims (Darygal Hargett)

"Women March in Boston, Protest Roxbury Killings." The Harvard Crimson. April 30, 1979. http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1979/4/30/women-march-in-boston-protest-roxbury/ -this is useful because it's a contemporary source, but I do not know if a college newspaper, even one as notable as the Harvard Crimson, is a strong enough source by Wikipedia standards