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Samantha Johnson

Professor Kelley

Intro to Humanities

12-08-19

Civic Engagement Project

I wanted to do something that was out of my comfort zone/norm for my Civic

Engagement Project. I also wanted to get more involved in my community and wanted to be

informed on what is going on. So for my Civic Engagement project I attended a Murray City

Town Hall meeting on 11-19-19 from 6:30- 8:30 pm. It turns out a lot is going on that affects

everyone who lives in Murray in some way. To begin the meeting they did the employee of the

month, swore in an officer and took comments from community members. They then went on to

the main topic of the Town Hall which was the revitalization of Historic downtown Murray.

Most people in Utah know this area of state street where the Desert Star is located because of its

unique and beautiful architecture. However, this will be changing and as a result it will

potentially cause traffic, pollution and higher taxes for example. The next thing I did was try and

use this knowledge to educate my community in hopes of initiating change in some way. I did

this by hanging flyers at my local grocery store. I also interviewed two of my neighbors; I tried

informing them of the information discussed in the Town Hall and resources to be more involved

like the City’s website.

This was very important to me because I feel like I don’t take advantage of the

democracy we have here and I don’t think others do as well. We take for granted our Human
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Rights and how to protect them like by voting and having a say in government. It was a right

that was fought for by many. In the reading by ​Stanton, Elizabeth Cady, and Lucretta Mott,

“The Declarations of Sentiments.” Seneca Falls Conference, 1848.​.​ we see the struggles Women

went through to obtain the privilege of voting to stop things like higher taxes etc. We also can

see this in the movie ​Iron Jawed Angels. Directed by ​Katja von Garnier,​ HBO Films, 1/15/2004.​.

The revitalization of Murray affects our Human Rights and does not promote Justice.This

is important because it affects our happiness, well being and should be something guaranteed

here in the United States. We deserve to have a say in what happens in our community, as we

are the ones who make it. This Town Hall gave me the impression that our government cares

more about money than these topics. Many community members addressed concerns that there

was not enough feedback given or community involvement. I can second this as I didn’t know

about it and neither did my landlord or neighbors. The community members asked for the voting

on the revitalization to be postponed until more community outreach and research was done.

However, the council members unanimously voted yes to begin construction.

This affected my views on Human Rights and Global Justice. It validated the fact that we

all should be involved and care about our community and these topics. It also made me

pleasantly surprised that many community members did show up and voice their concerns and

are involved, many seemed to be activist or other community group members. I was disappointed

though in our council members and the lack of consideration they had for community members.

It made me feel like they don’t care about these topics. This made me think of the reading

“Declaration of Independence” by Thomas Jefferson i​ n our book. The essential outline for our

government and what it stands for. It states, “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by
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their Creator with certain Unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit

of happiness”.

One aspect of the meeting furthered these opinions and made me think about privilege

and inequalities as well. This was during the community comments section. An African

American man walked up addressing his concerns over parking (I only mention race because I

think it’s a factor as it is pertains to the systematic differences as a race he faces). He stated the

construction of the apartments located west of the IHC was not thoroughly thought through

(much like the revitalization of downtown Murray). He said that parking was very limited and

many people living in apartments have multiple cars due to high rent costs. He said due to the

lack of parking he has received multiple tickets. One of these tickets he was unaware of and

caused him to get a warrant and be arrested. The council addressed the parking concerns and

stated they are working on creating more parking. I think this stood out to me because it

reminded me of the artwork ​“ Diptych Color Blind Test”, 2003, Kerry James Marshall​ and of an

experience I had. I was driving and watching Netflix (don’t worry I don’t do this anymore and it

was stopped traffic), an officer rolled down his window and said, “Hey, what are you doing

come on”. He then proceeded to pull over an African American for Jaywalking.

I believe this is the factor of why Human Rights and Global Justice is so important. It

helps protect people who are oppressed and do not have a voice or say. It also gives us with

privilege a chance to be better humans. This is a big reason why I enjoyed this project. I felt like

I was doing something useful with my time even for the simple fact of educating me. I want to be

more involved in politics and my community after this project. I think everyone should care and
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be involved as well. I want to attend more Town Halls and continue to try and support

community involvement.