An advocate of “fundamental social transformation”, this belief, combined with Ella Baker’s consistent confidence of change beginning within the local people of the movement, paved her path to becoming a life-time activist for civil liberties and equality among all Americans. (194) While she may be renown amongst Civil Rights enthusiasts, Baker’s involvement and impact on the movement remains relatively unknown to the majority of Americans. Barbara Ransby’s book Ella Baker and the Black Freedom Movement attempts to end this silence, and does so very convincingly. Throughout her book, Ransby points out example-after-example of how Baker is either directly or indirectly involved with many of the Civil Rights Movement’s most famous moments – creation of the NAACP, freedom rides, the SCLC, Birmingham, Albany, the SNCC, etc. After reading about her dedication and the sacrifices she made for the
In Chapter 1 and 2 of “Creating Black Americans,” author Nell Irvin Painter addresses an imperative issue in which African history and the lives of Africans are often dismissed (2) and continue to be perceived in a negative light (1). This book gives the author the chance to revive the history of Africa, being this a sacred place to provide readers with a “history of their own.” (Painter 4) The issue that Africans were depicted in a negative light impacted various artworks and educational settings in the 19th and early 20th century. For instance, in educational settings, many students were exposed to the Eurocentric Western learning which its depiction of Africa were not only biased, but racist as well.
Mantsios states that Americans don’t like to talk about different social classes for one of two reasons: class distinctions are irrelevant or they are uncertain that the reality of class difference makes an impact on their life. It has become culturally unacceptable to place people in different social classes for it causes too much diversity (Colombo 370). Consequently, Gregory Mantsios is well qualified to write this article. For over 30 years he worked in higher education; mainly he established college degree programs for nontraditional students (“Gregory Mantsios”).
During the time of the Great Depression, African Americans struggled the most already being the poorest people in America, but this changed with The Second World War which brought jobs and more rights to African Americans. In Chapters 10 and 11 of the book Creating Black Americans: African-American History and its meanings, 1619 to the present by Nell Irvin Painter, the author outlines the struggle for African Americans during the Great Depression, and even after during the New Deal era, then shows how they came out of it and became more successful and powerful during The Second World War. The Great Depression started with the crash of the stock market, and led to 25% of all American workers losing their jobs, most of which were African Americans.
The View from Black America by Kenneth Hardy, describes the struggles that the African American community still faces currently. The article outlines the lives lost by violence and shootings by police. The reading emphasizes the lack of resources the African American community has access to. The misconceptions about black people have also contributed the racial hostility. These attitudes affect an individual's mental health.
In this era of colorblindness, it is not acceptable to talk about race nor class. Conversations about class, Alexander argues, tend not to be talked about because one tends to see class as a reflection of one’s character. With that, the premise of American ideology is the idea that if one can work hard enough it is guaranteed that one will make it—AKA meritocracy. Hence, when one does not have the “proper discipline” nor “drive” to move from the lower to upper class—it is a reflection of one’s moral character. Alexander maintains that what is missed in this debate is that Blacks are not free to move up at all; yes they also do not have the same opportunities and are plagued by poverty, but they are prevented by institutions to move up.
The title of this book describes the relationships between African-American domestic servants and the white women. Their lives revolve around these white women so they can get little pay to support their families. Kathryn Stockett wrote this book from a voice she missed, her servant when she was younger, Demetrie. In the book Demetrie became the character Aibileen. The Help is written from the viewpoint of Skeeter, a young white women who is curious about the servants point of view.
A Man Once Referred to by Trump as his African-American is now Criticizing Him Photo Credit: Cheadle for Congress In an article from LA Times, Gregory Cheadle, a man that was once called by Donald Trump “My African-American” in a campaign rally in Northern California last year is now showing his distaste for the president. During Trump’s speech, he pointed out to Cheadle and told him isn’t he the greatest?
As a distinguished scholar, and a victim of racism, Du bois uses his experiences to reflect how society is structured based on race. In opposition to Booker T. Washington he shows that black are being oppressed to the point where movement through the class structure is hard, if not impossible. Du bois throughout the text shows the problems with the society of blacks and how to “solve them”. A major thought Du bois conveyed was that blacks are oppressed to such a high degree that getting an education is almost like unnecessary if not useless. Du bois says that the system is backwards and at the end of these four decades’ black men are taught that even through the accumulation of education they are little more profitable than a blue-colored worker
One of the goals of the Civil Rights Movement was the transformation of America but due to the actions of others, the goal has become revised to suit the needs of White people. Black participants in the struggle wanted to change the country in making significant changes in their civil rights. For instance, Jacquelyn Dowd Hall wrote, “True integration was and is an expansive and radical goal, not an ending…. But a process of transforming institutions and building an equitable, democratic, multiracial, and multiethnic society.” Hall suggests the end goal of the moment, if accomplished resulted in a significant change in the country.
Brittany Lewis is the New Miss Black America Last August 26, 2017, Miss Black America 2016, Nicole Lyn Hibbert, crowned her successor and new winner of Miss Black America 2017, Brittany Lewis. Lewis graduated with a degree in broadcast, telecommunications, and mass media from the Temple University and took African-American studies. She was a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority as well as the National Council of Negro Women while she was an undergrad. At the moment, she is a third-year PhD student at George Washington University.
The different frameworks in which social constructivism works in, affect and interconnect one another. Furthermore, race works as an inseparable unit with power and privilege in the sense that, the implications embedded into one’s race will associate and impact with the powers and privileges that individual will uphold in society. But as Patricia Hill Collins expressed in her reading (1993/2017), power works in 3 interconnected systems; Race, Class and Gender, where they allow for the comprehension between domination and subordination. These systems do not work independently but instead work hand in hand as an interlocking classification for analysis, to create notion about an individual without having to interact (Collins, 1993/2017). Patricia Hill Collins as well goes on to explain the difference between power and privilege, highlighting one huge point of how the privileged side of society does not and cannot relate to the unprivileged.
Education is the act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgment, and generally of preparing oneself or others intellectually for mature life. In each essay, all three authors ward against the dangers with the education system of their era. Whether it be diversity, segregation or the goals of the system itself the authors believe changes need to be made, as education systems form the future leaders of our society. Through their text the authors believe they must solve the faults within the education systems, to conform society to what they believe is morally and ethically correct.
In A Black Mass by Amiri Baraka, a conjuror, Jacoub, creates an evil white beast despite the protests of his colleagues. The play was written in 1967, when race tensions in the United States were at a historic high. Although the peaceful protests of Dr. Martin Luther King became a staple of the Civil Rights Movement, many black civil rights leaders, including Malcolm X, James Baldwin, and Amiri Baraka, favoured segregation with black power. This split among the black population was apparent when In 1966, Civil Rights leader James Meredith led a march from Memphis TN to Jackson MS in which only black men were invited. It was here that Meredith was shot (not killed) and Stokely Carmichael gave his famous “Black Power” speech, in which he coined
Racism is one of the major parts of American history since America was first discovered. Of course, it would be nice to say that racism is a thing of the past and we should leave it in the past ‘because it doesn’t exist anymore’. I have heard a lot of times that racism is a thing of the past, but I am sure a lot of people will agree when I say that statement is false. After the failure of achieving a post-racial America, one should really put be careful consideration into coining the term ‘post-blackness’ when trying to push the notion of a ‘post-black’ America. Black is a race.
