In Brent Staples “Black Men and Public Space” a firsthand insight is offered about life as an average educated black man, and the common misconception that he is dangerous. Staples realizes his power to alter public space and subsequently adjusts his behavior to strengthen self-presentation, relieve anticipated tension and stay safe; in the face situations reflecting societal expectations and discrimination based on physical appearance. Though he rationalizes that attempts to ease tension is for the benefit for others and his own physical safety, with each one on one interaction experienced, it becomes evident through progressively desperate behavior that he is attempting to soothe the emotional tension he feels within. Staples opens with
Explain Nathan Huggins understanding of the historical development of Black Studies. Nathan Huggins describes the changes over several decades for the historical development of Black Studies. During these eras, there were three major objectives for Black Studies from scholars, administrators, and students alike, felt the need to address “the political need for turf and place, the psychological need for identity, and the academic need for recognition”. In the fifties, Afro-American Studies was called “Negro history” (p. 325) and was considered “a subfield of American history” (p. 325) because there was a lack of recognition for the scholars in the field.
Overall, “Black Men in Public Space” proved to be more successful in conveying its message clearly and concisely, stemming from Staples’ manipulation of rhetorical devices and tone. It is apparent from reading both essays that the authors' purposes for writing their pieces are to inform readers of deeply rooted problems in society and the consequences of those problems on the people they affect. Staples explains in “Black Men in Public Space” how the unjust perception of black men as threats has not only pervaded society but also has caused an irrational fear of them. Staples writes to show
Other traditional means of civic engagement that are provided in Hope, Healing, and Care: Pushing the Boundaries of Civic Engagement for African American Youth are volunteering and campaigning, and more modern forms of engagement that are mainly used today with urban youth are assisting others financially, and conveying opinions through artistic expression (Ginwright, 34). The bringing together of different communities to stand up and protest the same political and social issue of segregation highlights similarities between these two pieces of literature on political community. Community organizations and groups heal and support, though empathy is needed to fully connect with other people. The awareness of political and social problems illustrated by Valentino and Villalobos example of the “sit-in movement” directly reflects Ginwright’s idea of “critical consciousness”, which he sees as a pathway, “...to healing and restoring civic life in black communities” (Ginwright,
Specifically, Starr's ethnocentric lens highlights the need for empathy and understanding in the fight for justice, while Kenosha's cultural relativist lens highlights the complexities of the Black Lives Matter movement. The novel demonstrates the importance of listening to and understanding different perspectives in the fight for
The first three chapters of the reading, The Struggle for Black Equality, Harvard Sitkoff runs through the civil rights movement in the 20th century; outlining the adversities facing black people, the resistance to black equality, hindrances to the already progress and the achievements made in the journey for civil rights. John Hope Franklin, in the foreword, dwells on the impact of the time between 1954 and 1992 and the impact it had on American Society, how fight for equality is far from easy and patience is required in the fight to "eliminate the road blocks that prevent the realization of the ideal of equality". In the preface, Sitkoff is clear that that history does not speak for themselves and attempt to detail any particular will be influenced by the author 's personal beliefs. Sitkoff, who associated and identified with the movement, believed "that the struggle was confronting the United States with an issue that had undermined the nation 's democratic institutions". Sitkoff elected
It was Martin Luther King Jr. who said that “Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” He said it almost 60 years ago, and it is still used today to suggest peaceful protest can be effective driving out hate with love. Non violent resistance as protest is effective because there have been results from the Kaepernick Movement, the Selma March, and the Black Lives Matter Protest. These movements have created many powerful and positive effects that have helped society.
Black activism rose greatly during the Reconstruction. Before the dreadful Civil war, African Americans could vote in only the higher Northern states, because of segregation Sadly, they had no office holders. Because of this, many blacks organized Equal Rights Leagues throughout the South, during the first two years of the Reconstruction. Regulating the lives of freed people, the Congress created “black codes”. Black activism grew a lot!
Presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders was interrupted by Black Lives Matter protesters for the second time in Seattle, Washington on August 8th, 2015; the incident involved heated confrontation and was largely reported on as an attack on Bernie Sanders’ campaign. Two African-American women stormed the stage, demanding to be allowed time to speak and threatening to shut down Sanders’ event. The two were members of Black Lives Matter, a social activist group fighting violence towards African Americans. Unfortunately, due primarily to the negative reactions of the crowd, many news outlets reported on the effects of Black Lives Matter on Sanders’ campaign rather than on the message that was pushed by the protesters. This lack of focus on the critical
In the recent year we have seen a resurgence of racism and violence against the African American community that was prevalent in the 60’s. Police brutality against innocent African Americans, more often than not with fatal outcomes, has sparked a new civil rights movement called “Black Lives Matter.” In an op-ed piece written by the editorial board they talk about the issue at hand saying, “The ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement focuses on the fact that black citizens have long been far more likely than whites to die at the hands of police, and is a piece with this history […] They are underlining an indisputable fact – that the lives of black citizens in this country historically have not mattered, and have been discounted and devalued,” (NY Times,
Through interviews and reactions from Adam Yamaguchi, from the CBSN Originals, this documentary shares interviews from a varying number of teachers, students, and parents and ask their different points of view and how do they interpret the critical race theory. Activists and parents oppose the critical race theory and point out. Their claims on how schools teach their children “too young and too far” when teachers are teaching students the history of the United States and the effects of ethnicity and race in a minority’s daily lives (The Critical Race Theory, 5:21). Then, John adds on how the “critical race theory is wrong by implying that black people are in a permanently down condition or that it could change by some revolution in the way people think that deep we know is never going to happen” (The Critical Race Theory, 8:34). Although this may be true on the other hand, in an online critic meeting held by Moms for Liberty, an organization against the critical race theory, they are opposing the school district’s efforts to combat the critical race theory.
Towards the end of the Civil Rights Movement, The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual was published in 1967. Speaking to the audience of creative Black intellectuals who were the voices and advocates of the African American community, he charged the readers with four central task of becoming conscious of the various black advancement movements and their purpose, analyzing the pendulum between intergrationalist and separatist, and identifying the political, economic, and cultural requirements for black advancement in order to mend them into a single politics of progressive black culture, and combining all the task to recognizing the uniqueness of the American condition. Cruse bids for a “cultural revolution by a critical assault on the methods and ideology “cultural revolution by a critical assault on the methods and ideology of the old-guard Negro intellectual elite. The failures and ideological shortcomings of this group have meant that no new directions, or insights have been imparted to
As the society continues to develop, changes are inevitable. There have been movements created in order to achieve a more perfect community. One of the most influential movements recently is Black Lives Matter (BLM). BLM was created in 2012, after George Zimmerman murdered Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old African-American, and was absolved from his blame. Dead Trayvon was instead placed on trial for his own death.
The Black Lives Matter movement was created by African Americans whose main goals were to bring about change to urban neighborhoods and America as a while. After the murder of Trayvon Martin in 2012, the movement was created to bring awareness to the rising violence against African American people, especially African American males. Since the acquittal of Martin’s murder, George Zimmerman, there have been many instances of black men being murdered not by armed citizens, but by our protectors in uniform. However, even as times got harder for African Americans, the movement stayed strong over these long years. I support the Black Lives Matter movement because, like the Civil Rights movement, African Americans are trying to bring awareness to
Racial justice has been an ongoing battle for many years. Racial justice activism also goes by the term anti-racist activism. But what exactly do these both stand for? Anti-racism is the process of trying to eliminate racism by changing systems, polices and organizations, it aims to change the practice and attitudes, so that power is shared equally (“Anti-Racism Defined”). With that term we can see and understand why some groups and individuals are considered a racial justice activist, by identifying and trying to work the problem to end racism.
