ipl-logo

Proviso East High School Research Paper

1690 Words7 Pages

When one thinks of the civil rights movement, the first thoughts are often of events that took place south of the Mason-Dixon line. Images of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., marches, boycotts, and desegregation instantly pop into one 's head. Though the north was a much more welcoming environment for African Americans, it still had its fair share of inequality to balance . One place this struggle played out was Proviso East High School, located in a suburb of Chicago, Illinois called Maywood. My family is from Chicago. My father Jim Anderson and my aunt, Francine Hilb, both attended Proviso East in Maywood in 1968. James was a sophomore at Proviso, while Francine was a junior. During this year, Proviso East High School was caught up in the racial …show more content…

When I asked them if their experiences at Proviso East changed the way they viewed other races of people, my father offered some insight into how he viewed the race struggle of the civil rights movement. He said in the moment it affected him, but many of our experiences regardless of what they are in high school do profoundly affect us, but I had a lot of friends of different color.” He told a story his father told him. “ Once my father had gotten a flat tire on Lake Shore Drive. It was a very busy highway type road, with no room to pull off. People were speeding by, and with my mother in the car, he got worried. The only person to stop and help them was a black man. That story was what influenced my view of other races, more so than my high school.” When I asked if their experiences changed the way they viewed education, they both said no. “We had all sorts. There was even a guy who used to come to school on heroine, but all of the kids at my high school had every bit the same opportunity I did. We didn 't have separate teachers or classes, there was no busing and the school had been integrated a long time.” Although the civil rights struggle was different in the north from what was going on in the south at the same time, there were still racial tensions and inequalities occurring all

Show More
Related
476 Words | 2 Pages

In the book “Child of the Civil Rights Movement” by Paula Young Shelton, whose a daughter of a Civil Rights activist, Andrew Young, discusses a child’s perspective on the civil rights movement. Shelton lived in New York till one day her parents seen the broadcast of the freedom rides. Following that, her parents decided to move to the heart of the problem and contribute to the movement personally when she was 4 years old. Shelton’s parents moved them to the deep South were whites had everything and blacks went without. Shelton goes on to describe how her family came to be part of the movement, to personally knowing Martin Luther King JR, and knowing other community leaders.

Read More
1002 Words | 5 Pages

It’s been almost 60 years since our nation was in an uproar due to the varied opinions about the Civil Rights Movement. In the novel Warriors Don’t Cry by Melba Pattillo Beals, nine African American high school students transfer to an all white high school in an attempt to desegregate. We continue to tell these stories decades after the Civil Rights Movement happened. It’s important for us to remember these events in history. We need to keep the memory and the lessons from the civil rights movement alive.

Read More
600 Words | 3 Pages

In the memoir Warriors Don’t Cry, Melba Pattillo Beals details her and the rest of the Little Rock Nines’ struggles against segregationists in their attempt to integrate Central High School. They fought through constant harassment and death threats on their journey to become the first black students to successfully complete a school year at a previously all-white school. The book highlights the effects of racial segregation while emphasizing the importance of perseverance and resilience when facing adversity. One of the major themes of the book is the effects of racial discrimination and segregation. Everything from bathrooms to water fountains were separate and black people were treated as second-class citizens.

Read More
542 Words | 3 Pages

Tyna L. Steptoe’s book, Houston Bound: Culture and Color in a Jim Crow City explores the significance of Wheatley High School, a public secondary school located in the heart of Fifth Ward, Houston, Texas, established in the 1930s to serve black and Creole students during the Jim Crow era. Despite being segregated, the students at Wheatley did not let this hold them down and instead made the best of the situation by getting heavily involved in their school. Wheatley High School gave their black and creole students tools for advancement and helped strengthen their cultural identity and in a historic period in which racial discrimination attempted to curtail their political and economic potential. In this Jim Crow era, the institutions of the city were divided by the racial categories of white and black, which would force everyone into one or the other category, even if they did not necessarily associate themselves with it. Accordingly, racially ambiguous people would either receive the benefits that accompanied the white label or the grim treatment that accompanied the black label.

Read More
867 Words | 4 Pages

I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed. Looked at from this standpoint, I almost reach the conclusion that often the Negro boy's birth and connection with an unpopular race is an advantage, so far as real life is concerned. With few

Read More
651 Words | 3 Pages

(Stockett, 218). This comment is in response to something Aibileen said about colored people and white people going to the same school and using the same facilities. Miss Hilly's attitude about integration and change in her community is not a positive

Read More
744 Words | 3 Pages

I believed that Whites and Blacks were equal however there were no African Americans in my grade school classes from K through ninth grade. There is truth to the assertion that parents’, relatives’ and friends’ negative reactions to people of minority races do send mixed messages to children (Sue & Sue, 2014). I recall that occasionally my father would make negative comments regarding an individual’s ethnicity which demonstrated to me that people could be judged by others based on their ethnic

Read More
228 Words | 1 Pages

The circumstances and achievements that took place throughout the 1960s has shaped the world, even in this point in time. The issues faced altered society as a result as well as the accomplishments made in attempt to bring about reformations. The occurrences regarding segregation, conflicts with the Soviet Union and foreign affairs, the fight for civil rights, and more brought us to where we are today. Segregation was an immense component throughout the south of the United States in 1960. For instance, on February 1, 1960 in Greensboro, North Carolina, four students, Ezell Blair Jr., David Richmond, Franklin McCain and Joseph McNeil, who were attending North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, went to Woolworth 's department

Read More
956 Words | 4 Pages

“Seeing with the eyes of another, listening with the ears of another, feeling with a heart of another.” In which was said by Alfred Adler, demonstrates a great theme that was displayed in both To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, and real life. The theme is to always consider someone else's position by walking in their shoes before you claim to know a person. For many years, people have taken action into assuming that everything heard is true, without considering the person's current position, emotional state, or their outlook on life, this action has caused many dilemmas. As Harper Lee portrayed throughout the book, you must walk in someone else's shoes before you truly know them.

Read More
1727 Words | 7 Pages

This group consisted of nine African American teenagers who strived to integrate an all white public school in an extremely racist area in the South. In order to achieve this, the nine had to face both verbal and physical harassment. “No matter what, I knew I had to stand up to them even if I got kicked out of school for doing it.” The students knew what they were doing was important, but also that they needed to keep safe in order to achieve the set goal. The dedication to school was seen in the most extreme sense when they were being bullied.

Read More
371 Words | 2 Pages

Civil Rights in Education During the Civil Rights Movement, segregation affected African Americans the most. Segregation in school during this time was something that truly changes schools in the South. Schools shouldn’t have race restrictions.

Read More
515 Words | 3 Pages

These schools not only empowered the students but also provided a nurturing environment for future civil rights leaders to emerge, ensuring the movement's

Read More
655 Words | 3 Pages

Entry 5 “Here are some typical comments by students and observations by fieldworkers. Black sophomore: ‘Tonya Johnson said the white people and the black people were very segregated and formed their own little groups… Courtyard No. 1 is mainly white people and Courtyard No. 2 is mainly black people.’ She said, ‘Black people don’t think they are too good to hang out with white people.’ She said she doesn’t understand why there is so much segregation because ‘everyone should be treated the same.’”

Read More
211 Words | 1 Pages

One of my friends believed a white presence would have a calming effect on the students. I thought his stance was an overreach, but it seemed important to join the community and mourn. Therefore, I accompanied several white college students to the campus auditorium. I didn’t think a color blind society was possible. I hoped that our country could change into a community where everyone was respected.

Read More
1152 Words | 5 Pages

From my distinctive experience, I was able to become more aware of my privilege. Because I was White I never had to worry about teachers having misconceptions about my academic abilities or be punished for not completing assignments. As early as elementary, I learned that of times my Native American classmates had to stay

Read More

More about Proviso East High School Research Paper

Related Topics

Open Document