" To understand African-Americans we must understand where they came from, what they gave up (besides of course their freedom), and what they hoped for. I believe that understanding more about the roots of this culture can only create more acceptance and tolerance among all people.
Finally, I hope to achieve a good grade in this class! It is an interesting topic to me, and I feel that I will get a lot out of learning more about African-American culture, society, and historical context. I know that black Americans have a colorful and varied history of triumphs and failures, and I think this class will give me a stronger foundation of knowledge to build my own thoughts and ideas regarding African-American culture and experience. I know there is much more to the history than slavery and civil rights, and I hope to come to a better understanding of the entire culture,…...
African-American Studies Chapters 9-12
Discuss the myths and realities of the Underground Railroad.
There are a number of myths associated with the Underground Railroad. One such myth was about the use of coded quilts which has been discredited by scholarly research. Another myth concerns the number of slaves who were conducted to freedom by way of the Underground Railroad. Precise numbers are just unknown because of the secrecy required for successful operation. Still, local underground groups that published figures on the number of fugitives they helped over time made it possible to develop estimates for the network as a whole. For the sixty-odd years that the underground existed, it probably was responsible for assisting in the escape of 100,000 fugitive slaves to the northern states and Canada (Bordewich, 2005).
Another pervasive myth about the Underground Railroad was that it operated primarily in the Deep South. In reality, most successful fugitives came from three…...
mlaWorks Cited
Bordewich, F. (2005, July 27). Underground Railroad: Myth & reality. Retrieved January 18, 2012 from: http://www.fergusbordewich.com/blog/archives/2005/07/testing_the_blo.html
Scholastic Inc. (2012). Myths of the Underground Railroad. Retrieved January 18, 2012 from: http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/bhistory/underground_railroad/myths.htm
That makes sense, but it was new information to me. I also knew about the desperate lives of slaves in the South, and how they were treated like animals, but to actually see the words of the advertisement that called them "breeding stock" like they were cattle or something was really eye opening and frightening. It was (and is) frightening to me that people could have treated each other this way. It is also frightening that it was condoned and even encouraged among masters who needed the cheap labor. I think that slavery was one of the darkest times in American history, and that we should never forget what happened to Africans who were shipped to America as slaves. Reading a book like this keeps this history alive, and it should. Americans should never forget what happened to African-Americans and they should be ashamed that something like this could…...
It seems funny that free slaves would organize troops to fight against the North, but I also understand that they were defending the only way of life they had ever known, and that life was in the South, not the North. The Civil War was a horrible conflict, and I know that thousands, even millions of men - black and white - died, and reading about the strength of the fighting men and how they fought so hard and so long is really difficult to read. I think that it is important that the book includes so many illustrations because they help make the people and the situations more real and more interesting, too.
I think that the film "A Dry White Season" really shows the difficulties of the blacks in South Africa, who really received civil rights so much later than American blacks that it is just stunning. The…...
Race and Education
Appreciation of the value of an education, upholding high family values and morals, and displaying the physical characteristics is associated with the European culture. Upper class values are viewed as adopting the European culture, which is also known as acting white. An African-American dressed in business attire, and holding a white-collar job is considered to have adopted the European culture values. High achievement is expected among the western culture. Identifying white collar African-Americans as Eurocentric is racism, because it diminishes the importance of the tradition among the black culture. White collar, well-educated African-Americans should not be identified as adopting the Eurocentric lifestyle, because it would eliminate much of the prejudiceness, and high achiever's accomplishments and capabilities would not be predetermined by their race.
The western culture will always be considered as the highest social status of all cultures. This belief and tradition has developed through history and will be…...
mlaBibliography
Kelley Robbin, Mama's Disfunktional, 1998.
Pradshad, Vijay, Everybody was Kung fu Fighting (Article from book), 2002.
Pradshad, Vijay, Race Discrimination, 2000.
Aikins, Racism, May 2002.
Whereas in 1963, 70% of all African-American families were headed by married couples, that rate had dipped to 46.1% by 1996. In 2001, the rate had increased to 47.9%, the first uptrend in 40 years (Kinnon, 2003). The rate of African-American crime and incarceration, which is closely linked to males from single-parent households, has also dipped since 1996.
Concerns about TANF and current welfare programs
While the statistics are compelling, there are a series of questions which have not been addressed by these welfare reforms. There are still about 50% of the former welfare population which has not been able to graduate from the welfare-poverty cycle, nor have they been able to find work. In states where the TANF provisions were enacted, including the 5-year limitation on welfare benefits, there has been a back-sliding on the part of state legislatures to extend welfare assistance for the "hard core" unemployed.
The effects on…...
mlaBibliography
Bush, L. (2000). African-American Mothers/African-American Sons: A Critical Examination of the Social Science Literature. Western Journal of African-American Studies, 145-167.
Cherry, F. & . (1977). Physical and cognitive development in children of low-income mothers working in the child's early years. Child Development, 158-166.
Garfinkle, I. a. (1986). Single Mothers and their children: A new American dilemma. Washington: Urban Institute.
Haskins, R. (1989). Beyond metaphor: The efficacy of early childhood education. American Psychologist, 274-282.
African-American Culture in the 1980s
An article in the peer-reviewed journal Progressive deals with the political and social culture of the African-American community in the 1980s. It was a peer-reviewed article that reported that "…large numbers of African-American elites were elevated…" into corporate executive position, into the "federal judiciary" and also were elected to state legislatures across America (Marable, 1991). However, the 1980s were also a time when AIDs was becoming a major medical scourge and many African-Americans believed that AIDs was a conspiracy in order to "systematically destroy" the black culture (Marable, 18).
The thesis of this article by Manning Marable -- the late professor of public affairs, African-American studies and history at Columbia University in New York City -- is that there was a "crisis in the black political culture" and a belief that AIDs was a "white supremacist medical conspiracy." Moreover, his thesis was that there was overt anti-Semitism…...
mlaWorks Cited
Marable, Manning. "Black America in Search of Itself." Progressive, 55.11, 18-23. 1991.
The 1950s was a time when the last of the generation of slaves were beginning to disappear from communities but their first generation children were attempting to make sense of the lives they led and the cautionary tales they had applied to their lives as a result. The work shows that for the 1950s African-American family it was a time of remembrance and resolution as well as a time to reflect on change and hope for even greater change in the future, with the inclusion of the fact that defacto segregation and suppression was still occurring in a rampant manner all over their lives.
Secondary Sources
Jewell, K. Sue. 2003. Survival of the African-American Family: The Institutional Impact of U.S. Social Policy. Westport, CT: Praeger.
Jewell develops a social history that demonstrates all the many disparities of the African-American vs. majority culture and how these disparities, legal, social and economic effected the…...
mlaMcLoyd's work brings to mind the manner in which the 1950s conservative slant echoed the discrimination of the past and present. The work demonstrates that during the 1950s academic work began to be even more direct with its assassination of the individual as the source of limited progress. In other words the period demonstrates an extreme prejudice, where African-American Families themselves were in short blamed directly for their inability to succeed in the American landscape, regardless of the fact that the social, legal and economic conditions were almost completely against them.
Itagaki, Lynn M. 2003. Transgressing Race and Community in Chester Himes's if He Hollers Let Him Go. African-American Review 37, no. 1: 65.
Itagaki's work is a literary and social criticism of the works of Chester Himes, an African-American man who moved his family to Los Angels in the late 1940s and through the 1950s and 60s experienced contradictions in the ideal and the actions of those living there. The white community rejected and repressed the African-American family with all the same and worse segregation and discrimination when they were attempting to grow and become stronger, many by leaving the south. The work describes the volume of Himes' works but looks most closely at his beloved novel if He Hollers Let Him Go. The message of the work is distinctly responsive to the 1950s as a period of social transition for the African-American families, as they are told one thing and treated in a manner altogether different.
African-Americans History And Culture
The false and misleading notion that "African-Americans created themselves" completely ignores and invalidates the rich history of those whose ancestry lies in the great African continent. While African-Americans have adopted and incorporated many cultures into their own (not unlike any other cultural group in America) that in no way signifies that African-American's have no culture or history of their own.
"Black people have no history, no heroes, no great moments," this was told to a young Arthur Schomburg by his 5th grade teacher. Schomburg, with both African and Puerto ican ancestry went on to become a great historian and curator of African-American history; helping to dispel the very "truth" that his teacher tried to feed him about his own history and culture many years prior. The statement that "African-Americans created themselves" simply means that the Black American is devoid of history and a culture to call his own.…...
mlaReferences
Bascom, L.C. (1999). A renaissance in Harlem: Lost voices of an American community. New York, NY: Bard.
Painter, N.I. (2006). Creating Black Americans: African-American history and its meanings, 1619 to the present. London: Oxford University Press.
At the same time, however, the ghettoes resulted from the people's desire to form a united community to which they could relate and that could offer comfort from a society that, despite its more opened views, still viewed blacks from the point-of-view of the segregation policy.
The ghettoes however represented an environment that would later offer one of the most important and relevant elements of the American culture: the music and religious atmosphere that was traditional for the black community. As a means of resisting the struggle against segregation and inequality, many communities saw music as the connection that united all black people in their suffering. The soul music thus became a means of expressing both sorrow and joy, hope and despair among the black communities. Even though such practices had been seen in the South as well, once the Great Migration started, the black people exported their core values…...
mlaBibliography
African-American World. The Great Migration. Educational Broadcasting Corporation. 2002. 28 April 2007 http://www.pbs.org/wnet/aaworld/reference/articles/great_migration.html
Crew, Spencer R. "The Great Migration of Afro-Americans, 1915-40." Monthly Labor Review,
Encyclopedia Britannica, Jim Crow law, 2007. 28 April 2007 http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9043641/Jim-Crow-law/
Grossman, James. "Great Migration." The Electronic Encyclopedia of Chicago. 2004. 28 April 2007 http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/545.html
African-Americans in the News
From some of the articles that I have studied, it seems that many articles on the African-American community focus on their problems, on analyzing them and on suggesting possible solutions by which the community can improve its condition.
One of these articles, for example, addresses the problem of HIV / AIDS as it is reflected in the African-American community, suggesting that the best solution may actually revolve around taking responsibilities rather than pointing fingers to the people who are to blame. Taken from the Philadelphia Inquirer and quoting directors from the lack AIDS Institute, the article is keen to point out that "in 2005, AIDS in America is mostly a black disease"
. However, even more worrisome is the perception existing at the community level according to which HIV / AIDS was a white manmade disease, specially created to eradicate and/or control the community. In this sense, the article…...
mlaBibliography
1. African-Americans Should Take More Responsibility in Fight Against HIV / AIDS, National Conference Speakers Say. March 2005. On the Internet at http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=20606
2. Spriggs, William. African-Americans and Social Security. Dollars & Senses. Issue #256, November/December 2004. On the Internet at http://www.dollarsandsense.org/1104spriggs.html
3. http://www.naa.org/Presstime/PTArtPage.cfm?AID=6178
4. Study: Hispanics a Key News Target. On the Internet at
African-American Heritage & the Amish
African-American people traditionally have different communication patterns and family roles than their white counterparts. They are more likely to have families headed by single parents (usually single mothers) and they are also more likely to have poor communication skills and not express their deepest feelings so that they can get help for the family problems they are facing (Franklin & Moss, 2001). Unemployment and underemployment runs high through the African-American community, although there are certainly exceptions. Because the culture of the majority of African-American people is different from the culture seen in the white community, the interaction between the two groups can sometimes be more complex than one would expect. African-Americans are more likely to be part of the high-risk population when it comes to health and well-being (both mental and physical), and they are more like to live in areas of the country and areas…...
mlaReferences
Franklin, J.H., & Moss, A. (2001). From Slavery to Freedom. A History of African-Americans. New York: NY: McGraw-Hill Education.
Kraybill, D.B. & Olshan, M. A, ed. (1994). The Amish Struggle with Modernity. Hanover, NH: University Press of New England.
Salzman, J., ed. (1996). Encyclopedia of Afro-American culture and history, New York, New York: Macmillan Library Reference USA.
African-Americans are second only to Native Americans, historically, in terms of poor treatment at the hands of mainstream American society. Although African-Americans living today enjoy nominal equality, the social context in which blacks interact with the rest of society is still one that tangibly differentiates them from the rest of America. This cultural bias towards blacks is in many notable ways more apparent than the treatment of other people of color, such as Asian immigrants, as is reflected in disparate wages and living conditions experienced by these respective groups. Common stereotypes hold the successful, college educated black man or woman as the exception rather than the rule, whereas Asians are commonly thought of as over-achievers. Although any bias undermines social interaction in that it shifts attention away from individual merit, the bias towards African-Americans can be said to be worse than most, and lies at the root of discrimination and…...
mlaBibliography
Tamar Lewin. Growing Up, Growing Apart. New York Times, June 25, 2000. http://query.nytimes.com/search/article-page.html?res=9402E1DF1730F936A15755C0A9669C8B63
Thomas Dolan. Newark and its Gateway Complex. Rutgers Newark Online, September, 2002. http://www.newarkmetro.rutgers.edu/reports/2002/09/gateway/gateway2.php
George Breitman (Ed.), Malcolm X Speaks: Selected Speeches and Statements, published in 1990 by Grove Weidenfeld: New York, NY. pp 4-17 http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/malcolmxgrassroots.htm
High Rises Brought Low at Last. The Economist: July 9, 1998. http://www.economist.com/displayStory.cfm?Story_ID=142018
e learn that art can indeed reflect life but it can also inspire it beyond what the human mind can dream.
orks Cited
Bailey, Thomas, et al. The American Pageant. Lexington D.C. Heath and Company, 1994.
Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. New York: Penguin, 1982.
Levernier, James a. "Frederick Douglass: Overview." Reference Guide to American Literature, 3rd ed. 1994. GALE Resource Database. Site Accessed August 3, 2006. http://www.infotrac.galegroup.com
Norton, Mary Beth, et al. A People and a Nation. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1990.
Richard Powell. African-American Art. 2005 Oxford University Press. http://www.aawc.com
Rodriguez, Junius P.. "African-American Experience: Art." African-American Experience. 12 September, 2008. http://aae.greenwood.com
Norton, Mary Beth, et al. A People and a Nation. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, (1990). 278.
Bailey, Thomas, et al. The American Pageant. Lexington D.C. Heath and Company, (1994). 69.
Norton, Mary Beth, et al. A People and a Nation. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, (1990). 294.
Rodriguez, Junius P.…...
mlaWorks Cited
Bailey, Thomas, et al. The American Pageant. Lexington D.C. Heath and Company, 1994.
Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. New York: Penguin, 1982.
Levernier, James a. "Frederick Douglass: Overview." Reference Guide to American Literature, 3rd ed. 1994. GALE Resource Database. Site Accessed August 3, 2006. http://www.infotrac.galegroup.com
Norton, Mary Beth, et al. A People and a Nation. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1990.
" (Seitles, 1996)
Seitles claims that integration has been a success in the fight against racial prejudice and states that: "Social consequences of racial isolation intertwine with grim economic realities for minorities. Due to the lack of interaction between racial groups, African-Americans are unprepared to work and socialize in a white majority society, while conversely, whites are not relating to, working with, or living with blacks. Prospects for African-American children raised in such communities are greatly diminished because of the lack of interaction between blacks and whites. Moreover, minority possibilities for advancement consequently decline from the lower quality of education afforded to them in ghetto schools, precluding them from competing for high-income employment. Although these inequalities are not always directly caused by intentional discrimination, residential racial segregation perpetuates these inequalities. Thus, minorities who live in racially homogeneous communities are faced with disadvantages beyond the present economic and social inequalities associated with…...
mlaReferences
Thomas Lee Philpott, The Slum and the Ghetto: Neighborhood Deterioration and Middle Class Reform, 1880-1930 New York: Oxford University Press, 1978. Appendix A, 407-410. Online available at: Plotkin (1997) http://www.public.asu.edu/~wplotkin/DeedsWeb/newberry.html
Wilen, William P. & Stasell, Wendy L. (2000) Gautreaux and Chicago's Public Housing Crisis: The Conflict Between Achieving Integration and Providing Decent Housing for Very Low-Income African-Americans Copyright 2000 by National Center on Poverty Law. All rights reserved. 34 Clearinghouse Rev. 117. http://www.povertylaw.org/legalresearch/articles/free/wilen.htm
Ranney, D. & Wright P. (2000) Race, Class, and the Abuse of State Power: The Case of Public Housing in Chicago Nathalie P. Voorhees Center for Neighborhood and Community Improvement 2000 March, Publication#: V172 http://www.uic.edu/cuppa/voorheesctr/racepaper.htm
Gautreaux and Chicago's Public Housing Crisis:
I. Introduction
A. Thesis statement: Zora Neale Hurston was a pioneering literary figure whose works defied conventional representations of race, gender, and sexuality in the early 20th century.
B. Hurston's biographical background and literary context
II. Breaking Boundaries in Race and Gender
A. Challenging stereotypes in "Their Eyes Were Watching God": Janie Crawford's journey toward self-discovery and autonomy
B. Exploring the nuances of black womanhood in "The Gilded Six-Bits" and "Sweat": Depictions of love, violence, and resilience
III. Embracing the African Diaspora
A. Preserving cultural traditions in "Mules and Men" and "Tell My Horse": Folklore, music, and storytelling as expressions of black identity
B. Celebrating Haitian Vodou in....
Navigating Single Motherhood for Black Women: Raising Sons in Contemporary Society
Raising children as a single parent is a complex undertaking, especially for women of color. Single black women face unique challenges in navigating the complexities of childcare, economic disparities, and social stigmas while fostering the healthy development of their sons.
Economic Challenges
Financial instability is a significant hurdle for single black mothers. According to the National Urban League, black women earn only 63 cents for every dollar earned by white men. This income gap contributes to poverty, housing insecurity, and limited access to quality education and healthcare for their children. Single mothers....
1. Patricia Smith's Blood Dazzler poems confront the lingering trauma of the African American experience, highlighting the resilience that emerges from enduring and resisting centuries of oppression.
2. Through the exploration of personal and collective histories, Blood Dazzler unveils the complexities of trauma, showcasing its insidious effects while illuminating the path toward healing and liberation.
3. Smith's vivid imagery and lyrical dexterity in Blood Dazzler embody the resilience of Black bodies and voices, asserting their indomitable spirit in the face of adversity.
4. The interplay of personal narratives and collective experiences in Blood Dazzler underscores the universality of trauma while emphasizing....
I. Introduction
II. Education Programs on Black American Origin Stories
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