1. One writer maintains that slaves in the South are the “happiest” and “freest” people in the world and workers in the North are not. How this is so?…
His words tell the audience that African Americans are no longer slaves due to laws protecting them from discrimination, are allowed to attend school along with white folk, and are thriving workers. This perspective of racial harmony does not show the truth about the way Negroes were treated after the War. Although there was political tension towards discrimination coming from the redeemers, those who tried to reestablish the old ways of the South, there were more pressing consequences for Negroes who fell under the pitfall of sharecropping. The history textbook, America: A Narrative History, shows that since slavery was not allowed, Southerners decided to give small shares of their land to Negroes, who would then be known as sharecroppers that paid their debt off in manual labor growing cash crops for their…
Kaye devotes much of his work to specifying what exactly made up the slave communities. He gives the reader an in depth depiction of what goes on in the neighborhoods of the Natchez District, and activities they undertook to cope with their environment. Joyner does not indulge in great detail on what exactly transpired in slave communities, instead he provides interpretation on how they transformed their culture to endure the atrocious environment. With this interpretation, we get extensive insight on the practices of the enslaved, along with supporting information explaining why these practices came to be. For example, Joyner gives a detailed explanation of the African American folktale and how these folktales accommodate moral…
This passage towards the end reveals a storyteller telling the tale of slaves working through rugged conditions on a plantation. Nevertheless, they would soon go on to glory as some of which couldn’t stand the unbearable circumstances that were forced upon them. In addition, the storyteller described a few situations that slaves had to endure throughout their time spent on the plantation’s cotton field such as: nurturing an infant while proceeding in harsh labor and confliction between slave and slave owners.…
In chapter seven Hooks talks about feminism in the realms of class. Hooks explains that the focus of feminism came to be about the wealthy white upper class women who wanted the same opportunities as men of their own class rather than the focus of women receiving the same benefits to sustain themselves. Working class and middle class women were able to work, but they did not make enough money to support themselves. I liked this chapter because Hooks gave a resolution for the problem. Hooks explains that in order to get to the basics of what being feminist is, feminist women of upper class should help those that are less fortunate by creating homes and programs to allow women of all classes to sustain themselves without the need of men.…
First, most African Americans in the Deep South didn't receive the luxury that they deserved. Examples consisted of not being able to eat at every restaurant, cafe, not being able to get a room in a hotel, and not being able to get off a bus for bathroom breaks. The author states, "I'd like to go to the rest room." I smiled and moved to step down. He tightened his grip on the door facings and shouldered in close to block me. "Does your ticket say for you to get off here?" he asked. "No sir, but the others—" "Then you will get your ass back in your seat and don't you move till we get to Hattiesburg," he commanded. "You mean I can't go…
He goes as far as to say that “no race can prosper till it learns that there is as much dignity in tilling a field as in writing a poem,” and I think this is significant at a time when many Blacks could not get jobs other than these common occupations. He is saying that people should not only be content, but that they should do the best they can with what they have and embrace…
We live in a world where there are numerous discriminations: race, religion, sex, age, or sexual orientation. bell hooks has eloquently explained multiple reasons why the black population is discriminated against in an educational setting, “...most white folks are rarely, if ever, in a situation where they must listen to black women lecture to them.” (hooks, 31) Daily we hear about the killings of transsexual men and women, as well as multiple examinations talking about men who receive more money then women in the workplace for the same job. Carl Grant intelligently said, “Another factor stimulating the change is the acceptance of the importance of social cultural factors in learning and the movement toward challenging traditional assumptions and envisioning multiple possibilities for change.” (Grant, 1) The discrimination I’m talking about most people don’t understand or even see,…
In Harriet Jacobs’s narrative, Incident in the Life of a Slave Girl, she gives realistic and truthful descriptions of life as a slave. Although not all blacks in the South were slaves, they were still oppressed in many ways such as with discrimination and lacking certain freedoms. Of course, situations concerning the daily life of blacks in the south, enslaved or free, varied in different areas due to the different treatments of white masters, as well as white civilians. Some blacks had it more difficult than others. Whites in the South surely dominated and controlled society, but did they have total domination over blacks? Were the two races only relatable as oppressor and oppressed? Although one would believe so, there is much evidence in the Jacobs’s narrative that shows that blacks still had a few freedoms, even under the overbearing weight of slavery and racism. The truth of the matter is that even though some of their unalienable rights had been taken away, little freedom was at the tip of their fingers. Once discovering a way to grab on to that freedom, they could pull it in closer until it was entirely there own. Some evidence proving that blacks were not totally dominated by southern whites involves the situation of Jacobs’s father, the slave’s celebration of Christmas, and also the situation of Jacobs’s Uncle Benjamin.…
When slavery was ended by the Emancipation Proclamation in 1865 there were at least 4 million slaves who were granted freedom. Many of the slaves had trouble getting jobs, finding families, and even trouble with education The slaves did not know how to be free and white people didn't know how to have a free colored person around them. It says that Holloway's words reflect the time after the Civil War. The Reconstruction period.…
Another key factor described by both authors was family. In fact, family was very important for African-Americans. Bost stated that during the selling, women begged the speculators to be sold with their husbands. The idea to be separated from their family was a terrible misfortune. Bibb emphasized on the relationship he had with his wife and his child. He revealed how powerless he was while seeing his child whipped and his wife abused by their master. He declared “I could never look upon the dear child without being filled with sorrow and fearful apprehensions, of being separated by slaveholders, because she was a slave, regarded as property.” In addition to be detested by slaves, non-slaveholders did not appreciate their status vis-a-vis of slaveholders. Most of them got along with slaves since they were considered inferior to the slaveholders. In conclusion, these two narratives reveal the unhuman conditions faced by enslaved people their life. One can perceive that the role of family, religion and culture was primordial in their daily lives. Even though the difficulties they encountered, they never lost sight to be free one…
These experiences and type of life the slaves had all depended on if they lived on farms or in…
In the essay “Touching the Earth” we see the author, Bell Hooks, at various points mention that when shes doing something that makes her feel at place it makes her feel at home. Hooks even claims in the first sentence of the essay the following, “When we love the Earth, we are able to love ourselves more fully (968). This quote references the fact that when she gardens or farms she is able to enjoy herself and the life she's living. Bell Hooks explains how she grew up in Kentucky where she watched her grandparents farm and grow crops and even gives us so much detail to the point where she remembers how the Kentucky soil felt. “As I child I loved playing in the dirt, in that rich Kentucky soil, that was a source of life (968).”…
Blacks soon realized that being free made them feel great but it did not mean they were going to be successful and have everything in the palm of their hand. A former slave by the name Felix Haywood stated, “We knowed freedom was on us, but we didn’t know what was to come with it. We thought we was going to be rich like the white folks.” (Haywood). Blacks struggled to find shelter.…
In Pico Iyer and bell hooks writing, both authors illustrates the importances of interaction between nature and humans. Iyer discusses how we must solve the issue of ourselves before making changes to nature. Hooks states when we see the beauty of nature, we are able enjoy the happiness and joy it provides. Nature is a reflection of humans innerself and can only be healed when we reflect on our actions and behaviors.…