Cruse opens the text with then contemporarily profound ideals concerning the ‘new’ Negro intellectual class that emerged out of the late 1950s and 1960s. In his discussion around the Negro spokesperson, I found myself considering the idea of Black representationalism—the avant-garde context of Cruse’s ‘spokesperson.’ His depiction of true America were bone-chilling as he analyzes the country in its totality in efforts to capitalize on the Negro’s function within in. Cruse speaks very highly of Harlem. At times, his thoughts seems to be guided through a bias, but as he spoke more of the section within the Manhattan borough, I conjured up the image of the utopia described. Cruse provides the vision for group Black economics, the vision of unity. Emerging in between the high-rises and co-ops of Harlem is a world separate from that of America. I was able to dissolve the thoughts of biases from Cruse as I noted several cases in which he, too, spoke of Harlem’s downfalls. His personal anecdotes provides the reader with full truths that employ historical contexts throughout the novel. Cruse uses his narrative of the city’s highs and lows to articulate the reality of double consciousness and introduces what…
In this wonderful exploration of life in the South Bronx and Harlem— the ghetto of New York City—Kozol poises the question “How does a nation deal with those whom it has cursed?” He delves into the bleak circumstances of the residents, the shocking inequalities between the resources and facilities available to black and Hispanic families who live past the demarcation line, 96th Street, and the their white counterparts in Manhattan and other boroughs, and complacency that keeps things the way they are.…
Natalie Moore’s The South Side: A Portrait of Chicago and American Segregation, puts into perspective the historical and cultural prevalence of black segregation and subsequent discrimination and social adaptations that have spawned where politics has continually failed. The struggle of the blacks and minorities to create sustaining communities to reinvest in and bolster future generations with have faced racial based political stonewalling and “redlining” since the Northern migrations (p. 7) of the early 20th century. Employing a combination of personal rhetoric and historical precedents Moore investigates and analyzes how continued failure from the Chicago Housing Authority coincides with the societal exclusion of the poor or less fortunate…
In the media, black people and black men in particular are villainized and portrayed as disturbed and violent individuals. Statistics of incarceration and crime rates are often cited in rhetoric debasing the black community. Yet in just a few pages, Ta-Nehisi Coates expertly dissects how America’s institutionalized racism and eagerness to turn a blind eye to social issues contributes to the hostile environment many black people occupy in his book Between the World and Me. In his book he talks about the difficulties of being raised in an impoverished and violent neighborhood and his realization that these conditions are remnants of America’s history - such as the over-policing of black Americans and police brutality, which breeds fear and feelings…
The Author of this book (On our own terms: race, class, and gender in the lives of African American Women) Leith Mullings seeks to explore the modern and historical lives of African American women on the issues of race, class and gender. Mullings does this in a very analytical way using a collection of essays written and collected over a twenty five year period. The author’s systematic format best explains her point of view. The book explores issues such as family, work and health comparing and contrasting between white and black women as well as between men and women of both races.…
Merida, K. (2007). Being a black man: at the corner of progress and peril. New York: PublicAffairs.…
In Leslie Savan’s essay, “What’s Black, Then White, and Said All Over?,” Savan talks about the “hidden costs”(381) and benefits of the black language in America. When observing this economic and psychological boundary its clear that African American people went through lots of pain and suffering when creating trendy words and sayings. This is important to African Americans because most people do not understand that these words have now been adopted by white people “who reap the profits without paying [their] dues”(Savan 382).…
The urban life in Harlem has being described by many authors, including James Baldwin. The life of an African American man in this place during the 1950’s was a “disaster”, “faces and bodies” […] were “trapped in the darkness” (Baldwin n.pag). It was a time prior to the Civil Rights Movement, the time of segregation and unjust. Baldwin writes about black and very poor neighborhood in Harlem, where people were struggling to survive in the racist society. The author describes Harlem as a place where “the wages of sin were visible everywhere, in every wine-stained and urine-splashed hallway” (Baldwin n.pag).. The living conditions were horrible and not safe: “Safe, hell!” (Baldwin n.pag). In the 1950s most whites and black middle class had left Harlem, the crime and drug addiction rates were higher than anywhere in the United States. Baldwin portrays Harlem as a place where people can feel danger-…
The Lost Boys reflect the exact definition of their name; they are lost in a new culture. This reality will create great difficulties as they move forward, and attempt to create stable, independent lives for themselves. Not every one of these boys will be successful in their journeys. It is these individuals that could create a negative stigma for their fellow Lost Boys in society. This negative influence might be caused by the inability to stay in school, and get a job which could lead to drug and alcohol abuse as a means to cover the shame or pain. Bad circumstances will quickly create a downward spiral for the boys that will be very hard to pull away from. The community will only see these negative ripples, and not the harsh causes; therefore,…
Life has many determining factors and Beverly Daniel Tatum’s perspective in Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria reveals the realization about an individual’s identity, which formulates where we are positioned in society. Tatum shares her experiences based upon specific studies and what she observed in her son’s life. The basis for this paper is to express to those I grew up around that I became the person I am because of my past. The topics discussed in this paper will be both Tatum’s and my cultural background, the roles and responsibilities in our family’s social structure, the typical stereotypes that directed our educational path, and the gender role that stationed us where we…
Negroland, written by Margo Jefferson, is a memoir about her life, as wells as others in 1947 Chicago. In the book, Negroland residents acquire “provisional privilege” and aim to live their life’s away from the shadows of their poorer, darker counterpart. What particularly stood out to me the most about Negroland was their black skin, but despite the racially charged era, Negroland members utilized the freedom of opportunities allowed that other African Americans were not afforded. Nevertheless, the privilege they acquired were restricted every time they grabbed those opportunities, and further detained black elites from supporting their middle to lower class African Americans.…
In James Baldwin’s essay “Letter to My Nephew on the One Hundredth Anniversary of Emancipation” in The Fire Next Time, Baldwin advises his black, adolescent nephew living in the 1960’s during the African-American Civil Rights Movement on what living a free life means based on Baldwin’s own experience as an adult. As an existential thinker, Baldwin attributes a person’s identity to the collection of accomplishments and failures in his or her entire lifetime, as opposed to accepting a person as determinately good or bad. In order to be truly free of oppression, according to Baldwin, African Americans must seek to be authentic by not conceding to the expectations and restrictions of racist white Americans. A person’s authenticity lies in his or her willingness to take risks, accept responsibility for any consequences, and live by personal experience, not by the constraints or unattainable expectations of others. A person must cherish and cling to his or her own beliefs in what is right or wrong, despite difficult circumstances. Any man or woman is only free up to how much he or she is willing to risk, claiming freedom and dignity and accepting neither inferiority nor superiority.…
The Education of Black Males in a ‘Post-Racial’ World examines the discriminations and negative expectations that shape the educational and social lives of Black males. The authors elaborate on how Black males are less likely to go to school because of their autonomous mindset, and explore how, social sciences, media, popular culture, sport and school curriculum can define and restrain the lives of Black males. Donnor also elaborates on the complex needs of Black males in schools and in society, nearly classifying them as needy and unable to support themselves, dependent. Donnor discussed how opportunities and jobs are systematically organized to disadvantage Black males ultimately claiming that race still matters in 'post-racial ' America.…
Blacks cannot move past their place in the ghetto because the whites often blame for blacks for being in the place they are. Although there are black on black crimes but what race doesn’t have violence towards their own race. Coates wants to show that every time the African American holds America for its fault towards the black community for years, the government says we commit crimes against our own people that’s why we never make it out the ghetto. Coates says that the African American community can no longer accept that and that the African American community seeks approval of the whites too much.. The African American community will never make it out the ghetto because we idolize their dream, Coates believes that we should not. Coates says, “This lie of the Civil War is the lie of innocence, is the Dream. Historians conjured the Dream. Hollywood fortified the Dream. The Dream was gilded by novels and adventure stories.” (Coates 124). The dream is preserved and kept out of touch by whites, the black community will never to be able to reach the dream because no matter what we will never be white so we won’t have the white privileged…
The Lesson is a short story written by the writer Toni Cade Bambara in the late 1970’s. Sylvia, the narrator of the story is a young African-American female who receives a lesson in class inequality. The setting story of begin the slums of Harlem, New York and is dated as “back in the days” which is described in the opening of the story. Throughout the story Sylvia, realizes its world outside of her neighborhood, not as similar has she once thought. I chose the article, “Sylvia and The Struggle against Class Consciousness in Toni Cade Bambara's "The Lesson” this article analyzes the Sarah Wiktorski writes the article and she analyzes the struggle against class-consciousness and sets the mind of the reader to think about some of the consequences of class-consciousness. It contributes to the study of literature because it helps us understand the book, “The consciousness” by Toni Bambara changes the way the reader thinks and attempts to re-conceptualize his or her understanding of representation of class-consciousness. The writer hopes to present to the world a real picture of disadvantaged minorities and shows how on should change the world and…