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Isabel Wilkerson’s The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration delves into the great exodus of Southern blacks to the North from World War I to the 1970s. While this in an already acknowledged period of Southern and American history, the book is still an important source in Southern studies. For one, the book provides students with three extensive firsthand accounts of the period, something they may not have been exposed to before. Meanwhile, some may argue that since a great portion of the stories take place during the lives of the subjects while in the North, that the book technically does not include enough Southern history to be a viable resource.…
Imagine the feeling of living in a Jim Crow south after the Civil War. In Richard Wright’s autobiography “Black Boy”, he illustrates his life as he tries to understand the segregated and white dictated world he lives in. Throughout the story he asks questions to others and himself to attempt at understanding the world. Since the book is an autobiography it allows the reader to take a front row seat with the story. “Black Boy” is one of the many books that were challenged for a myriad of reasons. Those reasons ranging from political to religious. Although the book was accused for multiple offenses some teachers and students think the book still holds value.…
Professor of History at the University of Tennessee Knoxville, Dr. Cynthia Griggs Fleming is qualified author of this literature. Her specialties are in twentieth century United States Cultural and Social History particularly in the modern civil rights movement, race relations, and black educational history. She teaches a survey course in African Americans studies, as well as course in a course in Black in Film, History and Philosophy of African American Education, African American Women in American Society, and Civil Rights course. Cynthia Flemings have written heavily on the civil right movement. Not only did this she write this book, but has published articles on black activism and African American identity in journal such as The Journal of Negro History, The Tennessee Historical Quarterly, The Journal of Woman’s History, and The Irish Journal of American History. Dr. Fleming also is writing the authorized biography of C.T. Vivian and the impact of civil rights movement on the Alabama Black Belt County.…
In 1933, during a time in history where many African American minds were focused mainly with the economic turmoil of the country, Dr. Carter G. Woodson published a book entitled “The Miseducation of the Negro.” Dr. Woodson’s main objective of writing the book was to empower Blacks and enlighten them on the untapped potential our race has had throughout history, but hasn't yet discovered. Rather than attacking who he often refers to as the “oppressor” for blindfolding us, Dr. Woodson hold us accountable and calls us “miseducated.” In Chapter 18 of “The Miseducation of the Negro”, he stresses the important of being educated on our history as it shapes the future of our race. It goes without saying that Blacks have been so well controlled by their…
In conclusion, black history has always been important, but never regarded as such. The education system needs to begin teaching black history the same time it begins to teach white. Although, oppression and triumph are a part of our history, black history does not begin in America. In Keisha Bentley-Edwards article, Black History Month: Change how we teach Black History, she acknowledges that black children need to know much more about who they are. “When the telling or teaching of black history begins with slavery, it ignores their humanity now, just as their humanity was denied in the past.” (Bentley-Edwards 3) Black children face enough adversity in the real world, so why not alleviate the burden by teaching them that their history does…
My subject is on "The Freedom Riders". The Freedom Riders were a group of multicultural men and women, who challenged the laws of segregation on interstate buses. The Freedom Riders were brave men and women wanting to make a difference. Though the Freedom Riders were not the first people to go up against segregation they held a part in what we as our African American history.…
The annual All Bonaventure Reads (ABR) book for the Class of 2021 was Nobody: Casualties of America’s War on the Vulnerable, from Ferguson to Flint and Beyond by Dr. Marc Lamont Hill. A meticulously metaphoric book with great detail on racism and the oppression of blacks. Although, it highlights the negatives of American history, it positively powers all blacks by reminding the reader that they too are human, although they may not always be treated as so. While doing so, the book portrays the three main values at Saint Bonaventure University: discovery, community, and individual worth.…
In an attempt to rebuke the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s claim that controversial books damage the self-esteem of African-American children, Hentoff recounts an experience where he talked with a group of eighth-grade students who were studying Mark Twain’s Huck Finn alongside a history of cities with a reputation for having a high tolerance for racism. One student in the class was bold enough to comment that his class was taught that the “bigots” Twain referred to in his novel commonly referred to African-Americans as “niggers,” stating that just because of Twain’s over-zealous use of the term did not equate to an assumption that Huck Finn was a racist novel (Hentoff). On the contrary, this particular student claimed that as evidence that Twain was expressly critiquing the word and people who used it in order to write a very anti-racist novel.…
“They call me Rain. I have long forgotten my real name as I was very young when they came into my village and took me. I can’t remember much from my life before being a slave girl, but my masters have told me I am from a small village in West Africa.”…
The duality in this poem creates an illustration of the poet’s struggle which refers to the rising and falling of the African American culture; Johnson wonders how the world sees African American during this period as a people or things. It shows that the poet is worried about the direction the African American culture will be moving. Men or things is the comparison which is “Do they really think that African American people are worthless than white american people?” So the poet uses the word “thing” it mean that whites do not appreciate and insult African American people that they do not value as a human. It might be a question the the poet wants to ask others if it will take a long time to change their thinking or if it will take great efforts, strides, and sacrifices.…
During a time period when slavery had finally come to an end, African Americans still struggled as their opportunities for equality were next to nonexistent. In this time of hardship and unfair treatment, not many of those facing these adversities had the courage to speak out on their beliefs for change; Booker T. Washington and WEB Dubois, however, did not possess such fears — both thoroughly articulated their opinions and stood for what they believed was right. Booker T. Washington and WEB Dubois shared a few commonalities — both men were highly educated, for example, as well as they both expressed strong opposition against segregation. Washington’s Up from Slavery: An Autobiography and Dubois’ The Souls of Black Folk outline each of these powerful historical figures’ views on segregation and what can be done to end it. Both of these works are excellent examples of rhetorical writing, possessing strong persuasive arguments. A deeper examination of these texts can be done by a comparison of chapter fourteen of Washington’s work, entitled “The Atlanta Exposition Address,” and chapter three of Dubois’ The Souls of Black Folk – “Of Mr. Booker T. Washington and Others.” Each of the texts contains persuasive arguments; however, each writer’s separate use of rhetorical strategies alludes to an effective expression of the intended theme.…
The African-American heritage has become a very influential part of the American culture of present times. It has a long and troublesome history that leads to fulfilling their “American Dream”; a dream of hard work filled success. This hard work was introduced to the United States initially in the form of slavery. Stories of the trials, tribulations, and hardships of those indoctrinated into slavery can be educational for students of today on many levels.…
Imagine being an African American trying to get an education during segregation times. Getting an adequate education seemed impossible to many African-Americans during this era. Two authors, Frederick Douglass in his essay “Learning to Read and Write” and Malcolm X in his essay “Learning to Read” explore the difficulties they had while trying to teach themselves a literate education. Although Malcolm X and Frederick Douglass learned in different eras and environments, using different strategies, they both had a similar frustrated tone and goal to learn how to read and write.…
For decades children and adults alike have been taught to refrain from using disrespectful racial slurs and treat one another as equals. One way this message is spread to the youth is through their schooling and education. What happens when material is presented in the classroom that in fact teaches just the opposite? This is evident in the teaching of the novel by Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The novel uses racial slurs and derogatory language towards African Americans and takes place in a period in American history that has aspects that are best to be learned from. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should be kept off the mandatory reading list because it is both outdated and uses racial…
For this unit, we read and discussed works that explored issues of race, gender, and class. We asked the question: “Can literature pose an argument?” and examined the texts by applying a variety of critical lenses, such as Historical, Gender Focus, and Psychological.…