Back in the 1960s, was when the movie was taking place. Durring that time era, it is known to us that there was lots of racism and discrminination against "coloured" people. This true story speaks to us about how an elderly black woman fights versus the white lawyers and judges to serve justice to the man who killed her husband. In class we studied how the law is blind to some in the legal system, one of the lessons that we studied that includes blindness in the law was the "whites vs. blacks", where the whites would stand a higher ground than the blacks and could get away with something terrible such as murder. This is what happens in the movie and even though fighting for it took 27 years Miss.Evers finally got some peace at mind knowning she put the bad man in jail. Without this blindness, there shouldnt have been 27 years of fighting an countless amounts of hours could have been placed in other cases much needed help. To conclude, the "white vs. blacks" issue was a key concept in unit 1 that was represented durring the movie.…
In the movie the nine black students got no respected at all. The students were treated the same as every other black person at this point in time. The black students took abuse and bullying that no other person would be able to take. They got pushed, threatened, excluded from events and even…
I will be using the character M .Savage or Matilda Savage from the novel “Alive” by Scott Sigler. Matilda wakes up in a coffin not knowing where she is or who she is. She builds up enough strength and courage to break open the lid. Once she gets out she finds out that someone else is in the room. She eventually breaks open the other coffin to find the other person.…
The fact in the book that remained typical was that slaves weren’t allowed to learn how to read and write. It’s sad to think that the whites didn’t want African Americans to get smarter and to eventually some day out rule the white population. It’s ridiculous to think that the whites passed out so many laws that limited the blacks on so many rights that the whites take for granted, such as the law that was passed in 1834 that effected one of Sally’s sons. If a slave couldn’t learn to read and write a slave then wouldn’t be able to live a life he or she were free.…
In the essay, “How It Feels To Be Colored Me” Hurston extensively and vividly gives a rundown of her own experiences being Black. It’s worth noting the essay isn’t monolithic to the Black race and focuses on Hurston. The essay opens with southerner and Eatonville native, Hurston describing what it’s like growing up in Eatonville, Florida for thirteen years. Things were segregated during that time that whites and blacks who had their own exclusive towns rarely encountered each other. Hurston found ways to entertain herself and one way was by turning the front porch of her house into a theater. The word outside her porch was the stage and her neighbors and townsfolk were the “actors.” From an early age, it’s apparent Hurston had a creative personality.…
“Just Walk On By,” by Brent Staples describes his life as an African American that is criticized and judged by the appearance the he reflects. He talks about the many different times in his life he experiences these act of racial profiling, and what he does to resolve these acts of discrimination. Through his passive calm tone he displays throughout his essay, he comes up with ways in which he changes him self in order for society to accept him. However, this is just one of many life stories that people go threw and how they are affected by these unfair acts. We can still see this in today's society, all around us, some of us do this naturally with out putting thought in what we are rely doing. My dad had a friend at work in the same situation which was judged and made fun of because of the ethnicity he was from. I believe he wrote this essay to give us an idea of how the human race see people through the their eyes and do not comprehend that we can not infer something against someone just because he is this race or that race.…
It was reflected in the past and present, from discriminating against skin color, how they look, being uneducated, etc. In the “Coming of Age In Mississippi” skin color is an issue that African Americans deal with and racism inside their own community. For example, Raymond’s mother, a mullato doesn’t necessarily care for Anne Moody’s mother because she is dark-skinned and when Anne Moody was considering applying to Tougaloo College although her roommate informs her that you need to be light-skinned and rich to attend, she immediately refused that decision. This internalized racism affects Anne Moody’s identity because she didn’t consider herself having the privilege the lighter skinned African Americans had because she is dark skinned, she puts herself down and questions well if I wasn’t dark-skinned, maybe I would be able to have the joy in doing things my own race could do. The article, “Skin Tone and Stratification in the Black Community” by Verna M. Keith and Cedric Herring discusses the difference in skin tone in the black community and how it makes a difference in the opportunities given in society. The article states, “ Fair-skinned blacks had higher levels of attainment than darker blacks on virtually every dimension of stratification. During the 1960s, however, blacks experienced unprecedented social and economic progress. Racial differences in…
The movie, in a sense, is a thrilling adventure about the ups and downs of relationships in the black community. In another sense, it was a heartwarming story about women who can live to the fullest no matter what circumstances they encounter. I believe it to be more of the latter. Robin was willing to lower her standards and even date a man who has been addicted to drugs only to find the man who will show her love. Gloria would rather stay at home and talk to the man across the street, rather than work so she can have a shot at his love. Savannah, a successful business woman, is willing to allow a married man to interfere with the way she lives her life. Bernadine lost all of her money and was close to losing everything she had. However, each woman, at the end of the movie, realized they could have life to the fullest.…
Set in New York in the 1950’s, Imitation of Life by Douglas Sirk portrays a complex relationship between a Black American mother and her fair skin daughter, Sarah Jane. Appearance is a central theme throughout the story. Sarah Jane can “pass” as white because of her fair skin but despises the fact that her mother is black. Unlike Sarah, her mother Annie accepts her fate and status dated by the society, Sarah Jane challenges the status quo and adventures out to pursue a whole new world for herself. Sarah Jane seizes every opportunity to break away from her beloved mother to live (or perhaps imitate) a life that offers equal opportunities in the society.…
Hurston refused to be defined by the stereotypes of her time and times long gone. She often pushed the boundaries of what was customarily done, thought or expected by people of “color”. Hurston redefines and restructures the reality of being colored by the use of Satire, Imagery, and Personification. Hurston uses these strategies to lightheartedly yet emphatically refute the misconceptions that African Americans have of themselves and allow society to have of them.…
Among the other prominent facts profiled in the series are: Harriet Tubman, Richard Allen, Frederick Douglass, Robert Smalls, Ida B. Wells, W. E. B. Du Bois, Booker T. Washington, Marcus Garvey, Oscar Micheaux, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Jr., Ruby Bridges, Charlayne Hunter-Gault, Kathleen Neal Cleaver, Maulana Karenga, Colin Powell, etc. This film result in meaning to the filmmaker that there’s no America without African Americans. The structure of this film helps you understand that African Americans are…
The movie and the readings validate because in the movie, we saw black students and white students clearly working together in school, sports and etc., but there was still silent confrontations going on. There was a white student who admitted that being white is better than being black because whites have certain priorities and more socially acceptable.…
Another problem that Ferguson observes in her book is the two controlling images of black males in schools. She says, “Two cultural images stigmatize black males in the United States today: one represents him as a criminal, and the other depicts him as an endangered species. I found that both of these images were commonly invoked at Rosa Parks School for identifying, classifying, and making punishment decisions by the adults responsible…
It was Alice Walker who famously said “No person is your friend who demands your silence, or denies your right to grow.” Originally written in her essay In Search of Our Mother’s Gardens, Walker was seeking to convey that acceptance of bigotry, whether it be racism or sexism, is ill-advised beyond belief. The Civil Rights movement, beginning during Walker’s youth, helped spur ideas of equality, allowing her to voice her opinions and call attention to such an issue. As a huge advocate of civil rights, whether it be sexism or racism, Walker sought to apply such messages to her novels as well as her social reform work and highlighted the black female struggle. Alice Walker’s teenage pregnancy, divorce, and her involvement in the Civil Rights Movement,…
The first chapter, “blacks are more racist than whites” suggest that blacks are considered in his opinion to be a victicrat. Meaning they blame all of there problems and unhappiness on others. Elder goes against his cultural norm and instead calls the black culture out for not accepting the fact that they are treated equally in America. In fact blacks have the same opportunities as whites do, but people are still complaining and blaming white people for holding them back. Elder points the importance that Americans must fight a victicrat mentality. Elder believes that an affirmative attitude can help improve Americans. I have heard of this before I read the book and it was interesting to hear an African American comment on other African Americans mentality. Elder proves that there are some blacks out there that do not want to accept the fact that they can be equal now more than ever before. I think if the government gets out of the picture, then black people will be more motivated to better themselves and stop blaming others.…