Preview

The Color of Water " the Effects of Black Panthers on the Life of Black Americans"

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
522 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Color of Water " the Effects of Black Panthers on the Life of Black Americans"
"Black Power", the word alone raises an abundance of controversial issues. Black power was a civil rights movement led by the black panthers which addressed several issues including segregation and racism. Black power had a different meaning to every member of the Mc Bride family, Ruth and James both looked at black power from a different angle. In "The Color of Water", The author James Mc Bride admired the black panthers at first, but slowly he grew afraid of them after fearing the consequences his mother might face for being a white woman in a black community influenced by black power. James' worries were baseless, black power's motive was to educate and improve African American communities not to create havoc or to harm members of the white community.

There was a time in James' life when he was thrilled to see member's of the black panther. James' states "But our favorite was a gleaming black, souped-up GTO with the words "Black Power" written in smooth white script across the hood and top"(26). James admired the owner of that car, He wanted black culture to be carried out and he seemingly loved "dap", the black panther's handshake. The media assured their viewers that the black panthers were a threat to whites anywhere ,Which planted a seed of fear in James' mind. James was so afraid that he wouldn't be able to sleep till his mother was home(33). James would sometimes find himself in situations where people would call his mother names for no apparent reason other than that she was different. James' fear for Ruth grew stronger after she was robbed by 2 black men.

Ruth on the other hand wasn't at all influence by black power nor did she have any opinions, arguments or negativity to express towards them. Ruth got along fine with black people. She was robbed by black men but that didn't change her point of view about other blacks. James was very scared when the member of the black panther was standing besides his mother but she wasn't
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Huey Newton And The Black Panther Party Summary
    • 1262 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Huey Newton And The Black Panther Party Summary

    The article talks about the establishment of free health care, anti-drug campaign and freedom school by Panthers.…

    • 1262 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Bobby Seale's Influence On The Black Panthers
    • 1252 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Bobby Seale's Influence On The Black Panthers

    Bobby Seale was born on the 22nd of October 1936 in Dallas, Texas. He was the first born in a family of three. Seale grew up dug in destitution with an injurious father, and the family brought their battles with them when they moved the nation over to California. Seale went to Berkeley High School, and it was amid this period that he began to end up politically minded. Seale served in the United States air force and later joined the Merritt College in Oakland, California.…

    • 1252 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Ruth's Relationship With Dennis
    • 423 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Ruth's Relationship With Dennis

    At the time Ruth’s decision to be with Dennis was controversial.The african american community, in ,addition to the white community at the time was largely unsupportive. They would repeatedly redicule her telling her how society won’t accept her, thinking society would call her “white trash.”(231-232) Ruth starts the chapter talking about her interracial marriage and how some black people did not accept her relationship with Denis. As a result, a woman punched her in the face. At that era interracial relationships were abhorred. Dennis used others negativity positively, since when they would argue he used reverse psychology stating “That’s what people want us to do,” which lead their relationship to become stronger. They always faced discrimination as a couple as well as individually. Ruth shows her loyalty and strength to face this because she would always act strong and unwavering when people ask her why her why she is with an African American.…

    • 423 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Color Of Water Rhetorical Analysis
    • 817 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Color Of Water Rhetorical Analysis

    I’m your mother” (13), she said that when asked by James why she didn’t look like him or anyone else in the family. Throughout her entire life Ruth never cared about what religion someone was or what the color of their skin was; all she cared about was what they were like as a person. This is shown when she falls in love for the first time and it is a black man. Even though Ruth knew her family wouldn’t approve of that she dated him anyways because he treated her nicely and he didn’t judge her. James never really had racism directed at him personally in the book but he was always conflicted with which side to take. As a child he believed that the Black Panthers were out to get his mom and that they were going to kill her. He was conflicted because all of his peers and neighbors seemed to support the Black Panthers but he thought that he couldn’t because he wanted his mother to be…

    • 817 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    The Autobiography Of An Ex-Colored Man By James Weldon Johnson
    • 1530 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The Autobiography Of An Ex-Colored Man By James Weldon Johnson

    For years now many individuals within the African Diaspora have struggled with the whole idea of what it means to be black. This issue has been the source of internal conflict for a countless number of individuals for many years; unfortunately, this could be a question many struggles with in the future. Many may ask why individuals struggle to come to terms with these sorts of dilemmas. Sadly this multifaceted question does not have a clear-cut of an answer as we would like. But some contributing factors include, but shouldn't be limited to, the way in which blacks were viewed and diversity within the diaspora, and circumstances in which people are thrust into etc. In The Autobiography of An Ex-Colored Man by James Weldon Johnson as the main…

    • 1530 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Analysis Of The Souls Of Black Folk By W. E. B. Dubois
    • 342 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Analysis Of The Souls Of Black Folk By W. E. B. Dubois

    Through the writing of W.E.B DuBois in The Souls of Black Folk, the double life of an African American is uncovered. Dubois’ writing tells his readers that the life of an African American. Throughout most of DuBois childhood he was thrown around, disrespected, and unwanted. Instead of letting his circumstances get the best of him he created a life that would empower him and made the best out of his circumstances. DuBois specifically did this through getting an education because an education is something no one can take away from him; yet, this was not easy because he was African American and during this time white people would do anything in their power to place African Americans below them.…

    • 342 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Comparison Of Power In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
    • 632 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Comparison Of Power In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

    In the book the white women has power over the black man all because he is black. “She turned on him in scorn “listen nigger,” she said “you know what I can do to you if you open your trap?” crooks stared hopelessly at her and then he sat down on his bunk and drew into himself. She closed on him “you know what I could do?” crook seemed to grow smaller and he pressed himself against the wall “yes ma’am “ that a woman was able to make a black man feel bad about himself and make him stop talking. Also how a curley has power over his wife. H=because she is women and during that time women were just property (……) that he is able to make his wife feel like property and that she can't do anything just stay at home and clean. Then how the white men has power over black men all because the color of her skin(…) that they won't talk to him or anything else beside play horseshoes with. Plus how he's not allowed to go into the buk where they other guys are he has to stay in the barn with the…

    • 632 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Black Panther Party: A Political Revolution
    • 355 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Black Panther Party: A Political Revolution

    We have chosen the topic of the Black Panther Party, for our history fair topic. The Black Panther party is a perfect example of a revolution in history. The Black Panthers Were founded in was founded in 1966 by Bobby Seale and Huey Newton. The original reason for the party was an organization created to protect African American neighborhoods from police brutality. In turn it became. The Black Panthers were heavily into Black Empowerment. It was a political revolution for the advancement of blacks. The Black Panther party were all for Black Nationalism.…

    • 355 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    African American History Research Paper
    • 412 Words
    • 2 Pages

    African American History Research Paper

    Do you know the origins of African American history month? Do you know what the name of this month was before it became know to us as African American history month? Do you know how many countries celebrate African American history month?…

    • 412 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Black Panther Party Research Paper
    • 2229 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Black Panther Party Research Paper

    In the nineteen fifties black communities across the United States were suffering under the heavy burden of poverty. Unemployment, incarceration, drug use and numerous other conditions of poverty were all significantly more prevalent amongst blacks then whites. At the same time blacks across the country were struggling against the oppression of general racial discrimination and Jim Crow segregation in the south. From this turmoil a multitude of black rights movements were created to struggle for equality and better living conditions for blacks. On the forefront of this undertaking was the non-violent Civil Rights Movement led by Baptist Minister Martin Luther King Jr. and the “by…

    • 2229 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Civil Rights Movement: The Black Panthers
    • 770 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Civil Rights Movement: The Black Panthers

    The Black Panthers were a famous and revolutionary organization founded in California in the 1960's, whose purpose was the protection and empowerment of the black race. Although most media attention focused around Martin Luther King Jr. as the leader of the Civil Rights movement during the 1960's, Black Power groups like the Black Panthers, who disagreed with MLK's ideology, also exerted influence, especially in poor black communities. "Founded in October 1967 in Oakland, California, by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale, the group had as its original purpose patrolling black neighborhoods to monitor police treatment of blacks" (American Decades 234). The party originally had fewer than one hundred members in Oakland, but it grew to a loosely connected…

    • 770 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    The New Negro Summary
    • 1408 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The New Negro Summary

    In the beginning Locke tells us about “the tide of Negro migration”. During this time in a movement known as the Great Migration, thousand of African Americans also known as Negros left their homes in the South and moved North toward the beach line of big cities in search of employment and a new beginning. They left the South because of racial violence such as the Ku Klux Klan and economic discrimination not able to obtain work. Their migration was an expression of their changing attitudes toward themselves as Locke said best From The New Negro, and has been described as "something like a spiritual emancipation." Many African Americans moved to Harlem, a neighborhood located in Manhattan. Back in the day Harlem became the world’s largest black community; also home to a diverse mix of cultures. Having extraordinary outbreak of inspired movement revealed their unique culture and encouraged them to discover their heritage; and becoming "the New Negro,” Also known as “New Negro Movement,” it was later named the Harlem Renaissance.…

    • 1408 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Black Panther Party Essay
    • 884 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Black Panther Party Essay

    Panther Party, Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton, paved the way for African Americans using…

    • 884 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Civil Rights Movement: The Black Panthers
    • 977 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Civil Rights Movement: The Black Panthers

    Throughout U.S. history African Americans have gone through and still face hardship. They were slaves early on and through laws they were able to be free and become citizens. Even after these events there were still obstacles that would have to be overcome. Leaders and icons in African American civil rights movements like Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr. and etc. would spark and inspire other blacks to step up and try to make a difference. Some would try to make a difference but some with different methods.…

    • 977 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Stokely Carmichael's 'The Study Of Black Power'
    • 1033 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Stokely Carmichael's 'The Study Of Black Power'

    discusses events surrounding BPP’s journey of overcoming a series of obstacles including prejudice and racial discrimination, political conspiracies and repression, mass incarceration and police brutality. She explains their organizations objectives of ‘Black Power’, a term she uses throughout the book, referencing and paying homage to Stokely Carmichael’s memorable rallying slogan. As she states in her introduction, “The study of Black Power doesn’t just fill holes in scholarly literature; it fills holes in the tapestry of American past. It fills bullet holes.” (pg. 5) Although the term ‘Black Power’ became an iconic slogan for BPP’s resistance, it was also feared by many white Americans and opposed by other nonviolent civil rights organizations…

    • 1033 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics