...Angelique Vasquez Doctor Scala WGS 4100 April 4, 2017 Log 8 As a black feminist and social activist, bell hooks addresses the intersections of race, class, gender, sexuality and religion, and their ability to produce and perpetuate systems of oppression and domination. In her latest work, Writing Beyond Race: Living Theory and Practice, she attempts to strategize the ways in which scholars, activists and readers can challenge and change systems of domination. In Writing Beyond Race, bell hooks provides an insightful and compelling analysis of the discourse and media representations of race and racism, and provides suggestions for the ways in which people can bridge cultural and racial divides. Writing Beyond Race is a smart, engaging and passionate...
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...African American history. The topic of lynching is a key aspect of African American studies not only because it reveals the hypocrisy of White supremacist ideologies of equality in the United States, but it also can be used as a tool to help transform the entire social and political structure of American society. In a Christian nation that advocates equal rights for its citizens, how are acts such as lynching and other radical acts of violence be supported by most people of the White community? It was not only mob groups such as the Ku Klux Klan who were eliciting such cruel behavior, but everyday citizens like you and I. Families, couples, politicians, or anyone who wanted to be a part of this murderous spectacle were easily permitted to watch or participate in the lynchings. The murders of innocent African American citizens were becoming more of an extravaganza for the White community and many people travelled to come watch the “show.” American institutionalized racism has continually allowed this perception of the Black community as inferior to Whites. It is through the study of lynching can we discover that lynching is caused solely by the problem of the color-line and that the justifications used by white supremacists were untrue. African American studies helps find the real truth about lynching and not a fabricated story by white academic institutions. It has always been the American frontier that had promised freedom and prosperity. “We hold these truths to be...
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...and kept in their places by state sponsored and vigilante terrorism” (Lambert 15). They were treated as nobody’s – someone whose rights and freedoms were ignored without a second thought. This essay will discuss what a closed society is, how it was created and maintained, and why many Whites fought in its defense. A closed society is where there is very little freedom and an individual depending on race is unable to lead a peaceful life without interference from anyone else. During the Civil Rights Era, the White community believed in being better and more important than Blacks, and as a result, white culture ruled the society. For example, Blacks had to enter through the back door (Lambert 14). There were double standards in the community. Blacks were not allowed to enter through the front door because it was only for Whites to enter from. According to James Silver, a professor at Ole Miss, “A closed society, is where citizens not only showed little awareness of a larger world, but exhibited open hostility to “outside” opinion, especially those that were at odds with Racial segregation, white supremacy, and States Rights” (Lambert 139). There is segregation within the society, open hostility to outside opinions. Prior to any beginnings of a Civil Rights movement, white supremacy and the closed society were established through Jim Crow Laws. Jim Crow Laws were created and separated...
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...example, the black man can speak on the national television, own his own business, attend a predominantly white school and even publicly voice his displeasure without getting persecuted. To sum it up, the kind of beastly racism that involved lynching, public vitriol, and aggression against blacks has drastically changed into a more covert one. The opening remarks in Brent Campney’s article in the magazine, Western Historical Quarterly, hint at the task that the black community still had in their quest for dignity even after the civil war. In the introductory remarks of the article, the author laments, “In the aftermath of the war, however, white Kansas made a mockery of the Union’s optimism. Unleashing a campaign of violence aimed at enforcing their supremacy over blacks in the young state’’ (Campney 172). We find that the black community was faced with an uphill task in their quest for equality to their white counterparts even after the civil war. Kansas making a mockery of thee Union means that as per the wish of the Union that blacks would be free and appreciated after they helped the Union crush the Confederacy, the white community in Kansas turned against them with racially instigated violence aimed at them. The Union had thus made an assumption when they thought that with the end of the civil war came the unanimous appreciation of blacks from their white counterparts. Blacks had to do much more than just help crush the Confederacy forces if they were going...
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...of segregation was during 1950s. The South promoted segregation with saying that the segregate but the facilities, which the blacks had to use were equal. This was a big lie. In this essay I try to explain the major reasons why there was segregation in the South during the 1950s. Before the American Civil War the South had a big plantation economy, where they planted rice, sugar, cotton, tabacco and the major plantation economy in the South, sugar. The plantation economy was the biggest economy in the South due to the climate and it was the closest point to Africa from the New World called USA. The short distance to Africa pushed Slavery in the USA. All the owners of the plantation had African slaves who worked for them. This changed after the Civil War when Slavery got abolished and therefore the plantation economy ended. The plantation economy ended because the whites believed that this was only a job for blacks. As I mentioned earlier was the plantation economy the biggest economy in the South but when Slavery ended the South got poor, farming rural area. Moreover the South believed in the supremacy of the white race and they were in fear when slavery ended that this system could get mixed up therefor the South introduced Jim Crow laws. Laws which segregated the blacks from the supreme white race. One way of segregation were voting limitations for blacks. Blacks had to fill out voting registration papers on their own but many were illiterates because they did not enjoy any...
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...Literary Analysis #1 In the “Blood Burning Moon” by Jean Toomer, the author takes the reader back in time to the rural south-1 during a time of Jim Crow laws. In a small town, Tom Burwell and Bob Stone challenge each other for the affection of an African American woman named Louisa. Louisa has no last name, which signifies that she has not taken on a name of the “master” or she is just any Negro woman. After bob-1 and Tom discovered each other’s-1 lust for Louisa, a fight breaks out in which Bob’s throat get slashed. Bob, a white man, was able to stumble back to the white side of town to tell others. An extreme racist mob formed quickly to lynch Tom and burned him at the stake. Throughout the story, the author accentuates racism, love and passion, imagery and Tom’s getting lynched.—Thesis needs a clearer and more unified sense of purpose and theme. The moon symbolized the eyes of God as it is lowered to the earth. Clouds symbolized the presence of God. The blood red moon symbolized the host drenched in blood. In this story, the moon is raising toward a dark cloud. These represent God hiding his face from the evil.—If you are gong to make these analytical claims about symbolism, you need to show and back them up with specific and concrete quoted support from the story. In exploring(,)-1 the feelings of Bob and Tom toward Louisa, Toomer portrays a relationship of love and passion through racism. In order to show racial conflict, Toomer creates a romantic clash...
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...To what extent was the early civil rights movement successful in bringing about social and political change for Black Americans between 1880 and 1945? Although the 13 amendment legally abolished slavery and was seen as a hope for a greater future for black people, the loopholes and racist attitudes shared by most whites in America meant a constraint on black civil rights. This essay will focus on the key factors which helped the civil rights and also factors which downgraded it such as the Supreme Court and a racist congress. The supreme court was a major limitation to the black civil rights movement, they were not very lawful and they did not grant justice to the blacks but were unfair and biased and also supported white supremacy, this could be made evident seeing that no rules were implemented on lynching, the court had been very unconstitutional by doing this. In Plessey v Ferguson (1896) the biased injustices against the black race could be seen which enhanced a gateway for white supremacy. The Supreme Court did show its injustices from the beginning, starting with legitimizing the Jim Crow Laws . Anti-civil rights movements were also beginning to take place, creating a massive opposition to the black civil rights movement, limiting if not destroying its ability to bring about social and political change. The most powerful at the time was the infamous KKK the aims of this group was to supress the wanting of black rights through terror and violence; they called it a “resistance...
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...Remembering and Commemorating the War Essay According to Blight, Fredrick Douglas fought hard to protect the memory of the war. What was Douglas’s memory of the war and why did he try to protect it? North vs. South, Confederates vs. The Union. Rifles were fired… brother vs. brother. Men were named heroes for seemingly valiant acts in battle. We learn many things from the past. A nation was literally ripped in half in what was called the bloodiest conflict in American History. History is not an obsolete thing. Rather, it teachers valuable lessons. It can’t be denied how tragic the Civil War really was in American History. “It is not well to forget the past. Memory was given to man for some wise purpose. The past is the mirror in which we discern the dim outlines of the future and by which we may make them”(97). Prominent American Figure Fredrick Douglas was born a slave, educated, freed himself then became an accomplished author that fought for equality for blacks and many other groups in America. In the text Beyond the Battlefield: Race, Memory, and the American Civil War, author David W. Blight describes Douglas’s memory of the Civil War as something beyond the battlefield. Fredrick Douglas recognized the heroism and the death that happened on the battlefield. However there was much more than the combat and battle happenings that Douglas remembered. Douglas remembered what it was to be a slave; this very insight was the key to his memory of the Emancipation Proclamation...
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...established to people of color. The Feminist Movement is entirely about the change for women but the movement consists of only a White women’s viewpoint, which they view the male as the enemy. Reading about feminism only makes references to European men and women but not people of color. During the Feminist Movement, three waves were created; the first wave was women’s suffrage, the second wave was the women’s liberation movement, and the third movement was centered on sexuality (Hobbs, Rice 23). The movement was focused on women and poverty, women and education, violence against women, women in the economy, and women and politics. These were standard movements that were fought for but it was the perspective of the White women but it may have applied to all...
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...Professor: Samira Taheri English 1301 04/08/2016 Critical Analysis Essay Police brutality is a complex phenomenon, which has widespread effect on today’s society. The black community has been subjected of police brutality since many decades in the United States. In recent days, the law enforcement officers come under serious accusation of using excessive force often that leads to unjustifiable assaults, shooting and beating against the minor communities. In history, racist violence, police brutality, has been used to crush the black people voice to sphere power and privileges of the white people. For instance, the killing innocent young black man in McIntosh County and Ferguson were the two symbolic incidents that lead to mass protest against the law enforcement officers. The outrage in McIntosh and Ferguson were about something difficult to accept the systematic violation against black people largely by the while supremacy. The practice of police brutality has a strong effect on a main segment of black community. It is not a new issue; it has become more intensive recently due to some incidents that have occurred in the past few years that have been highly publicized. "Praying for Sheetrock”, a non-fiction book written by Melissa Fay Greene is a true story of the tiny black community awakening against the white authoritarian rule. It is principally the story of Thurnell Alston, a black man who protests against the white hierarchy in McIntosh County and inspired the political awakening...
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...of its historical accuracy and moral actuality, it should be a continued required reading in high school curriculums. The setting of Huck Finn is before the Civil war, roughly 1835-1845, when slavery was still legal in the recently independent United States. Any slave not freed by his owner was hunted down and white domination was frequently practiced and seen. When Huck faked his death towards the beginning, was also when Jim, the Widow’s slave, fled. Whites and...
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...How far do you agree that the impact of the Second World War was the main reason why the position of African Americans improved in the years 194555? Before WW2, it could be considered that AfroAmericans had no position in society. This was evident especially in the Southern States where white supremacy emerged amongst the dominant white class. Many Southern Politicians were members of the Klu Klux Klan and so they often tried to disregard any Supreme Court Rulings that were created. In this essay it will be argued that it was the Second World War which was the main reason why the Position of African Americans improved in the years 19451955. However, there are other factors that have to be taken into consideration such as the Presidential Influence and the Supreme Court Rulings. The impact of WW2 was important in securing better position for AfroAmericans as more people realised their significance of their work in the army. As a result it became apparent of the reforms that were required. President Truman took over from President Roosevelt. He was significant even though he was a racist at a young age and supported white supremacy. When he took over as President he felt he had a moral obligation to fight segregation. He established the President’s Committee on Civil Rights in 1947 and commissioned them to make a report examining the experiences of ethnic minorities It highlighted the problems facing African Americans and how to make America a more just ...
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...to vote. Although their struggles were similar in nature, the difference between gaining suffrage for all races, and gaining suffrage for both sexes raised arguments between what should have been a collaborative force. In Fredrick Douglass’ essay “Learning to Read and Write” and Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s essay “Declaration of Sediments and Resolutions” there were significant shared literally binaries. First off is the underlying factor Civilized v. Uncivilized. This is relevant to the argument because they both are considered uncivilized so they can’t vote. Secondly, Mental Darkness v. Education. Douglass wasn’t able to be educated because he was a slave to a white family and it was looked down upon for him to be educated. Stanton was a woman therefore she was seen by society as less intelligent even though she wasn’t. Third is Depravity v. Innocence. Both of them were being treated wrongly by someone above them and both of them were innocent in the situations. Lastly is Equal v. Unequal. They are both equally unequal to a white males, so, as stated in the constitution, they were not able to vote. All of these things proved to be sufficient arguments against both African Americans and women against their suffrage. Stanton in her essay says, “He has compelled her to submit to laws, in the formation of which...
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...Introduction There are over 90,000 women in prison in the U.S. today. (WEAP) Between 1980 and 1993, the growth rate for the female prison population increased approximately 313%, compared to 182% for men in the same period. At the end of 1993 women accounted for 5.8% of the total prison population and 9.3% of the jail population nationwide. (NWLC) Although the proportion of prisoners who are women is relatively small, women make up the fastest growing subset of the entire prison population. For this reason, and because male supremacy and sexist justice are so intimately related to this problem, a separate consideration of women in prison is needed. Male privilege and domination, and the protection of that privilege have long been and continue to be central to the criminal prosecution system. In this essay I will consider three main subjects in this regard: Social and economical causes of female violence, what’s the reaction of society and justice system to it, how prison works in this society and what’s its effect on female prisoners? Social and Economical Causes of Female Violence First I will consider social and economical causes of female violence. Who are the women in prison? The profile that emerges in study after study is that of young, single mother with few job skills, a high school dropout whom lives below the poverty level are the most typical women in prison. Seventy-five percent are between the ages of twenty-five and thirty-four, are mothers of dependent children...
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...Selina Rich Professor Cherry Lou Sy English Composition 1010 12th October 2014 Response Paper Black Body: Rereading James Baldwin’s “Stranger In The Village I found this essay to be fascinating illustrating a vast amount of knowledge on the part of the author, rich in content, and beautifully written. Teju Cole skillfully captures the beauty of the Swiss landscape enabling the physical magnificence of Leukerbad to come to life for the reader, whilst simultaneously placing Baldwin’s alienation, rage, profound grief and “white supremacy” issues amidst that very beauty stating ”The remote village gave him a sharper view of what things looked like back home.” Cole describes how this once quiet Leukerbad has become a tourist resort attracting many due to the mountains and thermal baths which gave me the impression he is trying to convey that time stands still for no one, that everything is a constant state of change yet when it comes to racism, even to this day, “arresting members of the dance troupes that perform in moving subway cars is one of the ways to clean up the city.”still makes sense to some. I immensely enjoyed Cole describing his first night in Leukerbad listening to Bessie Smith, the amazing blues singer a true virtuoso of double entendres, feeling like the “custodian of a black body” and finding himself slipping into Baldwins shoes by virtue of his identification with what it feels like spiritually to speak “the Word.” As he so eloquen...
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