Abstract A review of Alice Walker's "The Color Purple". An in depth discussion of the main theme of women's struggles with racism. The author reflects on the critical reviews of three writers: Elizabeth Bartelme, Dinitia Smith and Trudier Harris and compares their novels to the theme of book.
From the Paper "Alice Walker is a black American novelist, a short story writer, a poet, a critic and author of children's books. She won the Pulitzer Prize and the American Book Award for her controversial novel The Color Purple in 1982. Her concerns and descriptions of the black women's struggle for racial, sexual and political equality are prevalent themes in her works. Many of her novels focus on the effects of poverty and racism. In her characters she supports the bond between women. Some critics criticize her for the unfavorable portrait of black men because in many of her themes, black women are ruled and controlled by black men. Most of her novels are set in the deep South and contain its actual use of black dialect."
Abstract This is a comparative analysis essay on Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience" and Martin Luther King JR.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail". The author describes both the writer's use of rational appeal in their arguments.
From the Paper "In Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Letter from Birmingham Jail, he argues, in a ?patiently reasoned (490)? essay, supporting his nonviolent resistance. King accomplishes in presenting his ideas with a plethora of ethical and emotional appeals in combination with rational support. In his essay, Thoreau deals with the evils of slavery and the Mexican War by establishing his already apparent credibility, playing with the reader's emotions, and especially using rational appeals to make the reader think and drawing his own conclusions."
Abstract This paper analyzes the close bond, depicted by Toni Morrison in her novels "Beloved" and "Sula", between African-American women that gives them the strength to continue on, regardless of what crosses their path.
From the Paper "For African-American women, the strong bonds formed in friendships are necessary for survival in a world that always seems to be against them. Alone, they are targets, but together, there is strength. In Toni Morrison's novels, "Beloved" and "Sula", the friendships that take place between young women supply the required bond of unity and love that each needs to live. Inevitably, the bond is broken and although the women are no longer targets, their lives are irreversibly changed."
Tags: african, american, beloved, friendships, morrison, sula, toni, women
Abstract This paper shows how the study of the economics surrounding slavery can give a better understanding of the issues surrounding both slavery and the Civil War. Topics covered include the origins of slavery, opposing views on slavery, the and the economic effectiveness of slavery.
From the Paper "Slavery and the civil war are very complex economic and historical issues. Many prominent Economic Historians view the institution of slavery vastly different from one another. With the difference in views also comes opposing opinions on whether or not the Civil War was actually needed to end the practice of slavery. While it is impossible to truly know what would have happened had events been different surrounding the American Civil War, it is possible to learn about the differences in opinions. Examining the origins of slavery, the opposing views of slavery, and the economics of the civil war can lend a clearer picture of this time frame"
Tags: slavery, Civil, War, south, economics, emancipation, abolition, profit
Abstract This paper takes a look at racism-- what it is and what is the root of its power.
From the Paper "Racism is leftover baggage from the slave trade and slavery. In the year 2002 there are people who believe that there is no longer any racism and there is only one race, the human race. Many of the people that accept these views as true, that it is only the human race, are a part of the majority group in the United States, which are white people. The majority group of people uses the ideology of racism to justify the injustices that are set upon the minority groups. A few of the injustices that they try to justify are how people differentiate between the Black community, versus the White community, in terms of the job opportunities and the types of training that are received. Therefore, racism is based on ideology or belief systems."
Abstract This paper examines the practice of profiling by looking at the psychology that underlies it, which is the habit of people to use stereotypes to set off one group of people from another. The author mainly discusses cases of racial profiling amongst policemen in the United States.
From the Paper "Few issues provoke more intense controversy within minority communities than the police practice of profiling. If a single arena of society could be singled out to demonstrate the inequalities faced by African-Americans ? especially in public life ? it might be in the treatment of blacks by police officers engaged in racial profiling. A great deal of the controversy that has swirled around a number of recent police incidents involve accusations of institutional and embedded racism in the police departments as officers in a number of cities have come forward to say that racial discrimination is an integral element of the daily practices of the police force, with training officers instructing rookies to routinely stop minorities ? such as Latinos with old cars or black men with their hair in corn rows ? and invent after-the-fact justifications, such as a cracked windshield (Harris, 1997, p. 545). It will be useful at this point to define what exactly we mean by racial profiling.
"Racial profiling" occurs when the police target someone for investigation on the basis of that person's race, national origin, or ethnicity. Examples of profiling are the use of race to determine which drivers to stop for minor traffic violations ("driving while black") and the use of race to determine which motorists or pedestrians to search for contraband.
Racial profiling is prevalent in America. Despite the civil rights victories of 30 years ago, official racial prejudice is still reflected throughout the criminal justice system. For people of color in cities large and small across this nation, north and south, east and west, Jim Crow "justice" is alive and well (www.aclu.org)."
Abstract This paper shows how the biography of Malcolm X by author Alex Haley helped the author understand the true derivation of racism.
From the Paper " The constant references to racism by Malcolm X made me curious about the concept of race. I discovered that almost 200 years ago, Johann Friedrick Blumenbach, a German naturalist and the founder of Anthropology, decided to use differences in head shape and skin color to classify mankind into five different races. Although there has never been any scientific evidence to support "racial inheritance" by blood type, mankind has clung to Blumenbach's concept of people being of different races."
Abstract This paper discusses the controversy surrounding the African American boxer who was falsely accused, convicted, and imprisoned in reference to the Bob Dylan song. . The author examines the movie "Hurricane" and how it portrayed the racism in America that condemned a successful black man in the worst way.
From the Paper "Rubin "Hurricane" Carter was born on May 15, 1937 in New Jersey . He was a rough street kid from a lower-class family in the inner city. After having run-ins with the law at an early age, he joined the Army and later became one of the greatest boxers of all time. He should have been the middle weight boxing champion of the world, but instead spent almost 20 years in a New Jersey prison for a triple homicide that he was falsely accused of in 1976."
Abstract The following paper critically analyzes the concept of "Melting Pot" which is a term that supposedly defines America as a land of the free and home to all cultures, races, and ancestries. The author makes reference to two journal articles which claim that "Americanness" is an idea that has always been linked with "Whiteness" and that "whiteness" can not exist, without something against which to define itself - "blackness".
From the paper:
?But in the 1960s and '70s, a more inclusive ideology was suggested -- "a stew" or "mixed salad" term was beginning to emerge as the American label. This term recognized that immigrants to America might maintain their distinct cultures, languages and traditions, their ethnicity or ancestry, while at the same time recognizing their ?Americanness.? (Chideya, 1999) While this term equally recognizes the presence of many different cultures, in my opinion, it doesn?t quite articulate the mixture and combing and cultures as it is in America.?
Tags: cultures, races, and ancestries assimilation ideology white black individual development
Abstract This paper investigates the growing problem of homeless children in the United States. It pays special attention to Washington, D.C., the nation's capital, which has one of the highest homeless rates in the country. The affects of homelessness on a child is examined, and the author shows how health, emotional development and school performance are adversely affected in these children. Current solutions to the problem are examined, and found to be inadequate, and the need for new, solutions, that will address the long-term needs of this special population is advocated.
From the Paper "According to research done by The Better Homes Fund, homeless children have very high rates of acute illness- half suffer from two or more symptoms during a single month. They suffer twice as many ear infections, five times more stomach problems, six times as many speech impediments, and are four times more likely to be asthmatic. Homelessness also has a huge impact on a child's emotional development, as homelessness presents a myriad of stressful and traumatic experiences. Studies indicate that more than one-fifth of homeless children between three and six have emotional problems serious enough to require professional care and that children between seven and seventeen suffer from very serious mental health problems."
This paper is an analysis of Cornell West's book, "Race Matters", providing an interesting critique of current black society and the way in which it is trying to become a part of dominant white society.
Abstract This analysis of Cornell West's book, 'Race Matters', examines the current situation of black society primarily in the United States. This book gives the reader an understanding of the damage that contemporary liberalism actually does to the black community and the inherent self destructive nature of black America. It states Cornell West's ideas of improving race relations which promise some possibility for success. Cornell West's argument centers around a censorship of the market forces which is like a herald for the utter loss of freedom and the enslavement of capitalism to politically correct liberal ideologies. This book encourages black people and their leaders to work among themselves to shrug off the spirit of depression and irresponsibility, so that a future policy of reconciliation and mutual respect may actually exist.
From the Paper "One would be hard put to disagree that the black culture in America currently seems to be largely one of nihilism, despair, and cultural unrest. Black women are more likely to give birth to out of wedlock children, and to try to subsist on public aid. Black people in general are far more likely to commit serious crimes and serve serious time. In fact, a majority of black men have served time in prison for one reason or another. Black neighborhoods are more likely to have high crime rates and be plagued by sweeping urban decay. Graffiti is more common; the houses are less likely to be kept up, the yards less likely to be groomed, and the entire appearance of the neighborhood is sure to be more dirty and unkempt. This lack of respect and concern for public and private property is one of the surest signs that this cultural depression does exist. In the same way that clinical depression and mental illness is often accompanied by laziness and lack of personal upkeep, so cultural depression surely results in a mass refusal to beautify and clean up the neighborhoods. Artistically as well, black culture is represented by lyrics and music that defies conventional morality, religion, and hope. Rap lyrics are far more likely than any other popular music to glorify violence against women and outsiders such as ?faggots,? and even more likely to promote black on black crime and gang warfare. Black "art" tends to promote not only rabid violence, but also drug use, irresponsible sexuality, a lack of family concern, and poor usage of the American language."
Abstract This paper studies Langston Hughes and his many contributions to society. It includes excerpts and an analysis of his poems "The Negro Artist", "Racial Mountain" and "In Dream Boogie". It examines his philosophy on African-Americans living in the 20th century. It details his life and the progress he has made for African-Americans.
From the Paper "Langston Hughes felt that African Americans should be able to live in freedom in the 20th Century. He saw African Americans as a vibrant race, full of live, compassion, and love. He didn"t approve of complacent people. Because Hughes was at the center of the Harlem Renaissance, he naturally felt that African Americans should speak up and demand what they want. He felt that African Americans should be proud of their heritage"they shouldn"t try to be something that they are not. They shouldn"t try to fit into the white culture. More specifically, they should embrace their heritage and love themselves as described in the following:
And so the word white comes to be unconsciously a symbol of all the virtues. It holds for the children beauty, morality, and money. The whisper of "I want to be white" runs silently through their minds. This young poet's home is, I believe, a fairly typical home of the colored middle class. One sees immediately how difficult it would be for an artist born in such a home to interest himself in interpreting the beauty of his own people. He is never taught to see that beauty. He is taught rather not to see it, or if he does, to be ashamed of it when it is not according to Caucasian patterns (Hughes)."
Abstract This paper discusses the passing of specific laws in the colonies of the New World where the first plan was to provide cheap labor in the form of indentured servants and local natives instead of slaves. The author discusses how it was this shift to indentured servitude which gave rise to slavery for the Negroes in the New World.
From the Paper "However, the British did not begin with a conscious plan to colonize the New World, establish plantations and garner great wealth by enslaving Africans. During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, British and other European societies were suspicious of people of other races and believed themselves superior to other races. This facilitated the domination of New World lands, which were all populated by indigenous people of darker and presumed inferior races. Nevertheless, the enslavement of darker-skinned people such as Africans wasn"t a formal plan at first, at least partly because they did not welcome being in proximity with people of other races. By the time the American Revolutionary war had begun, the American colonists owned more slaves than any other European colony, and English traders transported more slaves to market than any other country. (Bernhard , 1999)?
Abstract This research paper focuses on 3 rap artists who produced negative rap lyrics: Tupac Shakur, Christopher "Notorious BIG" and Ice-T's lyrics. This paper describes the negative influence rap lyrics have on young minds. This paper also shows the negative outcome of these rap artists from their heated lyrics.
From the Paper "According to data gathered by the Recording Industry Association of America, nearly half of the recordings sold in 1995 (47.3 percent) were purchased by teens, with people over 30 making up 25.1 percent of the buying force. Those older styles of music like jazz and classical constitute a mere 5.9 percent of the music market (Considine 76). Rap music reaches a lot of impressionable young minds. Violence in rap music is very destructive and some rap artists set extremely bad examples to teens and this is why rap lyrics need to have a positive influence. Rap lyrics are blamed for several deadly incidents involving both rap artists and innocent bystanders. Two of raps biggest names, Tupac Shakur and Notorious BIG, live out their lyrics leading to their deaths. Ice-T's lethal lyrics of his song "Cop Killers" are just about the worst influence a rap artist can have on teens."
An examination of the novel "Dessa Rose", by Sherley Anne Williams which explores the complexity of a white woman's relationship with a black slave woman.
Abstract The paper focuses on the experience of motherhood as felt by a white and a black woman in Antebellum South of 1830s. The two women develop a bond as they begin to understand each other's views on different things including motherhood. These women are able to connect to each other when they become mothers and realize that no matter how different was the color of their skin, they feel the same way about their children.
From the Paper "The novel is based on two real events that took place in 1829 South. Since slavery had still been a norm and the Civil War had not taken place, the novel relates the experiences of one pregnant slave woman who was sentenced to death for starting an uprising. Dessa Rose whose real name 3was Odessa but since she was a slave woman, the real name was of no consequence and everyone called her Dessa. She was certainly a strong bold woman who was courageous enough to stand for the rights of other slaves. Elizabeth Ruth on the other hand is a white female who is abandoned by her husband and lives on a farm in North Carolina. The significance of this character also finds its roots in actual history as she was known for providing sanctuary to slaves."
