Abstract This paper discusses how the American Civil Rights Movement was primarily a nonviolent struggle by African-Americans to obtain full rights, protections and equality under the law. It looks at how, although in many aspects the Civil Rights Movement continues it struggle for equality today, it actually began with the start of the Civil War and really took off in the 1960s. It looks at how the Civil Rights Movement has seen many successes and failures including boycotts, sit-ins, ride-ins and victories in the Supreme Court and how it has been led by such leaders as W.E.B Dubois, Thurgood Marshall and Dr. Martin Luther Jr.
Outline:
Introduction
Civil Rights Movement Background
Civil Rights Movement Timeline (1865-1955)
The Aims of the Civil Rights Movement
Major Players and Their Role in the Movement
Successes and Failures of the Movement
Other Movements with Roots in the Sixties
Conclusion
From the Paper "After the Civil War, the 13th Amendment to the Constitution was passed in 1865. The 13th Amendment outlawed slavery. In 1868, the 14th Amendment was passed. This amendment made anyone born in the United States a naturalized citizen and afforded them equal protection under the law. The amendment however although providing equal protection to all citizens, created what is known as the separate by equal doctrine or better known as segregation. In 1870, the 15th Amendment was passed which provided voting rights to all citizens regardless of race. But with the passing of this amendment it, it did not remove literacy tests to qualify voters. This test was particularly used to eliminate black voters. "
Tags: Martin Luther King slavery 14th Amendment segregation DuBois Thurgood Marshall
An look at how the leaders of the Civil Rights movement believed that racism was based on economics, and that the entire economic system of the United States and of the world was inherently flawed.
1,105 words (approx. 4.4 pages), 5 sources, 2000, $ 38.95
Abstract The Civil Rights movement of the 1960s was not a movement for equality in the social or political sense; rather, it was a movement to bring an end to economic inequality and exploitation by the elites. Common perception holds that the Civil Rights movement sought to gain certain political and social rights and equalities. Measures such as the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act reinforced such flawed perceptions. However, when the works of the leaders of the Civil Rights movement are consulted, it is discovered that they were seeking economic equality. They believed that the fundamental cause of racism was a flawed economic system. It is important to note that they did not believe that poverty in the traditional sense caused racism and inequality. They believed, especially King and Carmichael, that the entire economic system of the United States and of the world was inherently flawed. This essay explore? their arguments why racism was based on economics, why the system was flawed, and how they hoped to change the system.
Abstract This paper is an analysis of the cultural influences that young Maya and Bailey Junior are subjected to as children. The book "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings" depicts a number of these influences, and this paper names and analyzes a select number of them. The paper format is a thesis introduction, three main points with paragraphs on each, and a conclusion.
Tags: and, bailey, cultural, influences, junior, maya, on, young
Abstract This paper addresses the character of Uncle Tom in Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel, "Uncle Tom's Cabin" and how Tom is an example of how the author viewed the role of the diligent and loyal slave during the pre-Civil War era.
Abstract This paper is all about prosody. The poem, Countee Cullen's "Incident" is the analyzed work. In this paper, the author looks at the rhythm of the poem, likening it to cinematic scores.
From the Paper "Countee Cullen was an African-American poet born in New York, and a contributor to the Harlem Renaissance. He wrote of the black experience as he lived it, writing lyrically and imaginatively. His Incident is a short poem describing a brief incident in the speaker's life. While told in retrospect, and with few carefully chosen words, the relation of the experience speaks volumes about racism and how one must deal with it even from a young age. The format of the poem provides meaty contrast to the poem's subject matter, staying at one tempo even when the mood of the poem changes dramatically."
Abstract Ralph Ellison's use of "dark" and "light" motifs are explored in the construction of this tour-de force novel. The publisher argues that Ellison often inverts our traditional notions of dark and light, or black and white to help blur the line between right and wrong. The essay intends to examine the many different passages that deal with direct contrasts between the symbolic meanings of black and white (good vs. evil, or vice versa) and the passages indicating fundamental differences between literal and figurative blindness.
From the Paper "In this novel, there is a sense of good-men and bad-men, and the central journey of the novel is the narrator?s, as he tries to find both goodness, and self. In a sense, the Invisible Man is searching for the basic human goodness that he understands lies in all men. The novel portrays certain characters as these so-called good-men that must bear the ?white man's burden.? Such a burden is usually taken to mean the subordination of black men at the hands of the whites, but groups who appear on the surface to help the blacks often disguise its meaning."
"It must be noted that not all of man's darker side is repulsive to Ellison, because he often refers to certain good emotions that spring from this darker well of the human psyche. However, man does seem to have a darker side that is totally evil, a side that he tries to hide with rationalizing and conjecture."
Tags: black, catharsis, ellison, equal, literature, race, ralph, rights
Abstract This paper is written mostly from a subjective viewpoint regarding racism in the United States. The author describes his/her brush with racism, and talks a bit about some of the history of and groups behind organized racist activity. Conclusions are drawn about some of this activity by the author.
From the Paper "Racism has been a problem for hundreds of years. Has it gotten any better from what it used to be? A little, but it still plays a major problem in our society. I come from a small town, which is mostly white, so it's hard to still believe that the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) is still up and going strong. My eyes were blinded by this stereotype I held. They are not just affecting people in the south, they have moved all over the states. Will it ever end, who's to say? My question I had before investigating this topic is: Does the KKK still have an affect on us this day in age? And if so, how far have they spread away from the South?"
Abstract This paper reports on the Scottsboro lynching of 1930. The case of the Scottsboro Boys was one that showed the tensions between Northerners and Southerners, blacks and whites, poor and wealthy, Communists and Capitalists. The author argues that in midst of these important issues that surrounded this case, many forget the nine young boys, the real victims of this tragedy, a battle of passions, prejudices and propaganda.
From the Paper "Few cases stirred up as much controversy and high emotions among the American people in the 1930's as the one of the "Scottsboro Boys". The case of the nine black boys accused of raping two white women in Alabama produced many retrials, convictions and reversals that followed for two decades after the first trial. The proceedings of the case embodied many issues existing in the country during this period of the Great Depression. The struggle for justice of the innocent young men heightened the major tensions and illustrated the threat of a social, Communist revolution, unrest along race lines, and divisions and hostility between the North and South, the core themes of the decade."
Abstract This paper examines the AIDS epidemic in general and in Black Women in particular. Before focusing on black women, the author discusses how different age and gender groups can contract the disease. Then, he provides statistical evidence that shows that the AIDS rate amongst Black Women was relatively high.
From the Paper "In an article written for BlackWomensHealth Newsletter, the AIDS rate among Black women is three times as high as that among Latino women and 18 times as high as that among White women. Today Black women make up more than half of all women who have died of AIDS. The statistics indicate a disproportionate number of Black females falling victim to HIV and AIDS. African Americans make up 13 percent of the population, yet they now account for 41 percent of all AIDS cases in the United States. The Harvard AIDS Institute estimates that by the year 2000 more than half of all AIDS cases in the United States will be within the African American community. "
Abstract This paper examines the works of Zora Neale Hurston, who wrote about the relations between men and women and how they interact. The writer describes these relations from a certain point of view that takes black American circumstances into consideration and writes at the time of the Harlem renaissance, which effected so many black Americans and changed gender relations in black culture forever.
From the Paper "One of the qualities that grants to Zora Neale Hurston's work such an enduring quality and such a wide audience is the skill that she brings to her discussions and elucidation of the ways men and women interact with each other. Although in many ways her characters are very much particular to a certain time and place ? and are very much embedded within the experience of black America ? they also speak to a wide range of experiences beyond their own circumstances."
Abstract This paper takes a look at the experiences of black slaves in the United States. It examines two personal stories - one of a man and one of a woman and compares the experiences from a gender-based perspective. The stories told are those of Frederick Douglass in his work "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass" and Harriet Jacobs in her account of slavery entitled "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl".
From the paper:
Slavery in America during the 18th and 19th centuries is universally thought of as a deplorable institution based on degradation, hate, and injustice. The horrors visited upon the slaves by their fellow man (masters) were unquestionably appalling. Keeping this in mind one might wonder, was the experience the same for male slaves as it was for females? Both sexes were subject to the same dreadful conditions and revulsions assigned to slavery but the experience was definitely different for men vs. women. "
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Abstract This paper gives explores the issue of transracial adoption in America. It outlines the cultural and family aspects of adoption and more specifically transracial adoption. It points to individual and broad surveys that conclude there are high success rates in both family continuity and preservation of racial/ethnic identity.
From the paper:
"Transracial adoption means adopting children of various races, color, religion, that is, from all parts of the world. Transracial adoption has been spoken for and spoken against and my argument is based on ?choosing a positive view point, that is pro transracial.?
"Here we will discuss that transracial adoption proves to be very beneficial for the adoptee and they do not face any racial discrimination problem, nor do they lack self-esteem."
This paper gives the arguments both for and against slavery in 1863, and shows how Fredrick Douglass' autobiography destroyed the pro-slavery argument.
Abstract This is a research essay that deals with Fredrick Douglass historically as the man who was finally able to convince the general public and President Lincoln of the evils of slavery. It is also a literary analysis of Fredrick Douglass? work, specifically "Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass: An American Slave". It begins with the pro-slavery argument, and shows how Fredrick Douglass shattered all aspects of this argument with both his stories about his life as a slave and the fact that he was as powerful an orator as any white man in his time.
From the Paper "The pro-slavery argument, which declared that the Negro is inferior to a white man and that his natural abilities suited him for slavery, managed to secure the status and wealth of those who benefited economically from the institution for the time it existed after the Revolution, despite the moral arguments against it. Abolitionists, people against slavery, from the North toiled with no avail for years to abolish the system that had corrupted the minds of so many American citizens. However, it was not until the coming of the first great African-American speaker and abolitionist, Fredrick Douglass, which the planter aristocracy lost their influence and slavery finally fell to pieces with the end of the Civil War."
An in-depth assessment of the causes of gang formation and underlying attraction of street gangs in order to determine priorities for intervention programs.
Abstract The paper looks at youth gangs: the scope of the problem, statistics, risk factors and prevention strategies. Much focus is placed upon young African-American males and the extent of their gang membership. The author believes that a combination of social opportunities, community organization, and organizational change can be most beneficial in addressing the problem of African-American male youth gangs.
From the Paper "Estimates of the magnitude of youth gang problems in the United States had steadily increased over the last decades of the twentieth century. Once considered largely an urban phenomenon, gangs have increasingly emerged in smaller communities, presenting a challenge that severely strains local resources. Today's gangs are best characterized by their diversity in ethnic composition, geographical location, organization, and the nature and extent of members' involvement in delinquent or criminal activities. Hispanics have the highest percentage of youth gang membership in the US, however, adolescent African-American males represent a large proportion of the gangs, especially those established in the inner city. Causal risk factors must be explored in order to prioritize prevention and intervention programs to reduce youth gang activity among those communities most affected by adolescent black male gang activity."
Abstract This paper is an in-depth examination of the Blues. It begins by taking a look at the Deep South roots of the original Blues during slavery and how it began to spread north to Harlem in the late 1900s. The birth of contemporary Blues in the 1940s is detailed and it looks at some of the musicians, such as Scott Joplin who began incorporating these rhythms into their music. The next area covered is the building of the Blues, and traces the growth of different genres from the original blues. According to this author, the legacy of the blues was set, when it reached the ears of Elvis Presley, which led to the birth of rock and roll.
From the Paper "The music that was originally known as the blues developed from a variety of hereditary and regional musical influences and practices popular among the people of the southern portion of the United States. The roots of all varieties of blues music can be traced to the southern states, particularly those that comprise the area of the nation known as the Deep South. The music originating in the hills and backwoods of Mississippi, Tennessee and Kentucky, music that has become most commonly associated with "hillbilly" bands and rhythms, is in fact a variety of the blues genre that is often referred to as "country blues" (Pooley 86). The style and genre that is most commonly associated with the blues, however, is also commonly associated with the nation's African-American sector and stems from the "Delta blues", a form of the blues that originated among the slave populations of the antebellum south and developed alongside its country "cousin" (86). This distinct musical style and form developed from the West African rhythms and beats that were brought to America by African slaves imported during the early years of slavery, rhythms and beats that were kept alive and passed down from generation to generation by the traditional music and songs of southern slaves."
Tags: musicians, south, deep, harlem, genre, rhythm, slavery, music, american, ragtime, emancipation, style, note, rock, roll
