Abstract Discusses the nature of gangs. Examines why children and teenagers join gangs. Considers children at-risk and gang involvement. Reviews and critiques five studies on gangs and violence, and discusses the methods of the studies.
From the Paper "Over the last 20 years in the city of Los Angeles at least 10,000 African American and Latino young men have died due to gang activity and gang warfare (Vigil, 2002). As large as that figure is it is still only a portion of the deaths..."
Abstract The paper examines Nella Larsen's novel as a complex response to U.S. racial and class segregation in the 1920s. It discusses black feminist criticism's concept of social marginalization and the politics of sex and race.
From the Paper "Nella Larsen's Passing is a complex response to and critique of the patterns of racial and class segregation that characterized the US in the 1920s. However, the critique has resonance for the modern period because, despite the demise of legalized ..."
Abstract This paper looks at the reasons Title VII of the Civil Rights Act was needed and enacted, what rights the law has secured for individual workers, what legal aspects it covers, and the history of the law itself. The paper also looks at the impact Title VII has had on the workplace, its successes, and its failures.
From the Paper "Title VII of the civil rights act was a hard won victory for civil rights activists and workers in 1964. In securing this act, they ended the decades of "separate but equal" treatment that had been used as a justification for discrimination against black Americans, and also wrote into law precedents that would affect change in the labor market undercurrents that subtly discriminated against women. The text of the Civil Rights Act made it unlawful for an employer to hire or discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his/her compensation, terms, conditions or privileges of employment, because of an individual's race, color, religion, sex or national origin. This act covers hiring, firing, promotions and all workplace conduct."
A comparative analysis of the narrative of the "Life of Frederick Douglass" by Frederick Douglass and "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl" by Harriet Jacobs.
Abstract This paper examines how female and male autobiographical narratives invariably take different forms because of the different, albeit culturally constructed, nature of male and female experience. In particular, it looks at the contrast between Frederick Douglass's narrative, its "plot" or true-life story structure and interest in comparison to Harriet Jacobs' tale of her escape from bondage. It explores how both tales are significantly impacted by the gender of the authors as well as the author's intent in writing and intended audience. Douglass tells the tale of a young man who escaped ignorance and violence through movement. Jacobs tells the tale of herself as a young woman and mother seeking escape from sexual exploitation, not through movement, but through hiding.
From the Paper "Both authors wrote against the institution of slavery, and used their own, personal experiences of slavery in the South to generate support for the national abolition of the institution. At the time, the abolitionist movement was mainly grounded in the Northern states of America. However, Douglass wrote, and also spoke as a gifted orator, mainly to Northern Whites. Thus his autobiography uses elements of how slavery it detrimental to the "souls of White folk" (to turn a phrase of W.E.B. Dubois on its head) as well as those of the enslaved, to generate support for the anti-slavery cause. An example of this can be found in his description of a White woman whom is one of the first mistresses of the young, enslaved Douglass."
Abstract This paper discusses Harriet Jacobs's novel, "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl". The paper describes the extraordinary strength of character exhibited by Jacobs in her quest for freedom from slavery. The paper portrays how Harriet Jacobs goes to almost superhuman lengths to assert her status as a person and rebel against the dehumanization of slavery.
From the Paper "In Harriet Jacobs' novel, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, the narrator takes several steps to assert her status as a person and to make a case against the dehumanization inherent in slavery. The dehumanization of Jacobs' and other slaves in the novel is clearly shown through the sexual exploitation that they face, and the separation of women and their children. Jacob's continually fights against this degradation, and asserts herself as a person. She refuses the advances of Mr. Flint, chooses another man with which to have an affair, and ultimately goes to the extremes of hiding in a cramped garret to assert her independence. Ultimately, Jacobs' is successful in obtaining her freedom, but she only obtains freedom through an extraordinary perseverance and force of will."
Abstract This paper explains that the Harlem or Negro Renaissance marked the 1920s and 1930s as a period during which the spirituality and potential of the African-American community was expressed in the most explosive way possible. The writer points out that, centered in the Southern states and with a freedom of expression generally trampled upon, black art expression was simply censored or manifested itself in its raw forms. The migration to the northern metropolis after the First World War was similar and implied the development, in all its forms, of black culture. The paper looks at how this impacted literature (poetry and prose), music (jazz played in the notorious Cotton Club and elsewhere), visual arts (painting), and acting in musicals.
From the Paper "Langston Hughes, one of the most representative creators of the Harlem Renaissance, best resumed this period as being a period when "Negro was in vogue" (Langston Hughes in his autobiography "The Big Sea". From Jackson, Caroline. Harlem Renaissance: Pivotal Period in the Development of Afro-American Culture. On the Internet at http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1978/2/78.02.03.x.html). This brief statement meant not only that the Harlem Renaissance was a period of awakening for the African American community, but also the fact that the white population enjoyed Black forms of creation. The rebel period after the First World War, with the Jazz Age and the prohibition, involved openness from the American towards the exotic and what they saw as unusual. In this sense, the African American culture was, for them, something different, as many of the White communities in Northern states had but minor contacts with it in history. They were interested in its forms of manifestation and the numerous patronages of black artists during this time created ripe premises for Black culture to develop and evolve."
Abstract This paper argues that the image of the speaker in Langston Hughes? s"The Negro Speaks of Rivers" as a wise figure representing the black community throughout the ages is conveyed not only in the poem's title, but also its concrete and plain diction, its repetition, and its free verse form.
From the Paper "The speaker's use of repetition relays the serious tone of the poem and the communal wisdom of the Black community. The poem's repetition is very formulaic, much like the oral traditions and histories passed down by African griots. The repetition drives home the point to the audience as well as tying the story together and making it easier for the griot to remember. The speaker begins by asserting, ?I"ve known rivers", a phrase that is repeated at the beginning of lines two and eight."
Abstract The paper presents a review of the movie "Mississippi Burning" that focuses on the 1964 brutal murder of three civil rights workers, and the terrorist actions of the Ku Klux Klan and the FBI.
From the Paper The movie Mississippi Burning presents a fictional account of the very real tragedy that occurred in Philadelphia Mississippi in June of when three civil rights advocates were murdered by the Ku Klux Klan KKK..."
A look at how Shirley Jackson's "The Haunting of Hill House" and Toni Morrison's "Beloved" share a distinctly feminine perspective on the nature of ghosts in the domestic sphere.
2,926 words (approx. 11.7 pages), 2 sources, 2000, $ 86.95
From the Paper "Although they were written nearly thirty years apart, and deal with completely different periods in American history and American culture, Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House and Toni Morrison's Beloved share a distinctly feminine perspective on the nature of ghosts in the domestic sphere. In both novels, while female protagonists are haunted by female ghosts, the root of the disturbance is definitely a masculine, patriarchal one. This patriarchal evil, expressed through feminine supernatural phenomena, places constraints of domesticity and servitude not just on the victims of the ghosts, but on the ghosts as well. Furthermore, the constraints go beyond mere domesticity, but destroy the identity and the sanity of the antagonized woman in the process."
From the Paper "Thus, Mr. Washington became one of the first Black success stories. Not only was he an educated ex-slave, but he also helped to build one of the first black colleges. He had bettered himself and seemingly uplifted his community within his lifetime. But had he? As the success of his academic institution arose, so did his prominence as a public speaker and a representative of the black community. Though many of his actions helped his community, what of his public speeches? Were they more harmful than beneficial? Has there been a legacy of indifference of white America left due in part to Booker's nonchalance at slavery and his own condemnation of black people? "
Abstract This paper discusses African American women in history, focusing on Western black women's experiences in history. It briefly discusses African-American women in the East, and their slavery experience as a foundation for the opposing experience in the West. It concentrates mainly on the time period of the 1870?s-90?s. Topics such as jobs, family life, segregation etc. are discussed as well.
From the Paper "Throughout history, African American women have been exposed to a myriad of experiences that have shaped their lives in the United States. From Slavery to Freedom, many African American women struggled to overcome the various prejudices, and obstacles that have strove to halt their aspirations. Following the abolishment of slavery in the United States, a large population of African Americans found they were facing the dilemma of what the near future would bring. Consequently, many freedmen and women had resolved to migrate to the Western United States, to start a new life in this vast land of opportunity."
This paper explains the ideas of the women suffrage and abolitionist movements of the 1800s. A look at the goals, accomplishments and methods of the two 1800s reform groups: women suffrage and the abolitionist movements.
1,665 words (approx. 6.7 pages), 1 source, 2001, $ 54.95
Abstract This paper fully clarifies the goals of their reform groups, how they came about accomplishing this goal, and the hardships they faced. While explaining those factors, the author also ties the two movements together to show how they potentially were fighting for the very same cause: to end the control of dominant, white men.
From the Paper "Two very significant reform groups of the 1800's paved the way for true freedom and equal opportunity for all Americans. Although the abolition and women suffrage groups were looked at as two different movements, they were potentially one and the same. As Lydia Child phrased it, "Both were victims of the white man's lust" the solution was to end [white] male tyranny? (Walters,108). They fought to merely be treated as equals under the eye of the law and the society in which they lived in, and therefore they had to end the dominant control of white men. To get this goal accomplished, the groups also used many of the same tactics as they wrote their ideas and arguments in various publications, held strikes and rebellions, and conducted many conventions and meetings. Problems in the process of reformation still formed regardless of how hard they tried, as new laws were passed, arguments in their own reform groups surfaced, and strikes failed. Through all the hardships they faced though, both groups eventually accomplished their goal."
Abstract This is a term paper on Langston Hughes. It includes some basic biographical background, an analysis of his work, and the role he played in the Harlem Renaissance. The author analyzes each of Hughes's different types of works to illustrate the variety of which he was capable.
From the Paper "Langston Hughes is one of America's most well-known and influential black writers. Perhaps, the reason he is so well known is because his works influenced so many people. ?Langston Hughes made a large and unique contribution not only to American literature, but to black American culture and to American humor as well.? (Haskins: ix) Hughes was a leader and had a key role in the Harlem Renaissance. Throughout his forty-five year career, Hughes was a novelist, a reporter, a translator, a playwright, and a short-story writer, although he is mainly recognized as a poet. Hughes began his career because of his unique style. Hughes used speech patterns of a stereotyped black culture along with a jazz/blues rhythm. Hughes? style and political views are mainly related to his experiences growing up."
This essay examines the novel "Sula" on several levels, including a look at the author's life as it impacts the events of the story, universal literary themes such as irony and symbolism, and critical reviews of the story over the past quarter century.
1,645 words (approx. 6.6 pages), 5 sources, 2001, $ 53.95
Abstract This essay examines modern author Toni Morrison's life and uses examples from the story to discuss the 20th century Afircan-American experience. The paper also discusses the universal literary themes found in Morrison's work, "Sula", as well as the strong examples of irony and symbolism found in the tale. The author analyzes "Sula" on many different levels, viewing the book from multiple perspectives, especially as mirror of Morrison's experiences, and through various literary reviews.
From the Paper "The novel Sula, by Toni Morrison, is an expression of the author's experiences with and attitudes toward African-American life. The strong focus on black community, female relationships, and the search for identity and values in the midst of racism and poverty characterize the novel.. Literary devices such as irony, humor, and symbolism guide the reader through the rich but spare language of a story the reader "sees" rather than is told. As Sara Blackburn wrote in her review of Sula after the book's release in 1973, "Toni Morrison is someone who really knows how to clank a sentence"?.and her dialogue is so compressed and life-like it sizzles.? It is a rare writer who can be successful trying to entertain, educate, and expand upon some of life's deeper mysteries, but Morrison does all these."
Abstract This paper examines the development of slavery and the slave trade in the New World. It points out when and why it developed, why slaves were particularly used as a labor force along with why Africans were used. Finally the paper explains if there was any possibility of resistance.
From the Paper "Slavery can be defined as a condition in which human beings are owned by others as chattels. Slavery existed from the earliest times. In ancient Greece and Rome captives from conquered lands were the chief source of slaves who often had special skills, were well treated and could also be freed. The condition of slaves in later Roman times greatly worsened until the deteriorating economy led to the virtual disappearance of slaves and the emergence of serfs in Middle Ages. Slaving became a lucrative business in the sixteenth century when the European traders began to transport thousands of Africans to the Americas."
