Abstract This paper is an overview of Afro-American history, beginning with slavery in the 1700s. The author looks at how slavery affected the nuclear family, both economically and psychologically, and how this pattern continues to be prevalent in today's Afro-American families. Some of the issues discussed include, the owner-slave relationship, marriages between slaves and how slavery affected children and their identity. The paper also looks at the post-Emancipation period and the hardships that the freed slaves continued to encounter including poverty, unemployment and racial discrimination. According to the author, migration from the South to the North was one of the most significant changes that occurred as a result of Emancipation. The Afro-American families' strong bond, which may not be categorized as a
'traditional' but 'extended' family can be traced back to the period of slavery and in this author's opinion, shows the strengths of the community as a whole.
From the Paper "Roberson reported that some of the migrating families were quite large, with six or seven children. It could be very difficult to find housing to old a family of that size, even with extensive family and community support. So often, these parents would have to make hard decisions to break the family apart, at least temporarily. Some of the children would be taken in by aunts and uncles, but given that the extended family was so strong, connected and well bonded together, this wasn?t as wrenching as it might have been. The extended family continued to watch out for and support the new arrivals until they had work and a place to stay. (Roberson, accessed 2002)"
Abstract This paper compares and contrasts the African American entertainment styles of minstrelsy and gangsta rap. The essay contains a lengthy discussion of the differences and similarities in these styles of music. Finally, it presents a discussion that supports the author's thesis that gangsta rap is the new minstrelsy.
From the Paper "The development of African American music closely parallels the history of African Americans. African American history is rich and begins with the first slave capture in the 16th century. Decades of slavery followed, until the signing of the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation. Following the proclamation, African Americans were slowly integrated into American society as free people."
In the 21st century, exemplary African Americans like Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, and Jesse Jackson slowly moved the African American population to greater equality with white Americans. The 21st century saw the end of segregation in schools and public places, the rise of black power, and the continued development of a rich and unique African American culture. "
Abstract This paper focuses on the issue of African-American women and feminism, from the 1960s to the present, while focusing on the views and opinions of various authors such as Patricia Hill Collins. Collins, a powerful voice in matters of black feminist epistemology, contends that because black women have access to both the Afro-centric and feminist standpoints, then, for a full analysis, both traditions should be represented through an "alternative epistemology." Collins also states that the key dimension of an Afro-centric feminist epistemology is the black woman's centrality in families and community organizations.
The writer of this paper discusses the issues that pertained to many African-American women in the 1960s and 1970s, who felt that the objectives and practices of feminism pertained mainly to white women. In the early 1970s, black feminists challenged this situation, questioning the assumption that white feminists spoke for all women and demanded -and eventually were given- women's studies programs on the experiences, culture and literature of black women. At that time, the activist black women who made the demands were denounced for espousing black nationalism, nonetheless, appropriate courses on "women of color" were eventually added to the women's studies' curriculum, which are detailed in this paper. This paper examines the progress and empowerment of African-American women over the years who are now able to lead in ways they had never thought possible, prior to 1960.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Main Body of the Paper: Literature Review
Epistemology
Conclusion
References
References Not Included in the Body of the Paper
From the Paper "In her book, Collins suggests that the Black feminist thought processes speaks to "the importance that knowledge plays in empowering oppressed people." Moreover, Black feminist thought offers a "fundamental paradigmatic shift in how we think about oppression," though the process of reconceptualizing "the social relations of domination and resistance." Black feminist thought also empowers "subordinate groups" by infusing them with "new knowledge" that helps them define the reality of their own existence. What is impressive about Collins - besides the fact that clearly she's brilliant, alert to what real Black women are doing and feeling - is that she is fair-minded when it comes to her scholarship, and generally eschews long and emotional harangues about the white culture, and about white feminist epistemology that has in the past stood in the way of African-American feminists reaching out to the world with their vision."
Abstract This study will seek to understand the different ways that violence and substance abuse can be stopped, or at least, minimized in the current events of social working. By using the Code of Ethics of National Association of Social Workers, we can see how this issue can be dealt with along these guidelines. By making new approaches to the Afro-American community in this regard, the strategies and approaches that are possible will be attended to here. By creating out reach programs in various neighborhoods to help teach the black community these devastating issues on drug abuse, and violence (gang and domestic), perhaps this and other methods of social construction can help build a new culture for Afro-Americans in America at this time
Abstract This paper describes the literary work of Ralph Waldo Ellison, an Afro-American author and intellectual named after Ralph Waldo Emerson. There is a particular focus throughout the paper on Ellison's representations in the writing of the ?Invisible Man,? his most accomplished novel.
From the Paper "Critics often place the "Invisible Man" under the proverbial lines of a "one hit wonder" for Ellison, obviously pertaining to a book rather than a song. Like a one hit wonder, this paper will show that Ellison's work lives on in the literary discussions of today and on America's bookshelves. The significance of Ellison's work is discussed throughout this paper. Today, there are a vast number of topic groups and symposiums that revolve around the book and its meaning. "
From the Paper "This paper will be concerned with African influences on Afro-American jazz and dance. The roots of Afro-American jazz can be traced back to the early 17th century, when African slaves were first brought to America from their homeland. These slaves came from various parts of Africa, and they brought a great variety of indigenous music and dance with them. In Africa, music and dance had played a vital role in both religious worship and everyday life. The tribal peoples of Africa had developed many types of songs for special occasions as well as specific dances which were intended to accompany the songs. The closely woven interrelationship between music and dance was thus strongly fixed in the minds of the early African slaves. As noted by one music historian, "in Africa . . . dance and song are intimately associated aspects of a single art" "
Abstract This paper discusses the dilemma faced by twentieth century Afro-American writers to either embrace or reject Anglo literary traditions and devices in their works. Gwendolyn Brooks and Zora Neale Hurston are used as examples.
Abstract This paper discusses the history and culture of the recent immigrants to the United States from Africa and the Caribbean. It details how these immigrants are labeled as "African Americans" and lumped into the same sub-culture as the veteran African American population of the United States since the slave-trade. These two population groups are compared for their manners, cultures and social norms. A history of African immigration to America is provided.
From the Paper "The African Americans, or Black Americans as they are called, are the largest minority group in the United States, after the Hispanic Americans. This is a racial group whose ancestry is believed to be from the sub-Saharan Africa. However, there are some African Americans who claim to have their roots from the European immigrants, Native American or the Asians. In general the African American populations is usually referred to as Negroes, blacks and Afro-Americans. "
Abstract This six-page paper looks at the aspects of the African American and how the use of the Church within his community acts as a ritualized and cultural event within the African American family unit. Also discussing the ideals and values of attendance at church with a discussion and look at the effects of slavery had on the present religion. The methods adopted to control salves and their resistance is also considered.
Abstract This paper examines why so many Afro-Americans turned from Christianity to become Black Muslims in America and how the Nation of Islam offered these disgruntled individuals a different way of dealing with discrimination and hate.
From the Paper "The Nation of Islam offered some African Americans a sharp contrast to the mainstream civil rights movement. Specifically beginning in the late 1920's, and continuing up into the 1960's, blacks living mainly in northern cities across America abandoned many aspects of their previous lives to embrace an organization and ideology with "radical" ways of acting and thinking. Why would a person become a Black Muslim? The answer is found in considering the types of individuals who accepted the Nation and the atmosphere which surrounded them. Anger and frustration can be found in the hearts of many converts to the Nation of Islam. Faced with discrimination and hate, some blacks chose extreme, violent separation over the more readily accepted non-violent call for integration."
A discussion on how the women's division of the National Amateur Athletic Federation in 1923 did not hold ground with the African-American communities.
1,400 words (approx. 5.6 pages), 4 sources, 2002, $ 53.95
Abstract This paper is written about C. H. Gissendanner. He, primarily, opines that the gender separatism and the distinction between competitive sport and the ideal of femininity as espoused by the Women's Division of the National Amateur Athletic Federation in 1923 did not hold ground with the African-American communities.
Abstract This paper describes the war that existed in the Philippines after the Spain's defeat at the hands of the United States during the Spanish-American War. As a direct result of the war, the Philippines were given to the United States and the Filipino people who originally believed that they were fighting a war for freedom and independence against the Spanish begin to turn against American troops who they view as simply another occupying force. The first part of the paper gives a background to the Filipino insurgency and its main leader, General Emilio Aguinaldo. Aguinaldo's tactics of fighting a guerrilla war against American troops is examined, as well as the effectiveness of these attacks on shocking the American public back home. Feeling betrayed by America who promised the Filipino people freedom after the Spanish were defeated, Aguinaldo embarked on a series of deadly attacks on American soldiers in the Philippines. As a result, American troops responded with equal brutality in their reprisals with very little organized military command holding them back. Diaries are heavily cited in this section of the paper, giving primary sources that tell of how desperate the American soldiers were at the time and how they needed to racially dehumanize the enemy in order to commit such vicious acts of reprisal. The second part of the paper deals with how the American press responded to the war. Numerous newspaper articles and other criticisms of the war are given as examples, some written by the early 20th century's most prominent figures such as Mark Twain. The general point of this section is to show how deeply divided the American public was over the war in the Philippines and how many felt that it would lead to American involvement in other world affairs. A direct parallel is also drawn to the Iraq War in modernity. Finally, the paper ends with a detailed account of how individual soldiers from both sides viewed the conflict. The Filipinos clearly viewed the insurgency as a necessary action in order to preserve their promised independence, while many American soldiers were disgusted and frustrated with why they were in the country to begin with, and often responded violently towards the natives since they began to view them as subhuman. The psychology of warfare is briefly discussed, as soldiers often dehumanize the enemy as a means of justification of their own violent behavior. The end of the insurgency is also discussed, with American troops brutally putting down the rebellion and establishing a tight control over the entire area for decades.
From the Paper "On April 11th, 1898, the President of the United States William McKinley went to Congress and asked the elected body to declare war on Spain for their role in oppression overseas and to accommodate public opinion that was strongly anti-Spanish due to the sinking of the United States battleship Maine only a few months earlier that was blamed on Spanish agents. Congress eventually sanctioned the war, and the Spanish-American war commenced with several battles over Spanish colonies such as Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. The war itself was over fairly quickly, as hostilities were ended only a few months after war was officially declared. The involvement in the former Spanish colonies clearly demonstrated that America had shifted to a strong imperialistic attitude when it came to the Western Hemisphere and indeed the world in general, and would be forced to endure all of the benefits and tribulations that came from being an imperialistic power."
Tags: aguinaldo, american, emilio, filipino, history, philippines, spanish, war, wars
This paper traces the evolution of America's identity using elements of the musical 1776. It concentrates on the Founding Fathers and their drive for freedom and the large role that an American identity played in independence.
960 words (approx. 3.8 pages), 3 sources, 2002, $ 34.95
Abstract This paper uses extensive information about colonial America and discusses the issue of an American identity. Analysis of the film 1776 and Thomas Paine's Common Sense is used to demonstrate the strength of this identity. The thesis is as follows: As the film 1776 clearly demonstrates, during the American Revolution an American identity was stronger than it had ever been.
From the paper:
"Early American colonies were viewed as very individual and indeed in many instances had much closer ties to England than they did with each other. However, ties with England began to fray due to the poor of the colonies by England. Early examples of this were the Navigation Acts of 1660, which regulated commerce and ensured that ?everything went through England.? From this time, an American identity began to form. As tensions between England and the colonies grew stronger other factors arose to further the development of an American identity. "Choice" in shopping and material possessions and the "standardization of consumer behavior" (similar goods being available throughout the colonies ) enhanced unity throughout America. As the film 1776 clearly demonstrates, during the American Revolution an American identity was stronger than it had ever been."
Tags: 1776, american, common, fathers, founding, independance, revolution, sense
Reviews both American non-fiction and American fiction works of art to support the notion that the American spirit is reflected in both types of literature.
1,150 words (approx. 4.6 pages), 4 sources, 2002, $ 44.95
Abstract One of the most poignant quotes in American literature comes from Donald Briscoe, who stated that "To understand American Literature, it is necessary to examine both its fiction and its non- fiction because the key to the American Spirit can be found in both." This paper assesses Briscoe's quote through addressing two works of American fiction and two works of American non- fiction with the intent of proving how the spirit of the American people is reflected in both types of literature.
Abstract This paper examines the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II by comparing this action with the freedom experienced by German-Americans during the same period. The author questions the inherent racism of Americans that enabled such an occurrence to be legally sanctioned, while German-Americans lived their lives freely, although Hitler and Germany were also enemies of America during World War II. The paper then presents a detailed background of the Japanese immigrant experience in America, contrasting this with the American ideal of freedom and the reality of racism. The experiences of African and Native-Americans are also considered. The paper then describes the actual Japanese internment, which was unprecedented event in American history. The paper further states how the Internment still has an effect on the psyche of the Japanese-American population today. The author concludes that the internment of Japanese-Americans during the Second World War was one of the great tragedies of American history.
Outline:
Introduction
Background: The Japanese Experience in America
Prejudice Unleashed: The Internment Experience
Conclusion
From the Paper " Naturally, the situation was worse the further removed from the Anglo-Saxon ideal a group might chance to be. After the Civil War, the newly reunited nation demanded a huge supply of cheap labor to build its rapidly expanding railroad network. In the West, this labor was provided, to a large extent, by settlers from Japan and China. Labor Contractors, generally Japanese or Chinese themselves actively recruited these workers and brought them to America. They helped to lay the foundations of America's industrial prosperity. White American racial attitudes combined with a nationwide railroad strike in 1877 to create the necessary conditions for a crackdown on Asian immigration. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was soon followed by other, stricter acts, in 1892, 1902, and 1904. And as White America saw little, if any difference, between Japanese and any other Asians, the anti-Chinese immigration laws were followed by a Japanese Exclusion Act in 1907. By 1924, the United States had imposed an almost total ban on all immigration from East Asia, ..."
Tags: Japanese-Americans, internment, World, War, II, immigrant, experiences
