A discussion regarding the legal rights of BlackAmericans from the time they were brought to America as slaves. Specific reference is given to the various laws that were passed during the 19th Century.
1,870 words (approx. 7.5 pages), 4 sources, 2001, $ 59.95
Abstract In this paper the author discusses the situation of BlackAmericans and assesses whether the abolishment of slavery has provided any greater protection under the law. The author starts at the beginning of the 19th century and looks at how Blacks were taken into slavery and brought to America. The author moves on to discuss the Missouri Compromise and the discussions that took place regarding "slave free states". The author then discusses then various laws that were passed during the 19th century and how the issue of slavery was eventually brought before the nation.
From the paper:
?For a brief period during Reconstruction, many African Americans voted, and some were elected to public office. In the late 1870?s, however, enthusiasm for ensuring black equality waned in both the North and the Republican Party, and by 1877, when federal troops were withdrawn from the South, blacks were left to the power of whites committed to restoring white supremacy.?
A discussion on some of the the achievements of well known BlackAmericans, such as Oprah Winfrey, Tiger Woods and Bill Cosby and the way in which they have become role models for other blackAmericans.
Abstract The following paper examines how a number of blackAmericans lived through tumultuous times and faced brutal racism, however despite the hardships they all went through they are success stories. The writer focuses on their history, how some came out of impoverished backgrounds and others from modest income families. This paper briefly looks at the successes and failures of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Oprah Winfrey, Tiger Woods , Bill Cosby, Sarah King and Michael Jordan, their inner strength of spirit, and the way in which over the years they have transformed themselves as they worked towards making their dreams a reality.
From the Paper "Of course, there was the memory of Martin Luther King. The flamboyant Jesse Jackson was often on news programs. Oprah Winfrey was the one black person who not only gained entry into millions of living rooms but also was welcomed warmly. For years Black Americans gained recognition for their ability in baseball, basketball, football and tennis. But it was Oprah who changed the viewpoints of millions of Americans who identified with the compassionate woman. She not only became a household name, but a woman whom viewers held in high esteem regardless of their race. Her political agenda transcended party lines. She wanted to make a difference for black people, and to make this world a better place. She is respected for her ethical and moral approach to the issues of today. "Her style reached out and connected with what every woman was thinking because she asked the questions and said the things that they understood." (Mair 78) There weren't a lot of black people on Chicago television in 1985, but Oprah's show A.M. Chicago was a big hit."
This paper reviews and examines the 10 challenges facing blackAmericans as detailed in Tavis Smiley's "How to Make Black America Better: Leading African Americans Speak Out."
939 words (approx. 3.8 pages), 0 sources, 2006, $ 33.95
Abstract The writer of this paper contends that Tavis Smiley's "How to Make Black America Better: Leading African Americans Speak Out" is a cry for blackAmericans to support their communities and respect themselves. This paper details the 10 challenges in Smiley's book, most of which focus on issues such as education, money and health. This paper analyzes the author's contention that blackAmericans, compared to whites, are at an overall disadvantage. This paper examines many of the essays in the book, penned by various writers, which deal with racism, ridicule and disrespect for no other reason than race. Among the many concerns, other than health, poverty and education, this book discusses the need for political involvement and the patronage of black businesses which is still a major obstacle that African-Americans need to overcome.
From the Paper "Some of this discrimination is intentional, but there is also discrimination that is not deliberate, but simply happens because of the way that laws are written or the way that things have always been done. This is the kind of discrimination that should be addressed and changed, because it can be altered much more easily than dealing with the hatred of a few people that will always discriminate as much as they can get away with, as often as they can. Smiley's collection of essays indicate that this type of hatred cannot really be stopped or avoided, but that there are always legal and reliable ways for black Americans to do well and succeed if that is the path that they choose. The essays also show that black Americans must be made aware of this path and that they have the option of being more than what they are."
Tags: book, review, literature, african, american, racism, poverty, political
Abstract The paper relates the history of blackAmericans starting from the pre-Civil War period. It includes a description of the life of free blacks in the pre-civil war period, the life of a southern plantation slave, the roles of free blacks and slaves during the civil war, and the reconstruction period.
From the Paper "Although numerous discriminatory laws restricted their lives even in the colonial period, freed African Americans, particularly in the North, were active participants in American society. Black men enlisted as soldiers and fought in the American Revolution and the War of 1812. Some owned land, homes, businesses, and paid taxes. In some Northern cities, for short periods, black property owners voted. A very small number of free blacks owned slaves. "
Abstract This paper explains that, if people do not have exposure to a variety of individuals from different races and cultures on a daily or frequent basis, the media then becomes their primary source of stereotypes from which to form judgments of various ethnic groups. It points out that unfortunately, culture and class stereotypes are still prevalent in the media today, especially with regard to African-Americans. The author points out many specific examples in film, television shows and crime-related television news stories where BlackAmericans are being portrayed as violent, ignorant and racist more often than White Americans. The paper stresses that Americans will never learn to respect each other as long as one race is glorified at the expense of another race; therefore, all consumers, minority and "majority", should make an economic statement about better quality programming by applying pressure on sponsors.
From the Paper "The issue of the black coach goes far deeper than wins and losses on the football field. Owners have demonstrated all too often that the bottom line is not the number in the win column. Reasons provided for not hiring more black coaches range from not knowing the person, to not wanting a person of color in charge. Owners and general managers know who is in charge, and they demonstrate a belief that they can achieve their objectives with those who share a common ground. The bottom line is that it's inexcusable for a disproportionate representation of black coaches in both collegiate and professional sports, where there is such a high representation of participants."
Abstract The paper explores whether documenting and researching Black-American history, especially individual family history, has an impact on Black-American students' attitude and behavior. The paper discusses the move away from an African-American identity to a distinctly Black-American identity. The paper relates that teaching the history and stories of Black-Americans has served to inspire and motivate Black-American students towards a more successful academic life. The paper concludes that Black-American students today are aware that their cultural heritage and tradition began in Africa, yet, informed with the stories of their past, their attitude is that they are predominantly Americans.
Outline:
Introduction
Background
Family and Community History and Student Attitudes and Behavior
From the Paper "The history of Black Americans is one that began as slavery and oppression. It is only during the twenty years that Black Americans have had the full range of education, opportunity, and social equality to partake in the American dream. It was a long road to that point, and there remain challenges to be overcome, but the road towards overcoming those remaining challenges began with America's Civil War and freeing Black Americans from the condition of slavery. Many have traveled the road on behalf of equality and Civil Rights, and the challenges that remain today are the social and psychological barriers that prevent Black Americans from embracing the opportunities that were hard won on their behalf."
Abstract This paper discusses how sports are significant in many ways to any individual of the society. Sports have often been considered as a missionary tool of liberation, as anti-hegemonic. It focuses on the obsession of blackAmericans with sports and how media, poverty and a search for identity lure blacks into it. It also analyzes the reasons and their consequences for sports fixation. It highlights the study made by Jonathan Kozol on the inequalities faced by blacks from the very basic level of their lives and the opinions about blackAmerican sports fixation by John Hoberman.
From the Paper "The scenario of Blacks occupying every sport more than the Whites is sometimes seen as a contemporary issue. Much commentary has been fabricated on the topic, whether sports are bad for Blacks. In February 1997 German scholar John Hoberman published Darwin's Athletes: How Sports has damaged Black America And Preserved the Myth of Race. In his story Hoberman made an analogy that sports is a form of slavery and unsubtle political and economic persecution. This analogy is used to describe the unseen side of sports i.e. how audience is attracted into it as false production and how white male autonomy controls black players both physically and mentally and their passage to the market worth their talent. The other countenance of the Black America damaged by Sports is that Black Americans are considered as laborers or as inferior beings. Hoberman claims that black over investment in sports is both the cause and result of black anti-intellectualism, itself the result of virulent white racism, meant to confine blacks to certain occupations (Gerald Early, Performance And Reality Race, Sports and the Modern World)."
Abstract This paper examines the literature of various blackAmerican writers and poets. The paper explains that numerous black writers found new ways to express the feelings of their people and created a rich canon of thought and expression leading up to the Civil Rights Movement. The paper looks at how some of these writings show an underlying demand for change. The paper also points out that many of the early literary figures, like W.E.B. DuBois, wrote against slavery. In addition, the paper looks at how, in the latter part of the 20th century black, nationalism was influenced by Darwinian science and by Victorian conceptions of virtue. The paper cites "Coming of Age in Mississippi" by Anne Moody, as an example of the nature of the threat to blackAmericans.
From the Paper "DuBois also celebrates aspects of black culture, from the songs of the slaves to and the music they and their descendants make to their religious belief and the special religious observance they developed in the black church in America. He sees the black community then standing at the dawn of freedom, a freedom not yet fully achieved but set out as a potential for all.
"The nature of the threat to black Americans is evident in Coming of Age in Mississippi by Anne Moody. She becomes very aware of why as she grows to adulthood and sees more and more racism all around her."
Tags: nationalism, mississippi, freedom, slave, church
Abstract This paper discusses the legal treatment of BlackAmericans by the Constitution and the Supreme Court and how it evolved over time. The paper begins with a review of the structure that denied the full humanity of blacks, and that tends more and more over time toward full equality in the law, though the extend to which this has been achieved, remains arguable.
From the Paper "The legal treatment of Black Americans by the Constitution and the Supreme Court evolved over time, beginning with a structure that denied the full humanity of blacks and tending more and more over time toward full equality in the law, though how much this has been achieved remains arguable. Blacks were brought to this country as slaves beginning in the colonial era, and the American Revolution left most blacks still part of this so-called Peculiar Institution, a situation that remained true for almost a century until the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. When the Constitution was written, both blacks and women, among others, were excluded from full participation. Women were excluded because the document states that "men" have full rights."
Abstract The paper looks at "White Over Black: American Attitudes Toward the Negro, 1550-1812" by Winthrop D. Jordan where he discusses the history of relations between whites and blacks leading to the slave era. The paper looks at how Jordan identifies the institution of slavery and the development of its own rules and customs. The paper describes how Winthrop shows how attitudes changed over time and how slavery in particular altered relations between black and white. The paper notes that Jordan provides a list of resources for those who want to examine these issues in more detail.
From the Paper "Europeans were seeking empire when they first arrived in West Africa, originally just to trade goods with the natives. English traders wrote accounts of their journeys and described the people they saw, people very different from themselves, with skin color the most obvious difference. Different terms were used to apply to natives from different parts of Africa, meaning natives of differing blackness. The idea of color itself became part of the vocabulary. English travelers eventually came to see blacks as not only different but as savage and so as uncivilized. This fact alone became a lure for travelers who wanted to see the savages up close. In time, the English started to project attitudes they did not want to admit in themselves onto the savages they saw as so different, and blackness became a metaphor for some of the darker aspects of human nature."
Abstract This paper examines how W.E.B. Dubois? great work "The Souls of Black Folk", weaves together a group of writing that manifests itself in a series of different literary forms, including such forms as the essay, history, sermon, anthropological record, short story, memoir, elegy and political tract. It looks at how in his work, DuBois was attempting to speak for his entire race in some fashion and thus it seems fitting that he should have applied so many genres to a narrative that sought to explicate such a multiplicity of viewpoints. It shows how by ranging across so many topics and so many genres and forms, DuBois is able to render a more effective portrait of the problems, struggles and victories that moved his contemporary blackAmericans.
From the Paper "Chapter 3 is a political tract of a revolutionary nature. In this essay, DuBois tackles Booker T. Washington's social and educational program. Dubois, while he admires Washington's achievements as a leader in an oppressive society, he ultimately is forced to reject his teachings because "on the whole the distinct impression left by Mr. Washington's propaganda is, first, that the South is justified in its present attitude toward the Negro because of the Negro's degradation" (DuBois, Chapter 3). He ends by quoting the Declaration of Independence, which shows the political nature of the tract."
Tags: african, americans, washington, south, society
Abstract Every culture has forms of music they feel closer to, music that they feel is more relevant. This paper discusses the music the black community felt closer to and uses events in the twentieth century to explain why the relationship between black culture and music developed the way it did.
From the Paper "As such, no huge political statements were made by jazz in the time of segregation and second-class citizenship. It didn't start riots and spark causes in the name of change-rather, it turned a smile to the world. It did, however, contain the grain that allowed more politically-minded genres and movements to come about. One of the most memorable songs of the jazz era was "Strange Fruit." The song about lynching was recorded at the "put on a happy face" time when Ella Fitzgerald's "A-Tisket, A-Tasket" was number one on the charts. (Margolick 16) Sixteen years before Rosa Parks inspired the historic bus boycotts in Montgomery, Alabama, Billie Holiday's haunting ballad vividly depicted the hanging of black Americans. "
Abstract Music, as a man-made artistic form, has always been cited as an interesting form of expression and pastime in civilizations old and new across the globe. Every culture has forms of music they feel closer to, music that they feel is more relevant. This paper discusses the music the black community felt closer to and uses events in the twentieth century such as the Great Depression, civil rights movement and the LA riots to explain why the relationship between black culture and music developed the way it did.
From the Paper "The market for blues records was almost completely black throughout the twenties and thirties and they eventually came to be known as "race records." ("History of Blues") The success of another black art form that remained black brought about a new change in the white mainstream record companies--they began to market to blacks and actively recruited black blues artists for their labels. ("History of Blues") It wasn't much at the start but it was a good change for the black musical community. It didn't do anything to improve the black standard of living, though, as was later demonstrated."
Tags:black, blues, civil, hip, hop, jazz, rock, roll, soul, swing
From the Paper "The controversy over Ebonics is a very serious one indeed. Many factors are considered in the battle over this dialect which is growing in controversy and popularity. Teachers and educators alike must consider the effects of the use of Ebonics in education and mainstream culture. The battle over Ebonics is very clear. The opposition speaks out strongly against Ebonics and its effects in mainstream education. Supporters of Ebonics, like the Oakland Board of Education, argue that more stable and well-rounded students will emerge from the acknowledgement and study of Ebonics as a separate language."
Tags: ebonics, education, african, american, black, english
Abstract This paper describes the daily lives and culture of the blackAmerican Muslim and Nation of Islam communities. The paper defines these groups and their customs and religious rituals. It illustrates the historical leaders of the black Muslim movements, including in depth biographies of Malcolm X and Louis Farrakhan. The paper discusses the missionary and racist elements in these movements.
From the Paper "Religion is important to many Americans not simply because they believe that their faith will bring them to a better world in the afterlife or because it will guide their actions as a moral and good individual here on earth but also because it provides them with a sense of self-identity. Religion tells people who they are, how they are different from other people, to which community they belong. This may be especially true for black Muslims. This paper examines the black Muslim and Nation of Islam movements within the larger context of religious life in contemporary America and the context of the daily lives of black Americans as we enter the 21st century.
It may be helpful for us toe begin with some basic definitions. Black Muslims are simply those followers of a predominantly black religious movement in the United States who profess Islam as their faith. Not all of the followers of this movement are in fact black, although nearly all of them are black or have a black member of their family (such as a spouse or child) who is involved. The movement encompasses not only spiritual and liturgical aspects of life but political and wide-ranging cultural as well, including an emphasis on economic cooperation and self-sufficiency for black communities and individuals. "
Tags:black, muslim, nation, islam, regilion, contemporary, america, identity, 21st, century, united, states, spiritual, political, cultural, farrakhan, malcom, x
