...Report on Race: African Americans Letter to a Friend Hev Phoung Dear Winston, You have been a dear friend to me for over twenty years since we met in grade school, which is why I was surprised that you did not know much about the U.S. history of African Americans like me. Of all the years we have known each other; you have only recently started to ask me questions about my background and the history of my people. This is an interesting realization; considering the years of discrimination and suffering under the label of “different” that African Americans have endured in our history, the fact that I have been your friend for ten years and you never once considered me different enough from yourself, a White man, to ask questions about those differences is an amazing indicator of how times have changed for the better! The only explanation I have for these recent questions is that you must be taking an African Americans course in college that requires you to learn the history of African Americans. In any event, I would be happy to answer your questions. Your questions about the experience of African Americans throughout U.S. history have answers that could be found if researched properly, but since space in a letter is limited, I will try to keep it short. Your questions about the experience of African Americans throughout U.S. history have answers, but, since you have limited time frame I will keep the answers to your questions short in this letter. In the 17th century...
Words: 1563 - Pages: 7
...I am writing my paper on African Americans writing a letter to a friend that is not African American. Dear Anthony, I am writing this letter because I would like to share with you what it is like to be African American and the what we have experienced throughout history. Sometimes people think that because times have passed and things are better that we should be happy but that is not the case. So I just want to give you some insight on African American’s history in the Unites States. Black history has tremendously shaped the African American experience in the United States. For most of U.S history the African American experience developed outside the American culture. Black history’s impact on the African American experience resulted from influences of slavery and racial discrimination in the U.S. For most of U.S history, legal and social discrimination has denied African Americans access to education, literacy, and work. The Harlem Renaissance was one of the first and most important movements in black history. It was the first recognition of African American for their music, literature, arts, and poetry. The Harlem Renaissance was an important period of increased political involvement in black history. Another important movement for African Americans was the Black Arts movement. The Black Arts movement saw the rise of music and literature that embraced a pronounced political and racial consciousness. The Harlem Renaissance and the Black Arts movements are only two of...
Words: 639 - Pages: 3
...African American Letter to a Friend African American Letter to a Friend Dear Sonya, May 24, 2012 It is amazing everything that I have learned about my heritage and what my ancestors have gone through to achieve what we have today. The past week I have spent visiting my grandparents in Alabama who have done research and found out all about where we come from as a family. Also looking at what my ancestors went through to get to where we are today has taught me to be so appreciative to what I have. Researching my family history has shown me everything that my race has gone through in American history. The first day my grandmother showed me how far back they have traced my family history. It starts with the first of the slaves that were brought over to America, from Africa, in 1619. They were brought over to Jamestown, Virginia as indentured servants that were released after a certain period of time. Slavery was not legal until 1641 in Massachusetts, and then other states just followed them. This was when states also made it legal to sell and trade slaves from one owner to the next, even the women and children. By the 1700’s in the south about 25% or more of the population was slaves versus the north where there was only about 2% of the population was slaves. This is so sad that my ancestors were treated like objects and not human beings, how could people be so mean? The next day my grandparents explained to me about the African slaves during the American Revolutionary...
Words: 1282 - Pages: 6
...to create the pseudonym name Linda Brent. It was under this name the text was published. In later years, her text has been viewed as an important text, speaking truth to the ears of sentimental novel readers in the north, and calling for action against the cruel institution of slavery. Employed as a teacher by Pace University in 1968, Jean Fagan Yellin wrote and published her dissertation. While re-reading Incidents in the 1970s as part of the project and to educate herself in the use of gender as a category of analysis, Yellin became interested in the question of the text's true authorship. Over the next six-years, Yellin found and used historical documents including the Amy Post papers at the University of Rochester (Post was a close friend of Jacobs), state and local historical societies, and the Horniblow and Norcum papers at the North Carolina state archives, to establish both that Harriet Jacobs was the true author of Incidents, and that the narrative was her autobiography. Her edition...
Words: 3336 - Pages: 14
...To a larger degree, historians have examined the white American businesspeople about the economies and market cultures. This paper going to talk about the African American business and consumer cultures, such as blacks’ culture and entrepreneurship, African American and immigrant self-employment in the United States. Also the African Americans’ buying behavior like the selling strategy makes it success to African American, and what is the reason. At the end going to talk about cross-cultural business, how to do business in the African American community. Known African American’s culture and background history is always helps to be success to avoid the mistakes which you shouldn’t do. Directly relating African American History and African American Business leaders, Pharrell Williams would be the perfect example of how the Black history influences the ways of business in the African American community. A lot of people might argue that he is not business man but he is the biggest entertainment business leader. “Every one of us is an amalgamation not only of all our ancestors, but of their decisions, and in 1831, Ambrose Hawkins was contemplating moving his family from America to Africa. Had he done so, his son Joseph would have been raised in Liberia instead of North Carolina and never would have become Pharrell Williams’s third great-grandfather. As it happens, Ambrose did go to Liberia, but opted for a solo round trip, rather than a family migration. If not for this last minute...
Words: 3061 - Pages: 13
...Kiara Wilson Historical Report on Ethnicity ETH 125 Antonette Gray October 11,2015 Dear Ashley, We've been friends for a while now, it's amazing looking back on the fact that we've been close since elementary school but during the times when our great-grandmothers were growing up around our age it would have never been possible for them to be as close as we have been over the years due to the segregation of blacks and whites, in fact had it not been for the Civil Rights struggle we may have never known each other because it would have been almost impossible for your dad and mom to create you being that she is White and he black but I am glad things have changed for the black community over the years. You know some things about the African-American race but since you grew up mostly around the Caucasian side of your family with the Black side of your family being in and out of your life I feel like there is a lot that you can take from me writing you this letter pertaining to the struggle that African-American's have had to endure just to have the same rights and freedoms that all of the other races were entitled to. You already know from Social Studies and History during school that we as African-Americans were once enslaved and Caucasians owned us so I won't go into grave detail about that. I was reading an article on History.com that explained how the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Color People) was founded in 1909 by W.E.B. Dubois in hopes to...
Words: 747 - Pages: 3
...There were many African Americans who fought in the Revolutionary War, both American and British armies. Some of the men that enlisted were men who were runaway slaves and joined on hopes of freedom. The documents discussed in this assignment were written by two African American men who were runaway slaves that fought in the Revolutionary War. One reading is a letter that was written to the U.S. Commissioner of Pensions and the other letter was written as Memoirs of the Life of Boston King. The readings consist of why they joined the army, their reasons for running away and their life after war. Jehu Grant was an African American slave who was motivated to write his document after being denied pension. He felt that his explanations would hopefully change the mind of the court’s ruling, and he would be granted is pension for serving in the war. The other document is a memoir of the life of Boston King, who was also a African American slave. Boston King wrote about his participation in the war, and the time he spent there. Boston also wrote about his reasons for joining and his life after the war. This document was written to describe The British armies and the part that African Americans played during and after war. Both documents were written for public view and intended to inform African Americans as well as the courts. The readings were both produced long after the events took place. There is a lot of information in both reading that could possibly be history topics. Some include...
Words: 529 - Pages: 3
... Liberation Theology a. What is Liberation Theology? b. Its origins and roots II. Black Liberation Theology a. It‘s true meaning b. James Cone - It’s Founder c. Luke’s social message to all d. History of Black Catholics III. Black Spirituality & Culture. a. Black Spirituality b. What We Have Seen and Heard – Pastoral Letter on Evangelization c. Catholic Teaching on Racism IV. Conclusion INTRODUCTION The purpose of this paper is to inform the reader about the true meaning of Black Liberation Theology. I want to present this paper as an enlightening pit of information to all who read it. I hope that will be an enlightenment and appreciation of the culture and spirituality of Blacks by non Blacks. And for Blacks I hope to affirm that our culture and spirituality is a depiction of our past, present, and future relationship with God. “Black Liberation Theology and Black Theology” are terms that walk hand in hand. For both share it’s African and slave roots since the 1560s. Long before the landing of The Mayflower at Plymouth Rock in 1620. There are a lot of differences between the two. Black Liberation Theology is more “vocal” in proclaiming liberation from oppression. Often...
Words: 8159 - Pages: 33
...Martin Luther King once said “We are not makers of history. We are made by history," which interprets how the surrounding events played a big role in my grandfather’s life. At the age of 103, T.W. Cooper, my great grandfather witnessed plenty of extravagant events. Some of these events include: The Waco Horror, KKK, Emmett Till case, The Watergate scandal, O.J. Simpson trial, Trayvon Martin Trial. The Waco horror took a great toll on the African American community in 1916. Jesse Washington, a 17-year-old black farmhand railroaded to a conviction in the murder and rape of a white woman in Waco on May 15, 1916. He was snatched from court and mutilated and burned alive outside City Hall before some 15,000 spectators -- half of Waco's population at the time -- and a photographer alerted in advance to shoot picture postcards. Afterward the charred corpse was dragged...
Words: 1112 - Pages: 5
...White Supremacist Attacks on Churches One of the most famous remembered attacks on an African American Church was in Birmingham, Alabama. On that early 15th day of September in 1963, the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing took place. Ku Klux Klan members placed a bomb under the steps of this church with a timer on it for it to go off just before the Sunday service began. “Just before 11 o'clock, instead of rising to begin prayers the congregation was knocked to the ground. As a bomb exploded under the steps of the church, they sought safety under the pews and shielded each other from falling debris. In the basement, four little girls, 14-year-olds Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and 11-year-old Cynthia Wesley, were killed....
Words: 1198 - Pages: 5
...and Morally Different African Americans Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. are both household names of men who fought diligently for African American rights in the postmodernism 1960’s. The 1954 Supreme Court ruling favored that segregated educational structure left blacks at a disadvantage. This was the spark that triggered uprising in the following years. Malcolm X and King Jr’s emphasis on their beliefs is evident in the works and actions that they have done through their lives. Their philosophies do differ from one another, as we will see in “The Autobiography of Malcolm X” and with “Letter from Birmingham Jail”. Both men had different approaches and desires for the black community as well as different upbringings that influenced them. We will see how such differences are reflected throughout their work to get a better understanding on how they compare and contrast. Known as Malcolm Little, the Omaha-born future activist suffered an impoverished start in life due to his father’s early demise. Prior to his death, Malcolm’s father was a “follower of Marcus Garvey, who instilled racial pride among the masses of African Americans” (Lauter 3088). To make end’s meet, Malcolm became a drug dealer and thief while living in Harlem, which landed him time in jail. His experience in jail and childhood shaped him and encouraged him in to becoming the activists that he was known for. Malcolm “replaced his own last name with “X” which stands for the African name his ancestors lost...
Words: 1327 - Pages: 6
...The setting is in the 1940s in Louisiana. The story involves Jefferson, an African-American man, on death row for a crime he did not commit. His Godmother, Miss Emma, attended his trial and heard the defense, which was that he was less than a man. He was compared to a hog, and it crushed her. She and her good friend, Lou, asked Grant Wiggins, Lou’s nephew, to teach Jefferson how to be a man. Grant Wiggins is the main character, and as he is teaching Jefferson, he becomes the student. He becomes less narcissistic when he teaches Jefferson, especially when he dies so nobly. I like that he changes in the story, but he doesn’t change entirely. It made him lose faith in society. People don’t change overnight, even when you go through life experiences. But in Grant’s case, the slight change he maid had an impact on his life. This spoke to me because it shows that the events of our lives can truly change who we are. Another reason I like this book is that it realistically reflects how African-Americans are treated, especially in the 1940s. The reason Jefferson received the death penalty was because he was African-American. We still see injustices like this today, such as the Ferguson Case, Trayvon Martin, or Michael Brown. A Lesson Before Dying took place before the civil rights movement, but still after the civil rights movement, not much...
Words: 1595 - Pages: 7
...simple, straightforward story, with no attempt at embellishment,” readers for nearly a century have found it richly rewarding. Today, Up From Slavery appeals to a wide audience from early adolescence through adulthood. More important, however, is the inspiration his story of hard work and positive goals gives to all readers. His life is an example providing hope to all. The complexity and contradictions of his life make his autobiography intellectually intriguing for advanced readers. To some he was known as the Sage of Tuskegee or the Black Moses. One of his prominent biographers, Louis R. Harlan, called him the “Wizard of the Tuskegee Machine.” Others acknowledged him to be a complicated person and public figure. Students of American social and political history have come to see that Washington lived a double life. Publicly he appeased the white establishment by remaining cautious in his charges and demands. Privately he worked tirelessly to undo the effects of institutional and cultural racism. Although he seemed to have made a grand compromise, first with the white south and then with white America, he worked in deepest secret to undermine the compromise and advance the social and economic position of blacks. No doubt exists as to his greatness....
Words: 13713 - Pages: 55
...One thing that is deeply embedded in American history whether we wish to admit it or not, are harsh race relations. Although there has been massive progress in the way that society treats African-Americans, there are still major social divides and conflicts that we struggle with today. Most of these problems are simply by products of the past racial segregation and mistreatment that African-Americans faced. Black Lives Matter was formed to combat these issues of social injustice that is still being faced in America. There are many reasons that the Black Lives Matter movement was created by the people that created it, and although BLM has good motives and intentions, it may have unintentionally increased the racial divide in America. The issue...
Words: 1219 - Pages: 5
...is wearing a nice suit on what appears to be a sunny day, that shows his physical appearance needs to be very good so that he will be respected Looking beyond MLK himself the faces in the crowd are smiling and waving to him as he returns the gesture. The size of the crowd is bigger than any other crowd to gather in that space. The energy of the crowd is electric, the faces are turned and talking or looking straight forward, both giving off the impression that they are excited for the start of his speech. The crowd comes from different races and backgrounds proving that this is a multi-cultural event in our history. In the way back the Washington Monument is in view, standing tall and proud, a symbol of freedom and equality. The cameramen captured next to MLK and the excitement in their eyes is vivid. They knew as well as everyone else there that that moment was truly history in the...
Words: 873 - Pages: 4
