...copying are not authorized. Any anti-plagiarism software will flag this document or its sections as unoriginal. Coping and Resiliency Skills in African American Urban Youths Introduction Growing up with a limited understanding of how to regulate emotions and cope in the face of ubiquitous urban blight, severe socio-economic hardship, and systemic racism is difficult for many urban youths. Resiliency is a term that is frequently associated with urban youths, especially if we consider the fact that according to the U.S. Census data in today’s America approximately one third of this population group lives in urban areas (Census, 2000). Given a steady increase in the numbers of low-income children living in urban areas, efforts to understand this particular phenomenon are critical. In this context, it is important not only to examine the negative (e.g.: drug abuse, violence, etc.) but also the positive self-regulatory skills (e.g.: athletics, education, creativity, dance, poetry, etc.), which urban youths employ as coping mechanisms. Another concomitant question that needs to be explored is how urban youth exercise positive self-regulatory skills under different circumstances and in specific contexts. This study specifically examined the phenomenon of coping and resiliency skills in African American urban youths growing up in the developmental contexts of various environmental stressors (e.g.: pollution, gang violence, drug abuse, urban blight, racial and ethnic discrimination...
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...involving being African American in a time where slaves did not have any rights, and when they were treated like property instead of a humans. Each of the slaves had different experiences with slavery, but one thing in common: share their accounts through autobiography on how slavery greatly changed their lives. The experiences, memories and treatment in any situation are viewed upon differently between a man and a woman. Obvious in the case of slavery, the two sexes were treated differently and so therefore their recollections of such events were-different Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs and the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass, were both written during the same time period. Both authors go into many aspects regarding the cruelty of slavery, but they still had their differences. During each of the author’s childhood they explain how it was for them. When Harriet was growing up in her, she was shielded from slavery. Her Father was accomplished carpenter, whose wish was to someday buy his children. “I was so fondly shielded that I never dreamed I was a piece of merchandise…” On the other hand Fredrick childhood was the opposite. Fredrick was born to a slave mother and an undisclosed white man. He did not know his age growing up he had to make educational guesses. ”I have no accurate knowledge of my age, never having seen any authentic record containing it.” Another way that Jacobs and Douglass narrative works were different...
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...using the structure adopted in the text that takes more of a thematic form rather than a chronological form. In addition, Angelou managed to emphasize on the universal ideas in her literary work irrespective of its periodic quality. In I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou used the major characters of the book to facilitate its thematic development identity, racism and literacy throughout the text. Basing on this assertion, this essay uses evidence from the book to affirm the role that the major characters played in the development of the major themes in the book. The first major theme in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is identity. In the course of the text, Maya is depicted as symbolic character representing every African American girl growing in America. Maya is depicted as...
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...April 2014 The Contribution of Slave Narratives to American Identity Literature as a whole has contributed to the totality that constitutes American identity. It is a powerful tool because of its ability to create conceptions that shape the thoughts and ideas of its readers. It gives glimpses into history by the experiences of its characters; the power of suggestion and information implants ideas into the minds of those who care to explore its pages. From the literature of Native Americans to that of modern day authors, each category has developed a different facet of the definition of an American, and each is needed in its own unique way. The same is true of the writings of those who were forced into slavery in America, who came against their will and suffered under horrific circumstances. Their stories expand the definition of an American into broader territories and reveal the difficult journey that many faced as they endeavored to find their place in a country that championed liberty yet enslaved them. Writers like Harriet Jacobs helped jump-start a new genre in American literature that came to be known as the North American slave narrative which greatly contributed to the defining of American identity. The North American slave narrative was unique in that its authors went to great lengths to present their own personal narrative of their experiences while remaining in the confines of the genre expectations. The goal of these narratives was of course to end slavery; ironically...
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...the Widow Paule Marshall’s autobiographical article “From the Poets in the Kitchen,” published a month before her novel Praisesong for the Widow, describes stories from her childhood that reflect the immigrant experience, addressing the constant presence of the Caribbean and its influence on Marshall’s life while growing up in the United States. Marshall’s mother and her female friends, immigrants from Barbados, would gather in the Marshall kitchen after their days of working in low-paid jobs to chat, gossip, and “tackle the great issues of the time” including the economy, politics, war, and their nostalgia for home. They discussed their adopted home, America—acknowledging both the racism they endured, and also the wealth of possibilities that the country offered. These women and their stories were, for Marshall, the origins of her fiction. She asserts that a writer’s ability to render everyday speech is derived from close listening, and the talk that “filled the kitchen” additionally functioned as a kind of therapeutic catharsis, a release of creative energy. The special kind of language used between certain groups of people gives writers their own narrative and unique language: “The principle means by which a character in a novel or story reveals himself and gives voice sometimes to profound feelings and complex ideas about himself and the world.” Although Marshall ultimately transitions from the kitchen table to the library, she states that something was missing...
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...second objective, which was to create an account of his life that focuses on his survival through slavery, and not on the suffering stemming from it. While Douglass doesn’t explicitly acknowledge the fact that there are those who doubt his life story and heritage, the organization of the Narrative anticipates readers with that mindset. This is clear because of the introduction and structure of the first four chapters or so. Not only does Douglass have two white men introduce him, but each introduction seems as if their authors knew most of its audience would be skeptical. In their own ways, the two introductions treat the concept of a slave becoming as fluently literate as Douglass as nearly impossible. It’s...
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...Cleveland MS 38733, USA; The College Board, Chicago, USA Tourism can serve as a vehicle for sustainable community development by contributing to equity and social justice. This happens as tourists learn about marginal groups through educational tourism, engage in development projects with host-area residents, undertake pilgrimages that bring greater meaning and cohesiveness to an ethnic identity, or encounter stories that transform their view of social injustice and spur further action to reduce inequities. Tourism planning can produce a sense of reconciliation when it brings historically divided groups together. An example is found in Tallahatchie County, Mississippi, where a group of white and African American residents are collaborating to develop tourism projects designed around a narrative of reconciliation, while they use the process of tourism planning to work towards racial reconciliation within their community. This case illustrates strategies tourism planners employ and challenges they face when they envision tourism as more than merely a means of economic growth. Keywords: heritage tourism; Mississippi Delta; racial reconciliation; social justice; sustainable community development The advantages of tourism to rural communities are generally painted as economic: developing a tourism industry brings in ‘‘fresh’’ dollars, provides jobs and offers opportunities for local entrepreneurship (National Agricultural Library, 2008; World Travel & Tourism...
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...women. (They suffer also under the burden of stereotypes, both from the African and American perspectives.) In America, Akunna is lonely and desperate. She is exploited by her uncle and suffers from a sense of powerlessness. The new life in America: (leads to loneliness and desperation) : In “ The thing..” the narrator (Akunna) tries to build a new life in America but she endures a great deal of adversity and anxiety., She feels lonely, isolated, displaced and alienated . As Adichie suggests, this is a rather typical experience of Nigerians in America. She also feels anxious because she cannot adequately support her relatives in Nigeria as they would expect. Symbol: The ‘think around your neck” becomes a symbol of anxiety. Akunna is gripped by fear. She feels utterly powerless. She feels that she lacks control. p. 119 “At night, something would wrap itself around your neck, something that very nearly choked you before you fell asleep.” p. 125 “the thing that wrapped itself around your neck, that nearly choked you before you fell asleep, started to loosen to let go”. Firstly, what is she anxious/worried about? She is worried about her new life. She is lonely. She is not familiar with the western customs and lifestyle. Life becomes a battle for survival. The manager, Juan, offers employment but at reduced rates. Akunna has to battle against the stereotypical impression of Africans, who eat “all...
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...books we remember buying when we were children featuring action heroes like Spiderman, The Incredible Hulk, or Ironman. Installation art is surely not something that generally pops into our mind when we hear those words, but one artist proved that comics can be read and displayed in more ways than one. Kerry James Marshall incorporated his own comic strip into a site specific installation work that he presented covering the glass panels of the display cases in a museum. He titled this piece Rythm Mastr, produced in 1999-2000 the 20 (17 X 11 inch) double page, two-sided printed newspaper comics where made using a photocopy of ink drawing and design marker on paper. This piece is a representational narrative that Marshall uses to try and bridge the gap between modern art and African art. Throughout the comic strip there are many visual elements incorporated into the work, I will point out a few of these. One of the first visual elements that I noticed was the artist’s use of implied time and motion, which is defined as “non-moving image(s) that shows movement through the attributed present in the image.” For example take the stances of the figures and superheroes in the comic strip, each one has its own individual way of showing movement, whether it is the front foot being lifted off the ground, or the arms coming out from the figures sides as it is about to step forward. The artist does a skillful job of showing the implied time and motion this way. The second visual element...
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...determine what implications there might be for classroom practice, enlightenment has been a completely non-existent commodity. I have been asked often enough recently, "What do you think about Ebonics? Are you for it or against it?" My answer must be neither. I can be neither for Ebonics or against Ebonics any more than I can be for or against air. It exists. It is the language spoken by many of our African-American children. It is the language they heard as their mothers nursed them and changed their diapers and played peek-a-boo with them. It is the language through which they first encountered love, nurturance and joy. On the other hand, most teachers of those African-American children who have been least well-served by educational systems believe that their students' life chances will be further hampered if they do not learn Standard English. In the stratified society in which we live, they are absolutely correct. While having access to the politically mandated language form will not, by any means, guarantee economic success (witness the growing numbers of unemployed African Americans holding doctorates), not having access will almost certainly guarantee failure. So what must teachers do? Should they spend their time relentlessly "correcting" their Ebonics-speaking children's language so that it might conform to what we have learned to refer to as Standard English? Despite good intentions, constant correction seldom has the desired effect. Such correction increases cognitive...
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...Yong Soon Min: Art Connecting With Cultural Experiences Yong Soon Min is a Korean born artist that emigrated from South Korea to the United States as a seven year-old child. Having been born at the end of the Korean War and growing up in the Cold War Era, she felt a strong connection to her cultural ties and grew up with some discomfort in having to adjust to life as a an immigrant. She derives inspiration for her artwork through her own personal experiences as both Asian and American while embodying the motto “Personal is political” (Oxford University Press 317). A great deal of her work is done in a mixed media format or as a performance piece and often calls for audience participation (Oxford University Press 317). DMZ-XING Yong Soon Min, DMZ-XING, 1994, (Mixed-Media Installation) One such piece by Min is called DMZ-XING (1994), a mixed-media piece taking its name from the Korean Demilitarized Zone. Yong Soon Min created an installation in 19pictures, and a series of narrative texts strewn about (Min 134). Here, she was capturing and retelling her own story as well as the stories of several families from Asia—Cambodia, Korea, Viet Nam, and others—that escaped from their homelands due to the onslaught of wars, and the experiences that they encountered while acclimating to the new experiences they would find for themselves in America (Min 134). Particularly in focus within the art piece is the story of a Laotian man, Mr. Saengaly, who fled with his wife to America...
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...Valentino faces from the time that he flees the country to the time that he finally reaches what he thought would be the “Promised Land” in Atlanta, United States of America. He was soon to realize that even in America, life would not be a bed of roses but it would be marred by unexpected acts of violence and racial discrimination (Dave 28). One striking thing in the narrative is that the author brings out the culture of the Dinka people. For instance, polygamous nature of the Dinka people is clearly illustrated. The myth regarding the origin of the Dinka people is as well demonstrated (Bess). In regards to this origin, the Dinka people are given a choice by God to choose between the cattle and the “What is the What”. They choose the cattle which they understood better rather than “What is the What” which they did not as demonstrated in the line, "—you didn't tell us the answer: What is the What? My father shrugged. —We don't know. No one knows” (Dave 64). Through the narrative, a reader is informed on the historical background of the south Sudanese people. The relative geographical locations of the three African countries of Sudan, Ethiopia and Kenya are well described, painting an unforgettable picture in the mind of the reader. The diversity in different cultures comes out clearly in the book as the main character traverses boundaries. Valentino’s story illuminates the story of thousands of Sudanese boys and women during the tough times of war that their country experienced...
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...Afro-Americans in Germany The free-of- Jim-Crow ambience in Germany had influenced Afro-American soldiers so much that their “experiences in postwar and Cold War West Germany thus proved pivotal in the struggle against racial discrimination in America” (Hön and Klimke 1). America’s contradictory attitudes of leading the free world and at the same time hosting institutionalized racism was targeted by “the Soviet and Eastern German propagandists” (Hön and Klimke 2). What worsened matters, Jim Crow segregations were carried out in German communities. “The failure of African-American units thus were attributed to the African-Americans, and in the cases where black units achieved successes, credit went to the white officers leading them” (Schroer 47). However, “in May 1946, for the first time a majority of white Americans polled agreed that “Negroes are as intelligent as white people”” (Schroer 71). 1964 showed examples of the American government’s handling of the problem of racism producing “The President’s Committee on Equal Opportunity in the Armed Forces, Final Report: Military Personnel Stationed Overseas” (Hön and Klimke 3). One of the most important examples of collaboration between GIs and civilians in fighting for racial equality was “the “Call for Justice” meeting...
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...G U I D E T E A C H E R’S A TEACHER’S GUIDE TO TWELVE YEARS A SLAVE BY SOLOMON NORTHUP bY Jeanne M. McGlInn anD JaMes e. McGlInn 2 A Teacher’s Guide to Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup Table of Contents SYNOPSIS......................................................................................................................................3 ABOUT THE AUTHOR...............................................................................................................3 INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY GUIDE............................................................................3 MEETING COMMON CORE STANDARDS.............................................................3 THE SLAVE NARRATIVE GENRE...............................................................................3 HISTORICAL OVERVIEW..........................................................................................................4 DURING READING.....................................................................................................................6 SYNTHESIZING DISCUSSION QUESTIONS.......................................................................9 ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES.......................................................................................................9 ACTIVITIES FOR USING THE FILM ADAPTATION........................................................ 11 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES.....................................................................................
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...appearance. Studies have been conducted with aims to determine why people bleach their skin, if it has to do with self-image, identity, or if it’s due to psychological scaring from the past. Dating back to plantation slavery, social relationships among Africans and white communities shaped what is now perceived as “acceptable” in communities now a day. “Dark skinned people were considered to be devalued whereas light skin was valued.” (Charles 2003) The Mulattoes, which were the people mixed with Black and white, were allowed to work in the great house. The Africans on the other hand were socialized to show deference to the mulattoes on the plantation (Charles 2009). Today, more than 90% of Jamaica’s population is of African descent and dominate the political landscape, but the minority dominates the economy. Although class and color distinction are very important in society, there is minimal tension over race (Charles 2009) Identity, as well as self-esteem is often thought to be the reason behind skin bleaching. Slavery was an extremely traumatizing experience for the Africans. They were brainwashed into believing that the values of the British communities were more important than that of their own. It was back then when Africans through socialization began devaluing their identity and began having negative attitudes towards themselves. Skin bleaching is believed to be the contemporary evidence of the lingering psychological scars of slavery in particular and colonization...
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