My grandparents witnessed the assassination of Malcolm X. They were present at a rally in New York City on that tragic day in February 1965. Malcolm X was a grassroots leader, and the stories that my grandparents shared with me was impressed by his honesty and devotion to his idea of self-emancipation (Sales Jr., 1994, p. 207). His charismatic leadership helped him involve street elements in the struggle for Black liberation. My grandparents belonged to that social stratum, as well as their friends
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as a poet, Maya is also well known to have been a great actress, educator, historian, author, playwright, director and producer (mayaangelou.com/bio/). At the time of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Maya was also inspired to become involved in the civil rights movement. Mary has many famous works; however she is very well-known for her autobiography: I know why the Caged Bird Sings. In that autobiography, Mary pours out the first seventeen years of her life, then writes about her years following in another
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stood up for African Americans and spoke out words and things that they were too afraid to say. He educated them on how to stand up for themselves and their rights as how to carry themselves as black men. He was so amazing that no one would have thought that a troubled young black boy would turn out to be as powerful and educated as a leader. When Malcolm X was young, he was a young man that was troubled, and wind up doing prison time. Malcolm X made a living for himself by
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There has been many prominent figures in the American Civil Rights Movement. Some prominent figures include Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X. They both have their own viewpoints of social justice and how to achieve their goal. Martin Luther King, Jr. is more on the nonviolent side, while Malcolm X supports the use of violent if necessary. Malcolm X’s method of achieving social justice is more dominant than Martin Luther King, Jr.’s because Malcolm X’s method teaches people to use their available
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1969 autobiography, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, was nominated for a National Book Award and made her a symbol of pluck and pride for African-American women. In the 1950s Angelou had been a dancer and stage actress, and she was active in the civil rights movement (she became a coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, thanks to a request from Martin Luther King, Jr.). During the 1960s she spent five years in Africa, working as a journalist and a teacher. Angelou returned to
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Morgan Peoples English IV CP Blankenship 3/21/14 Maya Angelou Known as one of the most influential voices of our time, Dr. Maya Angelou is a global renaissance woman, a celebrated poet, novelist, educator and holds many other titles. She has proven the point that sex and race cannot hinder dreams and goals. In this paper, Dr. Maya Angelou’s failures as well as successes will be recognized and discussed. Born on April 4th, 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri, Dr. Angelou was raised in St
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up her seat to a white person. This trial was in a time known as Jim Crow Days where white people were held as being right all the time and black people were wrong no matter what the outcome was. Intense scrutiny was brought to bear on the condition of black civil rights in Mississippi and from Till's murder it is noted as a pivotal event motivating the African-American Civil Rights Movement. Till's murder brought considerations about segregation but we know that this was something that most did not
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harmoniously in a country founded on the following familiar words from the United States Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” The reality of the situation, however, is arguably that white culture has interpreted these words to mean that anyone who identifies themselves as not white, either by some physical
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Maya Angelou, born April 4th 1928, grew up with a lot of challenges she had to face in life. At a young age, her parents’ marriage was broken and she was forced to live with her grandmother. While living with her grandmother, she was faced with prejudice and racial discrimination. A few years later her father popped up in her life and sent her to live with her mother, where a couple of years went by and she was being abused by her mother’s boyfriend. Maya told her family and that man was put in jail
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unjust laws can be disobeyed in an attempt to make a change. This act or lack of action is called Civil Disobedience. Civil Disobedience has been used many times throughout history and he uses some of these examples in his letter: Socrates, Early Christians, and the Boston Tea Party. These are effective points because his opposition probably saw these examples as acceptable, but in their eyes his form of civil disobedience was not. Martin Luther Kings appeal to emotions his strongest element and is really
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