12 Years a Slave and Fruitvale Station Essay

(What) In the late 1800’s, even after the emancipation proclamation, white people often treated African Americans unfairly (How) by not allowing them to vote, giving hard conditions for work and segregating schools. Throughout the late 19th century, African Americans were treated as though they were still inferior to the white people. Many were able to rise to the middle class, yet the whites feared how they might become more powerful. To keep the African Americans in “their place” white Americans used violence to prevent the African Americans rising to the upper class. As lynching and harsh working conditions grew more vicious, more African Americans became more enraged. African Americans who grew tired of the whites suppressing

Certainly, freedom was supposed to be “freer”” for those slaves that had fought for their rights after years of submissionn, but, unfortunately, many white Southern people continued to ignore the law by not showing any respect for Africans-Americans. Because of the radical reconstruction in the south, the African-Americans were a step closer from the same political

Douglass began his speech to the audience by asking a series of rhetorical questions in addition to the use of sarcasm. He referred to the Declaration of Independence as “that” instead of “the” Declaration stressing a separation between African-Americans and the freemen of the United States. He extended the use of his rhetoric by asking, “What have I or those, I represent, to do with your national independence?” Slaves, whose freedom is denied, do not share other Americans’ patriotic feelings regarding the Fourth of July. His use of these rhetorical questions was valid because it separated Douglass as a different man than the rest of his white audience. Furthermore, Douglass asked, "Would you have me argue that man is entitled to liberty?" He indicated that people knew in their hearts that all were entitled to freedom. Douglass demonstrated sarcasm in this principle of freedom, almost as if the aforementioned rhetorical question shouldn’t need to be stated. He further declared that the stigma separating free whites and enslaved African-Americans was blatantly foolish.

By supporting the Revolutionaries actions to break free from British Rule, Douglass alluded to the similar fight that the American population faced to attain the same liberty that white citizens had. With the same courage the Founding Fathers had to create a free country, the American generation of 1852 faced a similar test to uphold the values of the Declaration of Independence, and liberate American slaves.7 After applauding the Founding Fathers, Douglass acknowledges that the emphasis of his speech is not to give praise, but to call on America to act on it’s own failures and begin to faithfully fulfill the nations oath.8 He asks his audience, “Are the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice, embodied in that Declaration of Independence, extended to us [African Americans]?”9 This rhetorical question Douglass presents, challenges America to reevaluate what they are truly celebrating on the Fourth of July, for it is surely not the freedom in which they claim to have achieved. Douglass asserts that asking black people to rejoice in the “shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery”10 and do not respect the courage, and steps the Founding Fathers took to create a free, liberated nation.11

Blackmon provides many stories in his book about what the slaves to forced laborers went through and how they felt about the new so called “freedom” they gained. The Black Americans prior to the Emancipation Proclamation have never seen the slightest clue to what freedom could even feel like. “Some of the old slaves said they too weren’t sure what “freedom” really was”

The text also illustrates how difficult it was for slaves to become free. According to law, a slave needed to have papers indicating they were free. Essentially, this was the only way they could

In the movie Fruitvale Station Michael B. Jordan represents many of the African Americans throughout history and today regarding police brutality. I feel that throughout the year’s people of minorities have been singled out by the law and handled more inappropriately than people of the Caucasian descent. In the movie Fruitvale Station I feel like Oscar could have been have been handled more lawfully but since he fit the description of a young black hoodlum he was treated as if he was a complete criminal, Even though he had a troubled past but was trying to correct that. That’s a big part of police brutality today being an African American and looking as if you’re a criminal or you’re doing some harm to somebody when that’s not even the case, sometimes you don’t even have to look the part you can be a completely good African American or

Far before the 18th century and up until January 1865, Americans in the Confederate states had the right to own human beings, mostly Africans, and force them to work. The conditions of being a slave were often harsh, even though some may say, “Despite misconceptions slaves were treated fairly well (physically at least) they were property after all. Shows of violence, such as whippings and hangings, were necessary to keep the slave population in check.”

Knowledge is a primary factor in the attainment of personal freedom. This includes not only scholarly education but also awareness of historical heritage and familial legacy. The fact that African-Americans were held in human bondage cannot

“My name is Solomon Northop, I am a free man residing in Saratoga, New York” CITATION McQueen \l 1033 (McQueen). Unfortunately at this point for Mr. Northop it would do no good for him to speak up, in fact, it did more harm than good. In the film 12 Years A Slave, the audience encounters the horrible kidnapping, based on a true story, of a free black man named Solomon Northop. This film is by no means easy to watch but it accurately portrays the life of slaves, and free blacks, who were caught up in the gruesome world of slavery. The history of Slavery in the American South is not a secret. African American people were treated like rag dolls; they were locked up in cages, sold off continuously for money, separated

The movie 12 Years a Slave can teach many things about U.S. history, it showed events in history in a way that paper cannot completely justify. Watching this movie gives an all new perspective about a topic that everyone has been taught, yet might not truly understand. Might not truly understand how burdensome it was to be an slave at the time, how mistreated they were, and it was all because the color of their skin. This movie tells a true story about a man by the name of Solomon Northrup, a man who was kidnapped and put into slavery, where he stayed for twelve years. Twelve years of this man’s life he was a slave, when in turn he should have been a free man. Solomon missed his children growing up, his daughter’s wedding, the birth of his

In the film 12 Year a Slave, I observed how solomon one day was a free man in New York and the next was a slave. For example, in the film, he was just a "Georgia runaway or runaway negro from Georgia" per his kidnappers when he tries to claim that he was a free man. I was able to observe the sleeping conditions, beatings, bathing situations and scars on Solomon body while being a slave. When he was kidnapped he suffered beatings at the hands of the kidnappers but also how much beating Solomon had to endure. Which therefore left him with a scarred back. Solomon like the other slaves was not given any privacy when bathing. Also, how they were humiliated by striped naked when being purchased like they weren't human beings but

Although the book “12 Years a Slave” is non-fiction, it is difficult to grasp and imagine some of these written truths as reality. Both the book and movie share essential similarities amongst the background and main ideas. Some core events that remain comparable include Solomon Northup having a family, him getting kidnapped into slavery, and eventually his return to his family. These events are crucial to remaining similar because the movie is based off of the book as a true story. If the central ideas and events contrasted greatly from the book, the movie would pivotally change the fundamental matter and effects of the book. Despite the major similarities amongst main events, there are some considerable differences. These differences might reflect on what type of audience each attracts, order of events in which each are organized, and entire changes of certain events for dramatization or different impacts. Due to differences and similarities between the book and movie, new insights are brought about and similar understandings are solidified.

The film 12 Years a Slave depicts the horrors of slavery in the pre-Civil War. Even though this was not the first viewing of the film, certain nuances in character dialogue and cinematic elements became appear for the first time. Creating a Black narrative with an the intensity shown in this movie not only makes, but forces, viewers to realize the truly inhumane actions inflicted on Black people during the early years of the country. Personally, 12 Years a Slave is a powerful work because it achieves it goal of making views see and understand the emotional trauma of Solomon Northup and other slaves as well as create complex narrative for slave owners during the era.

Segregation and racism prevented colored people to be completely free. They were incarcerated for no valid reasons and discriminated for their race and ethnicity. Freedom for colored people was obtained through the civil rights movement. According to I Have a Dream, “In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was the promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” (King. Lines 18-24). Martin Luther King expresses how African Americans and colored people were promised freedom through various governmental documents, specifically the Declaration of Independence. Other documents such as the