African Americans And African American History

All histories are an important subject to teach in every academic levels; however, African American history is a vital part of the United States. America would not be the country she is today without the accomplishments of the slaves and founding African American scholars. Slavery brought about incredible trials and established perseverance with the African American population that future generations need to know about and learn from. History teaches us our errors and our successes; furthermore, it helps us determine our future directions. Throughout history there were countless African American leaders, Godly examples and heroes. It is the duty of all generations to teach about these men and women. There is a wealth of knowledge that all people, in all walks of life, and at all ages needs to learn. No matter what race a child is today, they need to know and understand what their ancestors went through, how they lived, more importantly what they did to not only survive but to thrive (Holt & Brown, 2000).

In the early 1920s Marcus Garvey captured the interest of many black Americans when he emphasized black nationalism and black separatism (White et. al. 2012). In 1966, former leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Stokely Carmichael, echoed Garvey’s philosophy when he coined the term “Black Power” at a rally in Mississippi (Brown 2014). Introduced as an oratorical tool, black power urged race pride and race unity to inspire militancy among black Americans. It was founded on the belief that black survival depended on the exercise of black power to effect economic and political change in black communities. Alongside Malcolm X’s rhetoric of empowerment and the aggressiveness of groups such as the Black Panther Party, Carmichael’s vision of black power was not representative of integration – what he believed spoke to the “problem of blackness” (Carmichael 1966).

Artwork has been an imperative part of Black culture, and many artist share their inspirations coming from African origins. From the beginning of slave societies to present day, African America artwork has contributed to large parts of United States artistic collection. Beginning in the early 1600 to 1800 “black art took the form of small drums, quilts, wrought-iron figures and ceramic vessels in the southern United States. These artifacts have similarities with comparable crafts in West and Central Africa.” The significance of the

Together my family tree or Genogram and I see why it is important to know who we are and where we come from. I am an African American and both my parents are of African American decent. In the African American culture, many of our ancestors came to America by capture and not by choice. It is said that many African Americans were slaves and were a part of slave trade that was increased between the 15th and 19th centuries (Bennett, 2003; Van Sertima, 1976). Many African Americans were brought here to make their white or European owners money and cause them to be prosperous in areas of agriculture. There were white indentured servants, who could have worked to till the ground and make the harvest plentiful, but it wasn’t enough, so plantation owners saw it profitable to use African slaves as a solution to

In "The Negro Digs Up His Past", Arturo Schomburg attempted to take up the deep study of the African Americans’ history to display their past more closely and respond the statements that they have no past. He realized the necessity for the present generation to repair the history that was damaged by the slavery. Schomburg noted that “there is the definite desire and determination to have a history, well-documented, widely known......as a stimulating and inspiring tradition for the coming generation” (670). I think what Schomburg tended to do was to introduce the other side of the black people’s history--the splendid past and remarkable achievements, and reminded people to view their past objectively rather than focusing on the enslaved part. I totally agree with what Schomburg said, because every nation or race has its unique history and deserves to be treated fairly. From the reading material, I can see that the black people have lots of achievements they can proud of. What they should do currently is to repair their history and enable people to know a more complete one.

Still between 1865 and 1876, there was a culture identity crisis for African Americans. We cannot explain the roots of African American culture without

African Americans have endured many trials and tribulations over the centuries. Our people have suffered from war, violence, and anguish simply because of the color of our skin. Our history has been so blatantly missing from textbooks and the K-12th grade educational atmosphere. Our educational system continues to neglect the history of our African American ancestors and fail to provide them with the educational resources to inform them of our past and allow them to learn about the true origins of our culture. We have made many significant contributions to the world but those have also been highly ignored as well.

African American Studies is a very complex subject. To confuse African American studies with black history is a common occurrence. African American studies is much deeper and more profound than just Black history alone. There are many unanswered and unasked questions among the Black American culture which causes confusion and misunderstanding in modern day society. In unit one there were many themes, concepts, and significant issues in the discipline of Africana studies. Both W.E.B Du Bois and Vivian V. Gordan touched on many concerns.

People have never moved on from the past. They still think of the past generation where blacks experienced slavery from white people. This is one thing that African-American people cannot forget about. This slavery made a barrier that until this generation racism is still an issue. Before,

Over the course of this semester, I was introduced to many people, ideas, writings, and discussions that sparked my interest and enlightened me on African American history. However, I feel like this was just the beginning of my journey of learning the history of my people, as there is still so much out there to be brought to the surface. Prior to taking this course, I was always ignorant on the topic of African American history and simply made the connection to slavery. Additionally, I was unaware of other black activist, movements, and struggles that I had the chance to witness for the first time in this class. I came to a realization of how deprived of this information I was, because other historic events have been deemed more important. A quote that stuck with me throughout the course that was made by Arthur Schomburg was, “... African history and negro history, are the missing pages of world history”.

After attending several events such as Founders Convocation and hearing Helen Smith Price, Jacque Reid, and Krystal Underwood speak, I was embraced by the presence of the knowledge of three powerful African American females and graduates from Clark Atlanta University. The legacy of “ Find a way or Make one” at Clark Atlanta University continues after leaving CAU and will go with you for the rest of your life, as shown by listening to the guest speakers talk about their accomplishments in life and how that were able to get to where they are today. Helen Smith Price, Jacque Reid, and Krystal Underwood have made me appreciate more of who I am as a person, my culture and the wonderful institution that I attend. The guest speakers for Founders

African-Americans have suffered the greatest indignity in the history of the humankind. Millions of African-Americans were enslaved throughout the United States from the Colonial Era until the end Civil War during which they were brutalized, murdered, kidnapped, raped, and deprived of their natural rights. Meanwhile, African-Americans have fought in every single war to secure America’s

As an African American I am reminded every day that I am different from someone white. Because of slavery my people have had to fight for equality. Despite that slavery occurred over a hundred and fifty years ago, the racist attitudes and practices that slavery was a part of continue to be embedded in our country�s

The mission of the students around the country who fought for an education that would shed light on African Americans. The progress the students created is seen today in American Universities ,and also HBCUs, where (AAS)African American Studies is implemented into the curriculum. Before, the dissection the formation of AAS, it should be noted that without the sacrifice from others I undoubtedly would not be writing about AAS ,or reflecting on the significance it has created for generations so far.

In the past history, African Americans were slaves and were looked at and thought of as less important than whites. Still today