“Alabama’s Contribution to Contemporary Literature: Profiling Albert Murray Albert Murray was a native Alabamian and also a black American literary. Murray was also a jazz critic, novelist, essayist and biographer. He was born on May 12, 1916. In Nokomis, Escambia County, Alabama. Born out of wedlock, he was adopted in infancy by a working-class family and raised in a black enclave of Mobile, AL. He moved to Magazine Point which was located in Mobile County, where he resided for his child hood years. Murray attended Mobile County Training School where he had participated in several sports and theater productions. He recalled growing up in a bustling community of Pullman porters and not to mention blues and jazz music that fired his ardor
In this paper I will inform you with a few of these events and topics such as the Civil war, slavery, as well as facts of the state. I hope my readers walk away with a new respect and outlook of Mississippi and learn how the past can affect the future, as well as the beauty.
The aftermath of the civil war left the U.S in a terrible position; thus calling for the dawning of the Reconstruction era. The idea of Reconstruction was brought up by Pres. Abe Lincoln, but it was brought out by Andrew Johnson after President Lincoln was assassinated. The hopes for former slaves was lifted when the 13th-15th amendments were established and many rights for black men were created. While Southern state governments abolished slavery, they did nothing to alter the status of freedmen and women; to show, the rights once held by former slaves were taken away from them. Black men could not vote, they could not own property, and they were forced into sharecropping, which made debt highly likely. Slavery was still punishment for crimes, but the biggest punishment for crimes committed by blacks was lynching.
Imagine a historian, author of an award-winning dissertation and several books. He is an experienced lecturer and respected scholar; he is at the forefront of his field. His research methodology sets the bar for other academicians. He is so highly esteemed, in fact, that an article he has prepared is to be presented to and discussed by the United States’ oldest and largest society of professional historians. These are precisely the circumstances in which Ulrich B. Phillips wrote his 1928 essay, “The Central Theme of Southern History.” In this treatise he set forth a thesis which on its face is not revolutionary: that the cause behind which the South stood unified was not slavery, as such, but white supremacy. Over the course of
Langston Hughes was one of the great writers of his time. He was named the “most renowned African American poet of the 20th century” (McLaren). Through his writing he made many contributions to following generations by writing about African American issues in creative ways including the use of blues and jazz. Langston Hughes captured the scene of Harlem life in the early 20th century significantly influencing American Literature. He once explained that his writing was an attempt to “explain and illuminate the Negro condition in America” (Daniel 760). To fulfill this task, he wrote 15 volumes of poetry, six novels, three books, 11 plays, and a variety of non-fiction work (Daniel 760). He also edited over 50 books in his time (McKay).
Baym, Nina, and Robert S. Levine. "Angelina E. Grimke." The Norton Anthology of American Literature. New York: W.W. Norton, 2013. 771-75. Print. Grimke expresses how slavery is not right in any way, shape, form or fashion. She states now God does not approve of this. She also states how it is not in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution or anything like that.
poetry is that he hoped to capitalize on the blues craze." 5Though the markets for music and
Coming of age in Mississippi is an autobiography of the life of Anne Moody. She grew up poor and Black in the rural south and how that turned her into an activist for black rights. The book was divided into four parts, her childhood, high school years, college life, and adult life during the movement. Anne grew up in a family that was victimized; they suffered from poverty, hunger, and the difficulties of farm life, low wages, childhood labor, colorism conflicts, and a lack of a father figure. The blacks in the community she grew up in also suffered from lynching and Klan activity, segregation, low paying jobs, and lack of police protection. During her childhood she began to work for numerous White families as a housekeeper. She began to have a different point of view on a lot of things in life. Anne received fair treatment from majority of her employers which encouraged her to want better for herself. At the age of 15 she was disgusted with her community and the Whites and Blacks who lived there. She went to New Orleans and Baton Rouge for the summer. She became bored with Centerville and was eager to leave and start her adult life. She shortly after graduated and went on to Natchez College on a basketball scholarship and then transferred to Tugaloo College. She joined the NAACP and became involved with various activities with in it. Her involvement with the movement began here. She was involved in sit-ins, made speeches, participated in marches, was arrested, and even was
Darius Rucker, a Charleston, S.C., native, describes his musical influences growing up in the south, “You could hear R&B, rock ’n’ roll and country on the same station, that was where it all started for me, being able to flip through the channels and never really hearing about what label something was” (Reverb).
Shortly after his arrival in the City, Hughes sought a position as a page at the Library of Congress, but Washington’s black leaders were unsuccessful in landing him this choice position. Hughes accepted an advertising job at the black weekly, the Washington Sentinel, but quit the paper shortly after because of poor pay. He then took a job at a laundromat. During his leisure hours, he spent time on 7th Street, NW where ordinary black people lived. Along the storefronts, he observed them eating barbecue and fish sandwiches. Seventh Street residents were poor but cherished life. They shot pool and told many tall tales. Here, Hughes saw something else of interest. People sang and played the blues. Although the songs were happy or
Although I wasn’t in Mississippi during the ‘Freedom Summer’, I had a solid understanding of how life was during the ‘Freedom Summer’. This was years of racism and segregation towards the blacks in the US during the Civil Rights Movement. My aspect type was racism, and I learned of its impact on life through our analysis in the class of The Color Purple (1982) by Alice Walker, an epistolary novel about the lives of black people in rural dominated white racist Georgia during the 1920’s-50’s. Furthermore, we discussed Nelson Mandela’s Inaugural Speech in class, and how Mandela fought for Independence from the white racist government. With extra research of the Freedom Summer project launched by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating
"One must return to the past in order to move forward", is an old African proverb that has been used to explain the purpose of studying history. This African proverb not only refers to the study of American history, but also the study of one's family history. Another saying that has been used to refer to the study of history is, "You must learn your history, or you are bound to repeat it." These principles can apply to education as well. The purpose of attending college is to receive a formal education. The proper approach to begin college level studies is to learn your school's history. Enlightenment of the difficulties and barriers during the early stages of a school's development; in
The twentieth state of the United States had quite some history to go through, starting with what is its name, the natives that started and the slave trade that led to the unwanted war of America. Mississippi brought a lot nationalism which brought a lot of social inequality. This essay will lightly cover the background and history that Mississippi holds.
Mississippi history is a sad history of slavery and oppression. It is a history of racism and refusal to let go of segregationist ideals. Mississippi history is enough to give many the blues. In fact, the Blues style music originated in Mississippi and gravitated outward from there. .Mississippi history and Blues history are intertwined. Delta Blues is a blues style that originated in the Mississippi Delta and influenced many musicians. Another musical art form, Jazz may be considered an offspring from the Blues and also started in the South. There are many Blues musicians and singers that come from Mississippi or have become linked to Mississippi for various reasons. Bessie Smith, Charley Patton, Muddy Waters, and Cassandra Wilson have
He became a wartime correspondent and his literary works and articles were favorably reviewed. Jazz was still a major influence in his life and he used jazz themes and lyrics throughout his works. A voracious reader, Ellison became attuned to the stylistic nuances of Emerson, Kafka, Joyce, and T.S. Eliot and his works seem to reflect the melding of such literary giants with the rich heritage of music, language, and belief in the African-American culture.
Southern literature includes stories that either take place in the Southern United States or are written by writers from this region. Typically Southern literature focuses on Southern history, honor, the importance of family, Christianity or community and each person’s role within it. Southern literature often includes issues involving racial tension, social class, and uses Southern dialect. As the North moved into the Industrial Age, the South stagnated valuing its old traditions more than dollars. Southern writers’ literary success is thought to be based on how they refused to ignore its historical choices and traditions. Southern literature is different than other regions artistic style as southern authors incorporated vivid real experiences