Alvin Ailey: Cry Essay

Alice Walker speaks of her mother and grandmothers’ dark pasts of slavery and discrimination throughout their lives. Although women through the years have had it tough, colored women have and continue to have a deeper struggle within society. Alice Walker’s essay is inspiring and heartwarming because it tells of how the women in their lives have found beauty within a dark part of history. Her mother although had little, found a sense of identity with the joy of her own vibrant garden. She speaks a lot about how many people of color continued to keep their identity and spirituality in a time where they could have been discouraged. I think that Walker’s essay is really eye opening because so many women have struggled before us to pave the way for women of all

Gates highlights that For colored girls is a film that makes a strong message of empowerment to the humanity of women. No matter how bad things could get in life and no matter how many times you’ve been brought down, always know you are strong enough to get back up and not let darkness conquer your life. This essay will explore how a person can overcome any kind of tragedy, hardship or struggle whether or not they are affected emotionally,

‘Cry’ is a dance choreographed by a very talented and well-recognised choreographer named Alvin Ailey. This was created in 1971. Ailey has created many incredible works but I must say that ‘Cry’ was one of his most outstanding works of art. The dance’s intent is to portray the struggle & strength of the African American women who were in the slave trade; how women so enslaved & trapped can still manage to be so free.

He seeks to imply that judgement of a person should be based more on the content

In “In Search of Our Mother’s Gardens”, Alice Walker looks to educate us on the hardships that almost all black women face when trying to express themselves through things such as art. She delves into many sociological and psychological concepts that have affected black women throughout human history. These concepts and ideologies created a realm for mass exclusion, discrimination, and oppression of many African American women, including Alice Walker’s Mother, who Alice utilizes as one of her particular examples. The writing thematically aims to show how these concepts of sexism, racism, and even classism have contributed to black women’s lack of individuality, optimism, and fulfillment for generations. The author does a tremendous job of defending and expanding upon her arguments. She has a credible background, being a black woman that produces the art of literature herself. As well as being raised by one, Walker’s first-hand experience warrants high regard. Therefore, her use of abstract and introspective language is presented clearly and convincingly. Also, her use of evidence and support from sources like Jean Toomer, Virginia Woolf, and Phillis Wheatley, all produce more validity for her stance through poems, quotes, and even experiences. All these individuals have their own accounts pertaining to the oppression of black women and their individuality. Successfully arguing that the artistry plights of black women described in “In Search of Our Mother’s Gardens” are

To be a woman meant that one had no say in regards to political affairs or in government making decisions. If being a woman had limitations, imagine what a black woman experienced, as they were considered less than human and mistreated more than any other female from any different background. In “A Plea for the Oppressed”, Lucy Stanton, one such black woman, tried to avail her people’s plight upon an audience of white women, to support the antislavery and reform cause.

“If you fall behind, run faster. Never give up, never surrender, and rise up against the odds.” - Jesse Jackson. In 1957, nine black students were chosen to integrate into Central High School, a completely white school mostly made up of segregationists. Throughout the next year, the main character, Melba Pattillo Beals, in her memoir, “Warriors Don’t Cry”, shows her difficult adventure in Central High, trying to survive from the malicious segregationists. Beals uses different forms of figurative languages, such as metaphors, similes, and irony to show her struggles, but also imagine a hopeful future later to come.

February of every year is known as National Black History Month. There are many African American people who made a great impact on all African-Americans today. In honor of this month, though, I have chosen to write about Marian Anderson. Marian Anderson was a singer who had made a great impact on many of the black singers in the past. She was one of the first female African-American to perform with the New York Metropolitan Opera in 1955. Some of Marian’s last words to the public were “I have a great belief in the future of my people and my country.”

The late 60’s and early 70’s were a time where African Americans held legal rights mostly equal to those of whites but faced major challenges in many aspects of life. Gloria Naylor’s short story “Kiswana Browne” seamlessly intertwines the author’s experiences, showcases the frustration of a mid to late 20’s African American woman and the conflict between her and her mother’s ideology. The differences in attitude between Kiswana and Mrs. Browne are widely due to the differences in the treatment of African Americans in Mrs. Browne’s young adulthood as opposed what her daughter is currently experiencing. Mrs. Browne’s struggles in the early part of her life were to secure the legal rights of

Writing during the emergence of the “New Negro” movement, Claude McKay and Langston Hughes work to reconcile black life in white America. The trope used by the two poets within “The Harlem Dancer” and “The Weary Blues” is that of a performance and a single speaker’s recollection of it. While both depict an African-American performer presumably consumed by the isolation and oppression of their condition, the intensity of the performances prove to be vastly disparate. Hughes’ “The Weary Blues” features a much more transcendent performance than that of McKay’s “The Harlem Dancer” not only because of the relationship between the audience and the performer, but the degree of ubiquity in descriptions of the performer and the poetic form through

This denotation to the silent cries supports for an emotional appeal to an example of the silent cries in African American women. As stated in the title, Powell is aware that black women are merely being betrayed in the hip-hop industry and simply states that the choice of words that hip-hop artist chose to rap about is simply “the ghetto blues, urban folk art, a cry out for help.” (298) and it is rubbing off on almost every man in our American society and giving them a different perspective of women all because women refuse to speak out and speak up. “As a result, female rappers are often just as male-identified, violent, materialistic, and ignorant as their male peers.” (298). Over 100 years ago, women were not even allowed to vote, the closest they got to voting was sitting there and watching. They were not allowed to work, they were forced to be stay at home wives while their

Throughout a life that stretched from slavery into her civil rights movement, Anna Julia Cooper defended the rights of all people to dignity, education, and respect. As an educated, competent, independent woman, she faced the double challenge of being African American and female in a society that was deeply racist and sexist, but with confidence and elegance, she challenged society’s assumptions about her. Her life was dedicated to the education of all people, but especially to taking care of the minds of black girls. “Throughout her activist adherence to her ideals, she provided an example of individual excellence rendered incandescent by service to the human community” (Berson, 1994).

There are many people who have shown extremely strong values of persistence and hope, and learning about where these values come from can help us bring them out in ourselves. In the novel Warriors Don’t Cry, by Melba Pattillo Beals, Melba faces many hardships while attending Central High School. However, her motivation to continue attending despite the hardships come from many different sources. Melba is motivated by strong spiritual values and the belief that God is on her side. She is also motivated by her family and friends, including Grandma India, Mother Lois as well as Melba’s boyfriend Vince. Finally, she is driven because she knows that her actions are helping African-American society as a whole and that she is making a sacrifice for the greater good. It is important to understand Melba’s motivations because if she did not persist so well, integration may not have been possible.

By most accounts, Bessie Smith was a rough, crude, violent woman. She was also one of the greatest Blues singers of the 1920s. The road that took her to the title “Empress of the Blues” was not an easy one. It was certainly not one of the romantic "rags to riches" tales that Horatio Alger made popular during her time. For a young black woman from the South the journey was anything but easy, and it would require a special kind of person, and Bessie Smith was definitely that. She was a woman who fought for what she believed in and backed down to no one. She had a boundless determination, which sometimes became a flaming hot temper, and no one was exempt from it. Yet these same experiences and temperament also expressed great loyalty to those

``Paton’s writing is the writing of voices. The voices rise with a deep sympathy for those who struggle admits civil disharmony and division. ``Discuss the extent to which you think this is true of the novel `Cry the beloved County`, paying particular attention to the style and form of Alan Paton’s writing.