Am Too White For You, By W. E. B. Dubois And Wendy Ross

The Scramble for Africa can easily be defined as the forced invasion and division of African countries among European superpowers. Those powers included Great Britain, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Germany, and Belgium. Each superpower wanted control over a certain area on the continent and would do anything to ensure that their area remained in their best interest. To bring the conflicts to the forefront, the countries participated in the Berlin Africa Conference in 1884-1885. In this conference, the issues of Anglo-German relations and everybody’s control in Africa were discussed. As a result of the conference, European control began to overtake the African continent and imperialism became a giant part of the European mark. In his book, “Worlds of Color” W.E.B DuBois discusses the idea of whole colonial enterprise stating that the problem the world faces is the color line. This can easily be interpreted as Dr. DuBois giving the idea that if World, more specifically European superpowers stop viewing the color line and Africa’s color line as something less than them a lot of the world’s issues could be detected and fixed. But more importantly, Dr. DuBois is stating that without the Worlds of Color, European industrialization would not exist.

In Zora Neale Hurston’s essay “How It Feels To Be Colored Me”, her racial identity varies based on her location. Towards the beginning of her life when Zora was in her own community she could be a lighthearted, carefree spirit. However, when she was forced to leave her community, Zora’s identity became linked to her race. In this essay I will demonstrate how Zora’s blackness is both a sanctuary and completely worthless.

The memoir “How It Feels to Be Colored Me” by Zora Neale Hurston, was first published in 1928, and recounts the situation of racial discrimination and prejudice at the time in the United States. The author was born into an all-black community, but was later sent to a boarding school in Jacksonville, where she experienced “race” for the first time. Hurston not only informs the reader how she managed to stay true to herself and her race, but also inspires the reader to abandon any form of racism in their life. Especially by including Humor, Imagery, and Metaphors, the author makes her message very clear: Everyone is equal.

“The History of White People”, is a book written by Nell Irvin Painter. My first impression was very wrong. From the title, I expected a documentary type video about white culture; honestly, I expected the video to concentrate mostly on the historical time period when slavery existed. However, the video is Nell Irvin Painter reading from the beginning, and ends of her book. Rather than the video being about a certain historical time period, it is a literal adaptation of the title. The book is about how the “white race” came about; it discusses how certain ethnicities, and races came to be considered white, or Caucasian. I believe the book probably contains a lot more history, however she skipped over most of that and touched on the main points.

“To gaze into another person’s face is to do two things: to recognize their humanity and to assert your own” –Aminata Diallo. The Book of Negros was written by Canadian author Lawrence Hill. The Book of Negros is about a young girl named Aminata who is brought to London, England, in 1802, by abolitionists who are petitioning to end the slave trade. As she awaits an audience with King George to speak on her personal experience of being a captured slave, she recounts on paper her life story. Aminata was abducted as an 11-year-old child from her village, Bayo in West Africa and forced to walk for months to the sea in a coffle—a string of slaves. Aminata Diallo is sent to live as a slave in South Carolina. Despite suffering humiliation and

White privilege is the societal privileges that specifically benefit white people. White privilege is why white people can get pulled over by the police and escape a ticket with just a smile and apology. White privilege is also why whites are in charge of a company and they see a black person, they bypass the application. Whites carry a certain privilege not available to people of color. Marilyn Frye describes how whiteness is a form social and political power.

Racism is dislike a person, or it is a fast judgment for the way that person 's looks, and without known anything about the person, indeed, the main reason behind racism is the lack of education. Racism is a true problem, existed hundred years ago in America, in fact, Americans showed hatred against other people especially immigrants. Some citizens of the United States of America believe the racism’s issue is resolved and it is over, also they think we all live in an equal rights era, while others believe the opposite, they believe the racism is still exists but in different forms and ways. In the book “The Heart of Whiteness”, published in 2005, by Robert Jensen, who was raised in a privileged community, he expressed himself as a white person, and the feeling of living in white supremacy. In all honesty, Jensen’s book is the most honest book I had ever read, it brought up the race problem genuinely, and the difference in treatment between the white people and the African-American people, also Jensen included some of his personal stories and experience. In the book “ The Heart of Whiteness”, Jensen aimed at white people, also he cited many points on how it is like to live in white supremacy, and the feeling of mixed emotions about the past, then what is the action white people should make. Me personally thinks the main three points that i experienced with my white friends are: White privilege. Second point is the guilt feeling towards the racism, and finally, the feeling of

Hi, Ann! It is good hearing people breaking stereotypes. I think it is difficult to do, because as you said, it has made you prove your ability and who you are. In this time and age, I think it is especially important to remain vigilant in correcting people who make assumptions based on all the "-isms" that exist. I think it's difficult because of the social media that surrounds everyone of us.

In reading through the works of Zora Neale Hurston, W. E. B. DuBois, and Booker T. Washington, I traveled back in time and felt the pain and suffering of the black folks from the past. The three authors completed their works to the best of their understanding, experiences, and chosen disposition to the matter. While the tones and messages of their works differed from one another, addressing various issues at specific levels of either favouring it or opposing it, Hurston, DuBois, and Washington brought to light a single message: respect the race that had endured so much from the past and yet survived the test of time – the race of African-Americans.

“All men are created equal,” a broad saying that attempts to describe the equality of our country. We have been abiding by these words since the creation of America, however, many events and circumstances have contradicted them. In the early ages of society, it seemed that the only beings who were granted privileges were rich white males. African-Americans and Native Americans found a common ground while they both struggled for their equality for a duration of time, and some could argue that they continue to struggle today. They were viewed as outcasts and in some cases even monsters. White people chose to oppress them only because they looked different and believed different. Literature does a good job of expressing these struggles through their themes. Two readings that stand out while relaying this theme are “Custer Died For Your Sins” and “Confessions of Nat Turner.” Within these readings, it is clear that both African-Americans and Native Americans endured the struggle of being oppressed, while also being generalized as unequal outcasts solely for their different looks and culture, forcing them to turn to violence as their only option for liberty.

Through poetry, these authors question the racial boundaries of American society and become significantly important figures in the fight for equal rights. Emphasis on racial equality seemed to be used often within their literature, and many of their poems that focused on equality, or lack thereof, to include self-identity, came from personal experiences and reflected on the thought or belief in overcoming the looming race issue. For each of these poets, finding equality, seeking one’s own self-identity, became their personal freedom, not only as an equal within their works but in society as well. It was essential to each in understanding the terms of self-awareness and obtaining respect.

African Americans experienced a multitude of hardships throughout American history, and many writers and poets displayed their struggles through their works. The Harlem Renaissance Era was a prime time for quality work that exhibited the oppression, struggle, and eventual gain of freedom that African Americans endured. Poets such as Claude McKay and Zora Neale Hurston, as well as writers such as Lorraine Hansberry, created powerful images through their respective works. Titles such as A Raisin in the Sun, “Sweat”, and “If We Must Die” all possess the common theme of hardship, and contain many similarities. Oppression was an extremely large issue that African Americans had to deal with in this era of time.

America and race were two themes strung through the week’s readings. It might be especially interesting to note when the two are woven tightly together, like in “Learning to love America” by Shirley Geok-lin Lim and “I, Too” by Langston Hughes.

In the fight for equality, people of color often feel isolated and separated from those whose privilege reinforces their oppression. However, there are and always have been white people who see the inequalities that are practiced in society and speak out against them in hopes of reaching equality for all. Langston Hughes used his voice in poetry to express his experience as a black man in the United States during the Civil Rights Movement, and his is a household name. There is no doubt that his words have power. The reader expects to feel his experience and gain empathy and understanding through his poetry. In his poem, “Let America Be America Again,” Hughes presents his experience of American life in a powerful contrast to the experience

The role of African American literature in recent years has been to illuminate for the modern world the sophistication and beauty inherent in their culture as well as the constant struggle they experience in the oppressive American system. When writers such as Langston Hughes, W.E.B. DuBois and Alice Walker present their material, they manage to convey to a future world the great depth of feeling and meaning their particular culture retained as compared with the culture of their white counterparts. Without this attempt at preservation, much of the richness of this community might have been lost or forgotten. At the same time, they illuminated some of the problems inherent within their society, including lack of education, lack of