Critical Analysis Paper of Bloody Lowndes by Hasan Jefferies
The Civil Rights Struggle
Marké C. Wrisborne
AFTS/ HIST 3390: The Modern Civil Rights Movement
Dr. Michael Williams
November 13, 2017
Bloody Lowndes was written by a historian named Hassan Kwame Jefferies. The book details the African American struggles faced in the fight for freedom in the rural area of Lowndes County, during the1960’s. He examines different activist groups, the leaders within those groups, and their impact/ role played on the Civil Rights Movement as a whole. Some of groups mentioned throughout the book included, the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), the Lowndes County Freedom Organization (LCFO) and the
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Jefferies discussed the discrimination, pain and hardships endured by black people in Lowndes County while comparing it to the struggle of the overall Civil Rights Movement by incorporating other works such as Carson Clayborne’s In Struggle. It also had a purpose of giving the opinion from a historian perspective and how he felt Lowndes County contributed to the fight and success of freedom in the Civil Rights Movement as a whole. One example, was how Jefferies begins in discussing the geography of Lowndes County and how it lies perfectly in between Montgomery and Selma which were both some of the worst places in terms of the oppression of people of color. He explains vividly that Lowndes County being a rural area as well was comparable bad when it came to Jim Crow Laws. The flow of Bloody Lowndes was one of the big strengths in my opinion because, it was crucial to understanding the book and the civil rights movement in Alabama as a whole. Beginning with the title, Jefferies titles the book Bloody Lowndes Civil Rights and Black Power in
The constraints create common ground for many of the Negro community while further separating those against it. Lastly, the exigence of this piece of text clearly defines the problems of social injustice many Negros face either in the state of Alabama or in surrounding states. It is perceived as a problem because the injustices are gradually growing larger, to a point where the Negro community must not let the problem go on any longer.
When he had arrived in Buffalo, Lewis’s first reaction to when they had finally reached his Uncle Otis’s home. “When we reached my Uncle O.C’s home and Dink’s house, I couldn’t believe it, They had white people living next door to them...on BOTH sides.” (Lewis and Aydin March Book 1: 43) Segregation in the north wasn’t a big deal to people in the north than it was in the south and from that he experienced a lot during that visit in the north. Once he had returned back home, he knew what was different now, he understood what the problem and differences were while he was up in Buffalo and at home. It came to him when school time was coming back around in the fall. “ In the fall, I started right the bus to school ,which should’ve been fun. But it was just another sad reminder of how different our lives were from those of white children.” (Lewis and Aydin March Book 1: 47) Between the black and white community, Lewis saw how “degrading” it was when it had came to school. They didn’t have the nice playground, the nicest bus, roads, and the ugly, sad sight of the prison full of black men and only black men, but he had managed to get pass all of the gloominess with a positive outlook of reading. “ I realized how old it was when we finally climbed onto the paved highway, the main road running east from Troy, and passed the white children’s buses..We drove past prison work gangs almost every day the prisoner were always
Slavery was abolished after the Civil War, but the Negro race still was not accepted as equals into American society. To attain a better understanding of the events and struggles faced during this period, one must take a look at its' literature. James Weldon Johnson does an excellent job of vividly depicting an accurate portrait of the adversities faced before the Civil Rights Movement by the black community in his novel “The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man.” One does not only read this book, but instead one takes a journey alongside a burdened mulatto man as he struggles to claim one race as his own.
Reading the content in this book made me get a picture of what it was like to be a colored person in this time. My eyes were opened to the meaning of the word “nigga”. Nigga is such a derogatory term, yet now-a-days it is used by people so much. Kids in this generation use it as a term of endearment when they see their friends, or they say it when they are shocked by something. Frankly, I don’t believe they know how serious it really is. The fact that white people could look at a person and see less than a human being when they did nothing wrong distresses me. They (white people) treated them as if they were property and below them. Even though we don’t have racism to this extent
Regardless of race or ethnicity, it is my belief that people in general, will stand up for their rights no matter what they have to do in order to get their rights recognized, they will do it. In this case, African Americans had to fight to mold the country and freedom that they desired. When a group of people become oppressed they will learn to band together to mold their future and the future of their children. I would like to look into this from the point of view that even though we are referring to people of African American descent, other races would have done the same. I hope to touch on topics and keywords that will reflect that in a literary sense.
In the novel, The New Jim Crow Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, author and criminal rights lawyer, Michelle Alexander emphasizes her overall thesis as our nation is currently in a state of racism, prejudice, and mass incarceration, and it is ultimately turning back time to the years of Jim Crow. Throughout her novel, she analyzes series of significant civil rights cases that support her thesis, and describe ramifications that these cases had on her thesis. In my critical analysis, I will discuss the importance of Alexanders thesis describe several turning point cases and the ramifications these cases had on her thesis, and give my own argument of why I overall agree with Alexanders novel.
At the end of “Rebels”, Walton summarises his feelings on the success of racial empowerment movements, beginning with a visit to the gravesite of prominent writer and black rights advocate William Faulkner. Though Faulkner was white, many of his books
“American cities didn’t simply sparkle in the summer of 1925. They simmered with hatred, deeply divided as always” (Boyle, 2005, p. 6). Life was extremely difficult for African Americans during the early 1920s; a period of time that was better known as the segregation era. In the book Arc of Justice, written by Kevin Boyle, the words “racism” and “segregation” play a significant role. Boyle focuses in the story of Ossian Sweet, a young African American doctor who buys a house in a white neighborhood in Detroit back in 1925. After Dr. Sweet’s arrival to their new home, he and his family suddenly become threatened by a white mob that is formed against their arrival. Dr. Sweet and his
King exposes the institutionalized racism in Birmingham by informing his audience on the immorality of the church. King exposes the cowardice that white churches promotes that
In the beginning chapters of the book, we get a glimpse of the typical home and community of an African American during segregation. Many Africans Americans were too adjusted to the way of living, that they felt
The author uses characterization, symbolism, and theme to demonstrate African American viewpoints during the civil rights movement.
referred to this book by Van Woodward as “the historical bible of the civil rights movement” because it spoke about the difficulties of race relations and brought attention to what blacks went through to get to where they are today. Martin Luther King Jr. was a respected figure and had a dream for equality among blacks and whites. King liked the message that this book provided. Van Woodward writes “striking incongruities appeared between the needs and moods of the black ghetto and the goals and strategies of the civil rights crusade, as typified by the leadership of Martin Luther King Jr., and voiced in his lyrical dream” (Van Woodward, 193).
When it comes to the topic of racial politics very few would agree that Howard fast did a great job of covering the main points of the Reconstruction period and Civil rights movement. The advancement of liberated slaves in the reconstruction period covered in Howard Fast’s Novel, Freedom Road, are more vulnerable over the gains made in civil rights over the course of the past 35 years. In actuality things were much more difficult in the reconstruction period than that of what happened in just the short novel. Also the gains made by minorities in the U.S since 1964 are more significant than the accomplishments of Gideon Jackson and his contemporaries, although the characters did a good job at proposing the issue, the events that took place in this period of history are much more than what was portrayed.
“At the Dark End of the Street,” is a novel that takes back to the terrifying experience Recy Taylor had in Abbeville, Alabama. Taylor was gang-raped by six white men in the 1940s. This scene immediately shows readers the civil rights movement during the 20th century and how important it was in understanding what was happening. Danielle McGuire is the author of “At the Dark End of the Street,” which was published in 2010. However, “This Nonviolent Stuff’ll Get You Killed,” is a novel that focuses on King’s protection during the Montgomery bus boycott that took place in Montgomery, Alabama. Charles E. Cobb is the author of “This Nonviolent Stuff’ll Get You Killed,” and was published in 2014. Both of these novels focus their points on different and similar aspects of the civil rights movement. When Cobb wrote “This Nonviolent Stuff’ll Get You Killed,” he focuses on the protection African Americans needed in order to not get killed completing everyday tasks, like going grocery shopping. Even on public transportation, civil rights activist felt threatened to the point of bringing weapons and concealing them on their personnel. Even though both novels take place during different times of the Civil Rights Movement they both show the similar hardships important figures played during this movement.
The book held several different tactics to increase appeal, interest, and attention. Throughout the book, a series of attacks (on the characters and reader alike) made the element of surprise extremely valuable to the storyline. Controversy was introduced with the initiation of new KKK members in Ford County, something society today has a strong feeling about. By keeping relevant topics on the front line throughout the story, attention was rarely lost since no unpopular topics needed to be explained or elaborated on. By keeping with a theme that will surely last for decades, this book is one of the few that will last for years to come. And, unlike other books that include racism to provoke controversy, Grisham made sure to show both sides of the argument, in order to keep everyone happy. Although this is sometimes seen as a weak approach that could make a novel boring, he did it in such a way that the book’s luminosity could not be faded. A happy medium was reached, which is a direct sign of a world-class author.