Analytical Essay
Introduction
The movie Mississippi Burning (Colesberry, Zollo, & Parker, 1988) and the reading, “Narratives of Redemption” (Romano, 2006) are very similar in their portrayal of white intervention and the responsibility held in racism and prejudice prevention. This viewpoint places whites on a pedestal and also on the side of loathing, while African-Americans sit back and watch as helpless victims make an effort towards change, but can not do anything to stop the terrible things that are happening to them. In Romano’s interpretation of the Birmingham Church bombing, she makes it seem as if the white men were responsible for bringing forth those held accountable for the wrongdoings to justice; when in fact the African-American people had been trying to reopen the case for decades. A similar interpretation was used in the movie Mississippi Burning, except the movie made it seem as if the black Americans in that small town had come to accept the terms with the situation at hand and were just waiting for the white Americans to come and save them.
Romano’s Interpretation
In Romano’s interpretation of the racism in American memory, she shows how the African-Americans felt powerless in the case of the Birmingham Church bombings and how the whites had to swoop in and save the day. The men thought to be responsible for the crimes of murdering Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson, Addie Mae Collins, and Denise Mcnair were only convicted of a single petty crime of
This question is important because it first reveals how American cities “simmered with hatred, deeply divided as always…. Time and again in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, urban white proved themselves capable of savagery toward their black neighbors…” (6). Unless documented in novels such as Arc of Justice, the deep racism and brutal mistreatment of black people in the past may fade away from memory. The question is also important because it explains how “the Sweet case did help move America away from the brutal intolerance of the
Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter From Birmingham Jail and Rita Joe’s poem, I Lost My Talk share the controversial topic of racial injustice, recalling horrific events of the past all leading up to the sole purpose of asking for help. With both writers having personal experiences tied to these texts, we come face-to-face with the awful truths behind racial and cultural genocides and are left wondering whether or not the damage can be repaired.
actions to show that no one will own or control him. He has no regard
Most people believe that the civil rights movement was all about white people against black people and vice versa, but what they don’t know is how hatred for the other race began. McGuire takes the readers on the journey of Recy Taylor to show that fear, hatred, and violence from the white man was the true cause of the civil rights movement. Throughout the 1940s, there were thousands of black women raped by white men. African Americans were not seen as equals or worthy enough to be American citizens with full rights, so most of mistreatment of black women went under the radar. Whites, especially in the south, wanted to acting under Jim Crow. Even if the cases of violence and mistreatment were reported to officials, appropriate action was rarely taken, which is what happened in Recy Taylor’s
The amount of guilt and sorrow the mother feels is unimaginable. After the incident, she cannot bring herself to have “a smile come upon her face”. She smiled her “last smile” for her daughter, whom she lost to the evils of racism. This woman, like many black people, suffered greatly in the bombing of Birmingham. Not even in the “sacred place” of church, were black people safe from
They can still hear the screams. The smoke still burns their lungs. The events are a recurring nightmare. While concealed from the 700,000 citizens dwelling and working in Tulsa, Oklahoma, they trod upon the grounds of the site of one of the most horrid race riots in America’s history. However, the witnesses of this atrocity would never be able to rid the images that were burned into their minds. The Tulsa Race Riot of 1921 transpired in what was considered to be the Promise Land for the black populous (See Appendix A). For years the African Americans had struggled to build a safe haven for themselves, yet their efforts were destroyed in a single night (See Appendix B).1 Although America was founded on the belief “that are men are created
Throughout these times of hardship in the south, many African Americans were wrongfully accused in our court systems all over the south. One case that sticks out above all of the rest of this time, was the trials of the Scottsboro Boys. This case involved nine young African American teenagers who were all accused of rape by two other young white girls. March 25, 1931 was the time and Scottsboro, Alabama was the setting. Here two girls Victoria Price and Ruby Bates, accused nine other black boys of rapping them after a fight with a white gang erupted among the blacks on board the train headed towards Scottsboro. Theses boys were damned from the very beginning merely because they were of black descent. In the police station that night, Miss Price pointed out six of the nine guys that supposedly raped her. As for the other three boys, the guard reportedly replied, “If those six had miss Price, it stands to reason that the others had Miss Bates”(Linder 1). This guard was pushed to believe the other three guilty from the racism already established within him. A crowd of several hundred men, hoping for a good old-fashioned lynching,
Many people, including people of our generation, deny the events that shape our history. “The denial of Jefferson’s relationship with Sally Hemmings is deeply rooted in two hundred years of America’s silence about slavery, as if by not talking about it we could wish it away” (Lanier 7). Slavery is one of the most prominent parts that make up the many pages of our country’s mistakes and sacrifices. If we treat slavery as if it never happened, we will know no better than to discriminate and let prejudice take over. “There is a terror faced by those who deny the truth in these pages: that one day race will cease to matter, and from that moment on, our hearts will know no boundaries” (Lanier 9). One of the only ways to fix our nation’s mistakes is to discuss them, and hiding our mistakes will not help our country move forward. African-Americans were considered an embarrassment to society instead of a pleasure to welcome. “The ones who wouldn’t dance with a Negro, they went home in a huff that day, but some came back” (Hesse 3). Some whites at the time realized that blacks were people too, and they should be able to have the same standards and respect as whites did. However, many white people were not being civil and respectful to those around them. “A civilized man in America, how refreshing” (Hesse 83). Most African-Americans wanted to be united and equal. All of these examples represent the Cultural Universal of values, which are judgments of the good or bad in a culture’s system of
Regardless of the era, white people may never understand a struggle African-American meets. Still today, racism is alive and police brutality is high as ever. In Birmingham, the expectation was black people will get over enslavement, but slavery is not something to get over when you are stripped of your history and self-worth. Martin Luther King Jr. confesses, "to years now I have heard the word "Wait!". It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This "Wait" has almost always meant "Never" (344). This statement is essential because it demonstrates the prominent reason Birmingham campaign occurred. If African-American did not continuously crave for freedom, they would still be brutalized, and white people would realize no
Dudley Randall’s “Ballad of Birmingham” is an emotional poem that highlights the struggles of the African American population during the Civil Rights Movement in America. The poem serves as a tribute to the 4 young black girls that were killed in the terrible bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, AL in September of 1963 by the Ku Klux Klan. It delivers a strong message that there was no safe place to hide from the evils of racism, not even in a church. This horrible event was one of the turning points in American history, because it helped support the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which ensured equal rights of African Americans before the law. This new law changed the social values of Americans and greatly reduced
Describe the closing scene of the text. Explain how the closing scene helped you to understand at least one important aspect of the film.
In the 1960s racial discrimination, segregation, and race-inspired violence was at its worst. Jim Crow laws kept white and African American people separate in public, the Ku Klux, Klan forced African Americans to fear for their lives every minute of every day, and absolutely nothing was happening to change these injustices. African Americans participated in thousands of nonviolent boycotts, freedom marches, and protests and nothing was ever changed until the morning of September 15, 1963. On that morning, a bomb, made of dynamite, forever changed the lives of the citizens attending the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. Four young black girls died in the bombing, inspiring poet Dudley Randall to write his powerful poem, “Ballad of Birmingham.” Through his poetry, Randall influenced change in the Civil Rights movement, and by owning the largest printing press of the 1960s, played a huge role in the Black Arts Movement. Dudley Randall’s ballad, “Ballad of Birmingham,” expresses his feelings of helplessness and sorrow after the tragic and senseless 16th Street Baptist Church bombing using irony, imagery, and tone to allow his readers to understand what life was like for African Americans in America in the 1960s.
William Faulkner’s ‘Barn Burning’, is the tale of a young man by the name of Colonel “Sarty” Sartoris Snopes, his father, Abner “Ab” Snopes, and the difference between right and wrong. The story commences in a courtroom, where Ab is on trial for burning a barn. Young Sarty is called to the stand to testify as to what took place, until the plaintiff told the judge he did not want him to question the young child. However, Sarty was unsure of the decision he would make if he was questioned. Sarty was unsure if he would choose his loyalty to his father, or if he would do the noble thing and tell the truth. Sarty and Ab’s relationship was strained with abuse, anxiety, and fear; Sarty’s devotion to Ab never reciprocated until Sarty makes the most important decision of his childhood taking him into adulthood to confess his father’s crime.
Michael Eric Dyson has played many roles in his life, but in his sermon/book, Tears We Cannot Stop, he plays the role of a pastor. Dyson preaches to white American about the ignorance white Americans have about racism towards the black community. This racism is deep-seeded in America’s history and has been perpetuated by white innocence, white privilege, and a refusal to learn, despite rebuttal claims that racism is dead in America by white folk. Dyson put forward the idea that racism is not just calling a black person the “n” word, blatant discrimination, or cops unjustly shooting and killing blacks, but is also the lack of whites to do anything about it, think about it, or even gain more knowledge about the turmoil, fear, and
In America, just before World War II, the Southern culture has a ample amount of racism. Racism has been a part of human nature since we could communicate. Racism eventually arose to lynching, which only stopped, mostly, not too long ago. An event in 1931, made the world realize just how sever the racism is in Southern America. This event, called the Scottsboro Trials, shaped America and it’s history in many ways, like the view on racism, the end of Southern justice, and a change in stereotypes.