Colored People, by Henry Louis Gates Jr.

The Harlem Renaissance was a time for racial uprising and change. However, sexuality is rarely discussed when researching and reflecting on this time. Many of the leaders in the Harlem Renaissance identified somewhere along the LGBTQIA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual) spectrum. “Claude McKay, Wallace Thurman, Alain Locke, Richard Bruce Nugent, Angelina Weld Grimké, Alice Dunbar-Nelson and Langston Hughes, all luminaries of the New Negro literary movement, have been identified as anywhere from openly gay (Nugent) to sexually ambiguous or mysterious (Hughes). In a 1993 essay, “The Black Man’s Burden,” Henry Louis Gates Jr., The Root‘s editor-in-chief, notes that the Renaissance ‘was surely as gay as it was black.’”

In Chapter 4 of his book, which is aptly titled “Postwar Passions”, Daniels chooses to focus on the experiences of African-Americans in the post-WWI era, specifically focusing on race riots that occurred during the “Red Summer” of 1919. (104) There is a long-standing history of racial discord between whites and African-Americans, but the post-WWI years are a unique time. It has been more than fifty years since slavery has been abolished, but it will still take another forty plus years before discrimination on the basis of race is made illegal in America. Industrialization after the turn of the century and blatant racism in the South led to the migration of millions of African-Americans to northern

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.

The black race has faced many hardships throughout American history. The harsh treatment is apparent through the brutal slavery era, the Civil Rights movement, or even now where sparks of racial separation emerge in urbanized areas of Baltimore, Chicago, and Detroit. Black Americans must do something to defend their right as an equal American. “I Am Not Your Negro” argues that the black race will not thrive unless society stands up against the conventional racism that still appears in modern America. “The Other Wes Moore” argues an inspiring message that proves success is a product of one’s choices instead of one’s environment or expectations.

As David Blight says in his novel, Race and Reunion, after the Civil War and emancipation, Americans were faced with the overwhelming task of trying to understand the relationship between “two profound ideas—healing and justice.” While he admits that both had to occur on some level, healing from the war was not the same “proposition” for many whites, especially veterans, as doing justice for the millions of emancipated slaves and their descendants (Blight 3). Blight claims that African Americans did not want an apology for slavery, but instead a helping hand. Thus, after the Civil War, two visions of Civil War memory arose and combined: the reconciliationist vison, which focused on the issue of dealing with the dead from the battlefields, hospitals, and prisons, and the emancipationist vision, which focused on African Americans’ remembrance of their own freedom and in conceptions of the war as the “liberation of [African Americans] to citizenship and Constitutional equality” (Blight 2).

The discriminating social stratification in 1950’s developed a set of servile behavior on the blacks. They were thought to be inferior to whites, and were treated accordingly. Moreover, different parts of the country had various ranges of sensitivities while dealing with the blacks. For example, in Mississippi things were particularly tense after the Parker lynch case. No black man would dare look into any white man’s eyes in fear of the repercussions. On the bus, a man warned Griffin to watch himself closely until he caught onto Mississippi’s ways. In an extreme case like this, it was vital to learn about their roles and behave accordingly.

Racism is a thing of the past, or is it? Michelle Alexander’s, “The New Jim Crow,” main focus is on mass incarceration and how it occurs in an era of color blindness. Alexander also focuses on the social oppressions that African Americans have suffered throughout the years, until now. In this essay, I will discuss how the system of control was constructed, Alexander’s compelling historical analysis, and if the current system would be easier to dismantle. I would like to start by delving into how the system of control was constructed.

Discrimination has afflicted the American society since its inception in 1776. The inferiority of the African American race – a notion embedded within the mindset of the white populace has difficult to eradicate – despite the efforts of civil rights activists and lawmakers alike. Many individuals are of the opinion that discrimination and racism no longer exist and that these issues have long since been resolved during the Civil War and the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. However such is not the case. Discrimination is a complex issue – one that encompasses many aspects of society. The impact of discrimination of the African American race is addressed from two diverse perspectives in the essays: “Notes of a Native Son” by James Baldwin and “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King .

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.

The 1920’s were a time of change for African Americans. They were beginning to retain a sense of pride in their background and culture, were becoming more independent socially and economically, and were becoming more militant. Part of this was because of the Great Migration, in which a proliferation of African Americans moved from the Southern states to the Northern states, and the excessive levels of racism and prejudice they faced during the process. African Americans were really starting to make their voices and identities prevalent, especially through movements like the Harlem Renaissance and Marcus Garvey’s Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA). This mentality of independence and militance that African Americans adopted which is represented through the actions of Ossian Sweet is what makes up the 1920s cultural construct of the “New Negro” which allowed me to understand the realness and effectiveness of cultural constructs.

There have been many cases of social injustice on a number of occasions in the expansive history of the United States. The oppressions of the early movements for women’s suffrage and the relocation and encampment of Native Americans are two of many occurrences. Around the middle of the 20th century, a movement for equality and civil liberties for African Americans among citizens began. In this essay, Notes of a Native son James Baldwin, a black man living in this time, recalls experiences from within the heart of said movement. Baldwin conveys a sense of immediacy throughout his passage by making his writing approachable and estimating an enormous amount of ethos.

I feel there are many reasons that Henry Louis Gates Jr chose "Colored People" as the title of his memoir. I think the word "Colored" in the title was used to group everyone as a whole. The word "Colored" was also used to self identify different races inside and out of Piedmont. I think he used "People" to say that everyone matters no matter where you hail from. The word "Colored" and the word "People" have two different meanings alone. But put the two together they become a powerful piece to the novel. I feel that when you put "Colored" and "People" together it gives off a thought to the reader that the book is only going to be about black people. In the novel, Henry touches basis on more than just black people. Henry gave the phrase "Colored People" a whole new meaning. In Henry's words "Colored People" means: Accept me for who I am, despite my background.

William Edward Burghardt Du Bois, born in 1868, was a scholar, activist, and philosopher, born into the era of Reconstruction and lynching. Though he accomplished much in his life, Du Bois is largely known for helping found the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and writing one of the most prominent works in American critical race theory, The Souls of Black Folk. Du Bois made it his life’s work to contest racism through self-assertion, humanize black people across the globe, and find a way to integrate black society and white American society. Much of his rhetoric focused on “double consciousness” and “the veil,” separate but closely related concepts that Du Bois used to describe the experience of Americans, both black and white. While Du Bois passed away a mere day before the March on Washington in 1963, his rhetoric remains vital to anti-racist philosophy; for today, Americans live in an age of colorblind racism. It is a commonly held amongst white Americans belief that all Americans are treated equally and fairly, often citing the civil rights movements of the 1960’s in which the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Civil Rights Act of 1968 came to be. However, as of 2016, 42% of black Americans are dissatisfied in regards to how they are treated, while a mere 15% of white Americans are dissatisfied with the treatment of black Americans.1 Much of Du Bois’ rhetoric focused on education; more specifically, how to use the role of institutions,

Thankfully, in the days that we live in, we are able to achieve our dreams. As a result, there aren’t too many obstacles in our way to stop the path we walk on. We are all treated as equals, whether it is our race, culture, language, ethnicity, or something far greater; people are treated in a better manner than in the early 20th century. Unlike in the early 20th century, each person has the right to achieve their dreams for a particular reason, but sadly all this wasn’t followed with the blacks or other colored races. Many African Americans in that time had their own type of American Dream that they wanted to achieve, but many weren’t able to achieve this because of the inferior treatment they used to receive.

He explains in great detail about what society and the black community were like in the 20th century. While many of us were taught about how the rest of society was treating black people, we don’t get taught about what it was like within the black community. Gates touches on many different topics such as politics and education but also addresses certain topics that most people don’t wish to talk about. For example, he explains that while many black Americans face many obstacles, “it’s also true that not everyone in any society wants to work, that not all people are equally motivated.” Which is something that many people struggle to understand, especially when you have been in the defense for so long and have had many things holding you back. Regardless of how difficult it may be to accept, it’s the truth and I agree with the author mentioning that throughout this article. In addition, Gates addresses about what black Americans can do to help end the stereotypes and racism, which I believe is spoken about enough. He does that by frequently mentioning W.E.B Du Bois and “The Talented Tenth” and also stating what he believes we should do as a society, structurally and ethically, which I agree with. In conclusion, Henry Louis Gates Jr does an impressive job in explaining what factors played a role in racism and discrimination in the late 20th century, as well as sharing his thoughts and ideas on how to end it, or at the very least reduce