Critical Challenges Facing Black Studies Essay

The time has come again to celebrate the achievements of all black men and women who have chipped in to form the Black society. There are television programs about the African Queens and Kings who never set sail for America, but are acknowledged as the pillars of our identity. In addition, our black school children finally get to hear about the history of their ancestors instead of hearing about Columbus and the founding of America. The great founding of America briefly includes the slavery period and the Antebellum south, but readily excludes both black men and women, such as George Washington Carver, Langston Hughes, and Mary Bethune. These men and women have contributed greatly to American society.

The aspect of African-American Studies is key to the lives of African-Americans and those involved with the welfare of the race. African-American Studies is the systematic and critical study of the multidimensional aspects of Black thought and practice in their current and historical unfolding (Karenga, 21). African-American Studies exposes students to the experiences of African-American people and others of African descent. It allows the promotion and sharing of the African-American culture. However, the concept of African-American Studies, like many other studies that focus on a specific group, gender, and/or creed, poses problems. Therefore, African-American Studies must overcome the obstacles in order to

Throughout history, African Americans have encountered an overwhelming amount of obstacles for justice and equality. You can see instances of these obstacles especially during the 1800’s where there were various forms of segregation and racism such as the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan terrorism, Jim- Crow laws, voting restrictions. These negative forces asserted by societal racism were present both pre and post slavery. Although blacks were often seen as being a core foundation for the creation of society and what it is today, they never were given credit for their work although forced. This was due to the various laws and social morals that were sustained for over 100 years throughout the United States. However, what the world didn’t

During my early years of school, I remember being taught white accomplishments and wondering if blacks and other people of color had made any significant contributions to today's world. I noticed that television consist of all white people. Throughout my research paper I hope to cover certain aspects of African American heritage. Aspects such as blacks making up the largest minority group in the United States, although Mexican-Americans are rapidly changing that. The contributions blacks have provided to our country are immeasurable. Unfortunately though rather than recognizing these contributions, white America would rather focus on oppressing and degrading these people. As a consequence American

Daudi Ajani ya Azibo describes the difference between Black Studies and the Study of Black People and they can be disguised to look the same until you look closely at the underlining message. It can be easily manipulated to make it look like the study is for good intent even though the sole purpose was to destroy the view of African Americans like in “Negro Scholarship” for example, which is made so that white supremacy can control Black studies. Azibo stresses that Black Studies is not Black Studies unless African worldview, which Wade Nobles says is a product of the African’s history, culture, and philosophy, is applied through and through as opposed to the European worldview. Azibo mentions how important Africentric paradigm is to the practice of Black Studies. Africentric paradigm described by Baldwin has four simplified characteristics: a) generates the foundation of African culture; b) Recognized the many African worldviews of the whole African population; c) recognize

“Double consciousness describes the individual sensation of feeling as though your identity is divided into several parts, making it impossible to have one unified identity”(Understanding W.E.B DuBois, n.d.). This proposal was brought forth by W.E.B Bois. He believed that African American’s were struggling with these repressed feelings of not knowing who they are; they could not combine their African background with their now developed American identity. This concept was developed in 1903, but is still very relevant today; one may be able to relate the relevance of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) to this theory/ conclusion. At a Historically Black College or University, an individual has the ability to further their education. I decide to attend Virginia Union University to gain a better understanding of my history, to bond with others within the black community, and to profit from the HBCU experience.

Scholars have dedicated their time and attention to furthering the discipline of African American Studies and can define the field with many different definitions. Through looking at the origins and development in the study we can see how it became a legitimate academic field. As we study the writings of the African American intellect, it will fully explain the importance of the discipline. Their work will justify the study of cultural and historical experiences of Africans living in Africa or the African Diaspora. When examining the scholar’s arguments we can develop our own intellectually informed rationalization of the field of African American Studies.

Thesis: Even with the creation of Black Studies as an academic discipline, the culture and influence of white dependency still seem to block people of color’s mental potential, and inherently their ability to progress as a group.

Black Liberation Theology can be defined as the relationship that blacks have with god in their struggle to end oppression. It sees god as a god of history and the liberator of the oppressed from bondage. Black Liberation theology views God and Christianity as a gospel relevant to blacks who struggle daily under the oppression of whites. Because of slavery, blacks concept of God was totally different from the masters who enslaved them. White Christians saw god as more of a spiritual savior, the reflection of God for blacks came in the struggle for freedom by blacks. Although the term black liberation theology is a fairly new, becoming popular in the early 1960’s with Black Theology and Black Power, a book written by James H. Cone, its

During this time in a movement known as the Great Migration, thousands of African-Americans also known as Negros left their homes in the South and moved North toward the beach line of big cities in search of employment and a new beginning. As Locke stated, “the wash and rush of this human tide on the beach line of Northern city centers is to be explained primarily in terms of a new vision of opportunity, of social and economic freedom, of a spirit to seize, even in the face of an extortionate and heavy toll, a chance for the improvement of conditions. With each successive wave of it, the movement of the Negro becomes more and more a mass movement toward the larger

Black Liberation Theology can be defined as the relationship that blacks have with god in their struggle to end oppression. It sees god as a god of history and the liberator of the oppressed from bondage. Black Liberation theology views God and Christianity as a gospel relevant to blacks who struggle daily under the oppression of whites. Because of slavery, blacks concept of God was totally different from the masters who enslaved them. White Christians saw god as more of a spiritual savior, the reflection of God for blacks came in the struggle for freedom by blacks. Although the term black liberation theology is a fairly new, becoming popular in the early 1960’s with Black Theology and Black Power, a book written by James H. Cone, its

Throughout history, blacks have been treated the poorest out of all races. Although everyone under God is to be treated equal, whites thought of themselves as being the superior race. In 1619 a Dutch ship brought 20 slaves to America and it took nearly 240 years for slavery to end in 1865(Ronald, , para. 3).These helpless slaves were taken to America and put to work growing anything from cotton to tobacco. Slaves had absolutely no rights. They were simply property of their “Massa’.” Being disrespectful to a white man could get a Negro killed and they just accepted the facts of the matter. The south was the most notorious in its treatment of slaves and slaves would run away. It was a big risk, but a slave that made it to a

There is something tragically askew in the religious state of black Americans; namely, the near-failure of qualitative development in integrated and/or separate black middle-class churches and denominations.

The Black Arts Movement was considered to be the artistic part of the Black Power Movement when it was formed in the 1960s’ and lasted until mid-1970s. It featured several Black writers, poets, playwrights, artists, and musicians, who sought to explore the ‘essence of black identity’, commonly referred to as the Black Aesthetic. The Black aesthetic was both a cultural and artistic ideology that was developed from many Black Americans who desired self-determination and separation from the white community. Several of the artists who contributed to the Black Arts Movement included, but is not limited to, Leroi Jones, also known as Amiri Baraka, Larry Neal, Nikki Giovanni, and Sonia Sanchez. They sought to create art that spoke directly to the issues, needs, aspirations and sociopolitical rights of Black Americans. Overall, this movement is one of the most influential movements in regards to Black literature and music because it inspired Black people to write and led to the creation of theaters, journals, magazines, and art institutions. The Black Arts Movement was also said to be the ‘spiritual sister’ of the Black Power Movement, but although the movement claimed to be the ‘sister’ of the Black Power Movement, it was sexist, racially exclusive and was in no way feminine of supportive of its Black women.

Oppression is an issue that some women deal with every day. In my project, I will give examples of how black women are subjected to oppression in film. I will be analyzing two different creators a male and a female. I will analyze their work. Looking, specifically at Alice Walker’s the Color Purple and Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married. Both films are different because of their plots, setting, and era’s the films were made in. However, they are also alike in various ways. One of the main commonalities is that both films depict black female oppression. The leading female characters in these films are subjected to oppression such as: verbal abuse, physical abuse, mental abuse, and emotional abuse. I will use this essay to analysis these films and the creative forces behind them. I will also reference many primary and secondary sources. The information collected from these references will be used to answer the questions: How do the creative forces such as Alice Walker and her story the Color Purple and the creative forces of Tyler Perry and his work in Why Did I Get Married compare in their depiction of black female oppression? How accurate of a portrayal is the oppression of black women in film? What message are they trying to portray? How does black female oppression in film compare to white female oppression in film? The information in the essay will help prove that creative forces, whether black male or black female can create work that supports the black feminist